So sorry this took me so long.

This chapter has some more interactions with both Morgan and Hotch. Enjoy!

xxx

This was hell.

He was sure of it.

It was exactly twenty four hours after the last time a full body tackle had taken him to the ground and now Spencer found himself faced with the reality that P.E. was going to be his last period every day of the week.

He winced in horror as everybody around him got warmed up, fiddling with their gear.

The coach seemed as oblivious as ever to his horror and –which was worse- he was standing right between them and the bleachers this time so Spencer wouldn't be able to escape again.

Plus, even if he could he didn't want to risk running into Kyle and his gang again. They were in this class as well he noticed only now, shooting him dark glares across the field. Apparently they hadn't forgotten their threat from yesterday.

Spencer couldn't help but shudder, moving automatically until one of the benches at the edge of the field were in his back.

There he stared down at his helmet in misery, not even listening to the coach giving his usual pep talk. Right, like he even needed to bother putting that on –there wasn't a piece of plastic in the world that could protect one from the wrath of a bully scorned. If this was what this year of high school was going to be like, he wasn't going to survive it, that was for sure.

"Need some help with that?" a sudden voice from behind him asked, making him jump about three feet in the air.

When he spun around he found himself once more staring at no other than Derek Morgan. Or, to be more precise Derek Morgan's muscular chest considering how close the other had been standing behind him.

Remembering their last meeting and Emily's warning, Spencer quickly stepped back, bringing some space between them- only to have the backs of his legs hit the bench hard and promptly make him lose his balance.

He gasped in the moment he realized he was going to fall until a strong hand wrapped around his thin arm, steadying him. Spencer's head snapped up to stare at Derek, his heart skipping a beat at the unexpected move.

Morgan looked at him with one eyebrow raised, somewhere between amusement and confusion about his behavior. "Easy, kid. I didn't mean to startle you."

Spencer gulped as he stared up at him, acutely aware of Derek's fingers around his arm and the fact that the look he was receiving was much too interested for his tastes. Where had he suddenly come from? And why was he talking to him again?

Warily, he pulled away and surprisingly Derek let go almost immediately, merely frowning briefly.

Just as the first time they'd met he didn't seem overly aggressive despite his size and appearance, but Spencer still had a hard time bringing his pulse back to a near normal level. He had no idea why Derek was trying to talk to him for the second time in only two days but he knew from experience to better be safe than sorry.

"Uhm, sorry?" he squeaked, hating how insecure he sounded. There was no one else in hearing distance, and thankfully Kyle was keeping his distance as well.

Derek, seemingly oblivious to his thoughts, chuckled at his reaction and pointed at his helmet, "You look like you could use some help putting that on."

Spencer blinked in surprise, for a moment literally forgetting how to answer. The last time a jock had ´helped` him he had gotten his hair and face washed in one of the toilets of his old school. He studied Morgan's face carefully in order to determine any ill intent but couldn't seem to find any.

"Uh, no thanks, I'm good." he shook his head anyway, avoiding the other´s gaze to make sure he didn't come off as provoking.

"You sure?" Derek actually bent down, twisting his head so he could look into Spencer's face.

Considering how close he still was, it left their faces only about four inches apart. Dark chocolate eyes assessed him unabashedly as Spencer stood frozen, overcharged with the situation. He had no idea what he was dealing here with. Was he threatening him or actually being friendly? With Derek's eyes that close it was increasingly hard to focus.

"You look nervous," Derek remarked quietly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was well inside Spencer's personal space, his eyes flashing briefly as he asked, "Is that because of P.E. or because of me?"

Spencer felt this heart flip, acutely aware of the bench´s edge digging into this calves in that moment. Before he could say anything though, there was a movement to his side and a moment later Aaron Hotchner was jogging up to them, coming to a halt next to Spencer.

Spencer blinked, confused for a moment. Huh, he hadn't realized Aaron was in their class, too. Well, that would explain where he had come from so fast the other day…

He quickly stole a glance at the older boy who looked just as groomed in his sport outfit as he had in his preppy clothes. He was of about the same built as Morgan but a bit taller so that he was now glowering down on the latter.

"Everything alright here, Spencer?" he asked without taking his eyes off Morgan, whose face quickly darkened as well in annoyance. Apparently those two didn't care much for each other either.

"Yeah, I'm good," he answered a little breathlessly, startled to see both of them suddenly morphing into predators, fixating each other with clenched jaws and hands. He had seen Aaron grow confrontational the day before with Kyle but for some reason he seemed even more on edge now. Derek's face had quickly lost its charming grin, now wearing an expression of barely concealed irritation.

"Something you need, Hotch?"

"The coach decided that we are going to start off with two on twos." Aaron informed them, his voice much smoother than his expression, "Spencer and I are a team."

He raised a provoking eyebrow as he gestured for Morgan to leave them, "I believe you're with Kyle over there."

"Yeah, so does your sister. You ganging up after all or something?" Derek mocked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He was clearly not amused by Aaron´s implication. Not that the latter seemed to care much.

