The cruellest day.
At seventeen Aaron Hotchner was not the most mature of boys, but Christ even he knew that this was a step too far. As captain of the football team it was his responsibility to keep his team in check, so he was far more than pissed when he had seen them standing around the football posts, howling with laughter as they watched their victim struggling to get down from where they had tied him butt naked. True he hadn't had really done anything to discourage them before, and really the kid really did bring it on himself sometimes, with his smarts, you would think the kid would know when to keep his mouth shut, but this? This was far more than your average high school prank. This was vicious, there was pure venom in this latest attack on Reid and enough was enough. The expression of rage on his face didn't need to be faked as he stormed over to his team mates.
"What the FUCK do you guys think you're doing?" He screamed at them. None of them would meet his gaze and this only incensed him further.
"I'm waiting for an answer! Anderson? Morgan, care to explain what the fuck you think you're doing?" Morgan could be counted on to usually keep the others in-line when Hotch wasn't around, which was why given his own history Hotch couldn't for the life of him understand why he was allowing this to happen. He needed to find a suitable punishment for them all but more importantly he needed to get them away from here, so he could get the kid down with what little dignity he had left intact.
Steeling himself Aaron took a deep breath. "Hit the showers, all of you" When no one moved he uttered one word that promised the longer they stood here the worse it would be for all of them. "NOW!" With that the team disbursed but not before Hotch caught hold of Morgan, Promising him that they were going to talk more about this later.
This wasn't happening; He was supposed to be a genius, so how the hell did he fall for it? He'd been studying in the library, well catching up on some reading really, When Marcus had approached him. While Marcus had never been one of his aggressors, he had never actually spoken to Reid, nor had he tried to stop his cronies when they stuffed Reid into his locker, shutting him in without a thought as to how the boy would get out, why would they? They only time Reid wasn't beneath their notice was when they were tormenting him, hitting him in the lunch line, shoving his head down the toilet, throwing food at him, really the list was endless. So he was more than a little surprised when Marcus spoke to him.
"Spencer?" Wow Spencer thought, not only is he talking to me but he actually knows my first name? Did I wake up in some alternate dimension this morning? Is this really happening? Only yesterday this guy stood by and watched as Anderson and Tobias had picked him up and stuffed him in to the trash cans in the cafeteria before proceeding to take lunch trays from passing students, dumping the contents on top of Reid.
Looking up from his book warily "C-Can I h-help y-you?" Marcus sighed looking down at the floor, as he waited for Marcus to answer Spencer noticed how nervous this jock was. It defied the laws of nature, that this jock should be nervous of him? It upset the balance of everything Spencer had ever known. Still waiting on an answer Spencer risked speaking again "Did you want something?" dropping his gaze quickly, sure he was about to get hit for daring to question the boy.
Marcus looked at him and sighed again "Yeah, look Spencer, I uh, I wanted to apologise for yesterday, I shouldn't have stood by and let the guys do that to you. So yeah, sorry" Out of every scenario playing out in Spencer's brilliant mind, that had been the last thing he had ever expected to hear, from anyone. Spencer had long since accepted that the daily torment and beatings were part of his daily high school life.
"I'm sorry?" Spencer risked looking at him again, he couldn't see any signs of deviousness but he just needed to hear it again.
"I said I was sorry, I know that we're not friends or anything like that, but if you'll let me, well I'd like to make it up to you."
Confused more than ever Spencer asked "Make it up to me how?" "Well I thought we could go for a coffee, my treat." Unfortunately for Spencer these vultures had studied their prey well and the lure of coffee proved too much for Reid.
Shoving his books in his bag, Spencer left the library and walked through the almost empty hallways with Marcus, though not feeling brave enough or sure enough of this new development to try to strike up a conversation or even walk next to Marcus it felt nice to finally be accepted. He could understand why Marcus was leading him through the lower halls of the school, it wouldn't do for a high school jock to be seen hanging around with the school's biggest geek. So when Marcus asked, Spencer agreed him to wait outside the locker room while he grabbed his wallet from his locker.
What the hell had he been thinking? He had been stupid to trust this new turn of events, and this is what he got for it. Stripped bare and hoisted up the goal post like a pair of the new kids jockey shorts. Spencer had been humiliated before, in fact over the years, he and humiliation had become firm friends. But this? This was a new level of hell. Spencer struggled against the ropes that held him uselessly, which caused his tormentors to laugh harder. Throughout his years of torment Reid had held on to one thing, he had refused to let them see him cry. Now, with the ropes digging into his skin and the entire varsity football team seeing him in all his 'Glory' Spencer could no longer keep his tears from falling. He was Broken, Spencer couldn't see how the day could get any worse, of course the fates were looking down on the boy and decided to show him just how much worse it could get.
