Disclaimer - I do not own Criminal Minds *sigh*.... One can dream
I also do not own 'The call'
Spencer fiddled with his tie, shifting uncomfortably in his formal suit. He looked around the vast wedding reception. He didn't know anyone accept Darren, and sticking with him was hardly an option.
"Heya Spence." The groom gave him a warm pat on the shoulder. "You look kind of lost."
Spencer smiled wryly. "You could say that."
Darren nodded, understanding his old friends' discomfort. "You should have brought a date."
Spencer scoffed. "Date? Me?"
Darren laughed. "Don't sneer at it pretty boy, it's not impossible. I happen to know of a few very eligible bachelorettes here tonight who would totally be into you if you're interested."
"I'm ok," Spencer smiled, wondering why 'pretty boy' sprung up so much. The last thing he needed was Darren playing Cupid.
He made it sound like talking to girls was so easy. Then again, when you were Darren, of course it was easy. He was confident, smooth talking, and women literally threw themselves at him. And now he'd found Carla and he looked like the happiest man on the planet. And as happy as Spencer was for him, he couldn't help but feel some resentment to his friend. Why couldn't it be that easy for him for once? Why couldn't he just find the right girl and look forward to spending the rest of his life with her? Was that cliché really too much to ask?
"Well, I'll talk to you later. I've got about seven hundred other wedding guests to make small talk with," Darren moaned, before hurrying of to Carla and pulling her close to him, smiling. Spencer turned and found a seat, shrugging off his suit jacket and letting his eyes wonder over the crowds of guests, wanting so much to leave, but knowing he couldn't. Oh well. It was going to be a long night. He might as well get some champagne and at least pretend he was enjoying himself.
As he picked up a champagne flute, Spencer saw a woman knelt down on the floor fixing her shoe. Before he realised it, she stood and turned, oblivious to his presence, and knocked right into him, tipping his champagne all down his purple shirt. He heard her gasp.
"Oh, I am such a klutz! I am so sorry, I didn't see you!"
"That's ok, it'll..." Spencer stopped mid-sentence when he looked up. The girl standing in front of him was...well, the word beautiful didn't do her justice. She had black hair that fell choppily past her shoulders, and wide green eyes that were just so...well, he'd never seen eyes so captivating. And the blue dress she wore did an excellent job of flattering her figure. Her very attractive, very womanly figure.
"It'll dry," Spencer said hastily, not sure how long he'd been standing there gawking at this perfect stranger.
"I really am sorry. I do this all the time! I mean, clumsy is totally an understatement with me."
Spencer laughed. She had such a sweet voice. No! What was he thinking? This girl had to be, what, twenty one? Twenty two? No way was he going there.
"Are you here for Carla?"
Spencer looked at the girl, confused. "Sorry?"
"The wedding, Are you here for Carla?"
"Oh right. No, I'm a...friend of Darren's."
"Really? I'm his cousin. Annabel." She extended her slender fingers and Spencer hesitated before shaking her hand.
"Spencer," he said nervously. Annabel smiled at him.
"Oh yeah, Darren's mentioned you before. You're the FBI guy, right? The one in the BAU?"
"Erm, yeah."
"That is so cool!" she smiled. Then she peered at him curiously. "You look a little...young to be FBI. You only look like, twenty four."
Spencer laughed. "Twenty eight actually."
Annabel nodded. "Still, kind of young to be so high up in the FBI."
"I'm kind of ahead of myself," Spencer said carefully.
"How ahead?"
"Well, I graduated high school when I was twelve."
Annabel's eyes widened. "Twelve? So, what, you're like, a genius or something?"
"Erm...yeah."
"Cool. What's your IQ?"
"Erm...One eighty seven," Spencer mumbled. Annabel's eyes practically popped out of their sockets. Great, she's going to think I'm a total freak he thought.
"That. Is. So. Cool!" she smiled. Spencer looked at her quizzically. "It actually is! I think that's, like, amazing!"
"Really?"
