𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄- 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐃

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃. She could feel the eyes of Spencer's teammates pinned on her, but she was mainly focused on Mallory Hale. How the fuck had she recognized her after all those years? Alana liked to think she looked much different now than she did at seventeen, but there were ultimately some things about her that stayed the same. Like her eyes. 

"What's the deal with you and the boy wonder?" Penelope Garcia questioned, perching herself on the edge of Spencer's desk. The rest of the BAU, save for Mallory (who, again, was a media liaison) and Penelope (tech analyst) were all gathered in the conference room discussing the case. Alana, on the other hand, was plotting a way to escape this place so she could lure Isaac to her. A small part of her was annoyed with Spencer for trying to keep her from him, even if she knew that deep down, he was only trying to protect her. Spencer had left Alana alone at his desk, and being somewhat nosy, she'd found herself snooping. 

He didn't have much on his desk besides a framed photo and a stack of books, which Alana thoroughly examined. A few of the titles she recognized, and nearly snorted because of how pretentious they were. Although, if Alana was familiar with the texts, then she supposed that made her pretentious as well. 

"Boy wonder?" Alana mused, trying to avoid eye contact with Penelope. Not because she had something to hide, but because her personality was so similar to Evangeline's that it was jarring. "We've gone out a few times, but it's nothing serious." Yet, Alana felt like adding, but didn't. 

"Right," Penelope agreed. "He seems to really like you."

"I really like him, too," Alana admitted, shocked to hear herself admit it willingly. She wasn't used to outwardly expressing her thoughts and feelings. She guarded her thoughts and kept them in a small box in the back of her mind.

"Good," Penelope declared, a smug grin on her face. "Because I will see to it that your life feels like a living hell if you hurt our boy genius." Alana raised her eyebrows in shock, and heard a loud cough from behind her, to see Mallory with a perplexed expression on her face. 

"Leave her alone, Garcia," Mallory said calmly, eyes pinned on Alana. "I'm sure Alana has been treating him well enough. He's got a damn smile on his face every time he glances at his cellphone." She rolled her eyes, then added, "He makes me sick."

"Has he?" Alana mused, raising her eyebrows. "Glad to know I've had such a tremendous effect on him."

"Who would have thought?" Mallory chuckled dryly, a teasing grin on her face. "How exactly did you and Spencer meet again?" Alana recognized the look in her eyes, and she knew Mallory was prying for information. She wanted to find out if Alana was lying about something. If Rhiannon found out that Alana had not only seen Mallory, but spoken to her, she'd lose her mind. 

"At a coffee shop," Alana explained. "Except it was Derek who tried to pick me up first," she admitted. 

"Not many women turn him down," Penelope chuckled, glancing at him through the glass window that looked into the conference room. "I sure as hell wouldn't. I mean, just look at him," her eyes widened slightly, and Penelope spun a pen around her fingers as she examined him from afar. "Oh, I'm being summoned," she sighed, noticing the way that her boss- Aaron Hotchner, as Spencer had introduced him- was waving Garcia into the room. 

"They do that a lot," Mallory explained. "Flirt with each other, I mean," she finished. Alana folded her lips inward and nodded slowly. "When I first came to work here, I couldn't be around Penelope," she told Alana. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to confide in her. "She reminded me of someone I left behind when I was a kid. I could barely stand to look her in the eyes," she elaborated.