Chapter Text
🏃🏻♂️🏃🏻♂️ ADAM 🏃🏻♂️🏃🏻♂️
Adam sighed and waited for the seminar to start. There were so many more productive ways to spend his afternoon than having to listen to Tom's guest lecture on a topic Adam was already familiar with. But according to... everyone, being a good friend meant attending such events. Even if the room was already packed and Adam's absence could be beneficial to both Tom and his listeners.
"Oh, hey Olive!" Adam heard a familiar voice of one of his students behind him.
He nearly turned around to see if Jeremy Langley was talking to his Olive. He stopped himself just in time, saving himself from embarrassment. There were likely many Olives around the department. And even if Langley was talking to the one Olive Adam couldn't get out of his head, then what? He had no right to stare at her.
"Hi, Jer" Olive responded in her cheery voice, making Adam freeze.
He was stuck here for another hour or so, and he knew that from now on he would be able to concentrate on nothing but the girl in the row behind him.
"Is this seat taken? The room is packed!" Jeremy pointed out stupidly, making Adam roll his eyes.
"You good, man?" Holden asked, glancing up.
He wasn't even pretending to be looking forward to Tom's talk. He had Candy Crush app opened on his tablet and plenty of snacks in front of him, his AirPods were ready, waiting to be used as soon as Tom got to the stage.
"Yeah. I just... don't like how crowded it is" Adam admitted.
"I told you to ditch this talk" Holden said with a smirk.
"Holden" Adam said with a warning. Tom was the one person Holden and Adam could never agree on. Adam did not understand Holden's hatred towards the other biologist.
"Hey, you're the one whining about the crowd" Holden shrugged and made a show of putting his AirPods in his ears to mute the world around him.
Adam groaned and tried to focus on the Dean getting ready to introduce Tom and his research.
"I really enjoyed the other night" Jeremy said loudly behind him. "We should go out again. We could go to the movies this weekend and maybe have a drink afterwards?"
Adam wanted to hide. The last thing he wanted to listen to was Olive planning her date with that loser.
He absolutely hated himself for not having the guts to ask her out, but now... now he hated Jeremy even more for being braver than him, for asking her for another date despite not being good enough for he, for... for having the gall to do so in front of Adam.
"That sounds great" Olive said quietly making Adam's heart sink. "I don't think I can do it this weekend. I'm so busy, I can barely find the time to eat and sleep" she added with a self-deprecating laugh.
"Oh... what about next weekend?" Jeremy asked again, while the dean asked for the audience's attention as he was ready to introduce the Harvard guest speaker.
"Sure. Maybe... can we talk about it later? I really want to listen to this talk" Olive said patiently.
Adam sighed, earning another confused glance from Holden. Olive was happy to go out with this loser again. And the only thing saving Adam from having to witness it was the dean. It would not, of course, stop him from spending the rest of the talk overthinking Olive's dating plans.
He tried, he really tried to focus on Tom's presentation. It didn't help that he knew his research so well that there was nothing new he could learn from this talk. His mind kept drifting back to Olive. To the smart-ass girl he'd been pining after for over two years now. Who was too smart, too pretty and too charming for any of the loser grads Adam knew. Especially Langley.
Unfortunately for Adam, she was too pretty and charming for him. She was also too young. Not to mention, he was too intimidating and too old for her. So he had no choice but to keep his distance.
Jeremy tried to come up with more date ideas throughout the talk, pissing Adam off more and more with each cliché plan. olive seemed to be losing patience too, having to remind him each time that she trying to listen.
"This is so boring" Langley whined after a while.
"No, it isn't" Olive snapped immediately, impressing Adam. "Please, let me listen."
He knew she worked on pancreatic cancer, and he wasn't surprised that she found Tom's research interesting, but based on Adam's experience, she was always way too patient with her fellow grads, so her reaction was surprising. He wished he could get her to tell Holden off too.
"Hey, man, do you want to go for a drink tonight?" Tom asked as soon as Adam got home.
"Not tonight, sorry. I want to got for a run. We could go tomorrow?" he offered apologetically.
He knew he was a bad host for ditching Tom like that, but he was too deep in his own head to be a good company for his guest. Even after bolting out of the lecture room, Adam could not stop thinking about Olive and Jeremy. He spent the rest of his work day imagining them making plans for their next date, executing said plans, becoming official. When his brain offered him images of Jeremy kissing Olive, touching her, confessing his feelings, Adam knew it was time to leave.
"I thought you run in the mornings?" Tom asked, confused.
"Usually, yes, but... I need to clear my head, so-" he tried to explain.
"Okay, whatever. I'm going out then. Enjoy your boring jog I guess" Tom said, already reaching for his phone, likely to log in to his Tinder account.
