The Epic Tale of How Running in the Hallway Forever Changed the Nation

A/N: Let's try this again, shall we? As I tried to upload some other story with great things in mind, it all crashed and burned in my face within the hour. So here is another idea I've had since July, but never really expanded on until recently. Reflexive POVs.

WARNING: Racism, swearing, sexual suggestion, bullying, 1950's fashion, 1950's lingo.

HEY: JUST BECAUSE A CHARACTER SAYS IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT I BELIEVE OR CONDONE THEIR ACTIONS IN ANY WAY. White folks weren't so fond of blacks in the 1950's. How do I know that? I paid attention in Social Studies and my parents and grandparents tell me lovely stories of their hard lives as an African-Americans and Caribbean-African immigrants during that day and age.

PLEASE: Don't accuse me of being a white/black supremacist. Don't accuse me of being a homophobe. I'm a black girl who's dating a white girl and I love her very much. It would not only be an insult to me, but to her as well as we would hate to be saddled with that crowd and their horrid beliefs.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds, just this plot bunny.

Chapter One: In Which Spencer Trips and Derek Falls

Derek

Derek Morgan stirred in his sleep as Elvis Presley started to pour from his dated radio speakers and lifted a lazy hand to turn it off. He moved soundly off of his stomach and ran his hand over his face, taking one more moment to appreciate how warm his bed was before he got out of it. If he wanted to get anywhere near a shower this morning, he had to do it before his sisters rose. He padded down the hall in his worn socked feet wearing a pair of low slung sweatpants and a sourpuss scoff at the ungodly hour of day. Opening the door with a shallow roll of his wrist on the doorknob, he walked in and got to business. After a quick piss and a speedy shower, he glanced in the mirror at his face and smiled. Derek dropped the smile and rolled his eyes at his reflection before shaving his stubble off and trimming the bottom of his short top fade. After that, he brushed his teeth and tossed on some of his late father's cologne. He glanced in the mirror again. His momma tells him every day that he looks just like his daddy. Derek doesn't see it.

A few moments later, he snuck out of the bathroom and into his room to get dressed. As he closed the door, he glanced over at his desk to see a pamphlet open that he most definitely meant to hide. Months ago, Derek had taken to snatching Sarah's subscription of Jet magazine from the mail and reading it before she could, sticking it back into the mailbox the next morning, but this issue, he just could not give back. He walked up to it and smiled at the glossy, open page, showing super gorgeous dancer Sugar Ray Robinson immobilized in that sexy power move forever. Derek ran his hand down the page and sighed in a defeatist tone, "Ooh, I want me some of that."

He knows, he knows. Sugar Ray is a man. Sugar Ray is black. Sugar Ray is straight. In the millions of ways that it's wrong, it feels so right. Ever since that goddamned puberty hit him, his john's been doing the Irish jig for men only. Derek doesn't know why, but he finds other guys intoxicating and exotic and so unnaturally sexy that he can't help but to wish that it wasn't so wrong for him to screw, date, and marry another man. But it is, and he knows better. That's why he borrows the magazines in secret.

Except for this March issue. This one he's keeping.

If for nothing, for Sugar Ray.

Derek shoved the magazine into his underwear drawer and opened his old wardrobe, running his hand down the row of clothing and chose a cream shirt and a soft brown tie. Donning those, he scanned his closet for his dark brown suit and matching slick fedora. Glancing into the desk mirror, he ran his hand gently across his smooth chin and winked to himself, "Damn, I look good." And it was true.

Striding into the kitchen moments later Derek observed his sisters Sarah and Desiree squabbling over breakfast, chatting as quickly as their teenage mouths could carry them. Disappointed, and slightly embarrassed for him that Sarah was in line to become a maid alongside her at the old house across the street from the high school Derek attended. Her case: she was too old to be babysat by her big sister. Mom's defense: She doesn't care, it's happening whether Desiree likes it or not. Derek strode past the bickering girls to press a kiss to his mother's cheek before saying affectionately, "Morning, Mama."

