Hey guys, so this was inspired by the flashback "Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Inferno" when Ali says to Toby "I bet you wish you kissed me when you had the chance." This was an rp with me and a friend, which I turned into a fic. This is just after Jenna moves in so Jenna hasn't started harassing him yet and obviously the Jenna Thing hasn't happened yet.
Alison sat on her porch, watching the street though her mind was far from the silence of the neighborhood. Her mind was on the threats she had been getting. She didn't know who they were from or why this person was so obsessed with messing with her. Okay, sure, she was hot and popular and there were jealous people out there. One being Jenna Marshall. She glanced involuntarily toward the Cavanaugh home and sat Toby outside. She bit down on her lip as she considered going over there. Normally, she wouldn't but she needed to get it off her mind. She decided and stood from the porch, making her way confidently toward the Cavanaugh home.
"Spying on me again?" she asked. Yeah, she was a bitch, but everyone knew that. It was expected. She had to admit, though, that he was kinda hot. She just couldn't admit it out loud.
Toby was sitting outside on his porch, he needed to do anything to escape Jenna at this point. She kept trying to get up all over him and it creeped him out. He didn't like her as a step sister, let along anything more. He was reading when he heard a voice he knew well; Alison. He glanced up and quirked a brow,
"I think you need to get your eyes checked, Ali. You're the one that came over here," He pointed out. She was the Rosewood bitch which he had a hard time forgetting, no matter how much she amused him at times.
Alison walked up toward the porch. She knew that she had to have been really desperate for a distraction to come talk to Toby, but she didn't feel like dealing with the girls right now. Maybe being a bitch to Toby would help clear her mind.
"What are you reading?" she asked him. It wasn't that she was all that interested, she just needed to get her mind off other things.
Toby watched her warily, this was Ali after all. Who knew what she was planning?
"Not that I think you've read anything other than gossip and fashion... Catcher In The Rye." He answered, hold ding up the book. He knew if she was familiar with the story, he'd be setting himself up for one of her comments, but he couldn't exactly lie about a book he was holding.
Alison rolled her eyes when Toby replied with what he was reading. It sounded so... typical. "Well now, that's something you can relate to, now isn't it?" Why couldn't he be more normal? Maybe then he would have friends.
Toby resisted the urge to roll his eyes and put a marker in his book, setting it aside to give her his full attention; Clearly that's what she wanted.
"What do you want Alison? Don't you have a posse to parade around with or a date to get ready for?" He asked, bemused.
Truth was, Alison didn't feel like dealing with the girls right now. They were easy to spend time with, but aside from Spencer, sometimes they were too easy.
"Jealous that it's not you?" she asked, ignoring the part about her friends and answering the part about a date, even though she didn't have one. Not tonight.
Toby shook his head at her.
"Maybe if you weren't such a bitch, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Maybe if you were nicer, you'd get a guy who doesn't treat you like crap," He replied. It hard was not to know who she was dating at the time. Noel Kahn was one of the main guys she seemed interested in and he was a meat head jerk.
"Maybe if you weren't such a freak, you could get a girl interested in you at all," Alison replied cattily. No one got away with trying to insult her. She wouldn't allow it.
"Tell that to your girl, Emily. She and I get along fine. You just don't like that there's one guy in Rosewood who doesn't worship at your feet," He shot back.
Alison suppressed a smirk when he used Emily as a defense. That girl, as sweet as she was, would never be into Toby.
"Yes, she is the perfect girl to use to defend your skills at attracting women," she commented.
Toby rolled his eyes. He saw the way Emily looked at Alison- He wasn't oblivious.
"I didn't mean for attraction, I just meant she doesn't think I'm a freak like you do," He replied with a shrug. "And I doubt you'd think I am if you actually took the time to get to know me," He pointed out.
Alison raised her eyebrows when he told her that she wouldn't think he was a freak if she took the time to get to know him. "Are you trying to get me to be nice to you?"
"I'm initiating a challenge, and I know you love a good challenge. You're clearly bored, so spend some time with me, as if we're total strangers. What do you say, DiLaurentis? You up for it?" He asked, raising a brow.
Alison watched him as he spoke. It was true, she couldn't turn down a good challenge, but was this a good one? She thought about it for a few moments. She had to admit that she couldn't really remember what caused her to think of Toby as a freak.
"Fine," she answered.
"Just as if it was me who moved in a few weeks ago, not Jenna," He replied, getting up and made his way over to Ali, holding a hand out to her.
