As Jemma Simmons sat in the vast library of Melinda May's School for Gift and Talented Students on the first day of her final year, she wondered why it had come to this. She never expected to be accepted to the school in the first place, and was delighted when she was as it was a dream come true to attend such a highly valued and appreciated facility. She was doing exceptionally well in her singing and music classes. She was one of the school's most successful ever students in her exams in her first two years at the school, and had been congratulated by Melinda May herself on more than one occasion. She was Jemma Simmons, Melinda May's shining star who was just starting her third year and had an incredible future ahead of her.
Yet there she was, angrily sat at a desk desperately trying to dry her notebook with a flannel. Jemma Simmons was nothing short of furious. Why had this happened to her?
She knew exactly why. Of course she did. Skye. It was always Skye.
She loved her roommate to pieces, of course she did, and ever since they had been paired together on the first day they'd become the closest of friends, but during that time Skye had also mastered the art of being a pain in the backside. While most students were dedicated to their studies, Skye managed to simultaneously do well in class and have a social life, something Jemma was never good at. With Skye's social life came her various romances.
At first, Skye went through a new guy every month or so. First there was Lance, then Antoine and then Mack. Then Grant Ward came along, and everything changed. With this guy, it was different. It took them a while to get together. Two years in fact, and Jemma had spent those two years trying to get them together. While she wasn't good at romance herself, she was dedicated to the love lives of her friends. Jemma had noticed how Skye smiled every time she said his name, or lit up like Christmas when he walked in a room or made up the worst possible excuses to visit him in his room.
"Skye, you're telling me that a snake bit you and you bet Grant seems like a 'snake expert' kind of guy?"
"…Absolutely."
Still, Jemma's numerous and exhausting attempts eventually paid off at the end of their second year, where she finally convinced Grant to ask Skye to the end of year ball and romance soon blossomed when a slow song played and they danced together and he finally asked her out. Playing Cupid had taken up all the sparse free time Jemma had for the past two years, leaving her with no time for romance herself, not that she was interested in romance right now; she had a career to focus on, and she couldn't see the point in romance.
"You just haven't met the right guy yet, that's all!" Skye would always tell her, but she just shrugged it off and got on with her studies.
In short, Jemma Simmons was a dedicated student and a dedicated friend, and was fully supportive of Skye and Grant's romance, which was still going strong by the time their third and final year at the school started. It was on the first day back, however, that she found a downside to their relationship. Having unpacked all of her things and sorted out her desk, Jemma had made herself a cup of tea with her own kettle ready to make a work schedule for the year ahead before heading off to quickly pick up her timetable from her tutor. When she returned a few minutes later, she found Skye and Grant sat on her desk. Making out. That was enough to irritate her, for Skye had her own desk on the opposite side of the room, but Jemma's fury came at the sight of her cup of tea, which had been knocked over and had soaked her notebook containing many songs she had written herself.
An angry outburst and the grabbing of a flannel later, Jemma rushed down to the library to get away from Skye and proceeded to desperately try and dry her notebook, eventually giving up and accepting defeat. Devastated, Jemma prayed that this would be the worst thing to happen to her this year. She was immensely proud of some of those songs, but they were lost forever. With a sigh, Jemma decided to just focus on work and booked out several books she thought she might need over the next few weeks.
Jemma walked out the library with a high stack of books in one arm and her phone in the other, rolling her eyes as she read the fourth apologetic text Skye had sent her. She knew being this stressed already without having had her first class yet was not a good start, and her distractive thoughts meant she didn't see the classroom door suddenly swing upon in front of her and knock her aggressively to the floor. Luckily there was no one around (they were probably all unpacking in their rooms) and all Jemma could hear, her vision impaired by her mountain of books, was an unfamiliar Scottish voice.
"Oh, bloody hell! I'm so sorry!"
The next thing Jemma knew, a hand had grabbed hers and pulled her to her feet. Dazed, she shook her head and got her bearings before looking down and seeing a young man picking up her books frantically.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there and-"
The boy stopped when he looked up and saw Jemma for the first time. Jemma wasn't sure how to react to this stranger. He had a plain white short-sleeved shirt on, the sleeves rolled up slightly, and light blue skinny jeans. She was immediately drawn to his red and white sneakers, comparing them in her head to the shoes David Tennant wore on Doctor Who.
"Uh, hi." The boy eventually mustered again. Jemma finally took the time to look at the boy's face. He had stubble, which she normally didn't like but it worked well, very well, on him, and his eyes were so blue they looked more precious than any sapphire could ever hope to look. Jemma thought he was cute, well, she probably thought he was much more than cute, but she was more distracted by the thought that she had never seen him before.
"…Hi." She replied. The two stood in silence for a few moments before the boy stood up and handed her back her pile of books.
"Sorry. I just went to get my timetable and I was reading it so I didn't see you there. I'm sorry. Are you okay?" The boy asked.
"I'm okay, don't worry. Happens to the best of us." Jemma smiled, trying to reassure the boy as he looking genuinely concerned for her and embarrassed for himself.
"Oh, good. Wasn't expecting that, the um, the English accent."
"Oh, right. I could say the same about you; it's been a while since I've talked to a Scotsman." Jemma replied, and the boy smiled.
"True, true. Are there many British people here, or are the rest Americans?" The boy asked.
"A small handful, but mostly American. It is an American school, I guess. So you're new then? First year?" Jemma asked.
"Oh, no. Third, but I just transferred from a school in Scotland. Melinda May said I could continue the course over here, so it's all good." The boy explained and Jemma nodded.
