"You have to eat something." Jemma nudged an apple against Skye's arms. She'd iced her out all of P.E. and still wasn't bothering to communicate with either Fitz or Jemma. She had come to the cafeteria for lunch, but she had quietly sat down, crossed her arms on the table, and hidden her face in them. If Jemma hadn't known better, she would have guessed Skye was sleeping.
"How many times am I going to have to tell you I'm not hungry before you believe me?" Skye growled. Her voice was muffled because she refused to lift her head from her arms.
"I don't know, how long are you going to deny help? Because it's probably about the same amount of time." Jemma responded.
"You really should eat." Fitz added, but he was just as powerless as Jemma when it came to Skye's brute stubbornness.
"You never used to pester me before." Skye grumbled.
"That's because I didn't know you were being deprived." Jemma argued. She felt the change in Skye's mood faster than Fitz did, and she had the sense to remove her hand from Skye's shoulder before the other girl moved. Fitz, however, was not that lucky, and Skye's sudden movement made him flinch and jump a few inches away.
"For God's sake, Jemma, they give me lunch money every single day! I just choose not to buy anything with it!" Skye snapped, pulling a few dollar bills out of her pocket and tossing them onto the table to prove a point.
"Why wouldn't you?" Jemma asked in genuine confusion, trying not to let her frustration rise and refraining from yelling at Skye.
"No one is keeping a college fund for me, and someone's got to do it." Skye explained. Suddenly all the skipped lunches made sense; she was saving a few dollars every day for adulthood. The thought had never even occurred to her.
"We're sorry, we didn't know." Fitz rubbed her shoulder affectionately. There was only one way Jemma could think to make a peace offering to Skye, so she reached into her backpack, dug around for a cherry tootsie pop, and held it out to Skye with a small smile, just like she used to. She could try to treat Skye like she normally would if it would make the other girl happy.
When Skye grabbed the white stick of the candy, Jemma's heart flooded with relief. It was sugar, but at least it was calories, and a sign that Skye was still willing to compromise.
Jemma saw movement out the corner of her eye and a shiver ran down her spine when she saw Grant Ward sitting at his table with all his jock buddies. When he made eye contact with her, he gave her that maniacal smirk that she hated. He stood up, and dread filled her stomach. Not today, just not today. Why couldn't he just leave them alone for one day?
She instinctively scooted her seat closer to Skye's and caught Fitz's attention with a flick of her eyes. Unfortunately, Skye noticed the small signal Jemma gave to Fitz and she looked behind her. A dark look overcame her features; her eyebrows furrowed, and her lips pursed into a tight line.
"Hey Skye. Fitzsimmons." Ward said, sauntering over. "Change your mind yet, Skye?" He asked her.
"Piss off." Skye hissed. Ward took another step closer, but Trip had come out of nowhere and stood between them.
"Back off, dude." He held out his hands. Jemma was grateful for the few good people that existed at school.
"Just walk away." Bobbi joined in, blocking Jemma and Skye from Ward's view. Hunter came over with Bobbi and stood next to her. Jemma wondered why everyone had suddenly decide to stand up against Ward. She noticed Hunter's eyes flick over Skye's face and it dawned on her. All the other students must have thought Ward was the one who beat up Skye. That suited her just fine, it provided Skye with a set of bodyguards and kept them from figuring out what was really going on.
Jemma hadn't really gotten to know Bobbi, Hunter, or Trip, but now she wished she had. They were willing to go up against Ward, which was saying something. She'd have to remember to thank them sincerely later.
The whole cafeteria fell silent and tension was rising in the room like a rubber band slowly being stretched. Jemma was just worried it would snap. People who didn't even know any of them joined in the staring. The silence was only broken by the communication system when one of the speakers crackled and an office attendant's voice flooded through.
"Jemma Simmons and Mary Sue Poots, please report to the counseling office." It said. Ward rolled his eyes and walked away, causing their army to also disperse, but not without quick smiles and thank-you's from Jemma.
"What did you do?!" When Jemma realized Skye was talking to her and the betrayed look on her face was directed at her, she practically melted. Jemma looked to Fitz for help, and Skye looked between the two of them in disgust.
"Unbelievable." Skye's chair legs screeched on the tile as she stood up. She threw her backpack over her shoulder and stormed off.
"Skye, wait!" Nothing was going to stop her, though. She'd already rounded the corner before Jemma was even able to stand up.
"You still need to go, Jemma. If you don't do anything you know she's going to stay in that house. What are they going to do next? You don't know what those monsters are willing to do to her if they've already done what they've done. Who's to say that they wouldn't something equally awful? You can't let the fear of Skye's anger stop you from possibly saving her life." Fitz lectured Jemma, who was on the verge of tears and hysteria in the middle of school.
She couldn't conjure up the strength to give any words, so she nodded her head weakly and hurried to escape the prying eyes of a few hundred curious students.