"Spence, I swear we haven't talked in days, bro. Tell me what's going on." Emily shouted across the room, hanging upside down on her bed as she stared at the boy sitting on the floor across from her. He was eating a muffin, triple chocolate, just like Derek had recommended to him earlier in the day. It was delicious.
He looked up from his food with a goofy smile, before setting it down on the plate in front of him. "I know. With everything going on in our lives as of the past few days, we need to start designating a time to discuss our events each day. I'll start." He cleared his throat, leaning back against the nearest wall. "So, Derek invited me to breakfast the other day. He told me that he um… he invited all of the people he kissed to breakfast, and only kissed me because I was the closest person." He reached his hand up and ran his fingers through his lengthy hair.
Emily rolled up to a sitting position, and let herself fall off the bed in front of him. "What the hell? Hey, I literally saw the kiss. That wasn't just truth or dare, there was something there. In the years I've known Derek, he's never invited anyone out to breakfast to my knowledge." Spencer cocked his eyebrow, a smile growing on his face. Was it possible Derek was just embarrassed? "What did you say?"
He shrugged. "I just pretty much said, 'ok.' What else was I supposed to say, to be honest? "Hey, don't be a douche. I actually really like you and want you to kiss me for real, and I've never felt that way, and I'm terrified, and you're a dick, and I don't know why I like you, I don't know why I'm saying this, you're attractive, but you're straight so there's no point." He rambled, running out of breath as he took another bite of his muffin.
Emily crawled over to him and placed her head in his lap. "Ok, Ok. Don't say all of that, he would probably get pissed. But I don't see the problem in telling him how you feel. He's a really nice guy, and even if he doesn't feel the same, which I'm almost POSITIVE he does, he's not gonna hate you. Just type him out a letter with that shit you never use," She pointed towards a typewriter collecting dust in the corner of their room.
He set his food down and looked down at her for a moment. "Maybe I will. If I tell him and he rejects me, it would be easier to move on rather than suffer in silence, never knowing. Are you gonna tell Elle, then?"
Emily rolled out of her position and stood up, looking down on the boy. "What do you mean? Tell Elle what? We're literally dating."
Spencer shrugged. "That's the problem. You think you're moving too fast. I think you're moving too fast, and I think deep down, you have feelings for JJ." Emily spit out the water she had begun drinking all over the floor, looking at her friend in shock.
"What the fuck do you mean you think I have feelings for JJ? I fucking hate her, bro."
He laughed slightly, shoving the rest of his food into his mouth with a smile. "You literally took off the blanket to show her. You can say it was out of anger, and you didn't think about it at the moment, but I think subconsciously you wanted her to check you out. Think about it. You saved her from her abusive boyfriend, you were flustered when she sat next to you at the party, you kept staring at her, and then you took off your blanket?" He paused, shrugging once again. "I'm just saying, it would make sense."
Emily stared at her friend for a moment, before looking back towards the floor. "You're right, I do think things are moving too fast with Elle. I just have to accept it and hope it works out." She cleared her throat, looking out the window at the darkened campus.
Spencer decided not to touch on the fact that she completely avoided his monologue about her obvious feelings for JJ, and instead decided to stand up and began making his bed slowly. "Em," he said softly, looking over at her. The brunette looked over at her roommate, and tilted her head slightly. "You need to be honest with yourself."
"I am being honest with myself. I… I.. l… ove, I love Elle. Yes, I love her. In the 3 days I've known her, I've fallen in love. Obviously." She went and flopped onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow. "Anyway, guess what happened earlier? JJ, who doesn't follow me, liked my picture and then unliked it within minutes! What the hell is that?"
Spencer grinned at his oblivious friend. "Notice how you somehow manage to talk about JJ 90% of the time. It's obviously on your mind. She is."
She sat up and threw one of her pillows at him. "Shut up."
--
Elle closed the door to the dimly lit apartment, carefully taking her shoes off and setting them on the welcome mat. It was quiet within the small space, no sounds of music blaring from either rooms, the sounds of the kitchen normally bursting with life silent, not even the TV was playing. It was strange, quiet. The two friends always had something to do, and if they didn't, they found something to do. She figured JJ was just busy. Maybe she had gotten back together with Will. Sighing softly, she climbed onto the sofa resting in their small living room.
