Skye reluctantly walked back to her room after the "family meeting." She wanted to stay out of it as much as possible, but if Mom and Agent Coulson were down in the living room… it was easier to come up to the room. She could ignore Jemma easily enough if she blasted her music loud enough and closed her eyes.
She walked into the room and jumped back on her bed. She watched Jemma as she got out her phone and earbuds, unable to help herself. The girl was moving so hesitantly Skye wanted to yell at her, just to make her move faster. Skye sighed and closed her eyes, turning on a pop rock album.
She was a couple of songs into it when she had to open her eyes, to see what was going on. Jemma was arranging the top of her desk, with a line of books placed along the back of it, spines out, and a laptop placed in the center. On the right corner was a blue lamp with a base designed like a T.A.R.D.I.S. from Doctor Who.
"What are you, twelve?" Skye asked, pulling out an earbud in a quick movement.
"Fourteen, actually, and I'll be fifteen soon."
Skye huffed and sat up. "Why do I have to be stuck with the baby?"
"I'm not a baby."
Skye looked at her and laughed at how indignant she seemed.
Jemma straightened, crossing her arms. "I'm doing college-level work."
"Big whup. So am I."
It seemed like Jemma wanted to try to glare at her. Skye kept her gaze steady, and her lips quirked up in a smile when Jemma backed down almost immediately. Maybe it would be a pain having a little roommate, but if she was this easy to deal with all the time… it might be a little fun.
"Okay, Jemma," Skye said, sliding to a standing position. She had a good three inches on Jemma, and used them to her advantage. "Neither of us wants to be here, so let's get a few things straight. We're not gonna talk at night. We're gonna avoid each other as much as possible. Got it?"
"We're supposed to pretend to be sisters," Jemma said quietly.
"Sisters don't always get along," Skye said. "We won't even have to pretend that part."
Jemma nodded, not meeting her eyes, and Skye smiled. "Glad we're on the same page."
"Dude, your desk is a mess," Trip said.
"Maybe to you," Fitz countered. "To me, everything is where I can easily access it."
Trip shook his head. Fitz was definitely messier than him, which would take a little getting used to. He didn't see much of his little brother though, and kind of looked forward to sharing a room with him. Frankly, he was a little concerned for Fitz's social life – mainly because he didn't appear to have one. It wasn't like Trip was out on the town a lot, but he hung out with friends at least one night of each weekend. Fitz was always at home, messing around with his tech and gadgets. And Trip knew Fitz had at least one friend at their school. Here, in a new place with a brand new school, he would have to push Fitz to interact with others. He didn't want Fitz to miss out.
So although he hadn't wanted to leave his home, and was a little upset that it had been so sudden, he could appreciate the idea that good things could come from it. His granddad had taught him to be adventurous, and roll with the punches. If you rolled with them, granddad had said, you might end up barreling into something fun.
Granddad had taught him a lot, even though he'd died when Trip was seven. Trip wished he'd known Fitz back then. He thought his granddad could have helped Fitz come out of his shell more.
"We should get downstairs," Trip said, once both he and Fitz had finished putting things away. "Think any of the others looked up a place to eat?"
"Doubtful. I'll come up with a few suggestions." Fitz whipped out his big-ass phone (honestly, how was it different than a tablet at this point?) and started searching as they walked downstairs. "Looks like there's an Olive Garden not too far, we haven't been there in some time," Fitz said. Trip didn't say anything, knowing Fitz was mostly just thinking aloud. Fitz would recite a longer list once everyone was down there.
Grant was the first one to show up, and when he saw just Trip and Fitz, Grant's jaw seemed to clench. Trip knew next to nothing about either of Agent Coulson's – "dad's" – kids, but from what he'd seen of them so far, Grant was intimidating. He had this angry look in his eyes, that Trip really hoped went away.
"A buffet might be more popular, since everyone can pick what they like," Fitz said.
Grant looked at him, and then at Trip. "Is he talking to himself?"
"More or less," Trip said. "He's looking for a place for dinner."
Grant sat on the couch. "This whole thing is ridiculous. Why they're making us go out our first night here…"
"They want us to get to know each other," Trip said.
Grant scowled at him, and Trip regretted it. He didn't say anything else until Agent Coulson and Mom walked in. It looked like they'd been in the study, because Trip clearly heard when Jemma and Skye came down the stairs. That would be one thing to remember about this house: it was easy to hear people moving around in it.
"So, did you think of a place?" Mom asked.
"I've got a few options," Fitz said. "Olive Garden, Buffet Delights, Subway, Joe's Burger Shop, Denny's. I'm sure there are more in a relatively close range, but that's what I've found so far…"
"What do people feel like?" Agent Coulson asked.
"Burgers," Grant said, as Trip said "buffet."
"Two votes, three people silent," Mom said. "What's your decision, between those two?"
The minute that it took for Skye, Jemma, and Fitz to speak up felt like five times that long as Trip felt Grant's eyes fixed on him. Two votes for the buffet, one for burgers.
"The buffets have it," Mom said. "Let's get going."
"How are we getting there?" Skye asked. "Please don't make us cram into one car."
"We won't be crammed," Mom told her. "My car has seven seats. We're seven people."
Trip could see a cold front forming between Skye and Mom, and decided to try to give Skye as much space as possible in the car, to make the fight shorter. He climbed into the back. Fitz sat next to him. Skye and Grant took the two middle seats, and Jemma started to get in on Skye's side, then ran around the opposite way to get in on Grant's. She slid into the back corner seat, with her head down, and Trip shook his head in confusion as to what exactly that was.
Trip decided right upon walking in that the buffet was his new favorite place to eat. It seemed like everyone found something they liked (Grant seemed like a meat lover, because he hit up the steak immediately). Trip found multiple somethings he liked, and went up for seconds at a few different stations. (Who knew when they would go there again?) The ride home was just as quiet as the ride there, but it didn't seem quite as tense. Probably because everyone had full bellies, which made it harder to be angry.
He was glad to be home, though. He didn't know if anyone else had picked up on it, but there was some serious hostility in the way Skye was looking at Jemma and Grant. While Grant had a (seemingly permanent) angry look, it wasn't directed at anyone, as far as Trip could tell. Trip had a bad feeling Skye was planning on taking her anger at Mom out on Agent Coulson's kids.
They had the rest of the day, and one more weekend day, before they started at their new school. Trip sincerely hoped Skye got the anger out of her system before then. But he knew his sister. He remembered how she'd fought with Abby Trudd for a year, after they fought over a boy. Skye was good at holding onto her emotions.
Trip didn't know if she realized she got that from their mom.
