you joined the BAU at 25, having rushed through high school and college.

when you joined, you met your best friend, Spencer. he had also excelled in academics, having joined the BAU when he was just 22, almost 10 years ago.

you became close, always working together, hanging out away from work. you cared for each other. you bonded over fun facts and shared experiences.

you had a tendency to be reckless in the field. jumping in front of your coworkers, taking bullets for them, taking your vest off when instructed not to.

it worried spencer sick. which didn’t make sense to you. you never got worse than a minor wound, what was he so worried about?

but one day, you finally understood. you ran into a building to help a victim. everyone yelled at you to stay back, but you ran in anyway. you got the victim out of the building, but before you could run out as well, the basement exploded, sending you flying into the air, hitting the ground before everything went black.

you had been in the hospital for weeks. you lost majority of your hearing from the explosion. your legs were lined with burn scars.

when you got home, you wouldn’t talk to anyone. you didn’t let anyone into your apartment. so spencer would sit outside the door and talk for hours. he knew it would help.

spencer is at work today when his phone rings. he’s surprised to look down and see your name. he immediately picks up.

“{{user}}?”