ever since we had the cult case, things have been different. nothing detrimental even happened to any of us. we just came out with bruises and a few broken ribs. but i can feel myself slowly losing the bond spencer and i had.

people around me noticed it as well. garcia would come up to me every once in a while and ask me if spencer is okay or if i'm okay, and i don't know what to say. i just nod and keep walking. sometimes i overhear JJ talking time spencer about it, but he puts minimal participation into the conversation.

cases have come and gone. we communicate and get the job done, no matter what it takes. we had one a few weeks ago, and hotch had spencer and i go undercover at a bar. i would lure the suspected unsub, and then spencer would intervene. i think he just overheard the cat calls and the things i said to the unsub, and it made him, i don't know, look at me different?

i've tried to talk to him about it a few times, but he won't listen. he will just continue to talk about whatever case we are on. i don't know what i did to him. am i the problem? is he the problem? did someone say something to him?

-

as i finish the last file in my stack, i walk over to spencer's desk.

"Hal's?" i ask.

he begins to speak but i cut him off.

"before you say no, i'm not taking no for an answer. you're going. i need to talk to you." i exclaim.

he looks at me. "fine. but i still have 2 files to do so you're going to have to wait."

i nod my head in compliance and head to the restroom to freshen up. i give myself a pep talk in the mirror and run over what i'm going to say.

when i come out, he is standing up and gathering his belongings. i grab my purse, and we walk out together, ignoring the murmurs that come from the rest of the team.

-

i arrive at the diner just before spencer does. i order green tea and take a seat in a booth in the corner. he walks in and orders his usual coffee, before coming down and sitting across from me.

"so why are we here?" he asks, not making eye contact.

i was not expecting the sass in his voice, so i don't hold back. "ever since we had the case and got trapped in the cult, you've been acting so.. just.. distant. i've noticed you looking at me different, almost out of disgust. that bond, that friendship that we had before that case is gone. you aren't the same person anymore, spencer."

he glares at me and furrows his eyebrows. "you think i'm not the same person? you should've seen yourself on that undercover case. that's not the stella that i know. plus, you've been a lot more hostile on our cases lately. you finish my sentences, and try to take over the whole operation, at least where i am."

i think back to some of our cases. i hadn't realized it, but i had taken over a little bit. "well i'm sorry for taking over on those cases, i guess i didn't realize, but that case, we were undercover, spencer. i was supposed to act like that to attract the unsub." i snap.

"it sounded like you've acted like that before, and given your past, it makes sense. foster homes take a toll on people." spencer shrugs.

that statement completely takes me off guard, and a fire ignites inside of me. "sorry if my past that you really have no idea about has affected how you look at me today. good day, dr. reid." i glare, standing up from the booth and walking out.

"stella wai-" spencer tries to get my attention but i'm already gone. i'm already getting in my car and heading towards my apartment.

-

i shut and lock my door and set my purse on the counter, and head to the bathroom to wash the day off.

i turn on the shower and wait for the water to heat up. i strip and then look in the mirror at my face, and i just break down.

spencer brought up a part of my past that isn't even true. he accused me of being, not a prostitute, but just a person who put themselves out there for everyone.

truth is, i was never a prostitute. i was never like that. i was closed off after my family's death. i didn't have many friends, and surely did not spend my time in bars.

i step into the shower and after rinsing out my shampoo and conditioner, i sit down in the bathtub of my shower, my cries aligning with the slow beat of the sad music playing. i just lost my best friend for good.

-

i wake up the next morning feeling like absolute shit. but, as always, i have to go to work. i put on a pair of dark grey dress pants and a purple blouse, paired with black heels.

i brush through my hair and put it in a ponytail, but then i take it out. my mindset changes.

i have to show him what he lost.

i look at my phone and i still have an hour before i have to leave. so, i straighten my hair and put it in a sleek ponytail, taking out the baby hairs. i apply natural makeup, but just enough to make my eyes pop.

i go into the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee, and then grab some of the fruit salad i made a few nights ago out of the refrigerator. today will be good. i will make it good

-

as i walk into quantico, all eyes turn to me. i am much more cleaned up than usual, so this is a shock to everyone.

garcia walks up to me. "oh my god stella! i love your ponytail with the makeup! it compliments you so well!"

i smile back at her. "thank you garcia. i really like your earrings. where did you get them?" i ask.

she goes to touch her purple earrings. "nordstrom."

"i'm going to look for those!" i say to her as i walk to my desk and open up the first file in my big stack for the day.

as i'm walking over to the vending machine to get a bag of chips, morgan walks up next to me, acts like he's getting something out of the one next to me, but he's really talking to me.

"do you and reid have beef?" he asks me. he sounds mad.

"i mean, kind of. he's been really distant lately and so i tried to talk to him last night about it but he accused me of being something i'm not because of how i acted undercover that one time."

"stella, you know he didn't mean it that way, right?" morgan says.

at this point, i am starting to get really annoyed. "sure, whatever morgan. it sounded personal, so i'm giving our friendship some space." i reply.

"stella, he really liked you. he told me about your day in DC together. it sounded nice. i would try and fix this sooner rather than later." morgan finishes before walking away.

i roll my eyes at the vending machine, and press the buttons for my chips in an aggressive manner. spencer is trying to play the victim card, and he's telling other people about it. i'm not having it.

just as i sit down at my desk, hotch comes out of his office and basically screams into the bullpen.

"stella. in my office. now." he says loudly, sternly, and aggressively.

my face turns bright red as i look at jj, who is sitting on top of her desk. spencer looks at me, but quickly looks away. morgan looks at me, but just looks away in disappointment. i roll my eyes at them and then head up to hotch's office.

i shut the door and sit down. "we have a lot to talk about." he begins.