"Yeah!" Annabel clocked his confusion. "Being smart is something you should be proud of you know."
Spencer laughed. "Thanks. Although people never really seem to take me seriously. They think I'm just a kid."
"I have the same problem," Annabel laughed. "Nobody thinks I'm a day over, like, twenty or twenty one, but I'm actually twenty four."
"Seriously?" Spencer asked. Annabel nodded. Four years younger than himself. That's a normal age gap Spencer though. Yeah, right. As if she'd be interested in me.
"Spence! I see you've met my cousin, Annabel." Darren popped up seemingly from nowhere. He noticed Spencer's wet shirt. "And I also see that she has already assaulted you with her lack of hand-eye coordination."
Annabel raised an eyebrow. "Always the charmer, Darren. Carla is so lucky."
"Yeah, yeah. So, what're you talking about? Molecular fusion? Analytically analysing Shakespeare? No, wait, I've got it? Why geeks don't get dates?" He laughed.
"Oh, hilarious. Just because you have the IQ of a goldfish does not mean that intelligent people can't have interesting conversations."
"Whatever, I'll leave you two doctors to it. See you." Darren walked away, winking knowingly at Spencer as he did. Annabel shook her head. "My cousin, the retard. I say that with a great deal of affection, of course."
Spencer laughed. "What did he mean 'you two doctors'?"
"I'm a doctor. Well, an F2 at the moment, but I'm still only young."
"Really? Impressive," Spencer smiled.
"Thanks. How are you a doctor though?"
"I have three doctorates in Mathematics, Chemistry and Engineering, and undergraduate degrees in Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy."
"Wow. I have to say, I feel exponentially dumb right now."
Spencer laughed. "No one who uses the word 'exponentially' can possibly be considered dumb."
An hour later, Spencer was sitting at a table with Annabel, laughing at a physics joke that no one else had ever got before.
"Annabel," came Darren's voice suddenly. "You look like you're in a good mood."
"Erm...yeah?" Annabel replied suspiciously.
"Good. 'Cos you're going to want to kill me in a minute."
"What do you me...whoa!" She was interrupted by Darren pulling her up and leading her toward the stage where the DJ was spinning music. He took the mike.
"Everyone. If everyone could settle down for a moment please?" The hall hushed. "Ok. If we ask her really nicely, maybe Annabel might grace us with a song." Everyone cheered and Annabel's face became a picture of horror.
"No way! No way! There is no way I am singing!" she protested.
"Please Annabel? I've heard you, you're amazing," Carla pleaded. The hall was still cheering, egging her on. She reluctantly took the mike from Darren.
"Ok, fine," she laughed. "What should I sing?"
"DJ, little help?" Darren said, before jumping offstage. The DJ smiled knowingly, and Annabel realised that they must have had this planned already. Almost instantly, a soft tune that Spencer didn't recognise began to play, and he noticed Annabel roll her eyes. As she opened her mouth and began to sing, Spencer's heart began to beat like crazy, because not only did this girl look like an angel, but she had the voice of one too.
It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry
She smiled as she sung, and Spencer could see that, although she was nervous, she was enjoying herself too.I'll come back Just because everything's changing
When you call me
No need to say goodbye
Doesn't mean it's never
Been this way before
Was it just her, or was Spencer staring at her? Annabel glance at him as she carried on singing, wondering if he had noticed that her heart had been hammering away in her chest when they had been talking. All you can do is try to know Pick a star on the dark horizon You'll come back You'll come back
Who your friends are
As you head off to the war
And follow the light
When it's over
No need to say good bye
When it's over
No need to say good bye
What was this feeling that was growing inside of him? It wasn't often a girl really caught his interest, and it was rare for him to be able to talk to one. A word came to mind, but he pushed the thought away. Now we're back to the beginning Let your memories grow stronger and stronger You'll come back
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget
'Til they're before your eyes
When they call you
No need to say good bye
Singing made her so nervous, but she loved doing it. It made her feel free, took weight off of her stressful and manic life. You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye
