I Know Places ~ Emily Prentiss

Chapter 1

Emily wasn't sure exactly when her problem started. If she had to guess, she'd assume somewhere around six. That was when she learned that the more of yourself you give away, the more likely others were to stay.

Like when she planned her own birthday party while spending the weekend at her father's house. She had learned to read people from a young age and that wasn't always beneficial. She had run out into the backyard and picked a handful of dandelions to place at her spot at the table during breakfast. And she had added sprinkles to her morning muffin, asking the chef for a single candle to stick on top. Of course, she didn't know how to light it and refused to interrupt anyone else's day to ask for help so she just pretended to blow it out.

She figured if she didn't bother her dad all weekend with all the " birthday this or birthday that," as he often claimed, she would annoy him less, or maybe even love her more. He left a year later.

She still has the same approach years later when she was thirteen years old. That was the year that she learned that ambassadors' daughters don't make the kindest of companions. She was sitting on the floor playing with the hem of her skirt while a spoiled girl snooped through her room. Emily had been listening to her ramble about a boy she had met and a party and Emily had no interest in the subject. Her interest only peaked when her friend crouched down in friend of her with an intriguing question. " Have you ever wanted to practice? You know kissing? So that we can actually do it right with a boy."

Emily felt sick and intrigued at the same time, her mother's warnings running through her head. Emily's eyes traveled down to her lips, which were covered in a cheap pink gloss as she came closer. It was a quick clumsy peck on the lips but Emily's face flushed red. Emily opened her mouth to speak but before she could the girl ran out of the room yelling in search of Elizabeth Prentiss. Emily panicked, crawling under the covers. Her mother had made her views quite clear ever since she was young. The sick feeling never quite left Emily for the next few years. Every time she felt a little too strongly towards a friend, or watch a pretty girl smile at her across the room at one of her mother's galas it hurt worse. It was exhausting to push those feelings down for years, but she did it anyways, once again not for herself but for her mother.

College was her first few years of freedom and she seemed to make a reputation for herself during her first few years. A reputation wildly different than the one her mother had been building for her, but she was at Yale thousands of miles away from the handful of places she grew up across Europe. All of this didn't escape Elizabeth's tight grip over Emily's life, so the second she graduated successfully, she was pulled right back under her mother's watchful eye. And there she remained in the world of politics, the thing she has resented the most since she was a child. That being said, now that she had seen the smallest sliver of the world by herself, she refused to settle by her mother's side peacefully and enjoyed annoying her at every possible opportunity.

When there was a knock on her office door, she put out her cigarette, sliding the dish underneath her desk just as her mother opened the door. For years Emily had pretended not to smoke and Elizabeth pretended to notice. Emily still caught her wince at the lingering smoky scent when she walked in.

Emily waited, as Elizabeth looked around Emily's office, no doubt searching for something to criticize. " I know you always go pick up coffee at eleven so I just came to let you know that they'll be a new intern around this afternoon. I'd appreciate it if you introduce yourself, or maybe show her around."

Emily nodded, twirling a pen around in her hand. " New intern, got it." She clicked her tongue, getting up to grab her bag. Elizabeth stood there awkwardly for a moment like she was waiting for more before turning and exiting the room.

Emily went to the same coffee shop, at the same time, with the same order every day. Occasionally she would meet up with a friend, well friend might have been a bit of a stretch. Clara and Emily had  worked together and enjoyed gossiping about everyone they knew. She was also the only one who hated the game of politics and the people in them as much as Emily. It also helped that Clara had always been very eager to set Emily up with any girl that caught her eye even though she hadn't even attempted to be with someone since college.

Setting down her two coffees in a booth in the corner, she anxiously tapped her nails against the table while waiting for Clara to show up. She was never on time. Watching the counter, her eyes drifted to a girl that was right behind her in line earlier. The only unique identifying thing about her that Emily could spot from here was a thick constellation ring on her finger. She hasn't realized how long she ended up staring until Clara's hand waved in front of her face.

" You done drooling?" She teased, sliding into the seat across from Emily. Plucking a coffee out of the tray in front of Emily, she tilted her head back to the stranger in line.

I wasn't drooling, give me a break." Emily mumbled, wiping off the side of her cup with a napkin. She was staring a bit too hard but she'd never admit it, especially to Clara.

" Em, I say this out of love, please go find somebody. You've been wandering around like a lost puppy for too long. It doesn't even have to be serious. Nothing wrong with a hookup." She suggested reaching across the table to grab Emily's hand. Sipping at her coffee, she cleared her throat, tipping her head towards the girl in line.

" Hey Clara, how come your solution to every problem seems to be, go find someone to fuck?" Emily said jokingly as she began to pick up her stuff. Just as she was about to leave, her favorite barista slipped out from behind the counter, scurrying over to their table. " Hey, just so you know... you were talking a bit loud, and the girl from the counter heard everything." The barista seemed hesitant to let her know and cringed when she saw Emily's face.

She buried her hands, slumping against the table with a groan. Clara chuckled, patting her shoulder. " Relax, it's not like you'll ever see them again. You better get back though, or your mother will kill you and then me." She pointed out and Emily glanced at the time before racing out.

She made it back just in time, trying to subtly slip into her office. Throughout the rest of her afternoon, she heard spurts of commotion pass by her door. The new person she assumed. The closer it grew to six the more frequently she began to glance up at the clock.

A knock, much lighter than her mother's drew Emily's head up from her paperwork. You peeked your head around the door, before stepping inside with Ambassador Prentiss, a woman you had only met hours ago.

Emily's recognition of you was almost instant but she couldn't figure out where she knew you from. She grew uneasy watching your eyes trace her up and down. Realizing she had zoned out on her mothers speaking she attempted to keep her focus on the introduction.

" This is Miss y/l/n, she's worked mostly in DC but has also been working on negotiations in small countries across Western Europe," Elizabeth explained, sweeping her hand out so you could exchange greetings.

Emily's eyes seemed to take in every inch of you the second your hands brushed. The boringly professional attire but also the tattoo that just crept above your collar. Her stare crossed the expensive watch on your wrist but she felt the cold metal of multiple rings on your fingers as she shook your hand.

Elizabeth talked a bit more and Emily listened to none of it. A small smirk remained on your face as you watched Emily's confusion from trying to figure you out. Once she was finished she reached down turning her empty coffee around on her desk. " Enjoy your coffee?"

It all clicked and Emily's hand froze in her lap. She knew her confirmation of who you were was right below her eye level but this would be much easier if you weren't who she thought you were. Glancing down a gulp rose in her throat as she spotted the reflective glimmer of stars on your ring. Clara was wrong. Emily would run into you again.