"Jemma! Jemma, you're not thinking straight! This is insane!" Fitz protested as Jemma walked down the corridor to head to dinner. He followed her in his desperation to change her mind.

"This is the right thing to do, Leo. I can't stay here anymore; it's draining me." Jemma said. Fitz grabbed her arm to make her stop and face him.

"Jem, you can't just waste the nearly three years you've spent here. You are so close to leaving anyway, and the qualifications you'll get will help you so much in the future."

"I don't have a future while I'm here, Leo. I have no options; all the places I've applied to go to, all the workplaces I've signed up for, none of them have contacted me. NONE."

"Jemma, there's still time for them to contact you."

"If I'm as amazing as everybody says, I think I would've heard by now!" Jemma shouted. Fitz put his hands on her shoulders and felt how heavily she was breathing. He couldn't believe how he'd not noticed how worked up Jemma had been getting recently.

"Loads of people are still waiting to hear! Jemma, you ARE incredible. All those places will be fighting to the death for you soon enough, I promise. You're stressing out after everything with Skye and exam prep and that's okay…but quitting the school? That's ridiculous and completely crazy!" Fitz said with pure dedication to his cause. Jemma took a step back.

"…Why are you being like this? I thought you'd support me through anything! We're a team!"

"Jemma, how can we be a team when you're not here?"

"Why can't you just be happy for me?" Jemma asked.

"I'm telling you the truth, not just what you want to hear! I haven't noticed how much this has clearly gotten to you, and I'm so sorry; I've let you down. But PLEASE let me make it up to you by making you see how crazy this is! I am begging you not to hand that form in. You're the golden girl! You're my golden girl." Fitz said.

"Maybe I don't want to be! Maybe I've never wanted that label on me; that pressure! I'm doing this so we can be together after graduation, come what may! This is to make sure we're close; I don't need the grades or the career as long as I have you." Jemma said, on the verge of tears. Fitz pulled her close and hugged her.

"You will always have me, okay? Whether we're in the same town or a thousand miles apart, I will always be with you. Losing Jamie and Callum taught me that. After everything we've been through, we'd be stupid to grow apart. We are a team, Jemma, but let's be a team here for as long as we can. You are too talented to throw away your grades and career. I'm sorry, but I cannot let that happen. Give me one more day, okay? 24 hours, just give me that to change your mind. Then you can hand in that form." Fitz pleaded. Jemma took a moment.

"…One day." Jemma whispered and Fitz nodded.

"Good. Shall we go to dinner now?" Fitz asked.

"…I'm not hungry anymore." Jemma said and headed back to the room. Fitz sighed and immediately texted Grant.

…

Skye was sat on her laptop playing a game when Grant knocked on her door and walked in.

"We have a problem. It's about Jemma." Grant said.

"I've got a lot of problems with Jemma right now." Skye said.

"Skye, please."

"You seem to be mistaking me for someone who cares."

"That's crap and you know it. You do care. I see the look on your face when you pass her in the corridor or see her in the café. This is killing you, and it's killing her too." Grant said. Skye said nothing.

"So, is she still struggling to pick a new song?" Skye asked, forcing a look on her face that made it appear as if she wasn't interested.

"…She's dropping out." Grant said. Skye paused for a moment and stayed silent, looking at Grant.

"…Dropping out? As in, quitting?" Skye asked and Grant nodded.

"Fitz and I are getting everyone together that we can tomorrow and making a stand. We have one day to convince her to stay, and you know we can't lose her." Grant said. Skye returned her attention to her laptop.

"Skye, for god's sake."

"What difference would her leaving make to my everyday life right now, Grant? No difference whatsoever. It's her life." Skye said.

"She's lost her way Skye, and you know that even if you two were fighting she would do anything she could to make sure you stayed if you were threatening to leave." Grant said. Skye continued playing her game. Grant shook his head and let out a disappointed sigh as he headed for the door.

"You know, your loyalty to her was one of the reasons I fell so damn in love with you." Grant said before walking out. Skye turned to watch Grant walk away then looked down.

…

Jemma opened the door to a rehearsal room and walked in, looking at her phone.

"I got your text, Leo, but why meet in here?"

She looked up and stopped dead at the room filled with people. Fitz, Grant, Bobbi Morse, Lance Hunter, Pietro Maximoff…so many students that Jemma knew from her classes.

"I…what's going on?" Jemma wondered. Fitz stepped forward and took her hands.

"We got an army together. Everyone in this room wants you to stay for so many different reasons." Fitz explained.

"Leo-"

"-Jem, please. You said we could have one day."

Jemma didn't protest, so Fitz looked at Grant and nodded.

"You're one of my closest friends. I look up to you, I have so much fun with you, and without you I wouldn't have Skye and despite her flaws I love her. And for that I'll always have you to thank, but without you here I know I wouldn't appreciate my life as much, and this school would be a much darker place." Grant said. Jemma smiled appreciatively.

"You inspire me, and everyone in this whole school, so much in every way. You're talented, you're smart, you're beautiful and you have a pure heart. It would kill us to lose you." Bobbi said meaningfully.

