Yes delayed chapter. Broke my hand a while back and have been in too much pain lately to really want to write. But here be chapter 11!

Aiming for the top

Chapter eleven

The manager

Spencer felt like he should be nervous. The nerves of the other three were obvious after all. The guitarist wasn't all that nervous; he felt excitement more than anything else. He assumed this had to do with the fact that Aaron was in the room. Ever since their date Spencer had felt much calmer and able to handle social situations, that in the past would've made him a nervous wreck, much better whenever Aaron was close. For once in his life Spencer was very happy.

"Has anyone even mentioned the name of this manager-person Hotch?" Emily asked with a shaky voice.

"Not as far as I've picked up. Spence? Have we been told about the name of this person?"

"If we have I haven't heard about it" he replied.

Their short conversation was followed by silence, no one feeling up to doing much talking. They had worked hard with a few of their songs as they had been told by the people in charge of the competition that whoever was to be their manager needed to know what else to expect. The only original songs anyone had ever heard from them was the two songs they played at the competition.

A soft knock on the door interrupted the nervous silence in the room, causing Emily and Spencer to jump slightly in surprise. They all went over to the door and Derek was the one to open.

"Hello everyone!" a blond woman said with a smile. "I have been looking forward to meeting all of you ever since I saw you perform" she added.

"Welcome" Aaron said. Spencer could tell the singer was nervous, if not he would have given the woman more than a one-word response.

"Hello. I'm Spencer Reid, Guitar. This is Derek Morgan; drums, Emily Prentiss; bass and Aaron Hotchner, or Hotch; vocals" Spencer said when no one else spoke while showing her the way to the small table in the room.

"Nice to meet you" she said when everyone had taken a seat at the table. "As you've most likely guessed I saw you guys performing and thought you were absolutely brilliant. Therefore I decided I'd like to help you guys getting your careers started. My name is Jennifer Jereau, or JJ as I prefer to be called. I have worked with several bands and musicians in the past and helped more than one of these getting some sort of break in their careers. My hope is that I'll be able to do the same with you."

At this point Aaron and the others had managed to recover and introduced themselves properly with handshakes. As usual Spencer did not offer his own hand with the usual explanation that the number of pathogens passed during a handshake is staggering, and that it's safer to kiss. This caused JJ to give him a strange look, Emily and Aaron to chuckle and Derek to laugh loudly.

"You'll get used to Pretty Boy and his quirks, don't worry" the drummer said to the blonde when he calmed down.

"You know, I look forward too getting to know you guys" she replied with a smile. She followed by explaining what she had planned for them to be working on. This started by recording a demo or two, which she in turn would hand to important people or companies in the industry, like radio stations. When this was done she would speak to other musicians and mangers she knew in attempt of getting them a supporting act to different performances. She also demanded the band were to put up a real website were the demos would be posted along with information about all of them.

"Gives Baby Girl something to do. She has been wanting to help us out with whatever she can" Derek said after a few moments of silence while they processed what the manager expected from them. "A friend of ours, Penelope Garcia, nothing less than a goddess when it comes to all things technological" he added as a way of an explanation to the blondes confused look.

"Ah, good to hear you know someone to help you. I was going to ask if anyone of you are decent working computers and would be able you put up a website. If not I would've asked a friend of mine to help, but this saves me the trouble. It really is better to have someone who knows you create the website."

"Should I give Pen a call?" Spencer asked.

"Yes, please do. After that I'd like to hear you play a few original songs. No need to play the ones you performed, I have those fresh in mind. Also, you don't need to worry about the songs or music being perfect, I mostly just want to see what else you've got."

Spencer and the others nodded in response and Derek followed by checking his drums was set properly.

While watching the drummer Spencer picked up his phone and called Penelope.

"Why hello there young genius of mine! How can the oh so fabulous tech-goddess be of service today?" Penelope greeted him happily.

"Hi Pen. I'll get straight to the point. You know we had the meeting with the manager today, right?"

"Yes, but it should be happening right now yes? Or did something happen? Tell me!"

"Oh, everything is just fine Pen. Everything's going well so far. The reason I called is because she wants us to put up a website for the band. It's obvious you would be the best for this job. Would you help us?"

"Oooh, yes ofcourse! I'd love to help you! Do you guys have any specific wishes or can I do as I wish?"

"Ehm, I'm not sure? Wait. You should talk to Aaron. Yes, that's probably for the best. I am handing the phone to him. Thank you Pen, I'll call you later" he said before handing the phone to Aaron, who accepted it with a raised eyebrow.

"She will help" the guitarist said to JJ, Derek and Emily. "She sounded really excited about it actually, and started asking all these questions about the look of the website. I gave the phone to Aaron."

"Yes, thank you very much for that Spencer" he heard Aaron voice from where the singer was standing behind him. "I don't know about creating websites, so why you thought I would be more inclined to be able to answer her questions I don't know" the singer added with a slight smirk.

"What did you tell her Hotch?" Emily asked.

"I quickly decided it would be best if she gets to do what she wants. She will put something together and show us later."

"You have to admit though, Hotch, that our technophobe over there would have made far worse decisions regarding the design than you would."

Aaron only shrugged at this and gave Spencer a quick glance and a small smile. They had yet to tell Derek and Emily about their date and the fact that they were in a relationship. The reason for this was that Spencer felt hesitant to do so as they were to meet a manager, and Spencer wanted to be able to act professional. He feared that ha would be less inclined to do so if everyone knew about them. Besides, they were only just starting out.

