I don&#39;t believe that intelligence can be accurately quantified

Fine.

[It's half way between a grumble and a snap]

From:

bulliednomore.livejournal.com

Ahhh...

From:

commarogue

[Faith strides into the kitchen, hair pulled uncharacteristically back into a ponytail and dressed in training sweats. She's sweaty and red in the face and is actually going for a bottle of water over sugar or alcoholic drinks.

When she finally notices Reid trying to mate with the couch she hovers nervously for a moment; she hadn't seen him in person since she stabbed him and the last time they talked didn't end well.]

You look like shit.

[She's growing, not grown. Obviously her social skills haven't improved much.]

From:

[Reid doesn't look up until Faith actually speaks to him. He has no desire to talk to people. The only reason he's out of his room is to get some distance from the closet that will give him anything he wants. When she does speak he kind of grunts and glances up at her.]

You d-don't.

I feel like c-crap.

[He's not relaxed enough not to stutter]

From:

commarogue

[If nothing else, his uncharacteristic grouchiness helps their interaction be less awkward. Faith takes a seat on the stool at the breakfast bar and makes herself comfortable, spreading out. Her feet prop up on the bench next to her.]

Sound like it too.

[Faith's worried about him - worried that what she did made him come back wrong somehow. Like she'll say it, though.]

From:

[He's still got his back to her, not looking at her. He's not entirely sure he can make eye contact with her. He scratches at his neck, turning the skin red before he digs back into his cereal.]

F-fantastic. Th-thanks.

From:

commarogue

What the hell, Reid?

[She hops up off of her stool and moves to stand in front of him. Misinterpreting his actions as still being caught up in the whole killing thing, she just assumes that getting him to chew her out finally might turn him back into normal Reid. The weird and awkward but mostly happy little dweeb she didn't really mind so much.]

Why don't you just come out and say it, instead of being a little bitch?

From:

[Reid looks up at Faith then back down and shakes his head.]

I r-really don't f-feel like d-doing th-this.

[And then he starts scratching his neck again]

From:

commarogue

[Faith looks at him sideways, crossing her arms over her chest.]

Whatever, not my problem if you want to be a moron.

[With that, she turns on her heel and heads toward the door. Faith slows and makes it about halfway before stopping almost dead. This was not normal, not even for just being brought back wrong. She was missing something, and as Faith turned back to look at Reid again, scratching himself and stuttering, she had a fleeting idea; the personality difference and the timing? God damn, it was like a fucking after school special. She moves back toward him, her voice less pissed now and more concerned, though stern.]

Reid.

Edited Date: 2010-02-12 03:17 am (UTC)

From:

[Reid leans forward and puts his bowl on the table then rakes both hands through his hair before looking up at Faith then leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes]

Wh-what?

From:

commarogue

[She's suddenly uncomfortable again. Confrontation has never been Faith's forte and now it's doubly hard. In the back of her mind, she knows that she's the cause of it. She made him relapse.]

I uh, I'm sorry...

[She cringes a little at the words - you can't apologize for what she's done. It doesn't work that way. But Angel insisted otherwise. Always said it had to start somewhere. Reid didn't deserve what he got and even if he did? Didn't make it right.]

From:

Yeah

[A long pause]

Me too.

From:

commarogue

Doesn't make it okay.

[Her reference is twofold. One for her actions and another for his.]

From:

[He clenches his jaw slightly and his eyes harden a bit when they catch her gaze]

Speaking from experience? Want me to pour my heart out about what happened? Want to assure me you know what it's like? You d-don't know half as much as you th-think you do.

[He's cutting her down and being outright mean. Surprisingly, there's very little stutter]

From:

commarogue

[Faith breathes in deep and nods once, slow. Her nose wrinkles a little bit as she prepares to dish it right back.

But it doesn't come. This is what she was looking for; some punishment from the people she deserved it from, Reid being #1 on that list. Words come, but they lack any fight she'd meant to deliver. She sounds indifferent, which of course means she's more upset than she'll ever admit.]

Yeah, sorry I've never dropped-- whatever the hell you're on.

From:

[In his right mind, Reid would understand this. He would get it and profile it probably try to help her absolve some of that guilt because more guilt didn't generally lead to good things. As it is, he doesn't understand it.

He looks up at her with eyes that nearly look black they're so ringed with circles]

G-guess I'll have to find another sp-sponsor.

From:

commarogue

[She shrugs, but she doesn't move.]

Guess so.

From:

[Reid closes his eyes, trying to do his impression of the couch for a few seconds before he sighs.]

You don't have to do anything. This isn't your responsibility. I'll get it under control. I did once before.

[Of course before he had his job to keep him on the straight and narrow. Here...he didn't have anything.]

From:

commarogue

Pretty sure you wouldn't be this messed up if I didn't-- you'd be fine.

[Faith's not really sure what to do here. She's already fought the instinct to just leave. The warring instinct to help didn't give her much else to follow, given her motto of being unable to apologize for things.]

Maybe you just need to detox. Or whatever.

From:

[Reid actually laughs at that. It sounds bitter and hollow, terribly unlike him]

Yeah. That's gonna help.

From:

Are you alright?

From:

Fine.

[Obviously his definition of fine is different from the dictionary's or he's lying]

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You sure?

From:

Y-yeah. I'm g-great.

From:

Mm. I'm Elaine. I don't think we've met before.

From:

Spencer Reid. N-no. We h-haven't met.

From:

Well, it's nice to meet you Spencer. How long have you been here, in Wonderland?

From:

A f-few months.

From:

[Guess who else decides to take a swing by the kitchen? Hotch is sort of dressed more casual but not really, still opting for buttoned down shirts and slacks. He pauses at the doorway when he notices someone else there. Wait a sec..]

Reid.

From:

[Reid recognizes that voice but he was pretty sure that person wasn't here in the mansion. He looks up, face scrunched.]

Hotch? What are you doing here?

From:

I was in the mood for a sandwich. [Harhar. He walks over to him.]

Are you alright?

From:

[Reid looks up at Hotch and scrubs his hands over his face]

F-fine. Just tired

[He's trying not scratch at his arms or his neck]

From:

[Hotch watches him a moment. Can't really fool a profiler. But he doesn't push or anything. Yet.

He goes and makes himself a sandwich, before he sits down across from Reid at the table.]

Anything in particular keeping you awake?

From:

[The look he gives Hotch is classic Reid; it's the 'god you're so stupid my brain hurts' look]

P-pick one. Th-this place. The p-people. Nothing to d-do. And I d-died.

[It's not really the death that's bothering him though. It's more the person who killed him; the betrayal and that he was wrong about profiling her]

From:

[Hotch's expression doesn't change. Big surprise. But he figures, if he can keep him talking.]

So I heard. For a quiet place, this world has some really bizarre events.

From:

Yeah. Definitely.

[He takes another bite of his cereal.]

You haven't run into anything weird yet, have you?

From:

idkmybfftony.livejournal.com

...Spencer?

From: