A/N This was a Valentine's Day gift for tumblr user iaindetrashstecker, and the prompt was a webseries AU. This was loosely based off of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and even more loosely based off of Classic Alice (which are both amazing webseries that you should go watch right now, but you don't need to know what they are to understand the fic). Enjoy, and maybe leave some feedback?
November 26th, 2015
"This is weird," Jemma says, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
"It's okay," Skye reassures her as she sets up the tripod. "Just…talk to the camera as if it were a person."
"But it's not," Jemma responds matter-of-factly.
"Then talk to me."
"Okay," Jemma says, nodding vehemently. "Okay, I can do that."
Skye finishes setting up the camera, and a red light goes off indicating that she's started recording. "Ready whenever you are."
Jemma clears her throat. Alright. Let's do this. "I—" she begins, but trails off. She has no idea what to say.
"Start with your name," says Skye, as if reading Jemma's mind.
"Right," she pauses, focusing her attention on the camera. "My name is Jemma Simmons, and this is my video diary." After a brief pause, she looks up at Skye. "Was that good?"
"Yeah, keep going."
"So I like to pride myself on being smart," she starts, and swears she catches Skye rolling her eyes. "Science, writing, philosophy, logic puzzles…it all comes naturally to me. And as you can probably guess, I've always been good at school. But today, I got this." Jemma holds up a packet, looking at it as if it had just insulted her mother. "What is it, you may ask? Oh, nothing too terribly important, just an indication that I am going to fail at life!" Skye gives her a look from behind the camera and Jemma sighs.
"Isn't that a little dramatic, Simmons?" Skye asks.
"No," Jemma scoffs. "I worked my—am I allowed to curse in these?"
"Go ahead."
"I worked my ass off on this paper and for what? A B-? Is that what my life has come to?"
"Okay, a B is not a—"
"Hey!" Jemma interrupts, pointing her finger in Skye's direction warningly. "You are here to edit my videos, not criticize them."
"Yes ma'am," Skye grunts.
"Anyway, so after I received this…this monstrosity of a grade, I went to ask Professor May what I did wrong, and she said—"
"Wait!" Skye cuts her off, and Jemma sighs exasperatedly because she was just starting to get comfortable with this whole vlogging thing and now everything is ruined and she's nervous again because honestly, what made her think this was a good idea? Did she think she would get extra credit out of it? Or that Professor May would change her grade upon seeing these videos? Please. A second Pangaea would sooner happen. "I've got a script!" And Skye reaches into her bag and thrusts a paper at her while running to Jemma's closet and to search for what she assumes are props.
"Who wrote this?" Jemma asks as she looks over the lines.
"Shakespeare," Skye responds flatly. She returns with a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses. "Okay. You be you, I'll be May. Go."
"Oh. Alright…" Jemma clears her throat. "Professor May," she begins, looking up and trying not to laugh as she can see Skye giving her a very May-esque glare through her sunglasses. "I was wondering if you could explain why I got such a low mark on this?"
"To be quite frank, Ms. Simmons," Skye says in a stern voice, and Jemma can't help the loud laugh that escapes her lips.
"I'm sorry, that's just…wow, that is spot on!" She takes a second to compose herself, and then motions for her friend to continue.
"Although your analytical arguments are very strong, this essay lacks emotion."
Jemma looks up from the script and stares at Skye quizzically. "I'm pretty sure that was verbatim, how did you do that?"
"I may or may not have hacked into the security footage after you asked me to help you with these videos," Skye answers innocently.
"Anyway," Jemma says slowly, giving her best friend a sideways glance and ignoring the fact that she just admitted to illegal activity on a video for the entire world to see. "Professor," she continues reading the script. "Is there any chance that I can redo this? Or maybe get an extra credit assignment?"
"All grades are final, Ms. Simmons," Skye says harshly and Jemma has to hand it to her, she is really getting into it. "And besides, you should be happy. There are plenty of students who would love to be in your position right now. Maybe you'll learn from this and do better on your final exam. Boom. Nailed it. I deserve an Oscar." And with that, Skye returns to her place behind the camera. Jemma laughs and turns to face her.
"My editor, everybody." There's a second of silence, and then, "I don't know what to say now."
"Explain why you're here."
Jemma nods. "So my professor said that I needed to be more emotional, and that's precisely what I'm going to do. I've started this video diary to record my thoughts and feelings, and hopefully that will help me to be more…expressive on my final and ace that mother f—"
"Let's keep it mildly professional."
"Right. Anyway, until next time…" she trails off and then waves awkwardly, which is Skye's signal to turn off the camera. Once she does, Jemma lets out a sigh of relief.
"How was that?"
