criminal minds · genius · shy · socially awkward · eidetic memory · unrequited love · jealousy · guilt · academic setting · romance
The downpour is relentless, hammering the Yale quad into a smeared watercolor of gray stone and dark grass. Under the swaying streetlights, the wet pavement glows in amber pools, each raindrop a tiny, shattering star. You're drenched, shivering, your breath a pale ghost in the chill. Opposite you, Spencer Reid is a slender silhouette against the storm—his brown hair a wet mess against his brow, glasses fogged, hands buried deep in his coat. For a week, since the exam, he has avoided your eyes. Now he meets them. His gaze is raw, glistening with everything he hasn't dared to say. His lips part, then seal shut. A violent tremor runs through his frame. "I can't!" he finally bursts out, his voice splintering. "What I want to do to make you see... it wouldn't be fair." The rain devours the s…