When Skye's seat next to her in computer programming remained empty after the bell rang the next morning, Jemma's mind was in varying states of panic. Fitz shot her a questioning look, as if he was asking her where Skye was. The whole class went by in a blur, Jemma wasn't really paying attention at all.
"Fitz, we need to talk." Jemma grabbed his sleeve and pulled him aside in the hall after class.
"Do you know where Skye is? Was she sick yesterday or something?" He asked.
"Fitz, just listen." Jemma whined. Fitz did become quiet, but Jemma didn't know how to explain what happened without giving him the whole story. She was going to have to tell him.
"I- I..." Jemma just couldn't do it. Fitz trusted Jemma with his life, and she paid him back for it by making out with his ex girlfriend.
"I... I kissed Skye." Jemma blurted out. Fitz was too shocked to say anything.
"Skye... She kissed me. Well... we kissed each other." Jemma's hands were shaking and she was clutching her books so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.
"You kissed Skye?" He asked in confusion, loud enough for the entire student body to hear. Jemma slapped a hand over his mouth to keep the school from hearing about the lesbian relationship... or whatever was going on... between the geeks. It would be the juiciest piece of gossip the entire year.
"I can't believe you!" He yelled at her. Jemma cringed with each word, she knew she deserved however he was going to treat her.
"You have to forget about that right now-"
"Forget about it?! How am I supposed to forget about it?! I can't get that image out of my head right now. Don't you remember how awkward things were whenever Skye and I were dating? Why would you start that again?" Jemma felt like she was going to be sick. She was also pissed, though. Why was it ok for Fitz to have kissed Skye when there was nothing between them but it wasn't ok for Jemma to kiss her when they'd been close for such a long time and obviously both felt the same way.
"Fitz! You have to let it go for one second because Skye-"
"I need a minute to process." He interrupted Jemma and wouldn't let her get a single word in until after he walked away.
"I think Skye may be in danger." Jemma said after him, but there was no way he heard her over the lockers slamming and students walking around and jabbering in the hall. Jemma stood, rooted in place, until there were no students left, and she continued to stand there long after the bell rang.
She went to the library instead of her next class and looked up what to do when you suspect a child is being abused. Jemma didn't know what to do. If Skye wouldn't admit she was having family troubles, there was no way to prove that her parents were doing anything to her. There was no way to prove that the burn hadn't been an accident and that the bruises- god, the bruises... Jemma thought about how Skye was always so rough during P.E. Maybe this was because she needed a believable excuse for the bruises she often had. Jemma couldn't stand the thought that Skye let herself get hit in the side with that soccer ball last week so that Jemma wouldn't question the ugly purple mark she had seen afterwards. Had Skye been doing this all along, letting herself get beat up a second time at school as a cover for what had been done at home?
Jemma didn't know what to do, so she skipped yet another class and drove to Skye's house. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer.
"Skye?" She called. Nothing. There were no cars in the driveway and all the blinds were closed on the inside. Jemma's eyes watered and tears slid down her cheeks. She couldn't let her friend get hurt, but she had no power to stop it.
The next two days were miserable. Skye wasn't in any of her classes and she was ignoring Fitz. She sat alone at lunch and went straight home after school. Thoughts of Skye consumed her and it felt like they were eating her alive. She longed to feel Skye's soft skin and hear her gentle, humorous voice. In one of her classes, it was like the universe was rubbing Skye's absence in her face. There was a substitute teacher in P.E. and as he worked his way through the roll call list, he called for 'Mary Sue Poots', and Jemma realized who he was calling for. The other students told him there was no Mary Sue in the class and he just mumbled to himself in confusion.
After P.E., she was on her way to the outdoor courtyard instead of the cafeteria as per usual, when Ward approached her, tapping on her shoulder. Jemma whirled around and stood defensively, just waiting for him to try something.
"Where's Skye?" He asked. He wasn't smirking, but that didn't make Jemma think he had good intentions. Grant Ward never had good intentions.
"Like I would tell you." Jemma scoffed and turned away from him, and for a second she thought their encounter was over, but he grabbed her backpack and spun her around again. He pushed her into a row of lockers and stood uncomfortably close to her. A shiver ran down her spine and she looked down at the ground to avoid making eye contact with him. She was almost glad Skye wasn't here today, Ward seemed even more forceful than usual.
"She rejected you, didn't she?" And then the smirk he constantly wore finally made an appearance. Jemma shifted uncomfortably, remembering the amazing kiss she shared with Skye, but also her mother's rage.
"She'd be better off with me anyway." He told her. A low growl escaped Jemma's throat at the suggestion. "She'll come to me eventually. We have things in common that you'd never be able to understand." Ward finally peaked her interest, but he had decided that he was done claiming Skye yet again and he left her alone while he marched back down the hallway. He either knew something more about Skye, or he was just tugging her chain. It was probably the latter.