She smiled back, scooping eggs and pancakes onto a plate, "Good morning, handsome. You all ready for school?"

"Yes, I am, Mama," he replied with a smile, taking the plate she handed him.

His mama chuckled, "Good, because Sarah's driving."

Derek complained, "I can do it, come on. Please, Mama."

"The day I let you drive the Eight is the day you join the FBI," she chuckled, handing him two more plates for his sisters.

Derek shrugged and set the plates down, "What if I do? Can I drive the Eight then?"

His mother gave him a look, "You wouldn't join the FBI to drive a car, would you?"

Derek lifted a pancake and shoved half of it into his mouth, "Uh, yeah."

Sarah smacked the back of his head lightly and as his hand went up to rub the sting, she grabbed one of his pancakes, gloating, "Too slow."

"Sare! Those are mine!" Derek growled.

She laughed, taking a bite, "Ain't that a word from the bird?"

Derek complained, "Mom, Sarah took my pancake!"

His mother walked past them with her morning coffee, "Then take it back."

Sarah laughed with a giddy tone grabbing the plate from Derek's reach and running to the other side of the table, her puffy skirt fluttering across her knees as Derek began to chase her.

Spencer

Spencer Reid straightened his thin red tie and pulled it tighter along his throat as he sat in his first period desk. It was his senior year, he was already accepted into University, and he hadn't been beat up all week. Even though it was only Tuesday, he saw that as a plus. Biting softly on his lip, he listened to the teacher, mentally copying down the notes as she spoke. Kids whispered and jeered along the sides of his desk, and he heard one tall, gangly boy named Tobias cough "loser" as loudly and conspicuously as he could. The teacher, Ms. Erin Strauss tossed him a warning look for cutting off her lesson and continued speaking, gesturing the board. Tobias waited a moment before coughing "geek" and doubling over, hacking "nerd!" The kids in the class began to laugh and Spencer straightened his tie again, leaning forward to hide his face behind his long, curly locks. The teacher let out a chuckle and wagged a finger, "You kids."

Tobias had gotten the back row into a coughing frenzy, spewing out, "Nerd! Nerd! Nerd!"

Spencer bowed his head further and further, his curls brushing the desk as the kids continued. He felt his shoulders hunch forward in his crisp beige shirt, his toes turn inward in his old loafers, and his hands folded patiently in his lap as he waited for the children to stop. Suddenly, he saw a tall, brunette girl stand and shout, "Cut it out!"

The class looked toward the girl whom stood tall and upset, a flowy black skirt flitting like a sea around her knees with a bright blue blouse buttoned to her throat. She spoke again, loud and clear, "Just because your grades are in the crapper, it doesn't mean you need to pick on someone who does his work! You're all just jealous!"

Ms. Strauss called back, "That's enough out of you, young lady."

She folded her arms, "The name's Prentiss. Emily Prentiss."

Ms. Strauss smiled with an evil glint in her eye, "Great. Now I know who to assign the detention to."

"But, Ms. Strauss-"

She sneered, looking down her horn rimmed glasses, "Three o'clock! Since you're such good friends with poindexter back there, he can join you. Tell me, boy, what's your name?"

Spencer stood, pushing his dark rimmed glassed up his nose, "S-Spencer."

"Do you have a last name?"

He breathed, "... Reid."

Ms. Strauss grinned toothily, "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. You said your name was what...?"

Spencer cleared his throat and stuttered out, "S-Spencer Reid."

"Spencer?" Ms. Strauss mocked with a chuckle.

Spencer began to blush, cursing his fair skin as he tried to respond through his stutter, "Y-yes—"

She cut him off loudly, "Detention!"

Spencer flinched and nodded.

"Sit!" Ms. Strauss screeched.

He sat quickly and missed his seat, rear colliding with the floor as his papers scattered off of his desk. The class erupted in laughter once more as he rose and grabbed his papers up. He pushed them into his satchel as the bell supposed to ring. Kids walked over his notebooks and chuckled as he shuffled them into his pack.