"Eh."
December 2nd, 2015
"Go."
"Okay, so I started reading Pride and Prejudice for my book club—"
"Lame!" Skye cuts her off from behind the camera, and Jemma spends a good five seconds glaring at her before she continues.
"And I have to say…I'm not seeing what the big fuss is about. My name is Jemma Simmons…and I kind of hate Jane Austin."
"Really?" Skye asks as she goes to sit next to Jemma. "I though you of all people would have loved that book."
"Are you serious? Do you know what the first lines are? It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Is that not the most sexist thing you've ever heard? I mean, I know period novels weren't exactly big on the empowerment of women but come on, must we be portrayed as prizes to be won?"
"Simmons," Skye says slowly, a smirk playing at her lips. "Do you have any idea what Pride and Prejudice is about?"
"Not exactly, no."
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Skye exclaims, letting out a loud laugh. "You're English, how do you not know this book?"
"Hey, now!" Jemma defends herself. "Let's not go stereotyping! That's like me claiming that you should know all about The Great Gatsby."
"It just so happens that I do," Skye replies airily, crossing her arms and raising her chin.
"Yeah? Well why don't you tell the viewers, then?"
"Oh," Skye says as she scratches her head, suddenly very nervous. "You know. It's about this dude. Named Gatsby. And, like…he's pretty great."
Jemma laughs. "Yeah, okay. Get out of the frame, you liar."
"Rude." Skye scowls at her best friend, but goes back to her position behind the camera.
"Anyway. Pride and Prejudice…not my cup of tea. In other news, finals are coming up and people have officially gone into panic mode. I've never been one for the whole studying until three in the morning thing, but still, who on earth wants to go through five straight days of test after test after test? However, it pays off because afterward, I get to go home!" She sighs longingly, staring off into the distance for dramatic effect. "Yes, that's right. I'm going back to England after the term ends, and I'm taking this nerd with me!" She pulls Skye back into the frame.
"I get to be the cute foreign girl!" Skye smiles widely.
"Neither of us can wait. But before we can worry about that, we need to pass all of our classes for the semester. So, until then…" she waves awkwardly and Skye sighs, clearly not impressed by her sign-off.
"You need a better outro," she says.
Jemma thinks for a moment, and then smiles and says, "Jemma out!" while moving her arms around in a ridiculous manner.
Skye stays silent, eyes wide and lips pressed together in an attempt to suppress her laughter. After a few seconds, she says, "We'll work on it."
December 9th, 2015
Jemma sits perfectly still, posture straight and face arranged in a wide, obviously fake smile. The light turns red on the camera and she begins. "It's that time of year again, folks! Unholy amounts of alcohol, terrible attitudes, contemplations of life choices, and if you listen closely, you can always hear at least one person on your hall crying. My name is Jemma Simmons, and finals week is upon us."
"Oh, don't act like you're so stressed out," Skye says somewhat bitterly. "You love exams!" Jemma wonders briefly if she should changed the title to The Jemma Simmons and Skye Johnson Diaries since she always has something to add to the videos.
"Okay, yes, it's true, I never get particularly stressed out, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I love them. They've just…always been easy for me."
"Yeah, because you're a certified genius."
"Am not!" Jemma says, laughing.
"Yes you are, Simmons. You got into Mensa when you were thirteen."
"I'm trying to be modest, Skye, geez."
"Right. I'll edit this out." They both know she won't. "As for us laypeople," Skye continues, moving to sit next to Jemma. "We're all freaking out, as anybody with an average IQ would." Skye glares at Jemma accusingly and she puts her hands up in an 'I surrender' fashion.
"I can't help the way I am! Besides, I'm worried, too!"
"About what?" Skye scoffs. "That you'll only get a ninety-nine percent on your tests instead of perfect scores?"
"No." Jemma crosses her arms and glares at her editor. Honestly, she can be so dramatic sometimes. "For your information, I'm rather nervous about Professor May's exam. After that…unfairly harsh mark I received the other week, I'm not so sure I'll do well on her test."
"Hey, I warned you not to sign up for her class!"
"Well, you shouldn't have," Jemma says quickly, suddenly getting the irrational thought that her professor might be watching. She looks straight into the camera and says, "Professor May's class is very insightful. I just wish her grading wasn't so..."
"Ridiculous?"
"I was going to go with the more off-color version of ridiculous, but yes, that works. Anyway, I have to cut it short today. I promised Skye I'd help her study for Biology. Until next time!"
