My Safe Place to Land

Spencer Hastings had always strived for perfection. It was important to please her teachers and her parents. That had always been her main priority. But, someone changed that. Toby Cavanaugh was her safe place. He had been helping her through everything that was tough. He brought back Dr. Sullivan and they figured out that Mona was A. What he didn't know: A was back. It was her turn to keep Toby safe. She couldn't lose him. He had already been through enough to help her. She would stop at nothing to protect him. The 4 friends had made a pact: to keep each of their significant others safe and off A's target. It's not that he couldn't, but Spencer didn't want Toby to understand that A was back in her and her friend's lives.

"Spence, I've noticed. You still jump every time your phone goes off. I want to help you but you need to help me understand," Toby pleaded for her to explain.

It was no secret that Spencer had been acting scared lately. After Mona was uncovered, the girls spent their summer in freedom. But, then school had started and A was ready to pick up where they left off. And this time, they didn't know who was responsible for the endless threats and torture.

Spencer bit her lip, contemplating what to say. Looking into his bright blue eyes hurt her. She couldn't stand it. She always felt guilty about lying to Toby. He had always been honest with her.

It's for his own good, she thought.

"You don't need to worry. Senior year is just kicking my butt. I'm under a lot of pressure to prepare for college," she responded. Her mouth formed a fake, small, side smile.

"This is different. You look like you haven't slept in weeks. Is there anything I need to know? Are you scared that Mona is going to come back? I promise that won't happen." His voice sounded hungry for answers. He just wanted to help her. Toby stepped forward and grabbed her hands.

Spencer looked down at their hands. She took a deep breath that quivered as she exhaled.

"I guess it's just going to take me a while to get it through my head. To understand that everything is okay now," she lied.

"You don't need to worry about that anymore. And I will always be here to protect you," Toby said. He moved his hands up to cup her face and gazed into her mocha, brown eyes.

If only you knew I was doing the same thing Spencer thought.

She was trying to avoid his eyes, the eyes that could bring out all the truth. Spencer feared that if she looked into those dazzling, blue orbs, the truth would spill out of her. She couldn't afford to be weak. Spencer needed to be the strong one now. There's no way she would let Toby get hurt because of her problems. She was determined to make sure A didn't tear them apart.

"Hey, look at me," Toby continued. "I love you, so much"

Those words that only Toby could say never failed to make her smile. She blushed and a huge grin appeared on her face. Toby's expression mirrored hers.

"I love you too," she replied. Toby pulled her into a sweet and gentle kiss. But, it expressed all of their feelings toward another. A kiss so sweet, but filled with passion.

I will not let anything happen to him, Spencer thought before bringing herself back into the kiss.

Note: This is my first story. It was a one-shot that I had thought about doing for a while. I finally got around to it. Please review. I definitely will start doing full stories if I get good reviews on my writing. Thanks for reading :)

-Emmy