Elijah sighed as he wandered into school, he hated it here already. This was his first day, no one knew him but his mother had gotten into his head.. He already believed he wouldn't survive it here. Just keep your head down, don't draw any unwanted attention to yourself... That's what he tried to tell himself.

He wasn't going to look up until he heard a loud bang into the lockers beside him. A skinny boy with glasses had been shoved into the lockers in front of him.

"What you looking at, newbie?" An older boy looked at Elijah.

"You." Elijah glared at him, stepping in front of the other boy,"Leave him alone."

"Sorry?"

"You heard me, leave him alone."

"You got a problem?" He towered over him.

"Yeah, I got a problem." Elijah nodded.

"I'm giving you a chance to walk off."

"I'm not leaving."

The boy quickly pushed Elijah into the lockers before walking off.

Elijah rubbed his shoulder, shaking his head before he turned to the other boy,"You alright?"

"I- Thank you." He looked at him.

"You're welcome." Elijah smiled softly.

"I..I don't think I've met you before."

"Oh- No, I'm new here. My name's Elijah." He offered his hand.

"Elijah." Reid didn't shake his hand,"Oh- Don't take offence please I.. I don't like germs."

"Oh, that's alright." Elijah put his hands in his pockets,"Can I have your name?"

"Spencer." He replied.

"Hm.. Spencer." Elijah nodded slowly,"I like that name."

"Where are you from?"

"England, I moved here a few years ago." Elijah told him.

"That's cool." Reid hummed, fixing his glasses.

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I mean- I've lived here all my life."

"That just means you know your way around, I could use the help." Elijah shrugged.

"Yeah- But there's certain people you should avoid."

"And you can help me with that too."

"Of course." He nodded.

"We're friends now." Elijah hummed,"You don't get a choice."

"Friends?"

"Yeah, friends."

"I don't have any.."

"You do now, Spencer."

"Thank you." Reid smiled.

"Thank you?" Elijah raised a brow.

"For standing up to him. No one's ever done that before."

"Well, he's not gonna mess with you while I'm around. I promise." Elijah assured him.

Reid smiled softly,"Do you have a locker yet?"

"Uh.. No, I don't think so." Elijah shook his head.

"Let's go get one." He nodded for him to follow.

"Right." Elijah followed after his new friend.

*********************************

"Elijah." Reid walked over to him.

"Hey Spencer." Elijah spun around to look at him.

"How did your exam go?"

"I... Would rather not think about it."

"I told you to come to me." Reid sighed.

"You were busy with your own stuff."

"So?" He hummed.

"So.. I didn't want to bother you." Elijah told him.

"You should've." He sighed.

"I know.."

"I'll help tonight. Can I.. Come round to yours?'

"Mine?" Elijah tensed,"Well, my mother doesn't really like guests.."

"Okay.. We could go to my house."

"Are you sure it's not a problem?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah, no. My dad won't be home and my mom won't really notice."

"Alright then." Elijah nodded slowly.

"Meet me after school?"

"Of course."

"Bye Eli." Reid smiled.

"Bye Spencer." Elijah hummed.

*********************************

Reid paced around his living room. He just needed his mom to be okay while Elijah was over. That's when there was a knock at the door. He was here. Reid took a deep breath and walked over to the door, opening it.

"Spencer- Hi. I'm not late, am I?" Elijah asked, playing with his sleeves.

"No, no. Not at all." Reid held the door open.

Elijah looked around as he walked in,"Your house is nice."

"Is it?" Reid blinked.

"Mhm." He nodded.

"It looks.. Bland."

"Well, I like it." Elijah told him before he noticed pictures on the walls,"Oh- I love photos."

"They're my dad's pictures. He takes them when he's not working." Reid sighed.

"I take it he works a lot." Elijah turned.

"Yeah.. A lot." Reid sighed.

"I.. Don't see my dad much either."

"How come? If you don't mind me asking."

"He's out a lot. Sometimes it's work, sometimes it's.. Not." Elijah shook his head.

"Guess we have more in common than we thought." Reid hummed.

"Yeah." Elijah smiled softly.

