Hey guys! This is a Toby/Emily one-shot so if you don't ship them, turn away now!
Emily Fields let out a sigh as she stretched out onto the cotton yellow comforter of her bed. She had spent the last hour staring out at the moon from the window seat in her bedroom, sipping hot chocolate. She glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table, proclaiming 1: 23 a.m. in red digital letters.
Out of habit, she glanced at the door, making sure that it was properly shut and locked. Once she saw that everything was in place, she stretched her arm out, bending it to reach under her bed. Her fingers skimmed the floor as she felt around for two things: a cd and a jacket.
As her hand connected with the thick fabric and thin jewel case, she smiled, bringing the items up and setting them on the bed beside her. She looked down at them, fingering the sleeve, thinking about how she came to posess them.
A few days after the Homecoming dance, she was returning home after school. She hadn't been able to focus that day because the previous day, she had driven by the Cavanaugh house and seen Toby's bike, the metal twisted and spiraled. The same night, she had gotten a text from A, thanking Emily for getting Toby out of her way.
She had headed straight to her bedroom, tossing her school bag and swim bag to the floor by her desk. She knelt to her knees, pulling open her backpack and reaching inside to grab the drawstring bag she had found in her locker, right after school. She hadn't opened it, wanting to wait until she was home.
Inside the bag was a cotton jacket, a cd and a note. Emily had unfolded the paper and read the note. It said:
Em,
If you are reading this, you've probably realized that I'm gone, and you've probably seen or heard about my crashed bike.
Just so you know, I didn't want to leave, but I have to. The cops are after me and I just can't stay. It's breaking me apart to leave you, but just know that I didn't kill Alison. No matter what anybody else says, just believe me. I'll try my hardest to come back to you, only when I think it's safe.
I left you a cd and my jacket, just so you won't forget me, that is, if you don't want to forget me. I understand that we haven't spoken to each other for long, but I have a confession. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, all those years ago. If you don't feel the same way, I completely understand.
Just wait for me,
Toby
It had been six weeks since then.
Emily touched the wrinkled edges of the paper, remembering that the day she had found the note, she had read it over and over, tracing the words with the tip of her finger nail. Emily slid the compact disc out of its thin jewel case and into her stereo, turning the volume dial so that she could hear the words, but so the noise wouldn't wake her mom. As the first track, Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism, floated through her speakers, she let her eyelids flutter shut.
The Atlantic was born today and I'll tell you how...
The clouds above opened up and let it out.
I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere
When the water filled every hole.
And thousands upon thousands made an ocean,
Making islands where no island should go.
Oh no.
The soft beat lulled Emily into music bliss. She hadn't heard of the song until she discovered it on the disc Toby had left for her. Now it was her favorite song. Something about it made her think of Toby, wishing she had had more time with him.
A note, jacket, cd and her memory was all she had to remember him. And the hardest part wasn't the waiting. She knew in her heart he'd be back. No, the hardest was that she hadn't heard him out at homecoming, and she wanted to apologize. So she'd wait.
She sighed, content with being wrapped up in the warm confines of his jacket. She inhaled slowly. There was still the faintest trace of his scent: Axe body wash, cinnamon gum and something that she could only describe as Toby Cavanaugh. Emily let it fill her nostrils, eyes closed, savoring the smell.
Faintly, she could here something. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, her eyelids flying open. She listened carefully.
Thwack
The petite swimmer shot to a sitting position on her bed, Toby's jacket still wrapped around her thin shoulders. The sound was coming from her window. Her thoughts ran every which way, thinking of who it could be. Was it A? Yes, the messages had continued, and she feared that he or she was the one at her window.
Emily swung her slender, short-clad legs over the side of her bed. She cautiously crossed her room in her bare feet, unconciously gripping the sides of the jacket. When she made it to the window, she peered out through the glass, and her heart nearly stopped.
She fumbled with the window lock for a few moments before swinging it open, smile spreading. She stepped to the side, bouncing with excitement as she let the person slip through the window pane. Toby Cavanaugh stood before her.
"You're here." she breathed out.
Toby stared into her brown eyes, his own eyes sparkling. "Yeah. I'm here Em. I see you got my stuff." he said, gesturing to the jacket draped over her arms. Emily blushed as his gaze shifted from his jacket on her to her exposed right shoulder. She was wearing a thin purple tank top under the jacket, the straps of her fire engine red bra poking out. Then, his gaze swept down to her red short shorts and across her tan, long legs.
"Uh, yeah, I did. Your note was...amazing."
Toby's eyes snapped back to her's, his cheeks flushing a deep crimson red. He reached back to rub his neck, looking down at the floor. Emily internally giggled.
After a moment he looked back up at her. "You know...I meant every word of it." he whispered.
She could hear the music in the backround matching exactly how she felt.
I need you so much closer.
I need you so much closer.
I need you so much closer.
I need you so much closer.
So finally, she did what she had wanted to do for so long. Emily smiled softly, taking slow steps, her hips rolling ever so slightly, enough for Toby to notice, and stopped when she was staring into the entrancing, gorgeous icy blue depths of his eyes. She slung her arms around his neck, still staring into his intense gaze, waiting for him to take it from there.
Toby grinned back at her, sliding his arms to encircle her small waist. He pulled her closer, leaning forward. Emily waited for his lips to collide with hers, eyelids closed and lips puckered in anticipation. After what felt like hours, she finally felt a pair of silky smooth lips connect with hers.
She smiled into the kiss, enthusiastically returning it, all the while running her hands through his thick brown hair. Their first kiss was soft and sweet, their lips keeping perfect time with each other. After several more bliss-filled moments, the lack of oxygen became a problem, so regretfully, they pulled away, panting. Their hands still rested where they had been seconds ago, and Emily peered up to look him in the eyes.
"Nobody has ever told me they loved me before. And I don't want anyone else to."
They smiled at each other before diving back in, this kiss more passionate, desperate and hungry. Emily sighed as Toby's hands weaved through her long dark locks of hair.
When they finally pulled apart, Emily dragged him over to her bed, letting him sit first so she could sit on his legs. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, laeaning against his chest.
"So what's happened since I've been gone?" he asked, twirling a strand of her hair with his finger.
She giggled. "Not much. School, swimming, blah blah blah. Just a whole lot of missing you."
Toby grinned down at her. "Sure. Play like nothing's happened." he said, poking her side.
She laughed into his shoulder, then leaned up to give him a peck on the lips.
"We'll have time to talk about that later. Right now, I'm just glad you're back."
"I'm glad I'm back, too. You were all I thought about, Emily. I missed you more than anything."
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you come back? Is it safe now? Are you safe?"
"A couple days ago, I found something that will prove my innocence for sure. I had a friend drop it off anonymously to Rosewood Police Department."
Emily nodded, eyes drooping, a yawn escaping her lips.
"It's time for you to got bed." Toby said, gliding her to the spot on the bed next to him. He pulled her into his arms so that her back was to him.
"I love you." he mumbled into her ear, the sweetest three words she had ever heard.
"I love you, too." she whispered. And she realized she did. Emily closed her eyes, not caring that her mom could walk in at any second. Not caring that all her friends would try to persuade her to forget about him. Except maybe not Hanna. Emily had a feeling she'd be more supportive.
Emily drifted off to sleep in the arms of the man she loved with one more thought. They'll come around.
So there it is! Please REVIEW! Anonymous reviews welcomed! Please give me feedback everyone!
