AN: I know I said I wouldn't update until after the weekend but...the muse woke up and decided to make me write this. It's not long but it explains the new players in this little melodrama we call high school. Because, let's face it...despite how much we want it to, the world doesn't revolve around just us and our friends...others inhabit this world too and I thought I'd introduce the other side of high school life. We started with the popular kids, the jocks, cheerleaders, and a brain here and there. But someone pointed out to me that something was missing...where are the drama geeks? The less than popular kids who most people either ignore or bully? Where are they? Well...here they are. I "borrowed" from a non-SVU/CM show but for the most part the new kids are all from Dick Wolf's world and I don't own them any more than I own the characters I've used so far. Hope it makes some kind of sense. Also, despite how it might sound at times, I actually kinda like the characters I've chosen (with a few exceptions) and I tried to keep them more or less true to their canon-ness. (Is that a word? oh well it is now). Also, before anyone asks, I couldn't come up with a better name for the new kids so I called them the 'Pack" which has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Twilight or anything similar. It's just the only name I could come up with. (Sorry, but not a Twilight fan). Ok that's enough from me...on with the show!

~Acathla

Chapter 8

Emily Prentiss didn't know which of her many past digressions she was being punished for but she knew that, whichever it was, she was paying dearly for it now.

Emily waited with Olivia for Alex's father to pick them up and drop them off at the school so that they could meet up with their friends and that was probably the easiest part of her day. She then had to endure a 30 minute car ride to the fair, sitting next to JJ and not being able to even touch her. Alex and Olivia had commandeered the back seat for the trip, leaving Emily the lovely torture of sitting up front next to JJ.

Emily would've been happy just to hold JJ's hand as she drove or even to be able to make some form of contact with her blond girlfriend but she knew that JJ wouldn't like that. Emily knew that, despite the fact that Alex and Olivia were making out in the back seat and probably weren't even paying any attention to them, it would be too risky to do anything. Alex and Olivia could always take a break at the wrong moment and see something that would give away the big 'secret' that Emily and JJ were more than just friends. So, Emily resigned herself to her own personal hell of being so close to JJ and not being able to touch her.

JJ, despite her outward appearance, was fighting her own urge to reach over and touch Emily. She had no idea how hard it would be to be this close to the dark haired girl and not be able to touch her. JJ focused on the road as a way to distract herself from her thoughts.

JJ's dreams the night before had been decidedly R rated and they'd all starred Emily. For the first time in her life, JJ seriously wished that Alex or Olivia had a car of their own. Maybe then, she'd have Emily all to herself. But she knew that Liv's mom didn't trust her daughter with a car just yet (needing three tries to pass the road test kind of weakens a person's faith in your driving abilities). As for Alex, her parents believed in waiting until you were mature enough to drive (which meant that Alex had to wait until her 18th birthday before her parents would buy her a car). JJ normally didn't mind and actually enjoyed having Alex and Liv in the car with her as they often made her laugh but today-today she really just wanted to be alone with her new girlfriend.

JJ saw the sign for the fair and turned onto the road that led there, glancing in her rearview mirror to see that the others had done the same. She drove for about a half mile before she came upon the parking lot. JJ scoped the lot before she found an area that would accommodate their cars so they could park together.

The car ride had been strangely silent, with only the music from JJ's CDs breaking the silence. JJ knew that anything she wanted to say to Emily would have to wait until they could find a moment alone, and she figured it was the same with Emily...Alex and Liv were too busy making out to talk. JJ was glad that Mark had a birthday party to go to so that she didn't have to bring him with her. Little brothers were only tolerable in small doses in JJ's opinion.

JJ parked the car and turned off the ignition, the music cut off and the silence and lack of movement alerted the girls in the back seat that they were at their destination.

JJ turned to the Emily and smiled, "well, we're here." JJ turned to the back seat, "hey, time to come up for air Liv!" JJ blushed as she realized, two seconds after the words were out, how that sounded.

Olivia looked over at her blond friend and, seeing the deep blush, decided not to tease JJ lest she find herself walking home later. "careful JJ, your naughty side is showing."

JJ just raised her eyebrows and smirked, not saying a word. She then turned to Emily, "C'mon Em, let's leave this old married couple to find their own way to the gate."

