A/N at the end.

Chapter 1: Time Apart

When you meet your best friends, do you know immediately they're your best friends? Do you connect instantly? Or do you grow closer over time, and slowly come to be inseparable?

Same goes for soul mates. Do you work towards a relationship, or do you just come together seamlessly?

A group of six friends discovered that it is impossible to predict who will become your best friend or your soul mate. And once they realized that, they were better off, for they had created a bond stronger than anything they had ever made.

That bond was tested when they all went their separate ways for college. Still, if they learned anything else in high school, it was that nothing could tear them apart…

Right?

"Heads up!"

Emily Prentiss barely had time to duck before a bright red Frisbee flew through the air above her head. The quick movement caused her books to tumble out of her arms, falling into a heap on the grass in front of her. With a weary sigh, Emily knelt down to get them, ignoring the apologies of the student behind her.

"Boys, right?" a warm, familiar voice said. Emily felt a smile spread across her face.

"Right. They're just all so obnoxious." Aaron Hotchner let out an indignant scoff, and Emily laughed. "Hi, Aaron." Her boyfriend gathered a few of her books and kissed her, earning a few catcalls from the people around them. Aaron waved them off and gave them a stern look, though the tiny grin on his face spoke differently. Emily smirked and stood up, pulling Aaron up with her.

"C'mon," Aaron said, gesturing with his shoulder, "Let's get out of the danger zone."

The couple hurried across the quad and started down the path that wound between the various buildings of Yale University. Their hands remained intertwined, keeping them close to each other, side by side. That was how they always were: close.

It was the April of their freshman year of college. They had survived the first eight months, and now they were almost in the home stretch. Up until that point, there had been plenty of issues to keep them occupied. Yale was hard, and Emily felt like she was going to explode half the time. If not for Aaron, she most definitely would have. He was always the calming element for her, always there to rub her back or kiss her temple when she needed it. More often than not, Emily found herself praising the gods above that he chose to attend Yale with her.

However, it was not completely one-sided. One of Aaron's defining traits was that he was incredibly hardworking, which meant there were numerous times when he would completely immerse himself into his work and ignore everything else. Therefore, it was Emily's job to pull him away and get him to eat or sleep.

They were each other's support system, the other's other half. College had only strengthened what they began in high school. Despite having a rocky start to their relationship, Aaron and Emily were truly perfect for each other, and they planned to never change that.

"So, how was your class?" Emily asked, turning her head to look at Aaron. He rolled his eyes and gave a half-hearted shrug.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate math?" he asked wryly. Emily giggled, which caused Aaron to grin.

"Don't worry. After this year, you can dump all the necessary freshman classes and move on to what you really love."

"Thank God," he groaned. Emily laughed again, and Aaron shot her a suspicious look.

"Are you laughing at my misfortune, Emily Prentiss?"

She swallowed her giggle and feigned a serious look. "No, of course not. That would be cruel."

"One would think," he muttered. He winked at her to assure her he was only teasing.

"Want to grab lunch?" Emily offered. Aaron started to nod, then stopped and sighed.

"I'd love to, but I can't. I have to meet with Professor Mills about my essay."

Emily's heart sank a little, but she forced a smile. That was the third lunch that week they couldn't have together. The first time, Emily had a group project to work on. The second, Aaron's floor had a bonding session involving pizza, and Emily opted to sit out, knowing it would be a bunch of guys watching ESPEN and chowing down on food.

As close as they were and as strong as their relationship was, there were many weeks when they could barely spend time together. They had underestimated the lack of free time they would have, and that resulted in a lot of time spent away from each other.

"I'm sorry, Em," Aaron said, squeezing her hand tightly.

"Don't worry about it," she insisted, suddenly feeling guilty about how upset she was. Aaron always put a great deal of stress on himself, and when he thought he was making her upset, he felt awful.

"I know you've been wanting to have lunch together though."

"Yeah, and we've had lunch together numerous times. So what if we don't today? We'll just spend more time together this weekend."

Aaron managed a small smile at her optimism. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being so great."

"In that case, you're welcome."

Aaron raised his eyebrows. "What, no 'I'm not that great Aaron, don't say that'?"

Emily smirked. "But I am great. Awesome, in fact."

Aaron stopped walking and leaned towards her, capturing her lips with his. Emily smiled into this kiss and squeezed his hand to assure him she really was alright.

"Yes, you are," he said when they separated. "You're wonderful."

A few states over, Derek Morgan ran a hand over his buzz cut hair and suppressed a groan. He hated school. Okay, that wasn't true. He hated work. He hated essays and projects and extra readings, like the one he was trying (and failing) to plow through right now.

"I'm not even majoring in physics," he muttered to himself. "Why the hell do I need to know this?" In an attempt to let out some of his frustration, he slapped his text book, frowning when all he got in response was a dull thud. He was partially hoping the evil thing would combust.

His cell phone rang from where it lay in his crumpled bed sheets. Desperate for a reprieve from reading, he leapt from his desk chair and onto his bed, grateful his roommate wasn't there to laugh at his enthusiasm.

"Baby girl, you have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice."

"I haven't even said anything, my lovable Morgan." The lightness in her voice made him smile for the first time in hours.

"I just knew it was you, sweetheart."

"Yeah, and you can read caller ID."

"That too."

"So," Penelope Garcia said, "what were you doing before that makes you so happy to hear from me?"

"I'm always happy to hear from you."