December 16th, 2015
The video starts with Skye in front of the camera, looking, to put things delicately, rough. She has day-old makeup on, her hair clearly hasn't been brushed in a long time, her clothes are wrinkly, and her eyes are bloodshot from sleep deprivation. She has a look of absolute misery on her face, as if she's about to go into a fetal position and just give up at any moment. She sighs heavily. "My name is Skye Johnson, it's finals week, and I'm dying."
She takes a sip of coffee (no doubt spiked) before continuing. "I should probably be studying right now, but I think if I do, I'll die of boredom. Sorry Simmons, but I'm hijacking your vlog. Deal with it."
Skye looks over to the far corner of the room, where Jemma's bed sits. It's made neatly, and she looks for a moment like she's about to wrap herself in the warm, fluffy blanket like a cocoon and crash, but then she turns back to the camera. "Simmons is at dinner right now. She is the most obnoxious person during exams, so calm and collected and 'Oh, Skye,'" she starts in a terrible attempt at an English accent. "You're being too hard on yourself. Everything will turn out fine. Smashing! Crumpets! Blah, blah, tea!" She rolls her eyes dramatically and then lets her head hang for a brief moment. "Meanwhile, us normal people are going crazy with worry. Why?" She stares at the camera, as if expecting it to answer. "Because if we fail these tests, we fail out of school, and if we fail out of school, we fail out of life. That's just the way thing a—oh, hey, Simmons." She smiles innocently as Jemma walks in to the room, looking first at Skye, then to the camera, then back to Skye.
"What are you doing?" Jemma asks, suspicion clear in her voice.
"Nothing, just—"
"Taking over my vlog?"
"I was bored!" Skye defends herself.
"It's fine," Jemma assures her, "Saves me the trouble of coming up with a topic for this week."
"I'm talking about finals."
"Whatever Skye has said," Jemma begins, taking her coat off and sitting down. "I assure you that she's overreacting."
"And I assure you that she's underreacting." The two girls stare at each other briefly, and then, "Honestly, the only thing getting me through this week is Saturday."
"Saturday?" Jemma asks, confused, and then something clicks within her. "Oh, right. Saturday. England. Well, don't get too excited. We're just seeing some family."
"Yeah, but you said your cousin's friend was throwing some huge party and you know what that means…" she says, the stress of exams clearly forgotten, even if the relief is just momentary.
"Um…"
"Boys, Simmons! Cute, British boys!"
"Skye, there's no guarantee that any of them will be cute."
Skye slumps in her seat, groaning and rolling her eyes. "God, you are such a Debby Downer!"
"No," Jemma replies slowly. "I'm just a realist.
"Ugh. Fine. Whatever. End the video. I'm hungry." Jemma laughs and shakes her head.
"Alright, then. Until next time!" She waves, and the video ends.
December 23rd, 2015
The video opens in an entirely different setting—a bedroom with pale pink walls littered with posters of classic movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany's and How to Marry a Millionaire. There's a shelf full of every book imaginable, and that's not even the entire collection. Jemma is sitting on the cast-iron bed, a wide grin spread on her face. "As you can see, I have traded in the cramped quarters of my dorm for my amazing, spacious," she throws out her arms and twists around a little bit, just for emphasis, "childhood bedroom! God, it feels great to have breathing room! Right, Skye?"
"Oh, yeah," Skye responds from behind the camera. "Now I don't have to struggle to set the tripod up." Jemma laughs, looking around the room and sighing contently.
"My name is Jemma Simmons, and I am home for the holidays!" She takes a moment to fix her hair before continuing. "It feels so great to be back! This is the first time in two years that I've been able to find enough money for airfa—" She's interrupted by a loud ding, and Skye quickly apologizes as she grabs her phone and smiles as she reads her text. Jemma waits for her to finish writing her response before she continues. "Anyway, this is the first time in a long time that I've been able to come home and—" It happens again, and Jemma's eyes widen and lips press together, as if in an attempt to not growl at her editor.
"Sorry," Skye says with a goofy smile. "Continue."
"Okay…it's been great being able to see family and old friends and—" Skye laughs loudly and Jemma snaps, standing abruptly and moving out of the frame.
Though it's not shown, there's a clear struggle as there are several "ow"s and "give me the damn phone"s heard behind the camera. After a few seconds, Jemma comes back into the frame, dragging Skye by the hair and forcing her to sit down.
"That wasn't necessary." Skye glares at Jemma, massaging her head.
"Yes, it was. Now, tell the viewers what's going on."
"They don't care," Skye says, blushing.
"Yes, they do. I've read the comments, and most of them like you more than they like me. Now, talk." Skye just laughs. "Fine. You're not going to tell them? I will. My darling editor here—"
"Okay, okay!" Skye interrupts. "Fine. I'll talk. So as you may or may not remember from the last video, Simmons and I went to a party the other night, and, well…" she trails off and doesn't continue, so Jemma sighs and says,
"She met the host and it was love at first sight. The end."
