This is mostly filler. The next chapter will have lots of interaction time though, promise :-)

Three days later:

"So, do you get a nice discount on the books here?" Emily leaned against the counter behind which Spencer was sitting, putting a large stack of books in front of her.

Spencer smiled at her as he rang up her purchases. She was about his tenth costumer in three days and he was still a little slow with the cash register but luckily Emily wasn't in a hurry. She had walked with him to work after school and had been browsing through the book shelves for the past half hour, stopping every once in a while to chat with Spencer.

"I do," he nodded, "do you want me to buy the books in my name?"

"Nah," she shook her head no, "my rentals stacked both me and my brother up with credit cards. We don't have a limit as long as we don't bother them with our insignificant issues. Spending as much money as I can is the second best revenge next to dressing the way I do."

"Oh…uh, ok," Spencer tried not to let it show how much her words disturbed him, both the part about her indifferent parents and the fact that she had all the money she wanted. Neither was something he was exactly used to.

"So…" Emily rested her chin on the counter, looking up at him, her dark hair like a curtain around her, "When were you gonna tell me that our wedding plans have been cancelled?"

Judging by her tone she might as well have been asking for a napkin but Spencer found himself red-faced and coughing once again. Damnit, Penny.

"Uh, I-" he stuttered, utterly unsure whether to laugh or apologize; Emily was still hard to assess sometimes.

To his relief she smirked at him though, not at all annoyed or disappointed, "Oh well, I guess I'm gonna have to deal. And having you as a brother in law instead of a husband might be even more fun, don't you think?"

It took a few long seconds for Spencer to register her words, especially since now she didn't look like she was joking at all. He blushed harder, a book slipping from his hands promptly as he tried to look unaffected.

Why the hell did everybody keep pairing him up with Aaron? Couldn't they see how unlikely that was, how embarrassed and borderline depressed it made him every time?

"I'm not going to marry your brother, Emily."

"Does he know that?" she smirked, seemingly oblivious to his discomfort, "He hasn't stopped talking about you in days. Spencer is so smart. Spencer is going to join our club. We should invite Spencer to dinner. Fuck, I swear if I didn't happen to adore you I would have puked into his cereal by now. Can I smoke in here?"

"Uh, no. I don't think so." Spencer shook his head distractedly, still trying to process everything she'd said. It almost sounded like… "Emily, does he- does he really talk about me?" He was pretty sure she was only exaggerating, but not to a hundred percent. Maybe Aaron had actually talked about him? In a good way? He shook his head, afraid to let hope grow roots in his chest. It would be nice to know that Aaron found him sympathetic, but he wasn't foolish enough to interpret more into that. Plus, he wasn't looking for a boyfriend, he reminded himself, he was looking to stay out of trouble.

Emily merely shrugged, pulling a face, "Sure does. Sickening if you ask me. You really should come to dinner though. I would just die to see the look on my father's face."

Spencer gave her a small smile, careful not to reply verbally. As much as he enjoyed both Emily and Aaron's company, it sounded like their parents were very strict and the last thing he wanted was for the siblings to get in trouble because of him.

Thankfully Emily didn't insist on an immediate answer. Instead she grabbed her books and shoved them into her school bag, "Well, I´m a be off, lover boy, gonna smoke a cigarette on the way home, make sure my clothes smell like it."

Spencer waved her goodbye, shaking his head slightly as he looked after her, leaving her to conduct her vendetta.

Once she was gone the store was empty and quiet again, Mr. Quincy allegedly working somewhere in the storage area again while Spencer was pretty certain the old man just took his naps in there. He finished his shift without any disturbances, long done with his homework for the week by the time he could go home.

He left the store, stuffing a new book into his satchel as he walked down the street. It was in the early evening and the sun hadn't set yet so he walked slowly, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin and marveling at the pink sky.

Absorbed as he was, he didn't realize he was about to get into someone's way until it was already too late. One second he was gazing at the sky, the next something hard bumped into his legs, almost knocking him off balance.

