A/N: Thanks for stopping in! Enjoy the chapter and please continue to review :) Thank you for the favs, reviews, and follows, getting them makes my day! Also, I almost have 100 followers, which is AWESOME.
I keep having to stop myself from writing "y'all" because I forget they're not in Texas like me!
/
Chapter 11: Let's All Go To The Movies
Today is the day! Thought Spencer, The first day I'll ever be hanging out with friends! He couldn't wait to tell his mom.
The teenager was astronomically excited, he just hoped everything would go well tonight.
He walked into the kitchen, greeting Stella, which was obviously going to become his routine. He was dressed for school, so eager and nervous about going to the movies that he woke up an hour early.
"Good morning! How are you?" He said happily, grinning at the older woman.
"Hey kiddo, do you actually want some breakfast this morning?" The housekeeper smiled at him from the stove where she was currently making an omelet. She nodded toward the egg concoction, "This one is for your father but I'll gladly make you one."
"Um..could you make scrambled eggs?" There was no use saying he could make it himself, she would only insist otherwise.
"Sure thing." She slid the omelet onto a light green plate, putting a fork beside it as William walked into the room.
"Good morning, Mrs. Gualardi." Mr. Reid said, not noticing his son in the kitchen.
"Morning."- "Morning!" Spencer and Stella responded in unison, causing the woman to laugh.
William turned his head towards the other male voice, "Oh, you're up early." His response was flat.
Reid nodded uncomfortably, turning to watch Stella making his eggs. He stood up to put some bread in the toaster.
"Uh, do you want toast d-dad?" He asked quietly, Stella noticing his change in mood.
"Actually yes." He pulled out his newspaper, "Thank you." He began to eat his breakfast, taking a sip of the orange juice his employee put out for him.
After two pieces popped up, he quickly buttered them and handed them to his father, neither looking at each other.
Spencer stuck close (Well, as close as he gets to people) to Stella, not really wanting or knowing how to make conversation with his father.
The Hispanic woman handed him his plate of eggs, snatching his toast for him and fixing everything up. He smiled his thanks and she pushed him towards the table.
"You two have a good morning." She smiled at Spencer pointedly before exiting the room, hoping her plan to get the two to talk would work.
It didn't.
She'd walked by the kitchen three separate times before Mr. Reid left, it was quiet each time. She sighed as William walked towards his car.
Reid watched her close the door and turn to him, "Have you talked to your dad at all since you've moved here?"
He looked at his shoes, "We've talked a little bit." His eyes met hers again, "We..just don't have anything to talk about."
"I'm sure you could find something, you're his son!" Stella exclaimed.
Hardly. He thought, glancing at the clock. "I should get going."
She turned towards the wall clock as well, nodding in agreement. "Have a good day, Spencer."
.
.
.
.
"Your Jack-O-Lantern is looking pretty good." Derek commented, leaning towards the younger teen who was currently painting.
He looked at Morgan, smiling, "Thanks. Yours looks great, you're really good with the small details."
Derek gave him a crooked smile, mumbling another thank you. "My mom used to paint a lot, so I sort of picked it up."
Spencer put down his brush, more interested in talking to his friend than the project. He found that he was slightly more comfortable (Well, for the most part) talking to Derek when they were alone. When they were in the group, it felt like everyone was watching them.
"She doesn't paint much anymore?" He asked.
Morgan frowned for a second before turning to a neutral look, "Not since my dad died...she's too busy working or taking care of me and my sisters."
Reid felt a small pang of guilt for bring up the subject, "I'm so sorry, Derek. I-I didn't mean to br-"
The mocha-skinned teen threw a tiny smile at him, "You don't have to be sorry, It was a long time ago. You didn't know."
Without thinking, Spencer patted Morgan's arm briefly in reassurance. Spencer rarely voluntarily touched another person. He smiled at his friend, fighting to keep his blush down and picked his paintbrush up once more.
He could feel Morgan watching him for a second before grabbing his own paintbrush again. "Did you pick anything up from your dad? Any superpowers I should know about?" He joked.
Spencer gave a short, quiet laugh causing Derek to give him a confused look.
"No, I doubt I have anything in common with my father..." He said shaking his head, "My mom though, I got pretty much everything from her..the love of literature, my IQ, just...everything."
