So sorry for the delay in this chapter! So much has been happening right now that I haven't been able to focus long enough to start writing something down! But better late then never, right?
Thank you all to the lovely people to followed/favourited/reviewed, reading those reviews always makes me smile :)
Enjoy the chapter, not much is happening as such, but things are going to be picking up from here on in ;)
xx

She was focusing on nothing that was going on around her. She could hear Morgan and Penelope in the background bickering and flirting, JJ talking loudly to someone on the phone, and Spencer was scribbling at the speed of light some extra maths work he picked up from the teacher in today's lesson.

Staring at the food tray in front of her, Emily lost her appetite. Pushing around her now cold lasagne with her fork, Emily pondered, again, about what happened with her and Mr Hotchner last Friday. She wasn't sure what she was expecting in today's class…perhaps an extra smile her way? A 'good morning, Emily' maybe? What she wasn't expecting, however, was to receive the cold shoulder from her teacher, picking on other students to answer the questions and to read aloud. His behaviour had been…unsettling. Emily wondered if it was to do with their talk on Friday. It probably is. Emily thought sourly to herself. All she wanted was for him to recognise her at least, not treat her like an annoying student who doesn't do any work. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Spencer was trying to get her attention until he began to poke her arm.

"Spencer, sorry, just thinking about things." Emily apologised, turning and smiling at the younger boy.

"Oh, its fine, I just wanted to see if you were okay." Spencer smiled back up to Emily, an expression of pure innocence. Emily wondered for a moment how that innocent expression would morph into shock, perhaps disgust, if he found out how she was feeling about their English teacher.

"I'm okay, just…stressed I guess." Emily replied after a little while, looking out of the window of the cafeteria. Spencer nodded and turned his head to the large, wall length window also.

"About school?" Spencer assumed.

"No, well, yes, in part." Emily fumbled over her words, thinking about how to phase her concerns and feelings and keep the subject of her concerns and feelings anonymous. "There's this…boy…" Emily began, almost cringing at having to describe Mr Hotchner as a 'boy'. "And I think, no, I know I like him a lot more than I should, than what is appropriate, and he is ignoring me now and I feel terrible because I know it's something I did wrong and I just want to make it better because I just want to see him smile at me again." Letting out a small sigh, a weight was lifted off her chest as having let out the thoughts which have been tumbling through her head since the English class.

Spencer was silent. Emily didn't really expect him to have any advice to give her, but it was nice to have him there to talk to. They sat in silence as Spencer racked his big brain for something constructive to say to Emily. If she wasn't so distressed about the situation, she'd find the slight crease in his brow and the tiny pout of his lips adorable. He was so far out of his comfort zone that for once, Spencer didn't know what to say.

"Have you…um, I'm not sure this may seem silly, but have you talked to him? About it? Um, about your feelings I mean?" Emily raised an eyebrow at Spencer and thought about it.

No. She thought. I haven't talked about it with him. But what am I meant to say? "Hi, Mr Hotchner, sorry to disrupt your free time, but I'm just curious, do you think we had a moment on Friday? 'Cause it felt like a moment to me, but I'm kind of confused about where you stand on the matter. Well, get back to me when you can, see you next lesson!" No. I do not think so.

Emily sighed and was about to put her head in her hands, but changed her mind as she didn't want to draw attention to how she was feeling.

"Thanks, Spence." Emily smiled at her youngest friend. "That helped." Not that his advice was much of great benefit, but the smile on his face when Emily said it was, was so bright it could light up a Christmas tree.

"I'm glad I could help. You can come to me whenever you need to." Emily gave him a pat on the shoulder as Spencer turned back to his work book to finish up the extra work.

Again, Emily found herself sitting with her thoughts, and the more she thought about what Spencer said, the more she warmed up to the idea.

You don't have to be so straight forward about it. Just go and ask him if he is mad at you. Yeah, that's all right, perfectly innocent, right?

Not giving herself a chance to second guess herself, Emily slung her bag over her shoulder and picked up her food tray, told her friends she was going to ask Mr Hotchner about some English work, and went off, dumping her uneaten lunch on the way, missing Spencer's surprised expression.

With a frustrated groan, Aaron threw his red pen on his desk and put his head in his hands. He's tried everything to keep his mind off it, but no matter how interesting or appealing (or boring) the task he had assigned himself had been, it just couldn't hold his attention. He found himself constantly thinking of deep, brown eyes, and soft, warm hands.

"No." He said quietly to himself, firmly. "Don't be stupid, Aaron. She's at least ten years younger than you, and not to mention, your student."

He felt absolutely disgusted with himself. Not only hadn't be been able to keep his mind off his favourite student, but even in his dreams he saw her smiling face. Nothing erotic, thank God, but the fact her face was even present is a cause for concern. Perhaps he should resign, quit before things get any worse, before anyone starts asking questions, before-

"Mr Hotchner?" Aaron didn't even have to turn around, didn't even have to look at the door to know whose body that voice belonged to. That voice, it was so timid. Was she frightened? No. He would absolutely hate himself if he had caused her to be frightened of him. Apprehensive? More likely. He had made a bit of a show in ignoring her today in class. She probably thinks she's done something wrong.

No, Emily. Not you. Me however…yes, I've done everything wrong.

"Emily come in, please, take a seat." Aaron said as he sat in one of the student chairs in the second row.

No, no, don't come in. Not that seat, not so close. Aaron, stop, why are you smiling at her. You're meant to be distancing yourself from her remember what you decided on Friday night? Now she's smiling back. Oh no, her Emily. I can feel my insides melting. Fucking hell, I sound like a hormonal teenage girl. Which is exactly what Emily Prentiss is. Fuck, Aaron, you're so fucking screwed. Fucking, fuck, fuck, fuck-

"Thank you for seeing me, I know you're probably busy." Aaron watched as she played with the hem of her shirt, not meeting his eye. He hated that, he hated that she couldn't look at him.

You made her uncomfortable, that's what it is. She could probably sue you. Make a big deal of it too, her mother's quite the big shot. Fuck Aaron you're going down.

"I'll always have time to talk to you, Emily, don't worry about it." Aaron spoke without thinking, a smile gracing his lips easily as Emily looked up and met his eye. He couldn't articulate the feeling which seeped through his core when Emily smiled back at him. Only that he loved it and wanted more of it. So much more. More than he could ever ask her to give; than she could ever give.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, teacher and student. There was an electricity buzzing between them that Aaron couldn't seem to ignore. He wanted desperately to reach out, to touch her hand again to see if it was a soft as he remembered but didn't dare to even twitch his fingers. He kept them firmly planted in his lap in fists so tight that his fingernails were cutting into his palms. Aaron didn't doubt that he would have looked obviously uncomfortable, despite his smile, but the alternative, to relax, could have consequences that he didn't want to imagine.

Emily was smart, she noticed the signs, both subtle and obvious, that her teacher was stressed and feeling awkward and uncomfortable. However she didn't leave, she didn't want to. She would rather put up with an awkward and uncomfortable Mr Hotchner, then a silent and cold one. The silent and cold Mr Hotchner tore her heart in ways that she didn't like.

"I…I'm sorry."

Her words where not what he was expecting. What was he even expecting? He didn't know. Not in the slightest. Maybe yelling? Tears? Anger?

"I've obviously made you uncomfortable," Emily pointed out, gesturing to his hands. At this, Aaron released his fists and placed them flat on his lap. Emily was silent for a few moments, watching his hands as if to see if they'd start fidgeting again; they didn't, so Emily continued. "I was probably way out of line on Friday. I'm not really sure what happened, just that it was nice…comfortable." Aaron watched as Emily frowned, obviously battling her conflicting emotions just as Aaron was.

"There is no need for you to apologise, Emily." Aaron spoke softly, making eye contact with her vivid eyes which were alight, grasping on to his every word. "It was me who was out of line…I do not know what came over me, I was just trying to comfort you. But my behaviour today was rash and unneeded. I regret deeply that you had to feel, even for a moment, that the way I was acting was because of something you thought you had done." Aaron smiled at her, and was extremely pleased with himself when she returned a genuine smile of her own.

They sat in a silence for a minute or so. Not an uncomfortable or awkward one, but a pleasant one. The types of silences you come across when people who have been a couple for years are sitting drinking their morning coffee or reading a book. A silence which wasn't to ignore or to shift the topic of conversation, but the silence which was appreciating another's company.

I wish you weren't my student. Aaron found himself thinking before he even knew what he was thinking of. The quietness had gone for too long, and his thoughts had strayed into dangerous territories.

"I'm glad you came by, Emily." Aaron said honestly as he stood up. He almost put his hand out to help Emily up, but thought better of it.

"I'm glad I came by." Emily replied, her tone far more confident and cheerful than when she had arrived. Aaron thought for a moment she was about to give him a hug, but she seemed to think better of it. "Um, well, thank you, again." Emily shifted her weight on her feet awkwardly, playing with her hands. "I better get back to lunch, my friends are probably wondering where I am…"

"Of course. I should get back to work, I still have some marking to do…"

The silence was deafening.

Neither moved.

Aaron knew he needed to take charge, to take responsibility, but a part of him, a small, but very loud and disrupting part of him, was begging for Emily to stay a little longer.

"Well, see you next lesson, Mr Hotchner!" Emily gave Aaron a cheery wave and turned and walked out of the class room without a backwards glance, shutting the door on her way out.

Aaron stood there for a moment, his eyes transfixed at where Emily's figure just disappeared past the door and couldn't think clearly. His mind was racing, thoughts of Emily, not as his student, but as an acquaintance, as a friend, as a…

No, you need to stop this, right now.

Aaron let out a dejected sigh and fell back into the chair and stared out of the classroom window where some students were racing around each other, talking, laughing, without a care in the world. Where in the confines of his classroom walls, Aaron was slowly falling apart to the likes of one, Emily Prentiss.

Fucking hell, Aaron. You messed up son-of-a-bitch. Aaron shook his head, and allowed himself to wallow in his self-pity for a little longer before hauling himself off the chair and back to his desk to finish marking his year 8's essays.

But no matter how hard he tried to decipher the messy scrawl of the junior students, his mind never once stopped thinking about her. Her eyes. The eyes which held so much emotion he thought he would fall into them if he stared hard enough. Aaron rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms, groaning softly.

You messed up son-of-a-bitch.