A/N: Short, but a set up.

Winter raged on day after day, but with competitions approaching in the spring, JJ was working harder than ever. Every aspect of her gymnastics was being revamped in preparation for the new season. She had a new floor routine, which she was very excited about, as well as upgrades on vault, beam, and a few small changes on bars.

All too soon, January was upon them. International assignments were coming up, and JJ was working herself to the grindstone in order to be ready.

"Alright kiddo, take a breather," Nick called out as JJ hauled herself out of the pit once more. "Everything's looking good. Your floor is going to be a lot harder once we put it all together, but I feel like you're handling these tumbles a lot better than you were a year ago. Your double lay is incredible now, you're progressing really well"

"Everything hurts," JJ groaned dramatically, flopping down on the end of the tumble track with her arms and legs sprawled out to the side. Nick chuckled.

"Go home, ice, and rest up. I'll have you back here at two, we'll do vault and beam then"

With a noncommittal groan, JJ pulled herself up and headed to the locker room.

I haven't seen you in almost a month. Wanna hang out after practice tonight? We could go get dinner?

Her dad jabbered on beside her as they drove home, unaware of the fact that JJ was hardly listening to a word he said. Instead, her eyes were fixated on the text she'd sent to Will the previous day, and for some reason, still didn't have a reply to.

She was right in saying they hadn't seen each other for nearly a month; the last time she had seen him had been New Year. They hadn't spoken in over a week due to crazy schedules, and JJ was missing his company, his voice, the comfort he offered on a bad day in the gym.

"I love your mother dearly, I do, but she drives me crazy sometimes, I – hey, peanut? You ok?" Michael broke off, noticing JJ's frown. "What's going on in that noggin of yours?"

JJ cracked a smile. "Nothing. Just thinking about all my upgrades"

"Lots to come? You mentioned a new floor routine?"

Tucking her phone into her bag, JJ nodded. "Yeah, new floor routine, some new tumbling... it's exciting"

"What's your new music?" Michael asked curiously.

"You'll just have to wait until my first competition to see," JJ said with a grin.

"Your first competition is likely to be Italy, and your mother and I probably won't be there," Michael reminded her.

"I'll send you a video," JJ laughed, getting an eye roll and a shake of the head from her father, even though he was laughing.

"You're a pain in my butt JJ"

Giggling, JJ nodded, settling back into her seat and turning her attention to the night sky outside as they headed for home.

Iced, showered, and under the covers watching a movie while her mom fixed her something to eat, JJ toyed with her phone anxiously. Her stomach was starting to churn up in knots again, the familiar anxiety that she attributed to her upcoming season making a return visit to her already tightly wound mind.

It was just gone eight. That wasn't too late to call.

Taking a deep breath, she unlocked her phone and went into Will's contact, pressing call before lifting the phone to her ear. It took longer than usual for him to pick up, but eventually, he did.

"Hey"

"Hey you... haven't heard from you in a while," JJ said with a soft smile.

"Yeah, look, I don't really wanna talk right now"

The abruptness of his reply had JJ a little surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I don't... ugh... JJ, I can't do this right now"

And just like that, the call ended.

Stunned, JJ sat there, slowly lowering her hand back into her lap. Her mind was racing, conjuring up a million different explanations for what had just happened, but not one of them made sense.

Will didn't want to talk to her? What the hell was going on?

She barely had time to process it all before her vision flooded over and tears spilled down her cheeks.

A gentle knock on her door snapped her back into the present, making her hastily wipe her eyes.

"Your dinner's ready," Sandy said gently, pushing the door open just far enough to poke her head into the room. Noticing her daughter's wet eyes, she frowned slightly. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah," JJ managed, seconds before she burst into tears. Sandy leapt into action, crossing the room and hurriedly pulling JJ into her embrace. It wasn't often JJ was open about her emotions with her parents, and breakdowns were even rarer. Seeing her crying as hard as she was right now was something Sandy hadn't seen in years, and it was already scaring her.

"What's the matter?" she asked worriedly.

"I don't know," JJ sobbed, burying her face in her mother's shoulder. "Will's acting weird... he hung up on me... doesn't want to talk... I don't know what I did"

"Oh sweetie," Sandy sighed. "Men are an odd species. It's probably not something you did... he's probably got something on his mind and he's not sure how to talk about it. They're awful at communicating, just ask your father"

JJ le out a watery giggle, lifting her face far enough to look at her mother.

"Don't get worked up just yet, ok?" Sandy said gently, cupping JJ's face in her hands. "Give him some time to breathe, and then see how it is, alright?"

Nodding, JJ reached up, wiping away her tears as Sandy got up and guided her off the bed.

"Come and get something to eat. Food fixes everything"