She clicked on the remote to watch some crime documentary, and examined the house around her. She observed that there was something missing, but she couldn't quite put together what exactly was missing. Clicking her tongue, she rose from her position and began walking through the house. The walls seemed more plain than usual, and she was a bit concerned.
She pushed open the door to JJ's room, and with a bit of relief, noticed the blonde curled up in her own bed. JJ was a pretty sleeper, her normally tense eyebrows relaxed and her hair flowed all around her. Elle understood why Will liked her so much, despite the fact that she, and he, were both assholes.
Looking in the corner of the room, Elle noticed a pile of pictures dumped into a cardboard box, and her worry grew. Was JJ moving out? She knew she had implied that earlier during their argument, but Elle loved her friend, and wanted to continue living with her- despite the fact that she was a plain bigot. After Elle cleared her throat, JJ rose from her slumber and looked up at the brunette with a soft sigh. "Elle. You came home."
The brunette nodded softly, taking a place on the bed beside the blonde. "Listen, I'm.. I'm sorry about our argument earlier. It… I shouldn't have said the things I did, and you shouldn't have said the things you did, we were both in the wrong. I hope you can admit that, as well as forgive me." JJ looked curiously at the opposing girl and smiled slightly before pulling her into a tight hug.
The two girls rested there for a moment, taking in each other's company. They had been roommates ever since freshman year when they were forced to live on campus, and their relationship had only grown as the days went by. If they weren't friends, Elle wasn't sure what she would do. It's all she'd ever known.
Finally pulling away, Elle stood up from the bed to look at her friend. "Do you want to go to dinner? We can go to that really cool diner." The blonde rolled off the bed, nodding, and began getting ready. As if this was a common occurrence, Elle left the room to go get ready as well. She didn't do much with herself, she loved herself the way she was. She let her frizzy hair curl up around her shoulders, allowed a natural look on her face without any makeup, and wore whatever she wanted to. She didn't do anything to please anyone.
JJ, on the other hand, tried her absolute best to be liked by anyone and everyone. She would have preferred a more comfortable outfit for their dining, but was afraid of being seen by anyone, so she forced herself to wear something nicer. She threw on a light sunflower dress, with a pair of brown sandals, putting her hair into a tight ponytail. If someone didn't know JJ, they would probably assume that she was a stereotypical girl, and in a way, she was. However, she also preferred football to shopping, found burping funny, and drank beer. She considered herself "quirky", which her best friend made absolute fun of her for.
She walked out to the living room, where she saw Elle waiting for her. Elle had thrown on a pair of khaki pants pulled up to her waist, with a white shirt that simply said, "i 3 you." It was meant to be a mental health advocate shirt, but JJ teased her about it endlessly, finding it much too cheesy for her taste.
However, sometimes, she wondered if she had worn a shirt like that when she was younger, if her older sister would still be here. She tried to rationalize her thoughts, recognizing that it was no fault of her own about what happened, but despite this, she did wonder.
The two girls walked out the door, throwing each of their bags over their own shoulders. Their two different tastes were apparent as they put them on. Elle wore a small corduroy green backpack that was filled with pencils, sketchbooks, paints, and pens. JJ, however, had a small black purse that held only her wallet, a charger, and her phone. She didn't have many hobbies.
They made their way to JJ's small black car, where they quickly left the parking lot and made their way to the same diner that Emily and Spencer were currently walking to. The two pairs laughed as they made their way to the same restaurant, not realizing they were headed to the same place- completely oblivious as they took in each other's companies with laughs and smiles.
--
Taking a seat in the corner of the diner in a booth, Emily and Spencer chuckled as they pulled out the menus. They ate out a little bit too much, but the University's meals didn't hit quite as much as a good juicy burger from the local joint with a side of a chocolate mocha shake. Emily checked her phone quickly, waiting for a text from her girlfriend, which never came.
Elle, however, was too busy with her best friend to even think about texting her. They were having a good time for the first time in awhile. Ever since Will had become increasingly angry, JJ had become more depressed, and they rarely spent much time together. However, now that Will was out of the equation, Elle hoped they would be able to go back to normal and just be friends again. That's all she wanted.
The two girls sat in a booth on the opposite side of the diner, still oblivious to the other pair of friends. Soon after they both enter, Morgan enters with a special blonde girl, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders as she giggles. This is when Spencer noticed another person from their group as the sound of Morgan's laughter drew his attention. He waved his arm over to get the two newcomers to sit with them, and they did. The four sat together, making small conversation.
