A/N: You guys are amazing! Thanks to pllfanaticforev, wittykittylizzie, RinShade, plldreamcatch3r, Sleepinthekeegs, and Spobyistruelove for the wonderful reviews. Keep 'em coming! Read on, lovelies!
Chapter 2
The roaring motorcycle carried Toby into the new town he would call home. He hadn't waited long, leaving Ravenswood the day after he had received Alison's letter.
All his parents knew was that he had received a job offer and he wanted to jump on this chance as quickly as possible. They had arranged for him to come back in a few weeks and take the tests required to get his GED. One long day of testing and then his high school experience would be over.
Toby would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a bit excited to start over in a new town. Maybe he wouldn't be the quiet, lonely, freak and could make some friends in Rosewood. This was his chance to start fresh with a clean slate and he was going to make the most of it. That's why when he saw a barber shop, he turned his motorcycle into the undersized plaza and skipped into the building.
He took a seat in an empty, leather, swivel chair. "Cut it short," he said to the barber who nodded and went to work with a pair of silver scissors in hand.
It only took a few minutes time. Toby's sandy brown hair, which once had fallen in his eyes, was now short and spiked up in the front. He had to admit, it was a much better look on him. He thanked the barber and paid him before hopping back on his motorcycle and continuing towards his destination.
It was around noon when Toby arrived at Alison's brother's home. He double checked the address that was scrawled on the piece of paper and grabbed his duffel bag from under the bike's seat.
A few moments after knocking, a dirty blonde man answered the door. "You must be Toby," he said with a smile. "Come on in, man."
"Yeah. And you're Jason? Alison's brother?" Toby clarified, entering the house.
The older boy nodded. "That would be me. Let me give you the tour and then we can talk about this plan Ali came up with." Jason led Toby through the house, pointing to every room.
"And this is where you will be staying," he told Toby, opening the door to a rather plain room. "It's the guest bedroom and I don't usually have guests, so I never really took the time to decorate it. But feel free to make it your own. Hang a few posters or something, anything goes."
"Thanks," Toby said and put his bag down next to the bed.
"I'll let you unpack and then you can come downstairs. I would kind of like to know a little bit about my new roommate. I need to make sure you're not a weirdo," Jason teased, smirking at Toby.
Toby laughed. "That's understandable."
Once Toby had unpacked his clothes and few belongings, he trudged down the stairs and met Jason at the kitchen's island.
Jason looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "You can help yourself to anything in the fridge. Except the beer. I know you're only eighteen," he said, half seriously, to the younger man.
"Don't worry. I don't drink," Toby assured him, chuckling.
"So all I know about you is that you are… were… a friend of Ali," Jason said. Obviously, it hadn't sunk it that his sister would not be coming over for family dinners anymore. "Actually, she said you were a special friend."
"I guess that what you'd call it," Toby said with a shrug.
Jason raised his eyebrow, waiting for a more detailed answer.
"We dated for a year. But we weren't public," Toby answered.
Jason nodded slowly. "I think keeping secrets and hiding things became second nature for Ali. Even the little things, she never liked sharing." His green-blue eyes stared off into space, as if he was thinking deeply about what he had just said.
"What else did she send you here to do?" Jason inquired once he had refocused.
Toby pulled out the wrinkly letter from his pocket and read out the section with the instructions. "The only thing left to do is to call the construction company about the job. Oh, and I also need to meet this guy named Spencer. Apparently he lives next door."
A wide grin was plastered on Jason's face. "Spencer? Alison wants you to meet Spencer Hastings?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. Is that odd or something?" Toby wondered curiously, noticing the cheesy smile on Jason's face.
"No… not at all. What did Ali say about Spencer in the letter?"
"She just said that she thinks Spencer and I will get along great."
"I'm sure you will…" Jason replied, letting his words trail off. They seemed to have a double meaning, but Toby just ignored it.
