Disclaimer - I own nothing.
The Stories We Could Tell
The small bell chimed from above the door as Dr Reid entered the bookshop on the corner of the street. It was Friday afternoon, he had finished work and the bookshop was empty, quiet, just the way Reid liked it. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and moved over to the shelves at the back wall. Not many people entered this shop; it was old-fashioned and had yet to circum to the modern day influences. Many of the books were second hand or very old giving off the feel of an antiques store rather than a book shop. Reid crouched down to reach a book on the bottom shelf when music suddenly sounded throughout the shop. Reid stood up quickly and looked around; he recognised the music as a Beatles song, but couldn't place it until a loud slightly out of tune voice accompanied the soft tune.
"And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me. Speaking words of wisdom let it be. Let it …"
"Hello?" Reid called out, apparently startling the singer as there was a small screech. There was a scuffle and then the music suddenly shut off, silence engulfed the store once more. Reid craned his neck as he slowly made his way down the tight aisle, trying to fine the owner of the voice. He got to the end of the aisle just in time to see someone drop beneath the cover of the counter, seeing only a flash of blonde hair.
"Hello?" Reid repeated, trying to catch the person's attention. He watched as the person behind the counter slowly stood up, revealing themself to him.
"Hi," Reid blinked, surprised, as the petit blonde awkwardly answered him. "I, um, yeah so about the singing…" The blonde girl started.
"I, I didn't mean to scare you." Reid stated, tugging gently on the strap of his shoulder bag.
"You didn't!" The blonde quickly assured him, making Reid jumped a bit at her boldness. "I just, um, wasn't aware I had an audience."
Reid shuffled on the spot a bit, not sure what to say to the girl. She was probably about the same age as himself, or younger.
"Well this is awkward, isn't it?" The blonde asked, trying to kill the silence in the room.
"Yeah." Reid answered, effectively, but accidently killing the conversation. "Sorry, I'm just," Reid started but left the sentence unfinished. "I'm Spencer." He said, waving at the girl.
"Lacey." The girl smiled back. Reid swallowed nervously. He was never this forward and had no idea what to do next. Reid took a step back about to turn and leave but he felt his leg nudge something. He turned and watched in horror as a waist high pile of books toppled and tumbled to the floor.
"Sorry, I'm so sorry." Reid stuttered as he bent down and started picking up the books, joined quickly by Lacey.
"It's alright," Lacey said crouching next to him and started stacking books. She tucked a strand of long flowing hair behind her ear and reached for a book as Reid gripped the spine. Their hands brushed and both pulled back awkwardly looking at each other.
"Sorry." Reid started again, but Lacey cut him off.
"Wow, Lady and the Tramp moment huh?" She said, recovering and grabbing another book off the floor.
"What?" Reid asked pausing confused.
"Lady and the … you have seen Lady and the Tramp right?" Lacey asked leaning back on her heels, looking Spencer directly in the face.
"Is it a movie?" Reid asked, still confused.
"Only the best Disney movie out there." Lacey confirmed, handing Reid her stack of books so he could stack them back up on the left. She stood up and brushed her hands on her jeans. Reid placed the books back on top of each other and rose back to his full height towering over her small frame.
"I'm not really one for movies." Reid answered tugging his shoulder bag back up into place.
"More of a book guy huh?" Lacey asked moving back towards the counter.
"Yes." Spencer answered.
"Dickens or Steinbeck?" Lacey asked suddenly.
"Dickens." Reid answered after a long pause, making Lacey groan.
"What's wrong with Dickens?" Reid asked, sounding almost insulted by the groan.
"Nothing," Lacey answer, "Well it's just that he's a bit hard to understand ... and boring."
"They're classics!" Reid shot back. "Steinbeck has nothing on Dickens."
"At least they're understandable."
"Steinbeck killed Lennie off so quickly in 'Of Mice and Men' that it ultimately hurts the novel in an obvious fashion." Reid argued.
"Yeah well, at least there was some lightness to Steinbeck's writings. Half of Dickens novels were set in graveyards!" Lacey shot back, before laughing.
"What?" Reid asked slightly confused again.
"This is so weird, I'm arguing with a total stranger about writers." Lacey explained.
"I'm not a total stranger, you know my name." Reid pointed out, then blushed as he realise how bold he was being. He was surprised when Lacey laughed.
"Fair point, how about we swap? I'll read a Dickens book you pick and you read a Steinbeck book I pick?" Lacey asked. Reid was unsure, he had read all of Steinbeck's books before and could recite them by memory but there was something about Lacey that just made him want to do it.
"Okay." Reid agreed, "How about you read, 'The Chimes'?"
"Only if you read 'East of Eden'" Lacey replied, moving quickly behind the counter and pulled a book from a bag, handed it over to Reid. She turned on her heel and disappeared into the cluttered aisle, vanishing from sight. Reid stared after her only to be interrupted by his phone ringing.
"Reid." He answered professionally but slightly absent-mindedly, trying to work out where Lacey was.
"Hey Spence, we've got a case." JJ said through the phone, Reid could almost hear the disappointed sigh in her tone, he knew she wanted to spend the weekend with Henry and Will.
"I'll be there in 10." Reid answered, hanging up.
"Leaving so soon?" Reid spun around to see Lacey standing behind him.
"Yeah, um, work." Spencer answered lamely.
"Well, how about we get coffee when you're free?" Lacey asked, blushing, before looking at the ground.
"I'll be gone a few days." Spencer answered, shifting his bag again.
"Well I can read the book in that time and then, when you're free we can meet up and you can tell me all about how wrong you were." Lacey joked, running one hand through her hair.
Reid smiled, "Sure, how much for the book?"
"Free of charge. It's one of mine. You can borrow it for now." Lacey said, making Reid smile.
"Thank you." Reid answered slipping the book into his bag. "It was nice meeting you Lacey." He smiled at her and turned to leave.
"See you soon?" Lacey asked nervously, "I work here every weekday."
"Yeah, I'll see you when I get back." Reid confirmed.
"Nice to meet you Spencer." Lacey called as he exited the shop, getting a small wave from him in return.
Spencer found himself grinning despite himself as he crossed the road heading back to the Bureau, but he had no idea why.
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