-HEAD CANON SERIES-
I've realised that no one really asked for this prompt but I've written it down for myself... XD.
Hope you guys like it..
The Prompt was #22- Journey.
Thanks to my Beta StarryDreamer01 who helped me edit this.
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN AGENTS OF SHIELD.
-:-
Leo Camden Fitz was fourteen when he graduated from college, the youngest in the history of Knightswood Secondary School, in the outskirts of Glasgow.
The headmaster had wanted him to give the end of the year speech but he refused. He asked to take the final exams alone, not with the 5th year classes and then to just send his diploma home. The man had eyed him warily but had accepted: he had known Leo's father and was somehow more tolerant towards him.
Leo didn't want to attend any ceremony. Not when his elder brother would be among the group of eighteen year olds that were graduating. Not when his brother's friends would be there as well.
If he had been bullied for the simple reason of being in their classes, for being in their school, as they called it, what would they do if he was at their graduation ceremony?
He didn't want to think about it...
Secondary school had been hell for him and the main reason had been Bryce and his friends. The subtle bullying, the intimidations and the loneliness that he had been forced to endure was breaking him down.
His family didn't know anything about his decision until the diploma came home, weeks before the graduation ceremony. He had gone to classes despite not needing to do so and usually spent most of his time in the library, working on his laptop or tinkering with his inventions.
Alison had actually shouted at him for keeping them in the dark and for not wanting them to celebrate him. He had smiled and shrugged it off, explaining that it was just school and it wasn't important. He was already thinking of uni: he had been sending applications to every university in Britain, except for the one in Glasgow. He wouldn't endure more years shared with Bryce and his friends.
He wanted to study engineering. Mechanics and electronics were his field of competence and he had known that ever since he was a toddler, clumsily putting together the pieces of his toy cars.
He wanted to be like his father. Even if he wasn't there, Leo wanted to make him proud.
Bryce had glared at him. When he told him that he wouldn't be at the ceremony, Leo saw his brother's shoulders sag a little in relief and then his mouth quirk in a smirk.
"You used your brain correctly for once," he said so that only Leo could hear. "Good."
His blue eyes, colder than Leo's, didn't have a hint of emotion as he spoke to him. That single word hadn't been a praise: it was meant as an insult.
And yet, some part of Leo's heart had accepted it, the part craving for attention and that (still) loved his brother took that word and treasured it.
The rational part of his mind just scoffed and told him that he was being ridiculous.
His mother had eyed him with concern and when his brother and sister had left for school and university, she had wheeled towards him and pulled him in a hug.
"My dear little boy," She said, her words thick with emotion. "I am so proud of you. Don't you ever forget that. I would have been happy to celebrate your new achievement."
Leo nodded, wrapping his arms, slowly and awkwardly around his mother's shoulders as he bent down towards her. His throat constricted with emotion and words were about to tumble from his mouth, unrestrained: about how he was glad that she was proud of him, about his dreams and about making Dad proud. Then about his fear of leaving home for uni, about his loneliness but his hand brushed the metal bar of her wheelchair and everything drained out of him.
"Thank you, Mum," he whispered and stood up, leaving the living room and going up to his room.
He locked the door and slowly sank down on the ground, a sigh escaping his lips as he hugged his knees.
It was his fault. Everything that had happened six years ago was his fault.
Had he not gone to that science fair, had he not badgered his father and mother to enter it, they wouldn't have been in the car, on that street.
There wouldn't have been any accident with a lorry.
His father wouldn't have died.
His mother wouldn't have hurt her spine and lost the use of her legs. She wouldn't be trapped in a wheelchair.
His family wouldn't be as shattered as it was now.
Alison wouldn't need to work while attending uni; she wouldn't look so tired and worn. She wouldn't be trying so hard to make everything seem normal and smile.
Bryce would be his elder brother. He wouldn't hate him.
But it had happened...and it was Leo's fault, just like Bryce had repeated, shouted and cried out to him so many times in these years.
He had to leave. He had to escape and leave his family behind. He had to leave and let them heal and start to live. Again.
He dropped his head on his knees and he allowed his tears to fall.
When they got a letter from London, days later, his mother looked confused. Confusion that turned to surprise when she saw that the letter was for him.
Leo tore the envelope carefully, and saw that it came from the Education Department. His heart thumped in his chest as he unfolded the letter.
Could there have been an issue with his graduation? Maybe there was a rule -a law- that didn't allow fourteen year olds to graduate so early. Something that would force him to stay here.
He scanned the letter quickly, reading the words as his eyes widened.
When he looked up, he saw his mother and sister staring at him and his brother throwing a curious glance at him over his mug of tea.
"It's from the Education Department in London," He said slowly. "The Secretary of State wants to speak with Mum and see me." He swallowed dryly. "I've been offered a scholarship... in America."
-:-
Jemma Catherine Simmons was fourteen when she graduated from King Ecgbert School in Sheffield, the brightest mind to enter the hallways and the youngest to leave them.
The school's headmistress met her parents months before graduation to announce that Jemma was eligible not only to graduate early -given her perfect grades- but also to give the final speech.
Her Mum and Dad had looked elated and proud of her achievements but were surprised when she refused to give the speech, claiming that talking to an audience made her jittery.
Her parents had looked at each other in confusion but backed up her decision despite the headmistress' coaxing.
On the way back home, her Mum tried to get the true reason behind her refusal. After a few minutes of denial and claiming that she did get jittery when she was talking to crowds -though they all knew that Jemma had never talked to an audience- she sighed and just confessed.
She didn't want to stand and talk in front of all the students -boys and girls that had ignored her, shunned her for years- telling how wonderful her school years had been while they really had not.
Her parents didn't say anything and didn't question her further but she didn't miss the concerned glance they exchanged.
She hated herself for telling them. She really hadn't meant to be so blunt... but everything was slowly getting to her.
Her high school experience was over: once she got her diploma (she didn't even question the fact that she would get through her exams), she would be done with it.
She didn't have to face that loneliness, keeping a smiling façade again.
Her parents knew of her solitude, of course. It had been a constant in all of her school years.
Having skipped years and being the youngest in the school -always the youngest- had led her to be isolated. Her classmates never felt comfortable enough to be around her. Many just taunted or ignored her: she was just a little girl -the genius freak- to their eyes.
The few that were decent enough to attempt to talk to her, never thought about talking to her more than necessary. It was like having acquaintances, not even classmates.
But Jemma had long learned how to deal with this solitude.
It had hurt at the beginning when she was younger and wanted to have friends. She had tried to mingle with her classmates, tried to talk to them or join their conversations.
She had tried so badly at the beginning but after countless uneasy smiles, taunting smirks and snide retorts, she stopped.
Rather than trying to be accepted by them and hurting because they didn't, she decided that she could do without them.
She kept up her smile and cheery attitude despite the wrecking loneliness she felt and just poured her heart and mind into her studies. She didn't want her parents to worry.
