Everybody Just Settle Down(Open To All and Any)

[Krys Robin]

Krys never seemed to have a moment to herself, Counter Terrorism made sure of that. When she wasn't working on computer stuff for them they also had her visiting colleges with other members from various FBI agencies doing little speeches which Krys hated. She could barely talk to people (as they seemed to be afraid of her personality) let alone an entire college class.

Then again, she always kept the classes entertained proving to be one of the more expressive and exuberant lecturers. She often resorted to darting back and forth, gesturing with her hands, and using language that the 'kids' could actually appreciate and enjoy without getting bored out of their minds. It also didn't hurt that she was ridiculously intelligent when it came to her line of work: Mainly computers.

But now that was all said and done and the various lecturers and students were leaving the classroom to go god knows where. Krys hung back a bit, walking along the side of the wall before she stopped to watch people pass. God, some of these kids were around her age, why couldn't she at least say hi? Oh yeah, because though she was talkative and loved people they never seemed to like her (unless she worked with them).

Krys knelt down to tie her converse sneaker. The old, worn barely white laces slipping through her fingers as she made the knot, caught up in her own mind for a moment as she stood in the hallway until she heard the murmur of voices and a laugh.

Blinking with confusion she dared to look up from where she was kneeling just in time to see two students (obviously not from the class where she had given a lecture because she would have remembered them), pointing and snickering, obviously about her. Of course she had no idea exactly why though she knew all of the options. She wasn't a stereotypical girly girl and she didn't wear designer clothes, she was short and kind of pale, and she just looked like an oddball. No doubt with her visitors pass pinned on her shirt she looked like a complete idiot.

Rolling her eyes as the two troublemakers passed she abruptly reached up and snagged the ID right off of her person before scrunching it in her fist and shoving it into her jeans pocket. Day by day she was learning what society dubbed as 'cool' and what made her look like an even bigger loser... If that was even possible.

[Dr. Spencer Reid]

Reid always hated having to go to schools and talk about the wonderful program of the FBI. He hated talking in front of a punch of cops, so why would be feel better talking to a punch of college students. Students that were quick to make judgments on people and then make fun of them behind their backs. It was high school and college all over again! Reid couldn't imagine that he was doing any good to recruiting kids to the FBI. The way he saw it was they now thought the FBI was full of nerdy dorks like him. People kept telling him it was because he was closer to his age, but never in his life had he really been close to anyone's age. Not with the way he got through school. If anything he related to forty year olds much better then twenty year olds like himself.

After a long day of humiliating himself Spencer was ready to back up and get out of there. Yet some how he was held back a few minutes. Even more frustrated he began to exit the classroom when he say Krys, another agent he had been presenting with, being harassed by some kids. Suddenly the agent instinct in him was awoken and he half ran to the scene. "Hey, leave her alone!" He ordered, even though it only prompted more laugher from the kids as the walked away. It never stopped to amaze Reid how rude college kids could be. Maybe they would be more respectful if they had known they were FBI agents.

Feeling a bit awkward now, having defended a girl he barely knew, Reid looked down at Krys. "Are you okay?" He asked sheepishly. He really didn't want to strike up a conversation, but be knew that he couldn't just walk away at that point, or he would look like a jerk. Instead he was hoping that she just said yes and the two of them could go their separate ways. The young genius really wanted to get home and take a long nap before the next call came in.

[Krys Robin]

"Hey, leave her alone!"

In hearing this yell she looked up from where she was still kneeling by the wall in the hallway. Her right hand was still in her jeans pocket where she was currently stuffing her ID colleges made visitors wear and it seemed to freeze there a minute as she watched a fellow presenter try to play hero. Then again, this man didn't look all that heroic. He had semi-long hair and was rather skinny, Krys was fairly certain if any of the young men attempted to push him he'd topple right over. Still, the effort on his part was brave and valiant and she took note of that.

She thought back about thirty minutes and slightly recalled his presentation, this man had went after her, and seemed even more awkward than she had. While she was more exuberant he seemed fairly unhappy to be there, had attempted to tell a particularly awful science joke, and then just rattled of facts. Thirty minutes ago Krys had almost felt bad for him but now, just half an hour later, she was actually greatful.

Of course the young men just laughed, and Krys found herself shooting a warning glare as she rose to her feet, hands on her hips, trying her damndest to be intimidating. This only prompted further laughter and a few 'oos' before they finally walked off, gossiping and chuckling the whole way. It wasn't until they were out of sight down the hallway that she turned to look at Spencer.

"Thanks." She offered in a quiet voice, feeling somewhat embarassed that it had to come to the point that it had. But, like many emotions with Krys, it was fleeting. "For helping." She added on, shifting a bit where she stood wondering if he felt as out of place as she did. His exterior led her to believe that he did, he looked more nerdy than she did, but the way he had run to help her led her to believe that he was actually a brave soul, for more so than she. He also, in his speech, mentioned fieldwork which meant he went head to head with criminals, Krys did it solely by phone and computer, therefore this young man bested her ten-fold.