"How about we order some dinner, play some video games, and tomorrow morning you can go meet Spencer?" Jason suggested.
"Sounds good," Toby agreed, smiling at his new roomie.
Toby and Jason were acting like brothers by the end of the night. Toby was glad to have already made a friend. He made a promise before he had left Ravenswood – to Alison and himself – to be more of a social butterfly. So far, so good.
Now, Toby was lying in bed thinking about Alison. He was recalling a memory. It was around Christmas. The couple sat in his room, and she handed him a square item that was covered with metallic red wrapping paper. When he had torn it open, he had seen that it was a book about different kinds of motorcycles and bike parts. He couldn't even speak. Nobody outside of the Cavanaugh family had ever bought Toby a present before. Maybe that was the day Toby realized he loved Alison DiLaurentis.
And with that thought, he drifted off into a deep slumber.
The next morning, Jason and Toby were drinking coffee in silence. Toby was the one to break it.
"When are you going to tell me about yourself?" Toby asked curiously.
"Do I have to?" he asked with a laugh.
"It's only fair, dude."
"Okay, fine. I'm twenty-two, a senior in college, and a mentor for high school students."
"A mentor?"
"Yeah. I talk to kids who are into substance abuse. Drugs and alcohol. I was kind of messed up when I was their age," explained Jason.
Toby's eyes shifted to the refrigerator, where he knew the beer was housed. Jason must've picked up on this.
"I keep some alcohol for when my buddies come and hang out. I've learned how to control it," the older boy reassured Toby.
"Good for you, man."
The two guys finished their coffee and Jason was leaving for a class at Hollis College. He was just about to walk out the door but shouted something at Toby before he exited.
"By the way, Spencer's house is on the right!"
Toby showered and threw on jeans and a dark green t-shirt. He left the house and crossed the property line. As he raised his fist to knock on the door, he could hear violent yelling coming from inside the house. He knew he probably should've come back later but, before he knew what he was doing, he had already pounded on the rectangle barrier.
A few moments after, the voices from inside had hushed. The door flew open to reveal a middle aged woman with short reddish-brown hair.
"Can I help you?" she inquired, her voice harsh and annoyed. Despite her attitude, she looked very well put together.
"Sorry, I'm looking for Spencer Hastings," he replied.
"Just a minute," the lady answered, rolling her eyes and shutting the door. Clearly she'd not in the mood for company.
After she had slammed the door shut, the screaming resumed. Toby was about to turn around and leave when a girl around his age stepped out from the door frame quickly, closing the door behind her.
"Can I help you?" the girl asked, more politely than the other woman.
Spencer is definitely not a guy. Toby just stared at her. He knew her. Her brunette locks were wavy and flowed over her shoulders. She had mocha colored eyes with dark circles drooping underneath. But Toby thought she was beautiful, stunning actually. At that moment he remembered where he had seen her before.
"The funeral," he whispered to himself. She was the girl who was looking at the flowers outside of the church.
"I'm sorry?" she asked, confused.
"Oh… umm… I'm your new neighbor. I'm staying with Jason DiLaurentis." Toby told her, not sure if it would be creepy to explain how he was sent to find her. "You are Spencer, right?"
"Yeah, that's me. Did Jason tell you to come over?" Spencer asked, a little skeptical of the guy standing on her porch.
"No, actually I was a friend of Alison's."
Spencer looked over the muscular, blue eyed boy. She wasn't sure what he wanted from her.
When she didn't say anything, Toby continued. "Do you think we could grab coffee and maybe talk about Alison because she –"
Spencer opened her mouth to decline the offer when she heard glass breaking from inside. She flinched at the sound and nodded. There was no way she was sticking around her house for the afternoon. Not when World War III was taking place in her living room.
"Sure," Spencer answered, still bit unsure of this guy's intentions. "I'll meet you at the Brew. It's in the middle of town. You can just follow behind my car," she told him, remembering that he still didn't know his way around town.