"I'm Toby. Nice to meet you."
Alison watched him as he approached her. She still wasn't sure what game he was playing, but she'd bite, even if it was warily. "Alison," she replied, shaking his hand. "
It's nice to meet someone new," He said, trying to suppress laughing at the fact he had to act as if he was new to Rosewood.
"It's always nice to meet new people to Rosewood," Alison replied, wording it so it wasn't quite as awkward.
"Is there anything fun to do in this town?" He asked. He doubted they'd have much fun sitting on his porch.
"The mall is always a fun place," she replied. "Then there's the grill, a popular hangout for Rosewood students. If you're looking for a classier dinner setting there is Rive Gauche. And then the kissing rock always proves to be lots of fun."
"I'm sure a lot of guys take you to kissing rock," He teased lightly.
Alison smirked inwardly, in fact they had and Toby probably knew that, but for the sake of the 'new meeting,' she just smiled coyly. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He wanted her to treat him as she would any new guy to town? She would.
Toby smiled a bit. If she wanted to play this game, he'd play.
"I'm sure a pretty girl like you is rather popular in this town."
Ali silently questioned whether or not Toby actually thought she was pretty, but she dismissed it. Of course he did, everyone did. He just never acted like it and he would have never complimented her before this challenge.
"Well, someone like you should be popular in no time," she replied. They both knew that wasn't true, but it went back to the fact that if he wasn't such a loner he'd be kinda hot.
This intrigued Toby. "Oh really? How do you figure?" He asked, trying to hide his smirk. This was one of the few times Ali amused him.
Alison was never nervous about anything, but if she admitted he was hot, there was no going back. Even after this experiment was over. Still, he had admitted she was pretty...
"Because you're hot," she said nonchalantly, though for once in her life she was nervous. She had told countless boys they were hot before, but this was Toby. It was different.
That caught Toby off guard- He hadn't been expecting it. Ever since he could remember, she had always hated him and was a bitch to him. This experiment didn't change her sight. Did she really find him hot?
"I suppose I should feel honored, that coming from you," He teased.
Ali smirked in response, though inside she was still nervous. At least he didn't break character to make a snarky comment. She was sure it would come later.
"I only compliment the guys who are worth it," she said, knowing she would regret this later. Toby tried to keep himself from laughing. This was his best plan ever; Alison DiLaurentis was playing nice.
"Well then, am I worth you accompanying me to the grille?" If she was going to play nice, he wanted Rosewood to see it.
Ali paused a moment. That meant people would actually see them together. She wasn't sure she could handle that. She held back a sigh before nodding and putting a smile on her face. "Of course."
This got better and better. Alison had to swallow her pride and go with him to the Grille. "Let me grab my coat and I'll be right out," he said, grabbing his book and went inside, grabbing a sweater and put his book away before coming back out. "Ready to go?"
Ali waited outside as he went in, trying to prepare herself for this outing. It was one thing standing in the Cavanaugh's yard, if anyone saw them she could tell them later that she was taunting him. If they went somewhere together, it wouldn't be that easy to cover. When he came back out, she nodded. "Yes."
Toby smiled and walked own the stairs, heading with her toward the town. "So what do you like to do for fun?" He asked.
Ali walked with him, trying to ignore the fact that they were actually going into town together. "Hang out with my friends, go to the mall, stuff like that."
"Typical girl stuff," He teased, watching her.
Ali laughed softly. "Yes, typical girl stuff," she answered. "What do you like to do?"
"Despite the fact you think I'd be popular here, I'd pretty much a loner. Mostly like to read, draw and listen to music," He replied with a small shrug. It was true, he never really made friends in Rosewood, mostly because Alison hated him.
"You would definitely have to work on that to be popular," Ali replied. She had to resist defaulting to the 'a loner is a Boo Radley type of freak,' mentality. If she was supposed to be nice to Toby, she would have to refrain from making those comments.
Toby quirked a brow in curiosity. "What do you mean?" He asked.
Ali pursed her lips together a moment. "People here don't really know how to respond to loners. They usually seem to be hiding secrets."
Toby chuckled lightly, "no secrets, just no one interested in hanging out," He replied simply.
Ali couldn't hide the shock, no matter how much she tried. "You're not a loner by choice?" she had always thought that Toby's being a loner was just a part of his creepiness.
Toby shook his head. "No, people just judge before they get to know someone," He replied honestly. "So I started to learn to enjoy things I could do on my own," He shrugged a little.
