-deux: the past-

Spencer Hastings had known Toby for years, but she din't really know him.

Not yet.

Toby could remember the first time he saw the slim, pretty brunette. Third grade, Mrs. Smith's class. He sat one seat in front of her in the fifth row from the door, and he noticed immediately what a suck-up she was. She raised her hand to answer every qustion, whether it was math ("One nickel, four dimes, and two pennies.") or science ("Saturn is the planet with the most known moons in our solar system."). In contrast, he just sat silently, picking at the chipped wood of his desk, making piles of pencil shavings, and only answering when the teacher forced him to, "Toby Cavanaugh! Are you daydreaming again? Tell me what the answer to problem number six is. You don't know? Alright, Spencer, go ahead."

They were absolutely nothing alike.

And yet, as they looked at each other, sitting not too close, but not so far away from each other on his porch (They couldn't go inside because Jenna was at home and Toby could almost hear her disgruntled reaction if she somehow figured out Spencer was there: "You sleeping with Princess Hastings now? Did Daddy buy you as her new toy?"; plus, the ball-and-chain on his leg wasn't helping his mobility, thank you very much), he suddenly flashed back to a day he'd banished from his mind long ago, a day he hadn't considered much since he'd found her on his doorstep, determined, searching for the truth.

But sometimes the truth did more harm than good.

(He of all people, should know that.)

In any case, the day he was thinking of had been the date of his first- and only, really- conversation with Spencer:

It was a breezy November day in Rosewood. One of those perfect, sunshiney days, with big puffy clouds, a oft breeze, and a sense of cheer in the air. School had just let out at Rosewood Junior High School for the weekend, and the students were buzzing, chatting about weekend plans, talking and laughing in groups of two or three or four as they headed home.

Toby, however, walked alone. He was an outcast at school, the freak loner who did everything in solitary; a pariah in and of himself.

"Hey!" he heard someone exclaim. "Watch it!" In his haste, he'd accidentally stepped on some girl's pointy-toed boot.

Turning, the apology died on his lips when he saw the fury written all over the heart-shaped face of Queen Bee Alison DiLaurentis. "These are Tory Burches!" she snapped. "They probably cost more than anything you'll make in your entire life!"

"It was probably just an accident, Ali," Spencer piped up quietly. The other four girls had stopped behind their leader to see what was keeping her, and were now witnessing her rage on the taken-aback Toby.

"Yeah, it was. I'm sorry," Toby apologized, looking the blond in the eye, praying that she'd let it go for once.

"Oh you will be," Alison snarled. Then, in one fluid motion, she shoved him down on the sidewalk. Pain shot up his arm as it made contact with the bumpy, weathered cement. He cursed under his breath, more stunned than anything else. Alison smiled deviously at him in obvious satisfaction.

"Come on, girls," Alison called, resuming her parade through the schoolyard. Aria, Emily, and Hanna obediently followed, glancing nervously at Toby as they walked by, but Spencer, he noticed through the shooting pain, lingered behind.

"Hey," she said gently, offering her hand to help him up. "You okay?"

"I think so," he managed, hoisting himself to his feet, glancing down at his arm. It hurt like hell, and he could already see the skin purpling into an ugly bruise. Who knew Alison "Bow To Me" DiLaurentis was actually that strong?

She winced. "Sorry about Alison. She can be kind of a bitch."

"Then why are you friends with her?"

She paused, seeming to consider the question. "She's not always like that. Most of the time she's actually really kind. She makes you feel..." here she seemed to be searching for the right word, "...special."

"Because she's popular?" he asked curiously.

"Maybe. I don't know. She's just...Alison, I guess."

He smiled slightly, "I was under the impression that you know everything."

She laughed, displaying deep dimples that he recognized as similar to his own. "Well, I haven't found the cure for cancer. Not yet." She sobered quickly. "Seriously, though. Don't let Ali get to you, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed. "Thanks."

She smiled. "See you around."

And that was it. For five years, those were the last words she ever spoke to him.

She was scared.

After Alison fed her that crap about him peeping in their window, his reputation ad been soiled in her eyes, so she hid. Not just from him, per se, but from the world in general, especially after Alison's disappearance. She hid behind her books and her words and her facts.

Fact: love does not happen when one expects it.

And although at the moment Spencer and Toby were just platonic allies attempting to help each other, although in the past they let skepticism and paranoia rule their minds and their hearts, they would soon learn that they were something more.

It was something that not even the uber-smart Spencer, with her whopping IQ score, could have ever predicted.

They might have been enemies in the past, but they would fall in love in the future.

But right now, they were sitting on his porch, and Toby had no idea what was coming next.

-:-

Wow, it has been a while since i updated this, so first let me apologize on behalf of this ugly thing called writers block. ugh.

Secondly, thank you all SO much for the incredible reviews/favorites/alerts. You guys rock! ;)

Also i know this part sucked, but i just wanted to include some background stuff, and i love Spoby flashbacks that foreshadow their reltionship, so yeah.

Finally, Chris-Hope you like my sorry excuse for an update and this story in general. i promise promise i'll update the last part asap. xo. :)

Until the next time!

~Ana