I decided to upload this next chapter tonight as well because you guys have been so good with reviewing lately, PLUS this chapter is a little shorter anyway... BUT it's one of my favorites. ShadowsOnTheMoon said earlier in their review that it'd be amusing if Toby and Aria teamed up to kick Wren's ass... you're about to see just that ;)
That's two chapters tonight, so you guys better review like CRAZY to let me know how you like it! And I do not say that harshly, I say that with utmost love because you guys are the best :) and Sgdp1261, PM me as soon as you get an account/your email back!
"SPENCER!" Aria screamed as she ran over to an unconscious Spencer, trying to revive her the best that she could as she shook her gently. But Toby did not follow. He remained firmly in place, glaring at Wren.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing here?" he growled.
"Toby…" Aria whispered pleadingly as she looked up at him, "I don't think-"
"No, it's okay," Wren said, holding up his hand toward Aria as he walked toward the Toby. "I wanna hear what the carpenter has to say."
"The carpenter has a name," Toby spat angrily. "And he's been a hell of a lot better toward Spencer than your British ass has ever been."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Wren said cooly. "I've shown nothing but affection toward Spencer."
At this, Aria scoffed. Was he seriously denying this right now? Wren caught on to the scoff, and turned toward Aria. "Is there a problem here?"
"Actually, yes. There is," she said as she stood up from the ground. She took note of how much Wren towered over her, but still stood her ground firmly. "You need to leave."
"Or what?" Wren challenged.
"You don't wanna know what!" Toby said threateningly as he took an intimidating step toward Wren. Wren did the same. The two of them continued to walk toward each other until they were directly in each other's faces.
"Guys," Aria intervened as she took her hands and slowly pushed them apart. They staggered backward, and then stared at her in confusion and, on Toby's behalf, impatience, since he wanted nothing more than to beat Wren to death.
Aria narrowed her eyes at them. "I really don't think this is the best place for this," she said uneasily.
"Why the hell not?" Toby shrieked. "Don't you wanna see this asshole get pummeled for what he did to Spencer?"
"Hey now," Wren warned.
"Oh I would love that, believe me!" Aria stated blatantly, ignoring Wren's comment. "But do you really wanna be giving each other a bloody nose in front of God and country while Spencer is lying on the ground and could wake up any minute?"
"I don't care!" Toby stated as he looked back up at Wren, his blue eyes swirling with hatred.
"I'd be careful if I were you," Wren barked. "I could clock you into the next century."
"Is that a threat?"
"Guys…" Aria started nervously.
"You should listen to the little one," Wren said knowingly.
"Hey, you shut the fuck up!" Aria snapped. She hated when people made fun of her height, especially someone like Wren, who was standing there smugly, staring at Toby and Aria, as if the whole thing was a joke. "Who the hell do you think you are? Why are you even here?"
"Can't a lad walk down the street at his leisure?" Wren said innocently.
"Not if that 'lad' belongs in jail," Toby said menacingly.
"I don't belong in jail, because I didn't do anything wrong," Wren said finally.
"Yes you did!" Aria said exasperatedly. "You raped her!"
Wren's eyes widened, and he aggressively took Aria's arm and pulled her into the nearest alley, while Toby followed protectively.
God damn, this town has a lot of alleyways, Aria thought as she surveyed the scene around her, rubbing her arm that was throbbing slightly by the way Wren had gripped it.
"You can't go around saying things like that," Wren said in panic. "I'm a doctor! People around here know me; I could lose my job!"
"And I should care because…" Aria began.
"I don't know what Spencer told you," Wren began, "but I didn't do anything to her. I simply asked her out cordially, and she had the audacity to decline, so I tried to show my affection toward her."
"Yeah, by raping her!" Toby spat as he came around the corner.
"Would you keep your voice down, boy?!" Wren croaked.
"I'm not your boy," Toby said pointedly, "and I'm not doing anything you say."
"Look, anything I did to Spencer was not to harm her in any way," Wren said with a shrug.
"Right," Aria said sarcastically. "So when I found her in that alley way covered in bruises and bleeding to death, I had just imagined the whole thing. Good to fucking know."
"I'd watch my tone if I were you," Wren sneered.
"I'm not watching anything if you're telling me to!" Aria shouted.
"Listen," Wren said loathingly as the malevolent glint in his eyes became more prominent. "Not a word of this to anyone. Are we clear?"
"Far from clear!" Toby shouted. "You're going to stay away from Spencer."
"That's not the way things work," Wren said slimily. "I'll see Spencer however much I feel like."
"That's not happening," Aria said hostilely.
"Right, I'm going to listen to a group of teenagers on whom I interact with," Wren said sarcastically as he started to walk away, but Toby pushed him backward before he could make his exit.
"You're not going near her, do you understand me?!" he shouted in Wren's face. "You're not!"
Wren darted his eyes between the street outside of the alley and Toby's menacing blue eyes directly in front of him. With a final deep breath, he pulled his arm back and punched Toby in the nose.
"OW!" Toby howled as he reflexively brought his hand up to his nose, and with that Wren made his great escape.
"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Aria yelled as she started to chase after Wren, but Wren was too fast for her. He dashed down the sidewalk, across the street, and out of sight before she could get even close to catching up with him.
Toby caught up with Aria, but then winced in pain as soon as he had stopped. Blood seeped out of his nose, and was dripping down his face and onto his blue v-neck sweater.
"Oh my god," Aria gasped as she hesitantly touched Toby's nose, and he winced again. "Well he wasn't kidding about clocking you into the next century. He kinda got you good."
"What a dick," Toby muttered as he turned around, and Aria followed him as they walked back toward Spencer, who was still out cold on the ground.
"I can't believe this all had to happen to her," Toby whispered sadly as he pinched his nose to stop the flow of blood.
"I still can't believe it," Aria said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a few tissues to hand to Toby. " And I've known about it for a while now. Wren needs to be punished."
"We'll deal with him later," Toby suggested as he gratefully took the tissues and held them to his nose. "For now, we need to figure out what to do with her."
"I'll take her back to my mom's place," Aria reassured as she started to walk toward Spencer, but Toby held her back.
"Could we take her to my place, actually?" he asked hopefully. "I… I haven't seen her in a couple weeks. I wanna be able to talk to her, and sort this out with her."
Aria bit her lip, pondering this. Would Spencer open up to Toby? She didn't want to see him get hurt if she lashed out at him, which was quite likely. But maybe she would open up, and maybe he could help her get better.
It was worth a shot.
"Okay," Aria said finally. "She's all yours."
Toby nodded his head, conveying a "thank you" with the twinkle in his sparkling blue eyes. He then walked over to Spencer, leaned down, and swiftly picked her up wedding-style in his arms. As he walked toward his car, he looked back at Aria, and jerked his head in the direction of his car to signal that Aria follow. Toby put Spencer in the back seat, and Aria got in with her, holding Spencer's head protectively in her lap. With one final look behind him at Aria and his wounded ex-girlfriend, Toby drove off.
