A/N: This chapter was a little difficult to get out. I don't know why, but I think I'm getting back in the swing of things. I'm looking at maybe seven more chapters; but we'll see! :)

Chapter 13 – Perfect

It had started. As soon as she stepped foot inside of the lobby of the Florence Dormitory, all eyes were on her. But, she wasn't alone. Reid was next to her, his hand securely in hers, he was leaned over to her, whispering something casually in to her ear.

Isobel realized that the girls weren't just staring at her, they were staring at Reid. The corners of her mouth lifted as he glanced at them casually, ignoring them and walking up the first flight of stairs, and soon the second.

"I guess I don't have to worry about any jackasses hitting on you when you're in your dorm…"

His grin was contagious. She smiled at him, Florence had two sets of dorms; one for their girl students and another for their male students. Shaking her head she kissed his cheek.

"You don't even have to worry about the male population at this school, period…" She remarked.

"Oh, so I got to watch out for the chicks, huh?

He always knew how to make her laugh; make the uncomfortable situation, comfortable. She adored that about him. They made it to her floor and she nearly fell out when the girls started talking about Reid, as if they knew him.

"She's with one of the Sons…"

"What is he doing with her?"

"Maybe he's doing community service,"

She snickered at that one, Reid didn't seem phased, simply kept walking to her dorm number; her hand tightly in his grasp. She pulled out her keys and handed them to Reid as he unlocked the door.

Walking in she felt a wave of reality wash over her. She was going back to school, back to the gossiping world of prep school. She hated the thought of it. Reid let go of her hand and tossed her duffel on to the ground.

His blue eyes surveyed the room; one side was lived in, obviously her side of the room by the pictures of what appeared to be family and friends. The other side of the room didn't look touched, he noticed the sad look on her face.

"Did you have a roommate before?" His voice was low.

Her sad brown eyes looked up at him and nodded, "Bailey Thompson, she was a bitch… I didn't really like her anyway…"

Reid grinned and hugged his girlfriend. He was uneasy about her staying by herself, and voiced his offer to stay with her.

"No," She shook her head, "I'll be fine,"

"Promise?" He gave her a look that said she'd better be fine.

"I promise you," She grinned leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on his thin lips. "I'll call you later, ok?" She asked, the smile on her face, he noticed, was forced.

"Ok, call me in a half hour, I should be home by then,"

She nodded giving him a simple kiss before watching him leave down the hallway. She watched him, half expecting him to flirt with one of the many girls in the hallway. Instead, she noticed, his head was down, staring at his feet.

Reid felt like she was shutting him out, he couldn't fight that feeling. He didn't like it. He wanted to be there for her, even if it meant staying the night in Gloucester. It was only a half hour away from Ipswich, it wasn't a long ride at all.

When he got back to the dorms, Tyler was passed out sleeping, his face buried deep in to his pillow. Reid smirked and felt his phone vibrating, he happily fished it out and answered.

"I was worried," He answered.

"About what?"

Her voice was low, as if she was lying in bed, "You weren't going to call."

He could picture her, blanket rested carelessly over her chest, one hand behind her head and the other holding the phone to her ear. He could see the smile dancing on her lips, teasingly.

"I had every intention to call," She announced.

"You sure?"

"Of course,"

Reid let out a low laugh, carefully undressing as he slipped in to bed; cell phone still to his ear. They hung up with promises to call each other the following day.

Reid had just stumbled out of the pool and in to the locker room. He could hear a violently buzzing sound over the loud yelling and talking of his fellow swim team. He skipped past the showers and headed to his locker

The buzzing got louder and he realized that it was his phone. Pulling open his locker he took out his phone and saw his girlfriend's name staring back at him. He flipped the phone open and answered.

"Hello?"

"Re-Reid…" Her voice was broken, she sounded like she was crying.

"Iz, baby… what's wrong?"

He could hear her sniffling on the other end of the line. He tried calming her down, doing everything he could being over a half hour away. He changed quickly, keeping her on the phone and steeling Tyler's car keys.

"I'm on my way, ok… just hang tight…"

He could only make out partially what she was saying, he couldn't understand everything over the static of the line, the break in her voice, the sobs. He felt his heart breaking at the sound of her voice, so distraught, so upset.