She had started to look through University pamphlets, studying the syllabus for the biochemistry courses. She wanted to study about nature, human beings and life itself. She wanted to know everything about it.
If she was bound to be alone, isolated for her intelligence as though it was some mortal virus, she would just adjust to that. For now.
Her natural optimism was wavering but it hadn't disappeared. Not yet.
She still had a sliver of hope that she might meet someone that could understand her...
Her graduation ceremony had been a quiet business. As quiet as her family allowed it.
She was lining up with the Year 11s to get her diploma, the shortest among the crowd of towering seventeen year olds. When her name was called, there was applause -a polite applause from the crowd- and she heard a cheer coming from the section where her parents and grandparents were.
The smile that tugged her lips was real as she walked forward to take the roll of paper that allowed her to leave the school.
Her tangible memory of the ceremony was the graduating class photo that the school took every year. That was the only picture she had of her graduation besides the shot of her with the diploma in hand and smiling taken by her father.
It didn't bother her that she didn't have friends to take pictures with. She wasn't surprised that it stopped hurting now...
When the Simmons' received a letter from London, they were all surprised. Elaine and Jeremy were doctors -she a neurologist, he a surgeon- but neither had any friend or acquaintance in the City.
Their surprise then turned into bewilderment when they learned that the letter came from the Education Department and was for Jemma. They were all called to meet the Secretary of State regarding a scholarship that she was being offered. One at MIT.
Jemma was torn between elation for the given opportunity of studying abroad in one of the world's most prestigious schools and terror of leaving her parents.
Her mother and father seemed to share her sentiments but they agreed to go and talk with the Secretary and then decide.
It was only on the way to London, two days later while in the car, that Jemma noticed a few lines written on the back of the letter - she had ignored them thinking that it was only signatures and dates- where it was stated that the scholarship was for two students.
Jemma smiled uncertainly. Maybe... it could be someone like her?
-:-
Alison Fitz drove calmly, fingers drumming against the steering wheel to some random song that came from the radio.
Her brother Leo was sitting next to her in silence, his gaze going from the open book on his lap to the whizzing landscape outside the window.
Her mother was in the back, looking outside the window pane herself, dropping a question every now and then to keep her company but keeping quiet most of the time.
It was a long trip from Glasgow to London: six hours by car, counting the occasional stops for fuel and for her to walk and shake the cramps from her legs. They had left very early to get to the Education Department shortly by noon.
Car journeys were very rare in her family nowadays. Short trips were all they did and she was the one that took the car the most. Whenever they had to take the car for new places, there was a lingering tension in the air.
Cars and driving were a sore subject ever since her father died.
Alison had taken her licence two years ago and had managed to buy this car with her savings when she realised that she needed a vehicle to get her home after her night shifts at the pub in Glasgow. She couldn't ask her boyfriend Alec to pick her up whenever she missed the last bus or train.
Alec would say that it didn't matter – he hated when she had to take the bus at night- and would likely come to pick her up after every shift had she allowed him but she didn't.
They both had Uni, work and family duties. Whenever they weren't at class or doing an exam, they were at work: she at the pub, he at the restaurant. The two places weren't even remotely close to each other and their timetables were often so different that going or leaving together was impossible. When they weren't in either places, they would be home to do the chores or, if they were lucky enough, they could see each other.
With her mother on a wheelchair and his father suddenly without a job, finding time for themselves was getting harder and harder. The fact that Alec offered to drive her even though he could be at home, maybe resting and not thinking, just made her appreciate and love him more.
He had been supportive for her to get a car. Not abrasive as Bryce or aghast as Leo.
Both her brothers, for once agreeing on something, had vehemently protested on her getting a car. She had argued with Bryce and talked heatedly with Leo but it had taken their mother's intervention to put some sense into the boys' thick skulls.
She knew that they loved her and worried for her but this concern was ridiculous. They just had to be rational and realise that, unfortunately, accidents could happen any moment whether she was careful or not.
They couldn't shelter her and their mother in a glass bubble forever...
Their father was a mechanic and one of the most careful and prudent people she had known. And yet a lorry had crashed their car and he had died and their mother got hurt.
It wasn't his fault: it just happened,
Alison blinked quickly and forced her thoughts away from the accident and her father. The wound in her heart was still there, half healed and with scar tissue on it but aching.
She looked at her mother from the rear-view mirror. Her face was serene but there were small lines by her eyes. Her long brown hair was tied in an elaborate braid but she could see the growing number of grey lines in it. Her blue eyes, so full of laughter when Alison had been a child, now held a constant solemn and melancholic glint.
Alison often wondered how her mother dealt with all of this. On her own.
Being alone without her husband who had been ripped away from her too early. Having to deal with two teenage sons who loved her but couldn't get along and were both dealing with the absence of their father. Having to deal with the looks of pity that strangers would give her when she moved in her wheelchair.
Alison realised that she dealt with most of these things too but she had Alec to hold her together. She had him since she was sixteen and somehow he never left her side despite her frustrations and venting and tears.
Alison had never cried in front of her family since her Dad passed away. Actually, none of them had ever cried again. They had all bottled up their pain.
Leo had entirely retreated into himself.
She glanced at him. He was looking out of the window, curly hair a bit mussed and messy despite all their attempts -his, hers and their mother's- to keep them in place and blue eyes solemn.
Alison felt a little twist in her heart as she remembered how those eyes were joyous when he was a child. Her brother used to be a happy little kid, full of enthusiasm in learning and creating things with the metal scraps their father would bring home from the mechanic shop.
It all stopped when he was eight and Dad died.
Something snapped inside Leo; whether it was grief or Bryce accusing him of being the reason of Dad's death, she didn't know but Leo had changed thoroughly.
As she looked at him now, she realised that he had forced himself to grow up, turning into an adult when he was barely fifteen. There was a tension in his stance and eyes that no kid should have.
He had always been brighter than everyone else and had prided himself of it. As a kid, he would grin and show off a little when he got good grades or won a cup at some science fair.
She supposed he still did pride his intelligence since he studied and got top marks. He still built things and tinkered in his room. He had just received an offer to MIT and he looked very keen to accept it.
But he didn't show any happiness or emotion towards his achievements. He looked almost wary of himself now. He had decided to not tell them that he had graduated from high school: it seemed that he didn't value his worth any more.
And he was lonely. He didn't have any friends or peers to talk to.
Alison wasn't blind and knew that Bryce had something to do with it. Her brother had grown bitter after their father's death and that little bit of jealousy towards their youngest sibling who had shadowed him, unknowingly, while they were in the same classes, had grown into a simmering hatred.
After Dad's death, Bryce had blamed Leo and her youngest brother looked as though he was truly believing that it was his fault.
Alison didn't know what to do. And neither did their mother.
They both knew that Bryce was still mourning and that he cared for Leo, somewhere in his heart but he didn't show it. Like today, when he refused to go with them to London and headed off to school with his friends.
