PERFECT PLACES, emily prentiss

back to the stars

Waiting for Emily's call was tedious, yet all Abby could do was sit in her apartment and wait. She's done this before, waiting for a call that may or may not ever come, but this time just felt different.

But after a long weekend of laying around, unable to do anything but stare out of the window and lose herself in her imagination, Abby throws herself into her work. Instead of taking a lunch break or logging out the second she completed her assignments, she sits at her desk until she can no longer stand to look at a screen. She then finds relaxation in designing a new tattoo, one dedicated to the current year, 2011.

Art has always been Abby's raison d'etre. It's the reason she gets out of bed every morning, and it's the only thing that keeps her sane in her studio apartment all day. It's not that she dislikes code, but nothing else can cause fireworks of joy in her chest like creating something

On Wednesday afternoon, while Abby's preparing her third coffee of the day, her cellphone finally rings. "Hello?" She answers, trying to hide her excitement.

"Hey- It's Emily." She says, sounding tired.

"Oh, hi! How was your case?"

"It was alright, just long." Emily sighs. "It's kind of last minute, but would you like to go out to dinner tonight? I can get us into that nice steak place downtown."

"That sounds amazing." Abby smiles, even though she can't see her. "What time should I be there?"

"I was thinking we could drive together, since we live so close." She offers. "I can pick you up at 7."

"It's a date."

They hang up soon after, and Abby can't help but do a small happy-dance in her kitchen.

She gives up on getting any work done at 5, opting to start looking for an outfit that was classy enough for a steakhouse. She decides on a silky creme button-up tucked into a pair of straight black pants, pulled together with a black belt and Dr Martens. Although Abby lives for dramatic makeup, this is not a permitting occasion, so she does a simple black eyeliner look and finishes it off with a clear lip gloss.

She overestimated how long it would take to get ready, because it was 6:30 and Abby's sitting on her couch, ready to go. Time seems to pass even slower than the past four days had altogether, but eventually Emily texts that she's outside.

Abby finds Emily in a matte black Jeep Wrangler, fitting for her personality, but it looks brand new. Hopping in the passenger seat, it even smells brand new. Emily's wearing a completely black pantsuit, with a red top peeping through the blazer.

"You look nice." Abby nods, her brain stuck on the way Emily's curls land perfectly on her shoulders. Abby's always struggled with her hair, it's too thick to just leave it be, and her natural brown color felt too boring. She's figured out she has to sleep in loose braids to achieve the perfect wave, and she spends way too much at the hairdresser every six weeks in order to keep her platinum bob looking it's best, yet she's still jealous of anyone who can look like Emily so easily.

"So do you." Emily blushes, using every ounce of willpower to keep her eyes on the road. When she asks what she did over the weekend, Abby found herself ranting about the teenager who thought it would be funny to try to hack the FBI website until they arrive at the restaurant.

"So, what were you doing in France?" Abby asks once they order.

"Honestly, it's not really a first date story. Let's just say work." Emily sighs, "What about you, why did you decide to leave France?"

Abby smiles a little, "That's not exactly a first date story either, so I'll say college. I went to Georgetown."

They both exhale after that, acknowledging they both had secrets and were willing to avoid the topics for the sake of enjoying the night. While Emily's terrified that the idea of faking her death would scare Abby away, Abby honestly didn't know how to talk about the real reason she left France. She hasn't told that story in almost a decade, and she's not planning on doing it anytime soon.