JJ opened her door and got out, walking to the other side to open Emily's door. She missed her chance to be gallant when Emily opened it herself and stepped out. "so, this is probably going to be my first fair I think. Any last minute words of advice?" Emily asked the blond, not even noticing when Alex and Olivia and the others got out of their cars and started to gather.

JJ just grinned, "stick with me Prentiss, I'll show you a good time." JJ winked, safe in the knowledge that her friends wouldn't think anything of her actions, they knew JJ liked to flirt, it never led anywhere before.

Olivias eyes widened just a bit before she forced herself to relax. JJ's flirting was a little unexpected after the silence of the car.

Emily's reaction was similar to Liv's but for different reasons. She couldn't believe JJ was flirting with her in front of their friends. Emily recovered quickly though and grinned, "you got a deal JJ." Emily had to control herself because she'd almost called her Jennifer.

JJ smiled, determined to enjoy the day and she looped her arm through Emily's as the gang began walking towards the gate. No one thought anything of it, especially when Garcia did the same thing to Morgan. Everyone knew they were just friends so they assumed it was the same with Emily and JJ. Besides, everyone else was paired off with their boyfriends or girlfriends so it kinda made sense that Emily and JJ would pair off, if for no other reason than to not have to spend the day solo.

Around lunchtime, the gang headed to the snack bar area that was set up with the usual foods: nachos, hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, sodas, candy bars, burgers, fries and of course, ice cream. Everyone got their food and they found two picnic tables side by side and quickly grabbed them. The guys moved the tables closer so they could all sit together and soon everyone was eating and joking and laughing.

It had been a very fun morning. Emily had refused to ride the rollercoaster, admitting she had a problem with heights. JJ hadn't taken the hint that Emily wanted to spend a moment alone with her, so Emily had waited on the ground as the gang rode the ride.

Emily did get on a few of the slightly tamer rides that didn't go high and fast into the air. The gang teased her at first but when they realized it was a serious phobia for their friend they stopped. The guys had played the games of chance, attempting to win their girlfriends a stuffed animal.

Emily had actually blushed when JJ stepped up to the shooting gallery game and walked away with the biggest teddy bear they had, and she presented it to Emily with a shrug to downplay what she'd done. But Emily had seen the look in JJ's eyes at that moment and she knew that JJ was, in her own way, quietly telling the gang they were together-even if the others didn't get it.

Emily graciously accepted the gift and promised herself she'd thank JJ properly the first chance they had to be alone.

Now, they were all together having lunch and just laughing and joking around. It was a fun atmosphere and Emily was happy to be surrounded by this group of friends who had accepted her so easily.

After a few moments, Emily glanced up at the sound of foreign laughter and she saw a group of kids who looked to be their own ages. Emily looked at them for a bit, noticing that they were all together and seemed to be having a good time. Emily also noticed that most of them were paired off, in a similar fashion to her own group of friends. Emily was intrigued, she turned to Morgan who was sitting on her left (JJ was on her right) and she nudged his arm. When she had his attention she discreetly motioned to the other kids and asked, "do you know them?"

Morgan glanced at the kids Emily had indicated and what he saw wiped the smile right off his face.

Emily saw the darkening of Morgan's face and she leaned back a bit. Morgan noticed and worked to clear his expression, not wanting to scare his friend. "yeah...I know them." Morgan turned and caught Elliot's eyes then motioned to the group. "Check it out yo."

Elliot turned to look where Morgan motioned and before long the whole gang turned, discreetly, to see who was being scoped out. When they saw who it was, they all sighed. The guys groaned briefly and the girls just rolled their eyes.

Emily, confused by the reaction turned to JJ, "what'd I miss? Who are they?"

JJ looked at Emily, wondering how to explain about...the 'Pack'. Before JJ could say anything though, Garcia stepped in, seeing the hesitation in her friend's eyes. Garcia decided she might as well be the storyteller here.

"Emily, that's the 'pack'."

"The Pack?"

"Yeah, they are always together."

"Do they go to our school?" Emily asked, confused because she'd never seen any of them around campus.

"Oh yeah, they go to our school. They're all seniors."

"How come I've been here over a month and haven't seen them around?"