Seeing the expression on Spencer's face in the direction where the young men had walked off she gave a little smile and a soft laugh, trying to make the best of it. Did he think he had failed? Can't have that. "I mean, think on it this way, they're laughing but they're also walking away.. Which means you won. Right?" She wasn't sure if that logic made any sense at all, but it did to her so she said it anyways. Who knows, maybe this would be the one time someone actually understood.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She gave a bit of a nod pushing a few strands of light brown hair that her hairtie couldn't contain behind her ear. "Emotionally, physically, mentally at a hundred percent. Can't ask for anything more." There was that odd sense of humor again. She gave him a half smile but it was entirely genuine and had that quirky little quality that only Krys could possess. She was on oddball, but at least she was a genuine one.

"Thank you very much..." Her eyes squinted a bit as she leaned forward to look at his ID tag that he was still wearing. "Agent Reid." Going back on the balls of her feet her brown eyes suddenly widened with recollection. "Hey, I know that name." Krys' mind worked much like a computer, like her life, and already she was pumping out the varios matches and results. "Spencer Reid right?" She blinked excitedly before she was able to process that she probably sounded like a weirdo and was quick to cover for herself.

"Don't worry, I'm not a creeper or anything. I met a coworker of yours the other day... Garcia." Now she looked down and realized that she was doing what she always did and was increasingly stepping closer to him so they were almost toe to toe. This always happened when she was wrapped up in telling a story or when she met knew people, so warily she took a simple step back so to give him his personal space.

"Am I right or totally wrong? Because if that's the case you're probably regretting sticking up for me earlier, which is still appreciated because that was pretty awesome back there.." She was rambling again and she knew it, a bit of a nervous laugh she subconciously decided to no longer chug AMP Energy drink during her lectures.

[Dr. Spencer Reid]

Reid watched Krys trying to be big and brave, which was hard to see since she was so small and innocent looking. He wasn't sure if anyone could be afraid of her, but than again she could be like Garcia; looks nice and helpless but you never want to cross paths with her. That seemed to be the case for most computer "nerds". Even Kevin, Garcia's boyfriend, was like that at times. Reid thought back to her presentation, something easily done, and remember that she was in counter terrisum, and worked with computers. That was about the jest of what she said about her job. The rest was odd comments and phrases in a language Reid knew as what the kids spoke now a days. Boy did he feel old when he didn't understand a word of what she was saying.

"Your welcome..." Reid mutter, not even sure if he had spoken loud enough to be heard. He wondered if his actions had been taken the wrong way. What if she thought he was trying to be a macho man, even though he could never look like one. Her next comment made it seem like she felt sorry for him. Did he really look that sad and hurt by the kids laugher? Quickly he looked up from the ground and tried to look more brave. Yet some how he failed. "They could be walking away because they don't think we're worth it. Meaning that they win...." he said not really thinking about how cynical he sounded. "Anyway they still can make fun of me, so what did I win?" All in all her logic did make sense, but some how Reid's haunted past wouldn't let him admit that he might have one. You never win when it comes to bullies. Not even when you tell a teacher and get them expelled. That only causes more problems in the end.

Reid wonder if her answer to "are you okay" was supposed to be some sort of joke. It sounded like it, kind of. But yet it wasn't funny. So Reid just forgot about it, knowing that it didn't matter. Reid almost toppled backward when Krys came closer to him to look at his name tag. It wasn't anything personal, just he never liked to be touched by others, especially ones that showed a few signs of mental illness. It really didn't surprise him that she knew who he was. In many ways he was kind of famous around the FBI. It seemed like she didn't know much about his work, though, hadn't see listened to his speech at all? Was he really though boring?

It turned out she knew him through Garcia. It was surprising that two computer geniuses meet one day. He was starting to feel a little claustrophobic, though, but at the same time he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Instead he let her step back herself, then he turned and moved a little closer to the wall so to get a little farther away from her with out seeming like he didn't want to be there. Leaning against the wall he said. "Yeah, I work with Garcia." He said. There wasn't anything else he could say. Most of what she had said had been worthless talk anyway. She really seemed to be a talkative one, which made it easy on for Spencer having only to answer her questions when asked and endure the other stuff. He wondered if his phone was ever going to ring calling him into work. Not that he was really that anti-social. he just didn't feel very confortable standing in the middle of a college hallway.

[Krys Robin]

"They could be walking away because they don't think we're worth it. Meaning that they win...."

Krys' brow rose in question mixed in with a little smile. "You're not a very positive kind of guy, are you?" Of course the question was rhetorical even though she was very interested as to the nature of this Spencer Reid. It wasn't every day someone tried to play hero, or that she met someone around her own age that didn't seem totally disgusted by her existance. Then again, he didn't seem very happy about her either but Krys couldn't tell. There was a reason she dealt with computers most of the time and not with people.

"Seeing as they instigated the fight and only walked away when you stepped in, I'd say that counts as a win in our corner." She offered brightly, though her voice took on a softer quality, she didn't want to scare the poor guy and it seemed that she was doing exactly that. "Well, yours anyways. I was tying my shoe so I think I get negative points." She offered with a little laugh, trying to put a positive spin on things.

It was almost ironic in a way. Krys was always trying to tease, to joke, to make others around her happy. To make them smile. It didn't make any sense that the kind of personality that she possessed could come from the environment where she grew up. Being locked in a broom closet for well over a day for dropping a dish, being scalded with hot water for asking a stupid question, being hit across the face with a heavy book for asking to go outside to play. And yet, here was the result standing in front of Spencer Reid, hiding her hurt well from everyone else, even herself. But there was no telling how long that would keep up. The world was a disgusting place, you learned that more than anything working for the FBI, and badness almost always caught up with you in the end.

