UNSTEADY ➢ spencer reid

OUT OF ORDER

I heard Kevin knocking on the front door around nine in the morning. By then I'd already been awake for an hour and was sitting on the couch drinking coffee. I tiredly peeled myself from my seat and walked to the front door, unlocking it before throwing it open. Kevin stood on the other side of the frame, holding my car keys in one hand and a plastic coffee cup in the other. He swallowed hard and flashed me an awkward grin.

"Hey." I motioned him to come inside.

"Hi." He stepped in, kicking off his shoes. He handed me my keys and followed me towards the living room where we sat next to each other on the couch. "Your house is a lot nicer than I thought it was going to be."

I scrunched up my face. "Why's that?"

"Well you're a mess, so I figured your house would reflect that."

"Gee thanks." I sipped my coffee.

"Listen, about last night. Are you okay? What happened?"

"During the speeches I kind of freaked out. I don't know what or why or how, but I started getting an anxiety attack so I went outside and it started getting worse and then Spencer found me drinking beer in my car and basically forced me to let him drive me home, which was nice, but also weird and I don't know man. He just really helped me last night and I don't know what to say t-"

"Slow down there." Kevin put his cup on the coffee table and adjusted himself so he was facing me. "You were drinking in your car?"

I nodded. "I have extra beer from work."

He gave me a disappointment sigh as he shook his head. "Lor. You need to stop with the drinking. Do you want to end up like Dad?"

"I basically already am Dad."

"I mean, true, but not entirely."

We both laughed, which probably would've made most people uncomfortable, but to us it was normal. Self deprecating, dark humor was what we Lynch children excelled at.

"You should really thank Spencer." Kevin added.

I nodded. I knew he was right. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Or him for that matter. All night I kept dreaming about how instead of standing at the doorway last night, I would run over to him and hug him and thank him. It sounded lame, but I think it was my subconscious telling me to be less of an asshole to him.

"I will."

"Good."

"How'd the rest of the rehearsal go?" I felt bad for even asking.

He shrugged. "I mean, it was boring as hell, but we got through."

"Nervous?"

"Not in the slightest. I'm ready to marry her."

I smiled.

"What?"

"I'm really happy for you, Kev." I took another sip of coffee.

"So am I."

"Penelope's honestly the best girl you could've asked for."

"I know." He shook his head. "I mean, she's smart and funny and hot. Wow."

I rolled my eyes. "You still continue to be the superior sibling."

We chatted for about an hour about how the night went. Apparently after the speeches everyone enjoyed their food and then they played music and danced for a little bit. According to Kevin, Mom and Dad completely forgot about my absence, which made me both happy, because it meant everyone could actually enjoy themselves, and sad, because well, yeah.