Adam sighed, and went to change his clothes. He was looking forward to feeling tired and sore. To have his body focus on something other than his pesky thoughts. He only hoped that Tom would not bring his one night stand home tonight. Adam hated "guests" like this, especially since Tom had no interest in his dates in the morning.
🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️ OLIVE 🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️
"Kalamata, it's getting late" Malcolm tried to reason for the tenth time.
"I know! But if I quit now, I'll likely start making excuses each time I don't feel like running" she explained once more. It was getting exhausting. "I didn't run this morning. I can't not run. The park is well lit. I'll be fine."
Malcolm sighed, but stayed quiet. He was ready for a night in himself, so she wasn't surprised he couldn't understand her motivation to exercise at this time.
She grabbed her phone, AirPods, water bottle, and left her flat before Malcolm got another chance to try to convince her to stay.
After a few minutes of running, Olive started second guessing her decision. Yes, the park was indeed well lit, but the aura if the place did not make her feel safe. She put her airpods away, realising that she would much rather be able to hear her surroundings.
She was much too stubborn to give up, however. As much as she loved Malcolm, she knew that giving up now would only give him more ammo to be overprotective. Proving him right about the dangers of evening runs would make him act like even more of a safeguarding know-it-all. And she could not let that happen.
Olive sighed and picked up the pace. She could see a dark running figure on the other side of the park, which made her feel more confident. If that other person was confident to run around her at this time, then why shouldn't she?
For some reason that faceless runner made her feel safer than any random walkers she'd ran past so far.
She tried to focus on her breathing and avoid eye contact with any person she encountered.
"Hello beautiful" said one of two men approaching her down her path.
Olive looked down and moved onto the grass to avoid the strangers. Her sense of self preservation told her to ignore them.
"Hey! Come on, we're being friendly. Why are you running away?" The other one said as they began to jog after her.
She picked up the pace, but they were determined.
"Hey! Stop ignoring us!"
"Leave me alone please" she said weakly without looking back, and pushed herself to run even faster.
"It's rude to run from people making a polite conversation" the first man said and grabbed her elbow to stop her.
"Hey!" A deep voice boomed. A man, the same runner she'd observed minutes earlier, was dashing towards them. "Leave her alone."
She could feel the two men jump. He'll, even she shuddered at the sound of that voice.
"Who the fuck asked you?" One of the men, the one still holding onto Olive's arm, asked, though his voice lacked some of its confidence. "Who even are you?"
The unknown runner got even closer, stopping right in front of Olive, towering over all three people. It took her a moment to recognize the serious features of Dr. Adam Carlsen. He looked terrifying, killing the two men with his gaze.
Even droplets of sweat glistening on his forehead didn't take away any of the confidence and power he carried himself with. His black t-shirt wrapped around his strong body tightly enough to make his muscles obvious.
"I'll become your worst fucking nightmare if you don't let her go. Now" Dr Carlsen threatened quietly.
He didn't need to raise his voice anymore. The message was clear. One of the men stepped back immediately. The other one looked back and forth, unsure what to do, but then decided that he was not ready to face the intimidating jogger without his friend's support.
They both rushed away without looking back, leaving Olive alone with the infamous professor.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. The anger was gone from his voice, replaced with pure concern.
"I... think so. I may need a moment though. Thank you... for your help" she mumbled, finally allowing her body to process this whole nightmare. She leaned forward and rested her palms on her knees to steady herself. She took a few slow breaths to calm her heartbeat.
He took a step back and just waited, watching her without a word.
"Thank you again" she said after a long pause.
"You're welcome" he stated simply and offered her his black water bottle. Before she had a chance to respond, he retracted the offering. "I'm sorry. That was idiotic of me" he said sheepishly.
"How come?" She asked, genuinely confused.
"I'm a stranger, offering you a drink. I'm sorry. I really wasn't thinking straight."
"That's okay" she said, finally understanding his issue. She appreciated both the thought and the way he understood his mistake. "I'd happily take a drink from your bottle, if it wasn't so boring" she said, deciding to turn it into a joke. She needed to lighten up the mood to keep herself from thinking about the two creeps. She showed him her bright pink water bottle and earned a frown.
"I don't think the colour of a water bottle impacts the flavour" he reasoned with a raised eyebrow.
"It impacts the enjoyment" she said with a smile.
"I doubt it" he mumbled, but the corner of his mouth raised slightly.
"You should test it sometime" she recommended. "Though maybe not in a dark park with a stranger" she teased, but the moment the words left her lips, her mind god sent back to the scary interaction. Dr Carlsen tensed as well. "I think I should call it a day" she said quietly. "Thank you again."
