Twenty minutes later Hanna, Mona, and I arrived at the school gym, and by the amount of music and noise I could tell people were enjoying themselves.
"Hey, you guys made it." I heard Aria say in relief. "I thought you guys had talked me into coming and then decided to skip."
"Aria, why would I do that to you?" Hanna asked her. "I would be here even if I was grounded because I am going to be crowned homecoming queen if it's the last thing I do."
"Where's Emily?" Mona asked.
"She's not here yet, that's why I was getting worried." Aria answered.
"Well, I'm sure she'll be here soon. You know how Mrs. Fields is; she's probably giving Emily last minute lectures on not getting too drunk." Mona assured her. "Now, I hate to leave as soon as I've gotten here, but I should go find my boyfriend. See you girls around."
"Hi, sorry I'm late. My car was at the mechanic and it took longer to fix than expected." Emily said as she came up to Hanna and me.
"That's okay, Em, we're just glad you're here." Hanna told her. "Oh, there's Sean, do you mind if I go dance with him?"
"Of course not, you go have a good time while us single girls stand here hoping for some cute guy to ask us for a dance." Aria sighed dramatically and all four of us started laughing.
"Well, it looks like one of you will be dancing with a handsome guy tonight. After all Spencer's 'friend' who happens to be a very good looking counselor and chaperone is here." Hanna teased before I heard her high heels walk away.
"When is she going to believe that Jason is just a really good friend?" I asked rhetorically.
"When pigs fly." Emily answered.
"I'm doomed." I sighed as I laughed and shook my head.
"I wouldn't say you're doomed but you're definitely not getting off the hook anytime soon." Aria commented.
"Would anybody like to get a drink with me? It's a little warm in here." I asked.
"Sure, I'm pretty thirsty myself." Emily replied.
"I'll come too, but I need to use the restroom first." Aria added.
The three of us walked together and then Aria went off to the bathroom so it was just Emily and I standing beside the punch table.
"Hey, Spence, do you mind if I go talk to somebody real quick?" Emily asked hesitantly. "I can stay if you want because Aria should be back any minute."
"No, you go ahead, Em, I'll be fine." I assured her.
"Thanks, Spence; I'll only be a few minutes." She said giving me a quick hug and then walked off.
Emily ended up being more than a few minutes and I got cornered by Melissa. She had been invited to announce this year's homecoming king and queen. And of course she took the opportunity to rub it in my face that she had been homecoming queen when she was here.
"So, are you enjoying yourself?" I heard Toby ask from behind me a few minutes after Melissa left.
"Hey, Toby!" I greeted him and a smile immediately spread across my face. "Um, do you really want me to answer that question?"
"No, I know that you've never been a big party type, and I just saw Melissa talking to you. So since Jenna is talking to her friends I decided see how you were doing."
"Well, I appreciate your concern. Other than Melissa being typical Melissa, I guess I'm having a good time." I told him.
"How about we make sure that you're having a good time? Since this is a school dance, would you care to dance with me, Miss Hastings?" He asked sounding extra charming and comical at the same time.
"I would love to, Mr. Cavanaugh, but I can't dance, and I'm not saying that because I'm blind. I was born with two left feet." I shrugged sheepishly.
"Well, I can't dance either so that's an invalid excuse. Come on, we'll go dance where hopefully people won't notice us." He said as he looped his arm with mine.
I heard a door squeak and by the slight temperature change I knew that we were outside, but we could still hear the music inside. Toby placed my left hand on his shoulder and then placed his own hand at my waist before intertwining our free hands and slowly started leading me to the music. We stepped on each other's feet multiple times, and twice I got tripped up and would've fallen if Toby wasn't holding me up. But we were having a great time, and I figured it would be the highlight of my night, and that's all that mattered.
"I'm glad we're dancing outside. If Jason saw us dancing I would never hear the end of it. And I'm pretty sure we could win a comedy award or have a hit clown routine in a circus."
"I actually don't think we're doing that bad. Maybe we've always just had bad partners before." He commented.
"You're just saying that. And when I get home Jason is going to find it hilarious that the two worst dancers ever tried to slow dance together at homecoming."
"Does Jason think we're crazy because we're not together?" Toby laughed referencing Jason's prediction that Toby and I would be together in three weeks one Toby came back.
"No, he graciously extended it to five weeks since you came back right in the middle of everything with Alison and Melissa's fiancé." I replied sarcastically. "But don't worry about Jason; I'm just glad to have you as a friend for now."
"Me too, we still need to catch up on the year we missed before we think of anything else." He agreed and then added. "Not that I'm opposed to the idea though."
"Well, if we want to meet Jason's prediction, you and I would have to been together by Monday." I teased. "But for the record, I'm not opposed to the idea either in the future."
Taking the hand that was on his shoulder I moved it up until it was resting on his cheek. Then I leaned up and quickly kissed his other cheek and smiled.
After dancing with Toby we headed inside and he had to go back to Jenna. Instead of just standing around I found my way to the bathroom and a minute or two later I heard three girls come in whispering. I realized it was Hanna, Aria, and Emily so I was about to come out of the stall when I heard that they were talking about me and Toby.
"Did you see them leave out the side door together?" Emily asked.
"Yeah, and I was about to have a panic attack if they didn't come back in when they did." Aria replied.
"You guys, do either of you really see Toby hurting Spencer? Because he seems like a nice guy and Spencer did save his life that night." Hanna said with hesitancy and worry.
"A lot of criminals probably seem like nice people, Hanna. And yes, Spencer did save his life, but the whole reason Toby killed Ali was probably because she made him take the blame." Aria stated.