"Hey!" Skye yells, slapping Jemma lightly on the shoulder. "It was not love at first sight."
"But…" Jemma says, a knowing smile on her face.
"But, there were some undeniable sparks," Skye admits, and Jemma beams.
"You heard it here first, folks. Skye Johnson is falling madly in love with a broody millionaire."
"Grant was not broody!" Skye defends, and Jemma quirks her eyebrow up.
"He admitted that he hates social interaction and the only reason he threw the party in the first place is because he lost a bet to Lance."
"Okay, so he's not exactly a social butterfly. So what? He's still adorable. Kind of like a really grumpy puppy."
"Oh, Skye, please!"
"What?"
"You're obsessed! I've never seen you act this way about a guy before!"
"Act like what?"
"You smile whenever his name is mentioned, you bring him up every chance you get, you're texting him constantly—and the way you flirted with him at the party!"
"What about it?" Jemma smiles mischievously, getting up and going to the closet where Skye's suitcase lays. "What are you doing?"
"You got to be me in the last video," Jemma says as she pulls out one of Skye's flannel shirts and puts it on over her blouse. "I believe this is what they call payback." She sits down and quickly puts her hair in a messy ponytail before clearing her throat and saying, in a shockingly good American accent, "So…you come here often? Oh, God, what am I saying? You live here. Man, this place is huge! Makes me want to sock-slide—have you ever sock-slid in here before? Oh, Grant, I just wanna—"
"We get it!" Skye interrupts before things go too far. "And it's not like you didn't meet anybody, either."
"What are you talking about? I talked to Lance the whole time."
"No. You talked to Grant's friend for a little bit. What was his name? Fitz?"
Jemma's face suddenly goes blank. "And, we're done."
December 30th, 2015
"Just tell them," Skye says as she moves to sit next to Jemma on the bed.
"Skye, it's really not that important."
"Yes it is, Simmons! Have you read your comments lately? Everybody wants to know!"
"Fine," Jemma says, sighing, then turns to the camera. "My name is Jemma Simmons, and I met a really obnoxious person the other night."
"Oh, come on, Fitz was not that bad!"
Smirking, Jemma adds, "Even more obnoxious than Skye."
"Hey!"
"You had it coming."
"Okay, whatever. So we got to Grant's party, and for the first hour we were kind of just awkwardly clinging to Simmons' cousin because we didn't know anybody else."
"Then Grant comes along to complain to Lance about how much he hates parties, and how he wished he could have done anything except this."
"And Lance was all, 'A bet's a bet, mate'."
Jemma turns to Skye and smiles. "Look at you! Your accent is improving more and more everyday!"
"It helps that I'm totally surrounded by it."
"Ah, yes. The wonders of the immersion method."
"Anyway…" Skye says slowly, giving Jemma a sideways glance. "Then Lance introduced us to Grant—"
"And queue the sock-slide conversation—"
"And then he introduced us to his totally decent, not obnoxious at all friend."
"Okay, you weren't paying attention to our conversation! While you and Grant were flirting up a storm, I was stuck in Awkward Land!" Jemma turns to the camera. "So Grant's friend, Fitz…he was just standing off to the side, not really interacting with anybody, so I tried to talk to him. Here," she says, handing Skye a script. "I think this will be better explained by dialogue. You," she grabs a checkered shirt and a striped tie and throws them at Skye, "can be our lovely new friend." Jemma holds up her own script, clears her throat, and begins. "So, how long have you been in town?"
"Um…Simmons? You didn't give me a line here."
"Right. Because he didn't say anything."
"Maybe he just didn't hear you?" she offers, though it's quite clears that she's doubting herself even as she says it. "Right. Continue."
"Do you…like the area?"
"Not really." Jemma sighs, lowering her script.
"No, he didn't say it like that. It was more…curt and dismissive."
"I'm sure he just felt out of place!" Skye says. "You said so yourself, he's new to the area, which means he probably doesn't know anybody."
"And a party is such a terrible place to meet people?"
"Okay, fair point."
Jemma smiles smugly. She pushes her script to the edge of the bed and her hand hits something hard—a book cover. She holds up her copy of Pride and Prejudice, which she'd tried to make headway into last night, but just couldn't get into it. "Huh," she says, laughing.
"What?"
"Figures. I meet an obnoxious, antisocial man at a party at the exact same time I'm reading a book about a girl who meets an obnoxious, antisocial man at a party."
Skye is silent for a moment, and then asks, "Simmons, how far are you into that book?"
"Not very, why?"
