A/N: Ok, as a side note, this is my twist on what happened with Reid in his childhood days. The incident was mentioned in the episode Elephant's Memory, where Reid admits to Morgan that he was stripped naked by bullies and tied to a goal post. I would like to give a big THANKS to TheSundayBlues who, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have half the stories I do! Welcome to another smashing collaboration of our ideas… Enjoy!
Fourteen and a half years earlier…
Katelyn O'Neil walked briskly down the sidewalk to keep up with the boy who was nearly twice as large as she was. Even though they were both only thirteen, her friend Dave was deep into puberty and it showed in his 5'8 frame. He was built like a football player, making any guy who looked at him funny back down immediately after taking in the sheer size of the junior high kid.
"Dave, slow down! You know I can't walk that fast…" Katelyn huffed as she swiped at the long chunk of raven black hair that blew into her face. The boy in front of her slowed almost immediately at her whiney demand and took a moment to look at the small girl beside him.
"Maybe you would be able to if you grew a little…" He teased and received a slap from her soon after. It was a common joke between them, one that everyone in school laughed about whenever the two were seen together. Katelyn O'Neil was pushing 4'9, and her bony frame had yet to fill out with any womanly curve. But what she lacked in size, she definitely made up for in attitude. She was an outspoken youth who held nothing back and didn't see her small size as a road block when standing up for herself or getting what she wanted.
"Maybe if you weren't such a jerk!" She shot back, but couldn't withhold the smile that tickled her lips. Their friendship was strictly platonic having met a year earlier. Katelyn's big mouth had gotten her into trouble with one of the known bullies in school and he wasn't about to take the fact that she was a girl into consideration. He had been so close to punching her after she had stuck a tongue out of her firmly set lips when Dave had stepped in and scared the scraggily haired boy away. Katelyn had yelled at Dave for getting in the way of her issue, but they had quickly become friends soon after.
"Did you hear that?" Katelyn slowed her pace to a stop just outside of the Las Vegas Public High School. They passed it every day on their way to and from the Junior High two blocks away.
"Hear what?" Dave frowned and looked down at the black haired girl. She scrunched her face and her dark eyebrows lowered over her contrasting pale green eyes as she struggled to listen.
"I swear I heard a kid screaming…" She mumbled and searched the front of the large school.
"Katie, have you been into your dad's Irish Whiskey again…?" Dave asked accusingly and Katelyn's gaze shifted from the school to glare at him.
"Shut up David, he still doesn't know about that!" She hissed before turning back to the school grounds. "Plus, just because I'm Irish, doesn't mean I drink Irish Whiskey…"
A high pitched scream sounded again in the distance and Katelyn snapped her attention back to the boy behind her.
"See?! I told you I heard something! Come on, someone could be hurt!" Katelyn demanded quickly before taking off in a full run and easily jumping the flimsy fence bordering the school grounds.
Dave sighed loudly and stood watching her tear off across the grass before deciding to follow.
"Please… Please don't! Let me go!" The scrawny kid pleaded loudly as the two guys dressed in their football jerseys held him down by his arms. The third quickly grabbed his legs as he struggled to kick at the jocks.
Alexa Lisbon, the prettiest girl in school, the prettiest girl in school who only minutes earlier he was told wanted to meet him behind the Field House was standing only a few feet away now, laughing at him.
He should have known it was only a cruel joke. He was twelve, she was sixteen. He had been in the library, studying hard and reading up on advanced calculus, she had probably been just finishing up her cheerleading practice he could now tell from the skimpy uniform she had on.
"Spencer Reiddddd, what a dweeb, masturbates to apple seedssssss!" The taunting group of four shouted at the top of their lungs, grabbing the attention of multiple people who were just leaving the school.
"That doesn't even make sense!" Spencer Reid exasperated only to receive a swift kick to the ribs by one of the jocks holding him down.
A small crowd of people began to form around the three jocks and the cheerleader as they pointed and taunted the poor child in thick glasses. After more cheers, Alexa the cheerleader pulled a length of rope from her back pack and handed it to the three older boys. They suddenly started tugging at the large cardigan, nearly ripping the arm of it off in the process. Spencer Reid's cries went unnoticed as the cheers and taunts became louder from the small crowd.
"SPPEEENNCCCEEERRRR RREEEIIIIDDDDDD, WHATTT A DWEEEEBBBB!!"
"Stop it! Get off me!" Spencer Reid cried as he tried to kick and struggle against the 17 year old bullies, but they were too strong.
"SPENCER REID, WHAT A DWEEB!" The small crowd chanted as the jocks quickly stripped Spencer Reid of his clothes until he was only in his underwear and began dragging him towards the goal post a few feet away. The crowd could see his practical nudeness, but what they couldn't see is his dignity being stripped away with it.
