She punched the bag. _Hard_.

After a class workout, everyone had been assigned to the punching bags, and yet…

She had no reaction.

She usually did.

Her face was usually red, her breathing usually haywire. She usually complained to her friends in a stage whisper.

But she didn’t.

Her eyes were focused on the bag.

Her punches grew weaker, weaker, and weaker, and when she was done, her eyes were glued to the lobby. She didn’t look at anyone in the line except for one person, but she seemed determined, if any emotion, to not look at anyone else in the line.

Maybe a certain someone.

She stared at her hands, turning red but not hurting. Her rings must have bruised her hand- her bracelets were fine though.

She stepped off the mats and threw her rings and bracelets into her bag.

She noticed _him_ looking at her, but she kept her eyes glued on her duffel bag.

And then she was back, punching the punching bag. She tried to make them hard punches, ones that would hurt aimed at an opponent, but she couldn’t. She was distracted- dazed.

-

His eyes had tracked her every move- she was nervous. Out of it.

That wasn’t the girl he fell in love with, but he couldn’t tell her that. He _wouldn’t_ tell her that. They barely spoke, he just noticed her. It was just a silly crush- until it looked like she broke, she started closing off. Laughing with her mouth and not her eyes- weakening her punches- bringing up her friends from school.

He knew they were the ones that broke her- whether it was knowingly or not.

_God- what kind of a world did they live in that friends broke people more than rivals or discipline?_

He hated how broken she looked at him, if at all. He wanted to help- but they weren’t that good friends yet. He wanted to be friends with her- maybe best friends.

But she kept ignoring everyone.

She only talked to two people, ever, when he saw her.

That broke _him_.

He didn’t know what to do.

He wanted to help, but did she want him to?