After struggling for a good half an hour he was exhausted, but the boys below showed no sign of growing bored, their jeers getting louder and more hurtful as the minutes ticked by excruciatingly slowly. Surely someone should have come by now, it was Monday right? Monday's normally meant practice, so where was Coach Gideon? There was no way he would allow this to happen. Spencer could only guess that by some cruel twist of fate practise had been cancelled, that meant no one was coming and he knew these boys well enough to know that when they finally grew bored or hungry they would leave the pitch, leaving him there naked and alone all night. Finally it seemed that the gods were smiling down on him and he felt a glimmer of hope surge through him as he watched a figure striding purposely towards the field, the jeers had reached deafening levels by now, there was no way the approaching figure couldn't notice what was happening. Help was coming and Spencer would be down dressed and home shortly where he could let comfort himself privately. So when the imposing frame of Aaron Hotchner came into view with a face that would have had the entire Trojan army on their knees begging for mercy, Spencer was rightly terrified. Never before had he seen the senior so pissed and if the rumours were true, Aaron had an awful lot to be pissed about. As Aaron took in the sight of his team mates torturing him Spencer fully expected his usual stance when he caught his team up to this, Spencer expected him to stand back and watch, he looked so pissed Spencer even expected him to break tradition and join in. What Spencer did not expect, was to see that anger directed at his friends and team mates. He watched in horrid fascination as Hotch tore strips off them, sending them grumbling back to the locker room, grabbing Morgan's arm as he passed, exchanging a few words with him and giving him a less than friendly look.
Sparing Reid a quick glance Hotch shouted back to his retreating team.
"ONE OF YOU BETTER BRING HIS CLOTHES BACK DOWN HERE… AND A LADDER, FIVE MINUTES, DON'T MAKE ME COME FUCKING LOOKING FOR YOU!" Morgan glanced back at his fuming friend and knew that this time they had gone too far, catching up with Anderson and Tobias, he designated the job of finding a ladder and the kids clothes to them. It was their idea after all and he'd be damned if he was going to take the famous Hotchner temper alone. As it was, Derek knew he was in for a dressing down later tonight once this was over. They'd be damn lucky if Aaron didn't report all their asses to principle Strauss. Sighing he made his way into the locker room to shower and change.
Five minutes later as promised both boys returned to the field with Reid's clothes and the ladder muttering that Aaron was a hard ass who was taking this whole thing far too seriously. One look from Aaron silenced any further protests from either of them and when Hotch told them to leave they did eagerly. Now that the pitch was clear Aaron looked up at Reid, the poor kid was shaking so hard Aaron was seriously worried that the ropes holding him were going to draw blood.
"Reid I'm coming up to untie you okay?" Aaron saw Reid looking at him and recognised the expression at once, it was one he had a lot of experience with himself in his own home life. Shit, this kid is absolutely fucking terrified… of me. And suddenly Aaron was disgusted with himself; sure he had never done anything to the kid, hell he'd never even spoken to him before, but he had been there as his friends had tortured this social awkward kid, he had never before put a stop to it, as far as Aaron was concerned, it was something the kid needed, he needed to toughen up! That was what disgusted Aaron the most and he tried to pinpoint the exact moment his father's ideals had brushed off on him. When did he start believing it was acceptable to stand by and witness someone else's pain and not do a damn thing to stop it? Aaron sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, he realised he was going to have to make some changes within himself before he could even think about disciplining the team, Aaron may be many things but a hypocrite wasn't one of them. One thing he was sure of, he needed to get the kid down, now. He leaned the ladder up against the pole and climbed up approaching Reid as one might an armed man, slowly and cautiously. "We'll have you down from here in a minute okay? I just need to get to the ropes, I'm not going to hurt you, I swear" Reid nodded compliantly, he just wanted this to be over and his only option was to allow Aaron to help him down. There was no way he was going to fall for the same thing twice though and he knew that this sudden change in routine must be part of the same cruel jock. The assholes must have worked it all out days ago, send in someone to gain his trust get him down here to do this… In comes Aaron knight in shining armour Hotchner to rescue him (Spencer had to hand it to him, he was a brilliant actor) reading them the riot act and then what? One thing was for sure, Spencer wasn't going to stick around to find out. Once he got home Spencer was going to convince his mother to let him transfer or get home schooled, he was never coming back here again.
