HAPPY NEW YEARRRRR! I'm still in 2013 here in the US...so wooohoo fun times tonight for us!
Disclaimer: If parts of this chapter seems choppy/trippy, that is most likely intentional. It's back to Spencer's persepective & she isn't quite herself :(
oh and speaking of disclaimers, I literally never remember to say this one...I don't own these characters or the PLL world. Only in my dreams...
Her Koala-like grip was slipping. She had been gritting her teeth together, doing all within her measly sliver of control to stay attached to his muscular back. The sharp stabs that zinged through her were truly trivial. Mind over matter, right?
But she was swiftly losing that battle. Her limbs strained from across his broad shoulders, down to his trim waist and it was really irritating the taut skin of her abdomen. It was as if someone was widening those sizzling incisions with the torment of a rolling pin. Mind over matter. She bit down harder and exhaled slowly.
Black dots pirouetted before her. She heard Hanna call out, vaguely perceived Toby's panic-stricken comeback.
Hanna? Safe behind the wheel?
Was he serious?
Aria's snort—coming in harmoniously with one of her own—was almost enough to make her laugh. Team Sparia was in sync as usual.
But laughing would surely intensify the rolling pin effect and she was not having that.
"I have a flat, Hanna! We'll have to ride with you." She liked the way Toby's words vibrated into her. It was as if she was a part of him, an extension of his very existence. Maybe she'd forfeit her own life and just become an appendage of his. That might be a better alternative to her gig as Spencer Hasting, which was a less than rewarding role as of late.
"Well okay then." Hanna beeped her horn twice. "Get in losers, we're going shopping!"
"What did she just say?" His baffled question rolled through her with that same magical pulse.
Aria let out a profound sigh. "It's from Mean Girls. Ignore her."
Toby moved forward, his hand gingerly cupping Spencer's thigh as he stalked through the gravel. She felt like slipping, slipping, slipping under the current.
And off of his back.
"Hey, easy there, Spence. Its okay, you're okay. I've got you."
She didn't feel those vibrations anymore. Where was he? She didn't want to be separated from him, but she couldn't hold on any longer. Her feet brushed the ground. Was she falling?
"Spencer?"
There it was. The rumble of his voice had returned to her, channeling through her, making her strong. But it was different now. She wasn't on his back.
"Toby?" How long had her eyes been shut?
"I'm right here, Spence. Can you hear me? I'm here."
Her lids gradually fluttered up to revel in the marvelous warmth that sprang from his eyes. "Hi."
The frown lines marring his face gave way bit by bit, blossoming into the familiar smile she loved. "Hi, beautiful."
"Are we at the hospital?"
His frown returned. "No, we just left Noel's cabin…we're in Hanna's car, remember?"
She looked past him, saw Aria's huge eyes watching her keenly from the front seat, met Hanna's equally anxious gaze in the reflection of the rearview mirror.
And then she docked her irises back on that earnest pool of aquamarine. It was like crossing home plate. Safe.
"I…I remember leaving the party…Did I blackout after that?"
"Yeah, I think so. Not for long though." His index finger caressed a path over her cheek. Her good side was fitted neatly into him—her hip against his, legs resting across his lap, her shoulder wedged snugly between his arm and his chest. Like puzzle pieces.
"D-did you see if the tire was slashed?"
The smallest of smiles shaped his mouth. "No, I didn't get an up-close look. I had this amazing girl who was sort of falling all over me and I was a little more concerned with her wellbeing."
"How gallant of you." She smiled back up at him, her head falling more solidly into his generous shoulder. "She's a lucky girl."
His head lowered, nose bumping against nose in a fond Eskimo kiss. "Funny, I thought I was the lucky one."
She nudged her face against his and let their mouths brush in the lightest of touches. "How is that lip feeling, slugger? The swelling has gone down a little."
"Why? You want to give it a test run and find out?" He paired a devilish grin with a complementary arched eyebrow.
"Hmm, maybe." A tiny giggle fizzed up from her throat. "That was the thought I was supposed to hold onto, right? From your heroic escape route through the cabin?"
"That's right, there was an interesting remark back there…something like, 'I could just kiss you right now?' You owe me one, Spence," his breath was tickling the fine hair around her ear, sending sweet shockwaves all over. Her eyes slid shut in enchanted anticipation.
