Falling like the Stars

6

“Fitz, will you please put your laptop down for five minutes to help me pick what I am going to wear.”

Since I first woke up all I have been thinking about is the night that I have ahead. Fitz had come over early in the morning like he normally did on weekends. Instead of having our normal plans of watching re-runs of different Sci-Fi shows, I was busy trying to pick out the outfit that I plan on wearing and Fitz has been glued to his laptop. Although he thinks I didn’t notice what he was doing, I caught him stalking every picture/post on Wards f*******: page. Normally I would make fun of his weird and obsessive tactics to try to get to know Ward, but I am really no better after the stunt I pulled yesterday. Oh God. We really are like twins. Look at us, both trying to get our crushes attention in the most normal way possible.

                “Okay, I will help you right now. I’m just finishing up this last assignment before school on Monday.”

I walked over from the closet to the bed and hovered over Fitz to see what was on his laptop. “Fitz, I don’t think any one of our classes assigned us to be looking, uh sorry I mean, STALKING Wards f*******: page.”

“Simmons! This is none of your business…,” he frantically shut his laptop and straightened his posture, “…I was just trying to make sure that they gave us the right address for the party.”

“For the past hour?”

“Well yes, I mean I couldn’t find the…um, -- Oh leave me alone! Can we please move on?”

I did not want to press the issue anymore because I could tell that he was completely embarrassed. We spent the rest of the day trying to pick out my outfit. Well I actually did because Fitz went back to his laptop when the embarrassment subsided. The party started at nine that night and normally I would be getting ready for bed by then, but when both mine and Fitz parents found out that we got invited to a party after only a week at a new school and never having been invited to much things cooler than study dates, they practically pushed us out the door. Luckily Miles and Wards house was only two blocks away from our neighborhood so we decided that we would just walk there. We did not want to have to get dropped off by our parents who would be blowing kisses and just embarrassing us. Yeah, walking there is just the better option.

When we approached the street of Ward and Miles house, the vibrations from the loud music became visible. Walking closer to the house we noticed that literally everyone from our grade level was there as well as all the sophomores. That makes since because Miles is a second time freshman so the sophomores were all at one point in the same class as him. Their house was huge and definitely fit all four hundred people that were there with ease. In the front yard there were people mingling and holding red cups most likely filled with alcohol. At the front door there was a tall guy in a suit holding a clip board. There was a small line to get inside the house and I overheard the guy saying that Miles and Ward were very specific about who was allowed in and who was not. When we got to the door I got worried because I knew that there was definitely a chance that Miles put us on the stay the hell out list.

                “Names?” The guy said as he looked at Fitz and me.

                “Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz.”

The list was at least four pages long and not knowing the order of how the names are listed, the longer I stood there waiting, the more nervous I got.

                “Hmmm, I can’t seem to find your names. Oh wait, here they are. You two must be very wanted because your names are on the VIP list. Which means you are allowed on all floors of the house.”

The man motioned for us to go in. Fitz and I just glared at each other before stepping inside. It was weird that we were on the VIP list given the fact that Miles hated us, but at the same time Ward and Skye seemed to care for us and two votes beats one.

The house was like ones that you see in magazines. The furniture was top of the line and there was a lot of family portraits hanging on the walls. Everyone inside was dancing and talking. Some people watching a UFC fight that was being played on the giant flat screen and others recording two girls that were wrestling each other in the indoor hot tub. In the kitchen there was nothing but either water or alcohol to drink. This was typical. All the freshman were at least fifteen and the sophomores were all sixteen. Yeah, this is the right age to be drinking for wild teenagers. When a couple of people gave us a cup filled with beer, I figured I can pull off the I want to wait another year before I drink card given the fact that I did skip a grade and the principal made it very known to me when I got there that I was the first fourteen year old to ever start the academy at that age. Fitz on the other hand is fifteen, so for him not to take it would be seen as uncool. He took the drink and I grabbed two water bottles knowing that Fitz would dump the beer later when no one was looking.

When we went to the back yard, the house just seemed to get even better. There was a giant pool, ping pong table, two bouncy houses, and the gates were open which lead to the beach. I was definitely impressed. My eyes locked when I had finally spotted Skye. She was wearing skin tight jeans, a dressy blouse, and leather jacket. I had finally settled on just wearing jeans, a tank top, and flannel. Great. I should have gotten more dressed up. She was with Ward and Miles (obviously) as well as some of the other popular kids. Two in particular stood out to me the most. Raina and Antoine Triplett were the popular ones for the sophomores. Antoine definitely was like Miles best friend and Raina had always been a part of that group because she is seen as the prettiest girl in school. Well that was until Skye came along because in the one day she was there, everyone was drooling over her. From where I stood I could definitely tell that Raina had a little bit of jealousy toward her since she kept giving random glares.

Miles spotted us first and made a mischievous smile when he did. He said something to the group in which I could not necessarily make out. However, I knew it must have been about us because the group turned to stare at us. Ward and Skye seemed to have genuine smiles on their face whereas the others wore a look of disgust or had that same mischievous smile that Miles had. Ward tapped Skye on the shoulder and motioned his head in the direction of us. They walked over in unison toward us, stopping only when people would say hi to them like they were celebrities. When they finally made their way to become face to face with Fitz and me, I was amazed to see that we were both keeping our cool instead of being nervous.

