GOLDEN || S. REID

𝟷𝟶: 𝚀𝚞𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚘, 𝚅𝙰

This was a mistake. Spencer should have never agreed to dinner with Eliza. First off, she was a material witness in the Abernathy case. If anyone, and he meant anyone, caught wind of the fact that there was anything going on outside of the FBI headquarters, he would surely be screwed. But it wasn't like him to just say no, especially when there was free food involved.

It might not seem it but Spencer was perpetually stuck in his college days, especially when his favorite words were "canceled" and "free." Unless it was in the form of "free food canceled," because that was just cruel.

But as he waited for Eliza to come and pick him up from his apartment, he only found his nerves growing, realizing that he'd just let a complete stranger know where he lived. The only people who had his address were his coworkers and even then they rarely felt the need to stop by his place.

He was still in his work clothes from that day, the light purple top seeming to be a favorite of Eliza's. Spencer figured it couldn't hurt to feed into whatever hero-complex she had built up around him. After all, she was only doing this out of gratitude. She didn't really like Spencer... did she?

Spencer didn't dwell on it for long because soon after those thoughts entered his mind, his phone lit up with a text from the millionaire. It was short, reading, "I'm here" with a smiley-face emoticon following. How Eliza had gotten his personal cell number was beyond him, though he had a feeling that Garcia had something to do with it. There was still time for him to back out, he thought.

It wouldn't be difficult, a quick text saying that he wasn't feeling too well--which was the truth--or even a small white lie that one of his co-workers needed his help with something work related--which was sure to backfire. Spencer didn't see either scenario working out for him so he was left with the sinking realization that he had to attend this dinner with her.

So he did what he did best. Spencer slapped on a brave face and rolled his shoulders back, preparing himself to get into Eliza's most likely overpriced vehicle and have dinner with her. His only consolation was that this was a one time thing. He'd attend this one dinner and then never have to deal with her in an unprofessional setting again.

Spencer left the building, looking both ways before spotting Eliza sitting behind the wheel of a surprisingly untinted Volkswagen Beetle. It was a newer model; that Spencer knew. It didn't quite look as old as his but it didn't look completely modern-era as well. If he had to guess, he'd say 2015.

She rolled up so that she was parallel to the sidewalk. She rolled down the windows, smirking at him over her shades. It was dark, why was she still wearing sunglasses?

"Hey, Boy Genius," she taunted him, red-painted lips spread wide in a grin. "You ready to go?"

Spencer muttered, "No," under his breath. Eliza must have had super hearing because she picked up on that, laughing as she reached over to push the door open for him. Somehow, sitting in the small Volkswagen Beetle was worse than sitting in whatever fancy car she could have picked him up in. In here, he was exponentially closer to her--so close that he swore he could feel her breath on his skin through his long-sleeves.

The drive to Eliza's apartment wasn't filled with small talk, which Spencer appreciated. Besides from the silence, she had elected to softly hum along to the songs that played through her radio, a small smile on her face as she drove through the streets. She hadn't taken her sunglasses off, which was concerning but Spencer didn't bother speaking up. Despite the fact that it was extremely dangerous to drive with sunglasses on in general, as it decreased the amount of light reaching the retina and therefore is not recommended under any circumstances.

But still, he stayed quiet... at least until they arrived at her apartment building which was approximately fifteen-point-three minutes away from his own place. Spencer let out a small gasp as they drove into the garage below the building. He'd memorized maps of the Quantico-DC area in his free time, learning every secret little nook and cranny the streets had to offer. He'd even marked this building off on several occasions but he'd never even come as close to it as he was now.