But an interjecting click broke through their secluded web.
"Hanna!" Spencer's groan was seconded by an embarrassed flush spreading across Toby's cheeks. "Delete that and focus on the road, please?"
"Hey, this is my car and that makes me the boss. You'll thank me later. That's bound to be an Instagram hit." She winked smugly, her phone still aimed in their direction.
"Oh, god no. Aria, confiscate that for me!"
The shorter girl snatched it from the blonde's hand. "She's right, Han, you should be paying attention…but aww, Spencer, it's so cute! You lovebirds were asking for it with all that cutesy chatter."
Toby coughed nervously, his fingers toying with a stray curl that had fallen over Spencer's shoulder. "Hanna, you'll want to make a left turn up here in case you weren't sure."
"Yeah, thanks Romeo. That's not gonna distract me from this." She shot a sassy grin backward, clearly pleased with her work.
"Just thought I'd try to help." He nestled his head into Spencer's hair, clearly still flustered.
"Uh oh." Aria abruptly dropped the phone to her seat and curved hastily toward the dashboard.
"What? What are you looking at?" Spencer was too drained to pry herself away from Toby, but her stomach was on the move anyhow—leaping downward into freefall. She didn't like the sound of those two syllables that her best friend had just emitted.
"What!? Guys, this isn't my fault, I swear…it was at least three-quarters full, I know it was!" Hanna's voice shook with a bout of anger and dread.
"Hanna? It's the gas gauge…?" No, not this too. How could…
She slammed her hands against the wheel. "I don't get this! It isn't possible! I just filled up yesterday after school, seriously!"
But the little orange arrow was below the one-eighth mark and still plummeting.
"It's –A." Toby's simple statement was delivered with ambiguous listlessness, empty of any passion.
That's what really got Spencer's attention and she wasn't the only one. Aria and Hanna locked eyes with a sinking regard. He was right, he had to be. His sedated apathy only drove the point home. This was deliberate.
"But why not give her a flat like they did to you?" Spencer's earlier attack of nausea was rapidly reappearing. "Why go to the trouble of cutting gas lines or…is it that artless? Can you just slice through a gas line?"
He shook his head briskly. "You'd need a hacksaw or something similar. It isn't some flimsy cable and it's usually tucked too high to damage accidentally. I…I think they wanted to lure us far enough away from the party…"
"So we'd be stuck in literal freaking nowhere." Hanna was steering them with an overwrought fury, a stubborn set to her chin. "Awesome. Just awesome. Let me guess—no cell service out here in the great outdoors."
Aria waved Hanna's phone uselessly into the air. "None."
Spencer didn't even bother digging for her phone. They all had the same inadequate carrier. "Turn right if you make it to that fork down there."
Hanna's scowl deepened. "I know you've been through a lot tonight, Spencer, but I hate to tell you that you're wrong. The road back into Rosewood is on the left."
"We'll never make it to Rosewood at this rate. Go right. My parents' lake house is that direction. We can walk the rest of the way and call from there." Her words were directed up front, but her eyes were set on Toby. She knew she was downplaying the distance between the car and her projected endpoint. There was no way she could make it that far on her own, not when she felt like a possessed spirit was trying to claw its way out of her.
He nodded somberly. "It's probably just as close as walking back to Noel's…and I'd rather not take my chances on going there anyway."
"Hell, no. We barely made it out of that shack, no way am I going back." Hanna coasted the vehicle down to the slight divide, drifting over the last few feet as her car began to sputter.
Spencer fought her rising panicky impulse, her fists clenching as she took a measured lungful of oxygen. This was ruthless…after being snatched out of the hall and then Jenna and the exploding window…and now they were out in the boondocks, exposing themselves as helpless targets. It was an obvious setup and she was drowning in helplessness. Why did she insist on dragging them out here tonight? This was her fault.
"Spence, hey…look at me." Toby's large hands framed her face, forcing her back to the present. His voice was almost impossibly low, his words lingering just between the two of them. "We'll be okay, Spencer. I'll carry you the whole way if that's what it takes. They haven't won yet."
