MANIA| Criminal Minds

5

"Long drive could end in burning flames or paradise."

5: Tired Eyes

"Hey, Mom. Dad."

Cat smiles at her mother and glares at her father before grabbing Spencer by the hand and dragging him upstairs. 

"So... what exactly is the plan again?" Spencer asks.

"We're finding my stash and ditching to the river. I heard tripping there is fun."

"Heard? You haven't done this shit yet?" Spencer says. He can confidently say this is the first time he's been nervous about one of Cat's ideas since he first took edibles with her. Well, the edibles ended up fine. What's the worst that can happen now?

Cat pulls a vinyl record off of her wall- something by Lorde- and a small baggie falls from a sleeve of the gatefold.

"Here we are. Let's go meet the others."

A soft knock comes from Cat's open doorway.

"Cat, who's this?" Cat's mom asks, gesturing to Spencer.

"My boyfriend," Cat deadpans, quickly shoving the baggie in her purse. "We're going out. We'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

Spencer stands there in a confused silence, giving Cat a strange look before her mom smiles weakly. "Be safe, okay? Don't stay out too late."

"Like I said, we'll be back tomorrow. I'm taking the car."

Cat and Spencer walk down the stairs and she grabs the car keys from the shelf.

As soon as the door shuts behind them, Spencer grabs Cat's arm and pulls her to face him. "You don't think we're dating, do you?"

"No, dumbass. My mom and dad are starting to catch on that something is going on between me and Lindsey. Don't worry, I know with us it's just sex."

Spencer's mouth hangs open as he considers saying something.

"Now do you want shotgun, or do you want me to demote you to Uber passenger?"

He slides into the passenger seat of the car and leans his head against the window. It's been almost a week since he's had proper sleep.

"Hey," Cat snaps as they pull out of the driveway. "You aren't pussying out of this, right? It was your idea after all."

"I don't even know what it is I'd be pussying out of," Spencer croaks tiredly. "Is it pills?"

"Acid," Cat replies. She dials Lindsey and puts her phone on speaker. "We got it, Lindsey."

"You did? I thought your parents were home."

"My mom is a coward and my dad is a piece of shit. They didn't care to notice I was high. But yes, I got it."

Cat reveals the small ziplock, tossing it on the dash board. It has several foil-wrapped tabs of what Spencer now knows is LSD.

"Luke has to dog-sit so we're gonna go to his neighbor's and smoke there."

Cat groans. "I knew you guys were pussies," she mumbles. "I'll call you when the drugs wear off."

She ends the call angrily.

"I haven't tried these before, but I know you need to be in a good head space," Cat says, taking a deep breath. Her driving is only slightly erratic; better than what one would expect from a girl who smoked two joints only a half-hour ago. "Or you'll have a bad trip. So you're feeling okay, right?"

That sounds awfully considerate coming from Cat, but Spencer knows it's just because she doesn't want her trip ruined.

"Spencie?" Cat repeats. She looks at Spencer with blood-shot eyes and messy hair. I refuse to believe your parents don't know.

"Yep. I'm super," Spencer deadpans before cracking a smile.

Cat swerves the car dangerously to the side of the road before putting it in park. "We're here."

-

"Is Spencer home?" JJ asks Diana.

"He hasn't been home in a few days. He's out with some friends. Do you girls want to come in for some coffee?"

JJ and Emily look at each other for a moment before JJ replies, "Sure."

"You can go sit down and keep yourselves occupied while I get it brewing."

JJ leads Emily to Spence's room and flicks on the light.

His room looks more or less the same as it did the last time JJ saw it. "Spencer's mom seems to be doing better," Emily comments.

"Exactly- which means whatever is going on isn't his home life," JJ spouts as she begins rummaging through drawers.

"JJ!" Emily quietly shouts, pulling her away and sitting her down on Spencer's bed. "Look, I don't know what the hell you think is going on, but this is invading his privacy. If something is wrong, he'll tell us when he's ready. Okay?"

JJ sighs. "You're right, Em. I'm just really worried about him."

"I know. But this isn't going to help him. We still have tomorrow, and we can stay in Virginia longer if we need to. I promise it'll be okay. Let's have coffee with Spencer's mom and spend some time with the rest of the group, okay?"

"Okay."

a/n: ily all <3