Childish| Criminal Minds

11

Three months pass by and the seasons change. The leaves are starting to grow back on all the trees, and the cool breeze is getting warmer. February is overall a very strange month for Virginia weather.

Over the past few months JJ has been slowly starting to feel better. She still misses Roslyn everyday, but it's getting easier to accept that she's gone.

Penelope's boyfriend wanted to take their relationship to the next level. Penelope wasn't ready for that, so she broke up with him. She feels a little more free now.

Aaron and Haley have been having some arguments lately. She thinks Aaron is spending too much time with Emily; that he's starting to grow feelings for her.

Emily and JJ discovered something wonderful. There's a spot behind the bleachers by the football field that's covered in trees that nobody really goes into. They found a small shed out in the trees that nobody used.

The two of them had brought blankets to school in their backpacks and made the shed feel fairly homey. There's a string of star lights on the ceiling and a bundle of blankets in the corner. The shed isn't much, but it's a fun place to hang out away from the rest of the school.

Emily is just finishing her ten minute walk from the cafeteria to the shed, her lunch tray in hand. She pushes open the door to the shed with her elbow and sees JJ on her phone. There's a snack box in the corner full of sodas and fruit snacks that Emily takes a soda from.

"Any word from Spence?" Emily asks.

"Not yet," JJ sighs. "I'm texting him right now but he hasn't texted me back."

"You just need to give him some time," Emily says. Time. JJ's thumbs hover over the screen.

That was the last thing Roslyn had said to her. When she and Spencer were having that argument.. She said that he needed time and space.

"Time from what?" JJ asks. "He hasn't been at school in a week. He could be dead for all we know."

"I'm calling Aaron," Emily says. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and calls Aaron Hotchner.

"Emily?"

"Meet us at The Shed and take Derek and Penelope with you."

Aaron hangs up the call. Spencer originally told JJ he would be gone for a few days. JJ assumed that meant two or three, but a whole week with hearing nothing from their friend is a bad sign.

When everyone gets to The Shed, Emily and JJ don't waste any time.

"What do we do?" Emily asks.

"What did he tell you guys before he left?"

"He said it was something about his mom," JJ says. "That's it."

"Is she sick?" Penelope asks.

"I'm not sure," JJ says. "He hasn't really talked about her."

"I think we should go check on him," Derek says.

"I second that," Aaron mumbles, but JJ shakes her head.

"Listen, if we care about him we should respect his privacy. We all know what happened last time." JJ says, thinking back to the time she stole that notecard from his locker.

Emily feels her phone buzz and scrambles to turn it on. "He texted me!"

"What does it say?"

"I'm fine. Please stop messaging me. I'll be back Monday," Emily reads. JJ bites her lip.

"He's not fine," Penelope says. "But at least he wasn't kidnapped."

"I guess we'll see him Monday?" Derek asks. He takes a soda from the box and cracks it open.

Spencer Reid has never seen as much stress in his life as he has in the past month. His mom's schizophrenic episodes are getting worse, and fast. Spencer assumes it's her medication, but she's refusing to get a new prescription.

The only thing on his mind is making sure she doesn't hurt herself. Spencer is extremely annoyed when his phone won't stop buzzing. He angrily texts Emily back a passive-aggressive response and turns off his phone, leaving it on the table.

They don't need to know about his mom. They'll get freaked out and leave him, like everyone always does. Nobody wants a friend with a psychotic mother. No one.

A/N: I'm really curious, who do you guys ship in this story?

Word count: 718