"Did you bring your schoolwork?"

"I'm not that slow, of course I did." Elijah pulled a notebook put from his bag.

"Well.." He smiled.

"Spencer." Elijah crossed his arms.

"Kidding." He chuckled.

Elijah sighed, shaking his head,"Where are we going to be working?"

"Just in here." Reid walked into the living room

"Got it." Elijah hummed, following him.

"Let's see what you got then."

"Probably not much."

Reid picked up Elijah's notebook and skimmed it,"Okay, pencil please?"

"Pencil." Elijah handed him the pencil.

"So for this equation here, it's pretty simple." Reid began to ramble about maths as he wrote it down.

Elijah nodded slowly, nothing was getting through.

"And then.. There." Reid nodded.

"Right.. I see. I see."

"You don't see, do you?"

"No, no I don't."

"Okay, let me go over it slower."

"I won't get it, I'm not smart enough for this." Elijah sighed.

"Yes you are, you've got this." Reid assured him.

"I haven't though." Elijah shook his head.

"Elijah. You will."

Elijah bit his cheek,"I can try, I guess.."

"That's the spirit." He hummed.

Elijah sighed, moving closer to Reid to look at the writing in the notebook.

"And you see how this goes here?"

"Yeah, because you did that, right?" Elijah pointed.

"Exactly." Reid nodded.

"I think I get it."

"And then you need to add this number." Reid pointed.

"And that makes.. That." Elijah looked over the page, pointing at the numbers.

"Perfect." Reid smiled.

Elijah smiled softly,"Thanks for doing this, Spencer. You really didn't have to."

"I wanted to."

"Because we're best friends?"

"The best."

"That's us. Spencer and Elijah, best friends." Elijah smiled.

Reid looked at Elijah, tilting his head slightly before he kissed his cheek. Elijah froze. Oh god- It happened- Oh God. Shit. Do something- Anything.

"Sorry- I..I'm sorry."

"No.. Don't be sorry." Elijah reached for his hand.

Reid looked at Elijah, gripping onto his hand,"What?"

"I.. I liked it."

Reid bit his cheek,"..You did?"

Elijah nodded, squeezing Reid's hand,"I like you."

Reid smiled,"You like me? Me of all people?"

"Why wouldn't I like you- You've been my best friend since I moved. You're sweet and considerate and smart- Spencer, you're incredible." Elijah told him

Reid's smile grew, leaning to him and kissing Elijah. Elijah kissed back, gently holding Reid's cheek as he pulled him closer. Reid hummed, pulling away and going to speak as his mother ran out.

"Spencer! She's back."

"Mom, no ones there." Reid jumped.

"Is she okay?" Elijah asked quietly.

"Who's that?" His mother pointed.

"Mom- This is my friend.. Elijah. Remember I told you about him?"

"Hi- Mrs Reid. I hope I didn't disturb you." Elijah shook his head.

"Oh." Diana tilted her head,"Oh! You're Elijah!"

"Yeah- Hi." Elijah played with his sleeves.

"Oh, my Spencer speaks about you all the time."

"He does?" Elijah chuckled.

"He does. You're welcome here anytime sweetheart, don't worry." Diana smiled.

"Thank you, I really appreciate that." Elijah took off his jumper, setting it aside.

"Spencer, did you not get your guest something to eat?" Diana sighed.

"I- Are you hungry?"

"Oh- No, it's alright. I'm fine." Elijah assured him.

"Tea?"

"No, I'm alright. But thanks for asking."

Diana nodded,"Well, I'll be in my room."

"I'll make sure not to disturb you." Elijah told her.

Diana smiled and walked back to her room.

"Sorry about her." Reid sighed.

"No, it's okay. She seems nice." Elijah hummed.

"Are you..Okay?" Reid looked at Elijah.

"What do you mean?" Elijah raised a brow.

Reid hesitated and nodded towards his arms,"..I don't mean to point it out- I just- Want to make sure you're okay."

Elijah looked down at his arms,"I've.. I've been worse. It wasn't all me."

"Wasn't you?"

"I shouldn't have said anything." Elijah quickly stood up.