"You put this school on the map, you really did. Without you here, something would be missing. You're the golden girl." Lance said. Jemma teared up at the comments, as student after student told Jemma just what she meant to them. Fitz and Grant smiled at each other as the last person spoke.

"And you know the hundreds of reasons I need you to stay." Fitz smiled. Jemma took a moment to herself, breathing heavily and looking at the room of smiling faces.

"I love you guys. And I won't pretend I haven't had good times here; I've had the best of times, but I don't think I'm strong enough to make it through the next few months. I don't want to be the golden girl. I'm a human being, not a title. And when my probably ex best friend doesn't turn up to this, I think that tells me all I need. I'm sorry, guys, I am. Truly. And this was so sweet and lovely of you, but I can't stay here. I'm sorry." Jemma choked and rushed out. Fitz watched her go before closing his eyes and hoping he could wake up from this nightmare.

…

Fitz returned to his and Jemma's room sometime later, and was instantly met from a cold stare from Jemma, who held a stack of paper in her hand.

"What the hell is this? Would you like to tell me why I've received handwritten letters from Melinda May, Maria Hill, Coulson, Mrs Byron, and every teacher of mine begging me not to leave?" Jemma asked.

"You know why. I emailed them all last night." Fitz explained.

"Stop trying to force me to do something I don't want to do! This is MY choice, Leo, MINE!" Jemma shrieked. Fitz could feel himself losing her, and he couldn't have that.

"Jemma, think about what you've done here! Everything you've achieved! If you hadn't have come here, I would never have met you. And you saved me, Jemma; you're my hero. Think about how many students you save day in, day out, just by being here! You are the most precious and beautiful thing in my life, and I want to see this journey through to the end, to graduation, with you, and then we start a new chapter together. Please don't make chapter one end like this." Fitz begged.

"Being here is too much for me, Leo. I can't handle this. I feel trapped and enclosed and I just want to scream and run away!" Jemma said, almost crying.

"Jemma, I think…this is all just getting to you, all the stress and pressure…I think you're just ill, Jem, that's all. But we can make you better. But running away isn't the medication." Fitz said. Jemma sat down on her bed and completely broke down, covering her face with her hands.

"There's something very wrong with me." She cried. Fitz wrapped his arms around her.

"You're just different now, and that's okay." He said gently.

"I don't like this, Fitz. I don't want to be here."

"It was your dream to get in here, remember? Hold on to that, Jemma. Show people dreams can come true. Don't give up on the final hurdle."

"I'm scared, Leo." Jemma said, crying into his shoulder. Fitz felt tears running down his cheeks too, the pain of seeing the girl he loved so hurt killing him inside.

"Me too." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

…

"Hi, this is Jemma. Leave a message after the tone!"

"…Jemma, honey, it's mum. I, uh…your boyfriend phoned me earlier and I've been trying to work out what to say to you. Don't let the stress get to you, Jemma. You know how hard it was getting through your secondary school exams, and you made it in the end. This is just the same, and you'll do so exceptionally well, sweetheart. Your father and I are so proud of you, and we love you so much. But don't give up when you're so close to being the star we know you're destined to be. Love you."

"Hi, this is Jemma. Leave a message after the tone!"

"Honey, it's your dad. I don't truly know if I have the words to say how much you mean to your mother and I. You've always been our miracle, Jem. We were told we couldn't have children and then you showed up and made life worth living. Through all those complications during your birth, you still made it through. You took to your music like a duck to water. One more miracle, hey baby girl? Just one more miracle, and show the world who you are meant to be. Get through these few months and the sky's the limit."

…

That night, Jemma pretended to sleep and waited until Fitz had nodded off before sitting up in her bed and staring at the form. In the morning she'd hand it in to Maria Hill and that would be that. She had no idea how she had fallen so hard in so little time.

She almost didn't hear the sound of something being slid under the door, but she did and quietly walked up to it and picked up the small business card that was left there. She opened the door delicately and looked out, but couldn't see who had left the card there or where they went. She closed the door and returned to her bed, switching on her lamp to study the card further.

Dr Andrew Garner, Student Counsellor
For any counselling or advice, come to room 2A in the Student Services building.

Jemma stared at the card intently. Surely she didn't need help from a counsellor?

She shook her head, tore up the card and threw it in the bin before switching off her light and lying in bed looking at Fitz sleeping peacefully. He was the only sight that could calm her enough to send her off, and soon enough it did.

…

Fitz woke with a start. It took him a few moments to realise where he was and that he was back in a state of reality. He never meant to fall asleep; there was still so much he wanted to say to Jemma. He was still wearing his clothes from the night before! Wiping the the sleepiness out of his eyes, he looked at the time, where he was shocked to see it was almost 8am. Turning to his side he saw Jemma's bed was empty; she was nowhere to be seen.

"Jemma?"

Jumping out of bed, Fitz checked the bathroom and found it empty and looked around the room, taking everything in. He briefly looked at some torn up remnants of something in the bin next to Jemma's bed but didn't register them any further before seeing the Studentship Termination form was gone too. And Maria Hill's office opened at 7.45am.

Oh God, Jemma. Please, no.

Fitz opened the door and rushed out, running faster than he'd ever gone in his life. He had to stop this nightmare from happening.

That is, if it wasn't already too late.