"Princess!" Derek leaned in to give Emily a small hug, then turned to the boy sitting across from her. "Pretty boy." He said softly, leaning in to look at the flustered younger boy. Spencer immediately broke out into a smile, looking down at the table to pick at his nails.
"Hey, Derek." He mumbled.
Leaning in a bit closer, Derek tilted his chin up to maintain eye contact with the younger boy. "Hm? Speak up."
The two girls watched from across the table with eyes about to pop out of their skulls, blush crawling up their own cheeks. They were in awe of the way Derek was able to speak to the boy. Spencer, on the other hand, was struggling to breathe as he broke their strong eye contact. It was longer than he could handle with most people, but at some point it became painful as he shimmied himself lower in his seat to hide.
The older boy chuckled as he let go of the younger boy, turning to his two friends who were still staring with grins on their faces. "What? We were just messing around, right, pretty boy?" He looped his arm around Spencer to rub his knuckle into his hair, messing it all up. The younger boy scoffed, shoving the other away from him with a small laugh.
The four joked around until a waiter came up to their table and they ordered their food. Per usual, Spencer ordered his chicken tenders and fries. Emily ordered a cheeseburger with extra cheese, a milkshake, and a side of waffle fries. Penelope ordered a salad with a dairy free milkshake, and Derek ordered a small steak with a side of mashed potatoes and a vanilla shake. Spencer didn't like the texture of such a drink, it triggered his gag reflex.
On the other side of the restaurant, Elle and JJ sat quietly as they waited for the food they had already ordered. They caught each other up on the juicy details of their lives, although Elle tried to leave out any information she thought would upset her friend- especially about Emily. JJ told her all about her final fight with Will which ended with a slap in the face and running out of his apartment. Elle felt bad for them both, but Will was a sack of shit, it was what he deserved. After she told her about what happened between them, the conversation began to die. All she wanted to talk about was her new found sex life, but she was paranoid that JJ might freak out.
Soon, the waitress came by and delivered their food, giving JJ her salad and Elle her vegan burger. The two began eating, glancing at each other every so often. There was a bit of… weight, in the air between them. Elle couldn't decipher whether it was because of their arguments they had the past two days, or whether the two were simply growing apart. Maybe both.
Opposite to them, the group of four were having the time of their lives. They were laughing, throwing fries at one another and even spilling their drinks all across the table. They were causing quite the commotion, grabbing the attention of a few customers around them. However, nobody complained as they enjoyed the sight of college students letting themselves have fun, carefree of the stress of upcoming exams.
At one point in the night, Derek slowly moved closer to Spencer so his hand that wasn't feeding his own mouth his food was resting carefully on the inside of the boy's thigh, higher up than Spencer would prefer. His breathing accelerated as he stuffed a fry in his mouth to avoid any attention from his friends being drawn to him. Derek, however, knew exactly what he was doing and sat with a smirk on his lips.
He wasn't sure what had gotten into him. He was straight… well, mostly straight, macho men. He didn't normally flirt with men, nor do such a public thing when he wasn't with someone. The younger boy brought something new to him. It was a strange feeling, the way his heart swelled when he caught Spencer already looking at him, or watching as Spencer dropped a fry down his shirt and looked around in hopes that nobody was looking, or when Spencer's eyes widened when Derek smiled at him. He was absolutely adorable, with his slightly tousled hair from Derek's rough hand.
Would he ever admit to anyone that he liked the boy? He was tempted to tell Penelope, but he wasn't sure how she would react. Spencer would probably end up finding out, and he could not let that happen. Spencer would neve feel the same way, how could such an intelligent, cute boy like him ever like someone like Derek? He wouldn't.
Spencer's thoughts were racing in his head. Why was Derek doing such a thing? He had thoughts of a possibility that the older boy liked his company, but to be doing such a bold thing was a completely different story. He was clearly displaying his attraction. Or was it possibly an accident? Could he be mistaken that it was Penelope's thigh?
Derek gently squeezed his thigh, which caused Spencer to squeak slightly, before he forced himself into a coughing fit. He could never admit that he was almost on the verge of being groped, and enjoying it.