Garcia sighed and looked at the group, but they had all leaned back a bit, letting Garcia be the one to explain. "Probably because they mostly hang out in the school's auditorium. They are mostly drama geeks. Well, except for..." Garcia pointed to three guys who were fairly handsome and somewhat solidly built, "Jim Steele, Trevor Langan and Ryan O'Halloran, who are also on the football team with the guys-"

"Come on Baby Girl, don't mislead the girl." Morgan cut in, turning to look at Emily, "those lightweights are second string, they almost never see any field time. They only go in if one of us gets hurt."

Emily nodded.

Garcia continued, "anyway..." She pointed at the girls with Jim and Trevor, "that's Jo Marlowe with Jim, they're dating though it's almost common knowledge that Jo would love to get her hooks into Elliot here." Garcia grinned at that, especially when Kathy reacted by tightening her hold on Elliot's arm.

"Well tough luck cuz he's mine, right stud?" Kathy said looking up at Elliot.

Elliot grinned, "damn right baby." Elliot and Kathy shared a sweet kiss before the focus shifted back to Garcia and her narrative introduction of the pack.

"Jim's been carrying a torch for Alex though, since the 7th grade when they were partnered up for a science project," Garcia turned to Alex, "didn't you even go to a dance with him one time?"

Alex grimaced as she said,"what can I say I was young and stupid."

Garcia just grinned as she continued, " well, moving on, that bitchy looking brunette with Trevor there is his girlfriend Lizzie Olivet. Everyone knows that Lizzie has a thing for Brian here. But Trevor isn't any better..." Garcia paused a moment as Brian and Casey snuggled closer. Garcia's revelations weren't news to them but they tended to ignore the pack and their crushes. "he only started dating Lizzie in freshman year because she was on the soccer team then with JJ here. Trevor's got it in his head that JJ is supposed to be his and that if she would just give him one chance, she'd see he was right. Poor boy."

"That 'poor boy' Garcia is delusional." JJ said, wanting to make sure Emily didn't go getting any ideas about her and Trevor. "the only thing he's not convinced of is that I am gay and therefore not interested. You all were there BOTH TIMES I had to confirm the rumors." JJ sighed in frustration, "as for Lizzie, she sucked at soccer, so when she quit the team mid-season we were all happy."

Emily blinked, she'd never heard JJ talk about anyone with such...venom in her voice. JJ saw Emily's reaction and toned down her voice, "I'm sorry I just...it was hard enough coming out last year without having some ignorant guy in my face begging me to reconsider."

Olivia cut in before JJ could really get going. "Yeah, sorry JJ. But that's the price you pay for being so hot."

JJ reacted by sticking her tongue out at Liv. The tension broke and the gang laughed a moment before Emily turned to Garcia, "Ok, so since you've obviously been elected the storyteller here, who are the rest?"

Garcia glanced over and, satisfied that the 'pack' weren't paying them any attention, despite being a good enough distance to make eavesdropping impossible, she continued, "That's Ryan O'Halloran, he's the back up kicker on the team but mostly he helps build sets for Mrs. Hotchners plays. He's single. That short, blonde geeky-looking guy is Dale Stuckey. He's a weird one. No one but the pack can even stand him for more than five minutes at a time." Garcia looked at Olivia with a twinkle in her eyes, "he's had a thing for Olivia since freshman year when she made the mistake of saying hi to him and smiling. He took it to mean she liked him and he practically stalked her for the rest of the year, right Liv?"

Olivia rolled her eyes, "ug, don't remind me. Creepy little pest." Olivia shuddered, mostly as an exaggeration but partly in real reaction.

Garcia giggled, Alex hugged Olivia tighter and the others just giggled. "Anyway, um...the last guy on the end there is Ruben Morales. He's not that bad, he's on the debate team, but that's mostly so he can be near Jordan. He's dating Monique Jefferies though, that girl on his lap."

Olivia saw this as her chance to get a dig in and at the same time maybe nudge Morgan and Garcia together, "arent you forgetting the part about Monique having the hots for Morgan? I'm surprised she hasn't made a move yet, since he's single."

Morgan covered his face, knowing he'd have to reveal something he'd hoped he wouldn't have to...ever. Garcia bit her lip to stop herself from screaming that Morgan was extremely NOT single. But she stopped herself in time and just turned to Morgan for reassurance, what she saw made her stop in her tracks. Garcia narrowed her eyes at Morgan but said nothing.