"Wait. I... I don't know how to say it without sounding like a creep, but... would it be okay if I walked with you? Until we can both agree you're safe?" He offered, barely looking at her. "My name is Adam Carlsen. I'm faculty at-"
"I know who you are, Dr Carlsen" she said with a kind laugh. He was a biology hotshot. It felt ridiculous to hear him introduce himself so casually, with no proper titles.
"Oh... yeah, great!" He said without an ounce of pride in being recognized.
"I'm Olive. I'm in your department" she introduced herself too.
He eyed herself for a moment, a flash of what looked like disappointment appeared briefly in his gaze, but he masked the expression very quickly. Did he not like her name or something.
"Hello, Olive" he said kindly. "Why don't you message one of your friends to let them know I'm here? I would never mean any harm, of course, but I can imagine that it would make you feel safer around me knowing that someone is aware of my presence. I... I don't think I can just leave you here" he said and rubbed his neck. "God, I do sound like a creep" he murmured under his breath.
"You don't" she laughed.
His head snapped up quickly, making it clear that his last statement was not meant to be heard by her.
"That's very kind of you, Dr Carlsen. Are you done with your run?" she asked, feeling guilty about potentially cutting his run short. She did want to take him up on his offer. She didn't know him well, and the things she did know were not very positive, but... she felt safe around him here tonight and she was not ready to let go of that feeling just yet.
"I was planning on doing a few more laps, but... it is getting late, so-"
"Would you like to run together?" She cut him off.
He eyed for a moment, and then simply nodded.
"I think I should warn you now, I'm very competitive, and I need you to try and keep up, because I won't slow down for you" she teased.
"I don't think that will be a p-" Olive took off before he managed to finish the sentence.
She laughed when she heard him groan and take off after her.
🏃🏻♂️🏃🏻♂️ ADAM 🏃🏻♂️🏃🏻♂️
His body was full of anxiety and joy. Rage and ecstasy. The odd mixture of emotions was the last thing he'd expected from this jog.
The moment he saw those two monsters bothering that poor woman, Adam got furious, but when he realised that Olive was the woman, his heart stopped for a moment before he saw red.
The men's decision to bolt was the best for... everyone. He knew he would not be able to control his actions if someone tried to harm Olive in front of him. And the last thing he wanted was for Olive to see that side of him. To be scared of him.
And somehow... for some strange reason he did not end up in prison for murdering those two strangers. Instead, he ended up jogging behind this wonderful woman.
"My god, I can hear you pant from alllllll the way back there" she teased without looking back.
"You can barely say that sentence without wheezing" he pointed out, because yes, she was out of breath... and so was he.
The two laps turned into four and neither of them was ready to be the first one to call it quits. They teased each other throughout the whole run, making themselves laugh and run out of breath.
The thing that finally made them pause was Olive's phone.
She stopped to check her notification and gasped.
"I had no idea it got this late" she said waving her phone in front of his face to show him the time.
He was more interested in her wallpaper- a photo of Olive and another girl smiling widely to the camera. It was a lovely photo, she looked beautiful in it.
"I'm sorry" Adam said quickly. "We probably should have stopped a couple of laps ago."
"I've had fun" she said with a shrug as she typed a response to her notification. "Do you run here often?" She asked.
"I do... though I usually run in the mornings" he said and immediately kicked himself for his honesty. He would reschedule his whole daily routine to ensure Olive's safety during her jog... and now he had no excuse to do so.
"Oh, me too!" She said happily. "Maybe I'll see you around then" she said with a smile "though probably not tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll be regretting every single life choice that had lead me to doing tonight's run" she joked and walked towards the exit of the park. She kept glancing at him, which made him understand that she was still okay for him to follow her.
Adam genuinely hoped she meant her sore muscles, and not the creepy encounter. He didn't want her to be anxious tonight.
"Sunday?" He offered, trying to keep her on the more positive subject.
Olive smiled "I'll be here around seven."
"I'll see you then."
"I'll be the one with her back facing you, always five steps ahead of you" she teased.
"Smart-ass" he muttered under his breath, making her laugh.
"This is me" she said waving towards a row apartment buildings.
Adam stopped, understanding that this was where they were saying their goodbyes. He would not ask to walk her to her building. That would be overstepping. It would be creepy.
"I'll see you on Sunday" he said simply and stopped. "Have a good night, Olive."
🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️ OLIVE 🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️
"What took you so long?" Malcolm asked angrily as soon as she stepped through the front door.
"I did message you" Olive said defensively and waved her phone in front of her overprotective roommate's face.
"After I messaged you. I was worried, Kalamata" he said and hugged her tight.
"I was just running" she said quietly and hugged him back.
She would never tell Malcolm or Anh about tonight's issue. They would never let her run again.
"I need you to go back to your morning running routine" Malcolm ordered and yawned next to her year.
"Okay, mom" she joked and kissed his cheek.
She was more than happy to do just that. She could not wait to run with Adam again.