Emily was quietly observing her best friend's behavior as Derek and Penelope gossiped over the latest drama, and grinned slightly as the two of them made eye contact. Spencer shook his head, fighting a smile, and took another bite of his chicken tender. Emily had already finished her food and was just waiting for her slow-ass friends.
She had looked away from her friends, and scanned the area around them when suddenly she caught sight of her girlfriend and Jennifer Jareau. With a grin, she climbed over Penelope and made her way over to their table, sliding through the dimly lit diner. Her boots clicked softly against the floor, increasing in volume as it drew both of the girls' attention. Elle looked at her girlfriend with a soft smile, while JJ's eyebrows furrowed slightly, looking at the approaching girl.
Jennifer observed the girl's outfit. A tight black dress, with spidery black fishnets underneath. Around her neck was a soft choker with a heart, her hair pinned behind her ears with small clips. She wore a heavy flannel jacket that had a few patches taken out, replaced by black strips of fabric. On her feet she wore 3-in platforms, that gave her height over both of the two girls.
Emily observed the girl checking her out and looked away with a sly smile, turning her gaze toward her girlfriend. Elle stood up and embraced the other girl, which caused JJ to turn away with a grimace on her face. She had finished her food so she had no distraction from the couple in front of her. Emily pulled her girlfriend into a lengthy kiss, wrapping a slight hand around her neck. JJ turned briefly to watch as she did so, getting a glimpse in her head the idea of Emily's hand around her own neck, before she quickly pushed out. Why would she think of the girl she hated in such a way?
"You should come sit with us, El." Emily wrapped an arm around her, looking down at the blonde who was staring at her. Emily didn't extend her sentiment to her. Elle nodded slightly, forgetting about her best friend for a moment. She buried her face in her girlfriend's neck, which caused JJ's mouth to curl into a snarl.
"I have to use the bathroom." She grabbed her purse and shoved her way through the women, storming into the nearby bathroom. She threw open the first stall, collapsing into the small space as she curled up on the floor, locking the door from beneath it. She had to contain her breathing, anger blossoming in her chest. Somehow, Emily always managed to ruin everything. Everything. She ruined everything. Tears began to pour down her face, and she immediately wiped them away, trying to prevent her makeup from being ruined. Unfortunately, she began, and stopped caring. Who was she trying to impress? Certainly not Will. Elle no longer seemed to care, and no matter what, she didn't care about what Emily thought. She hated the brunette. She hated her, she hated her, she hated her. She pushed herself up from her seat, and stormed out of the bathroom, looking around the restaurant.
She observed a couple old people who looked in her direction, confused as to where the sudden loud noise of the door slamming had come from. There were some other kids from their campus eating together, even a few of her "friends" eating together in a nearby seat. She didn't care anymore. She was done with everyone and everything. She was about to exit when suddenly she caught sight of the table with Emily Prentiss, where her best friend now sat, snuggled into the bitch. She almost decided to ignore it, but realized she no longer had anything to lose.
She slowly walked over to the full table, her eyebrows heavy on her face as they curled together, her fist gripping her bag tightly, her mascara pouring down her face as she came into the sight of the leading brunette. Emily looked at her with slight concern, before turning it into anger with a sly smile. "Back so soon, Jareau?"
JJ leaned forward, grabbing the sides of Emily's jacket as she let her purse fall to the floor, spilling its contents on the floor. She pulled their faces closer together, merely inches apart as her anger grew even further, just even being near the girl. "You ruin everything. You've ruined everything for me. You are a horrible person." She gripped her jacket even tighter as Emily struggled to pull away, staring at her with wide eyes. She didn't even try to argue with the girl, as she knew it would go nowhere. "You think you're so great. You think you saved me at that party? I had myself handled. I could have done it my fucking self, Emily!" She shouted, drawing the attention of the entire restaurant. Derek, Spencer, Elle, and Penelope all sat in awe as they watched the scene break out. "You took Will away from me, we could have been happy, and now you took my best friend away with your stupid fucking face, and your stupid fucking perfect body, and your stupid fucking everything! I hate you! I hate you!"
She released the brunette, crawling to the floor and scrambling all of her belongings together before running out of the restaurant. Emily sat frozen for a moment, trying to put together what exactly had just happened, before deciding to climb over her girlfriend and friend, running out after the blonde. She didn't know why she was going after her, but in the moment, it was her instinct to go and talk to her.
