It was only two hours into the gala and Gemma already wanted to go home, but she continued to force the smile on her lips as she greeted all the guest. But the difficult parts was over as the presentation and speech that she and Jenny did had gone perfectly.  Though Gemma's mind couldn't help but wonder to the last time that she had hosted one of these galas over five months ago. 

That was the night that Jaime Reyes had broken up with her in the worst possible way. 

It was especially difficult to not think about him when the Reyes all rushed at her and Jenny giving them tight hugs and congratulating them. 

Regardless of everything that happened it was so nice to see the Reyes, they had felt like her family even if it had only been for a couple of months. They all seemed so happy and excited to be at the gala that Gemma couldn't believe that she was doubted whether or not to invite them.

"It's so good to see you mija." Mrs. Reyes said as she pulled Gemma into a tight hug that she wasn't entirely prepared for. Some part of her had expected for them to treat her differently but they were acting as if nothing had happened. 

"Thank you for coming." Gemma said as Jenny and Rudy got into some kind of argument in the background. "Did Javier help you all settle in?"

"Yes, thank you for having him pick us up from the airport." Milagros replied looking a little nervous, which wasn't very like Milagros at all. They were also all staying with Gemma for the weekend, which she was initially afraid that maybe it would be too weird to have them over. But luckily Jenny would be staying over too so if things did get awkward then she would be there to help. 

"Gemma. Jenny, There's still a lot of people that you need to get to." Brenda stated as she approached them a look concern on her facing making it clear that they probably were being on all the people and reporters that they needed to get to. 

"If I don't get to talk to you all again I'll see you at the house." Gemma told them all before she and Jenny walked back into the crowd not even knowing where to start. 

"Dr. Ivo. Ms Kord." A tall man said as he approached them with a smile that was too charming to even be real. Gemma felt her heart stop in her chest at the sight of who was undoubtedly the most famous person in the room. When she had met Oliver Queen at the last gala she had found him the most handsome man she had ever seen, but suddenly that had changed. "Bruce Wayne."

Gemma and Jenny shook his hand both of them not really speaking much and letting him do all the talking, Both of them a little intimidated by him and in complete awe. In all honesty Gemma had never understood the appeal much watching him on television, but it was all very different seeing him in person. Especially because he was just so call that charming. Their conversation with him was brief, the norm for these kinds of events and Gemma was grateful for it as she was sure that she must be blushing just being around him.

"Well, I hope to work with you ladies in the future." Bruce Wayne said with a smile before excusing himself, and he absolutely had to know the effect that he had on women from the permeant smirk on his lip.

Jenny watched him disappear into the crowd and quickly took two champagne glasses from one of the waiters walking by with a tray. She handed one of the glasses to Gemma before taking a sip of her own. "I know he's older but..."

"You know his reputation." Gemma warned knowing that Jenny had mentioned numerous times before that she wanted something more serious. So, if that was the case Bruce Wayne was definitely not the man that she should go after, it didn't matter how handsome and charismatic he was. 

"I never said I wanted more than a night."

"Well..." Gemma said turning to look over to where Bruce Wayne had walked off too. He was talking to a reporter and Gemma really couldn't blame Jenny for being interested in him even if the billionaire playboy was in his forties. Smiling Gemma turned back to Jenny who was still clearly considering whether or not she should go for it. "in that case who am I to stop you?"

Jenny's smile faded as she reached out to take Gemma's hand. She was looking over Gemma's shoulder and naturally Gemma was about to turn around to see what she was staring at but Jenny immediately tugged on her hand. 

"Gemma don't turn around." Jenny whispered her face practically pale and although Gemma didn't know why it looked like Jenny had seen a ghost but she tensed anyway. Because some part of her senses it without even knowing. "He's here."

There was no need for Jenny to say his name, but that suddenly explained why Milagros had seemed so nervous earlier. She had to have know that he was coming. Gemma didn't want to turn around she wasn't ready to see him, and she simply couldn't understand why he was here. She he would do this to her all over again. Was he trying to be cruel?

There was a time when Gemma would have never consider Jaime as cruel, but he had been cruel to her before.

"I'm not turning around." Gemma said though she wasn't sure if she was talking to Jenny or herself. She just felt like the best thing to do was pretend that he wasn't in the room, she was going to make sure that she was busy at all time so he wouldn't approach her if that was his intention. "Has he seen me?"

