Chapter Text
2:00 AM - Spencer Reid's Apartment
Spencer Reid's sleeping habits weren't the best, and he could admit that.
But just because it was 2:00 AM and he was still awake, way too deep into some new project that sparked his interest, doesn't mean Spencer liked getting phone calls in the middle of the night.
Slowly and tiredly, he made his way to his ringing phone which sat right next to a pile of essays he printed about research done on cross-species genetics. The caller-ID wasn't any he recognized, so he wondered if he should even pick up, but then something crossed his mind; what kind of spam caller would be calling at 2:00 AM? He's never gotten a call this late before, so he figured why the hell not.
He picked some books off a chair at his dining table and pressed answer as he sat down, resting his chin in his hand.
"Hello?" he muttered groggily, rubbing his eyes.
"Penny? That you?" a nasally, familiar voice asked.
He thought they had the wrong number, but then the familiarity in the voice--plus the nickname--struck him like a train. Only a few people in this world had ever called Spencer "Penny", people he hadn't even thought about since college.
"Hannah?" he asked, surprise refreshing his previously tired mind.
"Atta boy," the woman replied, a fondness in her tone. "You still in Virginia?"
"Wha-" he carded his fingers through his hair. Why is she calling him? How does she even know his number? They haven't even spoken since he was 20, why now? "uh, yeah? Why?"
"I uh," she paused, he could hear a slight nervousness in her voice, or was that worry? "I need to tell you something, s'about Nick."
Nick.
Like Hannah, he hadn't spoken to Nick in years as well; he met them both in college, they had known each other well before he knew them. If she was calling him in the middle of the night because of Nick, surely something has happened- oh no. He knew there would only be one reason she'd call out of the blue because of Nick.
"Hannah." he stated, not in a questioning way, or to get her attention, he said it in a way that they both knew meant 'I know'. "How?"
"Wow, heh," she chuckled in surprise, "you figured it out and we haven't even been talking for a minute, the BAU definitely hired the right guy." She sounded sad, not at the fact he was in the FBI, but perhaps at the fact that he knew, that she didn't even have to tell him.
"Yeah," he smiled slightly. "There's only one reason you'd call me, especially about him." he stated, but not matter-of-factly, more like he was excusing his behavior or he had to explain himself. "How'd he die, Han?"
She sighed on the other end of the phone. "Wanna meet up?"
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12:00 PM - Spencer Reid's Apartment
The next day, with most of his research from the previous night cleaned up, Spencer spent most of the day reading while chugging coffee. It was a Sunday so he didn't have work; it was the perfect day to meet a friend he hadn't seen in years.
They were scheduled to meet at the Deep Root Cafe, just a few blocks from Spencer's place, at 3:00 PM. Spencer doubted Hannah had changed over the past eight years, besides perhaps her hair which was constantly changing last time he checked. She wasn't the type of person to abandon her beliefs easily, so he was pretty sure she would be almost the exact same person he met when he was 17.
He'd thought about that day a lot, the day he'd met Hannah and Nick in school. It was his first day in his Engineering class at CalTech after he completed his undergraduate degree and just before he gained his first doctorate. Hannah and Nick were the only other punks in the class.
"Other punks" as in other than him.
Spencer Reid first entered the punk scene at age 13 when he realized that he didn't have to be alone. Growing up a genius in high school wasn't easy, he was always singled out, hell he stood out. Barely the age of a middle schooler and he was excelling at high school; of course people would be intimidated. There was no place for him in high school, but once he was off to college he realized he could make one--or find one at least.
He'd read a lot about punks, about their history and general beliefs, about their style. He knew they were one of the most accepting groups in the world, they weren't keen to judge those who were different, those who had nowhere else.
After all the bullying and loneliness he had to endure, when Reid saw a sign about some punk band playing in some abandoned warehouse he was a bit excited. Sure, he was skeptical about the legitimacy--let alone the legality--of this gathering, but his curiosity and eagerness for friends and belonging overpowered his concerns. So he went.
At that concert he had had more fun than he had in ages; people were so friendly and mindful of him. Given most were concerned about the random 13 year old wandering the party, he had known he'd found his place.
Over the years he had accumulated multiple piercings--none that stood out too much though--and a stick-n-poke or two, which he got solely because his new friends promised him they wouldn't get infected. (Don't worry, even Spencer isn't stupid enough to get a tattoo he'd regret at such a young age, he waited until he was 16 and got one of his friend's equally punk brother who was the same age as Spencer to do it; he wasn't gonna put one of his older friends on the line if someone found out an adult gave a minor a tattoo.)
Hannah and Nick were already sitting together when Spencer entered the Engineering class, he spotted them immediately due to Nick's bright red, high spiked mohawk and Hannah's shaved head, which was just as red.
He himself was sporting a mohawk at the time, but not as big as Nicks. His was a couple inches long and his natural shade of mousy-brown hair lay on his head in a swishing motion instead of propped up by hair spray or rubber cement. He'd been wearing some toned down punk-esque clothing--he'd never gotten the courage to dress up for class like he did for concerts--which included some black ripped skinny jeans, a cut up D.A.R.E t-shirt a friend made him that was held together by safety-pins, and a black flannel that he tied around his waist. His face and ears were pierced, though it was just some snake bites, black chain earrings that dangled, and an eyebrow piercing. He didn't put on any eyeliner that day because he was a bit tired of removing it every night.
The moment he saw them he knew that he'd like his engineering class, and not just because he liked learning this time. Maybe he'd actually have a couple friends in this class.
