I have deleted and re uploaded this chapter because I got some feedback telling me it had sections repeated, apologies, my phone was glitching and I thought I had sorted it out.

Also, just for reference , some autistic people are very good at holding meltdowns in, which is what I imagine Spencer would do, in one of the episodes after Mauves death you could see books all over the floor as if they had been knocked over but around the others he didn't seem to be destructive.

Derek had invited Reid, Hotch and Rossi over to watch the football. JJ and Will has got tickets to go, Garcia wasn't all that interested, and Emily hadn't wanted to be stuck in Dereks apartment all night. Reid has tried to get out to it, he'd come up with an abundance of excuses, but Derek had denied all of them.

"Pretty boy, you're coming, end of"

"But I don't even like football!"

"Come on doc, it's not about the football"

"Then why are you inviting me over to watch football?"

"Because we're friends, we can hang out"

"What does 'hanging out' involve, exactly?"

"Just, hanging out, you know, you can have a beer, relax, just hang out"

"That's not really an answer"

Spencer had tried to find out exactly what was expected, but apparently hanging out consists of hanging out which isn't exactly the most objective of descriptions.

"Look, how about I make you a deal? You can come, bring as many books as you'd like, you can just chill out, have a drink, Hotch and Rossi will be there, and if you hate it that much, I'll take you home" Derek compromised, Spencer relented, although still reluctant. "Good, any more questions?" Derek asked with a grin, Spencer only muttered "why'd you call it an invitation if I don't have a choice?" At which Derek messed up his hair.

Spencer didn't know what he was supposed to wear. Was he supposed to go in his work clothes? His normal clothes? Derek had told him to wear what he wants, does that mean he could wear pyjamas? He wanted to wear pyjamas.

Me:

'Can you be more specific?"

Derek Morgan:

'Just wear whatever you feel comfortable in'

Me:

'That is not specific!'

Derek Morgan:

'What? You tryin to impress someone pretty boy?'

Me:

'No! I just don't know what I'm supposed to wear.'

Derek Morgan:

'You're not supposed to wear anything'

'Not like that'

Me:

'Can you please just give me an answer?'

Derek Morgan:

'Jeans and a t-shirt'

Me:

'Thank you'

So finally, he knew what to wear. He found some jeans, and a long sleeved t-shirt with blue stripes. Technically it was a pyjama top, but no one needed to know that.

He arrived at Morgan's house, armed with a satchel full of books. Hotch was already there, apparently Rossi had gone to the liquor store, refusing to drink, what he described as, 'a sorry excuse for alcohol'.

Reid sat in the armchair in the corner, Morgan sitting on the couch at the end closest to him, Hotch at the other end. When Rossi got back he sat in the middle.

Reid was on edge, as much as he tried to just sit and read, he couldn't sit still, he tried to sit up straight, feet on the floor, and to stay still. But he kept moving, his feet didn't feel right on the floor, his back felt tingly, and he was hyper aware of the three other men in the room. Was he acting right? Were they all staring at him? He could check, but then what if they thought he was staring at them? Was he supposed to be doing something? Morgan said he could read, but what if he was actually supposed to be doing something else? He never knew.

He started to feel hot, his face flushed and the lights started feeling a bit bright. His jaw tensed along with the rest of his body, his fingers started rubbing along the cover of the book, his thumb feeling the edge of the pages over and over again. 'Oh god, they're definitely going to notice, what if they laugh at me, shout at me, beat me up?' His thoughts raced, and Morgan had noticed. "Hey pretty boy, you know you can take your shoes off man, get comfy, that chair is really good for curling up in" He said, light heartedly, but soft enough so Spencer knew he wasn't making fun of him. He looked around and saw Aaron and Dave both had their shoes off, and Aaron had one foot up on the couch. Spencer toed off his converse and placed them carefully to the side, before bringing his knees up to his chest. The other three went back to watching the football whist he went back to his book, a little more comfortable now.

It was all going quite well. Derek had remembered that Spencer didn't like the posher or more grown up snack foods and had bought him some sweet popcorn instead of the fusion flavours they were having, and while the rest of them were drinking beer, Spencer had opted for coffee, and no one had made comment. It was all going rather well until the game started to get more competitive. The three men were all now leaning forward, eyes fixed to the television screen. For some reason they all thought that talking to the tv would somehow change how the game was going, and as the game went on, they got louder and louder. It was starting to get a little painful for him. The shouts were unpredictable, Spencer couldn't see the screen so he didn't know when the next cheer, or criticism, would come. They were clearly invested in the game, Spencer was flinching more and more as the game went on, trying desperately not to cover his ears, not to think about the ear defenders in his bag that he so desperately wanted to put on. He kept trying, kept fighting, but the game was coming closer to the end, the tension was rising, and the star player had the ball, moving closer and closer to the goal, he ran, he passed, he got the ball back and he scored. The three men jumped to their feet, cheering, jumping, shouting. Until they heard the pained cry from their friend from the rather loud, and unexpected, noise. Despite his best efforts Spencer's hands gripped his ears, his eyes were tightly shut and his breathing picked up just a little bit. The men quietened down upon noticing their friends distress. "Hey, sorry man, we'll keep the noise down" Derek promised, keeping his tone even. Spencer calmed down somewhat, taking his hands away from his ears, he nodded, slightly embarrassed.

'Did I actually just do that in front of my colleagues, including my bosses?'

"Why don't you put your ear defenders on?" Rossi asked "I'll be fine" Spencer replied

"Yes, but you'll be good, if you put your ear defenders on." Hotch added in, and this convinced Spencer. Hesitantly he reached for his satchel, pulling out his plain black ear defenders, from a distance you could be forgiven for thinking they were headphones, that's what he told the officers at police stations if they ever asked. He pulled them over his head and relaxed into the familiar tightness they brought. The rest of the evening went well, once the game had finished Spencer asked what they were to do next, and decided he would stay for a while, joining in the conversation more and more as time went on. Aaron gave him a lift home, they had a bit of conversation in the car, Spencer thanked him for the lift.

Inside his appartment the tiredness hit him. Sociallising can be exhausting for people with autism. Sensory overload, social rules and two way conversation can be extremely tiring. That doesn't mean however, that Spencer didn't enjoy spending time with his friends. He was grateful for his friends, they were all very understanding, and pushed him to take care of himself, rather than try to fit in. He was happy he'd gone tonight, and as he was getting ready for bed he heard his phone sound, notifying him he had a text.

Derek Morgan:

'Next time we can watch a documentary'

Spencer smiled, his friends were good for him, but social events were not going to happen for at least a week.