The room slowly began to clear out and when it had, there was a tall, looming figure over him holding a hand out for him. He looked up into her large eyes and smiled, taking the hand cautiously as she pulled him up. Spencer grinned nervously, tugging on his satchel strap, "Thanks."

She smiled, "Anytime. I guess I'll see you again at three."

Spencer replied with a shrug, "Well, technically it's not a guess or an inference since it was stated formally by our teacher who filled out exact paperwork for our detention that we were told to attend at—"

Emily cut him off with a smile, "I'll see you later."

He raised his hand as a awkward wave goodbye, "Uh... yes. You will."

Derek

Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.

Derek bolted quickly down the hallway. If he didn't hurry, he'd be late for his next class. He zipped past people and let out a few "excuse me"s before turning the corner quickly. His open jacket fluttered behind him as he picked up speed, his backpack slung across his shoulder. Derek moved to adjust it as he sped and smacked right into someone's front, cascading the two to the floor. The person he hit, a tall, seemingly gangly white boy struggled under his chest before Derek lifted himself up from the kid. The bell rang and the remaining children and teenagers cleared the hall. Derek looked down, still situated over the kid, "...sorry."

The kid fumbled around with his words, patting his face as if he were used to something being there. He had very long, shoulder length, curly hair that spilled out over the floor, and smooth porcelain skin. As he looked up at Derek, he dropped his hand from his face and looked him in the eyes. Wow. His long, caramel lashes flickered around large, hazel irises. His lips were parted, letting out a few quiet pants as he stared back. Derek imagined kissing them, pressing lightly and nipping at the sensitive skin. Derek imagined them letting out harsh moans and swears as he pinned the kid to a wall and pleasured him. Derek imagined them traveling down his body, and pressing kisses of their own to his neck and chest. Lips that pink, and smooth, and gorgeous needed to be treated with care and respect. Even though they pleaded innocence, Derek could see that little edge of sex tinged at the corners of them as they turned up, revealing straight, white teeth. He was definitely older than he looked. The kid breathed out softly, "C-could you um… could you let me up, I-I'm late for Chemistry."

Derek nodded quickly, cursing his naughty thoughts as he kneeled beside him. The boy stretched his hands across the floor, searching blindly for something, "So sorry. My glasses. I can't seem to… I can't find them. I think they fell somewhere... over here, maybe." Derek glanced across the floor to see large, dark rimmed glasses that seemed a little too Clyde for a guy this handsome. He lifted the binoculars and handed them over to the fumbling kid, "Hey. Are these yours?"

"Yes!" the kid said, taking them and sliding them up his nose with a grateful smile, "Thanks! I'm sorry for bumping into you, when I'm thinking, my coordination takes a hit because sometimes I put too much energy into my thoughts, or I think too much, or I have way too many separate omissions going at the same time, and I lose track of where I am trying to straighten up my mind."

Derek paused, trying to understand the kid, "…what?"

The kid's face grew red across the nose and he mumbled, "I'm sorry. I talk a lot when I'm nervous."

"There's no need to be nervous," Derek's smiled, thrusting out a hand, "Put 'er there. I'm Derek."

The kid glanced at the hand, his face growing even redder, "I… um, I don't touch… people... often….."

Derek nodded and pulled his hand back, shrugging and accepting the kid's space, "You got a name?"

The kid looked up into Derek's eyes and nodded, "Spencer."

Derek let out a small smile, placing the face to the name and trying it out, "Spencer… I like it. Say, do you come here often?" His eyes fell the instant it left his mouth. Derek panicked. He did not just use a pick up line on Spencer. God, that was a sexy name. Spencer…

Spencer replied quickly seemingly unfamiliar with the line, hugging his books to his chest, "Yes, I do. I'm a senior here. And you are a student as well, or are you a teacher?"

"Me? Teaching at a posh white school? Is that even legal?" Derek let out a laugh, "Since my mama's white, I got special consideration to even learn here. I'm a junior."