The quick flash of hurt in Leo's eyes had hurt her as well. Leo still hoped that Bryce would go back to be the older brother with whom he used to play as a child.
Alison sighed softly.
If Leo left for America, alone, would he be alright?
He was just a kid...
And he would be in Uni with older students, people her age. Would they shun him as much as he was shunned here?
That was what worried her the most.
It almost overshadowed the thought that she wouldn't see her little brother every day...
Alison blinked again and looked at the road signals.
"We're almost there," She announced and turned to Leo. "Nervous?"
Leo shook his head.
"Not yet," He confessed, looking at her and cracking a small smile for a second. Alison smiled.
Those little twitches of his lips were the most she could get out of him but they warmed her heart nevertheless.
As she drove on and figured out the way to get to the Education Department, Alison wondered if she would get to see her little brother smile, really smile, once again.
-:-
Jeremy Simmons parked the car close to the College Gardens. It was a sunny day -quite rare- and there were more people than usual in the park.
It was early. They had left Sheffield almost three hours ago and the trip had been quick despite the traffic and sudden rain. Their appointment with the Secretary of State was at noon and it was almost half past eleven now.
Elaine and Jemma were waiting for him to lock the car and go to the building where they were awaited. He smiled slightly at the excitement that was radiating from his daughter.
Jemma had been leafing through MIT's course guide during the car trip: she had been studying the booklet for two days, ever since they received the letter.
He felt a little wave of concern at the thought that Jemma -small, almost fifteen year old Jemma- might be leaving for America without them. His wife shared his concern: they had talked about this alone. As much as they were proud and elated for her achievements, the thought that their daughter would be leaving on her own left them unsettled.
They both wondered if letting her leave since she seemed very keen to accept this scholarship was really the right thing to do. Or was it right to let her go, let her walk into the brilliant future her mind would take her even though it meant being away from them?
Jeremy felt a little piece of his heart break at the thought of not seeing Jemma's smile every morning and hearing her voice greet him.
But then again, children were meant to grow and leave home to follow their dreams and build their future. Jemma just started earlier.
The Simmons' walked to the Education Department and when Jeremy spoke with the man at the reception, asking for information about the office where they had the appointment, he was told that the Secretary had called, apologizing for a sudden delay in a meeting he had and would be coming an hour later.
"So…" Jeremy asked looking at his girls. "Shall we eat something now since lunch will be delayed as well?"
"Yes, let's get something to eat quickly there," Elaine said, pointing to a small café nearby. "A sandwich and a cuppa will do."
Jemma nodded at her mother's words and they headed off to the café. They had a quick meal sitting outside at the tables as they admired Westminster Abbey bathed in sunlight.
Jeremy checked the time and saw that they still had forty five minutes left. He glanced at Jemma and saw her looking around, eyes darting between the crowd of tourists and people on lunch break heading to the parks. He knew her enough to know that she would have loved to go to the park and just enjoy the warm weather, sitting on a bench reading or just looking at the people around her. Or just at watching what surrounded her.
Jemma loved nature and life in all its aspects: she had a passion for biology and natural science ever since she was a child.
A child on her way to Uni.
He turned to his side and saw his wife watching their daughter too. Elaine's eyes were oddly bright. He knew that she was struggling as much as he was with the decision to let Jemma go.
Jeremy realised that they needed a moment to collect themselves before seeing the Secretary. A moment to talk, calm down and then see what would be offered to their daughter.
A scholarship to MIT was a once in a lifetime opportunity and Jemma had every right to accept it.
And they had to accept her decision.
"Jemma," he said, making her turn to him. "Would you like to stay at the park until the Secretary comes? We could send you a text message when he's here."
He turned to Elaine and she nodded in agreement. She was probably thinking that they both needed a moment to gather their thoughts before the meeting.
Jemma's eyes lit up.
"Really?" she asked, clutching her handbag excitedly. "Wouldn't it be better if I was with you?"
"Not, really, darling," Elaine answered smiling slightly. "You'd just get bored sitting with us in the hallway as we wait. It's rare to have such a nice day so why not enjoy it a little?"
Jemma smiled broadly at her mother's words and Jeremy had to smile too: her enthusiasm was infectious.
"Just keep an eye on your phone," he said. "We'll text as soon as the Secretary is here."
Jemma nodded and walked off to the park.
Jeremy and Elaine watched her mingle with the crowd of people waiting to cross the street and then disappear after passing the park's gate.
Without talking but just looking at each other, the Simmons' walked back to Education Department and were instructed to the floor where the Secretary's office was.
They were greeted by a long hallway of polished wood, hooked frames and silence. A man standing at a nearby desk showed them the small but elegant reception room. Sitting on one of the armchairs was a young woman with sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes. Jeremy estimated that she had to in her early twenties at most. Next to her, by the large door-window showing Westminster Abbey was a woman in a wheelchair.
Both women looked at them as they entered the room and nodded in greeting with a small smile. The smile was identical and Jeremy was sure that they were mother and daughter.
The doctor in him quickly inspected the older woman and he came to the conclusion that she was in the wheelchair because of an accident or a sudden trauma.
'Probable spine trauma," he thought slowly. "Affecting the body's lower regions."
He glanced at Elaine and saw that she was looking at the two strangers as well.
"Good Morning," she said pleasantly.
"Good Morning," the two women greeted together. The older woman smiled softly.
They weren't from England: the accent gave them away. Scotland, maybe the area around Glasgow.
It occurred to him that the girl could be here for the scholarship as well. Maybe she was eighteen, right out of secondary school. He wouldn't mind Jemma going with her. There was an age difference, yes but she looked kind and caring.
With that thought and the sudden weight of separating from his daughter on his shoulders again, Jeremy sat down on a couch, Elaine by his side.
There was no reason to worry before getting information. They'd decide later...
-:-
Jemma walked through the gates of the College Gardens, basking in the warm sunlight and feeling more light hearted than ever.
She knew that she would learn about the scholarship in less than a hour and that she'd have to decided -once and for all- about leaving for America without her parents but she didn't want to start worrying now.
For once, she wanted to enjoy what she was been given and, right now, it was a marvellous sunny day. She just wanted to sit on a bench and read or enjoy the view.
A smile made its way on her face and she looked around, eyes searching for a spot where she could spend her time before joining her parents again.
The moment she scanned the park, Jemma realised that the impromptu warm day had brought a good part of the Londoners out to enjoy the weather. She saw families with children having lunch on the grass, businessmen in tailored suits having a sandwich on a bench with their suit coats off to their side and a great amount of people lying on the grass.
The thought of finding a free bench was now very slim...
But Jemma's spirits didn't lower and she started to walk around, trying to find a spot where she could sit down.
Ten minutes later, she was strolling along a small path at the far end of the park. There were a lot of people around but this particular area seemed to be a bit secluded. On her right, she could see the end of the park giving onto the river Thames, murky water barely visible from where she was.
