I do not own the TV series Criminal Minds or its original characters, just the ones I made up!
I do not own the song Valentine's Day by the late David Bowie.
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Criminal Minds
Valentine's Day
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"Valentine told me who's to go
Feelings he's treasured most of all
The teachers and the football star
It's in his tiny face
It's in his scrawny hand
Valentine told me so
He's got something to say
It's Valentine's Day"
Valentine's Day was on Sunday, a perfect day for many Americans to celebrate this wonderful and romantic day.
Restaurants were fully booked with patrons and chefs all over were preparing the most extraordinary gastronomical affair to tempt couples in hopes that they would leave with smiles and dreams of a well cooked dinner!
At the malls all over the country, couples and families were shopping happily and frantically at the last minute; be it for their loved ones or for just simply a sale the particular retail stores were offering.
Nonetheless, everywhere one goes, it was busy.
Traffic was a nightmare.
Parking was a disaster.
Within the mall? It was no better, there was an air of frantic and rush about.
No one was paying attention to anyone in particular, everyone was in their own world.
No one was paying attention to him.
His name was Valentine.
He hated his own name; he hated his parents for naming him.
So, he'd shortened it to Val.
Yet, his high school friends, what few there were, insisted on calling him Valentine.
The girls thought it was romantic. He had sneered at them, what did they know? All throughout his whole Seventeen years, he had been teased mercilessly.
They had paid him no heed when he begged them to call him Val.
They preferred Valentine.
How he had hated his own name.
Until he met her.
Judy.
She was perfect.
Judy was sixteen, she had dark hair to his blonde.
Judy has perfect teeth to his ugly braces he had worn since Freshmen.
Judy was curvy to his slim-built.
Judy was all American sweetheart.
Judy was popular, and Judy has a boyfriend, Teddy.
Teddy was also perfect. He was dark-haired too.
Teddy was all American Football 'hero' quarterback/basketball forward.
Teddy was built and they were in love.
Teddy laughed at Valentine because he almost blew up the Chemistry lab.
Judy tried to defend Valentine, who was her lab partner.
Teddy had not like it. They had a little tiff.
Valentine took this opportunity to ask Judy to the prom.
Judy laughed and turned away, she told him Teddy was taking her to the prom.
Valentine was upset.
It was then he found out Judy had told her friends about it.
All her friends laughed whenever Valentine passed by them in the hallways.
The teasing was relentless and became worse.
His Face Book and Twitter were all terrible.
Strangers began to post ugly messages. Ugly names were used.
Valentine cracked.
At the mall, he saw Teddy and Judy holding hands and he decided they were the ones who had started it all.
"The rhythm of the crowd
Teddy and Judy down
Valentine sees it all
He's got something to say
It's Valentine's Day
The day of the Prom, when all the Seniors decked out in their finest.
Teddy and Judy, were just crowned King and Queen respectively.
Valentine rushed up to the stage and declared, "It's Valentine's Day!"
With one look at Judy, he shot her first, then Teddy, before he turned to the crowds of Seniors and threw several bombs outward, then he turned the gun to himself as he said one more time, "It's Valentine's Day!" and shot himself in the head.
"Valentine told me how he'd feel
If all the world were under his heels
Or stumbling through the mall
It's in his tiny face
It's in his scrawny hand
Valentine knows it all
He's got something to say
It's Valentine's Day
Valentine, Valentine
Valentine, Valentine
It's in his scrawny hand
It's in his icy heart
It's happening today
Valentine, Valentine
It's in his scrawny hand
It's in his icy heart
It's happening today
Valentine, Valentine"
As the BAU team stepped into the school gym, Hotch shook his head sadly. "He wanted to go out in the blaze of glory."
Emily looked at him and shook her head, "No Hotch," she picked up a piece of bloody paper from his outstretched hand. "His name is Valentine Day." She raised her brows. "Parents can be some kind of cruel, why subject your kid to this kind of torture and mental anguish? It's not cute." She stared at the body of the young man. "Don't they realize...after they outgrow the first couple of years, when they start school, they'll be subjected to teasings and bullyings."
Hotch stared at her, "Prentiss, are you okay?"
She refused to look at him but she nodded, "Yeah...yeah. I'm okay. I just..." She took a deep breath and shook her head, finally turned her face up to him. Hotch was not surprise to see she was close to breaking down but he chose not to say a word; he knew she could control herself.
"There was a high school kid who was consistently bullied when I was a freshman, I wish I was brave enough to stand up for him. He was a pretty chunky boy and there was a group of older kids who used to bully him mercilessly, and no one would dare to help him, stand up for him." She shook her head sadly. "One day," Emily's voice dropped as well as her head as she continued. "One day, he never showed up to school and the Principal announced to us on the morning assembly that Harold Pears had passed away that morning. We found out he had taken his own life by hanging himself."
Hotch looked down, "I'm sorry, Prentiss. Bullying is never an easy thing in school and unfortunately, it has not changed or improved, no matter how much measures the staff and faculty had taken to prevent it from happening." He looked at the bodies and sighed. "And here's an example of the consequences."
Derek Morgan came up to them and said solemnly, "We found the bodies of his parents; they were shot in the heads. The boy had left a message on his social media...just like those three prior cases."
Hotch frowned, "We've got to stop this. Someone is putting out a pity party and he is encouraging these kids to let their aggression loose on those who had affected them."
Morgan and Emily nodded, "I'll get on Garcia." Morgan stepped aside as he pulled out his cell phone.
Emily bent down and examined the body, "Hotch...this kid, Valentine Day, look, he was browsing his social media a lot prior to this mass shooting." She was looking at his cell phone. "There's a web site called Namesake Murder Club."
Hotch frowned, "I don't like the sound of this, let's get this to Garcia and have her trace the IP address."
Emily nodded. "At least we have something, a breadcrumb."
He glanced down at the body, "This boy, Valentine Day, might not have been responsible for all this by himself after all."
…...
The End
Author Note; yes, I used David Bowie's song Valentine's Day in his honor (I loved him, and I'm still mourning his death!)
Let me know what you think of this piece. Honestly...I can take it.
10th muse