"Anyway they still can make fun of me, so what did I win?"

"Oh uh..." Krys blinked, caught a little offguard but her brain was already moving a mile a minute, the wheels were turning and immediately she bent down to reach into her messenger bag. After a moment or two of digging she fished out the top of her laptop bag which was practically covered in pins, barcode stickers, and really anything else from everywhere that she had been.

Using her right hand she carefully ripped off a very small start sticker, like the kind little kids recieved for doing a good job on their spelling exams. Moving back to stand on her converse clad feet she reached right out toward Spencer, though not in a threatening or quick manner so not to frighten him, and gently pressed the blue star on the bottom end of his ID (and Spencer was nearly up against the wall so it wasn't exactly like he could run off).

"There." She announced with a bit of a smile, finally taking a step back when she realized he was trying to get away from her. Was she really so desperate to talk to someone that she would stop at no costs? Suddenly she felt pretty guilty, but hid it fairly well giving a half hearted, quiet little laugh accompanied by a shrug of the shoulders.

"Don't worry. You can peel it off once you get around that corner." She pointed with her right arm before shoving her hands into her pockets to keep herself from doing anymore damage. "I'll never know." She added as an afterthought, still trying to get a smile from the young man who seemed defiant and probably just wanted to escape.

"Your speech was..." Upon further inspection of Spencer's posturing she cut herself short. She may have not been a profiler for a living but obvious body language wasn't something that totally escaped her comprehension. And so, she quieted down, swallowing her words and looking momentarily to the floor before briskly looking right back up apologetically. "I should let you go, huh?" It was another one of those rhetoricals and she suddenly felt so stupid for even trying. She gave off a quiet little laugh, trying to laugh it off but the weight felt heavy on her 5'3 frame.

Turning to go she found her feet glued to the spot as she turned back around. "I really do appreciate you..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to form the words. "You know.. Back there.." A bobble of her head she put up her fists in a mock fight position so to do the talking that her lips could not. Now swallowing that down she turned to leave again, only to turn back around with a quickness as though she had forgotten something. "My name's Krys by the way. Krys Robin." A hint of a smile. "Like the storybook but different."

[Dr. Spencer Reid]

Reid knew that he wasn't all that positive. But when you work in his field and had a childhood like his it wasn't that easy. When you are faced with death of the innocent every day it is hard to think that there can be much more to life than the bad. Yet some how Spencer was always able to pull himself from the abyss and smile on. Hiding any pain that he still felt. Even if it didn't seem like it now Reid was pretty good at hiding what he really felt, at least when it matter. Working with a group of profilers did that to you, after all if you ever want to have an secrets you have to be able to keep the deep down bellow the surface when one wrong movement could bring them all into the open.

"Seeing as they instigated the fight and only walked away when you stepped in, I'd say that counts as a win in our corner." Krys said. She had a point. At least the kids didn't try and throw any punches, else Reid would have to be known as the one and only FBI agent to get beaten up but a twenty year old. With out even hesitation he replied. "They might know that of they get caught fighting here they would be in deep trouble. So all that proves is that they are smarter than they seem." Realizing how negative it was he quickly muttered. "Sorry... I guess..." But never finished his sentence.

When Krys placed the star on the edge of his ID he blushed. It was grade school all over again. The only thing he could really think of was that he already got made fun of enough by his looks, and now he had a little blue sticker to add to that. Yet he knew that he wasn't going to be able to pull the sticker off, that would be like betraying her, and he couldn't do that. "Thank you." He mumbled under his breath and tried to smile a little. "It's very nice."

When she said that she had to go Reid suddenly felt bad. He had been so mean to her for no reason. She was giving him what he wanted but some how he knew he wasn't going to be able to get any sleep after just letting her go. Anyway she was just a little women, nothing to be afraid of. He might as well talk to her a little longer. At least until she actually wanted to go. Spencer didn't know what to do, though. He just stood there watching her as she started to go. Then she turned back and said her name. Reid smiled, a true smile this time, because he knew her name. He remembered it from her speech. "You know..." He said shyly, "I don't know... I mean about your name and the storybook?" It was odd to him that he could remember any and everything and yet he didn't know about children's books. There were about the only thing he didn't read. But then by the time most kids were reading those he was reading Shakespeare and stuff like that.

There was a short pause before he added. "You don't have to go... we could go and get something to eat... its around diner time after all." He paused another moment before adding. "This is if you want to... Be warned I could get called into work at any moment, though." he had to kick himself for adding that. Now it sounded like he didn't want to go.

[Krys Robin]

"Thank you." He mumbled under his breath and tried to smile a little. "It's very nice."

Once again Krys' brow quirked, pretty comedically, as if she had noticed something in an I-SPY book that every other person had missed. "You're not a very good liar Agent Reid. I see that's one of the BA's you managed to not get." She was only teasing, there was nothing offensive or defensive in her tone. Krys could just be blunt at times and she rarely ever took anything personally.