Sighing softly, Jemma looked around. At this point, she would be happy to find a spot under the shade of a tree; as long as she didn't get her clothes dirty, it would be fine.
She was almost going to walk back when she saw a small cluster of trees and bushes, almost hidden from the path where she was and caught a glimpse of a bench.
Empty.
Smiling, Jemma walked towards it, happy that her efforts had been rewarded. Halfway to it, she realised that she had been wrong.
A boy was sitting there, on the far side, previously hidden to her view. He was absorbed in reading a book and hadn't noticed her.
Jemma bit her lip uncertainly.
The bench was quite long so she could easily ask to sit on a side without worrying to bother him. Or be bothered. Unless the boy wanted his privacy and just told her to go off and find another place.
It wouldn't be the first time that she shooed off by her peers...
She looked at him. He looked about her age and he seemed nice.
She almost wished that it was an adult sitting there: it would have been easier. Adults usually indulged her, seeing her so young and small. They would be kind and normal until they actually talked to her; once they realised how much she knew -because, of course, she still hadn't learned how to restrain herself from talking too much- their faces and attitude would change. They would be more guarded and cautious. As long as she kept the talking easy and basic, she didn't have any problem.
Interacting with her peers was more complicated. She didn't know how to read them. She couldn't opt to stay silent because it would be odd and she couldn't talk freely because she would be seen as a freak.
And simple chatting was outlandish for her.
Years of attempts to make friends had made her learn that...
Nervousness started to lace her veins but she tried to keep it down.
She could see this as a test: see how she could interact with new people. After all, if she was going to leave for MIT, she should learn how to make acquaintances...
Moreover, how much could she lose trying to just talk to this stranger? She was in London now and would probably never meet him again.
Gathering her courage, Jemma walked forward with a smile on her face, the only sign of her nerves were the quick clenching on her fingers on her handbag's strap.
"Excuse me, would you mind if I sit here?"
-:-
Leo had settled in this quiet corner of the park as soon as he heard that the Secretary was late to the appointment. He opted to be alone rather than with his mother and sister because he knew that they would have started to question him about this scholarship.
He had talked with both while at home. Separately.
He had explained his interest in engineering and his wish to go to America and seize this opportunity that would allow him to study in one of the best universities in the world.
Leo knew that if he was confronted by both of them, he would be overwhelmed at some point and would probably babble about his uncertainties and his fears.
The last thing he needed was for them to worry and suggest he stay in the UK...
So he came here on his own, searching for a quiet spot where he could ease his mind and nerves. He had brought a small backpack with him where he had a small set of screwdrivers, wires and the solar power battery he was working on these days that he was free from school. Then, he had crammed in a bottle of water and his copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that he was currently reading for the fifth time.
He liked the book a lot and it quickly became his favourite of the ongoing series, no matter how cliché it sounded that the last book out was always the best.
He was quite absorbed in one of his favourite moments -when Harry didn't want to leave Hermione in the depths of the Lake despite having retrieved Ron- when a voice startles him.
Leo looked up and the first thing he saw was a warm, open smile and honey coloured eyes fixed on him.
Eyes on him.
Not through him as usual or averting and looking elsewhere. There wasn't any indifference in those eyes or feigned interest: they were honest and...kind. The smile was genuine, a little bit uncertain even as though there was some nervousness behind.
It was a girl, about his age he estimated. Leo blinked a couple of times, wondering what this stranger even wanted from him before her question replayed in his head.
"Er- I- er-" he stammered for a second, sitting up abruptly and almost dropped his book to the ground. Muttering under his breath, he looked at the girl, managing a small smile. "No, no-not at all. Have a seat."
-:-
The first thing she notices are his eyes: blue and wide in surprise. It looked as though he was stunned that she was even talking to him. There's a small amount of uncertainty and a little bit of hesitancy in his eyes and posture.
Something about his attitude was familiar and Jemma quickly realised that the boy behaved just as she did when someone new approached her.
Or better, the few times someone dared to talk to her before drifting away.
Her nerves weren't jittery any more as she understood that he was just as nervous as she was . She watched as he fumbled with his book before shooting her a small, shy smile as he told her to sit down.
Jemma smiled again, trying to be as friendly as possible. His thick Scottish accent gave away his origins.
"Thank you," she replied, depositing her handbag next to his backpack, leaving a few inches of space between them. "The park's quite full and I was sure that I wouldn't find a place to stay. I was almost going to find a tree and just sit under its shade and read a bit. The weather had been surprisingly good in these days, so the ground wouldn't be moist or anything..."
She was rambling... Why was she rambling? This wasn't going to help her...
She turned to her side, expecting the boy to have lost his interest on a girl who talked too much but found him staring at her.
His blue eyes were fixed on her: he was looking at her curiously as though trying to figure her out.
Jemma felt a blush rise up on her cheeks and his eyes widened again, red colouring his face too as he swiftly looked away.
There was a moment of embarrassed silence. Jemma didn't know whether to try striking a conversation again because she honestly didn't know what to say without getting her to ramble again. She was tempted to take her bag and get MIT's syllabus out, skimming through the biology and chemistry courses again before the meeting but she suddenly realised that it would expose her.
Why would a fourteen year old be looking through a university syllabus? Anyone would be curious to know and Jemma would be forced to give an answer, an honest answer since she was a dreadful liar.
And that would isolate her again...
Ignoring the twisting feeling in her chest, Jemma looked around, trying to distract herself.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much to look at besides the trees and bushes. This spot was truly a little niche of privacy in the suddenly chaotic and sunny park. Jemma turned to peek at the boy, trying to observe him better without getting caught.
She estimated that he was her age. Thin, about her height, with sandy brown curls and clear blue eyes. There was something about him that drew her in, made her linger in her scrutiny.
He was reading again, though she noticed that his left hand was lying on his thigh, fingers drumming at a fast pace. She did that whenever she was nervous too...
The thought that she, Jemma Simmons, could make someone nervous wasn't a foreign concept. She made people uneasy with her brain. However, this boy seemed nervous by her just because she spoke to him.
There was an uncertainty in his eyes and body that spoke of loneliness, of a lack of contact and words.
Jemma could relate to that: she had been dealing with solitude ever since she was six.
Fidgeting slightly with her bag's strap, she looked at the book he was reading and her eyes widened in pleasant surprise.
"Oh, Goblet of Fire!" she exclaimed before she could stop herself. "That's the best book yet of the series, don't you think so?"
-:-
She was really talking to him.
The concept was leaving Leo stunned and speechless.
He had been so surprised at first that he had lingered in staring at her, noticing the English accent, brown hair falling down her shoulders and clear amber eyes.
All in all, a pretty girl who usually wouldn't even be looking in his direction, let alone talk...
