A/N: LIFE UPDATE THAT NO ONE ASKED FOR ALERT! I got into my STEM school! I also haven't been able to write much because I'm taking 2 high school courses on top of my normal workload, I've got Regionals for academic team this Saturday (which I'm writing in!) and I got chosen as Captain of the school's Battle of the Books team. So my life has been kinda busy! But I really like this chapter, I hope you guys will too! I had to rewrite it 3 times but I think it turned out well.
Pls reviewwwwwww, I will actually cry if you do it
I have seen what the darkness does,
Circling back to who I was
I ain't never been away so long
Don't look back, those days are gone
Follow me into the endless night,
I can bring your fears to life
Meet Me in the Woods- Lord Huron
Two weeks later
The tension from the Cyrus confrontation had faded, but it was still very much present in the air. However, they were all making a point to not say anything. They were all pretending that it had never happened, even though they had most certainly not forgotten.
The temperature had dropped suddenly as the large cold front had moved into the little town just outside of Aspen. The weatherman had predicted a blizzard sometime this week, though it was hard to tell when. As a precaution, the ship had stocked up on some blankets and batteries.
Almost everyone in the shop was bunkering down for the midterms soon. When they weren't making cappuccinos or selling books, they were hunched over study guides and practice tests. They had separated off into pairs; Kate and Tara (as always), James and Alex (as always), Elle and JJ, Penelope and Derek, Spencer and his messenger bag, and Hotch and Emily. Some of the pairs were study buddies, like Hotch and Emily, and others, like JJ and Elle were more like tutoring.
Either way, it was helping prepare for test week, and that was the important bit. Most of them didn't have much time for studying, specifically the people who worked there. Full time college students (other than JJ) and working at every chance to pay off that college didn't leave much time for a social life, and as a result, their lives pretty much revolve around the store. That didn't leave much time for studying, so they combined the 3. Social life, work, and study group all mixed into one. Voila. Bon appetit.
"Murder levels in Layman's Terms, go," Emily read off the flash card, her Doc Marten propped up on the table, latte in one hand and Hotch's "court words" flash cards in the other. Hotch mirrored her; coffee in one hand and Emily's cards in the other, and his feet propped up on a stool.
"First degree- preplanned and executed murder. Second- unplanned, but aimed to kill, voluntary manslaughter- intended harm, did not intend death. Also called crime of passion. Involuntary manslaughter- basically you were an idiot who's stupidity accidentally killed someone. DUI deaths, etc." Hotch recited. "Your turn. German. What does kennst du diesen Mann mean?"
"Have you seen this man!" Alex answered before Emily could even think about it. "Sorry."
"Get your own flashcards, Miller."
"She has them," James commented. "I guess yours are just better."
"Shut up."
"Anyways," Hotch said. "Still German, sind Sie verletzt?"
"Are you injured?" Emily said after a moment of thinking.
"Good job."
"Oh my god, I think the blizzard is rolling in, guys," Elle pointed out from her place next to the window with JJ. They all crowded to the windows.
"Oh my god. It's...really coming down out there," Alex said. The snow was quickly building up, and more was on its way.
"My god, you can barely see anything. We were supposed to go home in…" James checked his watch, "20 minutes, but I don't think it's safe to be driving in this."
"How are we going to get home?" Kate asked.
"I don't think we can," Hotch answered. "Check your phones."
Extreme Winter Weather Advisory
All persons living in Aspen, Colorado or in any of the surrounding town are being instructed and strongly encouraged to shelter in place. Stay off roads and do not go outside for non-emergent activities.
"Well shit."
"So...we're stuck here? For the night?"
"At least. Until the blizzard blows over and the roads clear."
"Well…shit."
"Well shit indeed," James commented distractedly. His pen was in the corner of his mouth, and his eyebrows were drawn together. "Does anyone have extra clothes in their cars? If the power goes out, we need extra layers."
"I have a bag of shirts and pants in my trunk, I think," Emily said with a shrug.
"I always keep sweaters in my bag in case I spill something."
"I do too."
"Ok so Emily, Alex, and Tara need to go to their cars...and they probably shouldn't go alone. I'll go with Alex, who's going with Tara and Em?" James asked.
"I'll go with Tara." Kate pulled herself out of her chair. "Let me just grab my coat."
"I'll go with Em then," Hotch stood up. Emily raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He had called her Em. He never called her Em. It was always Prentiss, or on occasion Emily.
She decided she liked it.
The 6, thoroughly wrapped in coats, scarves, and gloves, headed outside into the swarming cyclone of flurries. Each pair held hands so that they didn't get separated, which was fine in Tara and Kate's case, but sufficiently awkward in Alex, James, Hotch, and Emily's case.
"Car's over here," Emily mumbled, pulling Hotch along behind her quickly. She was determined to get this over with as fast as possible. His hands were warm, though. It wasn't really that bad. It could definitely be worse.
Speed walking is not generally a good idea in a blizzard, however, and Emily learned that the hard way. Her shoes couldn't grip the slick ice, and her feet came out from under her.
"Shit!" Hotch yelled, tightening his grip on her hand and using his other one to grab her around her waist.
"I've got you, you're ok. We should probably take it slow on ice like this."
"Yeah, that's probably smart," Emily gasped. Her near-collision with asphalt had sent a burst of adrenaline through her.
It was only then when the pair realized the position they were in. Hotch had his hand still wrapped around her, and Emily had her hand on his shoulder and head practically on his chest. They both quickly separated and awkwardly mumbled some empty words.
They grabbed the bag of extra clothes and started making their way back to the bookstore, the required hand-holding even more awkward then before.