Toby nodded and mounted his motorcycle, following Spencer's lavish and costly Mercedes after she pulled out of her driveway.
Seated in a booth at the only coffee place in town, Toby and Spencer faced each other.
"I don't know your name," Spencer reminded him.
"Oh, right. I'm Toby," he introduced himself.
"Toby. You don't hear that name often. I like it."
He smiled softly at her compliment.
"How did you know Alison?" Spencer questioned him, deciding to skip all the small talk and get straight to the point. This guy must want something.
"I lived in Ravenswood. We were neighbors and we went to the same school," he said, only telling part of the story.
Spencer squinted her eyes and studied his face. "Now the whole truth?" She waited for Toby to give in.
"We dated… secretly," he said.
"Now the real question is… What are you doing in Rosewood?" Spencer wondered, lifting up the ceramic coffee cup to meet her pink lips.
Toby debated whether now was the time to spill the story or if he should wait a while. But he had a feeling she would drag it out of him anyways.
"Alison left me a letter and told me about this plan she wanted me to follow," Toby explained.
"Hmmm," Spencer hummed, eyes focused on the liquid caffeine in front of her. "That sounds like something Ali would do." This whole time, the way she spoke was expressionless and dull.
"How did you know her?"
There was a few beats of silence while Spencer thought about what to say. "We met in seventh grade and became best friends. There were five of us. It was me, Alison, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. She did some bad things in tenth grade and the rest of the group turned on her, never forgave her. It took me a while, but I came around. I thought of her like a sister so I knew I would always forgive her in the end. Then, she left for Ravenswood with her parents. Only Jason stayed behind to go to college. We kept in touch and she came back to visit often, but she never stayed too long." Spencer's voice sounded strong, which was surprising since it was the first time she'd opened up to anyone in a long time.
"What did she do that was so bad?" Toby wondered.
Spencer's head snapped up to meet his eyes. That's when she noticed how blue and beautiful they were. She could've spent hours admiring them, but when he spoke it snapped her back to reality.
"Sorry. That was too pushy," he apologized.
"It's fine. I just don't like to talk about it," she said, her voice only quivering a little.
"I understand."
"I'm sorry if I seem distracted and ignorant. It hasn't been an easy weekend," Spencer told Toby, finally realizing her lack of manners.
"I also understand that," he said with a sad smile.
"Oh, right." Spencer gave herself a face palm. "You just lost a girlfriend and that's definitely not a pleasant thing to go through. I know you probably aren't doing much better than me. I mean, I know I don't have a monopoly on pain and grief or anything like that. And I probably look exhausted and you probably feel the same way… Oh, crap. Not that you look exhausted or anything, you look great but – "Spencer only stopped when she heard Toby chuckling from across the table.
"I was rambling, wasn't I?" she asked. Her pale face was turning a shade light pink out of embarrassment.
"Just a bit. You can continue if you need to. Talking it out helps," Toby encouraged her.
Spencer smiled for the first time in a while. He seems sweet. Snap out of it, Spencer. You know what happened last time you trusted a guy. Well... just talking won't hurt.
"I think I'm just acting this way because I miss her. I'm angry at whoever hurt her. She wasn't always the kindest friend, but I think she was just insecure," Spencer explained, finally speaking her mind.
"That makes sense. I think people judged her so much and she got tired of it. It made her angry and she lashed back," Toby said. "She wasn't very good at expressing herself, so belittling others was her outlet."
"She could be really nice though, when she wanted to. I remember when we were in eighth grade and Aria's first boyfriend broke up with her. Alison called me, Hanna, and Emily and we all went to the grocery store to buy pints of ice cream and trashy magazines. Then, we brought them over to Aria's house and watched The Notebook together. Ali organized the whole thing because she knew Aria needed a really fun girl's night to lift her spirits." Spencer smiled as she told the memory.