"Just…keep reading." And then Skye's phone goes off, and Jemma rolls her eyes because it's obvious who it is.
"Tell Grant you're in the middle of shooting a video and—"
"Dude," Skye cuts her off. "He just invited us to go to his house on the shore."
"Oh, really?" Jemma asks, leaning towards Skye to see the message, but she jolts away.
"Yeah. What do you say? You up for a no parents' weekend?"
"That depends," Jemma says slowly, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Who's going to be there?"
"Oh, you know," Skye says nervously. "You, me, him, Lance, maybe Bobbi if Lance wants to bring her…"
"And?" Jemma asks, crossing her arms. She knows what's coming and she's desperate to be proven wrong.
"And Fitz," Skye admits, and Jemma starts making excuses about how she's busy this weekend, but Skye won't hear it. "If you're really so desperate to avoid Fitz, just don't talk to him while we're there! It's the 21st century and there are about a million ways to pretend to occupy yourself with technology. Besides, Grant just texted me a picture of the place and it is huge. Maybe you won't even run into him!"
"Let me see that," Jemma says, grabbing Skye's phone from her. She stares at the screen, and then her eyes widen. "Whoa."
"See?"
Jemma sighs. "Well…I guess it could be fun."
Skye pumps her fist into the air. "Yes! Pack your bags, bitch! We leave in two days!" And then she kisses Jemma on the cheek and leaves the room, and Jemma is left laughing dumbfounded at the camera.
"Okay, so that happened." She wipes the lip gloss off of her cheek. "Until next time." And she waves.
January 6th, 2016
"So I've been looking through some of the comments that I've gotten lately, and some of you guys are really interested in my private life. Who are these boys you keep talking about?" she says in a ridiculous voice. "Why do we get names, but no faces? We want to see Grant!" Jemma pauses for a second and smiles. "Well. I wasn't going to do this, but after a lot of thought, I just couldn't resist. While we were at Grant's place over the weekend, Skye was shooting an Editing 101 video and then some adorableness happened and, well…" she trails off, trying to contain her excitement. "Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Jemma Simmons, and you are about to meet Grant Ward."
The video cuts to Skye sitting in front of the camera in a bedroom with beige walls and a beautiful view of the ocean from the window. "And then you just select what you want to cut, and—"
There's a knock on the door, followed by a, "Skye?"
Her eyes widen and she temporarily goes into panic mode, quickly fixing her shirt and running her fingers through her hair. "Come in."
The door opens, and a tall, stocky figure walks in. His head isn't in the frame yet, but Skye's blush and suddenly nervous energy makes it obvious who it is.
"Hey, I want to ask you so—are you…recording something?" He walks further into the room, allowing his face to be caught by the camera. He has a very military profile—rugged features and close-cropped hair—but there's a certain amount of warmth in his dark eyes that makes his sharp visage much less intimidating.
"Oh, yeah," Skye says. "It's just an editing thing for one of my classes. I'll cut this out later. What's up?"
"Right. I wanted to ask you something," he repeats, nervously running his fingers through his hair.
"Okay, shoot." A ridiculous smile forms on her face, and he mirrors her as he silently drops to one knee. Skye lets out a loud gasp.
"Skye Johnson," he begins, and Skye's eyes go wide because this can't seriously be happening. "I know I've only known you a short time—"
"Grant, what the hell are you—"
"But I can't help these feelings I have for you. I think about it every waking moment, and it drives me absolutely crazy. And I know this is insane, but I have to ask…" Skye desperately tries to stop the tears from forming in her eyes as he reaches into his pocket, but then he grins widely and pulls out a pair of socks, and says, "Will you sock-slide with me?" and she sighs in relief and begins laughing uncontrollably.
The video cuts back to Jemma's bedroom, and she yells, "Aren't they the most obnoxiously adorable people you've ever seen?" She sighs, laughing. "As for the rest of the weekend, it went very smoothly. I got to read some more of this," Jemma holds up her copy of Pride and Prejudice, "which, I have to admit, is kind of growing on me—guess I owe you an apology, Jane Austin. Lance managed not to piss off his girlfriend the entire time we were there—Bobbi, if you're watching this, you are way too good for my cousin—and Fitz? Well, what was to be expected from him other than sitting in the corner and refusing to partake in human interaction?" Jemma shakes her head. "Anyway, I'm sad to say that winter break is coming to an end and next time you see me, I'll be back at MIT. And that's assuming that I even make it out of here alive. Once Skye sees what I did, she'll try to kill me. Well, until then."