Spencer pushed his nose into the air, "I think segregation's stupid. As President Eisenhower said yesterday, 'I believe as long as we allow conditions to exist that make for second-class citizens, we are making of ourselves less than first-class citizens.' I mean, how can the entire country not know that all humans have alleles that attribute to our humanity and classify us as Homo Sapiens, thusly, we're all first class citizens, right? Since we're all the same human race, we all deserve the same human rights. But, if you want to really joke about it, we're all multicellular metazoae though," he ended with a breathy laugh.

Derek began to smile, "Yeah. I guess we are, huh?"

"Crazy, right? Science!" Spencer chuckled, clutching his books tighter until his knuckles turned white, "In all actuality, it's pretty sad that you're the only kid of African descent I've seen here. Everyone in the hallway looks exactly the same and it's kind of giving me the gringles, you know? At least I can hear a jock coming down the hallway from the crux of a classroom and adequately hide."

"Same here! Those meatheads really like picking on people who are different," Derek replied casually, "So, I punched out the baseball team pitcher and laughed as he cried like a little bitch."

Spencer gasped and leaned closer, "You socked Phil Masters?! And he cried?!"

Derek shrugged, "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

Spencer bit his lip and sighed, "I would have given my right arm to see that. Did you get in trouble?"

Derek nodded quickly with a chuckle, "Loads. I almost got expelled. But, Phil was cruisin' for a bruisin' the way he was talking about my sister. He thinks he's a big shot because his dad's a cop, but my mama, she's got an iron will, that lady. God bless her heart, I got an ass whoopin' that night. I'll tell you that!"

"I'd say it was worth every second," Spencer grinned, "I wish I had guts like you. Boy, I would knock his lights out quicker than an electron attaches to a proton."

Derek let out a laugh, "I think I like you, boy. Say, what are you doing after school? Maybe we could shake and bake, you know?"

Spencer breathed with a shocked smile, "You want to hang out with me?"

Derek shrugged, "Why not?"

Spencer replied, "I'm a loser."

Derek smiled quietly back at him, "… me too."

"Kooky," Spencer beamed and glanced into Derek's eyes in astonishment. Derek stared back into those large, hazel orbs, not knowing if his heart was slowing down or speeding up. God, Spencer was cute. From the top of his curly head to the bottom of his smooth chin, he was cute. His pale face flushed under the attention, and Derek almost let out a cry. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hug the crap out of him, or fuck him senseless, and it was becoming more and more disorienting by the second. All Derek was positively sure about was that he wanted to stare into those hazel eyes forever. Derek wanted to run his fingers through that caramel colored hair, and dammit! Derek wanted to fall in love with him. He could easily see himself doing so.

Spencer broke the silence with a soft, "…you're really handsome."

Derek raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Spencer sputtered, grabbing his things, "I-I mean, you've just got a nice face is all. It's evenly proportioned in a way that flatters the modern… I just…" Spencer stood and backed away quickly, "I have to go. I'm sorry, I… I have to…" he began speeding down the hallway.

Derek watched after him, letting his eyes travel down to that—good Lord.

Now that is an ass.

Spencer

Spencer walked into detention with his head hung, ready for any dirt and grime punishment was due his way for disrupting class with his geekiness. Emily was already sitting atop a desk, filing her nails and popping bubble pink gum. As he closed the door behind him, he spoke, "Hello, Emily." She nodded as a reply, buffing the tops of her nails distractedly. He looked around to see no one else in the room except for a stern faced man who sat at the teacher's desk. The man looked up and pointed to a piece of paper on the wall beside the door, "Sign in."

Spencer obeyed and glanced at the attendance list. Emily Prentiss was already signed in. Up next on the list was a Penelope Garcia, Kevin Lynch, and Derek Morgan. Lastly, there was him. Spencer Reid. Wait. Was this "Derek Morgan" the Derek he bumped into in the hallway? You know, the Derek with the beautiful brown eyes and the shy smile and the god-like body hidden under those brown slacks. Couldn't be. There was just no way. Derek's not the most common of names, sure, but it sure wasn't unheard of.