This could be because when she was little, when she was hit, she always blamed herself. Every single night she'd sit on the roof of her porch taking in the air, her arms wrapped around her legs as she cried, and she constantly blamed herself. Then one day, when she was around thirteen, completely out of the blue that changed (or at least she made herself believe that). Not everything in the world could be her fault because occasionally, she did very good deeds, and God couldn't possibly be vindictive enough to harm someone who tried to do good. How someone who had been through what she had believed in some sort of higher power was beyond some intelligent folk's comprehension, then again Krys Robin was not a person easily understood.

"You don't have to keep it." She added in a soft voice, more to reassure Spencer than to make herself feel better. She tried to dig her hands further into her pants pockets but unfortunately there was only so far that they could go. "It's not like we'll cross paths again any time soon so I won't even know." A hint of a smile, still trying to brighten things up. "It's also just a sticker." She tilted her head slightly before allowing a smile to overtake her face, a tad embarassed by her own silliness. Someone sticks up for her and she gives him a sticker. Suddenly in her head she realized how ridiculously silly it all was.

"You know..." He said shyly, "I don't know... I mean about your name and the storybook?"

In seeing Spencer actually smile Krys actually straightened a bit in posture, her own version of a relieved smile crossing over her features. "Krys Robin." She stepped back toward him, but this time did her best not to invade his personal space. "Like Winnie the Pooh?... You've never heard of Winnie the Pooh?"

Her brown eyes widened slightly with disbelief and another smile, actually amused by this. "Big yellow bear with a red shirt. No pants. Carries around a honey pot everywhere he goes..." Her hands had slipped out of her pockets and had begun to gesture, a habit she had, along with being very expressive. "It was my mom's favorite children's book. My um... Parents wanted a boy and they had the name all picked out. Christopher Robin. Pooh's best friend... But then they got me." Her words hung in the air for a moment. She was trying not to think about the horrible memories of her childhood. It was a sad day when the only happy thing you had to share about your past was how you got your ridiculous name. "So I'm Krys Robin."

She reached into her pocket, retrieving her ID and holding it out so he could see the different spelling. She had done this on instinct and soon realized this after her arm had been sticking out for a few long moments. "Kind of a boring story, huh?" And she moved to tuck the ID back into her pants pocket.

"You don't have to go... we could go and get something to eat... its around diner time after all." He paused another moment before adding. "This is if you want to... Be warned I could get called into work at any moment, though."

Reid's last comment caused her to hault the answer she was about to utter. Was he asking her because he felt bad? She didn't want that So instead, she adjusted her answer just a little bit.

"I already ate actually." She found herself speaking up, which was a major lie but she didn't want anyone to hang around her just because they felt bad. She could take care of herself. "You know, for an intelligent guy you're pretty indecisive Spencer Reid." She teased with a little smile all her own. Then again, thinking on it, when this young man had smiled she did rather enjoy it... "But... I do know somewhere we can go.. If you're up to it."

Arms crossed over her chest now and she once again tilted her head at him. "Ever been to an arcade?" Now her head tilted to the other side, a hint of a little smirk brewing. "Multiple BA owners like yourself DO have fun, don't they?" She wasn't being too forceful about the idea, but she did secretly hope he would join her. The thought of this scholar playing videogames was promising to be pretty entertaining. "You know.. Videogames. Loud, obnoxious kids...Nachos and cheese... Pretzels.. Probably god awful for you but still it's relatively comforting."

[Dr. Spencer Reid]

Reid smiled a small smile. He knew that when Krys said he was a terrible liar it was a joke. Still he couldn't help but want to defend himself. He didn't say anything, though. He knew he wasn't a good liar, but then again he had really never needed to lie much. As a kid his mother didn't pay much attention most the time to catch him in a lie. Then there was the fact that he thought lieing was bad. Lies always seemed to bring out the worst of people and most the time got you in some sort of trouble. But then again he didn't tell everyone everything, so then wasn't that considered a lie? But why should he have to tell everyone everything, it wasn't their business. And then he had just lied to Krys, but it wasn't a bad lie. So was lieing really bad if you did it to try and make someone feel better? Despite all his knowledge he didn't know. Maybe that was why he was taking a philosophy class, to get a hold on all the things that weren't cut and dry like math. When Krys offered that he didn't have to keep the sticker, he only nodded not sure what he could say.

Winnie the Pooh? Reid only shock his head. He had never heard of a bear called Winnie the Pooh. The only thing he could really think of was why was he named "Winnie the Pooh". It made no sense and was the weirdest name. "Did you know that the honey bear, or the sun bear doesn't really eat honey? At times he might eat a nest of bees but most of a bees hive is beeswax and Propolis. Then then there is a large number of eggs and larvae, leaving only a small amount of honey, much of which probably isn't even fully made yet. Bears in captivity have been known to eat honey, though." Reid knew that he was rabbling on about something she didn't need, or even want, to know. He used his knowledge, though, as a shield, trying to hid the fact that he didn't know who this Winnie the Pooh character was.

At Krys' words Reid became sad. Suddenly he understood so much more of Krys then she probably wanted him to know. With the few words she choose he knew that because her parents had wanted a boy, but ended up with a girl they never treated her with the carry she needed. With sad eyes he half smiled and said, "Its a good story. Not everyone knows why they have the name they do..." He thought he his own name then. A few times he had wanted to ask his mom why she named him Spencer, but even when she was in a lucid state of mind she could never get her story straight.