                “I’m glad that you guys could make it.” Ward said as he smiled at the two of us. “Skye, here was getting a little worried when you two didn’t show up right at nine.”

We definitely would have been prompt to the party, but because we walked there, it took a lot longer to arrive than we had anticipated. “Yeah, sorry about that. We would have been here earlier but walking here took longer than we wanted.”

                “It’s fine. I’m just glad that you could make it Jemma..,” Skye said as she touched my shoulder and smiled, “…oh and you too Fitz. I know that Ward here is gladder that you’re here than I am, though.”

Ward and Fitz eyes became large. Ward nudged Skye with his shoulder and got red.

                “What Skye means is that I am glad that you BOTH are here.” Ward tried to dismiss Skye’s comment as best as he could.  

                Skye just laughed and knew that she should move on from the subject, “Well either way, it’s great to have you guys. Come on, we want to introduce you to the rest of our posse.”

Skye intertwined our arms, which gave me the largest butterflies, and Ward simply slapped Fitz on the back as they lead us toward the group. Skye kept our arms locked together as she introduced us to the whole group. Surprisingly, Miles was also very politely and greeted the two of us with a hug. Maybe he wasn’t so bad. Just then the same guy from the front door came to the group.

                “Sorry to interrupt, but there are a couple of people at the front insisting that they should be on the list and they are not wanting to leave. And Skye your Dad is here to drop something off.”

                “Alright. Thanks for letting us know…,” Ward said as he then looked at Miles, “… I’ll take care of it. Come on Skye.”

                “Coming.” She let go of my arm and whispered into my ear before heading off with Ward. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back.”

Maybe it was what she said or how she said it, but I couldn’t help but think that Skye just might have a crush on me as well. When they left, I couldn’t help but feel very awkward. We didn’t know Skye and Ward that much, but we did not know any of these people. Miles stepped forward from the group and motioned for them for head their separate ways.

He turned back to us and smiled, “Come on, allow me to show you guys around.”

We walked around the backyard as he quickly introduced us to different people and then lead us to the beach.

“…And this is the place where it all happens.” He said as he motioned to the whole beach.

“Where what happens?” Fitz said as he looked just as confused as I did.

“Well you two are here for a reason right? You want to be a part of the in crowd? Then you have to prove that you are just as good as us.” He began to take off the jacket he was wearing and turned his head and smiled.

A large crowd of people started heading down to the beach where we were. Raina separated from the crowd and started to put her hair up into a pony tail and just glared at me.

                “I’m not exactly sure what you two are getting at.” I said.

                “You see, I think that you two think that just because you’re from different countries that you’re better than us, am I right?” Miles turned to the crowd and they all in turn started cheering. “We are all willing to look past this if you guys can prove that you have what it takes to be betterthan us.”

This just confused me. Never once have we said that we think we are better than them. I knew right there that Miles just wanted to prove to everyone that he was the tough guy he was labeled as. For me to have made fun that he failed a year must have hurt him. I was the reason for this mess. But I did not think, Miles would take it this far. Miles and Raina both starting popping there knuckles and looked at us expectantly.

                “What do you want from us?” I said as I looked at the anger in their eyes.

                “I think they want us to fight them.” Fitz said as I heard a rather large gulp.

                “That’s right Scottish kid. You two are going to fight us here and now, in front of everyone. If you win, then you are official one of us.”

The crowd the whole time was cheering and shouting from the anticipation.

                “We are not here to fight…,” I turned to the crowd, “We did not come to fight anyone!”

                “Then why are you guys even here then, Huh? If you don’t want to be one of us, than why in the hell did you come?”

Just then Skye appeared from the crowd. She glanced at the situation and appeared a little shocked. I glanced over at her and she did the same.

                “Oh, I see…,” Miles said as he walked over to Skye. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss. The crowd started cheering even louder as we all watched the two kiss. When they pulled apart Skye quickly looked at me and then turned away. Like she was completely ashamed of herself.

                Miles once again wore that mischievous smile, “Sorry, but she is mine and always has been. Don’t you get it? We all set you up. The plan was to get you here and defeat you miserably. However, I could use the two of you. I hate to admit it, but you both can be useful to us. My offer still stands, you win, and then you are one of us.”

I looked at Skye once again. She was staring at the ground and trying her hardest not to make eye contact with me. I should have known. A girl like her, a girl like that could never like me. I was ashamed that I let myself be this vulnerable.

                “Like I said Miles, Fitz and I did not come here to fight. So we will just leave.” I grabbed Fitz by the arm and we tried to make our way through the crowd.

                “Okay Trip, looks like it is Plan B.” Miles said as he and Triplett grabbed Fitz like he was a rag doll.

                “Hey! Stop, put me down.” Fitz said as was trying his hardest to get out of their grip.

                “Leave him alone!” I said as I tried to get the boys away from them.

Skye came into the situation out of nowhere and pushed me aside. “Stop it Miles! You said that all you were going to do was rile them up.” Hearing her admit that she knew of this plan just made me become broken.