"Right. Well, I best be heading back to my room. I've got a roommate to deal with and sleep to get for my first lesson tomorrow." Jemma said, and was sure she saw a flash of disappointment in the boy's face for a moment.
"Yeah, of course. Me too. I'm, uh, I'm sorry again, for-"
"-Oh, don't worry about it. Well, um, enjoy your first day here!" Jemma said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I will. Thanks." The boy said as Jemma smiled and walked off. The boy brushed a hand through his hair and looked around awkwardly, readjusting his backpack. Looking down, he noticed a book on the floor he hadn't picked up, distracted when he got a look at the beautiful girl's face.
"Oh, wait, you forgot this one!" He shouted, picking up the book, but the girl was gone. He inspected the book closely and was shocked to find it was quite damp. He didn't want to be nosy and flick through it so just glanced at the cover, and was pretty sure he could make out the words 'Jemma Simmons'.
…
"I am sorry, Jem." Skye said glumly as she sat on her bed and looked up at a still very much annoyed Jemma standing in front of her.
"You know I'm fully supportive of you being with Grant, but I'd rather you not make out over my things when you had a perfectly sufficient desk five metres away from mine. My notebook was completely ruined. All of my own songs were in it, and now they're gone." Jemma said sadly.
"I'm so sorry. I'll go through it and try and work out what they all say." Skye said.
"I appreciate the offer, but I've lost it. It must've been when I got a door to the face." Jemma said.
"Some jerk slammed a door in your face?" Skye asked.
"No, it was innocent; he didn't mean anything by it at all. That's not even the point; day one and I'm down a notebook and cursed to always picture you making out with Grant when I use my desk. I hope a lesson has been learnt." Jemma said.
"Totally. You're the best, Jem. And I promise, this year is gonna be all about you. I'm gonna pay you back this year for everything you've done for me over the past two years." Skye said, determined.
"Well, you've gotten off to an excellent start with that goal." Jemma said sarcastically as she started to make a fresh cup of tea for herself and Skye. At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
"Is Grant back for another make-out session?" Jemma asked.
"I don't think so; he was gonna go back to his room and finally start unpacking." Skye explained. Jemma walked up to the door and opened it to find the boy from earlier standing before her.
"Oh, it's you." Jemma said, surprised.
"Yeah, hi." The boy replied with a smile. There was another moment of silence, which Skye took as a cue to leave.
"Well, I have no idea who you are, but I'm gonna go get something from the vending machine downstairs in case this gets awkward. Jemma here isn't good with human interaction." Skye said with a smile.
"And Skye here is a little too good with it." Jemma replied, looking at her desk and then at Skye. Who mouthed 'sorry' and made her way out. The boy took a few steps inside to let Skye pass, and Jemma caught her mouthing 'he's cute' to her as she left. Jemma rolled her eyes as Skye closed the door behind her, and her attention returned to the boy.
"Thought I'd return this." The boy said, handing Jemma her notebook.
"Oh, thank you very much. That's very kind. But how did you-"
"-Find you? I deciphered your name from the cover then asked around until someone knew where your room was. Practically everyone knows who you are, just not where. Apparently you're Melinda May's golden girl." The boy said with a smile, the Scottish accent coming through even clearer when he was being cheeky.
"Oh gosh, I hope people don't call me that." Jemma said, fiddling with her notebook.
"Wow, it dried out quickly." Jemma commented.
"Oh yeah, I put it on the radiator in my room for a bit. I hope you don't mind, but I took a look inside and had a go at working out what it said before. When you mentioned having a roommate to shout at I figured the soggy notebook was the reason for your anger." The boy explained. Surprised, Jemma flicked through the book and saw the boy had neatly written over every single song, and from what she could tell he had somehow managed to decipher everything perfectly.
"You're an incredible songwriter. Or if all of that is wrong, I am." The boy said and Jemma chuckled loudly with a wide grin, clearly pleasing him.
"No, I think it's all spot on. I never would've been able to do all of this. Thank you so much." Jemma said meaningfully.
"It's the least I could do after trying to smash your face in." The boy smiled. Jemma smiled back.
"Well, I really appreciate it."
"Good. I should probably get back to my room and unpack properly." The boy said.
"Yeah, okay. Well, thanks again, this was very sweet of you." Jemma said.
"No problem. My pleasure. Never stop song writing; you're really talented. I can see why you're May's golden girl." The boy said with a smile as he waved and walked out. Jemma waved back before sitting on her bed directly next to Skye's and flicked through her notebook again, noticing something extra written on the inside back cover.
'Thought you'd want these back; they're really good. Sorry again for nearly giving you a concussion. –Leo'
As she read the note, it finally occurred to Jemma that she had never learned the boy's name, but now she had. Leo. Her favourite star sign, though she was unsure as to why she thought of that. She read the note again, appreciating the neat handwriting and reflecting on how cute and charming Leo had been, smiling as she did so.
"Ho-ly crap." Skye said, standing at the open doorway. Jemma jumped.
"Skye, don't do that! You scared me!" Jemma shouted.
"Sorry, didn't mean to distract you from your daydreaming of Leprechaun Boy." Skye teased.
"He's Scottish, not Irish." Jemma corrected.
"Well, whatever he is, he's left a smile on your face. And I know that kind of smile when I see it." Skye said knowingly.
"What's the supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, Jem. Nothing at all. Just didn't expect your type to have a Scottish accent." Skye said.
"Oh, stop it, it isn't like that. Besides, what are the chances I'm going to see him again?" Jemma asked. Skye shrugged and sat at her desk, Jemma returning to look at her notebook. She wouldn't tell Skye, but for some reason she hoped the chances of her seeing Leo again were very high indeed.