"No, no." Reid stood up, taking Elijah's hand,"It's okay."

"No, it's not- I need to go." Elijah shook his head.

"Elijah, please."

"Spence.. I'm okay.

"That's all I care about, making sure you're okay."

"I promise." Elijah squeezed his hand,"I'm okay."

Reid sighed and hugged Elijah. Elijah hugged back, holding Reid close to him.

"I'm sorry for mentioning it."

"It's okay."

Reid kissed Elijah's cheek,"Do you.. You like me and I like you.. Does that mean we're dating?"

"Do you want to be dating?" Elijah asked him.

"Yeah."

"Then we're dating." Elijah hummed, kissing his forehead.

Reid smiled,"I've never dated anyone before."

"I'd say you've done quite well with your first boyfriend." Elijah chuckled.

"Really?"

"Really."

Reid smiled and kissed him again.

"So many kisses, lucky me." Elijah hummed.

"So do we think we know everything?" Reid asked, picking up the notebooks.

"I think I do." Elijah nodded.

"Right. We can go over it tomorrow, I'm gonna help my mom, okay?"

"Of course. Good night, darling." Elijah kissed his cheek.

"Night Elijah." He smiled.

*********************************

Elijah was stood by the lockers, waiting to walk with Spencer. They usually walked home together but.. He was late. There was no one in the halls, it was empty. Where would he be? Elijah sighed as he headed for the library. Maybe he just lost track of time and got distracted reading some textbook. But when he walked in, no one was there. Only the librarian.

"Excuse me, has Spencer been here recently? Spencer Reid?" Elijah walked over to the librarian's desk.

"Reid..Spencer..Ah! He went looking for Elijah Deans, said he left a note." She looked up at her.

"Me- That's me.. Note?"

"Oh, did you not leave him a note to meet him at the soccer fields?"

"No- No, I never wrote a note." Elijah shook his head before hurrying out of the library.

"Well- Okay now." She sighed and leaned back.

Elijah muttered to himself as he headed out if the school and to the soccer field. That's when he heard some yells from in front of him. Spencer was tied to a soccer post, in nothing but his boxers as a crowd had formed around him.

"Hey- What the hell is going on here?" Elijah ran up to the crowd.

"Oh there's the fag's boyfriend." Justin, the boy that had been bullying the two of them turned.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Elijah slapped Justin.

"Me?" Justin laughed, quickly punching Elijah to the ground,"Take that as a warning."

"Oh Justin.. The things I could do to you." Elijah shook his head.

"Back off before you end up worse." Justin warned as he nodded to his friends to begin to leave.

"If you touch him again, I'll kill you myself." Elijah called after Justin.

"Whatever faggot!" Juatin scoffed and walked off, the rest of the crowd soon dissipating.

Elijah clenched his fists, he wanted to teach Justin a lesson.. But he knew he couldn't. And right now, he needed to help Spencer.

"Elijah?" Reid sniffed.

"Hey- Hey, I'm here. I'm here." Elijah hurried over to Reid and began to untie him.

"I'm sorry- I should've realised your handwriting."

"No, don't you dare blame yourself." Elijah quickly took off his jacket and held it out to him,"Here."

Reid took his jacket and wrapped it around himself,"What time is it?"

"Late." Elijah sighed, pulling Reid close to him,"I'll walk you home."

"I'm sorry Eli." Reid shivered.

"No, don't be sorry. This was not your fault, okay?" Elijah rubbed his back.

"I feel like it is."

"It is not, you hear me?" Elijah looked down at Reid.

"Okay..Okay." Reid nodded.

Elijah kissed his forehead,"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner."

"It's okay." Reid sighed,"God, my mom's gonna be pissed."

"Look, I'm sure if we explain what happened then she'll understand."

"Hopefully." Reid hugged himself.

"Come on." Elijah took Reid's hand.

*********************************

The next day at school, Elijah had gotten there early. He had a plan. It wasn't a very nice plan, albeit, but he was sick of Justin and he was going to sort things out. Justin was in the hall, talking to his girlfriend.