                “Stay out of this!” Miles screamed in Skye’s face. He and Triplett walked him to the dock that lead into the beach. They nodded at each other and counted to three.

Ward had finally come back from the situation at the front and come down to the dock. He grabbed me by the shoulder and said, “What the hell is going on here?” The next thing I knew I heard a splash and I looked back and saw that Fitz was no longer there.

                “No! He does not know how to swim!” I screamed as I rushed to the front of the dock. But Ward was already rushing pass me and jumped in the water.

I helped retrieve Fitz when Ward got him up and saw that his forehead had a small gash.

                “I think he hit his head on a rock or something…,” Ward said as he looked at me with concern, “…I think that we have a first-aid kit in the house. Come with me and we wi—“

                “Why are you worried about it huh?” I said as I pushed him on the shoulder. “You knew about this whole thing. So just leave us alone.”

                “No, Simmons. I swear I didn’t. If I did I would have told them to stop. You have to believe me.” He said as he looked super sincere.

I wanted to believe him, and I think a part of me did. But I was holding onto the fact that he was just as nice as Skye was and she turned out to be a traitor. I was jealous that Fitz crush was better than mine. That the person he liked turned out to be great. I just rolled my eyes and took Fitz home with me.

***

On that Monday, Fitz and I made sure to arrive a little bit earlier to class. We talked to Agent May and came up with a lie that would get Skye out of our group. Agent May agreed when we said that Skye wore a perfume that made Fitz’s allergies act up. Dumbest reason I know, but I could not find it in my heart to tell the truth. All I wanted though was for Skye to be gone and out of the group. It would hurt me too much to sit next to someone who was so happy that their planned worked. A plan to hurt us, me. When class was about to start, a lot of people started to show up. When Ward walked in he stopped to glare at us and smile. I know that he is trying his best to make us believe him. After all he did manage to find where our neighborhood was the day before and left flowers with a get better/hope you believe me card. Despite my jealousy, Fitz and I both knew he was not lying. I looked back at him and smiled. With that his smile got wider and took his seat. Miles walked in after him and took a glare at us before taking his seat. Ward then turned to him and I could make out the words he said, Leave them alone.

Class started and there was no sign of Skye. I was glad in a way. This would give me a chance to not have to look at her. To get over my feelings. Just then she walked in. Her eyes were a little puffy like she had been crying. Her hair was up in a loose/messy pony tail and her attire was just thrown together. Even with that look I still couldn’t help but still feel attracted to her. Damn it. She locked eyes with me and made her way to the back never looking away.

                “Uh, Miss Bennet. Can we have a moment to talk please?” Agent May said before Skye reached our table. She walked to the front and they had a quick conversation. Skye sank her head at one point in the conversion like she was disappointed. That’s when I figured that May told her she would be joining another group.

                “Okay.” Was all Skye managed to say.

                “Ward, Miles you have a new member after all. Skye go on ahead and take your seat.” Agent May said as she motioned for Skye to sit down.

Skye put her stuff down at the table, but before she sat down, she grabbed something out of her bag. It was a piece of paper that had been folded up. Without worrying about other people seeing her do it, she made her way to our table and gave me the paper.

                “I hope you forgive me enough to read it.” She said as she put the paper on the desk and walked back to the front back to her table.

Throughout class I never took my eyes off that paper. I never touched, I just left it where Skye put it. Should I read it? Does she even deserve to have my forgiveness? Skye kept turning around every once in a while to see if I had opened it, with each time her face getting even more upset. When class ended Fitz and I rushed to pack up our stuff and leave. The longer we stayed the larger the chance that Skye would catch me and try to speak to me and that’s not what I wanted. She noticed our rush because that’s when she also started to pick up the pace. We still beat her. I made the choice to not read the letter. Making sure that she was looking, I threw the paper in the garbage before exiting the class.

Before getting to the end of the hall I heard some commotion. Fitz and I turned back around and saw Skye and Miles exiting May’s class.

                “What do you mean by that Skye?” Miles said as he tried to grab her arm.

                “I mean WE ARE DONE. Do you hear me? OVER. Now just leave me alone will ya?” Skye said as she stormed off to the other end of the hallway.

It was then that I decided that I wanted to read that note. I rushed to retrieve it from the trash and headed with Fitz to the next class.

***

Dear Jemma,

I know there is no excuse for what I did. Which is why I am not going to give you one. You just need to know that I am truly sorry. Very sorry. I did not mean for it to go the way that it did. Before I got to the school, Miles had said there were two people hassling him. Of course I wanted to help get back at whoever it was he was describing. I did everything I could to get into the school to make the plan more effective. When I walked into the class and saw you, I had a feeling come over me that I have never felt before. I just wanted to get to know you. When Miles told me that it was you and Fitz that were the ones he wanted to hurt, I just could not believe it. The plan was to hurt you. But something else happened. I no longer wanted to hurt you, but instead I wanted to protect you. There were so many other things he planned on doing to you that I steered him away from. Yet, I still managed to hurt you. I will never forgive myself for that. I just hope that you do, Jemma.

Forgive me,

Skye