Aaron felt sick to his stomach; he never wanted anyone to look at him the way Spencer Reid was right now, that look of terror would haunt his dreams for a long time. There was something about this kid that was so vulnerable (being tied to a goal post, naked aside) that made Aaron both ashamed and want to protect him and the latter part unsettled him. Pushing those thoughts out of his mind for a moment and concentrated on the task at hand, getting Reid down safely and getting him home, no way was he letting this kid out of his sight. "Fuck!" Aaron uttered the curse with such venom that spencer actually squealed in fright. "Sorry kid, I didn't mean to scare you, it's just, well you're bleeding were the rope has dug in" Sighing he got the rest of the ropes untied, swearing that he wouldn't rest until he paid those idiots back, what the fuck had they been paying at? "Alright kid, that's the last of the rope, put your arms around me and I'll get you down"
Spencer did as he was told silently, while Aaron couldn't understand why having this skinny kids arms wrapped around him, well clinging to him really, felt so right. With Spencer holding on to him for dear life Aaron made his way slowly back down the ladder. Once they were both back on solid ground Spencer let go of him, bending down to retrieve Spencer's clothes, Aaron took a step forward, arm outstretched to hand them too him and was utterly bewildered by the response he got, okay so maybe he shouldn't have been after all the kid had been through tonight.
"Don't you fucking touch me!" Christ the boy was damn near hysterical, again hardly a surprise. "I mean it Hotchner, you stay the fuck away!"
Hands up in an appeasing gesture. "Okay Reid, I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to give your clothes and get you out of here"
"Yeah, because I'm really stupid enough to fall for the same shit twice! I'm a fucking genius Aaron Hotchner, I read at a rate of 20,000 words per minute, have an IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory! Your boys got lucky this time; I won't let it happen again!"
"Spen-"
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare say my name like we're friends!" Spencer knew, without a shadow of a doubt that he was only digging himself a deeper grave, but after everything the football team had put him through tonight he just didn't care, he wasn't coming back here again so what did one last beating make? So he was surprised when Hotch placed his clothes on the floor and took a step back, hands still in the air. Aaron was more than a little surprised himself, in all the years Reid had been bullied he had never blown up like this, not that Aaron blamed him in the least, hell if someone had done that to him, he'd be shouting like a sailor too. Aaron really didn't help his cause when he smiled though; in fact it just pissed Spencer off more.
"You think what you and your Neanderthal friends did is funny? We'll see how funny you all think it is when I press charges against you all for assault! Not even your lawyer daddy will be able to save your privileged ass!" That pissed him off, yeah the kid was pissed, hurt and humiliated but Aaron was going to make sure nothing ever happened to him again, so it pissed him off that Spencer (when exactly had this kid become Spencer and not just Reid to him?) was throwing his father back in his face.
God damn it! I put his fucking clothes within easy reach so why the hell is he still naked? Aaron had to tear his eyes away from the young lithe body before him with serious effort. "Get your clothes on Reid!" Spencer flinched at the tone in his voice and knew he was in for it. The look in Aaron's eyes was heated but Spencer mistook the look for one of rage, in reality it was one of pure unbridled lust, never before had Aaron Hotchner even considered looking at a guy in that way, he had always considered himself one hundred % straight, JJ, his ex could attest to that. But damn it, there was something about Spencer Reid that made him want to throw the book out of the window. He dared to look at him again and saw that spencer hadn't moved, in fact the kid looked like a deer caught in headlights, cursing himself mentally he spoke.
"I just mean that it's freezing out here kid, you need to get dressed before you catch your death. I'm not going to do anything to you, I never have. Get dressed so that I can take you home. Please Reid, I can't let you walk home alone after this. I promise once I see you home alright, I'll make sure no one bothers you again, you have my word on that." Aaron looked down before he continued "I know what it's like to live in fear, to wonder each day when and where the next beating is going to come from, to know that nowhere is truly safe" Spencer wondered what fresh torment this was, of course he'd heard the rumours, everyone had but Aaron had never openly admitted it before, He didn't want to trust this, it was too unexpected, but there was a haunted look in Aaron's eyes that matched his own and no one was that good an actor.
"Why? Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?" Spencer sounded so unsure of himself as he spoke, as though he feared retribution for daring to ask anything, that Aaron almost pulled him into his arms then and there, he wanted nothing more than to protect this kid.
He shrugged before answering "I told you, I know what it's like, no one should have to go through what you went through tonight Spencer, and if you want to press charges against the team I'll drive you down to the station myself, you have my word, please just let me help you." "Y-You'd help me press charges against your friends? " Hurriedly pulling on his clothes not daring to look at Aaron. "Derek is the only one I'd really consider a friend and after tonight I'm beginning to question that…there is no excuse in the world that will justify what they did to you Spencer, I'm sorry I didn't step in before now, really I am." "It's okay Hotch, I understand, I'm just some scrawny geeky kid who isn't worth noticing" Sighing spencer wrapped his arms protectively around his stomach, watching as Aaron closed the space between them, He looked so serious as he crowed Spencer's personal space, lifting his chin so that Spencer would meet his eyes. "No spencer, you are so much more than that, and from now on, you call me Aaron okay?" And before either of them really knew what was happening, Aaron leaned in and kissed him.