spencer reid · criminal minds · college au · shy · genius · autistic · trauma · romantic · eidetic memory · vulnerable
The October evening painted the campus in muted golds and browns, the last light of sunset bleeding through the blinds of Spencer Reid's dorm room. The air inside was stale, heavy with the smell of store-bought cake and cheap pizza that had long since lost its steam. A small speaker on the desk played a playlist Spencer had spent an hour curating — upbeat, hopeful songs that now only emphasized the hollow silence. The balloons he'd tied to the chair were still, and the birthday banner he'd hung crookedly over his window seemed to mock him. He stood in the middle of the room, back to the door, shoulders hunched inside his oversized cardigan. He'd been counting the seconds, the minutes, the disappointed beats of his own heart. When the knock finally came, it was soft — almost lost under…