As he walked in the direction of their seats the bell rang and kids were already filing into the room, someone snagged a seat next to the two other punks before Spencer could. He was a bit disappointed, but was sure he'd meet them eventually, so he sat down in the closest empty desk.
It wasn't long into the year that he and them had started talking, it was the next week in fact. Reid was glad to know they were the same age, he's spent most of his school life surrounded by kids older than him by a mile. Within a month of knowing each other they went to their first show together, him, Hannah, Nick, and Spencer's other punk friend Page.
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9:00 PM - Some random venue near CalTech in the 90s
Spencer was applying another layer to his already prominent eyeliner--or guy-liner as Nick would put it--in the mirror when someone knocked at the bathroom door.
"Hey, Penny! We gotta get to the front, crowds growing, Nick really wants to get a good view of the band." Hannah's voice came through the door of the single stall bathroom.
"I'm coming!" his squirrely voice responded as he closed his makeup kit and shoved it back into his bag. He left the small bathroom and rejoined the now busy crowd, following Hannah to the front of the standing area. "Also I told you not to call me Penny, Hannah."
"Yeah and I told Nick he shouldn't have gotten that belly-button piercing, yet he we are," she responded without looking back as they approached Nick and Page. Nick was wearing a crop top that really showed off his new piercing, which was clearly getting infected, ("No, it's just irritated because it's new! It'll be less inflamed in like a week" he'd tell them. He'd later have to get it removed and go to the doctor because he finally gave in and admitted it wasn't "just irritated".)
Spencer laughed as they stopped in front of their friends. Nick's hair was still bright red and up in liberty-spikes, maybe a bit longer than when they first met. He was wearing his signature combat boots that matched with his maroon leather jacket, his black crop top and black skinny jeans doing nothing to hide the monstrosity lodged in his belly-button. He had a few more piercings than the month before besides the belly-button one, which included a sick bridge piercing that Spencer always wanted but wasn't sure his mom would EVER approve of. He also wore some glitter on his eyelids, courtesy of Hannah.
Like always, Hannah had matched with Nick. Her hair was a bit longer as well, except she had the design of a skull carved into the back of her now red and black hair. Her combat boots were the exact same as Nick's, though hers were a bit more worn out and rough. She wore a battle jacket decked in many patches and pins on top of a fishnet shirt and a black mini-skirt; she wore silicone pasties to cover her nips for a bit of modesty. She also had glitter, but her face was almost covered in it.
Page, Spencer's friend who was a few years ahead of him and the others, wore a studded leather jacket and a sleeveless black queen shirt. Her ears were stretched out pretty big, Spencer often got squirmish around her when she'd play around or pick at the open hole, and she wore striped, black and white pants covered in chains. Her eyeliner stretched to almost her temples, her black lipstick was somehow more noticeable. Her curly hair was pulled into a tight bun, but a few stray hairs had gotten loose.
Spencer was wearing something similar, except his shirt was a ripped-mesh shirt that fit snugly on his waist, and his pants were black on one side and red on the other. He wore heavy eyeliner and recently he'd gotten a nose ring that was attached to his earring by a chain. He had no jacket, (which he'd later regret due to the doors to the building being open on the cold october night, which left him having to huddle close with his friends as they all drunkenly staggered back to Reid's dorm), but wore a backpack that held most of the stuff that the group didn't wanna carry around. His hair was buzzed now and he had bleached it, Nick would call him "nerdy eminem", he had detested the nickname but when Hannah started calling him "Penny" he asked to go back to the previous, less annoying, name.
"What band is this again?" Page asked Spencer as he stood next to her, leaning into his ear so he'd hear her over the loud crowd.
"Some band Nick introduced me to, they're called 'Wet Cardboard'." Page laughed.
"Nice name, they any good?"
"I like them, Nick loves them, they're pretty good." he stated, scratching at his buzzed hair. The feeling of the short hairs were satisfying under his hand.
"Great," she pulled away from him and turned her attention to the stage as the group finally got on stage, causing the crowd to quiet down a bit before erupting into cheers.
The drums had the letters "WC" spray painted in black onto them as an abbreviation for the band name. Once the crowd's voices finally died down a bit, the band started playing after doing a very quick introduction of the bandmates.
The first song was a really fast, grimy sounding song that you couldn't tell what the singer was singing but you could definitely headbang to.
After about three of nine songs played that night, Spencer asked his friends if they wanted any drinks from the open bar; Page had ordered a screwdriver (heavy on the vodka), Nick and Hannah both wanted just any beer they'd have. Spencer got their drinks and he got himself some fruity drink that didn't contain too much alcohol, (who else would be the responsible one here?). Of course, by the seventh song Spencer would've managed to get as shit-faced as the rest of the group and they'd all be bumping heads as they tried their bests to dance along to the song, Hannah of course being the only one who didn't look like they were just flailing arms and limbs to the rhythm.
Reid knew the lyrics to songs eight and nine, as did Nick since he was way more into the band then Spencer, and they both sang along to the fast-paced songs.
Reid didn't remember it, but Page had taken a polaroid of the two singing with each other; Nick's arm was around Spencer and both of them had their eyes closed, Nick looked like he put his entire heart into the song and like he was belting it with his whole soul, Spencer looked fierce, but less passionate.
The mesh shirt he wore was ripped just enough for the tattoo of a rat-king on his left peck that Nick dared him to get because it was the grossest thing he could think of at the time. Spencer had gradually accepted the tattoo after he made Nick get a matching one, though Nick decided to get it on his left ass cheek instead.
It was one of the earliest, but that night was one of his favorite memories of his college friend group.