I do not own Criminal Minds

I am only midway through this show so this isn't going to follow the TV series exactly right but its fun for me to write. I thought cute Spencer Reid needed a friend and someone who thought he was wonderful because we all do.

She sat down next to him without saying anything. She took out a sack lunch of a backpack a crumpled brown bag. She took out a plastic bag with baby carrots and started eating them with slow snapping and crunching sounds. Spencer pushed up his glasses and looked over at her. She looked familiar to him but he couldn't remember her name. She smiled with a closed mouth and continued to eat. Spencer said nothing but stopped eating.

The girl was in his chemistry class and sat in the back of the class. She was always questioning everything the teacher said and making the class laugh. She was the kind of girl that everyone one liked (well maybe not everyone but she clique hopped). She didn't belong to one particular group. Spencer couldn't imagine what she wanted with him. Maybe she heard about the naked football field incident form last week and was just now getting around to make fun of him about it. Either way he braced himself for further humiliation.

However the girl just sat in silence and ate until the bell rang. She got up without saying a word and left.

The next day she was back again and sat right next to him.

She had box dyed black hair that was thrown up into a ponytail. She had missed some spots and brown pieces could be seen throughout. She had pale skin with rosy cheeks and a small round face that made her look like a sprite. She was very short maybe just above five feet tall but she had a lot of confidence and was the kind of person that people got out of the way for. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt even though it was the summer and a pair of cropped shorts. Her lipstick was a little too pink but she was pretty as far as girls in high school went.

'What are you doing?" He asked as she pulled out her carrots the same as the day before.

"Eating my lunch" She responded "Is that okay with you?"

"I eat over here because no one comes over here and I can be alone." Spencer said

"Do you want to be alone?" She asked looking at him curiously "Because I can go"

"Are you here to make fun of me?" He asked "Or help someone make fun of me."

"No." She said crunching on another carrot

"Okay then." He said not sure why he believed her "Then I don't mind if you stay, I'm Spencer."

"I know who you are, why I would come sit by you if I didn't know who you were?"

"Maybe you want to be alone too." He guessed and she smiled at him.

"People like me don't need to be alone." He frowned at that and was a little irritated by the remark.

"Well then why are you here?"

"I live down the street from you, you know." She said taking out half of a sandwich

"Oh." He said because he didn't know that

"Do you know my name?' She asked looking at him now not seeming very interested in her lunch.

"No I don't" He said feeling a little bad but she had never talked to him before "You are in my chemistry class"

"Yeah chemistry and advanced math." She said and he wasn't going to tell her that it wasn't called advanced math but decided against it. "Atlanta. Atlanta May Johnson." She reached her hand over to him and he shook it.

"It's nice to meet you." He said rather slowly still not sure why she was there.

"So do you want to walk home with me or not?" She asked

"What?"

"Do you want to walk home with me or not? I see you walking every day. If you like to walk by yourself I totally get it but you seem to spend a lot of time alone and if we live on the same block we might as well walk together."

"You ..." He stumbled over his words as he looked at her smiling face "Want to walk home with me?"

"Yes"

"Today?" He asked turning to face her. He asked the question in almost an accusing tone. He was not used to people being nice to him. Especially not at school.

"Well I thought if it goes okay today we might do it more often." She said and looked a little shy like she was just realizing she was being too forward.

"Why?" He asked

"I want to be friends with you." She said smiling at him again

"But why?" He asked again pushing his glasses up his nose again

"Because you're the smartest person in this school, even I can see that."

"You want to be friends with me because I'm smart?" He asked "That seems…shallow"

"Well I also heard what happened to you last week…" She hesitated as he was filled with anxiety and shame "And I thought if you had a friend that might not happen…" She shook her head "It shouldn't happen"

"You want to be friends because you pity me?" He asked again and she groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"No, maybe, I don't know." She took a long intake of breath "I need a real friend. A good friend and it seems like you need one too so I just thought I would ask…" She stood up then "If you like your high school life the way it is then just forget I asked in the first place."

She started walking away and he noticed again how pretty he thought she was in a way that wasn't immediately obvious.

"I'll wait by the tennis courts after school for a little while…In case." She turned back to say that and then nodded like she did what she came to and left without another look or a glance back.

She was by the tennis courts after school and he met her there and they walked home together. They walked home together for most days after that.

In fact they were pretty much inseparable for the rest of their high school years.