When he say the spelling of her name he said, "its like Krystal..." he paused. "I like that spelling, never would have thought of that..." He knew he was just trying to make her feel better. At the same time he was telling the truth. He figured there was no more need to lie today.

Reid felt bad when Krys said no to going out to eat. Then again maybe it was a good thing. What were they to talk about anyway. He was about to tell her that it was okay. That he should go home and get some rest anyway when sh mentioned her idea. An arcade! Reid's eyes widened and he looked around uncomfortably. "Um.. Well..." Spencer Mumbled. "I mean I really never have got to one... and well..." He knew that he was just being a stick in the mud now. There was no good reason why he couldn't go. He was just afraid to do something new. Something that he connected with his childhood. He had always wanted to go and play games, but he was always to busy taking care of his mother or staying away from other people, to do it. Some of the games did look fun, though, and it might be nice to finally get to do it. To relive some of his childhood in a happier manner. "Well... I guess I could... For a little while at least..." He muttered starting to regret it already.

[Krys Robin]

"Did you know that the honey bear, or the sun bear doesn't really eat honey? At times he might eat a nest of bees but most of a bees hive is beeswax and Propolis. Then then there is a large number of eggs and larvae, leaving only a small amount of honey, much of which probably isn't even fully made yet. Bears in captivity have been known to eat honey, though."

Krys smiled a tiny bit, obviously amused by this bit of trivia, and furthermore, that she could actually contribute to it. "Aren't the black with white diamongs on their back?" She found herself blurting right out without even thinking, which was a character flaw and strength that she possessed. When she thought of something she had to say it, which is why she could never be a cop or be trusted with a weapon. She often acted on passion, on instinct, and some people who knew her loved her like that.

Catching the expression on Spencer's face she suddenly swallowed, shrugging her shoulders sheepishly. "I used to watch Discovery Channel when I was a kid." That is, at midnight if it was raining when her abusive father was asleep, passed out in a drunken daze. All of their biological children fast asleep so they couldn't tattle on her and get her into more trouble.

Though she knew she should have stayed quiet, her old impulsiveness would not allow a random fact to slip by. "Did you know that bears in zoos get fed popsicles? I'm not kidding." Her cheeks turned red in color from the excitement of being able to talk without being glared at, pushed down, or thought as totally weird and unworthy of recognition. "You can put fish and berries into this BIG bucket of water, then they freeze it, and then they dump it into the enclosures. Instant popsicle!" Looking up she blinked and shifted a bit on her converse clad feet. "Well not instant, it takes overnight, just like any other popsicle..." Her voice trailed off in a murmur. Why did she always have to ramble on when really no one ever cared about what meaningless facts she had memorized, or what she had to say. It was pointless. She should have known better by now.

"Winnie the Pooh sticks to honey pots though..." She added as an afterthought, quite aware of the fact that she was jumping from topic to topic and this young man was probably sick of it. "He was also yellow... and a stuffed animal."

"Its a good story. Not everyone knows why they have the name they do..."

Krys may not have been a profiler, but from the half little sympathetic smile she saw on Spencer's features she knew he was patronizing her, even if he didn't mean to. At the very least he may have been pitying her because the very look he had screamed 'aw, want a lollipop?' and this was not something she could tolerate. And so, the sarcastic, silly shield went right back up.

"I personally think I would have made a better Scott." She cleared her throat, giving Reid a little smile, sure it was forced but she was starting to think back on things she'd rather avoid. Things she'd rather push down and it wasn't even for herself. She didn't want others around her to be sad, including this young man she just met. Her happiness never really meant much, even to herself, but other people's, that was a different matter.

"Or a Logan. No one ever makes fun of a kid named Logan. It just sounds badass, you know?" Looking up she caught his eyes and gave him a genuine smile. "Do you know how you got your name? I don't know a lot of people named Spencer... Then again, I don't know a lot of people." Truth was she knew quite a few people, they just didn't pay her any mind.

"It's like Krystal..." he paused. "I like that spelling, never would have thought of that..."

"It's girly." Krys declared with her flat voice, but there was nothing rough about it. She just was blunt and cut right to the chase. "It's just Krys, and it's different. Like me." Well, at least unlike some Krys didn't try to hide herself being different. Instead she went with it. While others tried to assimilate fully Krys only occasionally made slight changes, other than that she was who she was, and rarely changed it for anyone.

"Um.. Well..." Spencer Mumbled. "I mean I really never have got to one... and well..."

Spencer's look of panic upon his face only seemed to fuel her more because by now she was practically radiating. "Aw come on! It's just down the street. You don't even have to waste the gas money.. I have quarters." She encouraged, resisting all urge to just yank him away from the hallway wall and throw him out the window toward the location in her excitement.

"You've never been to an arcade?" Her voice was lathered with disbelief and her brown eyes even widened. "Well now you don't have a choice, you definitely have to go. How have you never been to an arcade?" She laughed, finding joy in this (though not in a cruel way). Truth be told she was just excited to have a PacMan partner.

"Well... I guess I could... For a little while at least..."

"Awesome!" Yeah, Krys was hip with the cool kid lingo... From the seventies. Without thinking she boldly reached out to take Spencer's hand but stopped herself short. Catching her mistake, treating him like she had known him for ages, she slowly retracted back giving an apologetic look. "Well.. Come on!" And with that she was on her way, leaving it up to Spencer if he would follow or not.