"Yes, but you never go so far as to tell me, so spill."

Derek glanced at the textbook and shuddered. "Reading. Textbooks are not made to keep people invested, let me tell you that."

"Oh, you poor baby," Penelope said in mock-sympathy. "What can I do to make you feel better?"

Derek perked up at that. "Well, since you asked…"

"EW!" a young voice screeched from Penelope's end. "Please don't!"

Derek burst out laughing. "Hey, Spencer. Didn't know you were there."

"Yeah, I probably should have mentioned you were on speaker," Penelope said sweetly.

"Yeah, that would've been nice, baby girl."

"My ears may never recover," Spencer Reid moaned.

"Oh, come on!" Derek crowed. "You're a college boy now, Spencer!"

"Yeah, and I'm several years younger than everyone else here, so…"

"Point taken."

A ding was heard on the other end, causing Derek to frown in confusion.

"Oh, that's JJ," Spencer said, and Derek could hear the smile in his friend's voice. "We're gonna Skype."

"Have fun! Tell her we say hi," Penelope said affectionately.

"Will do." Derek heard a door shutting, and Penelope sighed happily.

"He's gone."

"So… about that offer of yours…"

"Spence!" Jennifer Jareau's face lit up at the sight of her boyfriend. "Hey!"

"Hi, JJ." Spencer walked down the hallway of Penelope's dorm and ducked into the stairwell. He settled down on the bottom step and rested his laptop on his knees.

"How are you?"

"I'm alright. How are you?"

"I'm okay," JJ said with a small shrug. "People are nice, school is hard, you know, the usual. Though you probably don't have to deal with the 'school is hard' thing."

Spencer blushed at the subtle compliment. "No, school is still difficult. The work load is more intense than high school, so it really comes down to managing my time and making sure I keep track of everything. I've actually created a system where-"

"Spence," interrupted JJ gently.

"Sorry."

JJ giggled, pushing her blonde hair back as she did. "It's fine. It's kind of cute, actually. The way you ramble on about stuff."

"Oh, it is?"

"Mmhm." JJ's smile became tinged with sadness. "I really miss you."

"I miss you too," Spencer said. "Every day."

"Good. I would hate for it to be an 'every-other-day' thing," she teased.

"Don't worry, it's not," replied Spencer, trying to tease back but failing instead. He cleared his throat and opted to change the subject. "So, how's Pittsburgh?"

JJ shrugged. "Alright. Though, to be honest…" She bit her lip. "I might be considering a transfer."

"Really? Why?"

JJ shrugged again. "It just isn't a good fit. I think I might be better off at somewhere like… Georgetown."

"Georgetown," repeated Spencer.

"Yeah. Though the transfer process is really complicated, and there is a LOT of paperwork, and I don't even know if I can make it in Georgetown, and-" She stopped midsentence, suddenly looking far more stressed than she had before.

"Are you alright?" Spencer asked softly. JJ managed a short nod.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I just…" She sighed. "I wish you were here. Last year was so much easier knowing I had you to help me."

Spencer felt a surge of pride knowing how much JJ valued his aid. Two years ago, he never would have guessed that the Jennifer Jareau would need him, much less love him. It was something he cherished every day.

"I love you," he said. "You know that, right?"

JJ smiled. "Of course I do. And I love you too."

"Don't stress out too much. You'll be great in whatever you do."

"Thanks, Spence."

"And besides," the younger boy continued. "Spring Break is in a couple of weeks. We can see each other then."

"Good," said JJ, playing with a strand of blonde hair. "I could use the break."

"I think we all could."

JJ opened her mouth to say something else, but then her eyes darted to something off the screen. She frowned and looked back at Spencer.

"My roommate is back. I have to go."

"Stay strong, JJ," Spencer said comfortingly. "We'll see each other soon."

"I know. Bye, Spence."

"Bye, JJ."

The laptop screen turned to the Skype homepage as JJ clicked off. Spencer felt a brief wave of loneliness before he remembered that Penelope was just down the hall. He couldn't even imagine how alone JJ felt, or even Derek. Spencer knew they had made friends, and that they were happy where they were (for the most part). But it was not the same as having your best friends in the whole world by your side.

By the time Spencer returned to Penelope's room, an idea had already formed in his head. Penelope looked up when he entered and gave him a concerned look.

"What's wrong, boy genius?"

"JJ isn't having a good time at school." Spencer plopped down on the end of Penelope's bed. The blonde girl was propped up against her headboard on the other end.

"Well, of course she isn't, it's school," she joked. When she saw Spencer's mood didn't improve, she became more serious. "What do you want to do about it?"

"Well, I was just thinking…" started Spencer. "What if we all got together for Spring Break? I mean all of us. You, me, JJ, Derek, Emily, and Aaron."

Penelope furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought we were already doing that."

"I mean more than a normal get together." Spencer's voice was taking on the speedy quality it developed whenever he was explaining something. "What if we did something really special. Something like… a vacation! We can go somewhere nice and just be with each other."

Penelope's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Ooohh… I like this idea." A slow, devious smile spread across her face. "We have a lot of planning to do."

A/N: So, here we are! I hope this lives up to expectations, and I hope you're all still interested in my little story. I'm going to try my best to post updates as fast as I can, but I am currently at writing camp (how ironic) so I don't know how speedy those updates will be. However, you've all waited so patiently, so I couldn't wait to put this up.

Thank you for your continued support. Please let me know what you think! =)