"Oh definitely." Jenny replied taking a small sip of the champagne in her hand. "But I don't think he's coming over." 

Gemma nodded as she took a long sip from her champagne, or at least she intended for it be a long sip. She quickly finished all the contents of the glass with a sigh hoping that she didn't look crazy. 

"I'm going to go to the bathroom." Gemma said as she handed Jenny her glass. She immediately felt suffocated by the fact that he was in the same room as her even if he was just there with his family. 

"Yeah I'll go get us another drink. Something stronger this time." Jenny said with a smile meant to encourage Gemma, but nothing could really save her from this moment. 

Gemma looked straight ahead as she headed directly towards the bathrooms. Luckily nobody tried to stop her as finally reached the bathroom only when she got there she didn't find the moment of solitude that she wanted as she was instead met with women who were gossiping about everyone in attendance. 

Normally, Gemma wasn't much of a gossip but she couldn't help but listen in to what the women were saying as he pretended to touch up her makeup. There wasn't too much of what they said that interested her, sure the cheating scandals were interesting to hear about but all she really wanted to was take her mind off of Jaime Reyes.And for about fifteen minutes she had been successful but she could only hide out in the bathroom for so long.

Anyway why should she be the one to hide? He should be the one that was ashamed for what he had done, she didn't do anything wrong. He should have know better than to come. 

As she stepped out into the hallway she sat down on one of the couches lining the walls. Both to give herself some time before going back out but also because her feet were killing her in the heels she was wearing. She had broken them in for a week like Jenny had suggested but there was nothing that could help her against an uncomfortable shoe. 

"Gemma."

It wasn't her name that caused her to freeze but the voice that had said it that had her heart stopping in her chest. She wished that she could just disappear, but that was definitely not an option. Gemma also knew that she had to look up eventually no matter how difficult it would be. 

Looking up towards the doorway she did her best to make sure that there wasn't even the slightest facial expression that would reveal how she was really feeling. Even though she immediately felt the lump forming in her throat she stood noticing how he hadn't changed at all. 

She realized that she had missed his stupid face.

"Jaime." Gemma said surprisingly herself by how steady her voice sounded.

Maybe she was even a little proud of herself considering that there was a time that the thought of him was enough to make her cry like an idiot.

"Gemma." He said with a smile as he stepped farther into the room. He was in one of the suits that she had bought him ands couldn't help but feel angry. Because how could he just stand in front on her with that stupid smile and not look that slightest bit ashamed about what he had done. "You look... you look great. Congrats on all of this its... great."

"Thanks." She replied looking not sure what else he was expecting her to say. But she could be civil and if he could pretend that nothing had happened between them then she could too. Though maybe she wasn't as mature as he was considering that she couldn't exactly muster up a smile for him. "How are you?"

"Better now."

Gemma didn't want to think too much about him response as she nodded realizing that this really wasn't as easy for her as it clearly was for him. She couldn't be in the same room with him and she hated herself for it. She really had been hoping that if she ever were to see him again it wouldn't come with the ache she felt in her chest. "Well, I have to go back."

"I really want to talk to you."

Shaking her head Gemma looked at him in disbelief. That he really wanted to do this now after so many months. "Not now Jaime. Not here." 

Not wanting to spend anymore time than she needed to around him Gemma walked past him but not before he reached out to try to take her hand. She was able to pull her hand before he took, but his fingers still brushed against hers. Gemma met his eyes briefly before shaking her head and walking back into the crowd of people. Instinctively she headed towards the bar hoping the Jenny was still there, but Jenny had found her first. 

"What happened are you okay?" She asked as she handed Gemma a drink that she suspected was a margarita. Jenny looked frustrated and angry as she looked around the sea of people. "I saw him follow you and I was going to go after him but a reporter from the Daily Planet stopped me."

Gemma felt her eyes widen feeling like there was something going on. "Wait who?

"Clark Kent."  Jenny replied dismissively clearly not realizing that he was Irene Miranda's husband. They had invited multiple members of the press but somehow Clark Kent being here didn't feel like a coincidence. Had his wife went him to get more information? That felt like a very real possibility. But the fact that Jaime was here now made it even more of a concern. Did Clark Kent also work for the Justice League like his wife did? 

Or maybe Gemma was overthinking everything like she usually did. It very well could be that Clark Kent was simply doing his job.

