JJ woke late the next morning, basking in the sunshine peering through the curtains as she laid there thinking about the previous night. It was all unravelling in her head, causing her heart rate to increase as she remembered the feeling of the beautiful woman dancing against her body. She groaned inwardly at the thought, gaining the attention of the bubbly blonde laying in the bed across from her.
"Jayje honey, you alright?" she asked concerningly.
"I think I fucked up last night." JJ breathed out, trying to control her emotions as she gazed up at the ceiling.
"How so? You and Emily just disappeared last night, I just assumed it was a good thing." Pen seemed a little too excited for her liking.
"I panicked when I was dancing with her, she ended up driving me back here and I kissed her..." she revealed, turning her head to look at her best friend.
"YOU DID WHAT?! JJ why didn't you tell me when I got back?!" her eyes were wide at the revelation.
"I only kissed her on the cheek Pen, it's barely cause for celebration. She was so worried that she'd made me feel uncomfortable by asking me to dance with her, I felt like I had to reassure her and that was the best option I could come up with short of kissing her on the lips. I didn't want to put her in that position." JJ sighed, feeling her eyes sting at the thought.
"Oh baby, you two looked positively sinful dancing with each other last night. I practically had to drag Derek away from joining in, he was loving every minute of it!" she giggled at the memory, "But I also saw the way she looked at you when you two left, and I know for a fact that had it been anyone else, they would not have dropped you home and made sure you were safe. There is definitely something more between you guys, you just need to give each other the time to figure out just what you're going to do about it." She offered a warm and comforting smile.
"Pen, I can't stop thinking about her. It felt so right to be so close to her, to feel her against my body. It's like we fit together perfectly. I want to know everything there is about her, and I want her to know everything about me. I've never had that before, but I also really don't want to get my heart broken, it would destroy me." JJ felt a tear roll down her cheek, quickly lifting a hand to wipe it away.
"Oh my god." Penelope gasped, "You're falling for her!"
"Jeez Pen no, I barely know her! I certainly have not fallen in love with her." she propped herself up on her elbow to watch her friend.
"Come on JJ, you don't choose who you fall in love with and how quickly it happens. You just realise it one day. Just give yourself a chance to figure out how you really feel about her, because I know that it is more than just lust between you two. You two couldn't be more right for each other if you tried, it's so bloody obvious. I think you should ask her out on a date so you can talk." the idea excited Penelope, the blonde clapping her hands together.
"God you are insufferable sometimes... I have a one to one with her tomorrow, I can talk to her then if I need to. But for now, I need coffee and some good food. Do you think Spence and Derek will wanna grab brunch at the café?" she quickly changed the subject, hoping that Penelope would leave it alone.
"Sure you will." Penelope rolled her eyes in defeat, "I'll text Derek and ask, I'm sure they'll be up for it. I'm hanging so I need some greasy food and a lot of coffee to feel normal again!" she joked.
"Okay P, let's get a move on!" JJ finished, pulling herself up and began to get herself ready to leave.
"JJ, how are you finding the course?" Spencer asked politely. Despite only being 16, he was unbelievably smart, stating he had an eidetic memory and an IQ of 187.
"I'm really enjoying it Spence, it's more fun than I thought it would be." JJ offered a sweet smile to the young man.
"She's really enjoying eyeing up our hot goddess of a professor that's for sure." Derek winked at JJ, earning a disgusted huff and eye roll from the blonde.
"Will you shut up about Prentiss, nothing is going to happen between us." JJ shot back at him, clearly displaying her annoyance towards her friend.
"Jeez blondie, I was only joking. Sorry." he held his hands up in defeat.
"She's just mad because she doesn't know how to tell her she likes her. It's infuriating, watching them dance last night was hot and they can't seem to get their shit together and admit how they feel. She even kissed her last night." Penelope rolled her eyes, taking a swig of her latte.
"Really Pen?! I don't want to talk about it. And I kissed her on the cheek, it was just a friendly gesture to thank her for dropping me back." JJ exploded at her friends, watching their expressions change at the unexpected outburst. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, instantly feeling guilty for the way she'd spoken to her friends.
