JJ wiped the toothpaste off of her face and looked in the small mirror. She was so relieved that she had a group of friends and, especially, that Derek was in her group. She assumed that a lot of people would be heading home for the weekend and was still torn on whether to stay at school or visit the Rice Center. She wanted to see some of her old roommates and visit the social workers but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to slip away for the weekend without her friends noticing or asking where she lived.
Outside of the bathroom, Emily was having a similar dilemma. She didn't want her new friends finding out that she was incredibly rich or that her mother was the ambassador. She most definitely did not want to visit home any time soon. She sort of wanted to spend the weekend with JJ's family.
Emily knew that it was weird but she felt really close to JJ even though they had just met. When they had been meeting their group in the cafeteria, she couldn't stop staring at JJ's perfect hair, perfect eyes, perfect smile. She was so adorably small yet her expression was always serious. Emily shook her head to clear the thoughts. She didn't like like JJ. It was weird, she was a GIRL for gods sake. She couldn't help her ecstasy at sharing a room with JJ.
JJ came out of the bathroom and sat down at her desk. Classes didn't start until next week but she pulled her notebook out anyway. She had meticulously read every book and article assigned as summer homework and taken careful notes. Emily sat down on her bunk, careful to avoid bumping her head on the top bed. In what she hoped was a casual voice, she said,
"So JJ, planning on spending the weekend at home?"
"I don't know," said JJ, with an equally nonchalant tone. Emily noticed JJ gripping the pencil tightly. Hmm, she thought, family must be a touchy topic. Emily was okay with that, she didn't want to discuss her mother either.
There was a knock on the door.
"You ladies decent in there?" asked Derek through the door.
"Derek!" said JJ happily, swinging open the door. Derek, Spencer, Penelope and Aaron bounced into the room.
"Welcome to CAS!" said Penelope eagerly. "Movie time!" She flipped open a laptop and jumped on Emily's bed. JJ, Derek, Emily and Spencer all joined her. JJ was excited to find herself pressed next to Derek. Aaron stood at JJ's desk, tore open two bags of microwave popcorn and poured them into a plastic bowl. Laughing, he jumped onto the bed next to Emily.
"I thought boys weren't allowed on girls floors." said Emily, reaching for a handful of popcorn.
"Floor monitors go to sleep early." said Aaron. "What movie are we watching?"
"Whatever you guys want." said Penelope, typing so fast her fingers were a blur.
"Horror movie!" said Spencer.
"Are you allowed to watch PG-13 movies?" joked Emily.
"Am I allowed to illegally download movies from a proxy server in Thailand?" asked Penelope. "Leave Spencer alone. How about some good, old school Harry Potter?" Everyone on the bed cheered.
"What a bunch of nerds." laughed Penelope, pulling up the eight Harry Potter movies. A window popped up, informing them that the movie cost $12 dollars to download. Penelope pressed a few buttons and suddenly the screen turned black with lines of green code. She typed a few lines of code, pressed the button again and the friends found themselves watching the beginning credits of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
"Wow, how did you do that?" asked JJ, snuggling into Derek.
"I want to go into computer programming and code analysis. I'm trying to get into a study program at the FBI Academy next semester."
"There's a study program at the FBI Academy that we can do?" asked Emily. "I've always wanted to work for the FBI."
"Its new, a lot of people are trying to get into it. They fly six students to the FBI Academy and they spend the semester in Quantico, studying at the Academy and shadowing real agents." said Spencer.
"That sounds really cool!" said Emily.
"Yeah, I'm trying to get in as a tech analyst. I know they'll love this new ViCAP program I'm designing." said Penelope, fast forwarding through the previews. "Spencer will definitely get in, he's a genius."
"I'm actually from around there in Quantico so it would be cool to study near home." said Aaron. "Now shut up, movie's starting."
XXXXXXXXXX
Derek opened his eyes suddenly. He looked around, expecting to see his football posters on the wall. Then he remembered that he wasn't at home, he was at CAS. Furthermore, he wasn't in his dorm room. He sat up in bed and realized he wasn't alone. He was sitting in bed next to JJ, the cute blonde he met yesterday. Careful to not disturb her or wake her up, he crept out of bed and stepped on someone's ankle.
"Ow!" whispered Aaron.
Derek took his phone out of the pocket in his sweatpants and pressed the home button to light up the screen. It was 2 in the morning. He shined the light onto the floor. Aaron, Emily, Penelope were on the floor, sleeping under a quilt. Spencer was curled up on top of Emily's trunk. The floor was covered in popcorn kernels and candy wrappers.
"Get up." whispered Derek. "We're in the wrong room."
Aaron stood up quietly and nudged Spencer. When he didn't wake up, he picked the young boy up and carried him piggy back into the hallway. Derek poked Penelope, who was curled up in the fetal position under the bed. She looked like an infant with her hair braided into pigtails.
"Hey baby, wake up. We're in the wrong room." Penelope opened one eye, groaned, and pulled the blanket over her head. Derek shrugged and left the room.