"JJ!" She called out after her as the blonde stormed towards her car, tears streaming down her face. "JJ! Jennifer!" She ran up to her, grabbing the blonde's arm. JJ looked up at Emily, biting her lip as she tried to prevent more tears from coming down her face.
"What, Emily?" She ripped her arm away, unlocking her car doors. The brunette stared at her in shock, unsure of what was causing this sudden onset of anger and emotion. She had thought their feud was mostly playful, despite their couple strong arguments the two had. She couldn't ignore the way her hand tingled as JJ ripped it away from her body, nor the way all she wanted to do was pull her into a hug to comfort her.
"JJ, what the hell is going on with you?" The blonde froze as she opened the driver side door, unsure of how to respond. She wasn't even sure of why exactly she was acting the way she was. She hated the way Emily looked at her when she was screaming at her. She didn't look completely angry, she didn't look like she hated her, she looked concerned, unsure of what to say or think. She looked like she wanted to comfort her, and JJ hated that. JJ hated her.
"You. You're going on with me. You have fucking infected my life in the matter of days, you're everywhere! You're on my instagram, you're in my apartment, you're in my classes, you're everywhere with your stupid smile and your stupid hair, and jesus fucking christ, Emily, you're somehow even with my friends. I don't want you here! I don't want you!" Emily blinked back her tears, slowly stepping away from the blonde. She wasn't sure what exactly she had done to make the blonde so angry at the moment. JJ noticed her hurt and frowned, but refused to apologize for her words.
"You know, Jayje, I always knew you were a bitch." She turned her back towards the blonde, slowly walking towards the restaurant. At that moment, JJ knew she could just get in her car and go, leaving the situation and hopefully go drink away the entire night. Instead, she decided to let her anger consume her and grabbed Emily.
"How dare you call ME a bitch? How can you even fucking say that, Emily? You're… you're the bitch." She had pulled her arm so they were pulled closer together, their faces just mere inches apart. Emily looked down on the blonde, her dark eyes consumed by rage but also a hint of something else. JJ looked up, staring into her eyes as she slowly released her grip on the brunette's arm. The two stared at one another, Emily slowly nibbling her lip.
"How am I the bitch, JJ?" She said softly, leaning in just a touch closer. The tight grip on her arm and the lust swelling in JJ's arms brought something in Emily's stomach. She wouldn't dare connect their lips, however, she would tease the blonde a bit. JJ didn't speak, afraid to move even an inch because if she moved back, there would be no chance of them touching, but if she moved forward, their lips would connect and she wasn't sure if she wanted that either. "Come on, can you speak?" Emily treating her the way she was, was oddly hot but also angered her. How dare someone speak to her that way?
"Oh, fuck you, Emily." She began to pull away, deciding that was the best choice- but Emily wasn't quite done with her yet and pulled her closer, looking her up and down.
"I know you want to." She said softly, using her free hand to hook her thumb around JJ's chin, slowly dragging it up to her bottom lip. She let it rest there before JJ let her mouth fall open slightly, and Emily gently shoved it into her mouth, where JJ gently sucked on it, all while maintaining eye contact with the angry brunette. Emily immediately pulled her thumb away, colliding their lips together. There were no fireworks, there was pure passion as their lips smashed one another's, angry and hateful as Emily pulled her even closer, gently wrapping her hand around JJ's neck, before tightening her grip. It was just how JJ had imagined.
She would never admit to imagining this, but she had, with a pair of fingers between her thighs late in the night.
Soon, Emily pulled away and it dawned on her what had just happened. The two stared at one another in shock, before JJ reached up and smacked Emily in the face. "Fuck you, for real, this time, Emily. Fucking dyke." She stormed off, climbing into her car and driving away. Emily stood quietly, raising her hand to her face and letting it rest there, still not tingling quite as much as her lips did.
The rest of their friends watched from the restaurant, Spencer, Morgan, and Penelope with grins on their faces, and Elle sitting in straight confusion.
Elle, JJ, and Emily all felt the exact same.
However, JJ couldn't forget the heat that built between her legs as the tension built between them, or the way her neck still felt on fire from Emily's touch, or the way the brunette looked at her.
Emily couldn't forget the way that in that moment, she imagined her face buried between the blonde's legs, or her hands buried in JJ's hair, completely forgetting about her girlfriend, who watched the entire scene break out.
Emily watched JJ drive away, without moving.