Ali felt a little uncomfortable, but she hid it well. She knew that he was referring to her, at least partly. "Well, that must suck," she answered.
He gave a more full shrug this time,"I got over it. I don't really care what people thinks and I don't get too bored with reading or drawing. Just when they actually try to get involved in my life and act like they know me is what bothers me more," He admitted. Even though they were acting like he was new to town, he was still going to be honest.
Ali continued acting like she wasn't affected by what Toby was saying. She stopped outside the grille when they arrived and glanced at Toby, bracing herself for the social turmoil that might come from this.
Once they reached the Grille, he decided to play nice and open the door for her, waiting for her to go in first before following. Ali walked inside when he opened the door for her. She looked around, trying to find a table that would be out of the way enough that they might not be very noticed. Toby could tell be wanted to sit in a spot that would be discrete. Coming out with him in public was a step in the right direction so he'd sit someplace out of all the stares, mostly for her sake. Once they picked, he pulled out the chair for her, keeping up with his gentleman side.
Ali sat down with him, shooting him a grateful look. She could only take so much for the sake of this experiment and being kn public with him was a lot as it was.
"So now what?"
Toby smiled and continued up with their charade, "Now you tell me what's good to eat here," He teased.
Ali glanced over the menu, naming off a few things that she liked to eat here.
Toby nodded even though he knew everything here. He looked over when a waiter came asking for their drink orders before looking back to Alison, allowing her to go first.
Alison ordered when the waiter came, then she waited for Toby to order, curious to see if he would order something she suggested or if he had a favorite.
Toby decided to try something new and picked one of the items that Ali listed off.
Ali was a little surprised that he actually ordered something she suggested, but she passed it off. When the waiter left, she was once again at a loss for what to say.
"So what's your favorite class in school?" he asked. The upside to pretending to be strangers was he could learn things he didn't know about her.
Ali raised her eyebrow when Toby asked what her favorite class in school was. If asked her favorite part, she would have said the socializing, but class? She hated the class part of school. "I don't really have a favorite class.
"Just there for the socializing?" he teased.
"Why of course," Ali replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why am I not surprised?" he asked. "Good question," Ali replied, "seeing as you don't know me."
Toby had to contain his laughter. "Pretty girl, I'm sure you have guys begging to do your homework."
"Always," Ali replied. "Are you offering?"
"I'd probably fail you," he replied. He did okay in school but not great, he was terrible in french. "That bad?" Ali asked him.
"I'm not great. About a C average," He said with a shrug.
Ali made good grades, but only because she had to. "Then forgive me if I don't accept your offer."
He smiled "I forgive you."
Ali wondered if there was a double meaning in that, but then she decided there wasn't. "Good," she replied.
He looked over as their water came with their food. Ali took a bite of her good once the waiter walked away, then watched him to see what he thought. Toby took a bite of his food and nodded in approval.
"Good tastes," he complimented.
Ali smiled in amusement when he said that she had good tastes. "Thank you," she replied. "You're welcome," he replied and ate more. Ali continued eating after he complimented her. Toby figured them eating would make the silence not awkward so he ate quietly. Ali continued eating, opting for being quiet as well. Toby finished eating, sipping on his drink and waited for her to finish. Ali finished eating shortly after he did.
"Are you done?" He asked, taking another sip of his drink. Alison nodded, taking a final sip of her own drink. Toby got up and decided to take care of the tab since she was playing nice. Once it was taken care of, he went over to the door and held it open for her. Ali watched him as he went over to pay the bill. She had expected to pay separately, but she certainly wasn't going to complain about someone paying for her. When he held the door open, she went outside.
"Now what?"
Toby walked out with her and started down the street. He decided to see how far he could push this Nice Ali,
"How about you show me Kissing Rock?"
Ali stopped in her tracks when he mentioned the Kissing Rock. This experiment was going to end eventually and she wondered if she took him there if Toby would tell everyone that she went there with him. She realized quickly that after the fact, she could just threaten him into keeping quiet. It always worked. "Sure," she said nonchalantly.
Toby watched her freeze and wondered if he reached her limit. He was surprised that she agreed and nodded. "Lead the way."
Ali nodded in response and began walking toward the Kissing Rock. Was this a test to see if she would actually take her? Or did he actually plan to kiss her? Toby followed behind her. It was a test but would he really kiss her when they got there? Would she let him? Ali continued walking in silence until they got to the kissing rock. She was nervous about the idea of Toby possibly kissing her now that they were here, but she kept her expression neutral. "And here is the famous Kissing Rock."
