A/N: Whoo baby! Last night's episode was a doozy! Can't wait for next week. I honestly thought I was going to die when I saw next week's preview.

Anyway, three chapters, three days! This is like a record for me! I wouldn't expect this update schedule to continue but it's always a possibility. ;-)

Shout outs: CriminalOutsider'sGirl14, Mossnose173, jayjrat, and Rachelle (Guest). Thanks so much for the encouragement. I was really worried about my characterization, but your reviews fixed that right up. And as always, thanks for all the follows and favorites!

Hippiechic81: Thanks for telling me about the spelling error. I told myself to look it up, but never actually did. It's fixed now.

Important information at the bottom!

Enjoy!

Date: Monday, 8/24/2015

Dave sighed as he entered Quantico High. The weekend was over and it was Monday again. Time for the second week of school to begin.

Aaron was standing in front of his locker, waiting for him. The other senior scanned the hallways impatiently.

"Hey, Aaron," Dave said as he approached. A devious smile appeared on his face as he decided to play dumb. "Who you looking for?"

The only reaction he got was an eye roll. "You. Principal Strauss wants to see you."

Dave groaned. He had not even done anything wrong yet. Sure, he had plans for Homecoming; it was going to be bigger and better than last year.

"Have you seen Haley?" Aaron asked, grabbing his attention once more.

"Nope," Dave replied. The other senior glanced around the hall once more. The bell rang and he sighed.

"See you at lunch," Aaron said before rushing off the his Civics class. No one was surprised when they heard that Aaron was taking it. It was just so... Aaron.

Dave, on the other hand, was supposed to be heading off to Physics, but apparently Strauss required his attention.

He sighed in defeat and headed towards the school office. Dave was surprise to see that the school had gotten Strauss a new secretary.

Dave sauntered up to the desk, where the new secretary sat typing on her computer. "Dave Rossi, here to see Mrs. Strauss." The girl nodded. He put on his most flirtatious smile, and continued. "And what would your name be?"

The girl "And what would your name be?"

The girl did not look up from her computer as she answered, "Elle Greenaway. Take a seat." She paused for a moment to point to the chairs on the other side of the room. A young, unfamiliar, blonde girl sat there, looking nervous. Dave concluded that she was probably a freshman.

Dave decided to try once more to get the pretty office lady to look at him. He considered himself a player, or at least that is what his last three girlfriends had said.

"Come on, sweetcheeks," he said smoothly.

Elle froze. Her face turned to him with a scowl that could rival Strauss. "Do not call me that ever again." She pointed to the chairs again. "Sit down."

Dave spun on his heel and sat. A woman with a glare like that was not a woman he wanted to deal with.

Strauss stepped out of her office and beckoned Dave inside. She had him sit in one of her plush office chairs. That was one benefit of getting in trouble, your butt got out of class and into a comfy chair.

"Mr. Rossi, do you know why you're here?" Strauss asked sternly.

"No," Dave replied, mocking her tone.

Strauss let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't even know why you signed up for the mentor program but-"

Dave's eyes widened in panic. "Wait! What? I didn't sign up for anything!"

"Your name is right here, Mr. Rossi," Strauss said, holding out the sign-up sheet. Dave scanned the page. Sure enough, his name was there, right under some girl named Maeve Donovan. This had to be Penelope's doing. Strauss continued "As such, I've found you a freshman to mentor."

Strauss went to her door. She opened it and the blonde girl came in. "David Rossi, this is Ashley Seaver."

Ashley gave a tiny wave. "Hello, David."

The senior forced a smile. "Call me Dave."

"Now that you've been introduced," Strauss said through a tight lipped smile. "Why don't you show Ms. Seaver around the school?"

Dave nodded despondently. "C'mon, Ashley," he said, walking out of the office.

Dave did as Strauss had asked and showed the freshman around. He thought the whole thing was ridiculous. It was the second week of school, the kid should know her way around by now.