"Okay Jayje, we won't talk about it. What have you guys got planned for the rest of your Sunday? Do you fancy a movie afternoon?" Derek mused, quickly changing the subject.
"Oh god yes, I need Gatorade and candy to ward off this hangover, it's killing me." Penelope groaned, pressing her fingers against her temples and wincing at the pain rolled through her head.
"I like that idea; it'll be nice to relax before we jump back into classes again this week." Spencer smiled warmly.
"Okay, let's get settled up here, we can stop by the store and get some crap food." JJ instantly felt better, looking forward to enjoying their company for the remainder of the day.
JJ had an armful of snacks, watching Derek and Spencer try not to drop the assortment of drinks they carried in their arms as Penelope fumbled with the front door to their building. As they got up to their dorm, Pen opened the door and they all filtered in, dropping most of their haul on JJ's bed and getting comfortable in their respective places. They chose a film to watch, JJ was sat in her bed, with Spencer perched on the end whilst Penelope and Derek were huddled within the mountain of pillows on the bubbly blonde's own bed. JJ wasn't even paying attention to the film, she was in her own little world, and all that she was thinking about was Emily.
"Jesus..." JJ breathed out, feeling dizzy at the thoughts rushing through her head.
"JJ, are you alright?" Penelope asked, watching her emotions flicker on JJ's face.
"I told her last night that I wanted to kiss her like it was the last thing I'd do on earth. I really don't want to fuck up the friendship that we've built." JJ choked, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
"Baby girl, Emily apologised if she made you uncomfortable, why do you think she'd let something that small ruin your friendship? She would've said something, you know how confident she is." Derek spoke up this time, offering a sweet smile to her as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Derek, I don't have a lot of friends. You guys are it, and as amazing as you all are, I don't think I could lose Emily as a friend. Could you imagine how awkward that'd make things." she whispered quietly, moving to rest her head against his strong chest, feeling him wrap his arms around her and into a warm hug. Penelope and Spencer looked at each other before Pen moved to cocoon the blonde between herself and Derek, even Spencer joined them despite his uneasiness for physical affection on any level. JJ felt herself relax at the pressure of the embrace from her three friends, breathing deeply as her tears began to subside and she felt the weight lift off her shoulders.
"I need to know how she feels, I don't want to mess this up. I have a study session with her tomorrow, so I guess I'll just see what happens." JJ steadied her breathing once more, pulling away from her friend's arms.
"We'll be waiting for you when you come out, right guys? It's going to be okay my beautiful little blonde goddess. Shall we choose another film to put on?" Penelope voice was sweet and reassuring for JJ, earning a small chuckle at the compliment.
"Sure P, I just want to chill out." JJ walked over to her laptop, turning it on and opening Netflix up for them to connect to the TV in their room. Penelope sat with Derek on her bed, pulling the blankets up from the end to snuggle up, whilst JJ pulled her covers close to her with Spencer sat comfortably at the end of her own bed. They settled in to watch 'A Simple Favor', a favourite of JJ's, knowing it would make her feel better and let her forget about the impending conversation for the time being.
JJ woke bright and early Monday morning, it was still too early to get ready for her first lesson, so she decided to go for a run, trying to move around their dorm as quietly as possible as not to wake her sleeping roommate. She ran 4 miles, revelling in the adrenaline rush it gave her when she jogged through the campus to return to her room. She was glad to have not come across anyone whilst she was out, she preferred running at early hours when she could be alone with her thoughts. She was feeling confident but put that down to the sense of euphoria flowing through her body as a result of her exercise.
She busied herself showering and getting ready for her day, the nerves slowly creeping up on her as she woke Penelope and then left for her first lecture. Derek had just left his room down the hall from her, so they walked together making small talk along the way about what their second week had in store for them. Derek had been successful in try-outs for the college baseball team, whilst JJ hadn't even bothered to try out for their soccer team. She had her running, that would be enough to keep her content for the time being.
