A/N: Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement. :)

Maura hadn't been looking forward to school the Monday after the sleepover, but the thought of seeing Jane was what helped her get through her morning routine. After her shower, she attempted to put on a pair of jeans that she had bought over the summer but had yet to wear. The jeans fit her comfortably, but Maura was startled by what she saw when she caught her reflection in the mirror.

Her waist size hadn't changed and her height hadn't changed, but the more she looked at herself in the mirror the more she was convinced that her hips had widened. It's a natural part of puberty, Maura tried to tell herself. You're sixteen-years-old and you're becoming a woman. It's normal to notice changes in your body.

Her pep talk lasted for a couple of minutes and she tried her hardest to use scientific facts as reasoning, but the more she tried to mentally reason with herself the more frustrated she became. With only half an hour left and a hair and makeup routine that she had yet to begin, Maura quickly put on a pair of leggings and a t-shirt that Jane had worn to basketball camp. It wasn't a summer camp, per se, but it was an intensive week-long eight-hours a day program for all students interested in making the girls' varsity basketball team at their school. Jane had been on the team since she was a freshman, but it was a requirement that all girls tryout every year.

Although Maura had little to no interest in basketball, she made it appoint to attend every game before she and Jane were dating. Maura didn't believe in love at first sight, but she believed it was possible to instantly be attracted to someone because it happened the moment Jane transferred into her honors biology class. Jane wasn't a popular girl, but she had friends who cared about her and people who respected her on campus. She was sarcastic, but she wasn't a bully and she never had an unkind word to say unlike some of the other girls at their school.

Maura admired Jane from a distance in hopes that she would someday take the time to notice her, but she never did. She'd smile at Maura and say hello to her, but Maura chocked it up to her just being friendly and there was never any further interaction between the two of them even when Maura attended every one of Jane's basketball games. After every game, Maura would try to work up the nerve to say something—anything —to Jane. Even if she embarrassed herself she figured it would be better than saying nothing at all. Instead, Maura remained quiet in the stands and watched as Jane made conversation with the girls on her team. With each victory, Maura fantasized about running up to her and congratulating her and someday being the girl fortunate enough to kiss her.

She had never experienced a crush before Jane and with every missed opportunity Maura's heart broke just a little bit more.

It was on the last day of their sophomore year that Maura finally worked up the nerve to do something about her crush. While Jane passed her yearbook around for their class to sign, Maura quickly jotted down nothing more than her name and phone number inside of a heart. She had never had any social interaction with Jane so she couldn't jot down any inside jokes or something along the lines of, "What a crazy year we had." Instead, she hoped her name and phone number written inside of a heart would get her message across.

Maura simultaneously hoped for a phone call and dreaded one for fear of having nothing worthwhile to say. An entire summer passed without a phone call from Jane, but on the first day of school she noticed Jane standing against the doors of the school's front entryway. Her eyes were scanning every student that passed by until she caught sight of Maura. Once their eyes met, Jane maneuvered through the crowd and approached Maura.

"Here," Jane said as she walked up to Maura and handed her a note. It was the first time Maura had stood so close to Jane and she felt her heart start to race. She noticed Jane's dimples when she smiled and the scent of her perfume. Maura was already trying to memorize little details about Jane before she had even read the note. "Don't read it in front of me. I wanted to call you, but I was so nervous that I dialed your number and hung up before the phone even rang once."

"It rang," Maura brought to her attention. "There was at least one phone call each day that rang only once."

Maura noticed Jane start to bite her lip. "That was me. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Maura insisted. "Why were you standing by the door right now?"

Jane looked down at her shoes. "I don't know your homeroom or where your locker is, so I figured if I got here early and waited by the entryway, I'd eventually see you."

When the bell signaling the start of homeroom rang, Maura had expected Jane to go her separate way, but instead she walked her to class even though it meant she'd arrive late to her own homeroom. The two of them made awkward conversation along the way, but neither of them wanted the moment to end.

While everyone else was listening to the morning announcements, Maura unfolded the note Jane had given her and started to read. "Sorry I was too nervous to call. I think you're beautiful and I've wanted to talk to you since I was transferred into your bio class, but I was too nervous to do that, too. Sit by me at lunch today?"

She sat by Jane at lunch that day and every school day since then. Only a single month had passed since Jane had given her that note, but they had already shared so much and, when Jane asked her to be her girlfriend, Maura felt as if everything in her life had fallen into place. She still wasn't popular, but she was no longer lonely and the girl she had liked since the beginning of sophomore year was hers to kiss whenever she wanted.

But none of that mattered when she was looking at her reflection in the mirror. She changed her outfit yet again and she was still unsatisfied with her appearance. While wearing her third outfit, Maura glanced at the clock and realized Jane would be arriving any moment to pick her up for school.

She'd have no time for breakfast, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. She thought of the calories that came with eating even the healthiest breakfast and was relieved that she wouldn't be adding that to her daily intake.

For the first time, Maura was going to skip breakfast, and the more she thought about the way she looked in her jeans and the comments the girls had made about her at the sleepover, she was going to try to skip lunch as well.