Chapter Text
The house felt larger and lonelier than usual today for some reason. As you sat in your sweats on the couch, you turned on the TV to fill the silence. Your parents had gone to one of their hippie retreats into the mountains. They were out of cellphone and even postal service range; this was nice and not nice. You enjoyed time by yourself, but staying at their house alone was always a little creepy. You did enjoy the pool and hot tub they had, along with their spacious living quarters. Those were perks your apartment did not have. You were going to school for English Lit and therefore were completely broke. Luckily, house sitting was at least like a little holiday from that.
Flipping through the channels, you stopped at the news.
“Two girls, dead,” the woman reported, standing outside a suburban house.
Why did that house look familiar?
“The killer is believed to be stalking, murdering, and then posing his victims in famous literary scenes. Police say they have the FBI assisting them in the investigation. More later as the story unfolds.”
The banner scrolled across the screen and you realized why the house looked so familiar. That was a house only five streets down from yours. You felt shivers run through your entire body. Something so gruesome so close to home made you queasy. You got up and double checked that the doors were locked. This was supposed to be a nice neighborhood… nothing like that ever happened here.
You nearly jumped out of your skin when your cell phone rang. You didn’t recognize the caller, but, thinking it might be your parents calling from a payphone or something, you answered.
“Hello?” you asked tentatively.
“Hello, (Y/N)?” you heard a female voice ask.
“Yes,” you answered hesitantly.
“Hi, this is Penelope Garcia, I’m with the FBI,” she talked quickly.
“Um, hi?” you suddenly felt shaky and sat down. “What’s this about?” you asked, glancing at the television and thinking of the news you’d just heard.
“We’re sending two agents to your house to explain, but we want to put you under police protection,” she said. “Are you aware of the recent killings in your neighborhood?” she asked.
“Yeah,” you answered. “I just heard about it… What’s that got to do with me?”
“It’s very very icky,” she said. Icky? Was she really with the FBI? “And not safe. The two women that he has killed so far have your hair color, eye color, physique, graduate studies major, and are in the same geographic area.”
You were glad you had sat down, as she listed off your entire life and made you feel like you had a bullseye on your back.
“Jesus,” you muttered. Your head snapped up as there was a knock on the door. “Is that them?” you asked, suddenly terrified it might be the killer. A killer wouldn’t knock, you chided yourself.
“Yes, sugar. I’ll stay on the line till you answer if you want,” she added.
“Thanks,” you smiled.
You walked to the door and peeked through the side panels of windows. Outside stood a large, muscular black man who looked like he belonged in a catalogue; next to him stood a tall and scrawny man wearing what looked to be clothes that belonged to an 80 year old gentleman. He ran his hand through his messy hair and bobbed up and down on his toes.
The black man knocked on the door and you jumped back.
“(Y/N)?” he projected. “This is Agent Morgan and Doctor Reid, our colleague called you?”
“That’s them,” you confirmed on the phone with Penelope.
“Okay, call me if you need anything,” she offered and then hung up.
You put your phone in your pocket and opened the door. Suddenly you felt a little self conscious of your attire, but it wasn’t like you were expecting company. Opening the door, you saw the skinnier man’s eyes dart to yours. They were so intense, so probing, you had to look away. The other man smiled.
“Hi,” he said gently. “I’m Derek Morgan,” he held up his badge.
“I’m Dr. Spencer Reid,” said the other, holding up his badge as well.
You gave them your name although they already knew it.
“May we come in?” Derek asked. You were soothed by his gentle and low voice.
“Yeah, sorry, of course,” you said. You had been so muddled by everything that had just happened, you had forgotten they should probably come in.
The light summer air drifted into your air conditioned house as the two men stepped inside.
“Do you guys want water, or tea or anything?” you offered, at a loss for what proper etiquette was in this situation.
“We’re fine, thank you,” Derek answered for them both.