Down the steps of the University she soared before racing outside, holding the door open for Spencer and a few others before she hurried down the sidewalk, clutching the strap of her messenger bag. A little ways down the street was the arcade.

Krys pushed her entire body weight against the door and immediately the darkness and smell of greasy food overtook the scene. Flashing lights, the sound of arcade games dinging, tickets being printed, and the occasional clink-clank of the change machine. Krys took it all in with a wide smile before turning around to boldly address the young man behind her (that's if he had followed her this far).

"In here... I am KING." She declared with a playful waggle of the eyebrows and a more comedic gesture of her hands on her hips like some sort of Superman knock off. While Krys wasn't always the best with people she was excellent with technology.. And points.

[Dr. Spencer Reid]

Reid nodded at the description of the sun bear. It was odd that it was known as a Sun or Honey bear and yet was a dark brown, no where near a honey color. Then again most names didn't match after all a black bear could be brown and a brown bear could be black. It seemed the world was against naming things something that actually made sense. "Yep, and sometimes they have white on their faces or necks." Reid added. He decided to ignore the comment about watching the Discovery channel, hearing a slight tangle of contented on the subject. Instead he said, "Popsicles? Fish Popsicle? Doesn't sound to good to me..." He had really never been to the zoo much, again it was kind of hard to go with a schizophrenic mother and no dad.

He knew that she was just humoring him now. Talking about all the different names she could be, all boy names of course. "You look to nice to be a Logan." Reid said. He used to go to school with a Logan, he beat Spencer up everyday. "I think you would be a good James or Jamie." He added with a laugh. It was odd thinking of a boy name that would be good for a girl. He liked Krys, it sounded like a girl name to him. he thought she would be a good Krystal, a nice sweet name, but then again he had only been talking to her for a few minutes, so there was no way he knew who she really was.

When she asked where his name came from he looked at the ground. He wasn't to sure if he was going to be able to tell her anything with out giving to much away. Maybe it was best just to tell her that he didn't know. "I'm not really sure. But once my mom told me it was after a character in a book by Margery Kempe. Kempe was... is one of my mom's favorite authors." Reid smiled, hoping the subject would just be left alone now.

In seconds Krys was down the hall way when Reid finally gave in. Reid stayed where he was standing for a moment not sure what to do. Then he signing he half ran after her, holding on to his own messenger bag. Unlike Krys', he was sure, his wasn't filled with stickers and a lap-top. Instead he had a few papers and what not, and a gun. He was off the job but if life had taught him anything it was always best to be prepared no matter what. Anyway what was he suppose to do if he got called in while he was out and he didn't have his gun on him. It wasn't like he could go home and get it, in his job you had to be there in a few minutes or else some one else might die.

A few steps behind Krys he entered the arcade. The sudden clinking of coins and machines made him think of a casino. The screams of kids made him think of school. The smell of the place seemed unhealthy. He smiled at Krys hiding his discomfort perfectly. "So should I call you Krys, the KING, or Logan?" He laughed at his horrible attempt to make a joke. He looked around the small place and wondered if he was going to have any fun here, or not. It was to late to get out of it, so he figured he would just have to make the best of it that he could.

[Krys Robin]

"So should I call you Krys, the KING, or Logan?"

"King Logan formerly known as Krys." The data analyst quipped with a proud little smile, hands still on her hips though her posture relaxed a little bit. She had been inside an arcade multiple times before, though this was only the second time she had been to this one in her various visits to the college in the area.

As a child she would skip lunch (not that the coins her father gave her was enough to buy lunch anyways) and she would save all week so she could go to the arcade every Friday and play for a good hour. The clinking of coins she was hearing now along with the cheers of excited beings of various ages was home to her. In a way it was the only home that she knew. It wasn't like she had a stable home now anyways.

That's when she noticed something. As she looked at Spencer Reid she gave a genuine half smirk as if she had spotted a mistake that no one else in the 'class' had. "You're smiling Spencer Reid." She declared in a soft, yet knowing voice amidst the clanging of coin machines. But this sense of semi-pride and contentment was short lived for she immediately turned toward the closest game that was available.

"Do you like Centipede?" She asked over her shoulder as she thrust her right hand into her messenger bag, rummaging for the spare quarters she often saved out of old habit. "Not the bug I mean, the game." She added for good measure before bending down to insert one coin. Glancing over her shoulder fully now she smiled, brushing a few stray whisps of brown hair behind her ear. "An oldie but a goodie. It's really simple. Honest."

With a grunt she moved to stand again in front of the right side of the machine where the little joystick was. "All you have to do is press this red button to shoot." She nodded toward the button in question before moving the joystick back and forth. "I'll control where the shooting comes from." Looking over her shoulder again she attempted to reassure him if he had any doubts. "It's not a gun so much as a little box shooting at little balls that are attached. It changes color too, if that's an incentive at all.."

Reaching over she pressed the red button and the machine began to play a little tune of beeps and tones. Her hands drummed rythmically against the front before she tossed another reassuring smile in the agent's direction. "Well..?"

