Peyton's POV:
It's been a week since the incident. The incident I refuse to give a name. But if you must know, it was called Spencer. That night back at the club had felt magical. And although I let my clouded judgement take the blame for that, I think a part of me really was happy that it happened.
I'd woken up in his bed that day, his hand was draped over my stomach and we weren't cuddling but I'd never even been in such close proximity to someone else other than Cara.
It was awkward and I was nervous that he regretted it, so I called the tow truck company to bring my car back which by the way, had been my idea after we quite literally made out in the front seat of his car.
I don't know what I was thinking. Spencer did laugh over my idea and so even though I was just joking at first, I called the company to tow my own car away. Spencer would take me home anyway, right? That was until one thing led to another, and soon we were doing more than just making out.
That leads us to the following morning. I wasn't about to wake him up and make small talk but just to my luck, the tow company said it would take a while. Then I felt bad for just leaving without even a note so I made breakfast for him. I was never the best cook though, so that turned into a mess. Keep in mind, at that point I was going to rip the hair off my head. I was so freaking nervous. Why was the tow company taking so freaking long?
But if there was something- someone that could help take my mind off this extremely unusual and unfamiliar situation, it was her.
Ariana Grande.
So I put on some music, making sure to keep it low in case Spencer woke up. Let's hope to god he doesn't though. I'm not sure when exactly the volume turned loud enough but sure enough, there he was.
He had walked in on me jumping on his couch to positions by Ariana Grande. Not to mention, Spencer doesn't look like a person who would listen to Ariana Grande. Also my clothes from last night were still on the floor, I was still in his shirt. Just his shirt.
Anyways, that morning was just pure embarrassment. To top it off, I kissed him and he just stood there, he didn't even kiss me back. Like I said, a cherry on top sprinkled with disappointment.
I almost considered taking the day off except, it was only my second day on the job and I didn't exactly want to lose it just yet.
But the past week hasn't been so bad. I definitely like him. Ewww, feelings. He's been flirty too, more awkward but still flirty. And I flirt back occasionally, I wasn't quite sure I wanted to keep this going.
Yet, here I was. Going on a date with the beautiful, insanely smart, pipe cleaner looking man, Spencer Reid.
It had taken him a whole day to ask me out and when he did, I already knew because Ms Penelope could not keep a secret if her life was at stake.
I said yes. Obviously.
I finished the last curl in my hair and unplugged the curler. It was a casual date, we were going to the aquarium. I absolutely loved the aquarium. Yeah, Spencer may know all of the universe's secrets but I knew cool facts too. Especially about animals. People never understood my fascination with them, why I felt so attached to them.
Honestly, I'm not entirely sure either but I think it's because animals could never hurt me as deep as people. They just weren't capable of that. They just walked the earth in search of one thing. Food.
And hey, I love food too.
I'd worn a yellow sundress to match my yellow nail polish, and my black doc martens to finish off the look. A pair of small gold hoops hung from my pierced ears. I finished putting my hair in a high ponytail, just as the doorbell rang.
Deep breathes, Peyton. In. And out. In and out.
I opened the door to find him in a sweater vest and some black pants. He had his usual converse on. I narrowed my eyes when I noticed his socks.
"Your socks are mismatched."
"Hey- oh yeah." He looked down at his feet at my observation.
"That's cute." I chuckled, before noticing the pink and white daisies in his hands. Just yesterday, I jokingly threatened him not to get me red roses and I mentioned how I liked daisies more. He remembered. "Are those for me?"
"Yeah, um I made sure to avoid the red roses." He chuckled and I giggled. No one had ever remembered something like that about me.
I softly smelled the fresh scent of the daisies, "Thank you for these. I love them." I'm pretty sure the pink daisies matched the colour of my cheeks right now.
He held his hand out for me, "We should probably leave, if you're ready of course."
I smiled, taking his hand in mine. "Yeah, probably."
As we got into his car, I noticed how messy it was in the backseat. Probably case files. Rio's dad's file? No Peyton, don't ruin this right now please.
The vanilla and coffee smell quickly reached my nose, diverting my attention. "Wow, was I just drunk or was this smell not there last week?" I asked.
I watched in awe, my heart literally clenching as he bit his lip and shrugged, "I just drink a lot of coffee. I also don't drive a lot."
I laughed slightly, "Oh yeah, trust me I've noticed your caffeine addiction. Why don't you drive if you have your own car?"
"Did you know that the average car crashes that occur per day in the US is about 16, 438. Per day! And the chances of you getting into a car crash are 1000 times higher than if you were to fly. Or even just taking the bus or a train is safer than driving. Of course, your conditions under which you are driving play a crucial part in statistics but did you know that an 18 year old has a higher chance of getting into a car crash rather than a 40 year old. It's becuas- sorry, um I'm sorry I'm rambling again, aren't I?" He awkwardly paused himself.
"I don't mind and I actually didn't know that. It's pretty cool how you know all these things. I mean, not to brag or anything but I know how to operate a washing machine, it only took me a month to learn how to do it." I joke. It wasn't completely a lie. I was more book smart than I was street smart. And even then, I wasn't that book smart.
His eyes widened at my confession and I involuntarily rolled my lips together to hold in my laugh at his expression.