January 13th, 2016
"Well, I'm back! And the good news? I Aced Professor May's final! And I'm fairly certain that I have this vlog to thank for that. The bad news? I received a very unwanted "welcome back" gift yesterday." Jemma gives the camera a deadpanned look. "My name is Jemma Simmons, and guess followed me back to Boston?" Jemma laughs humorlessly. "Small freaking world! Yes, that's right, Leopold Fitz is the newest transfer student here at MIT, and our reunion was all kinds of awkward."
The camera cuts to Skye and Jemma sitting beside each other with scripts in their hands, and Skye is wearing the checkered shirt and striped tie again. "Jemma?" Skye says, and Jemma looks up at her with a shocked expression.
"Fitz! What are you…"
"You're here?"
"Yes…yes, I am. And you too, now, huh?"
"I guess so." There's a brief silence, and then Skye says, "I have to…class."
"Yeah. Bye."
The video cuts again, and Skye is back in her normal clothes. "That was kind of cute, actually."
"Please tell me you're joking."
"No! He was nervous, Simmons, he likes you!" Jemma laughs.
"Don't be ridiculous, Skye, he doesn't even talk to me."
"You ever think that maybe it's because he doesn't know how to?" Jemma glares at her editor, and she throws her hands up in silent surrender. "Right. Your video diaries, your views. I'll go back to hiding behind the camera."
"But wait! There's more!" Jemma yells after Skye's out of the frame. "He's in my Chem lab and we've been partneredtogether for a project! Isn't that just so fantastic? We get to start working later this evening, oh happy days!"
"Hey," Skye says, sitting down next to Jemma again. "Grant just asked me to dinner. I think I'm going to head out. You okay finishing up by yourself?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Jemma says, and Skye grabs her purse and leaves the room. "Forgot to mention that. Fitz isn't the only one who was on the plane back to Boston. Grant's promotion at Stark Industries allowed him a transfer to anywhere in the Northeast, and guess where he chose?" Jemma lets out an excited squeal. "They're just so cute, I can't stand it! In other news, I've recently started to—"
There's a loud knock. "Jemma," a voice says curtly from the other side of the slightly ajar door.
Her eyes widen. "Fitz?"
January 20th, 2016
The video starts with both girls in front of the camera, arguing loudly. "Come on, Simmons!"
"No."
"Everybody wants to know what happened!"
"It doesn't matter what happened!" She turns to the camera and says, "Nothing happened!"
"Look," Skye opens her laptop and points to the screen. "See that? Your views have gone through the roof since your last video, and they'll only go up more if you show them what happened!"
"I didn't start this video diary because I wanted views, Skye, I started it because I needed more practice with showing emotion. Not that I don't love my viewers," she says suddenly, turning to the camera. "I'm so grateful for all of you. But, unfortunately, I can't show you what happened after my last video. It just doesn't seem right to invade his privacy like that." She turns towards Skye and says, "Can we please just do that Q&A thing we talked about?"
Skye sighs. "Fine."
The video cuts again, and it's Skye sitting alone in front of the camera in her own dorm room. Her arms are crossed and she has a smirk on her face. "I think Simmons forgets sometimes who's really in charge of her videos. She claims that she won't show what happened between her and Fitz for privacy reasons, but that didn't stop her from keeping the footage with me and Grant. My name is Skye Johnson," she smiles sweetly into the camera. "And this, my dear Simmons, is payback."
The video cuts back to Jemma's dorm room, with her in front of the camera looking like she just got caught in the middle of a murder and a figure standing at the door.
"You're early," she says.
"Am I?" Fitz asks at the door, holding his wrist up to check his watch. "I thought you said 5:30."
"No," Jemma responds. "No, I said 6:30."
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I'll just—"
"No, it's okay," she says, turning towards him. "You're already here and there's no point in sending you away if you're only going to come back."
"Are you sure?" he asks.
"Yes. Please, come in." He closes the door behind him and walks closer to the frame, giving the camera a good view of his blue eyes and golden curls, and his shirt that in no way matches his tie.
"You were in the middle of something," he says, pointing at the camera and sounding rather guilty.
"Oh, no," Jemma says quickly. "It's just a little project for another class. I'll finish it later."
"Whoa," he says, eyes going wide. "That is a really nice camera. Is that the new Canon?"
"Um…I guess? It's Skye's, I'm just borrowing it for my project." She pauses, and then says, "I didn't know you were a camera enthusiast," with a slight smile.
"Oh, um, yeah." He laughs a little. "Just an old habit. Before I started making my own inventions, I would take cameras apart and put them back together."
"Inventions?" she repeats, shock clear in her voice. "You have inventions?"
"Yeah," he responds, digging into his bag and bringing out some blueprints. "Actually, I was thinking we could use one of them for our project. This," he says, spreading the paper out on the desk in front of them, "is the design for a non-lethal gun. The only problem is, I can't think of anything to use for the bullets."
