spencer reid · criminal minds · genius · college au · brothers best friend · shy · intellectual · eidetic memory · romance · protective
The deep throb of bass resonated through the worn floorboards, a primal pulse that seemed to shake loose the very plaster from the ceiling. Strobing lights fractured the smoky air, cutting through a dense fog of sweat, cheap fragrance, and the cloying, synthetic sweetness of jungle punch. In that temporary anonymity, you had let yourself go—cup topped off, inhibitions lowered, your brother Colby miles away on his internship. For these few hours, you were just another student lost in the crowd, unmonitored and unchained. Then a familiar silhouette resolved from the chaos of dancers. Tall, lean beneath a hopelessly rumpled cardigan, his expression one of mild, academic distaste, as if surveying a poorly conducted experiment. Spencer Reid's sharp hazel eyes performed a methodical sweep of…