~ Chapter One ~

Prayers

Let Me Introduce You To
The Characters In the Show.
One Says "Yes;" One Says "No."

Come Alive, There Are Thoughts Unclear.
You Can Never Hide.

~I Dare You, by Shinedown

Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.

At times, it seemed as though the whole world was conspiring against him. There were times that he even considered embracing a religion – any religion, really – if only to have a powerful and omnipotent deity to answer his desperate prayers. Those desperate prayers were few and far between, of course, but he was also admittedly a person of an atheistic mindset. He still prayed, though.

The man exhaled sharply and ran a slender hand through his soft, brown hair. Man, he was such a hypocrite sometimes…

"Oi!" Derek called, raising his booming voice to be heard over the deafening volume of an iPod, one that was resting in its dock and playing a rather loud classical song, too. It was locked on the one of the highest volume settings in order to drown out said booming voice. "Spencer…!"

Spencer had prayed for many things over the course of his short life. There were two prayers in particular, though, that had remained etched in the depths of his brilliant mind.

As a young boy, he had prayed for a friend, someone that would help him through the difficulties of his lonely childhood. That silent prayer had been made during a time that other children had labeled him a social outcast – a pariah. It was a time not too long ago, one that was filled with the memories of being surrounded by mean girls, cruel bullies, and oblivious teachers. Still, he hadn't received an immediate response to that prayer.

So, Spencer hastened to make another one. This one was much more desperate. The young man had prayed to every deity in existence for a reason to keep fighting against the unknown forces that were threatening to engulf him. He'd also prayed for forgiveness – locking his mother away in a sanatorium had filled him with guilt, even though the act had been for her own safety. It had broken his heart to do such a terrible thing, and the pain was slowly tearing him asunder. Diana Reid was his whole world, and now, she was no longer in his care. He needed a reason to live again.

That prayer was answered, and it was answered rather quickly, too. He landed an incredible job with the FBI, as a member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. It was a job that enabled him – no, it encouragedhim – to use his vast stores of knowledge to track down many of the criminals that were plaguing their society. As a federal agent, Spencer fought against various sociopaths, and in fighting against them, he had been captured, tortured, and beaten several times over the span of the last few years. The young man had to admit that it was all worth it, though, because he had also saved many innocent lives by falling victim to those predators in their stead.

Oh, yes. And Spencer got to wield a gun, too! It made him appear, well, badass, for lack of a more appropriate term.

"Oh, come on!" Derek groaned, leaning his forehead against the closed door. "Are you still mad about that comment? I swear, Reid! It was just a damn joke!" It sounded as though the older male were beating his fist – or his head – against the door.

Now, Spencer had to admit that his only prayer was for both of his guests to leave him alone. He had recently bought a new book at the local Barnes and Noble, something that he rarely had time to do as of late. It was a truly fascinating read, but only if he was given the chance to read more than a single paragraph at a time, which was proving to be a rather difficult task whilst sharing a small space with two of the most dominant alpha males in existence.

Yes, Aaron and Derek were both alphas, and he was rather submissive in nature. That still didn't mean that the two of them were allowed to bully him into doing something that he was not ready for at the moment. Spencer shook his head, clearly thinking to himself that this particular word, alpha, should actually be read as A.L.P.H.A. That acronym could stand for a large, powerful, hormonal antagonist.

Spencer calmly turned another page in his book, scanned the text, and flipped to the next set of pages. The young doctor continued reading, and he ultimately chose to ignore the man that was fuming on the other side of his bedroom door. It might have been funny, had he actually been in the mood to laugh at another of Derek's temper tantrums.

Frustrated, Derek hit his head against the door yet again, and called, "Spencer! I'm serious, man!"

Neither one of the A.L.P.H.A.s appeared to care that they were disturbing his reading, either. It was seriously beginning to bother him, though, and that was very clear in his response.

He rolled his tawny eyes, obviously not believing a word that was being said to him, and sourly muttered, "Yeah, right…"

Derek glared darkly at the wooden door, cursing at it in silence for a moment. "I didn't mean that you were the Virgin Mary!" he grumbled, crossing his arms over his broad chest in a brief attempt to make himself feel more in control of the situation. "I meant that you were acting like a virgin!"

Oh, yeah. That just made it sound so much better, didn't it? He thought, exasperated and a tad peeved at the wording in that sentence. I may not be the Virgin Mary, but I apparently act like a prudish little girl!

"Go away," Spencer snapped, annoyed, and increased the volume on his iPod. Beethoven's music now blared through the speakers – well, as much as a classical song could blare through the speakers, anyway…

"Fine," Derek barked through the closed door, and he banged his large fist on the wall outside the small bedroom – his safe haven – as he did so.

With one last huff at his friend's immature actions, Derek turned away from the bedroom door, stomping down the length of the hallway, through the tiny space that served as both the living and dining room, and into the silence of the empty kitchen. There were no more angry words, mutterings, or cursing to be heard from either one of his guests. Thank God! It was quiet – blissfully so. And now, Spencer could continue reading.

Well, that was pretty easy!

Spencer narrowed his eyes in speculation at that particular thought, before coming to the blunt realization that it was actually a little too easy for him to manipulate his opponent into leaving him to his own devices. The older male was not well known amongst his friends, family, and coworkers for his compliance, and it was incredibly difficult to think that he was incapable of entering the bedroom by force. Derek was a muscular man, and he had played football for a great many years. And Spencer didn't even have a lock on that old door.

Of course, Derek didn't know that, but…

Spencer eventually shrugged the entire matter away with a blink of his large, brown eyes and a shake of his head. He returned his undivided attention to his book, immersing himself within the pages, all of which were crisp, new, and smelled like pine. His eyes flickered quickly over the words written on those pages, taking in every single detail and easily committing it his eidetic memory. This particular work was a biographical account of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a man that had written numerous novels, short stories, and essays. His personal favorite amongst them was Crime and Punishment.

He'd just gotten to the third part of the book, a section that offered a critique and a variety of professional opinions on the famous masterpiece, when the obvious sound of heavy footsteps marching back down the hallway and towards his bedroom door reached his ears. There was a pause, during which time the young man turned to stare at his door with trepidation, and then…

***Author's Note***

I am an idiot! I've three other stories to work on, and yet, this one decided that it just had to be written!

Oh, well. I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter! I'll post the next chapter soon, but only if you guys review this one! :D