Jupiter [Marvel Phase I]

eight.

Okay, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. There was no way for Jenn to hide the fact that she'd been cooped up in her room working on something. Harry knew scientists, but more importantly, he knew her. He could probably see the spark of discovery in her eyes. The worst part? He was so genuinely curious and excited for her, she felt bad lying to him.

"And you're sure I can't help?" Harry asked. It had to be the third time.

"No, sorry," Jenn replied, trying to give him her most sympathetic frown.

The problem was, Harry could definitely help. He'd written his dissertation on bioelectricity. She didn't know a single person who was more qualified. But every time Jenn entertained the idea, her gut twisted. He can't know, that instinct reminded her, so Jenn held her tongue.

"It's for my advanced circuitry course," Jenn said after a couple more spoonfuls of soup to stall for time. For some reason, she decided the only way out of this situation was to dig herself deeper. "Deciding which kinds of semiconductor could opti-"

"Oh, come now," Harry laughed. "I may be a BME, but I know plenty about semiconductors."

"It's not that," Jenn said quickly, switching tactics. "My classmates can't go home to someone with a doctorate in engineering. If I'm getting this doctorate, I want it to be on my own merits."

Harry took some time to study her. There was a panic-filled moment where Jenn feared he was onto her, but then he said, "Well, I admire your independent spirit. Just know that if you have any questions, I'm a room away."

Ouch. Jenn smiled through her guilt. Before the grin could slip off, she shoved her spoon in her mouth.

What was the harm in telling Harry? Jenn wondered as she helped him with the dishes. If he thought she'd gone mad, she had evidence. The day had given her enough practice turning small electronics on and off. And what other explanation was there for the way lightbulbs came to life in her hands?

If anything, Harry would probably be elated by this turn of events. It fit so perfectly in his wheelhouse. And what was the worst case scenario here - becoming one of his experiments? Alright, that was possible, but it wasn't like he was going to lock her in a cage. This wasn't a sci-fi novel and Harry wasn't some evil scientist. He would want to experiment with her. And she already trusted him so much...

But not completely.

Jenn found herself staring at Harry as he scrubbed the soup pot. What would he think of her if he found out? What would anyone think?

"You know, I've been thinking about giving your medical alert bracelet a systems patch," Harry spoke, breaking Jenn from her spiraling thoughts. "Technology's progressed in the last decade and there are some updates I think would come in handy. Not to mention the batteries are probably starting to wear out."

"Um, yeah. That sounds good," Jenn replied, unsure of what else to say. "Come to think of it, I did see it blinking last night."

At that, Harry stopped scrubbing. He started up again quickly, but not quickly enough to prevent Jenn from catching it. "Oh, really?" Harry asked. His tone was light and casual, but almost by too much.

Once again, Jenn felt her stomach twist. She batted the feeling away and redoubled her dish drying efforts. Unable to form a full sentence, she just hummed the affirmative and peeked out the corner of her eye to gauge Harry's response.

There wasn't one. At least, nothing perceptible. "Well, that's worrying," Harry said. He paused to hand Jenn the pot. Those three long seconds were enough time for Jenn's suspicions to start up again. "Wouldn't want you to go into a-fib without an alarm system in place. Guess the batteries really are going," Harry added and Jenn let out a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding.