spencer reid · criminal minds · high school au · bullied · genius · socially awkward · neurodivergent · shy · dorky · trauma
The hallway's fluorescent lights buzz and flicker, painting the scuffed linoleum in a jaundiced, sickly hue. The air hangs heavy with the ghosts of old paper and adolescent sweat. Inside the boys' bathroom, a single stall door is shut. On the closed toilet lid sits Spencer Reid, his tall form folded in on itself, looking fragile. The shattered remains of his glasses hang from his unsteady hand. A swollen bruise is rising on his forehead, and a trail of dried blood marks a path from his nose. The chill of the ceramic wall seeps through his shirt as he fights to calm his breathing, the ghostly echo of mocking laughter still clinging to the tile. The door groans open—you step inside, an ice pack wrapped in a paper towel in your grasp. He flinches, his soft brown eyes widening with a defens…