Professor Hotchner was in a good mood that morning, getting straight into their criminological theory unit. He set them an assignment piece to work on during the week in their study periods, asking them to look further at the theories and begin to research part of their next module on 21st century crime problems. He dismissed the lesson with a big smile on his face, telling them they were all doing a great job with their studies, and he was looking forward to seeing their potentials as the year went on.
JJ, Derek and Spencer walked out into the hallway to go to their next lesson, with Emily. JJ felt the nerves build again, Derek was quick to reassure her before they walked in and took their seats. Spencer had taken a place next to JJ this time, so she was sandwiched between the two tall men. It helped calm her thoughts, she felt safe and comfortable with her new friends. They already felt like a little family, making her smile at the thought.
"Good morning guys! I hope you all had a nice weekend; we are carrying on from last lecture and tying it in with how it links to forensic psychology and then there will be a quiz to see what you guys have researched on the three major theories. If you want to get yourself ready to take notes and we can begin." Emily looked different today, a little tired if you looked at her long enough. JJ felt her heart clench in guilt, knowing that she was most likely the cause.
Derek took JJ's hand in his own and gave it a quick squeeze before getting his stuff out of his backpack, she peered over at Spencer who gave an awkward yet reassuring smile before following Derek's actions. She took a deep breath in, hearing it shakily escape her lips when she exhaled. She wanted nothing more than to be hidden deep within her bedcovers, blocking out the entire world so she didn't have to think or feel.
The first part of the lesson flew by, for which JJ was grateful for, she wanted to get this quiz done so she could go and have her last moments of peace in the break between her lesson and study session with Emily. When the time came Emily spoke to the room again.
"Right, I know it's a pain, but I need you all to space out as much as you can. Don't want anyone peeking at other people's quizzes. This doesn't go towards any final grading, it's just for me to gauge your understanding on the theories so don't fret too much. I will be here so don't hesitate to ask for help, just put your hand up and I will come and see you." she walked to the end of each row, passing the person sat there a stack of papers to distribute down the line.
Everyone shuffled their seats, Derek moving to the end of their seating row leaving a few seats between him and the blonde, Spence doing the same in the other direction. Once the piece of paper got to her, she stuck right in burying her head into the words. The first 3 questions were easy, writing her answers as neatly as she could with the information flowing from her brain. The 4th one was a little more difficult, she had to stop and think to herself for a minute before trying to get her words to make sense on the paper.
She heard Emily's heels clicking on the wooden floor as she began to help a few other students who had raised their hands, JJ assuming it were for the question she'd just answered. She peered over to Spencer who was writing furiously onto the sheet, stifling a chuckle at his enthusiasm. She paid attention to her own work again. The 5th and final question were so confusing, she didn't have a clue where to start. She hadn't wanted to raise her hand, but she also didn't want to leave any unanswered, worried that Emily would be disappointed. She carefully raised her arm, head still down rereading the question over and over in hopes that is would suddenly make sense. It didn't.
She heard the brunette's heels once again, climbing the steps to the back of the room and approached the blonde. She twisted her body between the desks and took a seat next to the blonde before speaking.
"What can I help you with Jennifer?" Emily's voice was a quiet whisper, only JJ would've been able to hear her over the scribbling of pens and rustling of papers that filled the rest of the room.
"This question, it doesn't make any sense to me." she kept her head down at the paper, she didn't dare look into Emily's eyes.
"Okay, let me read it to you. Sometimes it helps hearing it from someone else to make sense." Emily ran through the question, watching JJ's face intently for any confusion when she finished.
"Hmm, I'm still not sure." JJ bit her bottom lip.
"Jennifer it's okay if you can't answer it. I know you understand the three theories, I'm not going to be disappointed if you can't put a response down on paper." Emily placed a warm hand on JJ's thigh in reassurance. JJ flinched at the touch, feeling her body tense up when Emily pulled it away quickly.
"Sorry Professor, I'm just going to read it again and see if can get something down." JJ still had her head down, making Emily worry slightly.
"Okay, I'll leave you to it. But please don't worry too much." Emily rose from her seat and walked away, JJ releasing a breath she hadn't realised she was holding in.
