Emerson wasn't happy to say the least.

She woke up to Tamara and Fiorenza's bickering. When she tried to suggest they talk about something else, they immediately turned on her. She forgot Tamara wasn't necessarily what people call a 'morning person'.

Then, to make matters worse, when it was Cal's shift to train her, he made things brutal.

"Come on Paige! Faster!" Cal shouted impatiently from the side line, stop watch in hand.

Emerson was restraining herself from punching him in the face. She was running fast! She was trying her hardest, yet he kept screaming at her to try harder.

Cal didn't look up from the stop watch, "Why are you stopping? Did I say it was time for a break?"

Emerson stared at him with as much hate as she could muster. She took a moment to catch her breath, so she didn't sound like a dying polar bear.

Cal raised a not-amused-eyebrow at her, tapping his foot in annoyance.

"Okay--first of all, not everyone has superpowers, 'kay? I don't have fast runny things--"

"Fast runny things?" Cal repeated, sending me a I'm-trying-so-hard-not-to-laugh-at-your-stupidity look.

"Yeah, I don't know what--the thingy's do to your system--but it makes you fast. I don't have that, so quit yelling at me about something I can't control--"

"You done yet?" He interrupted, now slightly annoyed.

"No--"

"Well, I am. So, because you stopped, you have a generous addition of an extra ten laps!" Cal smiled cheerfully.

Emerson felt her jaw hang open, and she blinked at him in disbelief. Cal, however, just blinked back mockingly.

"Those laps aren't going to run themselves," he said, still waiting for her to finish.

Emerson just glared at him, before slowly starting back again to jog. She couldn't believe Cal had the audacity to make her run extra laps. Especially because she was so nice to him in his time of need!

"Emerson! Stop thinking, and just run! Gosh, you're slower than a pregnant elephant!" Cal shouted.

She's going to kill him, no doubt about it. Callumn Harker was a dead man. Nonetheless, she pushed herself harder. She'd show him how 'a pregnant elephant' ran!

"How stupid are you Paige? I told you to run! Not look like a constipated toddler!"

Emerson was sure of it now. She'd waste her life rotting away in a cell because she murdered Callumn Harker. It was inevitable, he was an official dead man.

So she started sprinting--big mistake.

"Paige! MOVE YOUR FEET!" Cal looses it, and smacks his clipboard in half, running a hand through his hair.

She ran even harder, and she felt her breath coming out raged. She felt phlegm slightly choking her in the back of her throat. But she kept pushing herself, and pushing herself.

She felt like she was going to die; that her legs were going to collapse right out from under her like a building during an Earthquake.

"Hustle Paige! A disabled turtle could do better than this!" Cal spat.

Giving the last lap all she had, Emerson soared across the finish line. Cal leisurely jogged over to Emerson's crouched body. She was leaning heavily over her legs. Her hands resting on her thighs, keeping her in place.

He let out a light airy laugh, and he grabbed her shoulders. Emerson just glared at him as she panted for her life. 

"You need to straighten up--"

Emerson started seeing dots, and she felt her body tip over. Cal grabbed her before she hit the ground, and he straightened her out. His hands stayed on her shoulders.

"Hey, hey? You okay?" Cal's sparkling blue eyes were filled with concern. "I told you to stay standing. If you sit down your blood rushes to your head and you could faint--"

"W-what?" Emerson breathed out.

"Well, you have to cool down after you run like that for--"

"No no-not---that," she panted, giving herself a minute to catch her breath. "Why are you being--so nice to me?"

"Can't a guy be concerned? You did a great job out there. That's what I was talking about! However, you need to work out those corners. Tuck closer to them, that way you'll go faster. If you go out wide, you're running more than you have to," Cal said, demonstrating with his hands as models.

Emerson just stared at him. He had to be kidding.

"You're pretty fast. In a few more weeks you'll be one of the faster ones here. However, you really got to conserve energy. Towards the end there it didn't seem like you were going to make it--"

"Wait? If I was perfectly fine already, what was with the insults?" She demanded, looking up at him in disbelief.

"To make you push yourself. It's also fun seeing you annoyed, but mostly because you needed someone to push you. Running is all about the push. How much you can push yourself until you collapse. That's what running is, and you weren't giving me that. Well, now that the running portion is over, we can start the strength and conditioning part. Alright, now give me twenty!" He barked.

"I just--"

"Twenty Paige! Give me twenty!"

"But--"

"Did I stutter Paige? Give me twenty!"

"Cal--"

"Should I make it forty?"

Emerson dropped and gave him twenty pushups, twenty sit ups, twenty crunches, twenty jumping jacks, and a twenty second plank.

"Now, do that four more times," Cal said, grabbing a slice of chocolate cake.

Emerson wanted to shoot him right then and there. Who mentally tortures someone who's working out, by eating chocolate cake right next to them? She wanted to stab that fork down his throat, until it punctured his wind pipe!

"Stop thinking Paige. Thinking makes you sloppy," he scolded.

Why she oughta stab his eyes out with that fork, and then eat his chocolate cake. She didn't say this aloud, of course, she was too busy focusing on her severe workout. She was almost done when Cal decided to be impossible.

"Oh my god! Marge really outdid herself today," he moaned, closing his eyes as he savored the cake.

Just tune him out, Emerson, she thought.

"Oh my gosh, this is the best cake I've ever had. The chocolate mousse is so light and creamy, it really brings out the dark chocolate cake--"

Emerson was almost done, but he just couldn't help himself could he?

"Oh my gosh! There are dark chocolate shavings in the layers! Marge! Marge!" He shouted teasingly.

"I'm done," Emerson wheezed out.

"Oh great! Here, I brought something just for you as a celebration," he said, smiling sweetly.

Emerson's hatred softened. Thinking he got her cake too, she said softly, "You didn't have too--"

"Here you go! Part of exercising, is having a balanced diet!" He chirped, happily handing her a salad.

Emerson glared at the salad, and then at him.

"Ow!" He yelped.

"Sorry, what? Couldn't hear you over the cheering," Emerson rolled her eyes.

She didn't feel guilty whatsoever for slapping him across the face.

"See you tomorrow, Paige! Bright and early!" Cal called, a smirk on his face while he rubbed his tingling cheek.

"Don't count on it!"

"You'll be there, she'll be there," he muttered under his breath,

A/N: That was fun to write ;)

QUESTIONS:

Cal's training methods?

His evilness?

Emerson's sass?

Predictions?

Why is Emerson training?

What are they training for?

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~Tapqueen101