If you got bad news, you wanna kick them blues. Cocaine. [OTA/MTW]

[likemy_role]

The night air is heavy with fog, the wind from the north east cold enough to cut.  JJ's shivers, but for another reason entirely.  She remembers parties that she doesn't realize never happened, sweetness of white powder sniffed making her feel like she's flying.  It's been too long since she left that place, to long since she's felt that good.  She

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[numbersnfigures]

Spencer Reid had finished his shift at the local precinct and was walking home at night. Admittedly he had stayed much longer than he should have. Like everyone else, he was supposed to have gone home at 5 o'clock, but organizing the case files in the basement always ended up being a distraction for him. He knew he was only supposed to glance at the name and file accordingly, but he couldn't help looking at the files. There were so many unsolved murders in this town. Spencer would sit for hours sometimes with one file, going over the evidence, looking at crime scene photos. Sometimes he saw things that the gumshoes upstairs had overlooked and wondered whether or not those leads were worthwhile to pursue. There had been many a time when Spencer had stood at the entrance to the bullpen, clutching a file in his trembling hands and thinking about how best to start the conversation with one of the detectives. Inevitably he'd end up back in the basement. He wasn't supposed to be reading the files, after all. Just organizing them.

The wind was sharp and he wrapped his trench coat tightly around himself. Glancing up, he noticed a woman wandering aimlessly down the sidewalk towards him. Spencer paused momentarily when he realized who it was.

"JJ?"

It couldn't have been Karrin. JJ was slightly taller than her. Besides, Spencer would know JJ anywhere. He could never forget her.

[likemy_role]

JJ almost fell as she ran into Reid. She caught herself with a hand on each shoulder, and when she realized who it was gave him a hug. Her laugh was unnaturally high pitched. "Spence? Is that you?"

[numbersnfigures]

"Y-Yeah."

The hug seemed awkward. He could tell that JJ wasn't herself right now.

"What are you doing out here this time of night?"

[likemy_role]

Why has she never noticed how good Reid smells? When she thought of him, while she was gone, that wasn't one of the things she remembered. She leans in closer, throwing herself off balance.

"These shoes are cursed." Without thinking she sat down right there, under the spotlight of a street lamp, and took off both heels. "Last call at the bar. Had to leave."

[numbersnfigures]

Spencer knew that it was years since the last time he'd seen JJ. This wasn't the reaction he would have expected after such a long absence.

"A woman can get hurt walking around by herself at night in this town."

He had read enough case files to know. When she sat down on the sidewalk, he gazed down at her, brow furrowed. What on Earth was she doing?

"A-Are you alright?"

[likemy_role]

"A woman can get hurt anytime, in any place," she said with a shrug.

"Me? Other then the blisters on my feet I'm fine. I love the bubbles in champagne." She looked up at him, holding one hand up in a silent request that she assumed he would understand.

[numbersnfigures]

"The likelihood of criminal activity increases by 46% after dark."

Spencer helped her up. He wondered if Hollywood had changed the girl he had been so fond of for so long.

"Where are you headed?"

[likemy_role]

"The likelihood of fun increases 146% after dark." Her voice didn't hold much conviction, though. She was tired of life being about parties and looks. No one in Hollywood wanted a real answer when they asked how you felt. Reid, she knew, had been genuine.

He was too good for her.

"Just looking for a party, because that's who I am. Party girl." Her head spun, her vision for a moment becoming fuzzy. She dropped one of her shoes, but didn't notice.

[numbersnfigures]

"Oh..."

Spencer gazed at her, not liking what he saw when he looked in her eyes. Her pupils were dilated and had taken on a dead look to them. While most everyone he knew drank their sorrows away, he was aware of other, stronger chemicals that could intoxicate a person.

"That's not how I remember you."

[likemy_role]

"Maybe the girl you remember doesn't exist anymore." God, she needed a drink.

[numbersnfigures]

He looked down at the sidewalk, where JJ's shoe lay with its heel pointed upward.

"Did she get lost in California?"

[likemy_role]

"Maybe. Or maybe she only existed up here." She tapped Reid's forehead before half turning away from him, not bothering with her shoe. "I'm nothing special, Reid. Not worth that pedestal you put me on all those years ago."

[numbersnfigures]

Spencer's cheeks flushed at her words.

"Y-You were the only one who was ever nice to me."

Being the school brain had been rough. He hadn't had many friends, but JJ had always been there for him. Spencer would never forget that. It hurt him to see what she was doing to herself.

[likemy_role]

"People are stupid, Spence. No one else realized what they were missing out on." She hadn't realized how much he mattered to her, until she'd left.

"I don't..." The streetlight farther down the street flickered out, drawing her attention. it was getting darker, and there were things in the dark.

[numbersnfigures]

Spencer turned to see what she was looking at. As the light dimmed, he pulled out his pocket watch to see what time it was.

"JJ... it's late. Do you want me to try and get a cab for you or walk you somewhere?"

[likemy_role]

"I don't know where to go." She looked over her shoulder at him, tears almost shimmering in her eyes. The hotel room she'd been using since she'd arrived was closing in on her. She'd thought about finding Murphy, but doubted she'd want to see her either.

Only a moment later, though, she laughed and tossed her other shoe to the ground. "I want to dance, Reid. Dance with me."