"It took you a month to learn how to use a washing machine?" He asked in disbelief.
I nodded, "There's so many buttons and I was eight. Laundry was the one chore I tried to avoid all the time."
He laughed at my answer and I laughed along with him. It really wasn't that funny.
After the laughter died down, I heard a familiar tune coming from the radio. "Oh my god, it's literally Tay-Tay. The Taylor Swift!" I exclaimed, loudly. My hand was turning up the volume before Spencer could stop me.
"The more that you say, the less I know. Wherever you stray, I'll follow!" I belted out the lyrics to Willow.
Beside me, Spencer looked concerned. "You really love Taylor Swift, don't you?"
"Are you kidding me? Taylor Swift is god." I slightly screamed over the blasting music.
Spencer just shook his head, looking amused. "I don't really listen to Taylor Swift."
"You will soon, just you wait." I said, a wide smile spread over my face. "Hey, that's my man! That's my man." I gestured for Spencer to sing with me, and he just shook his head.
"Yes, yes you will. Come on, sing with me. You know that my train could take you home,"
Spencer finally caved in, smiling just as wide as me. "Anywhere else is hollow."
I laughed and sang with him, the song coming to a close end. I don't think I've ever laughed so much in my life before.
We arrived at the aquarium shortly, and a gentle wind blew over me as I got out of the car, my dress swaying with the movement.
Everything inside was a luminous shade of blue. A big bridge led us around the aquarium. The glass was a semicircle shaped like a rainbow over the bridge. Fish of all kinds swan around us. Jellyfish and sharks in one corner and the goldfish in another.
I gasped as I took it all in. "This is beautiful."
"It is, isn't it." Spencer answered, the light reflecting off the glass illuminating his face. I turned to look at him but he was already looking at me.
I raised my eyebrow, "What? Is my mascara smeared or something?" Maybe, I look like a total clown right now and Spencer is regretting taking me out in the first place.
I took out my phone ready to check when Spencer interrupted, "No, no. Your mascara isn't smeared. You look beautiful." He basically whispered the last part. I blushed and looked away. That wasn't what I was expecting him to say.
"Oh, thank you."
An Albino Rainbow Shark swam over us and I almost screamed, pushing my head onto the glass as if that would help me see better.
"That one's an Albino Rainbow Shark. They come from the Cyprindae family and can grow up to six inches. Oh, and look at all the pretty colours!" I stated in awe.
Spencer came and pressed his face onto the glass too, mirroring my actions. Even if he did know that already, which I'm sure he did, he didn't say anything about it.
We walked further and instinctively, I wrapped my hand around his. After realizing what I'd done, I tried to untangle my hand but Spencer just held on tighter.
"Look it's an angelfish." Spencer said, pulling me along with him.
"Oh my god, I love angelfish!" I jumped up and down in excitement. They were just fish, Peyton. I internally rolled my eyes at myself. "Their scientific name is actually Pterophyllum. Did you know their whole population originates from the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin, or different rivers in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America?"
Spencer slightly laughed at my random fact throwing, "I did know that, yeah."
I looked down slightly embarrassed, causing a few loose streaks of my hair to fall onto my face.
I reached up to move it out of my face just as Spencer's hand came up to do that. I flushed again. My cheeks probably look like tomatoes right now.
"Um thanks." I said, not sure of what to say.
Spencer awkwardly cleared his throat, "Yeah, no problem."
After a few seconds of awkward silence, I held out my hand. Surprisingly, he took it and I smiled.
The angelfish still swan around us as we moved forward, hand in hand. My eyes were stuck on the transparent arc as jellyfish swam by.
"Atlantic Sea Nettle Jellyfish!" We both said at the same time, causing both of us to look in opposite directions.
Spencer was the first one to speak up, "Did you know that they have multiple body forms but you're most likely to catch them in their adult medusa stage?"
"Yeah," I grinned. "Did you know they act as transportation for the larvae crab. Sometimes, the larvae crabs snack on the jellyfish while the jellyfish gives them a free ride." I pretend gagged.
Spencer grinned back. "Yeah, it is pretty weird. You seem to know a lot about aquamarines."
I shrugged, "It's just a hobby, I guess."
I'm not sure how long we'd been at the aquarium for but we were finally circling back to the angelfish area.
"This was really fun, Spence. I had a good time." I said, untangling my hand from his so I could fidget with myself. Then, the realization hit me. I just called him Spence. Internally, I just face-planted onto the floor.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had a really good time too." He said, a blush forming on cheeks.
"Um, that's ok, right? Like, I can call you Spence?" I asked, not daring to look at his face.
Spencer was also fidgeting his hands, resting them in his pockets for a bit before taking them out again. "Yeah, you can. And I can call you..." He trailed off and I realized he was waiting for me to answer.
"Oh, um I don't really have a nickname." I answered, shyly. Cara sometimes called me Pey-Pey as a joke but I wasn't about to let him call me that.
He looked around at the angelfish swimming around us before looking back at me. He grinned, "Angel."
I almost choked on my own spit and my eyes shot up at his statement, "What?"
"I'll call you Angel." He concluded, tangling my hands in his before thanking the receptionist on our way out.
And that's when I knew I was falling. I was falling and I was falling hard.
Well frick.