A/N: Okay, friends. Sorry about this, but I got writerz block on my other two stories and I can't go very long without posting something. I was cruisin' around in some of the older fics when I read some music videos and that got me thinking. So, I wrote one for our one-and-only Tobias. I just couldn't help writing it…whether it's typical or not. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Sadly, Tobias and the Animorphs don't belong to me. And this song by Martina McBride is altered just a little so the story would make sense in Tobias'…story. I just switched it so it's talking about a boy, not a girl. Nonetheless, it isn't mine. (Now you can't sue me ;P.)
Note: This takes place before The Invasion and I guess it's AU cuz of the ending. And this isn't exactly slash. It depends on how you take it. I guess it can be if you tell yourself that. But anyways…
He walks to school with the lunch he packed
Nobody knows what he's holdin' back
Tobias steps outside his door in the rain—with tears on his face—as his uncle yells after him. As Tobias walks down the street, his uncle takes a last swig from his beer and smashes it on the ground. He slams the door shut.
Wairin' the same clothes he wore yesterday
He hides the bruises with his hair in his face
Ohh
Tobias walks down the street to his school, his dingy clothes doing very little to keep him dry. (He has very little choices, clothing-wise.) He fingers a large purple bruise on the right side of his forehead that he tries to hide with his hair.
The teachers wonder, but none of them ask
Tobias walks into class before the morning bell rings, smiles as best as he can at his teacher, and sits in a far corner, looking out the window.
It's hard to see pain behind the mask
The male teacher stares pityingly at the teen, shakes his head, and continues writing on his piece of paper.
Barin' the burden of a secret storm
Tobias opens a binder he brought with him. It's full of papers covered with drawing of angels and birds with smiling faces. In the center of one picture is a halo held by the talons of two male birds in the center of a circle of smiling angel faces. Hawks, most likely. Or maybe doves? He could never decide.
Sometimes he wishes he was never born
He takes out a pen and writes in the halo, "Welcome Home, Tobias".
Through the wind and the rain
Tobias walks to his locker after class. He is about to unlock it when two guys walk by and roughly shove him, causing him to slam his head against his locker.
He stands hard as a stone
His bullies laugh and point at him as they walk away, but he just stares after them and then continues to open is locker
In a world that he can't rise above
He opens his locker. Inside, he has a small crucifix hanging from a hook on top. Another lined piece of paper is taped to the back. But this one is a drawing of a man, a woman, and a boy—about fourteen or fifteen—standing between them. All are smiling. Above the man, Tobias' handwriting reads "Dad", above the woman reads "Mom" and above the boy reads "Me."
But his dreams give him wings
And he flies to a place where he's loved
He sadly smiles, his eyes filling with tears, and puts a textbook in and takes another out. He then runs his fingers over his drawing and shortly after, closes and locks the locker. He walks away.
Concrete Angel
Jake is standing at the opposite end of the hall that Tobias walked from. He stares wordlessly and sadly after the lonely boy he once saved from bullies. He looks like he wants to say something, to comfort or reassure him, but walks away himself instead.
Somebody cries in the middle of the night
Tobias is sitting on his bed doing homework a little late at night when his uncle bursts in, clearly drunk. Tobias' eyes fill with fear as he tries to back away, but he's cornered.
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the light
Tobias' uncle throws him against the wall and pins him there, half of a beer bottle in his hand.
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
A few droplets of red drop on the floor at the two pairs of feet.
When mornin' comes it'll be too late
From in the hall and looking at the doorway, an arm drops limply in sight of the doorway on the floor, palm filled with blood. Nothing else can be seen in the view of the doorway.
Through the wind and the rain
He stands hard as a stone
Jake and Marco are seen running to a house the same night. Ambulance lights are shining and a small clutter of people is gathered around the house.
In a world that he can't rise above
Two medics are carrying a stretcher with a teenage boy lying on it out of the house. Jake mouths the word "no!" He immediately runs forward, pushing through the crowd to get to him. Marco tries to follow.
But his dreams give him wings
Jake kneels beside the stretcher after the medics load it in the ambulance. Tears fill his eyes as he tries to find something to say. Tobias' face is badly cut up, bruised and gashed. He tries to smile.
And he flies to a place where he's loved
Tobias' weak smile slowly drops and his eyes close. His bloody hand that Jake holds in his own goes limp and slips from Jake's.
Concrete Angel
One medic checks for a pulse and then shakes his head, he and the other pulling a sheet over Tobias' young and innocent face. They lead Jake out. The ambulance leaves, Jake staring disbelievingly after them. Marco puts and hand on his friend's shoulder and leads him away.
A statue stands in a shaded place
Beneath an oak tree in a cemetery, a headstone with a small statue stands in the sunlight that's almost set. Autumn leaves gently fall on the stone.
An Angel boy with an upturned face
Jake stands, staring at the figurine of a boy who would have been one of five very close friends to him in a war only they could fight. Tobias' face is sad, but peaceful.
A name is written on a polished rock
Jake kneels and runs his fingers over Tobias' name carved in the stone.
A broken heart that the world forgot
Jake lays a small bouquet of flowers by the headstone and walks away.
Through the wind and the rain
Tobias appears in front of his headstone, a slight heavenly aura glowing about him. Aside from his blood and bruises gone, he looks the same as he did when he died.
He stands hard as a stone
He turns to his statue, running his fingers over the stone replica his face.
In a world that he can't rise above
Jake turns and looks back. Tobias looks at him with teary eyes. He takes a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and stands it up against the headstone.
But his dreams give him wings
As Jake approaches, Tobias looks to the ground and fades away.
And he flies to a place where he's loved
Jake reaches the stone and unfolds the piece of paper. It's the picture of the birds and angles flying around with the two hawks holding the halo in their talons and the words on it saying "Welcome Home, Tobias"
Concrete Angel
At the top, however, it read "Goodbye, Jake."
"He knew he was gonna die," He sadly said to himself and headed home.
A/N: Good? Bad? Too sappy? Too depressing? Too AU? Tell me! I might write a sequel if someone wants me to. So…pleez R&R! ;D