Snippet #801641

She hadn’t heard the alarm go off in the morning, because she was already up and out of her apartment, running. She hadn’t slept well, but the running helped. Today, however, Emily had taken a different route. She hopped aboard the subway and gotten herself hopelessly lost with the intention of running home. She had the full day to do whatever she wanted, and it was a beautiful one. She rode the subway train to a location she was unfamiliar with. Climbing the stairs back up out of the underworld, she glanced around herself. A quick look told her which direction her apartment was, and she began to run.

Hours later, she turned the corner to her block. Sweat was pouring down her face, red from exertion, her pony tail and her shirt soaked. She was exhausted, but she felt great. The run had given her a chance to think, to run out her guilt, her fear. Her mind kept straying to thoughts of Harry and every time, she would force herself to run a bit faster. No, she kept telling herself. He was just doing his job. Now, as she approached home, her mind was full of thoughts of the shower she would be taking, how great a cool shower would feel against her burning skin, washing away the sweat and grime of the city. She had the day off, and had nothing planned. Perhaps she would head to the library anyway, get some work done.

As she approached her apartment building, she noticed the guy walking toward the door. He looked vaguely familiar… the way he carried himself, seeming nervous about something. It wasn’t until she was a few steps closer that she stopped in her tracks. Harry. She hadn’t recognized him in his civilian clothes. She started moving again, jogging toward him, suddenly extremely self conscious of her appearance.

“Harry,” she greeted, as she ran toward him, stopping a few paces away, breathing heavily. “How are you?” she asked. She was blushing as she spoke to him, but it would go unnoticed as her face was flushed from the run. She lifted the bottom of her t-shirt to wipe the sweat away from her face, revealing a bit of her stomach. She smiled at him, brushing her hand along her face to remove, small tendrils of hair that had escaped from her pony tail clinging to her cheeks and neck. She looked down at her appearance, apologetically. She would invite him inside, offer him a glass of water or orange juice, but she didn’t know whether he was there to see her or not. He could have been visiting the apartment building to visit a girlfriend, for all she knew. The thought made her smile falter slightly. Or perhaps Sam had been trying to call her when she had been running and had sent Harry over because he’d grown worried. Her smile faltered a little more. “I… I’m glad to see you,” she said sincerely, despite the fact that she was extremely aware of her appearance - sweat soaked and lacking any makeup. “What are you doing here?”