Olivia saw the look on Garcia's face and Morgan's hands hiding his and she jumped on it, "Morgan, something you'd like to share with the class there?"

Morgan slowly looked up and with a pained expression said, "not really but here goes. Monique already made a move...I turned her down." Morgan's tone suggested the topic was closed and his friends knew enough to respect that.

Garcia hoped he'd said no to the skank because he was happy with her but wondered if that was the real reason. She couldn't ask him in front of their friends but she made a mental note to ask when he dropped her at home.

For now, Garcia went about finishing her 'introduction'. "ok, good to know you have a brain in there Morgan. Anyway, Emily, that's all the guys, and most of the girls. The only ones left are those two, the blond is Dani Beck, she moved here sophomore year from like, Denmark or something. The brunette is Rebecca Hendrix...both parents are shrinks so you know she's gotta be messed up. Just kidding. Anyway, everyone knows that Dani and Becca are friends with benefits...because everyone also knows that Becca would give her right arm for a chance with Olivia. As for Dani, no one knows who she really wants but she seems to be willing to play around with Becca for now. That's all of them."

Emily took it all in while she studied the other group of kids. She wondered why some people would bother to start a relationship with one person when they really want someone else. Even if they had no shot at who they really wanted, it seemed highly unfair to both parties involved to engage in such a charade.

The gang went back to their earlier conversations, satisfied that the topic of the pack was closed. JJ noticed Emily's silence and when she followed her gaze she saw Emily's eyes lingering on Jo Marlowe.

JJ felt the white hot flare of jealousy spring to life inside her as she watched her girlfriend's eyes track Jo's every move as the other girl stood up to throw away the trash from her lunch.

Emily watched Jo, but not because she was interested, she watched her because in many ways, she reminded her of someone she left behind in Rome. Jo looked scarily similar to Gina and Emily couldn't get over the likeness. Emily was suddenly flooded with memories of Rome, of Gina, of their time together.

Almost three years later and Gina still had a hold over her. Emily shook her head to clear it of thoughts of her ex-girlfriend. She turned to look at JJ and noticed that her current girlfriend was staring at her with a look that was unmistakably jealousy. Before Emily could say anything though, JJ stood up and announced she had to use the bathroom.

JJ walked away from the group and headed for the restrooms, hoping Emily would take the hint and follow her, and also kind of hoping she wouldn't, at least until some of her anger burned away. JJ didn't even know why she was angry, except that seeing Emily looking at another girl like that had sparked anger in the usually calm blond.

Emily took the hint but waited a few moments before she too stood up and headed to the restrooms.

The gang exchanged looks but they just shrugged and kept talking, deciding that if it was anything serious, they'd know soon enough.

TBC...

AN: There it is...the "Pack" has been introduced. I did this now mostly because the Pack will be entering Emily's world through the Grease auditions & production. So I thought it would help to have a tiny bit of backstory for them now.

For those who don't know:

Jim Steele is from the short-lived show Conviction (Dick wolf show) where he worked under Alex who was Bureau Chief. He had a thing for her on the show and they had desk sex in one ep that I keep trying to delete from my memory.

Ryan, Ruben & Dale are crime scene techs featured on the show. Ruben is the TARU guy. Ryan was killed by Dale in the season 10 finale where Dale also got to kiss Olivia. (another delete moment).

Trevor Langan is a defense attorney who dated Alex ONE TIME that we know of.

Rebecca & Lizzie (Elizabeth Olivet) are both shrinks used on the show. Sorry but I couldn't think of something for Huang but fret not, I will.

Dani & Monique are cops who worked SVU at one time or another. Monique in season 1 and Dani while Mariska was on Maternity leave.

Jo Marlowe was played (wonderfully) by Sharon Stone in the last 4 eps of season 11. It was obvious (to me at least) that Jo was into Stabler...so I put that here.

Gina from Rome is ALL MINE! The "Rome Incident" now has a name attached. Gina played a role in the incident which I won't reveal the nature of for a little while longer.

Enjoy the new chapter and this time I mean it...no updates until after the 4th!

Have a great weekend!

~Acathla