She battled with herself, reading the question every which way she could before she hesitantly wrote an answer down, knowing it would most likely make little or no sense. She put her pen down and leaned back in her seat, covering her face with her hands. Why did she have to go and flinch when Emily touched her, she was sending all the wrong signals to the brunette professor. She was annoyed by her own reaction, wishing she could just feel normal and be able to welcome the touches the older woman gave her.
Once the rest of the students finished their papers, Emily collected them from the rows, giving JJ a sympathetic look when she glanced down to pick up the sheet. JJ felt like her heart was going to fall out of her ass, she was nervous to be alone with her professor, it didn't take a genius to tell that something was wrong with her. When Emily dismissed them, JJ packed her bag and moved quickly out of the room, running straight into a guy in the hallway.
"Dude watch where you're goi- Oh. JJ, right?" the guy raised his voice, before lowering it when he realised who had bumped into him.
"Uh yeah, you're Will, right? You get lost on the way to the football field or something?" she quipped back, Will LaMontagne was a massive douchebag, he had a reputation around the campus for taking advantage of girls at parties.
"Ha, you're funny. What's a guy like me gotta do to get you to go out for a drink with me this weekend?" He wore a dirty smile on his face, his southern accent almost too thick to understand.
"Boobs for a start." she joked, watching his face turn to an expression of disgust.
"Oh, you're a dyke! That explains a lot." he shouted out for everyone in the hallway to hear. Derek and Spencer had just walked out of the room, followed by few more students.
"Fuck you LaMontagne. You're just mad because the only girls that take a slight interest in you are almost blackout drunk." she accused, his face dropped at the remark and he raised his hand, JJ hearing it connect with her face before she had a chance to react.
"JJ!" Derek and Spencer shouted at the same time, watching the blonde fall back. Will's fist had hit the side of her face, the impact sending the petite girl flying into the wall behind her.
"You fucking dyke, don't you dare speak to me like that!" he shouted, attracting the attention of everyone in the surrounding area.
"Wow, you'd really hit a girl. Guess that just goes to show how much respect you really have for women." JJ sneered at him, regaining her balance and squaring up to the man.
"It was self-defense!"
"No, this is self-defense!" JJ shouted, throwing herself towards the dark-haired man, sending both tumbling to the floor, she landed a punch straight to his nose, watching the blood flow freely as she pulled her fist away to get another hit in.
"Jesus JJ!" Derek grabbed the blonde's raised arm and pulled her off the man on the floor, holding her away from him as he stumbled to get up off the floor.
"What is- Jennifer! What the hell is going on out here?!" Emily heard the commotion from inside the hall, her eye's averting straight to the blonde.
"She fucking hit me! Fucking dyke, you better watch your back!" Will yelled, a group of guys behind him were holding him back from taking another swing at the young blonde.
"That's enough Mr LaMontagne. The dean will hear about this, threatening and assaulting another student and expressing homophobic slurs is bang out of order." Emily's voice was raised but in a calming manor, not letting her anger show at all. She turned to JJ to look at the damage. "Jennifer, we need to get this cut cleaned up. Come with me, I have a first aid kit." she took the blonde's arm in her hand and pulled her away from the crowd.
She stormed down the hallway, climbing the stairs to the next floor where her office was situated. JJ shook her arm loose of the grasp, watching the brunette turn to unlock the heavy door. She was yanked into the door as quickly as she'd opened it, slamming it shut behind her and locking it. She moved over to the closet at the side of the room, rummaging around inside for the red box.
"Jennifer, what the hell was that?!" Emily sounded furious, JJ hadn't seen her angry and it was rather intimidating.
"He called me a dyke; he takes advantage of drunk girls, so I called him out on it. Next thing I know he'd hit me. I only hit him back in self-defense, I swear I didn't hit him first." JJ breathed out, watching the brunette approach her.
"Sit down, let me look at your face." Emily commanded, pointing to her desk.
