Childish| Criminal Minds

14

Cat Adams inviting Spencer to her house is really just the thing he needs to distract himself from his disastrous home-life. She's even offered to give him a ride.

Part of Spencer is wondering why Cat is being so nice to him. Just the other day he was ignoring her, but she's acting like nothing ever happened.

Cat's house looks exactly like it did months before, minus the mess and hundreds of drunk teenagers. Spencer seems a little anxious; something about being alone with Cat just feels... reckless.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Cat asks. She gestures to a glass pantry. Spencer awkwardly shakes his head.

"I'm alright, thanks though."

Cat grabs a bottle of vodka and two glasses, gesturing for Spencer to follow her upstairs. He can't help but marvel at how big Cat's house is. The living room and kitchen by themselves are probably bigger than his whole house.

When Cat pushes open the door to her room, Spencer couldn't be less surprised. The light-pink walls have paintings and posters all over them. There's a stationary next to the bed, which could probably fit three people Spencer's size.

Cat sits on the side of her bed and sets the glasses down on her nightstand. All of the furniture in her room matches to the exact shade; it's almost infuriating.

"So.. Why don't you tell me about your mom?"

Spencer's taken aback. He hasn't even been in her house for ten minutes and she's already talking about his mother?

"I told you, there's nothing to talk about. She had the flu. I was taking care of her."

"You know, my whole life I've been learning to spot lies from my father," Cat says as she pours the liquor into her cup. "And you know what? He's a much better liar than you."

Spencer almost gives in. Why is he even hiding it, anyway? They'll find out. They always do.

"There's a little more to it."

"It's a mental illness then, isn't it? Is she like, psycho or something?"

Spencer gets up and starts walking out of Cat's room, but she grabs his arm, and rather forcefully. "Spill it," she demands in a monotone voice. "And you better make it good."

Cat pulls Spencer back down to his seat on the bed. He takes the vodka bottle from her and pours most of it into his cup, taking a drink.

-

"It just feels wrong without Spence," JJ says. "He's always at our sleepovers."

"He's probably just busy."

"Busy? Have you met him, Aaron?" JJ asks. Emily and Aaron have been noticeably a little closer, lately. Their suspension has been up for two days now, and thankfully their parents haven't a clue.

"It's a possibility," Emily shrugs.

"He's ignoring me on purpose," JJ groans. "You wanna know how I know? He doesn't know how to turn off read receipts."

"Ouch," Derek chimes in. Penelope gently elbows him.

"Let's just watch a few movies and pretend everything is fine, okay? If he still hasn't texted us back tomorrow morning? Then we'll worry," Aaron suggests.

JJ reluctantly nods.

Meanwhile at Cat' house, Spencer is actually opening up to someone about his mother for the first time. "So that's why you didn't go to school?" Cat asks. "Your mom has schizophrenia?"

"She thought every small noise the house made was somebody coming to kill her," Spencer says. "I had to make sure she wasn't going to hurt herself."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asks, almost apologetically.

"If they take her away my life is over," Spencer says. His voice is starting to break, but he tries his best not to let her see him cry. "I'll go into foster care. I'll lose all of my friends.. It just can't happen."

"It's okay," Cat says with a smile. She wraps her arm around Spencer and pulls him closer to her. "I'm here for you."

-

JJ is trying her hardest to have fun, but she can't shake the feeling that she needs to do something; that she needs to text Spencer again and again until he says he's okay. Something is really stressing him out. He's closing himself off worse than he normally is. It has to be bad.

"What ever happened to you and Will?" Penelope asks, snapping JJ out of her thoughts. Everyone else is asleep. The sun had set a few hours ago, and it being a Friday, everyone is exhausted.

"We're still dating," JJ says. "But it's more like friends with a different tile, I guess. We hardly ever see each other anymore."

"Don't you think you should break up with him then?" Penelope asks.

"Well.. Why?"

"Does he make you happy?"

"I guess," JJ says.

"'I guess' isn't good enough. Dump his ass." JJ is a little shocked. Penelope is the kind of person to leave a trail of glitter behind her wherever she goes. This might even be the first time she's heard Penelope swear.

"I'll go to the park with him tomorrow," JJ says. "I want to do it in person."

"That's a good idea. You're a good person, JJ."

Spencer and Cat are watching their own movie- a cheesy one, but it's funny nonetheless. It feels good to be drinking with his friend, and actually laughing for the first time in so long.

"It's really late," Spencer decides. "I should probably go home."

"You're not walking home drunk," Cat points out. "You can take the couch tonight."

"I'm not drunk," Spencer argues, but he knows deep down that Cat is right. She gets up from the couch and goes over to a closet, pulling a few blankets and a pillow out of it. She sets them down next to Spencer and he smiles.

"Once again, you're a terrible liar." Cat smiles and turns off the tv. "I can bring you some of my brother's pajamas," she offers.

Spencer mumbles a happy 'thanks'. Never in a million years did he think he'd be friends with Cat, and now she knows his biggest secret. It's funny how things can change so quickly.

A/N: Spencer? Happy?

Word Count: 1023