"Dr. Ivo." Someone that she didn't recognize greeted as he approached them, but there was something about him that seemed a little familiar as he got closer. "Ray Palmer."

Gemma did her best not to react but she couldn't help but spare a quick glance at Jenny who looked like she was praying for the ground to just open up and swallow her whole. 

"Hi, nice to meet you." Gemma said shaking his oddly sweaty hand which made her wonder if her was nervous or if his hands were naturally sweaty like that. Considering the currently situation it was safe to assume that he was nervous. 

"I have a feeling that you've heard plenty about me from Ms. Kord." He replied with a smile causing Jenny to practically choke on her drink, but it seemed like Ray Palmer was choosing to ignore Jenny entirely as he never really turned to even look at her. 

A nervous laugh left her lips not sure what she should even reply to that. "Actually I've read a lot about your work with Ryan Choi in a journal. The miniaturization of objects to a subatomic size is groundbreaking."

Ray Palmer smiled brightly clearly excited about the compliment. There was a nerdy quality about him that was absolutely sweet and Gemma couldn't believe that Jenny hadn't given him a really chance. On paper he kind of seemed like the perfect guy, at least that was what Jenny had said on multiple occasions. Though Gemma was getting the feeling that maybe it was the fact that he was so perfect that was scaring Jenny away. 

"Well, that's great." He said as he reached into the inner pocket of his tux and handed her his business card. "I would love to meet with you to discuss any possibilities for us to work together." 

"Brilliant." Gemma said genuinely curious about what his pitch could be, the reality was that the type of project he was suggesting could completely change and advance medicine. "I'll definitely reach out." 

Ray suddenly turned to an unusually silent Jenny and smiled. "I would give you my card too but you already have my number. Have a good night." 

Gemma's mouth opened in shock before she quickly pressed her lips together to prevent herself from laughing. Jenny looked just as shocked except she was not at all amused by the interaction. In fact she almost seemed a little embarrassed by it all. 

Suddenly Jenny reached out and wrapped her hand around Gemma's wrist and began to pull her to the direction of the outside gardens. Gemma allowed her to pull her out of the venue even though she noted some concerned glances from some of their guests. 

The night was cold and it looked like it would be raining soon, but the fresh air was welcome after hours of being inside with so many people. 

"Could this night get any worse?" Jenny muttered and suddenly everything related to Jaime Reyes came rushing back. Her conversation with Ray Palmer had successfully distracted her for a while but now all the frustration and anger that she had felt earlier completely took over. 

"What are the odds?"Gemma wanted to scream as she and Jenny stepped outside. But at this point Gemma didn't know if she should be angry or find it all amusing . "First Jaime is here and now Ray. The universe must hate us."

Jenny nodded as she began to pace in deep thought. Gemma couldn't help but get the feeling that seeing Ray must have surfaced a lot of feeling that maybe Jenny didn't know she had. 

"I just want to..." Gemma began before she kicked a giant flower pot standing beside her. It had look rather heavy and was practically as tall as she was, that was why when it fell over rolling down the staircase before shattering to the ground Gemma immediately slapped her had over her mouth in shock.

The crash was loud and made her flinch and when she turned to Jenny she could see an equally as shocked look on her face. Jenny's mouth was wide open as they stood there in silence for a moment before they burst out laughing. 

"That helped didn't it?" Jenny questioned as the stood at the top of the stairs looking down at the mess that Gemma had made. That action was so unlike her it was still difficult to believe that it had happened, luckily it seemed that nobody had been around to witness her outburst. 

"Yeah." Gemma admitted somehow feeling like she had found the release for some of the anger she had been holding for the last couple of months. 

"I think we should get back." It also seemed that all Jenny needed was a good laugh as she almost seemed relaxed. She had been caught completely off guard and would have reacted completely different with Ray had she been prepared for his presence. There were still about two more hours left for the gala but the entire venue was still full, though everybody tended to take advantage of these events to network with as many important people as possible. "I'm going to get another drink."

Although Gemma knew that Jenny could handle her alcohol she still couldn't help but feel a little worried that Jenny might be planning to drink a little more than she should at an event like this. She was about to follow Jenny to the bar when she felt a hand on her arm. 

"I've been look for you everywhere." Tom said looking a little relieved, though he had have a point considering that she hadn't seen him since the presentation. Normally the two of them were the ones to go around greeting the guest, but considering the event was centered around Gemma and Jenny's collaboration he had given them the space to do everything on their own. 