Aaron had already left the floor to put Spencer in his room so Derek climbed the steps to his floor. All he could think about was how angelic and beautiful JJ looked as she slept. He felt fluttering in his stomach every time he though about how they had fallen asleep in the same bed.
XXXXXXXXXX
The BAU was very tired in the following morning, when the wakeup bell sounded on all of the floors. Emily felt very stiff as she sat up on the floor. She looked around the room. Penelope snored beside her. It looked like someone had slept on one of her trunks, there was still a blanket and pillow on it. JJ was laying in the bottom bunk and next to her was a Chicago Bears sweatshirt, undoubtedly belonging to Derek. Emily felt a twinge of jealously that she had missed out on an opportunity to sleep in the same bed as JJ, then reminded herself that she and JJ were just friends. She had to stop think that way, her and JJ could never happen. Besides, she saw the way that JJ and Derek looked at each other and knew that she had no chance. She stood up and pulled open the shades. Yellow morning light streaked across the room, making the trash on the ground more apparent.
JJ sat up in bed, blinking in the sunlight and wondering where she was. She looked at the room, which was a disaster, and smiled. Of course, she was finally at CAS. The Rice Center had always enforced strict rules about keeping ones belongings neat and organized. It was necessary, of course, because of the crowded rooms and relatively simple because no one had very many belongings anyway. JJ reveled in the freedom to be messy. She pushed the blankets away and saw Derek's sweatshirt.
All of the memories from the night before came back. JJ smiled with pleasure as she remembered how everyone had fallen asleep before her and Derek. By the time they had finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, three movies later, everyone was sleeping on the floor. Because Penelope was on the ground, snoring like a chainsaw, and they didn't know how to download the next movie, they decided to call it a night. JJ, finally happy to be so small, fit right in the curve of Derek as he laid on his side. She had fallen asleep in seconds, exhausted from all the activities of the day.
XXXXXXXXXX
Penelope sat up and groaned.
"Why did I sleep on the floor when the top bunk was free?" she mumbled to herself as she collected her laptop and the remaining half-bag of chocolate. "I will see you lovely children after I am sufficiently caffeinated." She yawned, walked into the doorframe, apologized to no one in particular, opened the door and left the room. Emily and JJ looked at each other and burst out laughing.
One garbage bag full of wrappers and twenty minutes later, JJ and Emily left the room, still feeling uncomfortable in the uniform but adjusting. They rode the elevator down to the third floor, where a lot of the students were already eating breakfast. A lot of the upperclassmen hadn't arrived yet, classes weren't for another week, so it was mainly freshmen and students who lived further away from Chicago.
The BAU, as they had started to call themselves, decided to meet the following morning to walk around Chicago. Mr. Rossi had told all of the seniors that it was their responsibility to take the freshmen through city safety and give them a tour of the area that the school was located in. They all wanted to go as a group, even though JJ and Derek had lived in Chicago their whole lives and Spencer had all the city blocks memorized.
JJ and Emily filled up their trays with scrambled eggs, toast and orange juice and walked to the table where the rest of their group was already congregated.
"Morning ladies," said Derek, smiling. JJ blushed, remembering that they had shared a bed the night before. Derek scooted over to make room for JJ next to him on the bench. She eagerly sat down next to him and picked up a piece of her toast.
"Ready for a tour of Chicago?" asked Aaron. "Not that the two of you will need it." He tilted his head towards JJ and Derek.
"You got some crumbs on your face," said Derek, brushing JJ's cheek with his hand. The two made eye contact. Luckily, the awkward silence at the table caused by Derek's lingering hand was ended abruptly by Spencer falling asleep into his bowl of cereal. His head tipped forward right into the milk, spilling it across the table. Everyone at the table started to laugh. Emily handed Spencer a pile of napkins.
"Why did we let his stay up so late? He's still a kid." said Emily, picking up her phone before the pool of milk got it wet.
"Eh, he's a lot older than us, mentally speaking." said Penelope.
Spencer blushed bright red and ran out of the cafeteria to change.
"How is he in high school? He's so young." Marveled JJ.
"He skipped basically all of elementary school and he's got a photographic memory." said Aaron, mopping up the spilled milk with some napkins.
"Wow, his parents must be proud." said Derek.
"Actually, his situation at home isn't great." said Aaron. "His dad flew the coop and his mom has schizophrenia. Social Services was trying to get him out of his house and into foster care so he chose to come here instead. He spends most holidays and breaks at school and does summer study institutes at various colleges instead of going home" At the mention of foster care, JJ felt her chest tighten. She concentrated very hard on her eggs.
The rest of the table was quiet. Family dysfunction was something they all understood very well. Derek's dad died, Aaron's dad beat up on him every chance he got, Penelope's parents were deceased, Emily saw her mother usually only on Christmas and Thanksgiving unless she was out of the country which was often the case, and JJ, well, JJ hadn't had a family in years.