"Oh Justin." Elijah hummed as he approached the pair, hands behind his back.

"What do you want?" Justin rolled his eyes.

"Oh, nothing." Elijah pulled a picture out of his pocket,"Just wondering but.. Do you recognize this woman?"

Justin crossed his arms and looked at the picture. It was.. His mother.

"You must miss her a lot." Elijah nodded slowly, looking down at the picture,"She's quite beautiful, happy."

"Where did you get that picture?"

"Oh, it's my dad's... He kept pictures of all his victims." Elijah shrugged.

"Victims?"

"You never wondered why I was 'kicked out' of my old school?" Elijah put the picture away,"It was all to do with some safety concerns surrounding me and some other students."

"Your dad's the Ganet?"

"Of course." Elijah hummed,"You have a sister, don't you?"

"You're a freak." Justin scoffed.

"Listen to me, Justin. I'm giving you a chance." Elijah told him,"You leave Spencer and I alone.. Your family stays safe."

Justin swallowed,"..Count yourself lucky, Ganet."

"Oh, I don't need luck." Elijah hummed.

Justin sighed and held his girlfriend's hand, walking off.

"Have fun." Elijah waved, proud of his successful plan.

*********************************

"Are you sure you want to cook?" Reid asked as he walked into their apartment.

"Spence, if there's one thing I know how to do, it's how to cook." Elijah pointed

"Promise you won't kill me?'

"Wh- Rude. I made food for my mother and I growing up and I'm still alive."

"I'm joking." Reid smiled.

"You better be." Elijah leaned against him.

"I'm gonna go shower, kay?"

"Of course." Elijah nodded.

Reid hummed and kissed his cheek, going to shower. Elijah meanwhile, headed to the kitchen. He loved cooking, mainly because he thought he was quite good at it. After a while, Reid came out, his hair wet still.

"So Derek called me.."

"Ooh, Derek called." Elijah hummed as he turned around.

"Can he and Flo come round for dinner?"

"Of course they can."

"Do you have enough ingredients?"

"I should do." Elijah wrapped his arms around Reid.

"I like this apron, kiss the cook." He chuckled.

"It's instructions." Elijah hummed.

"Then I must do it." Reid nodded and kissed him.

Elijah smiled into the kiss, holding Reid's face with his hands. Reid hummed and held Elijah's waist as he slowly pulled away.

"I love you." Elijah sighed, resting his head on Reid's shoulder.

"I love you too."

"Now.. I'm going to finish cooking and you're going to dry your hair." Elijah poked Reid's face.

"You don't like it wet?"

"Oh, no, I do. I just don't want you catching anything."

"I catch everything." Reid sighed and pulled away.

"I know, honey."

"I'll be back then." Reid nodded.

Elijah then turned back to what he was making. It had to be perfect now that he knew guests were coming over.

*********************************

After a while of cooking, Elijah heard a knock at the door. Elijah carefully took the pot off the heat before heading to the door to answer it. Fleur and Derek were here. They had became friends during the first couple of years of college.

"Eli." Fleur smiled.

"Flo." Elijah held his arms out.

Fleur quickly came in and hugged him.

"I hope you don't mind us coming in so late." Derek sighed.

"I don't mind at all." Elijah shook his head,"Spence is just getting ready."

"Where did you get that apron?" Derek chuckled.

"I bought it for me, I love the instructions." Elijah hummed.

"I really need one."

"Derek." Fleur sat down.

"Trust me, it could've been worse. I could've been shirtless." Elijah shrugged

"Now you're talking." Derek pointed.

"See- I knew it was a great idea." Elijah put his hands on his hips.

"Not when guests are over." Reid walked in.

"Aw, come on. Derek would've loved it." Elijah chuckled.

"Unfortunately I don't float that way." Derek laughed,"But I'm always up for complimenting you."

"Right, so later then?" Elijah hummed, turning to Reid.

"Later." Reid nodded.

"So, who's hunry?" Elijah looked around.

"Starving." Fleur smiled.

"That makes two of us." Morgan nodded.

"Well, you're both in luck." Elijah hummed,"Because the master chef has made you dinner."