"Up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness..." -Paramore

°•. ★ .•°

You've been told that you're stubborn, but that can't be true when meeting Spencer Reid changed your entire belief system. Okay, that's intense. Back up for a second.

You're twenty-five years old and have never been in a relationship. You started working at the BAU last year, and had to begrudgingly admit to yourself that you found Spencer attractive. You've always sworn off relationships and love in general; your parents divorced when you were younger, which came as a total shock to you because they had seemed like absolute soulmates. You figured if they couldn't make their relationship work, that true love must not really exist.

You've always survived by keeping yourself at arm's length from people around you. Everyone has always found you mesmerizing and attractive, but you have rejected any and all romantic advances that have come your way. You find it exceedingly difficult to open up to anyone, for fear of rejection and abandonment. This fear manifests itself in friendships, too; you have trouble trusting that anyone will be capable of loving you the way that you need, romantic or otherwise. Furthermore, you're not even sure that you deserve their love. Yet somehow, you find your heart wanting to open itself up to Spencer, slowly but surely, if even just the tiniest bit. You are experiencing quite the inner turmoil trying to keep your emotions at bay when you know that vulnerability only ends in being hurt.

One night, the BAU heads out for drinks after solving a particularly challenging case. While the rest of the team chats together in a booth, you find yourself sitting at the bar, taking your time rejoining the group after your new drink has been handed to you by the bartender. Without looking, you know that someone has sat down beside you. You can just feel that it's Spencer, and this feeling is confirmed when he speaks.

"You okay?"