Aaron had been watching Spencer out of the corner of his eyes all through the meeting with JJ. Even though they had decided not to tell the others yet he felt like he couldn't help it. He had spoken to Haley a few times since their date and had come to the realization that he was in love with Spencer.

Spencer had taken a leading role during the beginning of the meeting; something that Aaron suspected surprised them all. The young genius was known for his slight lacking of social skills. He had felt something stirring in his chest at this and soon he realized it was pride. He was proud of the fact that Spencer had managed to push through his awkwardness and make a good first impression when the rest of them failed to do so.

The manager, JJ, seemed nice enough. She had a well thought out plan of action and it was reasonable Aaron thought. The nervousness he had felt at first was still present, but controllable. They were just about to play a few of their songs for her. After surprisingly few disagreements they had decided on three songs to play.

The disagreements had been about whether or not to perform a ballad. Derek was against the idea since none of the ballads they had involved him playing much, if at all, and he wanted to have as many possibilities as possible to show his skills. Emily and Aaron both thought that by performing a ballad they would be able to show the range of their music. Spencer had claimed he didn't really care which way, he understood both points of view. The guitarist didn't really know what to expect from the meeting with the manager and since he didn't know this he didn't want to draw any conclusions about whether or not the manager would want to hear a ballad.

They had eventually managed to agree on playing a song not quite a ballad but still not their usual up-beat type of songs. After playing the first two songs JJ had a satisfied smile on her face. Now they were to play the not-quite ballad. The song was called 'Standin' on The Verge'.

Spencer began playing and after a few moments Aaron sang.

I don't know what you've been going through
It's been great I surely will miss you
But I don't need no sympathy from you
It's so frightening when dreams do come true

Standin' on the verge of insanity
Standin' on the edge of being free
Standin' on the verge
Standin' on the verge
Standin' on the edge of being...

At this point Derek and Emily joined with the drums and the speed of the song picking up slightly.

I believe I said it twice to you
I confess I can't remember what's true
Out of sight, out of mind that won't happen to me n' you
Same old situation Sad but true

Standin' on the verge of insanity
Standin' on the edge of being free
Standin' on the verge
Standin' on the verge
Standin' on the edge of being free

This was the part of the song for Spencer to shine with his incredible skills. Aaron was, as always mesmerized by the young guitarist when he was playing. The graceful elegance was intoxicating when the guitarist was this focused on his playing.

Yeah, I need someone
Need another soul
Restless, hopeful and a heart of gold
Yeah, I need someone
Need another soul
Restless, hopeful and a heart of gold

Standin'
Standin'
I'm standin' at the end of the road
Standin'
Standin'
I'm standin' at the end of the road

Standin' on the verge of insanity
Standin' on the edge of being free
Standin' on the verge
Standin' on the verge
Standin' on the edge of being free

A few moments of silence followed, everyone waiting for JJ to say something.

"Well… I'm quite pleased you decided to show me more than your usual songs with a quick tempo. Very enjoyable. Yes, I've made the right decision working with you guys."

At her words Aaron felt himself relax slightly for the first time that day. Derek and Emily appeared to be equally relieved and Spencer beamed at the blonde woman.

"I would like you to select four or five of your songs to make demo-recordings of. I would also like one of them those songs to be a ballad. It's always good to be able to show your range while trying to promote yourselves" JJ added.

"Told you we should've played a ballad" Emily teased Derek.

"Hey! She said she was pleased! And I don't get to play much during the slower songs and I wanted to show what I'm made of!"

"You wanted to show her that you're a thick-headed baboon waving two sticks?" Spencer said to no ones surprise. The pair had a tendency towards friendly banter.

"A thick-headed baboon without whom the music wouldn't even be decent" Derek shot back.

"Maybe we should hire an actual baboon? At least it wouldn't talk back" said the guitarist.

"Oh, you are so dead now kid!" Witch that the both of them were running around, Derek trying to get a hold of Spencer and Spencer trying to dodge the drummer.

"So, ehm, welcome to the management of Wicked Spirit" Emily said to JJ, causing the blonde to laugh.

"Do the two of them always do… well, that?"

"Well, they tend to not to act this way among others, but yes" Aaron chuckled. "Somehow, despite their many differences, the two of them have become great friends."

"It was annoying at first" the bass player said. "But you get used to it quickly. I guess it's good that Spencer is this relaxed around you; he can have trouble with social situations from time to time. Unless this behavior scares you away?" she added with a hint of uncertainty.

"No worries, I don't scare easily. I do however have to go. I suggest you work on the website while I arrange for you to do some recordings."

"Hey children!" Emily yelled causing the drummer and guitarist to come to an instant stop. "JJ's leaving!"

The drummer stopped his pursuit of the guitarist and called out a good bye to her while Spencer waved. As she left Aaron heard her laughing softly. She seemed like a good addition to their group and he looked forward to working with her.

For the first time in years Aaron felt like everything was working out for him.

And JJ's thrown into the mix! Spencer's a bit OOC in this chapter, I know.

The song mentioned in this chapter is called 'Standin' on the Verge' and is performed by a band called Hardcore Superstar. Brilliant song, great band. So yeah, no own the song.