"I know what you mean. She was the only one who talked to me when I lived in Ravenswood. Of course she never talked to me in public because she feared it would ruin her image, but at least she didn't see me the same way others did."
"How did the other people see you?"
Toby let out a sigh, remembering what his life was like just two days ago. "I was the quiet kid who never went outside. I stayed in my room. Everyone called me a freak and wanted nothing to do with me. I was just a burden to the whole town. The weird thing is that I don't think I ever did anything to make people despise me so much. They just wanted someone to pick on who wouldn't fight back," he revealed.
Spencer's heart broke at what he had just told her. No one deserved that. She did a bold thing and put her hand over his. He didn't pull away. Instead, he smiled at her gratefully. Finally, he had begun to find friends.
"They picked on you because you're different. Different is good, though. I like different. We need someone like you here. Rosewood has too much of the same," she said, giving his hand a squeeze before moving it back to pick up her coffee cup.
"You could've just told them that you didn't go outside because you sparkle in the sun," she mentioned after sipping the strong, black beverage.
"What?" he asked, amused by what she had just said. "Did you just make a Twilight reference?"
"Yep!" she admitted, excitedly. "My older sister read the books to me when I was younger."
"I don't want to be Edward. I'm team Jacob!" he whined jokingly, causing her to giggle.
The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and joking around. They occupied the back of the Brew as they shared good memories they had of Ali and ate muffins and coffee. Occasionally, they would get an odd stare from someone who thought they were being too loud and rambunctious. But in reality, they were just having a good time and that's what they needed. Both Spencer and Toby had met someone who they could relate to and they wanted to hold on to that.
After getting off his motorcycle, Toby walked over to Spencer's driveway to say goodnight. She climbed out of her car and met him halfway.
"I know we just met, but do you want to hang out again soon?" Toby asked, hoping she still wanted to be his friend.
"Definitely! I need to get out of the house more often and you seem like a nice guy," said Spencer, smiling bigger than ever. "Give me your phone."
He handed it over to her and she punched in her number. She gave her phone to him so he could do the same.
"I'll text you, or you can text me. Whatever works," she said, giving him back his cell. "Thanks for today. It feels good to know that there's someone who understands."
"Same. You know, I have a feeling we're going to be good friends," Toby told Spencer.
"That sounds alright to me. Goodnight, Toby!" And with that, she skipped into her house. Spencer Hastings was going in much happier than a few hours ago when she emerged as the sad, moody girl who had just lost her best friend.
Toby turned on his heel and walked through the damp grass to get back to his current living space. When he entered through the front door, he discovered Jason planted on the couch and channel surfing.
"Hey, dude! Where've you been?" the blonde male asked.
"I was with Spencer," Toby stated simply.
"Really?!"
"Yeah. Why so excited? Does somebody have a little crush?" Toby teased Jason.
"Gross! No! She's like a sister to me. I'm just happy that you two are becoming close," Jason replied with a side smirk.
"Close? I just met her today," Toby said defensively, joining Jason on the tattered sofa.
"So? Alison always wanted to introduce you two. She told me she thought you two were so different and such opposites that it would make for a good friendship," Jason said, his eyes still glued to the television.
"I thought you said that the only thing Alison ever told you about me was that we were friends?" Toby asked.
"Yeah. But this isn't about you… this is about Spoby," Jason pointed out.
"Wait. Who is Spoby? Whatever, I don't wanna hear it. How about a game of Halo before bed?" suggested Toby.
"Sure, dude. Fire up the X-box," Jason said, peeling himself off from the couch to go retrieve the violent game. As he left the room, Jason chuckled and yelled, "Spoby for the win!"
Toby just rolled his eyes. What the hell does that even mean?
A/N: Wanna know a secret? The more reviews, the more encouraged I am to write and the quicker I update. Just a tip :) I hope you guys liked this chapter. Next chapter... Spoby and drama for Toby in Rosewood. By the way... thoughts are italicized.
xo
-Em