[Dr. Spencer Reid]

Reid looked like a kid found with his hand in the cookie jar for a moment when Krys declared that he was smiling. Then he realized that there was no reason to be ashamed of being happy. In the back of his mind he wondered what Morgan would say about Reid being in an arcade. Then he realized why he was drawn so much to Krys. She was a female, more hyper, version of Morgan. Maybe not as brave and heroic as Morgan, but the same basic personality of him. Reid really liked Morgan, he was a good friend and Reid always considered him his brother. Maybe Krys could be some sort of sister. After all it seemed like she needed friends.

"Centipede?" Reid repeated taking a step closer to the game. "Yeah... I know it. Made in 1980 by Atari. Designed by Ed Logg and Dona Bailey, one of the only female game programmers in the industry at the time." He said though he had never really played the game before. Then Krys started to play it. Reid looked over seeing the flashing lights. Those light must bring joy to so many kids. Just seeing the fun colors and hearing the magical sound of beeps and coins. It was all so magical to a kid. Some how Reid was able to get into that feeling as well. He could understand why a kid would enjoy it in here even though it was so loud. It was all part of an effect that promised to send you somewhere else. Away from your life. How many kids actually needed the time apart was small, yet so many longed for it.

Smiling Spencer joined Krys next to the game and placed his hand on the small red button. A second later he was pressing it and watching the little light come out of the point of the "gun" as it weaved its way across the screen being controlled by "KING". "This is fun..." He said delight clear in his voice. Some how the little game was able to take his brilliant mind of the troubles in the world. Suddenly everything didn't look so evil any more. Maybe he should try and have fun more often.

[Krys Robin]

"Yeah... I know it. Made in 1980 by Atari. Designed by Ed Logg and Dona Bailey, one of the only female game programmers in the industry at the time."

Krys blinked, obviously impressed by this man's rattling off of facts. It was impressive, that much couldn't be denied. Stopping her attempt to 'set up' the game (mainly by pressing start) she slowly turned around to face in him in a momentary pause. "So you know all about it... You've just never played it..." Of course she was only teasing, and even then it was in a tone that she was amused by this and wished to encourage it further.

"You're a snapple cap of knowledge, Spence." She turned her attention back to the game as though this sort of conversation was completely natural for them, even though they had just met. Krys was a socially comfortable person which probably scared a lot of people off, meaning once you spoke to her she treated you like she had known you for ages. It was just a positive little habit she always had. Agent Grimaldi always teased her about it. She had even slipped up and called Spencer 'Spence'. No telling how he'd feel about that, but she had done it subconciously so she didn't even notice and she went about playing the game.

Krys moved the joystick back and forth. Her multiobject awareness had to be going crazy because not only was she moving the little box (gun) on her own accord but she also had to pay attention to what Spencer was doing beside her with the button clicking.

"Right! Right! Left! Quick.. It's blue!" It was during a quick sidelong glance that she smirked a bit and shook her head. He was pressing the button rather exuberantly for someone who seemed startled by the idea of videogames. He even seemed to be having fun! With a bit of a proud smile Krys turned her attention back on the game where the centipede was changing to it's ninth different color meaning they were on a higher level.

"This is fun..."

"Well... YEAH. Where'd you think I was bringing you? Golfing?" Krys rolled her eyes though not in a dismissing manner. She was already grabbing Spencer's wrist without thinking, and moving it to the joystick she was now controlling with her left hand. "Okay. Time for the ole switcheroo."

In a scrambling of movement, well planned out on her part, she practically limbo-ed under his arm (he was quite a bit taller than she was at 5'3) and now she took the place at the red button while he got a chance at manuevering. Her brown eyes glued to the screen she watched the splashes of color, the blinking of lights against the black screen with an eager expression.

Clicking away now she bounced back and forth eagerly on her heels. "Did you know that centipedes don't actually have a hundred legs?" From the looks of things she was her own little Snapple Cap of random facts. Another thing Grimaldi teased her about, and often. She was the 'baby' of the team, and as a result got treated like a five year old sometimes. How this was appropriate in the workforce she had no idea, but she actually enjoyed it. Her team was more family than her own family, as sad as that was.

The centipede, what was left of it, had now reached the lowest quadrant of the screen and made contact with their 'blaster'. The screen flashed and the bold white words read in the center of the blackness: GAME OVER. "Aw man..." Krys groaned before doing a 180 and looking to her 'teammate'. "Well played." She offered but now the screen was flashing for them to add in their names for the number 4 spot out of 7. 5 out of the seven read 'KRYS', and she was well aware of this.

"Okay, okay, I've played this game a bit in the past week." She admitted, laughing it off before she nodded toward the screen. "You can put your name in. It's like being on the wall of fame only no one knows so you can't be showered with praises." Now turning her attention downward she pulled out a few more coins from her bag before looking back up and declaring thoughtfully: "You look like a guy who would like to whack some alligators."

Now turning her attention on a large, wide green game shaped like a swamp labeled 'See Ya Later Alligator' she inserted the coins eagerly before holding the big, plushy mallet out for Spencer. "All you gotta do is hit the gators over the head." Now chewing sounds were coming from the machine and the fake water began to move, and then appeared the alligators. So, Krys demonstrated, with one hand she hit one, then another before looking to Reid. "It's pretty barbaric but awesomely so."

