BAU High School

Chapter 11: Friends and Apologies

Aaron felt terrible.

He had been a nervous wreck all day. He got no sleep the previous night. The guilt about Prentiss added to the pressure from the big game made him a person in the verge of a nervous breakdown.

He was surprised at how guilty he felt. It wasn't like he actually sent the text. Haley did. Given, it was his phone. Also, he had agreed to be part of the plan in the first place. If he hadn't, JJ and Haley would have had to think of something different. Maybe by then, he would have gotten the courage to actually do something about it. All he had done was tell Haley he wasn't sending the text.

At that moment in time, it had seemed like the perfect thing to do. If he didn't text Prentiss, she wouldn't go to that room and watch that video. Of course, he should have realized that wouldn't stop Haley. She was out for blood.

Aaron hadn't seen the video, and in all honesty, he didn't want to. He really didn't like the thought of watching someone's most embarrassing moments. It didn't seem right.

It can't be that bad, Aaron had first thought when Haley told him about it. One person couldn't have that many awkward moments.

Boy, was he wrong.

Haley had told him some of the video's highlights on the way home yesterday. He cringed at the sound of someone taking all of Prentiss's books and hiding them all over the library. The worst one to him was when her crush turned her down. For a second, Aaron thought his heart actually broke a bit when he heard that.

"How did you get all this?" Aaron asked in a daze when Haley finally stopped talking about it.

"JJ and I asked Principal Strauss," she said as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

"And she just gave you her records?" he asked incredulously.

"Of course. She loves us." Aaron knew this, but he didn't know just how much Strauss loved them.

That night, Aaron was struggling with indecision. Should he just let it go, or should he warn Prentiss? For a moment, he was going to do the right thing. He picked up his phone and almost composed the text.

But then he saw a picture of him and Haley from freshmen year. They both looked so young. So innocent. She hadn't been so mean then. And while a lot of things had changed since then, Aaron knew that Haley was still in the one today. And he found himself putting his phone down.

That didn't mean the guilt went away.

He barely got any sleep that night. The next morning, he put off going to Chemistry until the bell rang because he couldn't face Prentiss knowing what he did. An easier solution would have been to just skip school, but with the game after school, that wasn't an option.

Prentiss gave him weird looks all class, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. He couldn't. He knew that if he looked into those brown eyes, guilt would consume him, and he would break down and tell her.

Why don't you? A little voice mocked him inside his head. Save her the humiliation.

But he couldn't. As soon as the bell rang at the end of class, he shot out of his seat and all but ran to the door. As he got lost in the crowded hallway, all he could think was I'm a coward.

When third period came around, Aaron's stomach was in knots. Instead of staying inside, he went out to the football field to clear his head. Most students weren't allowed out there during their free periods, but with Aaron being the captain, he had permission.

All period he ran around the field, and threw some balls around lazily. At one point he just flopped on the ground. He lay there until he heard the bell ring. Lunch. With Haley.

For a second, Aaron's stomach twisted at the thought of seeing his girlfriend. It scared him, but he knew why it happened.

He was upset with her.

For the first time in their relationship, Aaron was seriously upset with Haley. He had seen a side of her he didn't really want to see. Now, he did know it existed. He knew how bad she could get. And yet, knowing and seeing were two different things.

He half-heartedly put the footballs away. As he walked back to the school, he saw a person walking out of the corner of his eye. When he focused on the figure, his heart broke.

It was Emily Prentiss.

Walking with her head down as if she was crying.

He was suddenly overcome with the urge to run over and pull her into his arms. He wanted to take away the pain that he had helped cause. He felt beyond terrible.

Don't be stupid, the annoying voice in his ear said. She hates you right now.

As much as it pained him, he knew it was true. If she hadn't hated him before, she certainly did now.

Shaking his head, he walked back to the school, entering through the side entrance. He walked stiffly, as if he was on autopilot, all the way to the lunchroom.