It killed him.

He barely had time to park the car when he ran inside of Florence's dormitory. He flew up to the second floor and right to his girlfriend's room. He breathlessly told her he was outside of her door and hung up as she swung open the door.

Her face was red, her eyes bloodshot. Reid sighed heavily and pulled her in to a long hug, using his foot to close the door behind him. He pressed his lips in to her messy hair and held her tightly, not wanting to let go.

Isobel didn't want him to let go. She felt horrible. She had gone back to school and was followed by rumors, and horrible stories. Nasty half-truths and even nastier lies.

"What happened?"

She didn't say anything; Reid pursed his lips together and pulled away from her.

"What's wrong?"

She was silent, "Everything…"

Reid sat down on her bed, pulling her in to his arms. He wasn't going to make her talk until she was ready. He didn't want to make it any more difficult for her than he had to.

She settled down, composed herself and stared at Reid. He was incredible, she realized that. He made everything better just by being there, just by holding her tightly, as if he was never going to let her go.

And she didn't mind.

"Are you ok?" His voice was full of concern and Isobel looked up to meet his eye. She felt a tingling sensation throughout her body when their eyes met.

"I am now," She whispered holding on to him.

"You want to tell me what happened?"

She loved the calming tone of his voice; it made her believe that everything was going to be ok. If he promised her the world right now, she thought, she'd probably believe him. Taking a deep breath she nodded her head.

"It was just like I thought it would be…" She looked down at her hands, her skinny fingers intertwined with his. "They were so brutal," Shaking her head she felt the tears forming again. "They said such terrible things, and I couldn't… I just couldn't take it…"

"Hey, hey… it doesn't matter what they think Iz…" Reid brushed her tears away. "Ok?"

Isobel sighed and sniffled, "It's hard to ignore them Reid. They talk about me like I'm not even there. They say such horrible things and then…" She looked up to meet his eye. "They talk about you… about us…"

Reid's back stiffened at the sound of this, "They do?"

"Yeah," She whispered.

"Say things like what?"

"That you're only with me because you like challenges…" Isobel licked her lips, and stared down at her carpeted floor. "Or that once you sleep with me, you're going to leave… and I shouldn't get my hopes up…"

"You don't believe that do you?" Reid asked his breath caught in his throat. She was quiet for a minute and Reid pulled away from her looking her dead in the eye. "Iz, you can't believe what they say…"

"They said that guys like you don't fall for girls like me…"

Reid was flabbergasted. He hated that these people, people he didn't even know, were telling his girlfriend things they didn't even know the first thing about. It drove him crazy, and what made him even angrier was the fact that Isobel was buying in to this.

"Why would you even listen to them?" He asked her, his voice lacing with a bit of anger.

Isobel swallowed hard, "I always wondered what a guy like you would see in a girl like me…" She whispered to him quietly, holding on to his hand.

"What do you mean 'a guy like me'?" He questioned. "What is that supposed to mean exactly?"

"Reid… you're perfect," She smiled at him, and Reid's face fell.

If there was one word to describe Reid Garwin, it definitely was not perfect. It warmed his insides to hear her say this, even though he was sure that wasn't true.

"I'm hardly perfec—"

"Would you be quiet for a second?" She laughed cutting him off; she shook her head holding his face in her hands. "I think you're perfect. You're an amazing person Reid…and I never thought a guy that could be so narcissistic, pig headed, stubborn and damn sexy could be a guy that I could fall for, let alone have him after me…"

Reid's lips twitch and he kissed her quickly, "I fell for you too…"

Isobel shook her head, "I hate it here," She whispered.

"You should come to Spenser," The words slipped out of his mouth before he actually thought them through.

Isobel's brow deepened at the thought, "I can't…" She whispered.

"Why not?"

"My father would never let me switch schools in the middle of the semester, especially not after just getting out…" She shook her head. "Besides, the Governor's kids go here, so that means his do to…"

"Spenser's a better school then Florence…" Reid tried to sell her off.

Isobel fell back on to her bed and sighed, "I would give anything to be able to pack my crap up and go with you to Spenser, but it's not going to happen."

Reid smirked and pressed his lips to her, "We'll see about that,"

So... what do you want to see happen?