I Fell For My Nemesis

Keith looked at Jocelyn wide-eyed. "Are they all that disturbing? I don't want to be eaten by a pig! Though I suppose the likelihood of that happening in New York City is incredibly low."

"If this causes you to be afraid of pigs avoid going to Iowa. There are more there than in any other state," she told him with a laugh. 

She hadn't expected him to react so strongly to what she said. He truly was the funniest person she knew and not only because of how dramatic he was. He frequently did things she didn't expect and it made her life more interesting. 

Interesting in a good way. Work could be plenty interesting in a bad way. She had more horror stories than she could count from both her internships and her time as a licensed therapist.

Keith raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to assume you heard this from the same kid."

"Correct. He loves pigs."

"You…have a really crazy job, don't you?"

Jocelyn shrugged. "Sometimes. I've long since reached the point where I thought I'd seen everything. I get proven wrong too often for that." 

Both at work and as a hero. She had seen and heard more than she had words to describe. It was why she was so open-minded. It was impossible not to be after a certain point unless you were incredibly stubborn and insistent on ignoring what was right in front of you. 

Stubbornness had never been a particular trait of hers. She had learned to be flexible to survive. 

Keith laughed and shook his head. "I bet! Do you like your job though even though you hear stuff that makes it so you can't sleep at night?"

"I think you're the one who's going to be losing sleep over this," Jocelyn pointed out. "I do like my job. I never imagined doing anything else. I always knew I wanted to help people and once I got to college and took a low-level psychology course I was hooked."

"Must be nice knowing what you wanted to do from the get-go. I got an associate degree in general studies because in the two years I was there I couldn't decide what I wanted to do. That's coming back to bite me now."

"There's no set timeline for life. People can change their minds any number of times. I know people who went back to school to change careers in their fifties. There's nothing wrong with it."

Keith sighed. "Sure seems like it though. Everyone has it together except for me. But geez, way to be a downer. Sorry, Joss. I didn't mean to complain."

"I don't mind," Jocelyn said seriously. 

She meant it. She heard much worse on a daily basis. Listening to a friend being a bit self-deprecating was a totally normal part of socializing even if she wasn't usually on the receiving end. 

"Even after hearing people complain all day?" he asked skeptically. 

"That's different. In my sessions I help people problem solve and reframe their thinking. Right now I'm just listening as a friend. It's kind of nice, actually."

"Listening to someone complain?"

"Having a friend." 

Jocelyn wasn't embarrassed to admit it. They were definitely friends even if their friendship was an unusual one. He wouldn't have offered to treat her to dinner in exchange for her help otherwise. That was something friends did. 

Keith furrowed his brows in confusion. "Do you not do this sort of thing often?"

"No. I told you I'm a busy person. I don't have time to make or keep friends. Everyone I know is more of a colleague," she admitted. 

"Really?" 

"Is that so strange?"

"No. It's just…I'm the same way. Honestly, you're my only friend," Keith said before looking embarrassed and turning back to his macaroni in an attempt to hide it. 

A slow smile made its way across her face. Why did hearing that make her happy? Was it because his words were an indication that their strange semblance of friendship meant as much to him as it did to her?

"You're my only friend too," Jocelyn informed him. 

"So is it okay for me to text you when I'm not changing jobs then? Because I didn't want to overstep my bounds," he replied sheepishly. 

"Of course! I can't guarantee how often I'll be able to get back to you though. Like I said, I'm—"

"Busy. I get it. I am too. But maybe if you're not busy sometime we can actually hang out for more than ten minutes? You wouldn't need to make yourself sick of Thai food that way." 

Jocelyn wouldn't feel right if she didn't see him every day. "I've barely started working my way through the menu. I think I'll be okay for a while. But yeah. That does sound nice. Weekends don't work very well for me so maybe we could do something after work."

"That works! What would you want to do?" Keith asked. 

"I…have absolutely no idea."

"Don't worry about it. I can come up with something. Why don't we plan for the same time next Tuesday?"

Tuesday was random but it worked. Crimes were typically low then. Jocelyn could get away with not going out and doing hero work for a night. 

She smiled. "Sounds good to me. I look forward to whatever you come up with."

"No pressure," Keith joked. 

They settled into a comfortable silence and finished their food after that. She didn't want her time doing something normal with a friend to end but she also acknowledged that she should probably go stop at least a few crimes before bed. 

"I should get going but this was fun," Jocelyn said with a smile. "Thanks for coming to me with your problem."

"That's a strange thing to thank me for but okay. Thank YOU for being so helpful. I have more to go off of now than I did before. I'm going to have to look into things."

"Good luck! I'm sure you'll figure it out."

She waved goodbye to him feeling happier than she could ever remember. Happy. Not satisfied, not accomplished, HAPPY. It was a completely different kind of positive feeling than she was used to. 

Jocelyn was glad that Keith was her friend. She was glad she was able to help him a little too. And that he hadn't gotten mad at her for saying what was on her mind the way Delta so often did. She knew she wasn't the best at talking to people, which was ironic considering her profession. 

But the difference between talking to someone as a therapist and as a regular person was completely different, as she had told him earlier. This friend business would certainly take some getting used to but she wasn't complaining. Not in the slightest. 

She couldn't deny being curious what sort of activity he would want to do on Tuesday. He had such a big personality he probably had all sorts of hobbies and could come up with something entertaining. 

Jocelyn found a place to change and stash her stuff and tied her hair back into a quick braid before heading out. Having hair in your face while trying to do hero work was a definite no. She learned that when she was still a kid sneaking out of the house. 

She was quite proficient at braids. She had plenty of time to practice them when she was hiding in her room. French, fishtail, Dutch, crown, cornrow, four-strand, waterfall, lace, ladder, zigzag, rope, lattice, bow. Even five-strand. She had learned by watching tutorials on her phone with earbuds so no one would hear her. 

She didn't have time for anything fancy now though. A French braid was perfectly sufficient for keeping most of her hair out of her face. 

The sound of sirens drew her attention and she followed them to where there was a major car crash and accompanying fire. She froze it immediately and the police were quick to thank her. A familiar voice sounded from behind a moment later. 

"Looks like you beat me to it," Delta remarked. 

"Water shouldn't be used to put out Class B fires, anyway," Jocelyn reminded him. "Do you want to patrol with me?"

He let out a long-suffering sigh. "You do realize I know that. I was just saying." 

He never exactly said yes but he followed her anyway and they kept searching for trouble for the next two hours before she needed to go to bed. They found a fair amount of it though only one incident involved a villain.

Jocelyn told him she needed to go and he replied with his usual "See you when I see you!" as she left. Apparently, he didn't need to go to bed as early as she did. 

Waking up, putting on light makeup so she looked professional, eating breakfast, and commuting took time. Sometimes she wished she lived closer to her job but she hadn't been able to find any micro-studios in Brooklyn. Maybe someday when she wasn't a hero anymore and had saved up for a down payment she would be able to move. 

She didn't need much but couldn't deny that a real kitchen would be nice.. All of that takeout took a real toll on her finances.