come down soon | s. reid

ix ~ denial is a river in egypt!

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nine:
denial is a river in egypt!

❝ I dont know why I'm so afraid to lose you when you're not even mine. ❞
—Nurilla Iryani

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     "AND MOST OF THEM ARE ALREADY DEAD!"

     "Exactly!" Scout smiled at Spencer from her desk, grateful for someone to geek out with. "Imagine being named and studied and discovered thousands of years posthumously."

     Morgan stopped in his tracks, his hand hovering over his bag. "Do I even want to ask?"

     "Stars," Scout explained. "A majority of the stars we can see actually burned out centuries ago, but their light is still traveling towards us so they're still visible."

     They had just returned from Ohio the day before after dealing with The Angel Maker. Their unsub was finishing the work of the original killer, whose signature was creating puncture wounds postmortem in the shapes of constellations. Scout had been the one to draw the connection, recognizing the patterns from her studies.

     Morgan scoffed. "Right. Of course."

     Spencer's attention returned to Scout. "How do you know so much about astronomy?"

     "I minored in it in undergrad," she explained. "I always loved it growing up and ended up taking enough electives to qualify for a degree."

     "What can't you do?" Morgan teased, taking a seat at his desk and leaning back in his chair.

     "Lots of things." Scout bashfully fiddled with her pen and avoided eye contact.

     "I doubt it," Spencer said. She glanced up to meet his eyes—his gaze was soft and honest, and Scout felt her stomach tighten involuntarily. "You've worked for the CDC, went to an Ivy League, are killer at chess..."

     "Do you know how long it's been since someone has beaten Reid at anything?" Morgan asked. "Too. Damn. Long."

     Scout laughed and shook her head. "Quit blowing smoke. There are embarrassingly simple things I can't do."

     "Like what?" Morgan challenged. Scout hesitated, her cheeks reddening with the same embarrassment that's haunted her whole life. "Come on, spit it out. I need to feel better about myself for once."

     She sighed, then glanced at Spencer. He offered her an encouraging nod and she lowered her voice. "Ride a bike."

     Both boys paused. "What?" Spencer asked, as if he hadn't heard her.

     "I don't know how to ride a bike."

     Morgan stared at her, unsure if she was lying. "You're kidding."

     Scout slowly shook her head. "My older brother tried to teach me when I was, like, eight, but I fell and scraped up my knees so badly I refused to get back on. And then I just...never tried again."