Life continued the same way for the next few weeks. Jemma absolutely loved having Skye sit with them at lunch each day, even though Skye wouldn't eat anything offered to her. Except lollipops. Jemma didn't tell Skye that she bought them just for her, but she was sure Skye knew. Jemma always had a stash of them on hand to give her one every day at lunch and any time they hung out. Thankfully, as Fitz had said, they all remained friends post-breakup. What Fitz and Skye had was more like a friendship, anyway. The only noticeable difference was that Skye now sat beside Jemma at lunch.
Skye had been to Jemma's house and met her parents, who loved her to death, and they'd been just about everywhere else in town together, but never Skye's house. Jemma dropped her off every single day, but she was never invited inside. Jemma couldn't help but feel a little hurt, but she still enjoyed the time she had.
Her crush had moved from a crush to what could be described as devotion, an often selfless affection and dedication to a person or principle. Defining it didn't make Jemma feel any better. Even her grades were suffering. She still had all A's of course, but each of her class grades dropped a few percentage points because time she used to spend studying and doing homework now went to Skye. The only class she still had one hundred percent in was computer programming. Mr. Coulson seemed to notice that Jemma was the only person in the entire class Skye would work with, so he left them together even though pairing was supposedly 'random'.
This is why Jemma was so very excited when Skye asked if Jemma wanted to come over after school.
"Absolutely!" She replied.
"Nobody's coming home until after six, so we have the house to ourselves." Skye said. Jemma wondered if Skye didn't want her to meet her parents, but nothing could put a damper on her good mood.
"I can help you with the algebra you were struggling on." Jemma offered. One plus of Skye being a freshman was that Jemma had already taken most of her classes and could easily help her. Skye nodded eagerly and followed Jemma to her car.
The house Skye lived in had a white picket fence and everything, Jemma couldn't see what was wrong with it or why Skye never liked going home straight after school. When Skye jiggled the key in the lock and pushed the door open, the sweet scent of the house filled Jemma's nostrils. It smelled like lavender, probably because of the air freshener in the foyer.
Jemma thought she may have figured out why Skye hadn't brought her over before when they entered her living room and sat down on the couch. There were crucified Jesus statues everywhere as well as religious paintings and other objects of similar taste. Jemma was a woman of science, she didn't believe in god. She wasn't against the idea of god, it comforted people, she just didn't believe it herself. Maybe that was why Skye hadn't brought her over. It was possible her parents didn't like atheists very much and Skye was just trying to protect her.
"What's that?" Jemma asked, pointing to Skye's wrist when she reached out to get her books. It was beginning to get into the chillier part of fall, so Jemma hadn't found Skye's long sleeves strange, but it looked like they were covering something up today.
"Oh, that's nothing." Skye retracted her hand and used the other one to retrieve her textbook.
"That's not nothing, that's a burn!" Jemma pulled Skye's very unwilling hand towards her and yanked up the sleeve. Blisters and red, hot, irritated skin popped out in a line across Skye's wrist and Jemma raised her eyebrows.
"It's nothing, Jemma." Skye hissed, pulling her hand away.
"I was stupid and put my arm on the stove when I was making dinner last night. I forgot I turned it on, that's all." Skye said.
"Oh." Jemma would have bought the story, knowing how forgetful Skye was, if not for her strange behavior. Whenever Skye got hurt during P.E. she had always been more than willing to let Jemma take a look. Something else was going on.
"I don't get this." Skye put the tip of her pencil between her teeth, a bad habit Jemma had long since given up trying to help her quit.
"Well, you see, to find the inverse you just have to switch x and y and solve for y." Jemma explained, solving one of the practice problems on Skye's notebook while she observed. When she turned and looked at Skye, she realized how close their faces were because Jemma was writing on the pad in Skye's lap. Jemma could feel her heart hammering in her chest and her lips were dangerously close to Skye's. Before she could stop herself, she brought her hand up and cupped the side of Skye's neck. Skye took a shuddery breath and allowed Jemma to slowly get even closer.
"What are you doing?" Skye asked nervously. For once, Jemma decided she was going to be brave.
"Do you trust me?" Jemma asked when she pressed their foreheads together and she could feel Skye's warm breath on her cheeks. Skye nodded.
Jemma ghosted her lips across Skye's and waited to see if Skye approved or not. When she felt Skye's lips press up against hers and a hand rest on her waist, it was too much. She hit Skye full force, gently biting Skye's bottom lip like she'd wanted to for months and pushing the younger girl onto her back on the couch. The pencil and notebook clattered to the ground, long forgotten. Skye's warmth beneath her and in her mouth was driving Jemma insane and she couldn't get enough of her lips. She tasted like cherries and smelled like daisies, which was quite a welcoming combination. Skye's tongue ran across Jemma's lip, asking for entrance, and their kiss quickly deepened further than she'd ever seen Skye kiss Fitz. Jemma's hand caught in Skye's hair and the other traveled down to her waist, pulling her upwards to meet her body.
"Mary Sue!" A bellowing voice caused Jemma to fly off of Skye so fast her knee dug into Skye's leg and Skye yelped. They had been so wrapped up in each other that they hadn't noticed the door open and the woman Jemma assumed to be Skye's mother enter the room.
"Jemma, you need to go." Skye said in a rush. The woman stared at them for a second longer before charging over and yanking Skye up off the couch by her upper arm. Jemma wanted to intervene, but Skye was shouting at her over her mother's yelling.
"Get out, Jemma! Get out!" She yelled. In her haste, Jemma left one of her notebooks and fled the house as Skye asked. She hated herself for it later, but she made the split second decision to listen to Skye and run.