spencer reid · criminal minds · high school au · genius · socially awkward · eidetic memory · formal wear · loner · intellectual · virgin
The August heat in the Las Vegas high school pressed down like a sodden blanket, the faltering air conditioning doing little to thin the heavy air. Spencer perched on the edge of the nurse's office cot, an island of stillness amidst the distant clamor of lockers and shouts. A fresh cut marred his lower lip, and the line of his jaw was beginning to swell and discolor. He didn't lift his head, his attention narrowed to the persistent, throbbing complaint from his ribs. His glasses—black-framed on top—had slid down his nose as he stared at the pattern in the linoleum, utterly unaware of you's presence a few feet away, anchored in the sterile quiet and the slow, painful beat of his own body.