I got sick once or twice a year, usually near the middle or end of winter when all my other siblings were sick. But this year I caught a cold at the beginning of November. The first day, I suffered through, thinking it was only a small case of sniffles, but the next morning when I woke up my head ached, my eyes were watery, and my nose wouldn't stop running. I roused myself to tell my mom that I didn't feel well enough to go to school, so she called Principal Fury while I trudged back to bed.

A few minutes later she came in, sympathy on her face. "Your principal was busy, but I got to speak with Vice Principal Coulson, he said he would tell your teachers and have them send your schoolwork home. I'll have Kameron pick it up before I bring her home."

"Thanks, Mom," I whispered, snuggling deeper under my blankets.

She kissed my head. "Poor baby. I'll let you sleep."

I slept some, read some, binged some, trying to find things to pass my time as I recovered. I got out of bed a few times to get lunch, a drink, a snack, a movie, but my bed was a comfort, as was my room, so I spent most of my time in there, coughing and sniffling the hours away. Kameron had gone to school by herself, I wondered if she was doing okay, but then consoled myself that she had plenty of friends to keep her company.

Kameron came home with my homework and sat in my room for a few minutes to catch me up on the events of the day. Almost everything had been normal other than the fact that people kept asking where I was. Even Loki. I sent her away before she could tease me about the black-haired boy, using the excuse that I wanted to go back to sleep. She left, and I lay down again, feeling some relief in my aching head.

Loki and I had been hanging out a lot during school. It had been a month since Steve and I's breakup, which meant Loki and I had been hanging out for about half that time. The more I got to know him, the more I liked him. I loved the conversations we could have about books, movies, people, almost anything. I would talk to him about almost everything because if I censored myself to things that I knew he would enjoy, I wouldn't have anything to talk about because we had only read so many of the same books and watched so many of the same movies.

Not long after Kameron got home, I could hear the doorbell being run and my two youngest siblings clamoring to see who could get to the door first. At first, I thought it was the UPS man, but the kids yelled for Mom, who invited whomever it was inside. I groaned, turning over to hug my pillow, wishing they would all quiet down. Maybe if they went into the kitchen it would be all right since it was all the way across the house. But no, Mom and the other person stood talking in the entry for several minutes. I couldn't make out their voice, nor did I care to try. I was hoping if I got enough sleep all the sick would just drain out of me. Maybe not very scientific, but it worked sometimes.

I was drifting to sleep when I heard Mom mounting the stairs and another set of feet ascending the stairs. I didn't think anything of it, she was probably going to her office anyway.

"Alina?" She gently tapped on my door, opening it slowly. "You have a visitor." She stood back and a handsome, black-haired, green-eyed boy walked in.

I pulled myself up a little. "Loki?" I asked sleepily. Mom raised an eyebrow at me, then left us, but she also left the door open, a silent reminder she would be paying attention. I rubbed my right eye, propping myself on the other arm. "What are you doing here?" I silently cursed my voice for being so gravelly.

"I heard you were sick," he said in that lovely accent of his, taking a hesitant step inside the room. "I thought I would come see how you were doing." His green eyes were sad and sincere as he regarded me quietly. I noticed a plastic bag in his hand, and wondered if it was for me, but didn't mention nor stare at it.

My arm tired, I sat fully up. "I'm doing okay. I'll be ready for school again tomorrow or the next day." I sniffed, then grabbed a tissue and blew my nose.

Loki watched me sympathetically, then walked over to my bedside. "I brought a few things for you." He opened the bag.

I shook my head. "You didn't have to do that. I'm not that sick."

He looked down at me, eyes tender, as if he wished he could cast a spell and make me well again. He hadn't looked at me like that in a while, probably knowing I wouldn't tolerate it at school. "I wanted to." He carefully set the bag on the edge of my bed, then pulled out a few books. "I know you usually stop by the library after school to return books or get new ones. I found out what subjects you were working on this week and got you a few research books on them." He glanced around, looking for somewhere to put them away.

"Just leave them on the nightstand," I told him, waving a hand at the small wooden structure.

Loki did so, then continued. "I also happen to know you have a sweet tooth, and there isn't anything that chocolate can't fix for a girl." He pulled out a small bag of Dove milk chocolate square and set them on top of the books.