Without missing a beat, Jemma says, "Dendrotoxin."
"Dendrotoxin?" he repeats. "Isn't that extremely poisonous?"
"It can be," Jemma responds, reaching under her seat to grab her laptop, "if given large amounts. But if one uses, say, 0.1 microliters—"
"It should only cause the victim to be unconscious for a few minutes," he finishes for her. "That's brilliant, Jemma."
"Yeah, well," she says, blushing. "I'm not the one who designed the gun, am I?"
"We make a good team, it seems." He smiles at her, and her blush becomes even brighter.
"Yeah. I guess so."
The video cuts, yet again, to Skye in her dorm room. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is nerd flirting."
January 27th, 2016
"I'm not apologizing," Skye says from behind the camera. "The viewers deserve to know what happened. You showed Grant, it's only fair that you show Fitz, too."
"Still, you could have warned me."
"You would have murdered me."
"Would not have!" Jemma exclaims, laughing. If she had any intention of scolding Skye further, her wide smile covers up the evidence.
"Oh, please, I don't doubt you have, like, a million untraceable chemicals you can kill me with."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I would use them on you!"
"Yeah, sure. But that still doesn't change what happened between you and Fitz."
"Fine," Jemma says, grin being replaced by a much more serious expression. "My name is Jemma Simmons…and I think I owe Fitz an apology."
Skye laughs as she moves into the frame. "Was that so hard to say?"
"No…" Jemma says. "I just…I didn't expect any of that from him. Our first meeting was so awkward, and then he barely talked to anybody that weekend at the shore, I…I thought I had him all figured out. But Fitz, if you're watching this," she takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I misjudged you." Jemma turns to Skye and rolls her eyes as she takes in her wide, obnoxious grin.
"Aw," she drawls out, and Jemma pushes her playfully. "What? You can't deny it, there was definitely some chemistry going on between you two!"
"No, Skye," Jemma replies in a warning tone. "We're just lab partners."
"Uh huh," Skye says, crossing her arms. "Well your 'just lab partner' is here, so excuse me." She smiles and stands, making her way towards the door. "Hey, Fitz," she says on her way out.
"Skye," he replies, giving her a slight wave. Jemma turns towards him and he smiles. "Hey, ready to go?"
"Yeah," Jemma says, turning back towards the camera. "Just let me rap this up." And she gets up to turn the camera off.
"Oh, are you still on that video project?" Jemma stops just as she's about to press the button. She sits down and sighs.
"Actually," she says as she stares at the camera, resolution in her tone, "there's something I need to show you."
The video cuts to them sitting behind Jemma's laptop. Fitz's eyes are wide and unblinking as he stares at the screen and she's looking at him with an expression full of fear and regret. He whistles. "Wow."
"Yeah," she says, shutting her laptop.
"And that's what you're doing right now?" he asks, pointing at the camera.
"Yes."
"And our current conversation is going to go on the internet, for thousands of people to see?"
"That's correct."
There's a pause, and then, "Do I really dress that terribly?"
"Mhm."
February 3rd, 2016
"Well, I'm sure you're all wondering what happened after the last video," Jemma begins, "and the answer is…nothing. He was surprisingly okay with it, which was a huge relief because I was convinced that if he ever stumbled upon these, he'd brutally murder me. Guess that's just another example of me sucking at character judgment. My name is Jemma Simmons, and welcome, new viewers. And by new viewers…I mean Fitz." She laughs, shaking her head.
"In case any of you are wondering, no, Skye is not here today. She and Grant are on a Valentine's Day date since he has a business trip coming up and is going to be away on the 14th. So apologies, dear viewers, but it looks like you won't be getting your daily dose of snark.
"In other news, not only did Fitz and I get an A on our project, but Professor Coulson thought it was so good that he wants to pitch it to some of his connections that he has in the science world. Both of us are very excited, even though we've run into some slight…issues along the way."
The video cuts to Fitz sitting in front of the camera, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "Now come on, Jemma, there's no need to bring the internet into this."
"Yes, there is, because you won't listen to reason otherwise," she responds, sitting next to him. "You want to tell them why we're here?"
"Because you're a stubborn control freak," he responds, smiling stupidly, and earning himself a slap to the back of the head. "Hey! Fine, okay. As you may or may not know, Jemma and I are building a prototype for our non-lethal pistol—"
"And he wants to call it the Night-Night Gun," she finishes, laughing. "Is that not the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard?"
"Well, do you have any bright ideas, little Ms. Mensa?"
"No, not at the current moment," Jemma admits. "But anything is better than that."