JJ dropped her backpack on the floor and perched herself on the edge of the desk, so she was level with Emily. She felt the brunette's hand touch the sensitive flesh of her cheek, wincing at the pain that shot through the side of her face.
"Jesus, you're lucky he didn't break your cheekbone, Jennifer. The cut isn't that deep though, I can use strips to hold it together once I've cleaned it. This is going to sting." Emily voice had calmed. She knew the blonde was telling the truth about what had happened.
"He's an asshole. He only started because I said he wasn't my type." JJ watched Emily open the red box and pull out a bottle of rubbing alcohol, pouring a liberal amount onto a cotton pad and dab it around the bloody cut on her face. Her eyes shut as the stinging sensation hit her, biting her lip to stop the curses falling from her mouth. Emily was stood just to the side of her, she opened her legs slightly, trying to distract herself with her own movements to dull the pain. Emily pulled away, grabbing a clean piece of cotton and repeating the same action again. Once she'd cleaned the blood away, she placed her hand on the blonde's jaw, cupping it gently and making her look into her eyes.
"Hey, you're not in trouble. I would've done the same thing had I been in that position. It looked like you hit him good though, probably broke his nose." She smirked at the blonde, letting out a small chuckle as she saw blue eyes light up.
"You think? God, he looked so smug when he hit me, I bet he wasn't expecting me to fight back. Felt good to wipe that look off his stupid face." She retorted, laughing at the thought. Emily moved away from her side again to retrieve some adhesive strips from the box, this time moving to stand between the blonde's open legs. JJ felt her breath catch in her throat; they were as close as they were on Saturday night, yet this time JJ had no way of running. She felt Emily's hand move her face to the side and touched the open wound on her cheek. JJ winced again at the sharp pain.
"Fuck, that really hurts." she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Language Miss Jareau" Emily smirked. "You're going to have a lovely bruise for the next week or so. And I can change the strips in a few days if they need it. But you're gonna live." she smiled as she watched blue eyes flutter open again, JJ smiling brightly back at her.
"Thank you, Emily. I appreciate it, I'm sorry you ended up getting involved though." JJ apologised quietly.
"Don't worry about it honey, it was nothing. I'd rather not see you get beaten black and blue by some homophobic asshole." Emily returned. JJ smiled at the name, how had Emily managed to turn her nerves into butterflies. She finished putting the strips on her cut and cleaned up the rest of her cheek.
"I like your dress today, it's beautiful." JJ looked down at the hands resting in her lap.
"Thank you, Jennifer. I hope we are okay after the other night. I worry that I've upset you with my actions." she expressed, watching the blonde play with her fingers.
"You haven't upset me, Emily. I just-" JJ paused, taking a breath in. She heard a shrill ringing from behind her, turning around to look, Emily moved from between her legs and grabbed the phone behind JJ.
"Prentiss." JJ watched Emily's face turn from confusion into nerves and then straight. "Yes of course, I'm on campus so I'll be there in an hour. Okay, thank you Sir." Emily pulled the phone away from her face, ending the call and letting out a deep breath.
"Are you okay Emily?" JJ asked worried.
"Yes, I have to go over to Quantico to consult with a case they have. Um, this might not be appropriate, but I think it'd be a good opportunity; would you be interested in coming with me?" Emily bit her bottom lip between her teeth.
"Am I even allowed? I mean they wouldn't just let any person walk in off the streets into FBI headquarters." JJ brushed a hand through her hair, looking more nervous than Emily was.
"Jennifer, when you're with me, they'll let you in just about anywhere. Come on, you're all patched up now so we can leave. We can grab a coffee on the way, we might be there for a couple of hours so grab a couple of the case files out of the top drawer and you can look over them whilst you wait for me." Emily offered a warm smile, pointing over to the desk before moving around to grab her purse and coat.
The two women headed out of the room, Emily locking the door behind her before they walked out to the parking lot and towards Emily's car. She opened the passenger door for JJ, like the other night, and then walked around to settle herself in. They set off, stopping at a coffee shop down the road to grab two lattes and some food to take with them and made their way over to Quantico. JJ couldn't help but notice how skilled Emily was at driving, yes it was faster than she'd expected, but she felt safe nonetheless as the brunette dodged in and out of cars on the freeway.