"It just seems like a spot in the forest," he murmured. This was actually his first time at the rock. "People have been sneaking here for hundreds of years." Alison replied. "Legend has it that you can hear ghosts of the other lovers pushing you to do it."
"Oh really?" He asked, stepping a little closer to her. "And what do you hear?" He was giving her the opportunity to back away before he did anything, if he was going to.
Ali watched him as he stepped closer. "I hear them," she replied, trying not to look nervous. She could hardly tell a story and then tell him she didn't hear them, after all.
"And what are they telling you to do?" He asked, leaning a bit closer.
Ali's breath caught as he leaned closer to her.
"They're telling me to kiss you," she replied softly.
"Glad we're hearing the same thing," he murmured before pressing his lips to hers. Ali kissed him back, slipping her arms around him. If she was going to do this, she would do it right. Toby was surprised by the turn of events- About an hour ago, they were bickering and insulting each other and were now making out. Ali would have never thought that she would kiss Toby Cavanaugh or that she would like it. And here they were. She pulled him closer to her, still kissing him. Toby rested a hand behind her head, kissing her deeply, surprised by how much he liked it. Ali matched the depth in the kiss, knowing inwardly that she should stop but she didn't want to.
After a few moments, Toby broke away from the kiss. He was at a loss for words, unsure what to say. Ali glanced away when he broke away. She wasn't sure what to say and she wasn't quite ready to hear him mock her. Toby rose a brow when she glanced away.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing," Ali replied, moving away from the rock as though it really was possessed.
Toby nodded and put his hands in his pockets, pausing a bit awkwardly.
"I should, uhm.. walk you home," He said. Ali nodded a little when he said that he should walk her home.
"That's a good idea," she told him. "So I guess the experiment is over."
"I guess it is," he replied, not sure what else to say as they started toward his street. Ali nodded a little, not sure what to say either. Her mind was still reeling from the kiss. They hated each other, so how could she have possibly liked it? He wasn't sure what to say. Was it a mistake? did they both like it? He had no idea how to go about talking about it. Ali sighed softly after a while.
"We do hate each other, right?"
He considered it. "Before today I would have said yes, but I had fun today.." he admitted.
"So did I," Ali admitted, looking anywhere but at him.
"And I kind of liked the kiss.."He murmured quietly, looking away.
Ali bit her lip in response. She had hoped that part wouldn't come up.
"So did I," she said softly enough she hoped he didn't hear.
He looked at her, surprised.
"Really?"
Ali nodded a little. Very little embarrassed her, but this was probably the first.
"So, what does this mean for us..?" He asked.
Ali swallowed a nervous lump in her throat. "I don't know."
"I assumed today was just a one time thing? I doubt you wanted to be seen in public with me today, let alone again, possibly as more," He replied.
"I have a reputation to maintain," Ali said softly. "It was supposed to be a one time thing. I was supposed to hate you all over again and prove your theory wrong."
"Then I guess we can just pretend it never happened," He said, coming out a little harsher than he wanted. He wanted it to sound nonchalant, but it clearly wasn't that easy.
Ali was surprised by the harsh tone, but maybe she shouldn't have been. She was popular and he wasn't. Still, after the day they had, she didn't want him to be mad at her. "Toby..."
Toby glanced at her but not long, "Hmm?" He murmured. It was easy to sound nonchalant that way.
Ali took a breath. "I'm sorry," she said, surprising herself with the apology.
"For what?" he asked, looking over at her.
"I didn't mean to offend you," Ali told him honestly. "This is all just very confusing."
"With your reputation, you can make or break someone. I doubt anyone would say anything if you started hanging with me.. As far as anything more, I'm not sure.." He murmured.
It was true. Ali had made the girls and she broke so many other people. Toby however... he was already broken. Would people judge her if they saw her with him? "Could we try keeping it quiet? In case it doesn't, you know... Work?"
"Keep what secret? If you want to hang out and see if we can still have fun when were not pretending to be strangers and keep that quiet until we know, that's fine. But I'm not gonna be the guys you kiss and don't tell," he replied. Secret friends to test it? No problem, secret relationship? Deal breaker.
Ali rarely told anyone about who she was dating, it was nothing for her to be with a guy and never say a word. Toby apparently had other ideas. "It's not that I'm ashamed of you," she said, leaving the 'exactly' off. "It's that I don't usually tell people who I date anyway and we still don't know if we can get along."
