someone to love • spencer reid

derailed

elle and i sat together on the train, my head leaning against my hand as i tried not to let the rattling of the train lull me to sleep.

gideon had sent us down to el paso, texas, to interview a recently incarcerated child murderer. specifically brown haired boys with lives ahead of them. the man, charles devries, has agreed to an interview for our vicap system, and since elle and i were still technically new, gideon sent us.

elle was currently speaking with him on the phone, but i paid no attention, my headphones blasting music.

i felt her pull one of my earbuds out, and i turned to give her an annoyed look,"that was the best part."

she sighed, dropping it in my lap,"we need to review the case. gideon said he can't lie to us if we know the scene better than him."

i rolled my eyes,"i know the case, miss girl, i reviewed it way before we even entered the south."

she ignored me, pulling out the file,"and why are you wearing that to interview a serial killer?"

i looked down at my cropped cardigan and boyfriend jeans. i didn't see the problem with it. it might have been a little unprofessional, but i had prepared for that,"there's a blazer in my bag."

"lovely." elle muttered.

she had been annoyed with me basically for the whole trip. she thought she was perfectly capable of conducting an interview by herself, and deemed me unnecessary. i was trying to be friendly, but she was being so snarky and backhanded.

i was going to tell her off, when the train halted to an abrupt stop, causing me to hit the back of the seat in front of me.

"shit." i muttered, rubbing my forehead, once i sat back in my seat.

i ran a hand through my hair, trying to recompose myself. my bruises had barely healed from when i was beaten up by our last unsub. sometimes i wish i didn't bruise like a rotten apple, but...that's just life.

"are you okay?" elle asked as i continued to rub my forehead.

i nodded,"are you?"

"yeah. i buckled my seat belt." she answered, causing me to roll my eyes.

"i'll remember that for next time." i muttered, watching as a security guard walked in to reassure us.

"everything's alright, folks," he announced, "just relax, everything's gonna be fine."

"what happened?" i asked him as he walked by.

he stopped and looked down at us, noticing the government issued file in elle's lap,"you on the job?"

"fbi." i answered, smiling politely at him.

he nodded and leaned down, so the other passengers wouldn't hear,"it was a suicide. somebody jumped in front of the train."

i frowned, my heart dropping. someone's life was lost so close to us, it just...i don't know, it puts things in perspective, i guess.

"anything we can do?" elle asked.

he sighed,"unfortunately, we have the procedure down fairly well," he then noticed the prominent bruise forming on my forehead,"are you okay? that bruise looks bad."

i groaned, tossing my head back,"i'm fine, i have a condition. i bruise like an apple, it's not a big-"

"don't you mean you bruise like a peach?" elle asked, correcting my expression.

i gave her a confused look,"what? no, the saying is apple."

"no it's not, it's-" she continued to argue with me.