JJ
JJ had always been skeptical of everyone and everything, whether it was a boy hitting on her or a newly proposed soccer play, she would always weigh the true intentions of whatever interrupted her otherwise normal routine. Especially when it came to her cousin Spencer.
He was two years younger than her yet still in the same grade as she. Her extended family often disputed that Spencer should already be attending college, but his mother insisted that he deserved some normalcy in his life. He was diagnosed with Aspergers at a young age and while most family members looked down upon him in some way, he bonded with JJ, viewing her as a sisterly figure. She recalled fondly how she would always listen to him explain the Dr. Who episode he had just watched or staying up until the next morning building a lego set he had received for his tenth birthday. Now he almost always came over after school to spend time with JJ and tell her about the book he had read that day. She loved Spencer more than anything and refused to let anything or anyone tear him down, even behind his back. Sadly the people who usually did this were apart of her friend group.
Ever since the winter of sophomore year when she started dating Will LaMontagne, the wide receiver on the school's football team, people she wouldn't dream of speaking to began befriending her. That's how she found herself at the center of one of the school's popular cliques. Despite everyone suddenly wanting to know all about her, nobody had made the connection that she was related to Spencer Reid, and she often overheard the jokes that were made about him. Her "friends" initially joked about trivial things such as Spencer opting to carry a messenger bag instead of a backpack and on occasion she heard insults about his vocabulary choice, social and athletic ability, and his persona as a whole. She tolerated none of it, and was quick to reprimand whoever she caught, although it never made Will too happy.
"Come onnnnnn Jenny, you're being a buzzkill." He'd laugh while squeezing her shoulder.
"He's practically my brother, Will. How would you feel if someone said that about someone you cared about?" She retorted, pulling away.
"They don't really mean it. It's all in good fun." He'd tell her before talking to one of his football friends. It always put JJ on edge when Will would dismiss the one thing that made her angry. Even more so when he called her Jenny. She tried to ditch the nickname when she left middle school, but no such luck was found. But now that she had established herself among her new friends, they knew better than to pick on Spencer, at least to her face. The deceit and secrets that went along with being considered popular made JJ reminisce about her other friends, if you could even call them that. She had grown apart from them once she started dating Will that she was unsure if she could still comfortably hold a conversation with most of them.
Meeting in only third grade, JJ had considered her and her friends inseparable. All being placed in the same class, JJ and Spencer quickly bonded with classmates Penelope Garcia, Derek Morgan, and Aaron Hotchner. Nobody could quite pinpoint what made them all enjoy each other's company, as they were all wildly different, but maybe that was just it.
JJ enjoyed playing any and every documented sport, as well as fulfilling the tomboy description, and Spencer, who was easily considered as the "nerd," enjoyed shows like Dr. Who and the Twilight Zone and sped through novel after novel. Penelope Garcia, the definition of "oddball," wore wild prints and streaked her hair bright colors who developed a passion for coding come middle school. Derek Morgan also showed interest in sports, but was keen on football. He was known among his friends as the compassionate one along with Penelope, the two of them having an unspoken bond that couldn't be described. Finally, Aaron Hotchner was the kid who rarely spoke and nobody attempted befriending. He didn't socialize not because he was afraid to, but because he'd rather save his words for people who actually wanted to listen. He found that those people were JJ, Spencer, Penelope, and Derek.
Aging together all the way into sophomore year labeled as "outcasts," they became a type of close that wasn't normally found among any children their age. They were the only people besides JJ that saw Spencer as nothing but extraordinary, and she always valued that above all else. And it's not like she meant to stop hanging out with them. Once she started seeing Will, it had just happened. She had to make room for new friendships, (fake or not,) and accidentally let her previous ones wilt. And of course she enjoyed her newfound popularity. It meant being acknowledged, being liked by the general high school population. It meant having impact.
She was pulled from her thoughts as JJ heard Spencer talking about his thought process next to her. She looked to her left expecting him to be trying to get her attention, but instead his eyes were focused on the person in the seat behind her. JJ was thrown for a loop. The only friend that Spencer had in this class was Penelope, who hadn't arrived yet, and Spencer rarely spoke to people he wasn't friends with. She looked behind her, curious to see who her cousin was talking with with such comfort lacing his voice; she had only heard him speak this way with her. JJ was bewildered when she saw a face she had never seen before, not once. It was a girl with almost straight black hair, a pale complexion, and defined facial features. She had never seen her before. JJ turned back around before this new girl noticed that she was staring.
"You know Emily, your name is actually interesting for how deceivingly plain it is. Although originating from Latin, it's derived from the Roman family name 'Amelius.' Because so many people have the name Emily, it's difficult for many to associate it with a particular celebrity or iconic figure, but when people do, it's typically with Emily Dickinson. Because of this, people usually associate the name with both beauty and intelligence, but the original meaning from Latin is 'rival.'"
So this girl's name was Emily. Where could Spencer have met her previously where he would be this comfortable conversing with her? She drew blank after blank, unable to think of a realistic situation where Spencer met this girl and hadn't mentioned it to JJ at all. The bell rang loudly and Spencer hadn't seemed to notice. She lightly hit his arm to get his attention. She was one of the few people Spencer was ok with touching him.
"Spence, give it a rest. The bell already rang." She said, chuckling quietly.
"Sorry JJ. Is Aunt Sandy still letting me come over for dinner after school?" He asked, looking at her expectantly.
"Yeah, of course. Mom is happy to see you 24/7." She replied, before turning back to face the front.
JJ huffed angrily to herself. How had this girl she had never seen before have such an impact on Spencer that he would converse with her so freely? And how come she hadn't ever heard about her from him? Surely he, or anyone couldn't closely bond with someone in less than a day. Spencer only spoke with such comfort when he talked to JJ, and she could feel her thoughts beginning to cloud with envy. This girl hadn't ever had to stick up for him when it came to bullies, she doesn't deserve to feed off of his intelligence and kindness. She barely knew who this Emily was, and JJ couldn't get over the fact.
JJ was handed the syllabus stack a few minutes later, and laid one out on her own desk and turned around and refused to make eye contact with Emily. Instead she critically looked her up and down before intentionally missing her hand and letting them fall onto her desk. She watched Emily struggle with the stack and inwardly smiled. She could already feel the bitterness for this girl building inside of her. She didn't want her getting close to Spencer, although she couldn't exactly give herself a valid excuse as to why, besides the jealousy that she refused to recognize. A spark was lit inside of JJ which ignited an almost visible fire in her eyes, and the more this girl's face was burned into brain, the more JJ told herself it was out of distaste.