He signed next to his name and sat at the seat nearest the window. Glancing out of it, he watched the male students run along, pushing each other and tugging girl's pigtails. With them, he noticed the female students, comparing lipsticks and swatting away the boys. He thought back to what he had said earlier to Derek about segregation. Each and every one of those students he watched was white. Not even the cleaning ladies had a lick of color in them. Then, after a sea of creamy, pale skin, Derek simply existed in the hallways. Tall, broad shouldered, skin the shade of freshly brewed coffee with five sugars, three creams, mmm. Spencer's favorite. There Derek was; so delectable, so mysterious, so ever-loving sexy. And here Spencer was, brilliantly stupid and stupidly brilliant. No way on earth that Derek would even give a moment's hesitation to a boy like Spencer. Derek called him a kid back then, and he was kind of right. Actually, Spencer was sixteen, but since everyone in his grade is a legal adult he still feels like a child. Spencer sighed to the window at the all-white crowd, hoping he would catch a glimpse of Derek as he left school. Wow. He's been reduced to this: staring out of a window, pleading with whatever god there was that he could see this boy one last time.

The door banged open and Spencer's head turned to catch the commotion. In walked a curvy, busty blonde with one male student on each arm. One was a bit pudgy and very handsome in the face. The other was Derek. Holy Schrodinger. Derek. Spencer turned his head quickly toward the window and breathed into his hand to check his breath which was coincidentally horrible enough to peel paint. Why, oh why, did he have egg salad for lunch? He folded his arms onto a book on his desk and put his head inside of them. If all goes well, Derek won't see him.

"Mr. Reid, please pick your head up. This is detention, and in detention, we use books for the purpose of reading, not snoozing." Mr. Stern Face said.

Spencer picked his head up quickly to find the entire room looking this way, "Sorry, Mister…"

"Mr. Hotchner," he corrected, looking back down to his small, paperback book. There was a .572% chance that Derek didn't see him. Soon after, he heard a curt squeal and watched the beautiful blonde, pull the two boys over to his desk. Oh, God. Derek was looking right at him. As the blonde approached the desk, she slammed her hands on the table, "You are just adorable! How old are you? What year are you? Where are you from?"

Spencer cleared his throat nervously, "Sixteen, senior, Las Vegas."

She chuckled, "Holy moly! Vegas? How is it out west?"

Spencer said quickly, "Loud. Of course, I don't mean loud as something strongly audible, having exceptional volume, or intensity. I meant 'loud' as in clamorous, vociferous, or blatantly… bustling."

The blonde giggled and poked him on the nose, "Wow, you're like Einstein's hot grandson or something. E=mc smokin'."

Spencer blushed to his desk, "It's, uh… squared. E=mc2. Since energy equals mass times the velocity of—"

She leaned over his books, "You have a girlfriend, Mr. Reid?"

Spencer glanced down at his toes, "Not really, I… well, no. Never."

"Never?" she whispered with a wink, "What? Do you mean you have a boyfriend?"

"NO!" Spencer squeaked. He's not gay! He's not. He just has an appreciative and sometimes sexual and romantic attraction to the male form and a very small romantic (not at all sexual) attraction to the female form. Sexuality is fluid, goddamit! One day, he'll prove it.

The handsome faced boy beside her nudged her elbow, "Okay, Pen. You can quit grilling him under hot lights." The boy turned to Spencer, "Sorry, Reid. She's a little smog in the noggin if you know what I mean."

Spencer nodded, face beat red as he buried his head back into his arms. Mr. Hotchner whistled angrily and Spencer popped his head up, "Sorry!"

He heard Derek's deep chuckle and looked up as Derek asked, "Hey, you're Spencer, right? I bumped into you during second period."

"Yeah… I, well, yes," Spencer replied, praying his blush wasn't so obvious. It just wouldn't go away!