"Ten minutes till class ends! Clean up your messes please." Mrs. Varahl interrupted.
They picked up their things, walking side by side. "So, she's a super genius like you?" Derek laughed.
He grabbed Morgan's paintbrushes and rinsed them along with his own, "You could say that."
They grabbed their canvases to bring to the drying rack, "..If you believed in classifying intelligence, which-"
"You don't." Derek laughed again, finishing the sentence that he'd heard before.
His cheeks turned pink, but he couldn't help but laugh. Sitting back down in their chairs, they waited for the last 3 minutes of class to end.
.
.
.
.
Spencer was nervous as he looked through his closet, he figured most people changed out of their school clothes and into different ones before going out.
Stella knocked on his door. He called out, "Come in!"
"Hola." She said, walking into the room before finding him. "You still haven't decided?" She smiled sympathetically at him.
"No..what do people wear when they hang out with their friends?" His voice was timid, but his knowledge just didn't reach the social part of life and he needed help.
"What you're wearing now is just fine, but if you're dead-set on changing I suggest something purple. It would match your skin tone, I think."
"Thank you, Stella." He said, taking a long sleeve purple button up off of a hanger.
"No problem, did you take your medication this morning?"
"Yes ma'am." He looked away, "Thank you for picking it up."
She started to leave, "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Spencer. And don't call me ma'am, it makes me feel old!" She laughed at the latter part of her sentence.
He nodded as she closed the door even though she couldn't see him anymore, smirking.
He changed shirts, opting to keep his black jeans and his vans on.
He checked his cuts on his legs to make sure they were doing okay before inspecting his wrists for probably the fiftieth time that day. He was still getting used to wearing long sleeves, and his wrists constantly itched.
The scars were deep, and he knew that they probably wouldn't fade. He wondered if he should just stop caring if everybody saw them, but he quickly shut off that idea.
He heard his phone go off, a text from JJ.
.
.
JJ: Hey, have fun at the movies tonight! Will and I wish we could be there.
He smiled, JJ was so nice, she'd actually texted him yesterday as well, picking a conversation back up from lunch.
Spencer: Thank you. You guys have fun at your great-aunt's..you know, if that's possible.
He grabbed his wallet with his new debit card in it, and walked out of his bedroom door.
JJ: Lol thanks. See you tomorrow.
He left it at that, sliding the phone into his pocket as he jogged down the stairs. It was 5:55, and though he calculated that it would only take 17.5 minutes to get to the theatre, he wanted to make sure he wasn't late.
"I'm going to leave, Stella." He poked his head into Mr. Reid's office where she was dusting.
She paused her work, "Have fun! If you need anything, call me. And are you sure you don't want a ride?"
He shook his head, "It's fine, that's not your job. See you later!"
.
.
.
.
He sat on one of the benches within the theatre, watching the various movie-goers as he waited for someone to show up.
Prentiss arrived first, spotting him and waving. He stood, going to meet her.
"Hey, Reid."
"Hi, Emily." They walked back to where he was seated.
"The others should be here in a few minutes, we're all surprisingly punctual." She said, keeping an eye on the doors.
A few minutes passed, and sure enough the rest of the group arrived. Derek and Penelope second, Dave and Aaron last.
"Nice shirt, Spencer." Derek said as he walked up to him, away from the group.
"T-thanks, you look nice too." He smiled.
"Let's go get our tickets so we can get good seats." Dave called out, pulling the group towards the booths.
After buying their admission and snacks, they headed to Theatre 12.
.
.
.
.
Penelope bursted through the doors of the lobby, twirling. "I can finally see the light, and it's like the fog has lifted!" She sang loudly, effectively drawing attention to them.
"Garcia." Aaron said, "People are staring."
"Let them!" She stuck her tongue out and he cracked a smile. "So, how did everyone like the movie?" She asked, calming down and locking her arms with Derek.
Everyone started speaking.
"I think it was good." Derek said, earning a pleased smile from Garcia.
"Typical Disney film, but the songs are catchy." Emily added.
Aaron shrugged his shoulders, "It was good, but next time we should see an action movie."
Dave said "Did Gothel remind anyone of Ms. Strauss?" Earning a collective groan from the group.