He quickly turned away, flushing, when she caught him staring and decided to stop already. He really didn't need to embarrass himself with a complete stranger before heading off to the appointment with the Secretary of State.
She was just being nice: this was the only spot in the park where she could sit and she was being cordial. She probably didn't even care to talk to him...
Swallowing dryly, he went back to his book, feeling a bit disconnected as the words he read reached his head at a slower speed.
He was finishing the chapter on the Second Task when her voice reached him again. Leo looked up, surprised again.
"Er-" he opened his mouth but nothing came out of it.
'Smooth, Fitz,' he thought. 'Really smooth...'
How was he going to survive in America if he had trouble answering such a simple question? Trying to pull himself together, Leo put both his hands on the book and turned to the girl.
"Yeah," he answered. "It's my favourite for now..."
Some part of him was expecting the girl to tease him about being childish. He expected the indifference and scorn to which he was used.
But it never came.
His chest did a little jump when he saw her brighten up, eyes widening in enthusiasm. He suddenly realised that she must have been just as nervous as he was.
The thought brought a small wave of relief to wash over his nerves, soothing them and calming him a bit.
"Do-do you have a favourite scene?"
Leo didn't expect her smile to be so wide: it was almost a beam. And he felt his lips curl upwards too.
"I loved all the Triwizard Tasks scenes," she replied, turning to him completely. "Though the maze part was a bit creepy. I enjoyed the Lake scene though: it was fascinating to see them use different ways to survive under water. And Gillyweed? Can you imagine something like that in the real world?It would be like some form of algae with particular photosynthetic capabilities..."
Her words were suddenly a flowing river and Leo was hanging on every bit of them. He felt an odd twist in his gut at being given such undivided attention by someone that wasn't his family.
He couldn't even remember the last time someone had a conversation with him..just for the sake of talking.
She suddenly stopped talking and flushed pink. Leo blinked. Did he do something wrong? Did he miss a question? Was she suddenly realising that he wasn't worth her time?
"I'm sorry," she said, surprising him. "I tend to ramble when I'm particularly interested on a subject and.. so.."
She looked away, biting her lip. Leo felt the sudden need to reassure her. Was she seriously thinking that she was bothering him?
"No, I'm like that too," he remarked, making her turn to him again. He saw uncertainty glimmer in her eyes. "I'm pretty talkative when I'm interested on something." Well, he would be pretty talkative... if he had the chance to talk. "It's actually nice to see someone just as... enthusiastic."
The honest statement slipped past his lips before he could stop it and he feared that he had mucked up already.
However, his words seemed to ease her because she smiled shyly again and nodded. Leo felt a small smile make its way onto his own face too.
"Are you interested in biology?" he asked, replaying her last sentences. "Or botany?"
"Biology," she confirmed with a smile. "Biochemistry actually.. I really want to learn natural and organic sciences."
There was a hint in her voice, the certainty that she would indeed learn everything about natural sciences that made Leo smile again. He had a similar conviction towards engineering...
"I like mechanics," he confessed, surprised that he even voiced this out. "And electronics."
"That sound amazing...er-.." She stared at him. "Oh god, I've been so rude. I didn't even ask your name or introduce myself!"
Leo blinked.
"Oh..yeah.." he realised that it was probably ten-fifteen minutes that they've been talking without even knowing each other's name. "I'm Fitz. Leo Fitz but everyone calls me Fitz." He winced at his formal answer but she didn't seem fazed.
"My pleasure," she replied with a smile and he realised that she truly did mean it. "My name's Jemma. Jemma Simmons."
-:-
Jemma felt a bit light headed. It was the first time that she had such an..easy conversation with someone her age.
She almost felt giddy...
"So, engineering?" she asked. "I'm fascinated by the devices but I feel that I wouldn't understand all of the mechanisms. I'm more keen to biological structures."
"Well, I wouldn't understand much of cellular structures and processes as much as I do with logic boards and frames. So we're even." He smiled slightly.
Jemma felt the smile on her face widen. Fitz seemed to be pretty smart. And seemed to like engineering as much as she liked biology.
It was so... wonderful to find someone like him. For the first time in her life, she felt as though someone could truly understand her. It made her want to know more about him.
Some part of her brain was telling her to not get too friendly since she probably wouldn't see him again once she accepted the scholarship but she ignored it.
"Where are you from?" she asked out of blue. Fitz looked at her as he put the book inside his backpack. "Well, your accent is quite distinguishable. Which part of Scotland? I'd guess Glasgow..."
"Glasgow," he confirmed with a small smile. "You? You don't live in London, do you?"
"No, I'm from Sheffield." He must have noticed her accent too...
She did a quick calculation, her mind showing her a UK map and figured out that Glasgow was at least six hours away from here.
"Do you live in London?" she asked. It wouldn't be so absurd for a Scottish family to be here.
"No..." he replied, looking at her curiously. "I live in Glasgow." Arching a brow slightly, he stared at her and Jemma suddenly felt self-conscious. Damn her and her curiosity...
"Why do you ask?"
"Er-well.. Glasgow is quite far from here," she said. "I was just wondering what you were doing in London."
Fitz didn't answer immediately. He looked pensive and something twisted inside Jemma.
"You don't have to tell me, of course," she quickly added. "I mean... I was just curious: I'm always curious. It turns to be a bit of a bad habit at times..."
What if he asked her what she was doing here? She would have to tell about MIT and even though he seemed nice enough and maybe could understand her, how did she know that he wouldn't eye her awkwardly as everyone else?
"No, no...Don't worry," he said with a small smile. She noticed a hint of uncertainty flash in his eyes. "I'm here with my family: we have a meeting at the Education Department concerning my...studies."
Jemma felt her heart leap in her chest.
It wasn't just a feeling then... He truly was like her.
-:-
Leo watched with apprehension as Jemma stared at him. He was waiting for the questions, the inevitable questions. The questions that would lead her to keep her distance because he was just a genius-freak.
Some voice in his head was telling him that she was not like the others and would probably accept him, talk to him as she did until now... but he was too used to be shunned to actually allow himself to believe the opposite.
"Fitz..." He looked up as she called him and noticed a hopeful glint in her eyes that puzzled him. "Are you here for the MIT scholarship?"
Whatever he expected her to say wasn't this. Leo's eyes widened.
"H-how do you-?"
She grinned at him and started to rummage in her handbag. He watched as she pulled out a book and a very familiar looking letter. His eyes widened.
She got it too. So that meant...
"You're here for the scholarship, too..." he said, looking at her. She nodded and turned the book. It was MIT's syllabus.
He had read that the scholarship was for two people. He didn't really expect to know or even see the other person; Leo imagined that it would have been an eighteen year old that would have been wary to be at the same level of a barely fifteen year old.
He honestly didn't expect that the other scholarship recipient would be a girl of his age.
"You graduated secondary school?" he asked, feeling almost stupid in querying about an obvious question.
