[Five months earlier]

"You're failing."

"I know."

"If you continue down this path, I can't let you continue football. It's still early in year, Derek, you can still bring it up." Mr. Gideon said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What do you propose I do?"

"Tutoring."

"Tutoring?"

"Yes, tutoring. I already have someone picked out for you. He's my best student."

"This is my only option?"

"As of now? Yes."

"Fine," I sighed, "if that's my only option, I'll do it."

"Good. You'll be meeting with him twice a week, Monday and Fridays in the school library, the days you don't have football practice on."

"And if this doesn't work?"

"It'll work, trust me," he assured me, but I didn't feel so reassured. The last bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

"Well, I don't want to keep you. He'll meet you in the library in ten minutes. His name is Spencer Reid."

"Alright, thank you, Mr. Gideon. Have a nice day." I muttered, gathering up my book bag, and leaving the classroom. I went to my locker, gathered up my books, grabbed my jacket, and headed to the library. Well, I thought, here goes nothing.

The library was mostly empty, with the exception of a few students doing work, and various study groups. I walked through the seemingly endless aisles of books, until I spotted a lone person sitting at a table in the back, with his head buried in the book. Hesitantly, I walked up to him.

"Spencer Reid?"

"Yes?" He replied, looking up from his book.

"Hi, I'm Derek Morgan. Mr. Gideon sent me."

"You're right on time," he smiled, "take a seat." I slumped in the chair right across from him. "Mr. Gideon tells me you're not doing well in English. Greek Mythology, right?"

"Try failing miserably," I grumbled.

"Well, let's see if we can fix that, yeah?"

"That's why we're here."

"Okay, what are you studying in your class?"

"We're reading Mythology by Edith Hamilton. Today we focused on the Titans."

"Okay, let's see. I read that book a few years back, so excuse me if I'm a little rusty. Well, unlike many other creation stories, in the Greek versions the gods are created by the universe instead of the other way around. In the beginning, two entities exist, Heaven and Earth. Their children are the Titans, whose children, in turn, are the Olympians, the main Greek gods. The Titans—who include such notables as Ocean, Mnemosyne—memory—and Prometheus, mankind's benefactor—rule the universe until Zeus and their other children conquer them. The term "Olympians" comes from Mount Olympus, the gods' mystical home, which is conceived as a high mountaintop but is really a magical place that exists on a heavenly plane—not the heavens—which Zeus alone rules—, earth, sea, nor underworld. Shared by all the gods, Olympus is perfect. Rain never falls there, and the gods spend their time eating, drinking, and listening to music. There are twelve proper Olympians: Zeus; his two brothers, Poseidon and Hades; his two sisters, Hestia and Hera (who is also his wife); his children, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Hermes, and Artemis; and two gods sometimes considered his offspring, Hephaestus and Aphrodite. There are also lesser gods in Olympus, like Eros, the Graces, and the Muses. Several, like Hebe, goddess of Youth, are rarely mentioned in myths. There are also a few abstract forces personified, if not completely, who live on Olympus: Themis, Divine Justice; Dike, Human Justice; Nemesis, Righteous Anger; and Aidos. Are you following me?"

"How did you do that?" The words flew out of my mouth before I could even think.

"Do what?" He asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"Recite all that from memory?"

"Oh, that. I have an eidetic memory."

"Meaning…"

"In the simplest of terms, I remember everything I read." He responded sheepishly, his pale cheeks flushing red.

"Wow, so are you some kind of genius?"

"I, uh, don't like measuring intelligence, and I don't think it can be measured. I never took labeling myself based off a numb—." he cut himself off. "I'm sorry, I tend to do that."

"It's fine," I responded automatically, "I don't mind." His eyes widened slightly, his cheeks flushing a darker shade of red. He bit his lip, looking down bashfully. I felt my chest tighten the slightest bit, but I thought nothing of it.

"Ah," he cleared his throat, "well, t-thank you, I think." There was a tense moment of silence, before he continued. "Let's get back to work, shall we?" For the next forty-five minutes, Spencer and I went over everything basics of Greek Mythology. Before I knew it, it was four o'clock and time to go.

"Same time on Monday?" I questioned, putting the rest of my books back in my bag.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed, putting on his jacket.

"I'll see you then. Bye," I told him, heading out.


Monday came far too quickly. I spent the weekend catching up on homework, and sleep.

"Good morning, beautiful," I greeted my best friend, Penelope, who was putting her books in her locker.

