A/N: Okay, so I'm super conflicted right now. For those of you who read LMHYW know that I post constantly about that high school story that's in the making, I know you must get tired of it. Here's my question: Should I post the chapter even before I finish LMHYW? I don't really know, so I'll let you guys decide. The summary and title for my HS story is on my profile. Have a look, maybe...if you want :)

Thank you for all your favorites, follows, and reviews!

I know this took a while, but college applications have been annoying me as of lately. Hopefully, this chapter makes up for it.

Please review.

"Hello Spencer, how are we feeling today?" Dr. Blake asks, smiling sweetly when his eyes met hers willingly.

"Good," Spencer said simply.

"Do you want to tell me how your day was?"

"It was good, I feel happy, like that smiley face on the Facial Expressions Chart." Ah, Spencer's beloved Facial Expressions Chart, always a lovely tool to have on hand. It was Spencer's go-to chart for when he couldn't understand the feelings of others. Sometimes, his family would help him together to go over emotions of people, based on the outcomes of events that have happened. Although everyone pitched in, it was JJ who loved helping him the most. What was Spencer's weakness, was JJ's strength.

He went on to explain his day. "I read three books today, I got an ice cream before mommy and I came here, I met a girl in my class, I did five geometry problems in my head, I-"

"Whoah, Spencer," Dr. Blake interrupted, her ear perked up at something that sounded a lot more extraordinary than the rest. "Back up a bit."

"I'm assuming you mean go back to your previous sentences, because that's not literal thinking, where I'd physically back up."

"Very good, Spencer," praised Dr. Blake. "Yes, I need you to say the last thing you said."

"Um, I did five geometry-"

"No, no. Not that," Dr. Blake said, although doing that was extraordinary. "The one before that."

"I met a girl in my class. She hates math," answered Spencer. Dr Blake's eyes go wide with excitement when Spencer basically said he interacted with another person.

"It sounds like you made a friend," she said to him. "Is she a nice girl?"

"She cried because she couldn't add two digit numbers, but she doesn't think I'm weird, because I'm not. I helped her out and she smiled at me. I guess she's okay."

"She sounds very sweet," said Alex, smiling broadly. "What's her name?"

"Her name's Maeve," replied Spencer. "Maeve is a warrior name, but I don't think it suits her."

Dr. Blake quirked a brow. "Oh? How so?"

"Well, she cried," Spencer answered, as if that were to explain everything. "She cried because of something as simple as math, she sounded like she was about to give up on everything."

"Well, you helped her, so she felt better?"

"I think so, she smiled, and smiling is good." Dr. Blake was ecstatic. For the past nine months, Spencer had not once mentioned the possibility of a friend, or meeting new people. She had discussed the idea of what a friendship was to him, but he was busy counting to himself. Maybe, just maybe, this Maeve girl Spencer spoke about could be a keeper, maybe she could be his best friend.

"What are we going to do?" JJ asked after Derek told her about his assumption.

"Well, we have to tell someone. Mom is out, dad is out, and Emily is...maybe Emily is home early today," answered Derek, he sighed and rubbed his head. "This is making me anxious. Maybe...Maybe I'm wrong-"

"Miss Strauss told me to go what you feel inside," said JJ, referring to her therapist. "If you think you saw her, then say it, or else I will instead."

"I don't think so," said Derek, shaking his head. "They'll believe me more than you."

"Hey," JJ started off defensively, "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"I have two digits in my age, JJ. Do you? No. You're eight." Derek wasn't intentionally trying to be mean, he was more so trying to prove a point on why he should say something over her.

JJ huffed and crossed her arms. "I hope they'll believe you."

"They will," said Derek, opening the door to notice that it was unlocked, meaning Emily was home.

"Hey squirts," Emily said, already knowing it was her siblings who entered without looking up from her phone. "Was learning fun?"

Derek shut the door behind him, being blunt as he said, "We found the guy, or should I say girl, who robbed Spencer." This time, Emily looked up her phone with wide eyes piqued with interest.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asked, hoping that she didn't hear that right.

"You heard what I said." God wasn't on her side that day.

Emily sighed. "And you know this how?"

"She came to my school, with that scarf he had," answered Derek. "She was getting breakfast with two other boys, I've never seen them in the middle school before."

"Well that bitch is going to feel my wrath," Emily said, clenching her fists. "What does she look like?"

Derek's stomach churned. "She's plump, blonde, has bright pink glasses..." he trailed off, feeling an odd feeling go through his body. It was not a good one. And it was clearly visible, he looked very troubled on the outside enough for his big sister to notice.

"What's wrong?" Emily immediately asked.

"I don't know, something isn't right," Derek said, barely above a whisper. "I get a vibe from her that something really bad is happening to her."

"That doesn't matter," Emily said bitterly. "Who the hell cares?"

All of a sudden, and he didn't know why, Derek felt a wave of protectiveness toward the girl. "Wait, what? Why..."

"Why what?" snapped Emily. "Do you think that's a valid excuse to steal and treat one of our family members like shit? Especially our baby brother?"

Derek was started to get angry. "I thought you'd understand."

"I'm sorry, what?" She says for the second time that day, except with anger in her eyes. JJ bit her lip, sensing another fight between his brother and sister. "I understand? Yeah, since all of us came from shitty places. So that gives me the right to steal and do whatever the fuck I want?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying," Derek said, raising his voice. JJ not-so-discreetly took the phone and ran up the stairs. She remembered Hotch and Haley talking to her, Spencer, Emily, and Derek about memorizing phone numbers, and to call Dave if neither of them were around. JJ closed her eyes and began to recite the number in a form of song, it was how she was able to memorize it. She dialed the number and anxiously waited for the other line to pick up.

