Author's Note: Who wants to see Mei and Zarya? Show of hands!
Her pulse was racing. Her mind was spinning as she ran. Her vision was blurry. She couldn't run fast enough. Her legs couldn't keep up with the mad pace but they had to. She had to keep running. Stopping wasn't an option. She ran faster and faster until finally the inevitable happened.
She tripped.
Mei-Ling Zhou went falling face first onto the treadmill. She smacked her chin onto the unforgiving tread. She was thrown back against the wall. The air was knocked out of her. Mei gasped for air, her lungs on fire, as she silently prayed that no one had seen her spectacular fall.
"Do you require assistance, Ms. Zhou?"
Her brown eyes met blue ones. Tekhartha Zenyatta stood beside her with a bottle of water in one hand and a cold compress in the other.
Mei rubbed the back of her head. "No…"
Zenyatta sat down beside her and gave her the cold compress anyway. Mei pressed it to her aching chin.
"Did anyone…" She started off to say.
"As far as anyone is concerned, we are two friends chatting." He smiled at her and leaned back against the wall. There weren't many people left in the gym.
She swallowed the water greedily. "Huh." Mei tried to slow her breathing down. Her heart was still racing. "Thank you for the ice pack and water."
"You are welcome."
"How did you get it here so fast?"
"You were running very hard on the treadmill. I was going to ask you to slow down and take a break when I saw you fell."
Mei scoffed. "Perfect."
"I am sorry. I did not mean to intrude but you have never pushed yourself so hard before."
Mei had always been a regular at the gym. She had met Zenyatta as her yoga instructor months ago. She attended classes religiously but stopped when she wasn't getting the results she wanted. Her rolls were ever present. Her arms still jiggled whenever she walked. Mei couldn't even think about the way her thighs rubbed together without feeling a little disgusted.
"I want to be skinny." Mei said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Zenyatta was quiet. Mei shook her head. "You don't understand."
"I do not see the reason into working yourself into exhaustion."
"I'm not." She rebutted. "I tripped."
Zenyatta shot her a look. For a refugee monk from Nepal who came to live in Ghost Town only a year ago with zero experience in the outside world, Zenyatta did have a way with withering looks.
"I did trip." She said sheepishly.
"Why do you not come back to yoga? You are excellent. You know all the techniques. You could easily teach the class yourself."
"Yoga won't get me skinny." She huffed, getting up.
"Where are you going?"
"Hitting the showers."
She felt bad for blowing Zenyatta off like that. He was a nice guy, probably the nicest guy in town. He let her use the gym in the early mornings before work and late at night when no one else was there. He understood that she hated to work out in front of other people but she hated it when he got all…well Zenyatta. Was he right? Yes. But would yoga get her the body she wanted? No.
End of discussion.
Mei rushed to the locker room, desperate for a shower. She went to her locker, grabbing her shampoo and body wash. Normally, she would have showered at home after such a rigorous work out. However, her body demanded care and attention. She needed a shower. And besides, there wasn't anyone else in the locker room. It would be safe for her to change without prying eyes.
She avoided every single mirror in the place. She didn't like to look at her body. Undressing quickly, years of high school hell had trained her well, Mei escaped into the showers. The water wasn't as hot as she would have liked, it was lukewarm at best, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
She heard the locker room door opened. Mei froze. There shouldn't be anyone else in the gym except for Zenyatta and he would never come into the women's room. He wasn't that sort of guy. Mei peeked behind the curtain.
She was here.
Hair as pink as bubblegum and as soft as a cloud. Zarya was the owner of the "Tough Love" gym. She was built like an Amazonian Goddess with a star like scar above her right eye. Over six feet tall, Zarya reminded Mei of a renaissance statue. The way she looked, the way her body was the epitome of beauty - Zarya was a work of art.
Mei waited until Zarya was on the other side of the locker room before she left the showers. She held her breath until it was safe. Mei dried herself off in the shows and when she could no longer her Zarya's footsteps, she made a beeline for her clothes. But just when she thought she was safe, Zarya came back.
Standing in the locker room with only a scratchy towel to cover her, Mei felt incredibly vulnerable. Zarya though? She strutted proudly. She was unafraid to show off her perfect body. Mei sucked in her stomach as Zarya passed her. She didn't mean to but when she was around someone like Zarya, someone who never had an ounce of fat on them, it was second nature. Zarya stepped into the closed shower. Before the water was even turned on, she began to sing.
Mei thought that Zarya had the most beautiful voice.
The echo in the locker room made Zarya sound like a rock star. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" had never sounded so good. Mei spent a few precious moments listening to Zarya sing and even mouthed along with her. She couldn't stay long to enjoy Zarya's song, she had to go home. She got dressed and began to leave.
"See you tomorrow, penguin." Zarya stopped her serenade to say.
There was no one else in the locker room, Mei realized. Zarya was talking to her. She knew that she existed. But what a weird name to call some-
Waddle.
Penguins waddled.
Oh. Oh, no. Mei to her credit, did not cry on the spot. She got dressed and sniffled only a little as she put on her parka. It was her protection against all too familiar name calling and scathing, judging looks whenever she ate. With her parka on, she was safe. Nothing could hurt her.
Except for Zarya's name calling. That sting would carry with her for a while.
Mei left the locker room. She kept herself together as she left the gym, walked to her apartment, said hello to Mr. Bastion, collected her mail, and went inside her apartment on the third floor. Once the door was closed, Mei promptly cried. She slid down to the floor and sobbed her heart out.
It was quiet crying. Mei cried herself to the point where even if she wanted to, she couldn't stop. She was far too upset to stop. Having your crush reject you was one thing but to make fun of her? To call her names? It was too much. Mei cried herself into exhaustion.
Her body aching and her mind writhing with a headache, Mei curled up on her couch. She grabbed the fluffiest and warmest blanket she could get her hands on and wrapped herself up. Mei turned on the television, praying the mindless noise might have something intellectually stimulating to get her mind of Zarya.
"Want to lose weight and fast?" A far too peppy spokesperson said as they gritted their pearly white teeth. "Try the new and improved Slim Pill. Tested by an independent lab, the Slim Pill has been scientifically proved to help you lose weight."
Click. Mei changed the channel instantly.
"Trying to lose those unsightly pounds?"
Click.
"This new diet lets you eat whatever you want, whenever you want, without changing a single thing about your lifestyle."
Frustrated, Mei shut off the television all together. The whole world seemed to be against her.
Author's Note: Hey guys, I've been having problems uploading chapter recently. It's not the site's fault but my own crappy internet access. That being said, I've set up a Tumblr here and a Twitter here account. Follow me on these sites so you can have access to more Overwatch goodness and teasers to the next chapter every Friday as well as story updates. Again, I'm so sorry about the late updates. I will try to keep updating every Tuesday before 9 a.m. central time zone.