Tangled Up in You (The Story of Us Book 2)

Chapter 31- Redecoration

About a month after the lecture at the college, Amanda's house was finally done with the renovations and it was time to paint. Lacey had come back into town to visit and Amanda had roped her, James, and Tyler into helping along with the BAU. Since Spencer and Amy spent practically every night together, he was the first person to arrive the day they had decided to paint along with the blonde herself who brought the painting stuff as well. James and Tyler came about an hour later with Lacey arriving a half-hour after them.

This is how they find themselves with James and Tyler painting the wall next to the sliding glass doors of the living room as Amanda and Spencer paint the wall next to that one and Lacey sits on a plastic-covered sofa eating one of those already made ice cream cones. Every once in a while, she'll get up and head over to Amanda to let her get a bite until finally, Spencer speaks up. "Why doesn't Lacey have to help?"

James stops painting. "Yeah. How's come we have to paint while she gets to sit around eating?"

"I have to make sure that Amanda eats. She forgets when she's focused on something," Lacey defends sharing a look with Amanda who nods emphatically at her words before they both burst into giggles.

"Oh, laugh it up," Spencer says darkly before using his paint roller to roll over Amanda's shirt. She gasps at the feeling before turning around to shoot him a glare before laughing.

"As much as I hated that feeling, this is your shirt, dumbass." Spencer frowns before realizing that she's in fact right and it was his button-up that she had taken. While he ponders this, Amanda uses her roller to roll a stripe on his shirt as well, making him gasp. "And now you've ruined two shirts," she taunts, dipping her roller in more paint before going back to work.

"Oh, we're having a paint fight?!" Lacey exclaims, grabbing a paintbrush and brushing paint onto James's back. He attempts to retaliate but flinging paint at her but it gets on Tyler instead. Tyler goes to get him back but all James had to do is take off his shirt and all of a sudden the paint in his hair is forgotten by Tyler. Amanda looks over at them and scoff.

"You two are ridiculous. Tyler, stop staring at your boyfriend and paint. Lacey, we aren't having a paint fight and since you're already holding a paintbrush, you can help paint." Spencer snorts out a laugh as Lacey's eyes go comically wide before she looks down at the paintbrush in her fist and then curses as she stalks over to the wall to begin painting. The five friends talk about trivial things until they finally finish the living room which is when the door opens. They hear multiple sets of footsteps heading towards them.

Finally, Morgan, Garcia, and Emily walk through. Derek takes one look around and laughs. "What the hell happened here?" They all look down at themselves, taking in their appearances before bursting out with a laugh.

"Spencer started it," Lacey tells him with a flirty smile that makes Amanda roll her eyes and nudge her.

"Spencer's still wearing a shirt," Emily points out, looking at James in confusion.

"I was trying to get paint on Lacey and it got on Tyler. I had to distract him," he explains and Emily looks at Amanda with eyebrows raised and the two friends share a laugh at the ridiculousness of James's answer before Amanda clears her throat.

"Well, we've finished the living room but there's like 50 rooms just on this floor so we should probably split up."

"Where's Hotch and Rossi? How'd they get out of it?" Morgan wonders.

"Aaron's coming. He and Kristen have to drop Jack off with Haley and Jessica and then they'll be over here. She didn't tell him though because of the whole ghost thing."