The Price of Happiness || Spencer Reid

One

You cursed your poor timekeeping skills as you tried to quietly sneak into the classroom full of students who were avidly listening to the professor talk. You couldn't count the number of times you had been late to class, and it was almost normal for you at this point. You never did it intentionally, you just always seemed to be running behind, just as you were this morning. Your eyes darted around the room, looking for somewhere to sit and your eyes catching a familiar head of pink hair. Spotting the empty seat she'd saved you, you quickly rushed to where she was sitting.

"Hey Is," You said, placing your bag down and taking a seat beside her. Iris, as was her full name, smiled at you before looking at her phone and showing you the time.

"You're late." She teased, not truly minding your inability to reach anywhere on time. She just hated being left alone in what she referred to as 'the most boring class she's ever had to take.' But, you couldn't blame her for that, after all, she was an art major who was only taking this criminal justice class, because you didn't want to take it alone.

"I'm sorry, I overslept." You said, getting out your books and resting them on the table so that it looked like you were attempting to pay attention.

"But you had time to get coffee?" She pointed at the coffee cup in your hand with an eyebrow raised. You knew she wasn't mad, this was just her way of asking if she could have some. You pushed the cup over to her, turning to face your professor who was currently talking about something or another, you tried to pay attention but it was almost impossible.

"He looks good today." You whispered, gesturing towards the man pacing in front of you. Professor Reid, or Dr Spencer Reid as he'd introduced himself on the first day of class, was spewing out endless information about, from what you'd been able to gather, statistics and their importance during an investigation. But, honestly, all your focus was on the way his dark red cardigan fit just right on him and the way his pants made his ass look incredible, not to mention how his hair fell across his face perfectly, not the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Oh yeah...the things I would let that man do to me." She replied with complete seriousness but the wink she sent you to let you know she was just teasing.

It wasn't that funny, in all honesty she was entirely right. But for some reason, you laughed, much louder than you had meant to, and it unintentionally captured Spencer's attention. He quickly turned to see where the noise had come from, his eyes scanning the classroom until they landed on you, giggling to yourself. He watched as you turned your attention to your notebook, seemingly beginning to doodle on the page, and his momentary pause made the room fall silent. The rest of the class followed his gaze, which sat intently on you, and when you eventually glanced up from your page, wondering what had caused the silence, you found yourself locking eyes with him.

"Is something funny Miss Y/L/N?" He asked; his tone laced with exasperation, and the way he was looking at you was so intense you swore he could see into your soul. Your mouth gaped open for several moments as you tried to find the words to explain yourself.

"N..No, Professor Reid... I'm sorry." You stuttered out, and you could feel your face heating up, praying he would move his attention away from you quickly. Truthfully he had never gotten truly angry at anyone before; he was more passive, simply requesting them to stop disrupting so he could continue. But something about the way he was looking at you seemed unfamiliar, like he was agitated at the fact that you had interrupted his class. However, he didn't say anything, he nodded in acknowledgement of your apology and continued with the class, and as confused as you felt, you were grateful for that.

The rest of the class was simultaneously a blur and also the longest 30 minutes of your life. You hadn't wanted to risk anything else, so you sat there in silence, ignoring the several nudges and whispers Iris sent you. You usually wouldn't have cared about being yelled at by a teacher, aside from the apparent humiliation that would come with it. But something about angering Dr Reid made you... well, it was just something you didn't want to experience. You were ready to leave the classroom when you felt a tap on your shoulder. You sharply turned around to find him standing behind you, "Miss Y/LN, I'd like to see you in my office later. 5PM, don't be late." He said before walking away without giving you a chance to reply. Oh fuck.