Yes, he was definitely a coward.

Lunch was in full swing when he arrived. He saw Prentiss's friends sitting at their table in the corner. Penelope Garcia looked worried as she read something on her phone. Did Prentiss text her and tell her about what happened? He wondered. It wouldn't surprise him.

Aaron slumped down at his table and was immediately kissed passionately by Haley. He didn't reciprocate it, he just sat there.

Haley pulled back with a worried look in her eyes. "You okay, babe?"

"Just stressed about the game," he heard himself say. Coward.

"You'll be fine," Haley said with a dismissive shrug. "Anyway, our plan for revenge went perfectly! Prentiss was in tears!"

She began to detail exactly what had happened. Aaron wished he could tune her out, but he was unsuccessful. He heard everything, from Prentiss's reaction to her newfound hate for Aaron. His gut twisted painfully at that last part.

I should say something to Haley, he thought. I should tell her Prentiss hasn't hurt anyone, that she didn't deserve this.

But all he could muster was quietly saying, "That was a horrible thing to do."

Haley didn't hear him.

Luckily for Emily, her parents weren't home when she got home, and they wouldn't be home until very late. She unlocked her door, dropped her bag unceremoniously in the hallway, and walked upstairs in a daze. Once she reached her bedroom, she collapsed onto her bed and let the tears fall.

Again with the showing weakness, she thought bitterly. She was alone, so it was okay for the moment.

How long she lay there, she didn't know. She lost track of time. She actually fell asleep for a bit. When she woke up, her alarm clock read 3:15. School had been over for fifteen minutes.

Emily suddenly realized she could hear frantic knocking. For a second, she forgot about who could be there. Then it hit her. Penelope.

Suddenly eager to see her friend, Emily hurried downstairs and flung open the door. Standing on the other side was Penelope, Derek, and Spencer.

"Emily!" Penelope cried, flinging her arms around the other girl. Emily noticed Derek was holding a brown paper bag.

She nodded towards it. "What's that?" Her voice sounded hoarse.

"Chicken soup," Derek said with a smile. "You said you weren't feeling well."

Her heart swelled with her friends' kind gestures. She pulled away from Penelope and offered a sad smile. "Yeah, I'm not, but not in the sick sense. I'll accept the soup though."

She ushered her friends in and took the bag from Derek. The four of them walked into the kitchen, and sat at the island. Penelope insisted that she eat the soup right then. Emily complied and pulled out a spoon. She focused on the soup and avoided her friends' eyes, knowing they wanted answers.

It was Derek who spoke first. "So, you said you weren't feeling well, but not because you're sick. If you're not sick, then what's wrong?"

Emily fiddled with her spoon. Suddenly she wasn't so eager to discuss that afternoon's events. It was embarrassing, and she was a private person. Well, she never had anyone to talk to in the past.

"You can talk to us, Emily," Spencer said quietly. Emily looked at her friends. They all looked at her with compassion, and she found herself telling them what had happened. Everything, from Aaron's text, to the video. She was vague about what the video contained.

When she was done, Derek looked furious, Spencer looked sad, and Penelope looked like she was going to cry.

"That's horrible," she whispered.

Emily only nodded.

"Okay," Derek said angrily. "I knew Aaron Hotchner could be a jerk, but I never thought he would sink that low."

"It's Haley," Penelope said sadly. "She doesn't have the best influence on him."

"He can make his own decision," Emily spat. "He told me he could think for himself. If so, he did this on his own accord."

Spencer shrugged. "He's popular. There's a lot of peer pressure in that group."

"Then he must be pretty weak if he succumbed to peer pressure in this situation," Derek said heatedly.

Penelope watched Emily. "How are you holding up, Gumdrop?"

She gave Penelope a watery smile. "I'll be okay." She smiled at the boys. "I'm just really glad to have to guys here."

