Chapter Two: Questions and Answers
A couple weeks had gone by since Emily and JJ's first conversation in the courtyard. Since then, they spent every lunch period together out there. Emily usually smoked, except on occasions where JJ would practically force half of her turkey sandwich down Emily's throat. Despite Emily claiming she wasn't hungry she would eat the sandwich in about five minutes.
When they weren't in the courtyard or making faces at each other in English class, they were texting nonstop. They would talk about anything and everything under the sun, nothing was boring and there were never any awkward lulls in the conversations. They often found themselves staying up far too late, but being exhausted the next morning was worth it to the both of them.
As the bell ran signaling that it was time for lunch, JJ quickly gathered her things to meet Emily in the courtyard. As JJ hurried down the halls, Candace, her fellow teammate on the soccer team stopped her dead in her tracks.
"Jareau, what's with you? You haven't been to lunch in weeks!" Candace asked, with her arms folded across her chest. JJ could tell that Candace was angry with her for not spending every waking second with her, but she could also sense a hint of concern in her voice.
"I- um...I just eat lunch outside now." JJ began, "it's too crowded in the lunchroom and I like the fresh air."
Candace rolled her eyes at JJ's response, "Please, we've all seen you out there with that...that FREAK..." Candace said, hoping to get JJ to come to senses. But, this comment just made JJ furious.
"Her name, is Emily and she's not a freak." JJ said, not even trying to hide her anger. "And maybe if you took the chance to get to know her, you'd realize that too. Do you have to be so mean to everyone who isn't like you?" She said, pushing past Candace and heading towards the door that led to the courtyard.
"Why are you defending her? What are you her girlfriend now?!" Candace spat back, "I didn't take you for a dyke Jareau." This caused the blonde to stop in her tracks and turn around.
Candace wasn't wrong about JJ being gay, but this wasn't the time nor place to be coming out. In this small town, deviating from the norm of straight was unheard of. You're taught to blend in, not stand out. And blending in means getting a boyfriend at an early age and staying with him forever. Being 16 is already hard enough, and JJ just didn't want to make it harder for herself. She and her family had been through a lot and she wasn't ready to make more obstacles for them.
"Being nice to someone doesn't make me...gay." JJ said, quietly wanting to avoid getting more people's attention. "Now, leave me alone." JJ sneered, finally walking out into the courtyard, where Emily was waiting so she could light her cigarette.
JJ grabbed her lighter out of her pocket, "Sorry I took so long." she said as she lit Emily's cigarette for her, something she did every single day.
Emily took a long drag from her cigarette before responding, "I'm sorry I make your friends mad at you." she said, avoiding eye contact. JJ didn't think Emily had heard the argument between her and Candace but then again, Candace wasn't exactly the most quiet girl in the world.
"Please, Candace and I aren't exactly friends, willingly anyway." JJ said, handing half her sandwich to Emily, who didn't protest at the gesture. "Our parents have known each other for years and we play soccer together. She's always been the mean girl and I never liked it, but our parents really forced us to hang out. We were closer when we were younger but, we drifted apart a few years ago." JJ finished, hoping Emily wouldn't ask her to elaborate any further.
"That sucks." Emily said, with a mouthful of turkey sandwich "I'm glad my mother wasn't like that with me. No offense to your parents."
JJ smiled as she opened her bag of cheetos, "None taken. I know she means well but sometimes, she's just too much." She said, reaching into the bag. She was grateful that Emily hadn't said anything about the comment Candace made regarding her sexuality. With her luck, Emily would just say the same things, even though she was very different from everyone in this town.
Emily was hit with a sudden feeling of curiosity and a bit of bravery, "Do your parents know about me? Like that we're friends and all?" She asked, raising her eyebrows has JJ smiled at her in return.
"They do, I talk about you a lot actually." JJ began, taking a bite of her half of her sandwich "I told them how I eat with you in the courtyard every day, I leave out the part where you smoke and I force you to eat of course. They actually...want to meet you." JJ finished, avoiding eye contact at the end.
Emily was stunned, she didn't make friends easily and she never had a friend's parents want to meet her before. Granted, she usually never stayed around long enough to meet them. "They do?!" Emily said, trying to hide her excitement in her voice.
JJ laughed at the brown-haired girl's obvious excitement, "Yes, they do. If you want to on Friday, they have invited you for dinner. And if you want an escape from your mom, I'm sure I can convince them to let you stay over." JJ nervously asked, hoping Emily would agree.
"I'd love to!" Emily agreed with no hesitation, causing a wave of relief to come over JJ. "I'll double check with my mother and let you know." She said, as she stomped out her cigarette into the concrete as it was almost time to go back inside.
"Sounds good!" JJ replied, grinning from ear to ear. "You want the last cheeto?" She asked, gesturing the basically empty bag towards Emily.
"No thanks, Cheeto Breath. It's all yours." Emily teased, causing JJ to blush as she ate the cheeto with no hesitation. Other than Jennifer, Emily called JJ "Cheeto Breath" due to her love for the snack. Emily never really called her JJ, and the blonde didn't mind. Everybody called her JJ, but when she was around Emily, she was different. She wasn't the "JJ" that everyone in this town made her out to be. And she liked it.