I could feel my face soften as I looked at the things he had brought. "Thank you," I said. "That was so nice of you."

Loki looked directly in my eyes, smiled slightly, and said, "anything for you."

Loki didn't stay long after delivering my gifts. I think he may have sensed my slight discomfort at having him in my room. When he left, Mom returned, inquiring about him. I explained everything that had happened between him, me and Steve. By the end, she didn't look completely pleased with Loki, but she was willing to give him a little grace and let me see where this friendship was leading me.

I still didn't feel good the next day, but by the fourth day of illness, I felt well enough to return to school. My nose still ran like an Olympic track runner, and my eyes were a little watery, but it was nothing to prohibit me from being in class again.

Steve hurried up to me first thing in the morning when I walked through the doors of the school. "Hey! How are you feeling?"

I smiled at him, sniffing. "Better. Still a little sick, so if you don't want to catch anything, keep your distance. But I'm glad I can finally come back to class instead of having Kameron bring my homework to me."

"Good." He returned my smile, falling in step with me as we headed toward history. "I heard Loki stopped by your house."

"How did you...? Kameron." I sighed. "Nothing is a secret with that girl. Yeah, Loki came over for a few minutes. He gave me some books from the library that he thought would be useful for class and some chocolate."

"Chocolate?"

"Yeah, he gave me a little bag of chocolate squares. He said he knew there wasn't anything chocolate couldn't fix for a girl, and I have to agree." I laughed a little.

The cleft between his eyebrows appeared. "Just... be careful around him, okay?" He was aware that I knew his opinion so didn't press it upon me any further. I hope he knew I appreciated it. I knew his apprehensions about Loki, mostly because I had many of the same ones. I was worried he would turn on me, make me a mockery, try to make me do things I never would, but I had no basis for those apprehensions. They had never happened before, and I could hope they would never happen in the future. I chose to trust in Loki's good side and beat back my fears about the other part of him.

School passed normally. Several people asked how I was feeling, including a few of my teachers. After school, Kameron was going to Thor's house, so I took my time getting my schoolwork and library books. When I exited the school, the parking lot was mostly empty, so I could clearly see my red CRV. Even from that distance I could see it needed washed, making a mental note to try getting that done this week.

I skipped down the steps, ignoring the group of boys at the bottom, until I caught a glimpse of shiny black hair. Seriously, I silently laughed to myself, that boy has got to stop using so much gel. Our eyes locked and I smiled at him.

One of the other boys caught him looking at me and grinned mischievously. "Well, well, well, look who it is!" he said. I recognized him as Aldrich. I wasn't absolutely sure, but I guessed he wasn't really Steve's friend seeing as he was hanging around Loki. The blond stepped in front of the stairs as I continued to descend, clearly wanting me to stop, so I played along, holding onto my satchel strap to alleviate some of the weight. "Boys, meet Alina, the boss's girlfriend."

I laughed a little nervously, glancing at Loki. "Uh, no, I'm not his girlfriend. We're just friends." The other boys lined up beside Aldrich, looking at me with curiosity.

"Still?" said Erik, shaking his head, then speaking to Loki. "You're getting slow, man."

Loki's face turned red. "Shut up," he snapped at the other boy. "Come on, Ali, I'll walk you to your car." He pushed all the boys out of our way. They laughed and made funny noises as we walked away, shoving each other playfully. Well, until it turned into a real fight. "I apologize for them. They're all fools."

"That's not very nice," I reprimanded gently. "They're just being... well, boys. I get it. They're also being your friends. My friends tease me endlessly. They... are you friends, right?"

He shrugged, looking ahead. "It's hard to explain. We stick together. We fight together. We hang out. Sometimes we play video games together, or football, but none of us really like each other all that much. We just... don't have anyone else."

"What about your brother?"

"Thor has his own friends, and, frankly, I don't like spending time with him. We're very different."

"Yikes. I can't imagine not having any real friends. I mean, I've always had my siblings— and they're not people you can easily get rid of. But I also have friends, really good ones, like Steve and a couple homeschool friends, as well as some I've made here. I like having people to talk to."

He gave me a wry smile. "Probably because you're a very... verbose person."

I laughed a little. "Probably. You would be surprised by my quiet side though." We arrived at my car, and I opened the door, pausing before getting in. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Count on it."