The Story of Us

Chapter 2- High Tensions

Everyone crowds into the conference room to hear about the case. Spencer sits as far from Amanda as possible, knowing deep down that he's being unreasonable, stupid, and just downright ridiculous. Then again, Amanda always had a way of bringing out a different Spencer Reid, whether that be good or bad.

Amanda noticed his effort and while slightly confused as she wasn't the reason they hadn't talked in five years, she still respected his decision, also noting his close proximity to her brother, who she could still feel the anger radiating off of, so she took a seat as far away from Hotch as she could. Morgan took the opportunity to sit next to the beautiful and now even more intriguing blonde. Before he could ask her any questions, however, Hotch and JJ began to explain the case.

They were calling him the Tommy Killer because he super-glued women's eyes open. Amanda studied the pictures and Morgan could clearly see the gears turning and he wasn't the only one. Gideon was about to ask her what she was thinking when Hotch spoke first, through gritted teeth. "Amanda, since you're new to the team and this is your first case, I think it would be better if you observed on this one and that is an order."

Amanda had to hold back a scoff and resist the urge to roll her eyes. She knew what game Aaron was playing with her. It was one that she often played with men that got a little too clingy with her. If you can't convince them to go with words, make their life hell until they just left. But Amanda wasn't one to back down, ever. So instead, she smiled sweetly, surprising her older brother, before speaking. "Whatever you say, Aaron." He could hear the condescension in her voice, everyone could, but no one called her out on it, all for different reasons.

Morgan was still trying to figure her out so he didn't care enough. Elle said nothing because she was also new and she could tell that whatever power struggle was happening was merely between Hotch and Amanda. Gideon kept his mouth shut because he knew what Amanda was capable of and didn't want to be on the opposite end of her burning rage that could likely rival Satan himself.

Spencer kept quiet because he was afraid of what might come out of his mouth if he spoke. He couldn't be sure if he would defend Hotch or revert to old habits and become the person he so desperately wished to hide from the team, although he couldn't be too sure why. JJ on the other hand, said nothing because she was studying Spencer, who she had developed a tiny crush on.

Spencer wasn't what most people found handsome or sexy but it was less about his looks and more about his awkward and self-conscious personality that often blocked people from seeing beyond the big words and statistics he used to make himself feel confident. But JJ saw him and right now, as everyone awaited Hotch's reaction, she could see the way that Spencer's gaze, which often flitted to her, was almost solely focused on Amanda with a look that she couldn't decipher but knew that something had happened between the two and she wanted to know what.

Hotch tried to find any reason he could to scold Amanda but sadly, she was good at getting what she wanted. She could veil an insult or a threat in something that sounded completely the opposite and he knew that if he called her out, the outcome would be worse. But he also knew that he was being stupid because he had seen his sister figure out what a neighborhood bully wanted in a girl and morph into that girl all in a matter of 10 minutes before she went and introduced herself. He had seen her keep her ruse for days before delivering the final blow and breaking that bully in the worse way possible.

So instead of reprimanding her, knowing if he called her out, she'd call him out, he said, "Wheels up in 30," and left the room. Morgan and Gideon talked about how he wanted the girls to watch and how he was weird before Morgan turned to Amanda, hoping to ask what she had seen earlier, only to notice that she was gone. She had slipped out after her brother and no one had noticed, making Morgan wonder what exactly it was she used to do for the FBI.