"Hold on." Gemma said as she adjusted Tom's tie, it was so uncharacteristic of him to be anything but perfect so seeing him with a crooked tie was odd.

"Thanks." He muttered with a small smile as he looked around the room before his eyes settled on the groups of people that were dancing in the other corner of the room. "Would you like to dance?"

Gemma laughed before realizing that he was serious. "You know I don't really like to dance."

"Come on. Humor me." He replied taking her hand and leading her out to the small dance floor. Gemma really didn't want to dance, but she also didn't want to be a terrible friend and not do it when he clearly wanted to. Tom placed his hands on her waist as she wrapped them around his neck slowly dancing to the music. It was a little weird considering that they normally didn't do this kind of thing, but she was comfortable enough around Tom that she got over the awkwardness pretty quickly. "You really hate this don't you?"

Gemma scrunched up her nose feeling horrible that he was right through her, even when she was trying her best not to look like she hated dancing.  "Yeah."

"Well, thank you for doing for me anyway." 

"You never say no to me, so it's kind of hard to say no to you." She replied honestly because it really was the least she could do considering everything that he had helped her through. Before Tom Gemma had never had a friend that really asked nothing of her. 

Before he could reply someone tapped Gemma's arm causing them to stop. It was Millie was and awkward smile on her face and not at all caring the she was interrupting their dance. 

"Hey, sorry to interrupt." Milagros said as she stepped between them, giving Tom an apologetic smile that didn't look the slightest bit genuine. And natural Tom looked incredibly annoyed. "Can we have a minute? Thank you."

Milagros didn't leave much room for discussion, but Tom also wasn't the type to argue no matter how angry a situation made him. Because in this case he had every right to be upset, Milagros was choosing to be rude. There was nothing that she could say that was so urgent that it couldn't wait until the end of the night. 

"I'll look for you later." Tom said with a small smile before walking away and Gemma couldn't help but feel bad. 

"Millie?" Gemma questioned confused as Milagros suddenly pulled her close and placed a hand on her waist completely taking over the position that Tom had been in. "What are you doing?"

"Well, Jaime and Rudy don't want to dance with me." Milagros said though it was clearly a lie, she was a terrible liar and the guilt was written all over her face. "Also I'm pretty sure Jaime was seconds away from ripping his hair out. And you've seen my brother? He has nice hair I couldn't let that happen." 

Gemma rolled her eyes not at all amused with what Milagros was saying. "What is he doing here?"

"I think you know why he's here."She replied her tone serious now as they stopped dancing. 

"It's a little too late for whatever it is he has to say."

Milagros looked concerned and maybe even a little annoyed. "Do you really believe that?"

"I do." Gemma replied without hesitation, because it had been months. And Gemma was doing so good and she truly was happy. There was a time where she had felt that she couldn't even breath without Jaime, but time had proven her wrong because she absolutely could go on without him. Everyday she thought about him less and less, that was what made him being here so unfair. 

What right did he have coming back into her life just as she was about to move on completely? 

"Well, this is going to make what I'm going to ask like really awkward." Milagros said as she smiled up at Gemmed apologetically, and all Gemma could do was stare at her waiting for her to continue. Clearly whatever it was that she was going to ask was bad enough for her to look so embarrassed. "Can Jaime stay at your place. I kind of had told him it was okay."

Hearing those words felt like a punch to the stomach. She wanted to be mad at Milagros, she really did but it was difficult to do when she was clearly just doing everything for her brother. Gemma really wanted to say no, that she would pay for him to stay at a hotel in the city is she had to. But if she did that what it make it seem that she wasn't as over Jaime as she claimed to be? 

It was a large house anyway, and if he intended to spend the weekend with the rest of his family  she could definitely find excuses to stay out of the house if she had to.

Gemma sighed as she nodded slowly immediately regretting it the moment she did it. But it felt too late to change her mind now as Milagros pulled her into a tight hug. Gemma didn't return the hug as she suddenly met Jenny's eyes from across the room, and from the look of disapproval on Jenny's face she could see that Jenny could guess what was happening and what a big mistake it was. 

A/N: Here's another long chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed it. There's only ten more chapters left for this book and there's still a lot of ground for me to cover. Tell me what you hope to see from Gemma and Jaime's story.