"Yes," she replied, smiling again. "A couple of weeks ago. And I assume that you..."
"Same," he said. He was still a bit shell-shocked. "I was expecting someone else: a seventeen or eighteen year old... Not that I'm complaining about you!" He hurried to explain.
Simmons laughed. Leo chuckled softly, scratching the back of his head.
"I know," she said. "I'm pleasantly surprised too. It makes things easier, I think..." She looked at him curiously. "Are you fourteen?"
"Yes," He looked at her. "As are you?"
She nodded.
Leo was still surprised but he couldn't help the small tingle of relief and gladness that swept through him.
He didn't know this girl at all. They had talked for maybe less than an hour...and yet he could say that she understood him better than anyone else.
Her honey coloured eyes were fixed on him and she seemed to want to ask him something else when two sudden ringtones startled him. Simmons jumped as well and reached for her handbag.
Leo reached for his jean's pocket and pulled out his cellphone. It was Alison: the Secretary had arrived.
He turned to Simmons just as she was turning towards him.
"The Secretary's here," she announced, putting away her phone.
"Yeah..." he replied. "We should go."
She nodded and quickly put away her things. He put his book away and put the backapck on. The lower part hit the bench with a solid thud. He winced and Simmons looked at the backpack and then at him with a curious expression.
"What do you even have in there?" she asked, getting up. "A stone?"
"I didn't know how long I'd have to wait so I brought...a battery I was working on," he confessed, putting the bag's straps on his shoulders.
"A battery?"
"Solar powered."
"What material are you using?" They started to walk towards the gates. "I read that the main component is crystalline silicon...although there are new applications with organic photovoltaic cells."
Leo turned to her with a smile. He didn't even realise that this was one of the first honest smiles he had given in years.
She was the first person that knew about this sort of things and he had the feeling that she could be the first person with whom he could discuss about this as well.
Someone who could understand him...
-:-
Elaine Simmons stood next to her husband as the Secretary of State, a rather distinguished gentleman, approached them and shook their hands, apologizing profusely for his lateness.
She watched as he walked over to the other two women to do the same.
"Our daughter's coming," Jeremy remarked as the man gestured towards his office. "She was outside."
"So is my son," the woman in the wheelchair said.
"Oh well, we will wait then," the Secretary stated with a small smile. "We can't really start without them."
Elaine's brown eyes swept over the other woman. She was moving in her wheelchair with an ease due to years of usage she assumed.
There was a determination in the woman's attitude that made her realise that what had happened to her wasn't going to stop her.
Elaine looked at the younger woman she assumed was her daughter. Tall, lithe frame, shoulder length sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes. All in all a pretty girl with a kind face and -Elaine assumed watching her- a strong character and heart to support her mother.
She had almost been hoping that this girl was the one going with Jemma to America. When she heard about a son, a little spike of nervousness rushed through her veins.
She imagined an eighteen year old Scottish boy living alongside her fourteen year old daughter. Jemma's interactions with boys had been minimal if not non-existent until now and both she and Jeremy had been glad about it.
Jemma's experience at school with older teenage boys had been harsh: the constant teasing and subtle bullying had stopped only when the teachers had intervened.
She couldn't help but feel a little bit weary now...
So she couldn't help but be stunned when Jemma arrived and approached them, walking side by side a boy about her age.
It suddenly occurred to her that she should have imagined that there would be another genius child in the UK...
The Secretary turned to the children and smiled.
"Jemma and Leo, I presume," he said jovially. "It's good to meet both of you."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Secretary of State, sir," Jemma replied quickly, the rush of words showing her nervousness. Elaine had to purse her lips to stop smiling.
"Pleased to meet you, sir," the boy answered softly, his brogue showing that he was indeed the other woman's son.
The man stared at the two teenagers and quirked a brow.
"I didn't think you knew each other already..."
Elaine could understand his confusion since it was her own. She had noticed how Jemma was oddly relaxed around this boy and had thought she had seen her talking to him on their way to the office.
"Er-not really," Jemma stammered, looking at Leo with a quick glance. "We accidentally met at the College Gardens a while ago...and talked a bit."
"Yeah..." Leo agreed, looking at her. They shared a small smile.
Elaine's eyebrows shot up, surprised by the turn of events. Jemma had always been a ray of sunshine and could talk to anyone when she wanted to but she had never been able -unfortunately- to make friends or talk to her peers with ease.
And now, in less than an hour, she got friendly with this complete stranger of a boy? She turned to her husband and saw her own surprised expression on his face.
Glancing at her side, Elaine saw how mother and daughter were equally surprised as well. The girl's eyes had widened almost comically.
Elaine wondered if the boy shared Jemma's school experiences and solitude as well. Being the youngest and the brightest came with consequences...
"It's good to see that you get along well then..." The Secretary smiled again and gestured everyone to his office. "If you could all follow me."
The office was rather elegant and posh, all wood panels and darks carpets. The walls were adorned by bookshelves heavy with tomes, portraits and paintings and frames diplomas.
There were a set of armchairs arranged in a half circle right in front of a heavy wooden desk. The Secretary sat on the chair behind while they settled on the armchairs.
It didn't go unnoticed to Elaine that two armchairs were set closer together and closer to the desk while the other were around them: she quickly imagined that the children would be sitting there.
She had the impression that they -the families- were here only a support: the Secretary wanted to speak to Jemma and Leo.
Her suspicions were quickly confirmed by the Secretary's words.
"I do apologize again for my lateness and the obvious inconvenience for you," he said. "Coming here to London from Sheffield and Glasgow must have been quite the travel. I don't mean to keep you here any longer than what is strictly necessary."
His eyes fell on the two fourteen year olds sitting in front of him before looking at all of them.
"Every year, the Education Department scours through the most worthy students and decides who deserves to receive a scholarship to University. We usually focus on the universities here in the United Kingdom but some foreign academic structure allows us to send some of our own students to their country as well. We have a long partnership with MIT and the Dean allows us to admit two British students if deemed suitable. It doesn't happen often, I have to admit this.
So when we got word of Miss Jemma Simmons and Mr. Leo Fitz, both fourteen years old, both outstandingly brilliant and early graduates from their colleges and both interested in science, we decided to see what you were up to."
Elaine felt a surge of pride at his praising tone. She saw how Jemma had blushed and fidgeted slightly in her seat.
The boy, Leo, blushed too and she saw his finger drum nervously on the armrest.
"We went through your university applications," the Secretary continued, rifling through a binder in front of him. "I must say that I'm quite impressed by both your curricula, interests and possible fields of study." He looked at the two teens with kind eyes. "Miss Simmons... Jemma... your preferred course would be biology with a specified course through organic chemistry?"
"Biochemistry," Jemma replied, sitting straighter. "I'd actually prefer to refer to it as biochemistry."
"So the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms," he remarked. "MIT has a rather severe but complete graduate and post-graduate course."
"So I've read but that's what I want to learn..." Jemma smiled slightly, not looking the least put off by the man's remark that the study course would be hard. Elaine failed to hide a smile: her little girl had always had high standards...
The Secretary must have thought the same because he smiled again and turned to the boy.
"As for you, Mr Fitz..Leo... the study course that you have been looking for is rather..intricate. Engineering, right?"
"Yes, sir," the boy said with a nod.
"You are applying for a personalised curriculum," The man flipped through some pages before looking at the boy with a raised eyebrow. "It looks like an intermingling of electronic, mechanical and aerospace engineering."
Leo shrugged slightly, earning a soft 'Leo!' in reprimand from his sister. He blushed again and Elaine saw Jemma smile slightly.
"I just thought that the single curriculum wasn't complete," he said. "I wanted something that had everything I wanted to know and those weren't enough."
His voice was low, as though he wasn't used to talking a lot but it held the same firmness that Jemma had.
The Secretary smiled again, looking at both teens.
"Well, I'm used to having eighteen year olds here who aren't often as focused as you are when talking about their potential fields of study. I can say that our decision to offer you the MIT scholarship was ideal."
The man looked at the families now.
"I asked you, Mr and Mrs. Simmons and you, Mrs. Fitz, to be here because of your children's young age. There are some things that you might want to discuss before accepting our offer. This scholarship covers their expenses and a good part of the travelling too. It means that you can come back to the UK a few times during the year, as much as your academic schedule allows."
Elaine felt a twist in her chest at the thought of seeing Jemma only a few days or weeks during a year for the length of her stay at MIT. Something in her face must have showed her feelings because she felt Jeremy's hand on hers shortly after, fingers curling around hers. She looked at him and saw the glint of sadness in his eyes despite the smile on his face.
Of course, it was bound to happen... They had always known that Jemma would leave sooner or later, her bright mind taking her far from them.
"As for your stay at MIT, you will share a dorm room. Since you two will probably be the youngest on campus, we thought that it would be the best solution. What do you think about it?"
It seemed as though this was the most pressing matter that the man wanted to discuss and Elaine couldn't really blame him for looking a bit nervous.
He was basically asking them to give permission to allow their fourteen year old daughter to share a living space for at least the next five years with a fourteen year old boy who they had just met.
She watched the boy sitting next to her daughter.
He seemed like a good lad: quiet and a tad shy judging by the way he spoke and moved. There was something about him that spoke of loneliness and some hidden grief that Elaine assumed was associated to his mother on a wheelchair and the absence of his father there in the room.
A scenario displayed in her mind but she didn't want to linger on it... The thought of a family going through that much pain was too much...
He looked like Jemma in a way: bright mind, focused on his task and maybe pouring into his studies because he didn't have anything else.
Jemma read and studied so much because she liked it and because she didn't have anything else to do, no one to talk to besides her family. She wondered if Leo was the same.
As her thoughts filled her head, Elaine saw Leo glance at Jemma and she looked back. They didn't speak or do anything in particular but some silent conversation was taking place.
Something that only they could understand.
It was the first time that she saw Jemma so at ease with someone.
"I do think that this is a decision that the children should take," Mrs Fitz remarked, her voice soft and warm. Elaine realised that she must have noticed the way their children interacted. She must have noticed how they just clicked together.
"I agree," Elaine said and looked at Jeremy who nodded.
Jemma and Leo turned to look at their mothers with wide-eyed expressions before looking at each other again.
They looked a little bit confused -as expected actually- but a small smile made its way on Jemma's face. The honesty behind her smile made Elaine's heart clench in her chest and the quirk of Leo's lips made her realise that her daughter might have finally found someone to finally call a friend.
As much as it pained her to be apart from her daughter, the thought that she could be happy made it more bearable
-:-
Classes started at the beginning of September but Leo and Jemma were meant to be at campus by mid August. There were many things that they had to do there: get settled in their dorm, know exactly which classes they were bound to take and Freshmen Orientation was scheduled for the last week of August.
They had a month and a half before their flight from Heathrow.
Just one month and a half and her little boy would be off to America.
Lena Fitz didn't want to linger on the thought. She focused on the present and shook hands with the Simmons' as they were all about to leave outside the Education Department.
They seemed to be quite good people and their daughter was a small and pretty little thing that seemed to understand Leo better than anyone else.
She hadn't missed the small glances and smiles.
How could she even miss that? She hadn't seen Leo smile so naturally in years.
Not since Scott's death.
Her son had withdrawn from everyone, keeping his feelings trapped in his heart. She had heard him cry in his room at times, unable to reach him because of her chair and the false security he had to be safe to let his guard down in his own room. It broke her heart but she couldn't force him to come to her and talk.
Her daughter had tried to do something about it. Alison had tried to draw him out but to no avail. Leo loved them but he deliberately kept his emotions away from them.
And now, some genius girl who might be just like him, could be the key to get him out of his shell.
As they bid the Simmons' goodbye, she saw how Leo's eyes lingered on Jemma's retreating figure before they headed to the car.
"Mum?" Lena looked up as Alison's soft whisper reached her ears as she pushed her chair.
"Yes?"
"Did you see Leo with that girl?" Alison looked awed. "I can't even remember the last time I saw him so...at ease with someone."
"Neither do I, darling."
They stayed silent for a while, both watching Leo walking in front of them.
"He will be leaving in less than two months..."
The sad hint in her daughter's voice made Lena's heart twist.
"Yes..." She reached for Ali's hand, squeezing it softly. "But he wants to do it. You heard him before: he wants to study."
"I know that: he's too brilliant and I don't understand half of the things he reads or talks about lately." Lena chuckled. "I'm just worried...and not sure how I'll deal without seeing him everyday."
Alison's words warmed her mother's heart and she squeezed her hand again.
"I know, darling... I know..."
When they reached the car and were settled in, getting ready for the long trip back home, Alison turned to Leo with a teasing smile.
"So..." she asked. "Are you going to tell us how you managed to meet your scholarship companion before even knowing who she was?"
Leo blushed.
"Alii.." he whined slightly as Alison ruffled his hair, making him suddenly look as young as he was and not the grown up he was forcing himself to be.
Lena watched her children interact, smiling at their antics and ignoring the small pang in her chest at the thought that things were bound to change soon.
When they got back home in the evening, Leo headed to his room, coming out only at dinner. Bryce had been informed of his brother's departure and Lena saw his eyes cloud with emotions.
She knew that her son cared. He cared for her, for Ali and for Leo -somewhere in his heart- but he also wanted to blame someone for the loss of his father and unfortunately his younger brother was his chosen person.
The two brothers barely talked nowadays. Lena remembered when Leo would hassle Bryce to play with his cars and the older brother would complain but end up building a track in the living room and spend hours with him.
It seemed like a lifetime ago...
The day of Leo's departure came faster than expected and Lena found herself going from packing bags with her son's things to bidding him goodbye on the threshold of their house.