Derek gestured to the boy beside the desk, "This is Kevin Lynch, he wants to study Physics and machinery in college."

Kevin tipped his bowler hat, "Howdy."

"And this," Derek said, wrapping his arm around the girl to his right, "Is Penelope Garcia, AKA Goddess of Everything Fabulous."

Penelope smiled theatrically, "Goddess of Fab at your service."

Derek shrugged, "And I'm just Derek."

Penelope corrected seriously, "AKA Chocolate Thunder!"

"AKA Chocolate Thunder," Derek chuckled and leaned toward Spencer, "Guys, this is Spencer Reid. I pushed him to the ground this morning and nearly lost his glasses, so I guess I get the Doofus of the Day Award."

"Derek, honey, we've always known you were a doofus. Good thing you've got your looks," Penelope hopped up onto the windowsill beside her, puffy pink skirt and blouse all around her like a soft cloud. She was very striking and easily unique. Even her eyelids were a glittery shade of pink. She asked with a whisper, "So, Little Einstein, why are you doing time in the rat hole with us?"

Spencer tilted his head down, "I was… well… I don't take notes like the average student, and the kids around me noticed and started pointing it out to the teacher, consequently disrupting class. It was my fault, really. I just—"

"Oh, please," Emily said, jumping down from her desk and striding over to his with her arms folded across her chest, "These jerks in the back row started calling him a nerd because he takes notes with his mind—which is pretty cool, if you ask me. Saves trees."

Derek's eyes lit up, "Wait, so your mind takes notes? Like you remember everything the teacher says and don't have to study it?"

Spencer nodded, "Pretty much."

Kevin asked with a cocked eyebrow, "So, you're like a mutant or something?"

Spencer replied easily, "There seems to be unusually fast repairing and undying cells in the cortex and frontal lobe of my brain, so I remember absolutely everything heard. Seeing things takes me at least thirty seconds to record, but it's still all there. At least, that's the thesis I'm considering. It's called an eidetic memory, and it's quite fascinating in the grand scope of science."

Kevin sang under his breath, "Weird…"

Emily smacked his arm, "Hey, dude, it's cool! You're just jealous."

Kevin chuckled, "Heck, yeah I am. I wish I didn't have to worry about grades. They rule my life right now."

"It is pretty sweet." Penelope nodded and turned to Derek with a sickeningly sweet smile, "What do you think, Derek?"

Kevin got a strange grin on his face that matched Penelope's, "Yeah, what do you think, Derek?"

Derek glared at the both of them, "I think it's pretty interesting. I would like to know more about the science behind the condition so that I could better understand the way he learns, not so I could grill him about what his favorite color is. Penelope."

Penelope winked over at her friend, "Whatever you say."

Emily paused and glanced at Spencer, "Is there some sort of secret code between the two of them that we just don't know about?"

Spencer shrugged, "Seems like it."

Kevin let out a snicker and replied, "Don't worry about it. They've been best friends since the beginning of Creation, so it makes sense that mortals like us don't understand their language."

Derek

Derek finished his homework for the night relatively quickly, lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. His bedside clock read eleven thirty, and since his sisters were going through their nightly gossip and his mother was long asleep, there was no one to annoy. He spent an hour already lying in bed, waiting for sleep to come, but it didn't for other reasons. Derek had been thinking about him all night. Spencer. That kid had him snowed. How does he even do it? Spencer's body was slight, unlike the muscle-bound magazine men Derek pined after. Spencer's eyes were large, filled with kindness, knowledge and hunger for more information. Spencer's skin was so smooth, and pale, and foreign. He was tall, he was quiet, his posture was impeccable. He was brilliant, he was clever, he was beautiful beyond measure. Derek's never felt such a longing for someone after just a day's meet.

He sighed and folded his arms. This is actually starting to tick him off. Derek was hoping to this year snag some cute black girl, take her home to his momma, make love to her a couple times and dump her in a few months just to reinforce how much he wasn't attracted to men. Sure, it would be cruel to the girl, but it's a hard fucking world out there and as a colored girl, she'll have been through worse. But, with Spencer hanging around… hmm. That whole plan of his might not go over so well.

