Fandom One-Shots

Chemistry (StaticQuake college!au)

A/n: Written for karasimmons on tumblr, as an AoS Secret Santa gift. Hope you like it!

Daisy glanced up from where she was curled up in the library, eyes landing on the tall blond sitting across the room from her. She watched him curiously, smiling slightly at the extreme look of concentration on his face. She remembered hearing from Jemma that his name was Lincoln. In fact, Jemma had mentioned recently that there was someone in her biology and chemistry classes– a pre-med student– that she wanted to set Daisy up with. Daisy shifted her focus to the stack of books next to him, and the contents solidified her suspicion that Lincoln was in fact the one Jemma had mentioned. At the time, Daisy had strongly opposed Jemma's meddling. But as Daisy got a closer look at him... Well, she might be willing to make an exception.

As she continued to watch him, she noticed a small flash of light near his hands. Confused, Daisy tilted her head and watched his hands closely. As his fingers twitched and moved, blue sparks danced and popped across his fingertips, and Daisy couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her lips. At least, she thought it was a small gasp. Though there was quite a bit of distance between them, it appeared the stillness of the library made the simple sound quite audible. Lincoln's head shot up in surprise, and his eyes widened as they met hers. As if on instinct, his hands curled into fists, and he quickly tore his gaze from hers and began to frantically gather his things. Before Daisy could even process what had just happened, Lincoln had gotten to his feet and started practically power-walking away.

Daisy watched him go as what she had just seen finally clicked into place. This boy, this seemingly normal medical student, had powers. Just like her. Daisy's first gut instinct was to run after him. She even took one step forward before something held her back. Later, Daisy would look back and realize that something was fear. Acknowledging that someone else had powers like she did would make it real. And for the past year since discovering her powers, Daisy had done nothing but try to forget about her abilities, and pretend she'd never made that pop can tremble when she got angry. Pretend she she didn't feel every cell in her body vibrating every time she felt some emotion too strongly. That had even been one of the reasons she'd pushed back against Jemma's meddling in her love life.

And yet, even now, it seemed as if every molecule in her and around her was buzzing. Like they were trying to propel her after him. Daisy glanced at the table the blond has so quickly vacated, and noticed that he'd left a book. A single, solitary book he'd probably come back for later when he thought she'd be gone. But that one book was the catalyst in her decision. It was all she needed to tip the scales of her mind, and in a heartbeat she was rushing forward to scoop the book from the table before racing after him.

She caught sight of him just before he rounded the back corner of the building, and she turned up her speed. Now that she'd decided to go after him, the thought of not catching him scared her even more than the thought of going after him had. Her feet pounded the pavement as she ran, and her heart sped up in her chest.

"Lincoln! Wait!" she called out to him breathlessly as she neared, and she saw him freeze in front of her. She came to a stop cautiously behind him. "Wait," she panted again, struggling to catch her breath. He slowly turned to face her, but she noticed he took a slight step backwards. Daisy straightened slowly and steadied her breathing before holding the book out towards him. "You, uh... you left one of your books." Her words came out quiet and stammering, and Daisy silently cursed herself for sounding like a shy school girl. But now that she was in front of him, it seemed she couldn't quite find her voice. It was silent for a moment before he hesitantly reached for the book. His eyes never left hers as he watched her warily, and his body was tensed away from her as if every part of him was poised to run the second he sensed danger.