The video cuts back to Jemma in the present, laughing. "Despite his lack of ability to name his inventions, I can honestly say that it has been an absolute pleasure working with—" She's cut off by her door slamming open. "Fitz! Are you okay? What are you—"
"Have you checked your emails lately?" he asks breathlessly, moving to sit down next to her.
"No, what's wrong?" Fitz laughs.
"Nothing is wrong. Absolutely nothing is wrong, Jemma, Coulson showed our prototype to his contacts at S.H.I.E.L.D. and they love it!"
"Are you kidding me?" she yells, laughing.
"No, I'm not. They want it, Jem, they want us. They want us to start working in their labs next month!"
"Oh my God, that's amazing!"
And then she kisses him. She grabs him by his stupid shirt that doesn't match his stupid tie and she kisses him. And he doesn't react—he doesn't seem to know how. He just sits there, eyes wide as she moves her lips on his.
She stops just as quickly as she starts, though, and runs her fingers through her hair as she tries to comprehend what she just did. Meanwhile, Fitz is staring at the camera in shock, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "I'm sorry," she says. "I'm so sorry, Fitz, I didn't…I got caught up in the moment and I wasn't—" He doesn't let her finish. He moves towards her, places one hand on her cheek and the other on her hip, and he presses his lips to hers.
This time they both have time to process what's happening, and neither of them can find any reason to pull apart. She smiles into the kiss, placing her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. After a moment she starts laughing, and he pulls away and asks her what's wrong.
"Nothing," she reassures him, playing with the curls at the nape of his neck. "I just…I thought you hated me."
"And you claim to be a genius," he breathes out and leans towards her again, but she puts her hand on his chest to stop him.
"No, I mean when I first met you. You wouldn't talk to me. I thought you hated me," she says softly, leaning her head against his forehead.
"Jemma," he says, placing his hand underneath her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I would never dare hate you." Then he pulls her in for a quick, chaste kiss.
"Then why—"
"I heard you talking to Lance at Grant's party—about your studies and your passion for Biochemistry. And it was like my brain short-circuited. You're so brilliant, Jemma, and I had no idea how to talk or act around you."
Jemma laughs and shakes her head. "God, I'm such an ass."
"Oh, don't say that."
"No, Fitz, I really am," she says. "I judged you without even knowing you. I will never stop being sorry for that."
"We're past that, now." He says, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear before kissing her again. She smiles and deepens the kiss, moving her hands to the front of his shirt to start working on the buttons, but he pulls away from her suddenly and she makes the most ridiculously whiny noise she's ever heard.
"Jem?" he asks in a low voice.
"Hm?"
"The camera's still on, isn't it?" he asks against her lips. Her eyes widen and she whips her head around to find the red light still on, and she laughs loudly and moves to turn it off.
February 10th, 2015
"So I've been giving this a lot of thought," Jemma says, nervously playing with the sleeve of her cardigan, "And I've realized that there are going to be a lot of big changes happening in my life, and that means I need to make some heartbreaking decisions. My name is Jemma Simmons…and this is my last video." She pauses briefly to wipe the tears from her eyes, hoping to God that Skye will edit it out.
"God, this sucks," she says, "I've grown attached to this video diary, and I absolutely hate the fact that I'm stopping it. And I know that it's been such a short ride, but a lot has happened in the last few months and a lot will be happening in the next few, and I need to figure out my life without feeling like I have an obligation to share it with the world.
"Some final points about the life of Jemma Simmons and those involved," she says, sounding much happier now. "I'd like to make it clear that just because Fitz and I are going to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't mean we'll be abandoning our degrees. We've set up online courses with all of our professors, and if all goes well, we'll have our bachelors' by December.
"Skye will be taking a very similar path. She has an internship at Stark Industries in New York set up starting in the fall, and she'll be moving there with Grant, who got yet another promotion—which gave him enough money to buy her a very fancy ring. We were all a little worried at first, after all they've only known each other for a few months, but…I think they'll be just fine.
"And as for me and Fitz…" She can't help the smile that forms on her face. "We're still figuring things out. It's a weird situation, and we're still in the process of getting to know each other, but things are looking very optimistic." The door creeks open, and her smile grows even wider. "Speaking of," she says, turning towards him.
"Hi," he greets, kissing her on the cheek and sitting next to her. "You making another video?"
"Yeah," she replies. "My last one, actually, I, um…I'm going to stop vlogging. For a while, at least."
He nods slowly and takes her hand. "Okay. If you're sure this is the right decision."
"I am," she says, and she turns to the camera with a sad smile. "Well…" she chokes out, squeezing Fitz's hand for support. "I guess this is goodbye."