"Um, Dave," the girl said softly as they turned into the hallway outside the auditorium. He nodded to show he was listening. "If I'm bothering you, I can go to back to Strauss and ask that you be taken out of the program."

His head shot up. He knew his tour of the school had not been exactly enthusiastic, but he did not want the girl to feel unwanted. "No, no. That's not it. It's just…" Dave sighed.

Ashley looked confused. "Just what?"

"I didn't actually sign up for this. My friend, Penelope, put my name on the sign-up sheet without telling me. This probably another one of her ploys to get me to, as she puts it, "guide the youth through the terror that is ninth grade"."

The young blonde laughed and Dave smiled at her. Maybe this mentoring thing would not be that bad.

Ashley tugged at his sleeve. "Hey." She pointed to a poster hanging outside the auditorium. "What can you tell me about the Drama Club?"

Dave looked at the poster. "Well, this year they're putting on The Pirate of Penzance."

Ashley rolled her eyes, but there was a smile behind it. "Duh. I can read, you know."

"Tryouts are on Wednesday," he read aloud. He scanned the page for recognizable names and was surprised to see Haley's. He suddenly had an idea. If he told Aaron that Haley was in the play, he would sign up too. Aaron, trying to act-that was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Ashley noticed the smirk that had grown on his face. "What?"

Dave just shook his head. "Just an idea, young Seaver. A brilliant, devious idea."

After promising to meet up with her at lunch, Dave dropped Ashley off at her second hour class and he went to Trig. His idea for Aaron was still running through his head as he sat down, and Derek noticed.

"What's up with your face, man?"

"I'm pranking Aaron."

"What?!" The astonishment was clear on the junior's face.

"You heard me. Haley signed up for the play. I'm gonna tell Hotch and-"

"Mr. Rossi," interrupted Mr. Grace. "Please refrain from distracting the other students during class."

Dave huffed in his seat but closed his mouth. Grace sure held a grudge.

Third hour was Dave's free period. Usually, he spent it in the gym, but, as it turns out, that was Ashley's third hour class. It was not that he was avoiding the freshman... but he was definitely avoiding her.

He did not what to make of this whole mentor thing. What could he do to possibly help a freshman in their transition to high school? No one would ever describe David Rossi as responsible. Or a role model. Or even a good student. He was a slacker at best.

And yet someone saw him fit enough to be a freshman mentor.

He would have been flattered if it was true. This whole thing was karma for telling Boyd Schuller that he slept with his girlfriend last year. He didn't actually do it, but he wanted to push the jerk's buttons. The guy was so haughty, it wasn't funny.

Dave sighed and pulled out his Physics textbook. It was going to be a long day.

Dave made good on his promise and met Ashley outside the cafeteria. She tried to hide it, but he could tell she was excited. He had absolutely no idea why; maybe she had not made any friends yet.

He had brought his lunch today-mother's orders. Ashley, on the other hand, had to go through the line, so he went with her. It would be too easy to lose the freshman in the crowded room and Penelope would use her mad hacker skills to ruin his life if he did.

He lead her to the round table where his friends sat. Not surprisingly, everyone was already there.

JJ spotted him first. "Hey, Dave." She waved. Then she noticed Ashley. "Who's your friend?"

"Ashley Seaver," he introduced. "She's a freshman."

"Wow, Dave. I didn't take you for that type of perv," Emily said sarcastically.

Ashley's eyes widened in horror. JJ immediately caught the girl's train of thought. "Ashley, don't listen to Emily. She's just teasing. Dave won't touch you." She glared at the brunette.

Ashley nodded, the horror passing over. She sat down next to JJ and Aaron.

"So, what brings a young lady like you to our noble little table?" Penelope asked.

Dave rolled his eyes. "Don't pretend you don't know Penelope. You signed me up for this mentor thing."

Derek snorted. "David Rossi, a high school mentor? Better watch out for Mr. Grace, Ashley. He's got it out for your mentor here."

Ashley looked confused. "Why?"

Aaron smiled. "Now that's a story."

