Siblings

Friends and Perspectives

If they weren't on the same page then, they were now: Avoid Each Other At All Costs. Thankfully JJ was out of the house as much as possible and Spencer kept himself busy in his room. And by busy, he meant sulking.

He felt the hole inside him grow and the pain that had stung enough to make him cry dulled into a numbness that made him cold. He didn't understand why this had bothered him so much. He never felt this way before. Granted, it was his sister.

He scolded himself countless times, the shame continuously drowning him. When Monday came, he decided to keep Friday night to himself this time. It didn't really matter since Kevin and Penelope could somewhat tell what the reason was judging by his uncharacteristically strong reaction to JJ's overall existence. They decided not to mention it, hoping it would pass eventually.

However, he did visit Gideon every morning for the following two weeks. Gideon seemed ecstatic to see him every time. He would whip open the door and greet him warmly with a wide smile. Then they would converse in his room about another case Gideon wanted to show him and work to put together a profile. At the start of the third week, Gideon didn't come to the door.

Finding it unlocked, Spencer let himself in. He saw the usual lamp on and Gideon chatting casually with a figure just outside the light. Gideon turned and saw him, his face lighting up. 

"Reid! So good of you to stop by. There's somebody I want you to meet."

Usually, Spencer despised the handshakes and "how do you do"s that come with meeting new people. The figure, however, piqued his curiosity. He previously believed that the only person to hang out with the forensics teacher was himself.

Gideon moved over to the lightswitch and turned on the overhead lights. Spencer blinked a few times and looked over to the figure. It was a girl. 

"Spencer Reid, this is Emily Prentiss. Prentiss, this is Reid," Gideon patted Spencer's shoulder before moving back to turn the lamp off. 

He waved with a tight smile, "You can call me Spencer." She smiled politely.

"Emily," she gestured to herself before picking the sleeve of her sweater. She was dressed head to toe in black, from her combat boots to her straightened hair. It was a wonder how he could've seen her at all originally. 

"You must be new, where are you from?" he asked as he walked over the sprawled out case files on the table. Before she could answer, Gideon spoke up.

"She just moved from France," his voice was filled with awe. "How sweet is that?" Both teens cringed. 

"Yeah, my mom is an Ambassador so I move around a lot," she said nonchalantly. 

"Okay, but France though? Parlez vous Francais?"

She smiled warmly, "Oui, et toi?" He gave her a goofy grin.

"You know I've been taking it for almost six years now and I'm just still no good at holding a conversation." 

"Oh, well I think your pronunciation is very fluent," she reassured genuinely.

"Yeah, but everyone knows that phrase. How about, Je suis un ananas?"

"You are a pineapple?" she asked with an eyebrow raised. 

"I thought that meant dolphin." Both teens bursted into giggles. Gideon came back with two mugs in his hands. 

"See, Prentiss? I told you I'd get you some friends. Nothing to worry about," he handed off her tea and his coffee. "Isn't that right, Reid?"