i may just take your breath away - jemily college au

Trivia

"Come on, Jayje," Penelope whined. "It'll be good for you to go out."

"I'm sick," JJ said, fake coughing. "And I need to get a head start on my project for my new media course. It's worth forty percent."

"Bullshit." Penelope said, "I know for a fact that that isn't due for two weeks. Tonight is NOT the make or break point in that assignment for you."

JJ sighed.

"You need to get out. See the world. Do more than just play soccer, work out and do homework. You've been hiding since your break up. It's not healthy."

She had told herself she would stop avoiding Emily after she had figured out what her feelings were. Despite JJ's realization that it was a genuine crush, that JJ truly liked Emily, JJ needed to also be sure that she wasn't simply rebounding onto someone nearby.

Someone pretty and smart and kind and who lived right across the hall.

"It's trivia night JJ," Penelope said, "and we have Spencer on our team it'll be fun."

JJ sighed, looked up from where she lay on her bed.

"Fine."

"Make yourself pretty, you know who will be there," Penelope replied, turning back to her make-up mirror to finish applying her purple lipstick.

"Yeah thanks for that," JJ said sarcastically, "I saw what you did there."

"Who, me?" she feigned innocence.

JJ changed from a plain t-shirt to a tighter, low cut long sleeved blue shirt. She then took her hair out of a ponytail, brushing it out before tucking it carefully behind her ears. On principle, she huffed the entire time, so that Penelope would know that she wasn't happy about the situation, despite the butterflies in her stomach at the idea of seeing Emily again.

She took care to apply some eyeshadow, some blush and a pink lip gloss that tastes like strawberries. There was something intimidating about Emily. She looked so... put together. With Will, he never really noticed, or cared, if she wore makeup, but Emily definitely would.

God. This was stressful. Is this what liking girls was like? If it was, JJ was not sure she was cut out for it.

At least she was going to be on home territory, as trivia was their thing, something that Penelope and JJ had been doing since their floor was forced into going back in first year.

JJ was working hard at learning to relax a bit. Between maintaining her grades, soccer, and her new job editing press releases for the student government, she was already being pulled in multiple directions. A night out would be fun, she reminded herself.

She tried to quell her nerves at going out with Emily. It wasn't a date or anything. Just friends hanging out. JJ's friends and Emily's friends. Penelope's meddling was further tying her to the girl across the hall by blending their friend groups.

While half of her mind wanted this to happen, wanted to see Emily all the time and have an excuse to see her, smell her, hear her laugh.... JJ frowned as she realized that her crush complicated everything. Emily was already across the hall, and if she admitted her feelings, and they weren't reciprocated, she would run into her all the time. Now, with Derek Morgan befriending Penelope and Spencer, and all of them going out together, JJ's silly crush could send ripples across more than just her own life.

JJ ran her hands through her hair, worrying about the possible ways she could fuck this up. She did not entertain the possibility that Emily could possibly like her back. First of all, she had no idea if she was straight or not. JJ didn't even know how to tell.