An Unexpected Girl

chapter seventeen

The weather was getting colder as fall was fast approaching. Iris was desperately trying to soak up the last few moments of sunshine, but it wasn't long before she needed to wear a hoodie or a jacket of some sort each time she stepped outside.

Iris was still avoiding Korra, and it seemed that Korra was doing the same. They had brief interactions here and there. It was always just small talk, beating around the bush, and talking about everything but nothing at the same time.

Most nights, Korra slept over at her boyfriend's apartment, leaving Iris alone in the apartment. Iris pretended like she didn't mind, but being left alone with her thoughts led her to start feeling sour toward everybody and everything.

What was the point of rooming with your best friend if you barely even see her? Iris felt terribly alone. So much of her world was falling apart, yet she didn't really have anyone to talk to about any of this. Everyone else seemed to have someone else. Except for her.

To make matters worse, on Friday evening, Iris walked into her apartment and was immediately faced with the sight of Korra and her boyfriend making out on the living room couch.

"Guys... seriously?" Iris said, staring at the scene in front of her. She put covered up her eyes with her eyes to prevent herself from seeing any more naked bodies.

"Oh, fuck, Iris-" Korra said, noticing her first, and quickly putting on her shirt. "I didn't think you would be back for a while?"

Iris tilted her head slightly, regarding her best friend. "Why would you think that?"

"Um, I don't know. I thought you'd be with Niki or something."

Iris looked at Korra for a while, not sure what to think. There was a sour mood building in the air between both of them.

"Iris, this is my fault," James said, adjusting his durag that had fallen off his head. "Korra did say we should go into the bedroom."

Iris diverted her attention back to a still shirtless James, who had a sheepish grin on his face. He was oblivious to the slight tension that was brimming in the room.

A part of Iris wanted to give a snarky comment in response, but the thing was, she actually liked James. He was genuinely a good person, and perfect for Korra. Also, she knew that the anger she was feeling right then was directed toward Korra, and James would only just be collateral damage.

So instead, Iris forced a tight smile onto her face and walked past the two of them into her bedroom without another word.

Now that Iris had gotten all her tests out of the way, she had more free time on her hands. Usually, this would be something she would be grateful for, as it meant having more time to herself to catch up on sleep and whatnot.

But not right then.

Iris was hardly sleeping. She fell asleep late most nights and woke up before she needed to each day. This only led to her being exhausted halfway through the day, which led to increased caffeine consumption at odd hours, which once again aided in the lack of sleep she was getting at night. It was a vicious cycle.

Iris started picking up more early hour shifts at the gym. She figured that if she wasn't sleeping, she could at least make some money while at it.

Hence why at 6 am on a Saturday morning, Iris was at the gym, pacing the mostly empty hallways while blasting metal music in her earphones. Iris wandered into the weights room which was almost completely empty, if not for the familiar mane of red hair that was currently doing bench presses in the room's corner.

Iris walked over to Adi, taking out her headphones as she did so. It was almost ironic. This was the exact position where she had first met the girl.

"Don't tell me you come here this early every day," Iris said, announcing her presence.