"You´ll find out if you and your friends don't leave us alone." he said, a shade darker than seemed to fit the image Spencer had of him.

In that moment the trainer blew his whistle loudly, ordering all of them into their groups. Derek shot Aaron another dark glare before turning around and walking off.

Spencer looked after him with a weird feeling. After this little incident, he was even somehow even less sure about how to categorize Derek Morgan. He didn't seem happy about being paired up with Kyle, but he obviously didn't like the people around Emily either…

He was distracted when Aaron turned and smiled at him apologetically, "Sorry about that. It looked like he was bothering you."

"Uh, no." Spencer couldn't help but blush in embarrassment, thinking about the pitiful impression Aaron must have of him, "I-he was just talking, I think..."

The older boy pursed his lips at that, clearly not convinced, "Yes, well. Morgan's not one of the people you'll want to spend too much time talking to."

"Because he is in a gang?"

Aaron nodded. "He's just one of those guys who constantly get in trouble, you know? Just ask your dad, he knows him well."

Spencer looked at him with surprise and worry as he pondered the implication. That bad…?

"Don't worry," Aaron smiled reassuringly at his expression, "I'll keep an eye out for you. And so will Emily apparently. She´s like a hawk."

He smirked at his own comment and Spencer couldn't help doing the same. He was beginning to be really glad Aaron had come over to him, whether there really had been a threat or not. Emily´s brother was nice and polite and funny –and athletic as it turned out.

After their brief conversation he proceeded in helping the genius work on his nonexistent technique, actually helping him improve.

Spencer did his best to follow his instructions, once again afraid he would make a complete fool of himself, but Aaron was immensely patient as he demonstrated for him how to move and throw over and over again.

"Here, let me show you." Spencer felt his heart flip when Aaron stepped up close behind him, resting his hands on his arms to direct him in his motions.

It seemed so casual and yet he couldn't quite calm down…He couldn't deny Aaron was really good-looking and he had never been this close to another guy before...

But Aaron wasn't gay, right? No way, he was just being friendly…and Spencer might just screw that up if Aaron noticed anything was odd about his reaction to his touch. The thought made his heart flutter again, this time in near panic. He´d never had any friends before, he couldn't screw that up.

By the time their class was over he felt almost relieved, finally able to breathe normally again once there was some distance between them. After changing into his normal clothes, he was about to thank Aaron for being so friendly and then quickly excuse himself but his new friend seemed to have other plans.

Without hesitating, he steered Spencer towards his car once they reached the parking lot. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."

Spencer hesitated, about to say something stupid like not wanting to be a bother until he remembered that Aaron lived right next to him. He was going to his place anyway.

"What about Emily?" he asked lamely instead, feeling somewhat nervous about them being alone in the car. Luckily, Aaron didn't seem to take note of his odd behavior.

"Oh, she has glee club right now," he explained with a shrug, opening the door for Spencer to get in. After that there was really nothing else to say.

As they drove off the parking lot Spencer did his best to distract himself by trying to image Emily, dressed all in black and looking like a member of the Adams family, doing show tunes. She really was an odd one…

"So are you going to sign up for any clubs, Spencer?" Aaron asked conversationally as he drove.

Spencer shrugged, "I was thinking about joining the Mathletes or the Computer Club. Penelope is in that one, two."

"Yeah, she's pretty good with technology. Last year, she helped the school council creating flyers and a homepage for the prom. You know, if you wanted to you could join the school council, too. We can always use ambitious helpers."

"Uh, I might," Spencer murmured, somehow unable to say the way Aaron was smiling at him encouragingly.

Their conversation remained unsubstantial but pleasant and Spencer found he was glad he had agreed to let Aaron take him home. He had no idea why the older boy would feel the urge to, much less to stand up for him -but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

When they pulled up in front of the house, Spencer was surprised to see his father was standing on the porch. He watched as they both got out, smiling widely when Aaron walked up to him to shake his hand.

"Hello, Aaron. Good to see you." he smiled, "How is school going?"

"Great as always, Jason." Aaron replied politely, shaking the man's hand firmly.

Gideon nodded like he hadn't expected anything else.

"Thanks for bringing Spencer home. It's nice to see he's making such good friends."

"Oh, it's no problem," Aaron assured them, turning to Spencer as he offered, "If you want to you can always ride to school with us, Spencer, it's the same way after all."

"That'd be great, thanks." Jason replied before Spencer could.

Aaron nodded and then excused himself, walking back to his car with a wave, "See you tomorrow then."

They looked after him from the porch as he pulled the car around his house, vanishing from view.

"That Aaron is a really swell guy." Gideon nodded to himself, smiling as he rested a hand on Spencer's shoulder.

Spencer nodded thoughtfully as he let his father usher him into the house, "Yeah, I guess he is."

xxx

And Daddy Gideon approves! What more can one hope for? ^^

He probably won't be too fond of Morgan, but we will get to that soon.

Btw, if you could choose would you rather Derek´s a good guy and just misunderstood, or really a little ´bad´? Probably a mix of both, right? Ha.

Please review!