Derek wishes there was some pill he could take that would make him normal. Why can't he find that attractive girl in his algebra class sexy? Why can't he stop the bile from rising in his throat when he thinks of what he'll have to do to fit in? Why can't he find Spencer completely and utterly repulsive? Sadly, all of that still remains true and Derek has to work with what he's got.

Damn. Now he's thinking about Spencer again. Derek pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. Why won't that handsome, clever son of a bitch get the hell out of his mind for five seconds?! He thinks he's about to—

"Derek…" a small voice said.

He looked up to his door to see his eldest sister Sarah peeking in, "Hey, Sare. What do you want?"

Sarah shrugged her shoulders, crept into the room and closed the door behind her clad in a long, blue night gown, "Well, I originally came in here to bother you, but… you look kind of depressed. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Derek dropped his hands to his sides, "No."

Sarah sat on the edge of the bed and patted his shin, "Is there anything you need to talk about?"

Derek sighed, looking across the room and away from her, "I'm not sure yet."

Sarah teased, "Is it a girl?"

Derek gave Sarah a look and rolled his eyes, "Can we not do this right now?"

Sarah smiled brightly, "Oh, my gosh, it is a girl!"

"No, it's not!" Derek pulled his leg from her hand, "Come on, Sare, grow up."

Sarah asked, "Is she cute? Is she nice? Do I get a name?"

Derek groaned, "No, no, and never."

Sarah giggled and lay back along the width of his bed, "So she's ugly, mean, and nameless? I approve."

He crossed his legs Indian style and reached over to flick her in the ear, "Don't talk like that."

Sarah smiled up at him, "She must be special. I bet this is the first day you saw her."

It was, Derek thought.

She continued, "Your eyes must have met in the most unexpected of places…"

His big, hazel eyes gazed right into mine on the floor of the hallway during class. We were all alone and so close. If I wanted to, I could brush his hair out of his face, lean in, and do it. Kiss him, Derek replied in his mind.

She raved, "And the world disappeared until it was just the two of you…"

Even when we were there in a detention room that was filled with kids, every time their eyes met, it felt like they were alone again. It felt like…the Earth revolved around the both of them, stuck in a fixed point between reality and a dream world in which they were lovers at last. I wanted nothing more than to stay in that dream world. Forever. With Spencer… Derek wondered.

Sarah asked, "Are you thinking about her boobs right now?"

Derek made a face, "No."

"Damn, you're into her," Sarah giggled, "The only way a girl can get a man to pull his head so far out of his ass that he's thinking about her brain before her body… is to have his heart on a leash. Are you sure you just met her?"

Derek gave in, allowing female pronouns because he really didn't want to have a conversation about his…sexual preferences with his sister. He shrugged, "You want the story, fine. I bumped into her in the hallway. The bell sounded, the kids cleared out, and it was just us. I helped her find her glasses, and she told me her name. We were both late to class, so I saw her again in detention. That's it. You happy?"

Sarah gasped, "You met her in school? Please, tell me you didn't fall for a white girl."

Derek explained, "She's very pro-Eisenhower."

Sarah shook her head quickly, "Derek, come on now! Did you not see what mom and dad had to go through? Do you seriously want history to repeat itself?"

Derek started, "Sarah—"

She continued, "Personally, I could care less who you date, but I'll have you know everyone else won't be as forgiving, Derek, the world doesn't care how much you're in love. We've seen that all first hand. There's only one way to be with these people, and if you're not that, you're out."

"Thanks," Derek grimaced, "Now, I feel worse than I did five minutes ago."

Sarah placed her hand on Derek's arm, "I just don't want you to get hurt. It's a tough world out there, alright, Der?"

Derek nodded, "I know."

A/N: I'll be updating every Sunday. That whilst be all. Thanks for your time.