EASY WAY OUT ¹ ➢ spencer reid

I

"Agent Rafferty?"

I turned, my heel sliding against the lightly coloured linoleum floors.

A petite woman with long blonde hair and blue doe eyes stood in front of me, holding a file folder to her chest tightly. She smiled warmly, walking down the hall at a decent pace. She stood in front of me, offering her hand out into the air between us. "Hi, I'm Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer Jareau. You can just call me JJ." We shook hands. Her's were soft and warm, just like the smile on her face.

"Hi." I gave her an awkward nod and tight lipped smile. I wasn't great at introductions, but I figured now was as good a time as any to get good at them.

She opened the folder that clung to her chest, rifling through a couple of papers before eventually handing the entire thing to me. "Sorry for the rush, but if you'll follow me to the debriefing room we can get started." Without hesitation she brushed past, motioning me to follow.

We entered an office. It was filled with various work areas, papers strew across each desk messily. They were all empty, which was weird, but I didn't have time to think much of it. Before long, JJ was ushering me into a debriefing room where a handful of people sat in front of a projector. They were sipping coffee, staring at folders of their own silently. The door shut behind us and they all turned, causing me to swallow nervously and sort of nod my head.

"This is Agent Isla Rafferty." JJ rested her hand on my shoulder for a brief moment, which caused me to tense up. They watched with curious eyes, studying my body language.

"Hi." I raised my hand up, waving slightly. Immediately, I felt stupid though and threw it back down to side, swallowing hard, before nervously looking at the various faces throughout the the room. They wouldn't stop staring.

"Welcome Rafferty." A tall, stoic looking man with sharp features and dark hair stood at the head of the table. He wore a dark suit that was tailored to perfection, his hands shoved into the pockets of his slacks. He gave me a narrow-eyed look, as if looking to assert some sort of dominance, and nodded his head as spoke. "I'm Aaron Hotchner, however Hotch will suffice."

I nodded, addressing his presence.

"These are Agents, David Rossi," Hotch motioned to an older man with salt and paper hair and thick, olive toned skin. Unlike Hotch he was sporting a bit of facial hair, which was visibly groomed to perfection; not a hair out of place. "Derek Morgan." Beside Rossi was a fit, African-American man with thick arms and a puffed out chest. He looked to be a bit more mischievous than the rest of the group, a slight smirk plastered across his attractive face as we made eye contact. His head was shaved, but his brows were thick, perfectly framing his kind looking eyes. "Emily Prentiss." On the other side of the table sat an unconventionally beautiful woman. Her face had lots of angles to it. Her chin was broad and her nose was long, but her features were striking nonetheless. Her skin was pale, which perfectly contrasted against her jet black hair. "And Dr. Spencer Reid." Next to Emily was a younger male, who looked to be the odd one out. Unlike everyone else, his eyes remained attached to the case file in front of him. His eyes darted back and forth at rapid speeds as he read. His frame was thin and covered in clothes that a university professor might wear, while his brown hair was relatively messy and long. He had it tucked behind his ears, showcasing his intense jawline and high cheekbones.

"Obviously you've already met JJ." I blinked, realizing I'd been staring at the last guy for a bit too long. I shook the image of him peacefully reading out of my mind and turned my attention back to Hotch who motioned me to sit. I sat down in the chair in front of me, which was placed between Morgan and Rossi. I gave them both nods, making awkward eye contact as I placed my folder in front of me and opened it up.