He didn't know how long it had been since he'd started staring at the photo.
Out of the periphery of his vision he registered that the sun was beginning to go down, temporarily setting the small kitchen in a bleak, semi state of darkness. He reasoned that it been for about two hours, at least, that he had been sitting on those worn down tiles with the Polaroid clutched in his hands. His knees were long since numb, the tingling sensation of pins and needles having faded a while ago, but he barely even noticed. All he was focused on was the image in front of him, his eyes starting to struggle with making out the figures due to the increased dimness of the room.
It was of a man beaming earnestly up at the camera, one arm extending out of the shot, presumably handling the camera, the other draped loosely yet affectionately around a woman's shoulders. She wore a similar expression; a wide grin and bright excited eyes- her face was practically glowing as she nuzzled her head into the man's chest. It was cheesy, but it was that cute kind of cheesy- the kind where two people just have this undeniable connection and it is obvious to everyone around them that they are meant to be together. The single, split second that was captured in this picture, a small, seemingly insignificant moment in what was likely to be a long and happy relationship, was evidence of just that.
Bile rose up in the back of his throat and he clenched the photo tighter. He glared down at the man's pretentious, preppy argyle sweater vest- the man that was the personification of Ivy League arrogance. But he despised his face even more… so smug and clueless, an idiot…
He jerked in surprise as he heard the front door open and quickly returned the photograph to its proper place on the refrigerator door, under the banana magnet and next to the number for pizza.
"Reed?" Erin called out hesitantly, still standing near the doorway- probably wondering why there weren't any lights on.
"Right here, sis!" he replied, expertly making his voice sound cheerful and carefree. And what didn't he have to be happy about?
Andy Bernard had a lot coming.
A/N: Yeah, Reed is probably around 200x more psycho and vengeful in this story than he is in the show. Oh well... please review if you want me to continue? Kay, thanks.