Penelope looked delighted. "Oh! I love this one. C'mon Dave! Tell her!"

Dave let out a sigh of resignation, pretending like they were the childish ones, but his smile ruined the effect. "Well it was spring of sophomore year….

Dave stood on Grace's desk in his and Aaron's fourth hour Algebra 2 class. He had finished lunch extra quickly in order to get here before the teacher. This prank was going to be the talk of the school.

He pushed the sewing needle into the weird foamy ceiling block, then threaded the fishing line through the metal ceiling panel divider. He tied to one end of the fishing line was a white water balloon filled with blue paint, the other end was tied to Mr. Grace's adjustable chair. Dave knew Grace liked his chair as low as possible so he put it on the highest setting, that way when Grace adjusted it, it would pull the fishing line and balloon up, and the needle would pop the balloon.

It was genius.

The bell rang and Dave scurried out of the room and into the bathrooms. He did not want be any more suspicious than he needed to be. After waiting a minute, he headed to class.

Aaron was already there. He had his book open and was studying for the quiz today. Dave sat down in the desk next to him and without looking up, Aaron immediately pointed to the balloon.

"That you?" he asked.

Dave only smirked. "You bet."

Aaron only shook his head.

Mr. Grace entered the classroom seconds before the bell rang. He was wearing his white suit. He went to his desk and picked up the stack of papers that were the test. "You have the entire class period to complete this test," he announced. "I expect no talking. If you finish early, you may work on the homework."

Once Grace finished passing out the tests, he went back to his desk, probably to grade something. Dave pretended to be studiously working on his test. In reality, he was watching Grace out of the corner of his eye. The teacher sat in his chair. Grace immediately noticed something was off and adjusted it. It did exactly what Dave had planned it to. The line pulled and the balloon hit the ceiling, but it did not pop.

Dave's eyes widened in panic. Why wasn't popping?!

Grace sat down once more and that did it. The extra weight from the teacher was just enough to pop the balloon.

Blue paint came raining down on Grace and his white suit. It got in his hair and all over his face and shoulders. The entire class stared at their teacher in shock. All except Dave. He sat back in chair and admired his handiwork.

Grace looked down at his now paint covered hands, then up at the blue burst of paint on the ceiling. The balloon was still dripping paint. The teacher looked over his class and their shocked and horrified faces. All except two. Aaron Hotchner, who was the only one still working on his test, and David Rossi, sitting with a smug expression.

Grace stood. "Mr. Rossi," he said calmly. Dave was suddenly terrified. Maybe this hadn't been the greatest idea. "I think it's about time we visit Mrs. Strauss."

"...We talked to Strauss, and I got suspended for two weeks. The end," Dave concluded. Everyone but Spencer laughed, even Aaron, though his was more of a small chuckle.

The young genius stared at him, horror lacing his expression. "You did that to a teacher?"

"Yeah. It was totally worth it."

Spencer just shook his head.

Dave noticed Aaron's focus drifting now that the story was over. He followed his fellow senior's line of sight and saw him staring at Haley. He grinned.

"Hey, Aaron," he said, bringing his friend's attention back to the group. "Guess who signed up for the play?"

"The play?" questioned Penelope. "I didn't sign you up for the play."

Dave rolled his eyes. "Not me. Haley," he said in a sing-song tone.

"Really?" Aaron asked, surprised.

"Yep. Ashley can back me up. She saw it too." Ashley nodded in confirmation.

Aaron suddenly stood. "Dave, I'll meet you in class," he said and rushed off.

"He didn't even ask what the play was," commented Spencer.

"That's the power of true love, baby muffin," replied Penelope.

Dave and Aaron shared all the same classes after lunch. First on the list was English 4 with Mrs. Blake. Dave hated all teachers by reflex, but Blake was tolerable. For starters she did not look down on her students when they got something wrong and help when they asked.

But the best thing about Blake was her projects.

