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“One of these days he's gonna catch you staring at him.”
“Not if I can help it.”
“You can't help it,” Elle said as she sat down at the lunch table with her tray. Chicken sandwich Wednesday was always a favorite.
“I think I do a pretty good job of keeping it on the low low.” Anderson said, trying and failing to tear his eyes away from the handsome baseball player in the lunch line.
“You're kidding right? Nothing about it is low low.”
“He’d kick my ass if he knew.”
“He might do something even better to your ass…give it a shot.”
“Shut up.” He tried to focus on his chocolate pudding instead.
Anderson didn’t want anyone to catch him staring. Elle was cool; she busted his balls but would never tell on him. Not that he even wanted her to know but Elle Greenaway had this way of knowing everything. He could barely remember how they became friends. Halfway through 9th grade Elle was the new girl in school.
She walked into 4th period algebra class; could’ve sat anywhere since a bunch of the boys were falling over themselves to make a seat. Most of the girls were already giving her side-eye like she was going to take away their ripe pickings for freshman dance. She plopped down right next to him in the middle of the room and declared they would be good friends. It was senior year and they still were.
“Look, he’s getting an A in physics.” Elle said. “Just tell him you need some help.”
“I do need help; I'm drowning in there. I wanted to drop it and just take the easy A in art but my parents would kill me. Four years of science will get me into a top tier University they said. Or you know, an insane asylum, whichever comes first.”
“I could talk to him.”
“Do it and I’ll kill you.” He glared at her. “I will kill you with my bare hands.”
“Don’t you trust me?” Elle smiled that smile.
It was the same one she had when she told him to get in the car and they went off to do something nearly illegal. It was the same one from when she rigged Seven Minutes in Heaven and he had a sweet, sticky fumbling with the boy who went by the name Amanda. It was the beautiful smile of trouble. Anderson nearly always fell for it.
“Barely.”
“You gotta live a little, Anderson. You're not going to be 18 forever. Just get out there and put your mark on the world. I bet you won't regret it.”
“I’ll think about it.” He mumbled.
“All you do is think about it. You have to take matters into your own hands, and I'm not talking about beating your meat. I'm only pushing you because I love you.”
He was about to ask her why. What had he done to have this crazy, amazing girl decide to be his friend? He was OK alone. It wasn’t the best but at least he knew nothing was going to happen that would get him killed. And that was definitely OK.
“Hey.” Hotch smiled as he walked over to their table. Usually there was a crowd there, Elle Greenaway always attracted a crowd. Today it was just the two of them.
“Hey Hotch.” Elle smiled.
“Hey.” Anderson held up his hand to wave, clearing his throat. This was his best dream and worst nightmare colliding.
“Coop bailed on Yearbook staff.” He said. “I know it’s a little late in the game to be asking but we’re practically down to a skeleton crew. I was wondering if you want to help. I tried to catch you outside of English but you took off before I could get out of my chair.”
“Me?” Elle asked.
“I know extra-curricular activities aren't your thing…at least not that kind. I meant you, Anderson.”
“Me?” he cleared his throat again. Damn, it sure didn’t take much these days for his mouth to go dry.
“You have a good eye for detail.” Hotch said.
“Is that a polite way of saying I'm a nerd?”
“It’s a polite way of saying I need you. It could be a lot of late nights but I'm not going to let anyone ruin this yearbook. Will you think about it?”
“Yes.” He nodded.
“Great.” Hotch smiled and his dimples showed. That made Anderson smile too. “I have Trig last period so just let me know before…”
“I meant yes, yes I’ll do it.” I’ll do anything you ask because I've been crazy about you since sophomore year and I'm just too much of a wuss to say it because there's no way in hell you spend even a moment thinking about me. “I can do it.”
“I really appreciate it.” The smile never wavered. “I hope the late nights won't be a problem. I can drop you home if you need a ride.”
“This boy needs a ride like you wouldn’t believe.” Elle replied. “OW!”
“I might need a ride, yeah.” Anderson said. “Thanks Hotch.”
“No, thank you. You're getting my ass out of a serious sling.”
Elle looked as if she was about to say something else but thought better of it. She’d embarrassed her friend enough for the day and they hadn’t even had gym class yet. It was only fair to let him bask in this moment of bliss.
“It’s not a problem.”
“OK, I’ll see you later. Bye Elle.”
“Bye Hotch.”
“Bye.” Anderson stared straight ahead as Hotch walked away. “Don’t you say a word.”
“Oh c'mon, this is reason to celebrate. You're the only person I know who would be miserable when faced with the prospect of hot sex.”
“What are you talking about?” he looked at her. “He asked me to work on the yearbook with him. He wants me because I have an attention to detail. He might as well be asking me to do his homework like the guys on the football team.”
“Late nights, a ride home…totally euphemisms.”
“You're insane.” Anderson rolled his eyes.
“I'm right.” Elle pointed to herself. “And if you waste this opportunity I'm never speaking to you again. The boy is falling right into your lap. Catch him.”
Anderson wasn’t going to be able to shake the fantasy of Hotch falling in his lap for the rest of the day. But it was a bad idea to think of this as anything other than what it was. Hotch could have hot sex with anyone at school though the aloof teenager hadn’t dated since he and Haley Brooks broke up early last year. And Anderson didn’t want to be some dude he just experimented with. Who was he kidding, Aaron Hotchner could experiment on him all day long. How was it going to be possible to keep things on the low low when he felt so high right now?
***