JJ pulled out her phone to send a text to Penelope, letting the blonde know where she'd be for the afternoon and most likely part of the evening.
JJ: Hey P, I've gone out with Emily for a bit, I'll let you know when I'm on my way back! Love you xo
P: Ooh spill the details, you're not going back to her place, are you?!
JJ: God no, she's taking me to Quantico! She got called in to consult on a case and asked if I wanted to go see what it was like over there.
P: Okay, jealous, but how is she gonna get you in there?
JJ: Apparently, I don't have to worry if she's with me... she bought me coffee and lunch, and she's driving like someone would if they're trying to avoid roadside bombs or gunfire. It's kinda sexy...
P: No way! That does sound sexy, and that's incredibly sweet of her to buy you lunch... enjoy yourself treacle, I gotta go to my next class. I'll speak to you later. xo
JJ: I know right! Enjoy P, I'll text when I can! 3
"Okay, when we get there, they're gonna ask for your full name, address, and might check your prints. It's just what they do to make sure you're not gonna shoot up the place." Emily glanced over as JJ put her phone back in her jacket pocket.
"Fingerprints? I expected a cavity search so that's comforting." JJ joked, Emily laughing in return.
"You're sooo funny." she spoke sarcastically, "You'll have to sit outside the office whilst I talk to Gideon and Rossi, but it shouldn't take long. If it does, I'll arrange for someone to take you back to campus, okay?" she reassured the blonde she was in safe hands here.
"Is it weird that I'm kinda nervous to go in there?" JJ smiled slightly.
"Have you got a criminal record, or are you a secret serial killer Jennifer?" Emily raised an eyebrow, taking her eyes off the road to look at the blonde next to her.
"Ha, no chance. I could never commit a crime, I'm too much of an angel." JJ winked at the brunette. Emily started laughing at her, JJ joining in quickly.
"You an angel? That's not what I've heard Miss Jareau." Emily shot back. JJ opened her mouth to speak but no words would come out, she was speechless. "Getting caught by your principle performing oral on a girl is not angel-like behaviour. Not a crime, but still. Who knows what else you're capable of..." Emily winked at JJ.
"I knew I shouldn't have told you that. Trust me, there are worse stories." JJ groaned.
"Oh yeah, care to divulge Jen?" Emily teased.
"Not if you're going to use it against me." JJ looked at Emily, seeing her shake her head, she took a deep breath and began to recall the memory.
"Okay, so I had a friend with benefits whilst I was looking after my mom when she was sick. She was cool, but she was a bit too vanilla. I suggested that we try having sex in the car just to spice things up a bit, so ya know we were doing it in this supermarket parking lot at like midnight and may or may not have gotten caught by the cops. The worst thing was it was one of the officers whose daughters I coached at soccer... he let us off with a warning, but I couldn't ever look him in the eye again." JJ cringed as she spoke.
"A bit too vanilla? Jennifer, you crack me up. You almost got a record, I'm impressed." Emily chuckled.
"The sex sucked; I just wish I'd seen it sooner rather than later because it was so not worth getting caught for!" Emily began laughing even louder, trying to focus on the road ahead of her as she turned off down the long road approaching the FBI headquarters.
"You need to have more fun Jennifer; it sounds like you're always giving these girls a fun time and never getting anything yourself." Emily spoke confidently, essentially profiling JJ.
"That sounds like an offer I couldn't refuse; I'd kill for one decent climax these days." JJ concluded. Emily's eyes went wide at the admission, swallowing harshly as she tried to control herself.
"You and me both." she risked it, not knowing whether she wanted to see the blonde's reaction to her remark.
They both sat there in silence as Emily pulled into the space, turning off the engine and sitting there for a minute. It was slightly awkward yet comforting at the same time, JJ never thought she would ever be having these kinds of conversations with the older brunette, but it gave her a thrill she'd never experienced in her life. She found herself wanting more.