She assigned two per year, one in the first semester and one in the second. Mrs. Blake called them "Creative Projects". She would come up with a list of possible projects for the students to do and then let the student pick one and a book they had read. Dave was skeptical when he first heard about them but after doing six, he could not wait to see the selection for this year.

At the moment the class was going through Crime and Punishment. Dave and Aaron had discussed it at length and they both agreed that the most interesting aspect was the criminal's psyche and how it changed throughout the story.

Aaron made into class a minute before the bell. He was huffing and puffing.

"Did you just run here from the auditorium?" Dave asked, incredulous.

Aaron quickly caught his breath. "I had to stop by my locker and get my books, but yes."

Dave chuckled. If one word could describe Aaron, it would be dedication.

After English came gym. Not all students had to take it, but the class was required to play sports. Dave played soccer and Derek had told them of his plans to play football or basketball over the winter. Aaron just liked to stay in shape.

Coach Harrison Scott blew his whistle. "Okay! It's time to whip your sorry behinds into shape. Five laps!" he called.

Almost immediately the crowd of students began jogging around the perimeter of the gym. Coach Scott shouting "encouragement" along the way.

Dave thought back to last Tuesday. Derek had been weirded out by the coach. Aaron and Dave had to explain that he was an ex-Marine and he was toning down his language for the girls. Sports practices were a whole different boat.

"C'mon, David!" Coach shouted at him. "I've seen you run faster than that!"

Dave noticed that Derek had begun to pull ahead of him. That just would not do. Nobody beats a senior. Dave poured on the speed.

As it turned out all Dave ended up doing was exhausting himself. Derek was a natural sportsman. No matter how fast he ran, Derek always pulled ahead. But he took it good naturedly.

When the class was over, Coach called the junior over. Dave and Aaron headed into the locker room and changed. By the time they were done, Derek was back and had started to change.

"What was that about?" asked Aaron.

"He wants me to play basketball," Derek said with a sigh.

Dave looked at him curiously. "You don't want to?"

Derek seemed to realize that they had not interpreted him correctly. "Oh, no. I want to play. It's just...This is a new school and all. I don't know anyone on the team and-"

"Don't worry about that," Aaron interrupted. "If you want to play, you should."

Derek just nodded. "I'll think about it."

"Basketball doesn't start until November anyway," Dave said, slinging his arm around the junior's shoulders. "You got loads of time."

Behavior went smoothly. Mr. Gideon had given them more details on their project and then had them look at several internet articles and describe the type of person who wrote them. Safe to say, that did not go well.

Gideon was an interesting teacher. His was the only class Dave actually felt bad joking around in. The man just had this disappointed look that ripped into his soul. Maybe that was why there were so few people in the class. It was highly unlikely, but possible.

According to school rumors, the reason the class was so empty was because Jason Gideon was a murderer. Apparently, ten years ago, Gideon had attacked a man called Adrian Bale in the school after hours. Bale had been found dead in the library with his head bashed in. The rumors never said how the man's death was connected to Gideon and Dave had never cared enough to look it up. Spencer probably knew though.

Dave had not realized that he had left his thoughts drift until Gideon started talking again.

"Please place your analysis on my desk," Gideon stated. Dave looked down at his own nearly blank paper and cringed. He hurriedly scribbled some generalizations down. "Don't worry if this exercise was difficult, that was the point," continued Gideon. "As we progress, this exercise will become easier. My hope is that you all be able to do this reflexively by the end of the year."

The bell rang and the school day was over.

Featured Unsubs/Characters:

Boyd Schuller - 5:3

Harrison Scott - 8:7

Adrian Bale - 1:3

Important information referenced above:

I've been debating adding a larger mystery element to this story. (The UnSub would be an actual CM UnSub. Not an OC.) At this point, the mystery in my story is mainly built on individual character plots. If the mystery element is added, it will take over as the main focus of the story and the character plots will slow down. So here's the question I have for you: should I add in the mystery or focus on the character plots?

It's up to you!

Next Time: Pretty Boy - Spencer Reid