The bell rang signaling that lunch was over and the pair walked over to the door that led back into the busy, crowded hallway.
"I'll text you tonight and let you know what my mother says." Emily said over the overlapping conversations.
"I'll be waiting." JJ said, smiling not once taking her eyes off Emily. Everybody always talked about how beautiful blue eyes are, but JJ couldn't think of anything more beautiful than Emily's dark brown eyes. Especially when the sunlight hit them just right.
Emily smiled at the blonde, "You're gonna be late if you keep staring at me like that." She said without thinking, she hoped Jennifer would sense the sarcasm in her voice and not be hurt.
JJ blushed and looked at the floor, "I can't help it...you have turkey sandwich on your face." JJ said giggling, causing Emily's eyes to bug out of her head.
Emily frantically wiped the area around her mouth, "Is it gone?!" she asked, blushing too.
Little did Emily know that there was never anything on her face to begin with, JJ just needed an excuse to save herself some embarrassment.
"Yes, you're good." JJ said, smiling. "We're both going to be late, I'll text you later." She said before turning towards the direction of her next class.
Emily watched the blonde walk down the hall, she couldn't help but smile at herself. She always preferred being alone, that way she doesn't get hurt. But, for once, she was glad to have someone by her side.
Later that night
JJ was sitting at her desk typing her Psychology paper that was due tomorrow morning. She was so in the zone that she nearly jumped out of her chair and onto the floor when she heard the text message tone come from her phone. It was from Emily.
Emily: Mother said I can join you for Friday! Did you talk to your parents about me staying over?
Jennifer: YAY! And yes, they said it's fine! I'm so excited.
Emily: Me too. Maybe a little nervous too.
The blonde looked at her phone in confusion, why would Emily be nervous?
Jennifer: Why nervous?
Emily: What if they don't like me? We both agree that I don't meet this town's expectations whatsoever.
Jennifer: Em, trust me. I have talked their ears off about you, if they didn't like you they wouldn't have invited you over.
Emily: I guess you're right. Sorry I just get nervous, I...haven't been invited over to a friend's house since elementary school.
Seeing that text turned JJ's confusion into sadness. She didn't understand why people didn't want to be around Emily or in her life.
Emily: Wow sorry I didn't mean to darken up the mood. I guess that's just what I'm best at huh?
Jennifer: Oh, stop it. I didn't respond right away because I was trying to figure out why more people don't want you in their lives. It just makes me sad, nobody deserves to be alone. Especially you.
JJ almost didn't hit send out of fear what Emily would say, but something in her compelled her to. A few minutes went by and JJ started to grow nervous. Did she say the wrong thing? Was Emily mad at her? That's when she heard the text tone chime throughout her phone again.
Emily: If you want me to be honest, it's not always them. When you move around a lot, you just...train yourself to not get attached because you know you'll end up hurting others as well as yourself. Once I got to middle school, I became more closed off. It felt better to feel nothing at all than to feel hurt. If that makes any sense.
Jennifer: It makes sense and I get it. I'm sorry, Emily. I really am.
JJ felt bad for Emily, she couldn't imagine moving around so much. She was born here and never moved once in her 16 years of living. There was one question she needed and answer to, however.
Jennifer: Can I ask you something?
Emily: Shoot.
Jennifer: If you trained yourself not to get attached, why did you let me in?
JJ bit her nails, nervous to what Emily had to say. Would she even have an answer? About five minutes later, Emily answered.
Emily: Because you tried to get in. Ever since middle school, people stopped trying to get to know me. Or they would talk to me once and then never again. You're the first person who actually tried to get to know me in I don't even know how long. Even if it meant being criticized by people you have known for practically your whole life. I figured, maybe it was time to let down my walls a little bit. After all, my mother did say we would be here for awhile.
JJ read the text over and over. She could feel her heart beating out of her chest and her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so hard. She knew getting to know Emily was a "risk" because she already knew how she felt. But, JJ didn't care and nor did she regret it.
Jennifer: I'm glad I followed you into the courtyard, even if it made me look like a stalker. Everyone deserves to have someone in this world, nobody deserves to face what this world has in store for us alone.
Emily: I didn't think you were THAT much of a stalker. Guess I was more shocked that someone knew what I was doing.
Jennifer: Well, that makes me feel better. I'll take not that much of a stalker over full blown stalker any day.
The two talked back and forth for hours, JJ using the time in between texts to finish her paper and eat dinner. Before they knew it, it was nearly midnight and they were both exhausted.
Emily: I've got to get to bed, Cheeto Breath. I'll see you in English tomorrow?
Jennifer: Third row, fifth seat back. Always. I'm gonna need to think of a nickname for you, since you already deemed me as "Cheeto Breath".
Emily: Hahaha. Well, when or if you think of something, let me know. Goodnight, Jennifer.
Jennifer: Goodnight, Emily.
JJ set an alarm for the next morning and laid down in bed. She couldn't believe that in three days, Emily Prentiss would be coming over to her house and sleeping in her room with her. Granted, Emily was probably going to sleep on the pull-out bed beneath her but, the thought of it all still gave JJ butterflies in her stomach.
She couldn't wait for Friday, not only did it mean it was the weekend, it also meant she was going to get a glimpse of what might could be.