"We don't know that for sure, that's just a rumor." Emily added in Toby's defense.
"Well, the police have evidence against him, and rumor or not, that counts as motive." Aria argued.
"Whoa what do you know that we don't?" Hanna questioned.
"I was with my mom at the police station this afternoon. I was walking around and I overheard Wilden and Garrett talking. They're getting a warrant to search Toby's house so that they can find enough evidence to arrest him. By Monday Toby will be behind bars instead of behind a desk." Aria explained.
"I thought I'd be glad when Ali's killer was behind bars, but we've all gotten to know Toby and I started to like him. And if Spencer could see, she probably wouldn't be able to keep her eyes off of him." Hanna sighed.
"Man I really don't want to be the one that tells Spencer." Emily commented not realizing the irony in it.
"Wait a minute; they've been friends since her freshman year. So why would he do that to Ali if he was so close to Spencer all that time?" Hanna asked.
"I don't know. Maybe he was using that as a way to plan it." Aria suggested.
"Toby doesn't seem like the type to do that. I might not now him like I know you, but the way he looks at Spencer. Anyone can tell that she means a lot to him." Emily stated.
"Look, I don't know the fine details like why he did it, let the police do that. But I do know that on Monday us, and the DiLaurentis' can have the closure we need to move on and Ali can finally be at rest." Aria stated firmly. "Now, let's go and enjoy the rest of homecoming."
"Yeah, I don't want to miss my name being called for homecoming queen." Hanna said and then I heard the three walk out and the bathroom door slam shut.
I waited another minute before leaving the bathroom myself. I needed to find Toby and warn him. He took the fall for the garage fire and I certainly wasn't letting him take the fall for Alison again. I decided to find Jason first and headed towards the table by the stage where the teachers usually hung around. But luckily Jason found me first which made my plan easier.
"Hey, Spence, I've been looking for you. How was your dance with Toby under the stars?" Jason said teasingly.
"How do you know about that?" I asked defensively. "Actually never mind, I don't care. I need you to help me find Toby. I have to tell him something privately that's really, really important. He could be in trouble and I'm not letting him get taken away again."
"Toby's in trouble? What kind of trouble, what's going on?" He asked and his playful and teasing attitude went out the window.
"I can't tell you here, but I'll explain later. Now, can you help me?"
"Okay, um, do you know how to get to the old chemistry lab that you two hang out in if I walk you to the double doors?"
"Yeah, I go out the double doors and walk straight until the hallway dead ends. I make a right and then it's the third door on the left." I nodded.
"Great, I'll walk you to the doors." He said sounding a little relieved. "You head to the classroom and I'll find Toby and tell him that you need to talk to him."
"Spencer?" I heard Toby ask as the door creaked open.
"Toby, shut the door and please don't interrupt." I instructed deciding to get straight to the point.
"Okay, the door's closed and I won't interrupt I promise." Toby said and I felt him sit down next to me.
"They didn't know I was listening, but I heard Aria talking to Emily and Hanna. She was telling them what she overheard at the police station this afternoon. They're getting a warrant to search your house so that they can get enough evidence to arrest you. Toby, someone is obviously framing you, and if things go the way that person is planning, you'll be in jail on Monday morning." I told him quickly. "You can talk now."
"Spencer, nothing's going to happen." He said placing his arm around my shoulders to comfort me. "They won't find enough evidence to arrest me because I didn't do it."
"I know you didn't, Toby. But someone's framing you so the police will find something." I stated as I started digging through my small purse. "Toby, I can't lose you again. If you get arrested you're not going to reform school this time. I want you to take these and I want you to leave Rosewood tonight before that happens."
"Why do you have a set of car keys if you can't drive?" He asked as I handed him the spare set to Jason's car.
"It's in case Jason ever loses his set, he's an airhead and misplaces stuff all the time. Now take the keys and get out of here before you get arrested. The car's silver and it's parked in the teacher's lot." I answered quickly.
"How are you and Jason going to get home?"
"Jason can walk or bum a ride off of someone. And I came with Hanna and Mona, so don't worry about me. Just please go, Toby." I told him trying to blink back tears.
"Spencer, I can't leave. That will just make me look guiltier." He argued.
"I know it will, but they'll eventually figure out that you're innocent and weren't even in town that night. But until they do, would you rather sit in jail or leave Rosewood for a little while."
"I'm not going to win this argument am I?" He asked rhetorically and I shook my head.
"I'll go, but only because you want me too." He said slowly as he hugged me as tight as he could. "But I'll come back, Spencer, just like I did last time."
He pulled away from the hug to give me a quick kiss on the cheek and then fled the room. I heard the door slam behind him and I burst into tears. I thought that losing him because of The Jenna Thing was bad but this was worse. Maybe because last time it was sudden and there was nothing I could do and this time I had forced him to go. But at least we got the chance to say goodbye and I knew for sure that he would come back to me this time.
I know I know, I'm so mean! I was so mad at myself for the way I ended it that I couldn't write again for a few days. At least I had them dance like you all were hoping for. But the sadder the ending the happier the reunion right? And Toby will come back no matter what happens in the next couple of chapters. The story is called Back to Me for a reason. But fair warning, like everything, it gets worse before it gets better. And sorry for making Aria the main one against Toby for all you Aria fans out there. But it had to be someone and it didn't feel right having Emily or Hanna be that way. So review if you're not too mad and enjoy the weekend. BTW you guys are awesome for getting this story to over 50 reviews!