Alex and James were in a similar predicament. Alex hadn't been planning on hiking into the snow, and her boots weren't really meant for blizzards. James had hiking boots on, so he had good traction on his shoes at least. Alex had basically wrapped herself around his arm, and he was holding her arm too. She was determined not to slip. With her luck, she'd probably break her ankle.
It wasn't that awkward. They'd pulled so many all-nighters together and fallen asleep slumped against each other on the floor of Alex's bedroom so many times that this wasn't weird at all.
For some reason, Alex had parked at the very back of the lot. Kate and Tara had been at the front, they were in and out within 5 minutes. Emily's was a little farther back, but not too bad. They were probably warming up already, and they hadn't even gotten to the car yet.
"Ugh, finally. Took us long enough," Alex laughed as she wrenched open the frozen car door.
"Hey! You parked in the very last spot, we can barely see anything, and we're joined at the hip so we don't lose each other in the snow," James protested.
"True, not to mention we have to walk slow because of the ice on the ground." Alex closed the car door with her hip, the tote bag of sweaters slung over her shoulder.
James held out his arm for her. "My lady?"
Alex smiled. "Such a gentleman."
They were walking back to the store, Alex's head tilted against James' shoulder. There must have been a particularly bad patch of ice, however, because even James' high traction shoes couldn't hold up.
He slipped, and Alex, who had been holding onto his arm, came crashing down with him into the snow.
The shock from the cold and the fall sent a jolt through their bodies. They sat in the snow in silence together before Alex started to laugh. Her laughing made James start to laugh, and before long they were rolling in the snow, laughing about everything and nothing all at once.
The cold bit their skin, but they didn't notice. They were too busy laughing. The two of them started to stop laughing and wiped tears away from their eyes.
James looked over at Alex. The snow in her hair made her look like an ice princess, the stars and snowflakes reflected in her dark brown brown eyes. She looked ethereal in that moment.
Alex could feel James looking at her. She turned her head to gaze back at him. They locked eyes, and all of the feelings from the past few years came rushing forward.
They leaned in together and in one beautiful moment, they kissed. In the silence of the snow, where the only sound was the wind swirling around, and the stars overhead, they were perfectly alone. Alex wouldn't have it any other way.
James wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, and Alex raised her hands to cup his face.
When they did finally pull apart, Alex could see the lights in his eyes shining a little bit brighter.
"Wow," she breathed.
"Wow."
"Took you two long enough," Emily commented as James and Alex walked back into the store. Her boots were kicked up on the table and she had a bag slung over her shoulder.
"Well, in the snow and darkness it was kinda hard to find my car in the back," Alex answered quickly. It wasn't a total lie.
"Well, anyways, we've gotta hand out clothes. I wouldn't be surprised if-"
All the lights in the store went dark.
"-the power went out," Emily finished with a sigh.
They passed out sweaters, t-shirts, extra jackets, everything they had.
"I feel so much shorter than before," Kate laughed as she looked down at herself. She had on one of Tara's shirts- which was more like a dress. Her hands were completely covered and it came down to almost her knees.
"I feel a lot bigger than before," Hotch said.
James nodded. "Same."
Hotch had on one of Emily's layers- a black cardigan that might have been oversized on her, was about two sizes too small for him.
"Yeah, the tight cardigan with a bunch of safety pins and buttons is… a look. It's a look."
James was in a similar position. He'd gotten one of Tara's shirts, since her stuff was the only things even close to his height. Hotch had an 'oversized' cardigan, which was still too small. They had to make do, though.
"The maroon shirt with my yellow sweater draped over your shoulders is a style choice for sure," Alex laughed as she adjusted it. James looked down at her with a smile.
Spencer had on one of her yarn cardigans. The knitted sweater completely enveloped his skinny 14 year-old body. It looked more like a blanket then a cardigan.
"I haven't looked like this since high school," Penelope said as she shrugged Emily's's black jean jacket on.
"Babygirl, you were a goth in high school?" Derek laughed.
"Yup. Dyed my hair black and everything."
Emily smiled. "I'm gonna go feed Serg, be right back."
She walked into the back room, where she was happily greeted by the cat.
"Hey buddy! Let's get you some-"
She heard something go thunk outside.
"Stay here bud," she warned, opening the backdoor to make sure nothing was wrong. She had only opened it a few inches when Sergio slipped out the door.
"Damn it!" She said as Sergio slipped past her fingers and out into the snow, like a ghost.
It's dark, he can't see, he might get lost if I don't go out there and get him," she thought. She bit her lip and walked out into the snow.
The blizzard had calmed down a bit , and in the alley there was only a light dusting. She could see fairly well with her phone flashlight and even hear a little over the wind.
"Serg! Sergio, come back inside bud!" She called out. "God, why do you have to be a black cat, why couldn't you be orange or something?"
She trudged through the flurries swirling around, looking for the cat. With every passing minute, she got more worried.
"Sergio, come here buddy! Come back inside!" The cold bit her skin like small knives attacking her. She heard that thunk again, the same one that had made her open the door in the first place.
She spun around to look at where the sound had come from. In the clearing of wind and snow, she was able to see who it was with terrifying clarity.
"Emily Prentiss," Benjamin Cyrus smiled. "We meet again."
A/N: HA CLIFFHANGER
Writing the James/Alex kiss scene was SO fun to write. It might be inaccurate, since I've never had a kiss and I got all that from books and stuff, but it was fun. And then it was followed by PAIN. This is a bigger chapter, and I was debating whether or not to split it into 2 chapters with the chapter ending at the kiss, but I decided against it. This chapter took forever to write, so I hope you liked it! Pls read and review!