"Hey," Derek said, the anger in his voice suddenly gone. "We're here for you." Spencer nodded his head in agreement.

"Thanks," Emily said. "Can we stop talking about this? It's Friday, and I don't want to think about it."

"Then let's watch a movie!" Penelope said excitedly. "You do have DVDs, right?"

Emily laughed. "Yeah, come with me."

Thomas Jefferson High won the homecoming game. It was a nail biter, but they pulled through, winning 21-13.

The Homecoming Dance was after, and Aaron wanted nothing more than to go home right after the game. But of course, Haley had other plans.

"We're a shoo in for King and Queen!" she cried. She sent Aaron home to get dressed while she ran off with JJ. He met her at the dance because she drove over with JJ.

There was no doubt that Haley was beautiful. She wore a short pink dress with no straps and matching high heels. Her blonde hair was in a half-up-half-down 'do. For a second, Aaron forgot he was upset with her.

But only for a second.

He had become even more upset with Haley when he saw Emily's empty desk earlier that day in Psychology. He knew she had left the school, but part of him had hope she would show up.

The dance dragged on for Aaron. He and Haley won King and Queen, to no one's surprise. She pulled him close when they danced.

"I love you," she whispered.

Aaron remained silent, but luckily a fast song came on, and Haley screamed and started dancing with JJ.

At eleven o'clock, Haley was ready to leave. Aaron had been ready for hours. He drove her home, listening to Haley talk the whole way about who went with whom and who wore what.

When he pulled up to her house, she pulled him into a passionate kiss.

"My parents aren't home," she whispered seductively. "Want to come in?"

He really didn't. "I'm not feeling the best. I'm just going to head home." Haley pouted at that, but she let him go.

Aaron began to drive home, but somehow, he ended up at Emily Prentiss's house. HE knew it was her house because he saw her walk there after school.

He hesitated. What am I doing here? He knew she wouldn't want to see him. He didn't even know why he was there. He wouldn't want to see him if he was Prentiss.

The answer came to him quickly. He felt bad about what had happened, and he wanted to apologize. Part of him knew it wouldn't do much, but it was worth a shot.

Walking to the front door, he hesitated for a brief second before knocking. When the door opened a minute later, he was surprised to see who was on the other side.

It was Derek Morgan.

And he looked pissed when he realized it was Aaron.

Oh, yeah. She had definitely told her friends.

"Can I talk to Emily?" Aaron asked hesitantly.

"She doesn't want to talk to you," Derek spat. He stood there defiantly with his arms crossed.

"I figured as much," Aaron said. Derek looked surprised for a second, but he quickly regained his furious look.

"You should just go."

Aaron bit his lip. "Okay, I will." He walked away, but then stopped on the front walkway. He turned to face Derek, who was still standing in the doorway.

"Just please tell her that I'm incredibly sorry," he said. "I screwed up. I'm a coward, and a jerk, and a bully. She didn't deserve that, and it's been crushing me all day to know that I contributed to it." As he spoke, he let his voice get louder until he knew she could hear him from inside the house.

"I wish there was something I could do to make it up to her," he said in a slightly broken voice. "But I know there isn't." He looked at Derek, who was still glaring at him. "I'm glad she has friends like you to go to." He said the last part so only Derek could hear him.

Derek's face softened only a little bit. It was barely noticeable, but Aaron caught it. "I am too," the other boy said quietly. With that, he returned inside, shutting the door behind him.

Aaron stood there for another second, then walked back to his car. He tried. At least he could say that.

As he pulled away from the curb, he could have sworn he saw Prentiss in the window.

No, he thought to himself. Her name is Emily.

A/N: How's this for a quick update? :) I'm glad that everyone was pleased with the last chapter (Well, as much as you could be). I hope you guys liked this one, I enjoy writing guilty Aaron. Tell me what you thought of this chapter, like if you wished I had focused on the big game more, or if you liked Aaron's attempted apology. Reviews are always welcome. :)