"Morning, love," she smiled, closing her locker. "How was your weekend?"

"Boring."

"Sounds like my kind of weekend."

"Yeah, it was beautiful." She laughed softly, and then linked her arm with mine as we made our way to our first class. "Did you do the calc homework?" She asked as we made our way into our calculus class.

"Yeah. Now did I do it correctly? Probably not."

"Same," she giggled. We took our regular seats in the back, and prepared ourselves for an hour of misery.

The rest of the day went by without a hitch. I went to my classes, I did my work, and that was it. Just like every other day of school. Before I knew it, the last bell rung, and it was time to go home. Except, not for me. I got to go to tutoring. Joyous.

"Hey," I said, taking a seat across from Spencer.

"Hello. How are you?" He responded, putting down the book he was reading.

"I'm alright, and yourself?"

"Fine, thank you. Ready to get started?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." He laughed softly. Wow, he has a great laugh—whoa, where did that come from? Quickly, I shook my head, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand.

"What did you do in class today?"

"Mr. Gideon assigned us a paper," I replied, reaching into my bag to get out the rubric.

"What's the essential question?"

"Uhm…ah! Here it is. 'The myths are full of instances of the cruelty of the gods. Giving multiple examples, discuss the reasons for the gods' cruelty. Is it always justified? What does the cruelty of the gods say about the Greeks' view of the universe?'."

"Did you get started?"

"I started writing a very rough outline during class, while we were discussing the question."

"Can I see it?" I flipped through my notebook for a few moments, and when I found the page, I handed it over to him. His eyes scanned over the page quickly, and I could practically hear the gears turning inside his mind.

"It's a good start," he said, "come here, I'll help you draw up a more detailed outline." Quickly, I moved my chair so I was sitting right next to him. Right away, my senses were faced with an onslaught of all things Spencer. He smelled like coffee, mint, and lilacs. My stomach churned, but not unpleasantly so. Shaking my head, I pushed down the feelings that were suddenly bubbling inside my chest. Stop it, I chastised myself, you're being an idiot. My inner thoughts were penetrated by Spencer's voice. "Derek? Are you listening?"

"What?"

"I asked you if you were listening? But due to your response, it's safe to say that you weren't."

"I—sorry," I muttered, scratching the back of neck. "I got lost in my head."

"It's fine. Okay, now that you've rejoined reality, let's get started." Spencer and I spent the next fifty minutes outlining my essay. Including coming up with a plausible thesis and topic sentences for most of my paragraphs, all topped with supporting quotes (and page numbers, of course). All while I simultaneously tried to ignore the effect Spencer and his scent had on me.

"So how do you feel about the essay now?" Spencer asked as we were packing up our stuff.

"A lot better than I did before, thanks," I replied genuinely.

"Good, that's good. I'm glad I could be of some assistance." Unlike last time, we walked out together, chatting aimlessly.

"So," I started, "how did you get so interested in Greek Mythology?"

"I wouldn't say I'm specifically interested in Greek Mythology, rather I am interested in being knowledgeable. I love learning new things." He explained quietly, yet another flush spreading through his cheeks (not that I was keeping track, or anything).

"So what else do you know about?" I asked as we approached his car. I leaned against the passenger door.

"What do you want to know?"

"Surprise me."

"How much do you know about space?"

"It's really big," I grinned cheekily. I was rewarded with a deep-in-the-belly laugh from Spencer. I felt heart swell with pride, and I couldn't help but to smile fondly at him. After his laughter died down, and the giggles subsided, he spoke.

"Well, how's this—Black holes are the cold remnants of former stars, so dense that no matter—not even light—is able to escape their powerful gravitational pull. While most stars end up as white dwarfs or neutron stars, black holes are the last evolutionary stage in the lifetimes of enormous stars that had been at least 10 or 15 times as massive as our own sun. When giant stars reach the final stages of their lives they often detonate in cataclysms known as supernovae. Such an explosion scatters most of a star into the void of space but leaves behind a large "cold" remnant on which fusion no longer takes place."

"Wow," I said in awe, "that was amazing."

"T-Thank you," he stammered, looking down at his feet. After a few tense moments, I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"W-Well, I'll see you on Friday then, yeah?" I offered, hopefully breaking the tension. He lifted his head and met my gaze once again, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

"Bye," I said before I headed off to my own car. I risked a glance back at Spencer only to find him in the same spot I left him, smiling to himself. I turned to face forward once again, not able to fight my own smile.