Reid’s eyes were taking in your foyer, noticing everything. His eyes fell on the book you had left on the credenza earlier in the evening. You saw a small smile form on his lips, but he said nothing.
“We should probably sit down,” Derek suggested.
You nodded and showed them the way to the living room. You turned off the TV and sat down, gesturing for them to sit anywhere. They chose to sit across from you.
“So what’s this all about?” you asked. “The woman on the phone said something about me being a target for some psychopath?” you asked.
“Um, sociopath, actually,” Reid interjected. “A psychopath is more violent and prone to emotional outbursts, whereas a sociopath is less prone to violent outbursts, but if inclined towards violent behavior will be more likely to be rational and precise about his kills.” He finished with a small, knowing smile. You saw Morgan give a small sigh as he glanced at his colleague.
“Oh,” you said, not expecting that answer.
“What he means is that we have profiled the man who has killed the two young girls in this neighborhood,” he explained. Reid’s face fell, like he thought he had done something wrong. “We think he might be targeting you next. So far the women have been in your program, have the same physical attributes as you, and are all in this area.”
You gulped.
“Oh,” you said, your voice shaky. You lifted your hand up to brush your hair behind your ear and found that it was shaking. You looked at it and quickly put it back down.
“It’s okay to be scared,” Morgan assured you. “You probably should be. This guys is not going to stop until he gets his perfect fantasy. But we don’t want that to happen.”
“Yeah, me either,” you nervously laughed.
“We think he means to finish his favorite scenes from English literature , ” Reid explained. “He wants to take beautiful young women and make his favorite scenes come to life.”
You blushed despite yourself. This young, handsome man just called you beautiful. He didn’t seem to notice your reaction, but you saw Morgan smirk.
“The tricky part is, we don’t want him to run because we might lose him. So he can’t know that you have a police detail.”
“We could take you to a safe house, but we thought you would be more comfortable living here with one of us guarding you,” Reid explained.
“Won’t he still come after me then?” you asked.
Morgan shifted uncomfortably.
“Yes,” Reid replied, straightforwardly.
“So I’m… bait?” you reasoned.
“You won’t be in any danger,” Morgan assured.
“Hah,” you heard yourself laugh. How had your life changed in so little time?
“You’re actually safer here with us than you would be elsewhere alone,” Reid said. He had soft eyes, you noticed. He looked tired, but also extremely present at the same time.
“So what do I do?” you asked.
“Nothing,” Morgan said. “Live your life. Reid will stay here with you to protect you. You can just go on living like you would. We would advise against going out, but if you need to, he will accompany you.”
“I thought you said I shouldn’t be seen with police protection?” you questioned.
“He would dress in civilian clothes. To anyone else he’s your friend, boyfriend, whatever,” Morgan explained.
You nodded, taking this all in. Well, at least you wouldn’t be in the house alone anymore. And you would be protected. Your hands were still shaking.
“Just Dr. Reid?” you asked.
You didn’t mean to be rude, but he wasn’t exactly the most protective looking guy you were sure the FBI had. If anything, you would have thought Morgan would have stayed.
“Again, it has to look like you’re not with the police or FBI. Reid can play that part. And trust me, he will protect you until his dying breath. He’s an excellent shot, and exceedingly smart.”
“A genius, actually,” Reid corrected him. Morgan rolled his eyes goodnaturedly.
“Okay,” you said, not entirely convinced. Reid smiled hesitantly at you.
Morgan stood then and walked a few feet towards the door. Reid stood too and you followed suit.
“Call us if you need anything,” Morgan said.
You walked with him towards the door, Reid trailing being you. Morgan held out his hand to you and you shook it.
“I mean it. If you need anything, just let us know. You’ll be safe with Reid,” he promised. Something in his eyes told you to trust him. He truly thought you would be safe with the man standing behind you.
“Thank you,” you spoke softly.
You watched Morgan go. As the door closed behind him, it grew silent. You turned around, forcing an awkward smile at Reid who was looking at you like a lost puppy.
“So,” you said. “What now?”