"But they will win, Toby." She chanced a glimpse up toward her friends, but they were mercifully involved in a conversation of their own. "Whoever this is, they have a gigantic upper hand over us. This is a lamb to the slaughter situation and you know it."
His hands clamped down on her cheekbones, his eyes boring straight into hers. "Stop. You aren't breathing and I'm not okay with that."
She sucked in an exaggerated breath, her nearly black eyes flashing with mock cooperation. "Better?"
"Yeah, do that ten more times and then I'll be happy." He whisked a pacifying kiss against her temple.
"I…I'm sorry. I should have ignored that dumb text, but instead I bullied you into coming and now—"
"And now we bounce back and keep moving." His lips trapped hers for an instant as his fingers tunneled through her dark waves. "We could go rounds and rounds on the guilt trip cycle, assigning and re-assigning regret forever, but that doesn't help anything. Just breathe."
Spencer nodded with hindered resignation. Even if she had trouble accepting his statement, it was the truth. She knew the weight he'd carried with him for months; no matter what she had said or done in the aftermath of their anniversary, he couldn't shake that burden of remorse. Now he was returning the favor, ironically showering her with her own affirmations.
Her eyes lit on the sinister landscape outside the fogging window. The car had puttered to a complete stop. This was it. She leaned closer to Toby, inhaling his comforting scent and borrowing from his steadfast sense of composure. "At least let me try to walk for as long as I can. There's no sense in wearing you out from the very beginning."
He craned his head to gape at her scathingly. "Yes, because adding your whopping 90 pounds as cargo would really take a substantial physical toll on my body."
"Hey! I weigh more than 90 pounds!" She poked at his chest indignantly, but he only laughed in response.
Hanna spun around to pin them both with a withering look. "Would you two quit flirting for three whole seconds? This is a drire situation!"
"The word is dire, Hanna." Aria shook her head with a short chuckle, but the mirth did little to alter her frightened expression. "Are you guys ready to do this? I feel like a siting duck in this car."
"Yeah, let's go. The sooner we get to a phone, the better off we are." Toby stretched toward the door, his movement causing a small disturbance across Spencer's side. She'd been lulled into blissful oblivion since she'd woken from her brief stint of unconscious, but now reality was back with a bite. She was still a human pin cushion.
"Come on, Spencer. I'm going to help you out of the car and I don't care what the feminist manifesto has to say about that." His hands went to work without waiting for her permission, one stabilizing her good arm while the other circled her waist and guided her effortlessly into the slinking night. Her skin fiercely protested against the stirring uproar. Toby changed tactics, his arm gliding lower to support her fully from underneath her thighs.
"Toby…" she was huffing slightly, her lungs suddenly shallow. "You don't need to…"
But he was already depositing her onto solid ground, his arms steadying her as she found equilibrium. "Too late, because I did."
Their eyes dueled for a prolonged exchange—devastating concern etched into shades of blue, the conflict of half-drowsy and half-insistent blurring together in a melody of copper and chocolate. He hugged her to himself, his mouth hot against her ear. "Are you sure you want to walk? I really don't mind, Spence."
She smiled dimly against his neck. "I'm sure. If I can't do it, then you're back on Hulk duty."
"Fine. Stubborn to the bitter end. Let's move." He peppered a few short kisses into her hairline before releasing her. "Do you guys want us to lead or follow? She's set on hoofing it for now."
"Then we'll lead. You keep an eye on everything from behind, alright?" Aria linked arms with Hanna, her pert smile wavering under the moonlight.
He nodded grimly. "You got it."
Spencer reached for Toby's arm, but he dodged her touch.
"Hold on a sec." He was sloppily yanking at his leather jacket, hurriedly freeing his arms from the sleeves. "I don't really need this."
"Tobes," she couldn't let him do that. It wasn't necessary.
"Nope, too bad, it's yours." He was taking the utmost care, easing it over her injured side as if she were the most fragile thing in the entire universe. "Okay, all ready?"
His arm wove through hers, his warmth completely enveloping her like an affectionate armor.
"All ready."
so that was A LITTLE MORE fluffy right? I gave the kids a teeny bit of a break. Thank you for faithfully reviewing. You make me squeal :)