"I'm not one of the meat heads who just want to get into your pants. If you want to try being friends first, that's fine." He replied.
Ali had never been turned down before and while she didn't know why it bothered her that Toby Cavanaugh was turning her down, it did. Since they were now near her house, she pulled him off to the side of the house-the one Spencer didn't live next to-and pulled him to her, kissing him again. This was partly to prove to him what he was saying no to and partly to see if the Kissing Rock had any affect on her liking the kiss. Toby was surprised when she pulled him aside and kissed him again but returned the kiss, not sure what she was trying to do. Ali quickly discovered that it wasn't the rock that made her enjoy the kiss, which would only be more disappointing if Toby refused to reconsider. After a few moments, she pulled back, keeping her expression neutral.
"Well? Was it just the rock for you?" He realized this was just an experiment and not because she just wanted to kiss him.
"No," he said honestly.
"And you really want to give that up because we disagree on something?" Ali asked him honestly. She rarely showed vulnerability, but as she looked up at him, she was more open than she had been with anyone in a long time. "I'm not asking to keep it a secret forever. Just long enough to figure things out."
"I told you, if you want to see if the friends thing will work, that's fine but I'm not keeping a relationship secret," He replied. He was stubborn and had no desire to watch her flirt with other guys until she decided to make them public.
"Is there anything I can do to change your mind?" Ali asked him. She had never had to work this hard to get a guy before and she didn't know why he was making her work so hard?
He paused considering it. "Everyone would think something was up if you stopped flirting, so I can't ask that," he replied.
"So..." Ali said, trying to think of a compromise. "What if I promise not to flirt in front of you?" she asked, taking his hand. He was right, it would look suspicious if she stopped flirting entirely.
"Will you still hook up with other guys?" He asked, brushing his hair out of his face with his freehand.
Ali shook her head. She could play hard-to-get enough that guys would never realize that anything was different. There were a lot of guys she flirted with that never had a chance. Even before this happened. "No hooking up. Just flirting for show and never when you're around." She didn't know if this would work, but at least they were negotiating now, that was something.
Toby sighed as he thought. "For how long?" He asked.
"I'm not sure yet," Ali responded honestly. "Just long enough to find out if this will work out." He considered it.
"Fine," He said, caving in.
Ali smiled when he finally agreed. "You won't regret this," she said as she pulled him closer to her.
"I hope not," He murmured, slipping an arm around her. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he'd be dating Alison DiLaurentis.
Ali smiled, kissing him softly. She had no idea how they had gone from hating each other this morning to being a couple now. Could she have really been that wrong about him? Toby kissed her back, letting himself relax and be proud of himself. He had proved her wrong but he had also learned that she wasn't as bad of a person as he believed. Ali leaned back against the side of the house and gazed up at him.
"The last thing I expected when I went to bug you today was for this to happen."
"Yeah, no kidding.." He replied, leaning against a nearby tree.
Ali glanced over at him, biting her lip gently.
"What?" He asked, noticing the glance.
Ali took a breath and looked straight ahead. "Thank you for giving this a chance." Ali had never thanked anyone for anything in her life.
"You negotiate well, maybe you should be a lawyer.." he murmured.
Ali smirked when he said that she should be a lawyer. It wasn't her career choice, maybe a fashion designer or something. "I did manage to negotiate with you," she agreed.
"If your negotiation works, then I'll really be impressed," He commented with a smirk.
"If it works?" Ali asked. She thought it had already worked.
"I just mean if this doesn't end badly," He answered.
Ali nodded in understanding after he explained what he meant. "That part remains to be seen, but we should enjoy it while we can."
"Do you have any other ideas or should we call it a night?"he asked.
"Maybe we should call it a night. It's been a long, confusing day," Ali explained, though she was sure that he felt the same way.
"I agree," He said feeling rather exhausted, even though he didn't want to deal with Jenna's flirty comments.
Ali pushed away from the wall. "I'd like to see you soon," she said softly.
"You know where to find me," He replied, going over to her and leaned down, kissing her softly. Ali kissed him back.
"I'll talk to you soon."
"See you soon," He replied, heading back to his place.
Hmm, the beginning of Jenna forcing herself on Toby? How will his new girlfriend react?
Chapter 2 will be up once I finish the next thread with my friend. I apologize if there are any typos on Toby's end of the conversation, my keyboard has been acting up. I tried my best to edit it all out.