"The animation and story were both good, but it varies greatly from the original tale of Rapunzel..In the Grimm version, Rapunzel is taken because her father was stealing fruit from their garden and he had to give her his first-born daughter so she wouldn't kill him." Spencer said, "And then-"
"How often do you read fairy tales?" Emily interjected.
"I read the Grimm versions when I was younger." He said quietly, now aware that he'd been rambling again.
They were all standing by a bench watching him slowly crawl back into his shell. "Sorry." He stated.
"Hey, kid." Derek said softly.
"Yeah?"
"We weren't meaning to cut you off like that. We think you're pretty interesting."
"Yeah, don't let us scare you off. We just joke a lot." Emily said.
He looked around at his friends, My friends. He reminded himself.
"I'm...just used to people getting mad at me for knowing a lot. When I realize I'm talking too much, I.. I just don't want to make anybody mad."
That was the most he'd ever spoke of feeling outcasted, and he'd surprised himself for doing so.
Penelope piped up, "Oh Honey, I don't think we could ever get mad at you for that."
Aaron, Derek, and Emily nodded in agreement.
Rossi joked, "Maybe a little annoyed." He winked and softly punched Reid's arm.
Spencer smiled, "Um.. Thank you guys. I had a really fun time tonight!"
"Same here, I need to get going though." Aaron said after looking at his phone, fishing his keys out of his pocket.
"He's my ride, I'll see you guys tomorrow." Dave waved and followed Hotch.
"Em, you want to walk out with me? I parked next to you." Garcia asked before hugging Spencer tightly.
Reid gasped and instinctually pulled away, apologizing immediately afterwards. Derek grinned at Prentiss, who was cracking up.
She laughed looking towards Morgan, "Goodnight my lovelies."
The girls walked out, leaving Derek and Spencer in the lobby.
"I'll wait with you till your ride comes, if you want." Morgan said, looking at the equally tall boy.
"Oh, it's okay. I'm walking home." He smiled at him, "But thank you."
"No way, kid. You haven't lived here that long, you don't know these streets that well." At Spencer's look he added, "What if some serial killer decides you're his next victim? I'll take you home."
"The chances of that happening a-" Spencer was cut off.
"Are too high for me to risk. Come on!" He grabbed him by the arm, just above his wounds.
Spencer allowed himself to be pulled to the doors where Derek dropped his arm. "You really don't have to do this."
Morgan kept walking, Reid in tow, until stopping at a large gray truck. "I know I don't have to."
He unlocked the doors, "Climb on in."
He did as he was told, honestly grateful for the ride. "Thank you."
Derek started the truck, "It's no biggie. Just tell me how to get there."
.
.
.
.
They pulled into Spencer's driveway a short time later, their conversation stopping when Derek laid eyes on the house before him.
"Holy crap." His eyes widened and Spencer smirked.
"That was my reaction too. Willia-My father, he has so many spare rooms, I don't even see the point of them being there."
He nodded, coming to a stop near the door, "You're not very close with him, are you?"
"No, not really. Um..I'd invite you in but it's late and I don't really know his rules for that..or if he's working or.." He started off nervously.
"It's alright, my mom will kill me if I don't get home soon anyways." He replied, smiling.
"Thank you, again. I really appreciate it." He put his hand on the door latch but stopped at Morgan's voice.
"Do you walk to and from school as well?" He asked.
"Yes, I don't know how to drive..I don't really have much interest in it actually." He settled back into his seat, facing his friend.
"Well how 'bout you ride with me?" As Reid started protesting he interrupted, "It's on my way anyways."
Spencer relented, "That would be great. What time will you be here?"
Derek grinned, he always won arguments. "7:00 AM, think you can manage that?"
Spencer nodded, "That's perfect, thank you!"
"The only thing is, every Wednesday for the next month I have football practice after school. You can wait if you want, but it lasts till 6."
"One day a week isn't bad for walking. I really, really appreciate it."
Derek smiled, "No problem, I should probably go. See you tomorrow!"
He waved once he reached the door, going in to greet his dad.
.
.
.
Spencer was lying in bed when a text came in.
Derek: Goodnight, Pretty Boy.
Reid smiled, quickly replying before going to sleep.