It's not much of an update, I'm sorry for that, but I seem to have hit a snag here, so very sorry, hopefully will have a better update for you soon.

Chapter 6

Spencer sat in Principal Strauss's office staring at the floor and nervously playing with the sleeve of his sweater. He didn't want to be here, he knew what she wanted. She wanted spencer to give her the names of every boy involved in yesterday's prank (how had she even heard about that?) more than that, she seemed particularly insistent that he admit Aaron's involvement. For whatever reason Principal Strauss had a deep seated hatred for Aaron Hotchner and saw this as a perfect opportunity to get rid of that particular thorn in her side, if she could get this slip of a boy sat in front of her to speak.

Spencer knew what was going on and he wasn't about to play, in the four years he had been at this school, Principal Strauss had never been interested in anything that had happened to him, she had always left it up to vice principal Rossi to take care of him, to convince him to give over the names of his tormentors. So the fact that he was now sat in her office instead of Rossi's went a long way to convincing Spencer that she didn't actually care what had happened to him, he was just a means to an end.

"Spencer I know your time here has been challenging for you" Spencer actually laughed at that.

"Challenging? Science is challenging, Maths is challenging, well not for me, but you get my point. My high school experience hasn't been challenging, it's been torture and up until today you have never shown the slightest interest, so I have to ask myself, why the sudden interest in my wellbeing?" Principal Strauss stared at him dumbfounded Spencer Reid had never once spoken back to a teacher before, and this wasn't going the way she had planned.

"Spencer…"

"No principal Strauss, The only reason you have me here right now, is so that you can use me in your personal vendetta against a high school student. Well I'm sorry but I am not a pawn in anyone's game. May I leave now? I do not want to be late to class." Without waiting for an answer Spencer picked up his bag and walked out of the office, leaving a stunned and bewildered Principal behind him. By the time Spencer reached his Social Studies class he was shaking like a leaf, he didn't think for one second that she was going to let this go, in any way.

Aaron sat in vice-principal Rossi's office, the man in front of him watched him silently. He knew what he was doing, he was waiting for Aaron to speak but it still made him uncomfortable. He'd played this game with them before, Coach Gideon would notice his plays were a little sloppy or notice a bruise when his shirt was pulled up in a rough tackle, time out would be called and Gideon would march Aaron up to the office to get to the bottom of it. They all knew what was going on; they didn't buy the mugging excuses or the rough housing stories any more than they believed that god was a green space alien, but if Aaron refused to talk there was nothing they could do.

Rossi really hated this part of his job, he felt useless. He'd tried to speak to both the Hotchner boys on numerous occasions about the abuse they were both clearly being subjected to and he had been shut down each and every time. He wasn't sure if it was because of some sense of loyalty to the bastard who was doing this to them or because they thought that if they were taken into to care they would be split up, which was a very real possibility.

He had reported what he knew to child protective services in the hopes that if the boys wouldn't do something about this then CPS would. Unfortunately when CPS visited the family put on a united front and there was nothing that could be done. The day after the CPS visit Rossi's tires had been slashed and though he couldn't prove it, he was sure one of the Hotchner boys had been responsible.

It's different now though Aaron thought, Sean and I never have to go back to that place. I don't have to lie to everyone about how Sean broke his wrist in a skiing accident when neither of us has ever seen a ski slope outside of the movies; I don't have to lie to my teachers about why all my notes have been ripped to shreds or how the bruising on my wrists was because Sean and I had been messing around and it had gotten a little too rough, it's not like they ever really believed me any way. Shrugging Aaron said what he had been thinking about for a while.

"I'm sorry" Rossi was caught off guard; he had been expecting this to go the same way as normal, the two of them sitting in cold silence.

"Excuse me?" Aaron sighed and started again.

"I said I'm sorry, I shouldn't have slashed your tires it was stupid and juvenile. I'll pay for them of course" Rossi waved his hand dismissively.

"That's not really important Aaron; the important thing is why you did it?" Aaron looked down before he continued.

"Because you called child protective services, I was angry because you almost ruined everything" Rossi frowned at that.

"How did I almost ruin things Aaron?" Aaron wouldn't meet his eyes when he spoke.

"My father has been beating Sean and me for years, I know you all knew but saying it out loud makes it more real somehow. Anyway after CPS left dad thought one of us had called them" he saw the look on Rossi's face and hurried on. "He didn't touch us that night, but he…. Well he dragged my mom into the living room and beat her in front of us" he had to stop to regain control of himself for a moment. "He promised us that if CPS ever came to the door again, he'd kill her and make us watch." Rossi didn't know what to say, for years he and the other faculty members wanted the boys to come forward and now it had happened Rossi was a little shocked.

"What changed?" Aaron finally looked up.

"Last night was the first time I was truly scared for my life, I'm going off to college in a few months and I need to know that Sean and my mom will be safe. Derek Morgan's mother has offered to let me and Sean live with them, mom will stay with my grandparents. So its time."

"Time for what Aaron?" Rossi asked as he searched the boys battered and bruised face.

Aaron took a deep breath before saying the words he had longed to say to this man from the beginning. "Vice-Principal Rossi, I want to press assault charges against my father. " Rossi had picked up his phone before Aaron had finished speaking.