AN: This is a nice little game of catch up I'm playing here. I'd just like to thank the people who reviewed lately and in general. Your support really means a lot and I'm happy to hear that you enjoy my fics!

Words (excluding author's note): 730

She was a hypnotist. There was no other way to explain it. Any time he was asked to do something, he would find himself agreeing in a heartbeat. He didn't know how she did it.

"Hey, Toby," she had said to him one afternoon. "Can we go and get something to eat at Mabel's?"

"Why? It's cold," he whined. It was the middle of winter after all. He would have much preferred not to leave the house.

"Which is precisely why I want to get something to eat," she said snarkily.

Toby still refused. Suddenly he was acutely aware of her face being a lot closer to his than it had been moments earlier. He could see the different shades in her sky-blue eyes. She widened her eyes innocently, causing a strange feeling to rise up in his stomach.

"Alright," he relented. "We'll go and get food if you really want to!"

Wait, what? How did- Toby had no idea what had just happened and he was even more confused when he felt her lips press against his cheek. His skin tingled slightly when she pulled away. Perhaps it was a side effect of the hypnotism she'd clearly just used on him.

So once again he found himself bending to her whim. It was getting to the point where he couldn't even fight it and, frighteningly, most of the time, he didn't want to. But how was he supposed to resist when she pulled that look on him?

Oddly enough, she never attempted the same thing on Nick or Lucas. Or anyone else, really. It baffled him. What made him so special?

One day he decided that he was going to see if he could hypnotize her. She clearly had some kind of effect on him so maybe it worked the other way around as well. At least, that was what he was hoping.

He approached her where she was sitting in the garden and tapped her shoulder. "Hey, Jess," he greeted her. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not but his voice sounded nervous. "I - uh - I kinda need your help with that Geography homework."

Without even looking up, she responded, "Shouldn't you be asking Nick?"

He shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm asking you." And now he sounded like he was flirting with her. This was not going according to plan. He couldn't afford to get distracted.

She finally looked up at him. "Sorry," she said, turning him down. Now was his chance to test out his theory.

He moved forward until he was mere inches away from her and took her face in his hands. His fingertips tingled but he ignored the sensation as he heard her breath hitch. Taking a breath of his own, he proceeded to stare intently into her eyes.

After a few moments of this, he was astonished to hear her...laughing? Why was she laughing?

"Toby, what are you doing?" Jessica asked breathlessly as she tried to control herself.

A little sulky that his plan clearly hadn't worked, he responded, "Trying to hypnotize you! So you know how it feels!"

Jessica wasn't sure whether to be confused or amused by this. She had no idea how Toby had reached the conclusion that she was somehow hypnotizing him.

Toby, meanwhile, had had an idea. It was a risky one and would probably end up with her breaking his jaw but he had never been one to shy away from an idea because of the risks involved.

He gently tilted her face upwards, hoped that she really wouldn't hit him, and closed the gap between them.

When he pulled away, he noticed the slightly dazed expression on her face. Her lips remained slightly parted, as though she expected more.

"Well, it looks like I can hypnotize you as well!" he said smugly. She nodded mutely, too stunned to argue. Instead she leaned forward and kissed him again.

Finally she spoke. "You like me." It wasn't a question but a statement. She took a deep breath and added, "And I like you."

Toby was about to deny it when he heard the last part. She liked him? He had to have heard her wrong, right?

"You know, I think I'll help you with that homework after all."