Alison and Alec were going with him to the airport.
Lena watched him. Admired the way his unruly, sandy brown curls fell all over his face just like Scott's used to do and his blue eyes seemed brighter in the sunlight.
She remembered him as a small, wailing and moving bundle thrust in her arms shortly after Christmas, almost fifteen years ago.
She remembered Scott's tears as he admired their third little miracle and laughed as they decided to call him Leo -their little lion.
Leo who should have learned to work with his father in the mechanic shop since he adored to tinker with metal. Leo who should have his father standing by his side now as he was leaving his house for the first time.
'Our baby boy is leaving, Scott...' she thought, pushing back tears and smiling at her son.
Leo walked forward after helping Alec and Ali put away his luggage, and hugged her, his body thin but warm.
"I'll miss you, Mum," he whispered.
"I'll miss you too, sweetheart," she replied, kissing his cheek. "I am so, so proud of you, Leo. Remember that. And your father's proud just as much as I am."
Leo smiled slightly, his lips quivering slightly and eyes welling but he composed himself.
"Thanks Mum."
"Call me as soon as you land," Lena caressed his face with her fingertips.
"I will," he moved away pulled out his cellphone, a gift from Alec, that he had modified on his own.
As he stepped back, she saw him look at something behind her. Turning slightly, Lena saw that Bryce was standing by the kitchen counter, seemingly fixing himself a sandwich.
He wasn't even looking at his brother. Lena saw the shadow pass on Leo's face
"Bryce," she called. "Leo's leaving."
She didn't expect him to come over and hug him nor to be tearful. She just wanted him to acknowledge his brother. To give him that little bit of comfort...
But he didn't. He stood there unmoving and Lena saw Leo's lips twist a little before he rearranged his features.
"Bye Mum," he said with a small smile and turned to the car. He looked back. "Bye Bryce."
As she watched the car leave, Lena heard Bryce sigh behind her back and go upstairs. As she closed the door, heart heavy, she saw that the sandwich was on a plate abandoned there.
Next to it, almost hidden by a napkin, was a small toy car.
The tears spilled out her eyes without restraint now.
-:-
Boston Logan's International Airport was chaotic.
That was Jemma's first thought as she and Fitz walked out of the corridor after retrieving their suitcases and backpacks.
They were surrounded by people, a massive amount of people walking fast, speaking on phones and completely ignoring the two teenagers who were staring at everything and everyone.
Everything seemed so...huge.
She turned to her right and saw that Fitz looked just as stunned as she was. It was his first plane trip, he'd told her during the flight.
She had been to a couple of European cities with her parents so the flight itself hadn't surprised her. He had seemed fascinated though, talking about the plane's mechanics... It made her smile slightly.
She was glad that he was here: she didn't want to think what the past hours might have been if she had been alone.
The six hour flight had given her time to calm her nerves as the reality of truly leaving home sank in. And it helped her swallow back the tears that she had held back when kissing her Mum and Dad goodbye at the airport.
Her Mum's eyes had gone glassy when she hugged her and her Dad had sounded oddly choked when he told her to call them as soon as they had landed.
Jemma had managed to keep her composure, keeping a smile on herself and reassuring them that she would be fine. She hadn't voiced the fears that gripped her heart.
She was enthusiast to go to MIT and study and learn but it didn't mean that a part of her wasn't scared to be alone in a foreign country.
'Not alone,' she thought and looked at Fitz.
He had come to the airport with his sister and her boyfriend. She had noticed that Alison -the older girl had introduced herself formally- had gone teary when she hugged Fitz.
He had smiled softly, hugging her back and Jemma had felt that little and ever present stab of envy. She had always wanted siblings: unfortunately, her mother hadn't been able to conceive a child after her. Even her birth was a small miracle, as her parents put it.
She was almost sure that he shared her same fears and her thought was confirmed when they headed to the plane. They shared a glance and she saw the uneasy glint in Fitz's eyes that she was sure mirrored hers and he smiled bracingly at her.
She had smiled too.
They had adjacent seats on the plane and had spent the first hours in almost silence, randomly speaking when they saw that they left the UK from the window panel.
After dozing off to sleep and eating the food offered by the British Airways, they had both taken a book from their backpack and she had let out a puff of laughter when she saw that they both had the Lord of the Rings.
"We do like to read the same things," Fitz said with a small grin.
"Yes, we do," she replied.
They spent the rest of flight talking about books, tv-shows and movies and discovered that they shared more than one common passion.
Jemma realised that he was incredibly shy and talked only when questioned but he turned into a little chatterbox when he started to talk about something he liked. His passions, his studies...
They were truly alike...
A broad smile had been fixed on Jemma's face during the rest of the flight.
"Er-so..." Fitz turned to her, dropping his backpack on his suitcase as he scratched the back of his neck. "Who should be here to get us?"
"Someone from MIT's offices, I presume," she replied, standing on her toes to look around. "They did say that they'd send us a ride to take us to the campus."
Being minors and foreigners had given them some privileges. She really didn't want to think how getting to MIT by bus, without a clue of where they were and with their luggage, would have been.
The terminal was quite packed and being the shortest -they were almost the same height- didn't help much.
And then Fitz pointed to something.
"I think that's us," he said and she moved forward to look better. There was a young man -probably a senior student holding what looked like a quickly scrawled banner that read 'Fiz-Simons.'
Arching a brow, Jemma turned to Fitz.
"Really now?" she asked and he shrugged.
"Only one way to know the truth," he said and tugged his backpack on his shoulder again and lugged his suitcase, walking forward. She followed him.
"Er...Hello?" Fitz said, approaching the older man. Jemma looked at him: he seemed to be in his early twenties with tousled dark hair and dark eyes. He had a bit of a...ruffled look: he wore a MIT t-shirt over some jeans.
"Oh, Hi!" the man said with a grin. "Sorry, I'm late but there was a wicked accident on the interstate."
Yes, she was in America. That accent was quite distinguishable...
She glanced at Fitz who looked at her with equal amusement.
"So, I'm Paul and I'm from the Freshmen Orientation committee." He looked at them for a moment as though truly looking at them for the first time. "Hell, you really are kids.. Fourteen, right?"
"Yes," Jemma and Fitz answered together, barely hiding the mingle of amusement and annoyance.
"Right then.. Let's go...Uh.." He stared at his banner and then scrambled for something in his pocket.
Jemma realised that the man didn't even know their names and had probably written that sign remembering something that he had been told. He probably had a note with their names scribbled on it. Fitz seemed to come to same conclusion because his lips quirked up as he looked at her.
"Fitz," she said, pointing at her companion.
"Simmons," he remarked, pointing at her.
Paul looked at them with a curious expression but nodded and gestured them to follow him.
Jemma shared another glance with Fitz and smiled.
Their adventure at MIT was starting.
He smiled back.
Neither realised that this was just the beginning...
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