[Dr. Spencer Reid]

Reid had to smile at Krys reaction to his knowledge. 'Learning is easy. Playing is not.' He thought to himself. If anything his life had taught him that. To play you had to socialize with others, and even if you didn't you'd still feel weird being by yourself while everyone was with a friend. That's why he never really liked to have fun, even when he was with his friends he felt alone because he was so much different then them. But with Krys he knew he was different and what he had gone through, but she didn't. It was a new slate and he could be the guy with out a mentally ill mother, or who had a drug problem and was abducted and tortured. He was just Spence the social awkward guy. At first when she called him Spence he felt weird, but then it kind of worked out okay so he didn't say anything.

Reid's mind was cleared of all else when he started the game. He was concentrating on when to press the button, wanting to show Krys that he could have fun.When she placed his hand on the joy-stick however everything feel apart. He moved the box back and forth finding it hard to line up with the centipede on the screen. He wondered why she gave him the harder of the two jobs when they were so high up in the levels. Muttering under his breath the different direction the bug was moving he was starting to get a hold of the game. He was taken aback a moment when Krys said "Did you know that centipedes don't actually have a hundred legs?" Looking from the screen he laughed. "And you say I know a lot of useless things!" The way he said it made it sound like he to had known Krys for a few years. It just felt right.

When he looked back at the game it was to late to recover. He groaned a little when the screen flashed game over. "Wait!? A bit?" He laughed looking at the names. Then he entered "REID" into the machine. It felt good to see his name on the top scores list. Even though he had been only one reason they got that far, Krys being a good five reasons. He still felt an odd sense of pride knowing that one day someone would see his name up there. Even if, like Krys said, they had no idea who he was. He could just imagine someone seeing Krys' name then his and thinking that he must be good at the game.

Then followed Krys off to the Wac-An-Alligator. Slightly confused he said, "It's it suppose to be Wac-A-Mole?" There was barely any time before the mallet was stuffed into his hand. "Just a little barbaric?" He asked seeing an alligator pop up but but getting to it in time. Slightly frustrated and again wanting to show Krys he could do it he whacked harder at the next one, still missing it, and sent his mallet flying a few feet into the air before it landed on the table in front of him. His checks turned red with embarrassment before he burst into laughter. "I guess I'm not that good." He said between laughs.

[Krys Robin]

Krys had to admit, it felt good not to be at the arcade by herself. Not that she minded being by herself, her job description was pretty much being alone half the time while glued to a phone ear piece but this whole 'being with another person' was actually something that she missed and rarely had. It was different than playing God to Sims and making them be friends with one another, and it was certainly different than playing Tetris all day. This was something fathomable. Something she could smell, touch, see... It was real.

"How does it feel to be immortalized?" She poised over her shoulder with a witty little smile, referring to his name now being in the machine until someone else played and beat their old score. Krys actually made the subconcious decision that if she ever played the game and came close, she'd kill herself off. It seemed like the right thing to do. Her name was up on that list enough as is.

Remembering something she rushed back to the Centipede machine, ripping off their line of yellow tickets and shoving them into her bag. They'd be for later. Walking back toward the alligator machine she looked to Spencer.

"It's it suppose to be Wac-A-Mole?"

"Kind of. But not..." Krys eyed the machine as she pointed out the various plastic parts. "There's no holes, no moles.. And the alligators come through this tunnel." She looked up again at Spencer brightly. "But you do have to hit them on the head, well, snout anyways."

"Just a little barbaric?"

Krys watched with utter amusement at Spencer's facial expressions as he bopped alligators over the head with the plush mallet. He looked kind of like the three year olds that Krys often saw with their parents at arcades, who had to be helped. Heck, the mallet had to be held for them! She was pondering grabbing a stepstool to complete the image when the mallet went flying.

"Heads up!" Widened brown eyes watched the fleeting flight pattern before it landed right on the table. A hint of an amused smile and slight tilt of the head, Krys looked to Spencer with her brow curiously raised.

"I guess I'm not that good." He said between laughs.

Krys was quiet for a moment as she watched him in the midst of the alligators now making hungry growls and crunching sounds. This man was laughing. While he had been so nerveracked earlier now he was actually laughing. Whether it was genuine or not she wasn't sure, but she'd take what she could get. And she wasn't going to let it fade away.

"Doesn't matter." She concluded simply, her chin raised high. "People always cheat anyways. Come on!" And with that she turned to the machine with a large smile and proceeded to push down on the plastic alligators' snouts, thus racking up the points. People did this all of the time and though it wasn't in the rules it wasn't like you could get into trouble for it. The rules weren't tacked up anywhere, no one was breathing on their necks, they could invent their own.

Without the mallet Krys had to apply a bit more force, and quickly, so she would dash to each gator, jump in the air and press on it with both hands, using her full body weight. Even as she did so, she wanted to keep the random facts game alive, even if most of her facts were just gathered from Animal Planet watching.

"Fun fact, in Africa Hippos kill more people than Crocodiles." Another breathless grunt as she rushed to another alligator bopping it right on the snout. "As a kid I wanted a pet Hippo." She shrugged, rushing to another one as the gators were coming faster now. "As a kid I wanted a pet everything. Still do." Another grunt and a push as a gator cried out 'ow' in a comedic low voice. "But I travel too much to have a pet, or much of anything else." It was when she said this that she was incredibly focused on the game so she hadn't even paid attention to what words she had said or the murmured tone she had said them in.