"...Hello?" The warm and friendly voice of Dave's almost calmed JJ down. Almost. Not quite.

"Dave?" JJ spoke nervously, with reluctance. "You know how mommy and daddy said to call you in an emergency if none of them are here?"

Now Dave was on high alert. "JJ, what's wrong?"

"Derek and Emily are fighting downstairs, and...I don't know, it's all very mixed up. Can you just...please come?"

Silence on the other line for only a moment, before: "I'll be right over."

Thankfully, Dave kept his promise. Well, it would be very hard to break it, since he did live next door.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the argument wasn't getting any quieter. The two siblings almost didn't hear Dave knock on the door.

"Great, now Dave's pissed off, good job, genius!" snapped Emily.

Derek flashed his eyes angrily at her. "Well maybe if you had some compassion-"

"Compassion? To the girl that made Spencer cry? I don't think so-"

The two were cut off as Dave let himself into the house, since his knock wasn't answered. "Look, fighting isn't going to-"

Unfortunately for Dave, he was not used to the fact that he wouldn't get a word in.

"You know Emily? You're kind of a hypocrite," snapped Derek. "You talk about how we had shitty lives and stuff, but now you're kind of acting like the people you used to hate. Like Christine."

"Don't you dare mention her name!" Emily roared.

"Enough!" Derek and Emily turned around to see Dave looking completely shocked, since Haley just arrived and was the one who shouted that loud while holding Spencer's hand. Dave took a step back and looked up to the ceiling, silently thanking god that he wouldn't have to intervene, at least not yet. Haley faces Dave with a weak smile. "Thanks, Dave. I'll take it from here."

Dave had never run so fast in his life.

"Come on, Spencer," JJ said from the top of the stairs. "Chutes and Ladders?" Spencer let go of Haley's hand and went up the stairs to play the board game.

"Great, let's talk, because I, along with everyone else, is tired of the Emily vs. Derek battle that happens at least once a week."

Naturally, of course, Derek and Emily speak at the same exact time, as always.

"...Emily thinks she's so perfect-"

"Derek doesn't realize that some people can't be rehabilitated-"

"Oh you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"Whoah, whoah, whoah," Haley shouted over them. "One. At. A. Time."

Chaos.

Even more shouting.

"Did you not hear me say one at a time?" Haley sternly scolded, she faces her daughter. "Emily? Can you give me the synopsis, please?"

"Derek thinks he found the girl who robbed Spencer, but he feels sorry for her."

Haley looked at Derek expectantly.

"I'm just saying, I have a bad feeling! What if there's something wrong. What if... What if she's like us?"

"She?" Haley inquired surprisngly.

"Did you just compare her to us?" snapped Emily, ignoring her mother's question.

"Both of you, calm down," Haley ordered. "There's nothing we can do about it now. The one thing we can hope is if we ever see her again, then we can talk to her."

"Can we put her behind bars?"

"No, Emily, she's not going to jail for stealing a scarf," answered Haley. "How old is this girl?"

"Well, I saw her at my middle school," said Derek, feeling queasy inside. "She went to get breakfast, but then she ran. She looked incredibly guilty."

Haley tried to think for a moment, but found that she couldn't. She didn't want to say she agreed with Derek on having a bad feeling about this girl, it would go back to square one in terms of chaos and fighting.

"Something isn't adding up," said Haley, frowning.

It was happening again. Oh god, it was. Penelope hated the fact that she woke up early in the middle of the night on the same corner. She begged Shane and Stephen if they could move to another area, claiming that she could sense being taken away. But really, though, she was wondering: Would it really be the most awful thing in the world if she was taken away? What if...by some miracle chance she was taken into a good home? What if... by some random chance, that her own parents would want her back? But no...right now this wasn't the case. Here she was, standing in front of a child predator. Each time, he'd say the same thing: "Twenty for a kiss?"

She, again, was petrified. But sadly, she had grown used to doing that after a period of time. As they kissed, he slipped a twenty in her coat before breaking away.

"...Penelope?"

She snapped quickly behind her out of instinct, seeing Stephen look at her with worried eyes. "...Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she lied.

Stephen sat down next to her. "No you're not. You think I don't know what's going on?" Penelope's heart began to race as he went on. "C'mon, Pen. All of a sudden you have $20 in your pocket every night? I saw you with that creep, and I know you hate doing it, so just say no."

"I can't say no," Penelope said sadly. "He threatened to send us to foster homes, to separate us. Plus, we never had this much money before. We're actually starting to look a little healthier, Stephen. Sure, I'm not stick thin, but you are, Shane is. I'm doing this for us."

"I know, but is it really healthy for you?" Stephen said concernedly. "Your health matters too."

Penelope gave him knowing wrathful look. "You think Shane gives a damn about my health?"

Stephen didn't deny it.

She looked away, muttering a bitter, "That's what I thought."

Stephen was silent, hesitating before saying: "I just don't approve what you're doing, and if there was another way you could make money instead of doing this, I'm sure you would."

"Without a doubt," agreed Penelope.

"You...you know how ugly this could turn out to be, right?" Stephen asked, hoping that Penelope wasn't so naive. She nodded silently as he continued egging her with questions, to make sure she was okay with this. "You know the dangers, risks, horror stories, etc?"

Again, Penelope nods, like she was certain. "Yes, I know."

But did she really?

A/N: Yes, I'm sorry. There's no Hotch in this chapter, but you can count on him being in the next one, though.