Katelyn O'Neil ran fast across the field, curious of the events happening in the near distance. She could see a group of people crowded around one of the soccer goal posts and finally reached them only a little out of breath.
"Hey, move…" She demanded and pushed her way past the people to the front of the group and saw a gorgeous blonde teenager in a red and white cheerleading outfit, along with three older boys in the same colored football jerseys. They were blocking her view, and she was unable to hear anymore screams because the crowd was chanting something, making Katelyn frown as she stood on her tip toes trying to get a better look.
One of the jocks sidestepped just enough for Katelyn to catch a glimpse of a skinny boy about her age with ruffled brown hair and dark rimmed glasses. Her eyes widened once she noticed the poor kid was only in his underwear and at first she was slightly embarrassed at the sight, then a wave of rage washed through her once she noticed the football guys laughing at him as they tied him to the goal post.
"HEY!" Katelyn shouted so loudly that the group behind her stopped their taunting words to look at the tiny black haired girl. "Leave him alone!!"
She stomped forward a few feet until she was right under the nose of the biggest jock and she stared straight up into his eyes with a stern face filled with determination.
"Excuse me little girl? Shouldn't you be playing with barbies or somethin'?" The good looking guy stared down at her with a large grin on his face.
"Leave. Him. Alone." Katelyn said through clenched teeth and tight fists at her side, unaware she was having a standoff with a guy twice her size and probably four years older than her.
The guy laughed loudly, grabbing the attention of the other two who were now standing beside him, testing this little girl.
"You think I'll listen to you sweetheart? Go on now, go play with your dolls and leave us alone…" He laughed again and the three guys elbowed each other, obviously getting a kick out of this little girl's determination.
"Go pick on someone your own size." Katelyn countered with a deep frown as she peered around the big guys to catch a glimpse of the kid tied to the goal post. He was struggling to draw his knees up in front of him and even through the thick glasses, she could tell he was near tears.
For some reason, her statement made the boys howl with laughter.
"Our own size? Honey, I don't think that would be you…" He scoffed and received pats on the back from the other two.
"Yeah, but I think I qualify…" A deep voice sounded from the crowd, making the jersey bearing boys frown and scan the group for the source. Suddenly a large, burly, dark haired guy stepped out and stood behind the annoying little girl defensively and looked down at all three of them.
"Who-who are you?" The middle one managed to finally spit out with a faltering frown after taking in the size of the guy.
"I'm that guy's friend and if you know what's good for you, you'd better scram. Now." David snarled and gestured to the scrawny, nearly naked kid tied to the goal post.
"Whatever, this scene is getting old anyways… Come on guys… Trish! We're leaving." He called out over his shoulder to the blonde beauty still taunting the poor kid. As she walked towards them, Katelyn stepped forward, knocking the blonde roughly with her shoulder in the process, but didn't look back to see her reaction as she walked towards the boy at the goal post.
"Hey…" Katelyn greeted the trembling boy and fell to her knees to work on the loose knots of the rope around his wrists. "Those guys are just jerks…"
Spencer Reid was at a loss for words as he struggled to focus on covering up his underwear clad body as the girl helped him. His expression remained blank as he watched her, he was speechless. No one ever helped him, not ever. He was a child prodigy in a Las Vegas Public High School, a twelve year old living in a teenage world. A dweeb…
"I'm Katelyn O'Neil." The tiny girl smiled brightly after releasing rope hold on his wrists and held out her hand towards him. He guessed she was around his age, but she was definitely small. She had the lightest green eyes he had ever seen and they seemed to glisten mischievously with dancing laughter. The stark contrast was her long jet black hair and the thick bangs hiding her forehead.
"S-Spencer… Spencer R-Reid…" He sputtered out and shook her hand tentatively, then gratefully accepted his shirt that she passed to him and scrambled to put it on his shivering body.
"Hey man, you alright?" David jogged up to them after having dispersed the crowd of onlookers and handed him the corduroy pants that he had found a few feet away.
Spencer couldn't find his voice so he only nodded shakily and struggled to stand with David's help to put on his pants.
"Don't worry… I don't think those guys will be bothering you any time soon…" The bigger guy, David, if Spencer remembered correctly, said firmly.
"Th-thanks…" Spencer Reid managed to spit out as he did up the brown belt on his pants. He still couldn't take in what had just happened, let alone the fact that someone had just saved him. Maybe there were nice people in the world…
"You don't have to thank us!" The girl, Katelyn, said brightly with a smile as she brushed the grass of the back of his shirt. "Come on, where do you live? We'll walk you home."
She looped an arm through his and the three began trekking across the soccer field, the girl beside him talking a mile a minute. Spencer Reid couldn't imagine why these two were being so nice to him, but he had to admit that it was definitely a nice change.
A/N: Remember, this is only the prologue! Stick around to see what folds out… And please review!
