I See you, Y/N. (Emily Prentiss X Reader)

-68- reaching out

TW:  Ableism, Bullying
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JJ's POV

"Don't worry, Emily. We'll manage it anyway. You take care of the most important things, Tara and I'll do the rest."
I say and watch as Y/N steps out of the classroom, her eyes fixed on the floor in front of her, her hands tightly gripping her crutches.

Behind her, a group of boys storm out of the room and a tall, blond guy gives Y/N a rather gloomy look, which she doesn't seem to notice at all.

"I have to go, Emily. The lesson is over. I'll talk later." I say and hang up after Emily says goodbye before taking a few steps towards Y/N.

When she notices that someone is standing in front of her, she looks up, a rather uncertain expression on her face.

"Hey, J....Miss James." She greets me with the code name and I see a sad shadow pass over her face.

"Hey, Y/N."  I reply and would like to hug her.

She looks tired and resigned.

"Everything OK?" I ask a little more quietly so that not everyone can hear.

But the students who stream past us only seem to be able to see themselves anyway.

Y/N presses her lips together into a thin line and avoids my eye contact as she slowly nods.
"Sure, everything's great." She murmurs and shifts her weight from one foot to the other while leaning firmly on her crutches.
"Are you sure?" I ask and put a hand on her shoulder.
She flinches at my touch, that hasn't happened in a long time and it scares me.

I quickly pull my hand away and she looks up, an apologetic expression on her face.
But she doesn't say anything, just nods and smiles at me before she fixes her gaze on the floor and disappears towards the bathroom with a mumbled apology.

I briefly consider following her, but then I realize that as a prospective teacher I can't just follow a student to the toilet without attracting negative attention.

I decide to ask her after the next lesson, since we have it together anyway and then we want to spend the lunch break in the park again.

Since both Penelope and Emily still have something to do, Tara and we will spend the break together.

I have agreed with the school administration that I can be present in the lessons for my supposed subjects so that I can get used to the class first before I take over a lesson myself.
By the time I'm supposed to teach myself, the whole thing will have been sorted out and we'll be gone again.

So I head to the next classroom with a sigh and sit down on the chair next to the teacher's desk and talk to the English teacher, who is really very nice.

My eyes are fixed on the door the whole time, waiting for Y/N to enter the room.

Shortly before the lesson starts, when almost all the students are already seated, she enters the room.
She moves through the rows of tables with her head bowed and I can clearly see that she is not supporting herself properly on her crutches, as if she is worried about making too much noise.