i need a hero. i'm holding for a hero till' the end of the night.
he's gotta be strong, he's gotta be fast, and he's gotta be larger than life.
-x-
She awakes to the glow of evening setting sun shining in her eyes. Emily slowly get's up, her hair mussed as it hangs over her shoulders wildly. Emily tries to gain familiarity with her surroundings, but she has no idea where is for a couple of seconds until it comes back to her. Emily was discharged from the hospital early that afternoon, and she had to stay with Toby for the time being meaning, she was in his room right now. Emily carefully looked around, his room was painted a light grey, with a chestnut desk in the corner which contained a sleeping iMac and tons of staked notebooks. Straight in front of her was a mahogany dresser with antique figurines on top. She got off the bed and opened the door. It gave way easily and quietly.
At the top of the stairs she heard the sound of faint chatter coming from the television. Taking a deep breath she walked down the stairs and into the living room where she found Toby sitting on a beautiful dark coloured couch watching television. "Hey Toby," Emily said shyly as she walked over to a love-seat just to the right of Toby, and settled into it, curling her legs under her. Toby turned to face her. "Good evening Snow White," he greeted her. Emily raised an eyebrow. "Toby.. it's sleeping beauty." Emily corrected. "I know, I like Snow White better," he told her. "Oh okay, At least you know your fairytale characters." Emily replied with a laugh. Toby loved Emily's laugh. It was light, infectious, and simple. She turned to face the t.v. "What are you watching?"
"A documentary on jelly fish." Toby informed her. "No way! I love jelly fish," Emily gushed excitedly. He turned to face her again, this time with an eyebrow cocked in surprise." "Emily fields loves jelly fish huh? That's a new one." Emily laughed. "There's so interesting though don't you think? I mean the way they're transparent and have string ling tentacles that just float behind them gracefully, and each tentacle is covered in little hairs that carry pockets of venom?" Emily asked. Toby just stared. "Yeah okay, I guess. I guess they're all interesting and graceful until they sting you and you feel like you're on fire." "Yes, but they are just interesting to learn about and look at." Emily added. "Well since I've been watching this for the past twenty minutes, it would be suitable for me to agree." Toby told her with a smile. Emily smiled back at him.
Toby was extremely kind and caring. She is then hit with an overwhelming feelings including a ton of shame, remembering from back when her and her friends had called Toby the devil and thought he was A.
The jelly fish documentary finished sooner than she'd liked. Just then her stomach let out a growl, and she covered it with her hand, heat rising to her cheeks. "Toby, do you have anything to eat?" Emily asked breaking the silence. "Sure what would you like?" Toby questioned standing up. "A sandwich would be nice." "One sandwich coming up." Toby said as he walked into the kitchen. Emily leaped up and followed him. "I can make the sandwich Toby, it's no trouble just tell me where everything is." Emily insisted as she walked over to the fridge. Toby turned to her. "Emily you still need to recover, and i'm supposed to be taking care of you. It's no trouble okay?" Emily gave in. "Okay. Thank you Toby. For everything." Emily said as she stood on her tip toes and gave him a hug. He hugged her back. "Anything for a friend," he assured her as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out the bread.
This sandwich is delicious Emily thought to herself as she took another bite. She swallowed and opened her mouth to speak. "Toby this sandwich is amazing, what did you do?" Toby took a sip of water. "Nothing Em, you must be starving that's why it probably tastes like gold." Toby told her with a small smile. Maybe he's right about the sandwich. It had been two weeks since she'd had real food in her system. The hospital food made her want to barf. She polished off her sandwich and washed it down with the cold water which had began to fog up the clear glass with condensation. She waited for Toby to finish and collected their dishes. At first Toby had told her that he'd do the dishes himself, but Emily insisted enough times until he finally gave in.
She couldn't just stay here and not do anything. Emily had to do something, even if it was washing wishes to show her appreciation. Emily quickly did the dishes and cleaned up around the sink before joining Toby in the living room. "May I?" Emily asked shyly as she beckoned to the spot next to Toby. He looked at her happily. "Be my guest." "Thank you," she told him as she gingerly lowered herself on to the couch and stretched her long legs out, crossing them at the ankles. Toby felt his heartbeat pick up. She could feel her body heat, and still smell the shampoo from when she had showered at the hospital two days ago. He wanted to but he couldn't. It was too early to spring something on her like this; she needed rest and a friend. For Emily, he would wait without question.
He was being quiet for too long. She turned to him. "Are you okay Toby?" He looked into her shining brown eyes. "I'm fine, I'm just thinking." "About what?" Emily asked. "Well, I wanted to tell you something, but I think it should wait." She turned so that her body was facing him. "Tell me Toby, I can handle it." Emily stated. Toby took a deep breath. "Emily, I think I'm in love with you." Emily's heart stopped for a second. Toby just told me he's in love with me, oh my god. Emily looked into his eyes at a loss for words. "I uh, wow, Toby I don't know what to say." "I knew I shouldn't have told you, it's too early.." "No, no, it's fine Toby." Emily quickly consoled him. Then he leaned forward and connected his lips with hers. Emily was hesitant for the first couple of seconds, still in shock. But she slowly melted into him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She liked the way their lips moved in sync and the feeling of his hand on the side of her face.
He broke away. Oh god, why. Toby thought. He wasn't thinking straight - No not thinking at all was more like it. Toby looked at Emily whose brown eyes where staring into his own, shining. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have -" "It's okay Toby, don't apologize. You were caught up in the moment, and so was I. We can both take the blame okay?" Toby nodded. "Come here." Emily said, before wrapping her arms around him. "Let's just watch a movie." Emily suggested pulling away. "Sure." Toby responded. As the movie started, an uncomfortable tension began to cover the air. But when Emily leaned into him and he put his arm around her, the tension quickly slipped away, as soon as it had started, almost like it was never there in the first place.