Spencer gasped, fighting to stay on his feet as he looked down to find the source of the impact. He found a little boy with dark skin and shaggy dreadlocks about the age of seven sitting at his feet, miserably staring at an ice-cream cone which now lay broken on the pavement. For a second he almost smiled because of the way the boy looked so much like a mini version of a wannabe gangster, then though his conscience over won him.

"Hey, you okay?" Spencer bent down, immediately feeling bad for running the kid's treat.

The boy sniffled briefly before looking at him and nodding, trying to make a brave face. He let Spencer pull him back up and looked like he was about to slouch off with hanging shoulders when Spencer called after him.

"Wait! I'm sorry about your ice cream." At a closer look the boy's face was slightly dirty as were his worn clothes; he didn't look like someone who got treated to ice-cream often. "Let me get you a new one?" Spencer suggested.

The boy looked at him surprised if not warily for a moment, but when Spencer only smiled reassuringly he nodded slowly.

"Can I have strawberry again?" he asked in a small voice that didn't fit his get up at all.

"Sure, come on," Spencer smiled and they walked a couple of hundred feet back to the store. Once the boy had his ice cream safely in hand again and Spencer had paid for it, all mistrust seemed to be gone and he happily walked along the sidewalk next to him, eating his treat and telling him about how much he liked strawberry and vanilla and what he would get next time.

Spencer smiled happily, relieved that he wouldn't have to feel guilty anymore.

They came back to the scene of their run-in and he was about to say goodbye and finally walk home when something occurred to him. There was no one with the boy. He was all alone in the streets and it was getting dark.

"Hey, uh-"

"Sammy."

"Sammy, aren't your parents with you?"

The boy shook his head.

"Well, do you live anywhere close by?" Spencer asked, "It's getting dark and I really don't think I should leave you here by yourself."

"No, I don't live here," Sammy told him, only mildly impressed as he was still busy with his candy, "I still have to walk home, it takes about fifteen minutes."

"Well, wont your parents pick you up?" Spencer frowned when the kid only shook his head without answering; he was starting to think that Sammy might come from a family that didn't look after their children too much for whichever reason.

He was acutely reminded of how he had walked the streets alone for most of his youth, buying groceries and necessities whenever his mom wasn't up to leaving the house. He had been a bit older than Sammy but he had still gotten in his fair share of trouble that way.

"Would you maybe like me to bring you home?" he asked, "So you don't have to walk by yourself?"

Sammy looked a bit skeptical, apparently aware of the fact that Spencer wasn't very intimidating either, but he seemed happy enough to have someone to keep chatting to, so they walked further down the street, Sammy leading the way. Soon enough he was telling him about his friends and school again and Spencer was glad he had decided to accompany the child.

"And then we went swimming in class and we…"

Spencer smiled as he listened. The boy was warming up to him incredibly fast, something he seldom experienced with children and which he accounted to the gift of sugar.

It was only about then minutes later when he looked up that he realized that they were apparently in a different part of the city now, one with far less people and houses that looked almost like projects.

He gulped, stopping in his tracks as he realized that Sammy apparently lived in a pretty bad neighborhood. It made him sad as well as anxious. If he assumed correctly where he was now, Jason had told him not to come here by himself.

"Come on, Spencer, it's not much further," Sammy prompted him impatiently, pulling at his hand.

After a moment Spencer let the boy pull him further down the street, telling himself that he was being ridiculous. It didn't look that bad, plus it wasn't even dark yet and this wasn't the Bronx. No one would jump them. He would bring Sammy home as promised.

No sooner had he strengthened his resolve than he suddenly heard steps coming towards them from behind, and then heard a voice that was all too familiar by now.

"Hey Sammy boy, what's this, got yourself a new friend?"

Spencer spun around, eyes widening in recognition of the person suddenly standing in front of them. He felt his breath catch, heart skipping a beat.

Damnit, he should have listened to Jason.

Dun dun du dun...

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