Hey everyone! Author's Words of Wisdom: When people ask you to r&r their stories, DO IT! It's probably really good stuff that just hasn't gotten enough attention!

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Toby was feeling very insecure this morning. There was no sign of Liberty, but Kendra seemed to be everywhere. He had gone to the computer lab, only to finder there. The Library, there. The cafeteria, there. What was her problem?!

She was coming up to him, striding confidently as if she had something to say.

"Hey, Toby." She said sweetly.

"Uh... Hey." Toby wasn't sure it was a good idea to talk to her alone.

"I just wanted to say that it's great you moved on so quickly." she said in a sweet voice.

"Thanks." Toby said, nodding, not being able to think of anything else to say.

"And I wanted to say I've moved on, too."Kendra continued, smiling.

"Really? That's good for you." Toby wasn't sure what she meant, but he didn't like the sound of it.

"I have a brand new boyfriend. His name's Paul and he's really sweet. You should meet him!" She said with an enthusiastic smile on her face.

Toby felt his heart crumble. Into tiny pieces. Too small for a microscope.

"That's.... great, Kendra. I'm happy for you. Both of you. Uh, I have to go. I have to figure out what's happened to Liberty." Toby got out of there as fast as possible.

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He found Liberty in the nurses office, doing a very good job faking a sprained ankle. Toby sat next to her, a concerned look on his face. The nurse came into the room and sat at her desk.

"Well, Miss Van Zandt, your parents are too wrapped up with work to come and get you. They said you know the way home. Is it possible for you to walk?"

"I could help her get home, if she can't walk well." Toby ventured. The nurse smiled brightly.

"Wonderful. I'll excuse you from your last few classes. Go ahead, Liberty."The nurse obviously didn't feel like driving anywhere.

Toby wrapped an arm around her waist, and Liberty stood. As they made their way out of school they stayed silent. But as soon as they got off school grounds, Toby let go of Liberty, and Liberty straightened her body back to her normal fast strides.

"Wanna tell me what that was about, 'Miss Van Zandt'?" Toby asked.

"Wanna tell me why you offered to walk me home, Mr. Isaacs?" Liberty countered.

Point Taken.

As they reached Liberty's doorstep, Toby turned to walk back to school, but Liberty grabbed his arm. Silently, they walked inside. They got to the living room and sat on the couch.

"Tell me now?" Toby asked.

"They assigned me a project with... Him and Manny. My luck, can you believe it?" she laughed bitterly. That didn't stop a tear from trickling down her cheek.

Toby moved over and wrapped an arm around her as she actually started crying.

"I mean, just my luck, right? I've been trying SO hard to stop loving him. SO hard. Do they even realize? No. After I've done so much. I have to let go, I just have to..." She cried, putting her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, well, here's something even better." Toby said as he held her shoulders to make sure she was looking straight at him, straight in his eyes. "Kendra came up to me today and gave me some 'good news'. She's over me. She's got a new boyfriend, Paul..." His voice cracked on the name, and he knew if he didn't stop talking, he would start crying, too.

"Oh my God, Toby, are you ok?" Liberty knew he had to be taking this pretty hard.

"I don't know. I feel so..."

"Empty?" Liberty finished.

"Numb?" Toby countered.

"Like you don't know how you're actually able to handle this..." Liberty began.

"But you know when you're around that person, you can." Toby finished.

"Like you don't know anything more painful..." Liberty began.

"Until they do something else to break your heart..." Toby finished.

They stared at each other. They could hear one another's hearts beat, and felt angry that they beat for someone else. They could see in each other's eyes, all the pain... This just brought back their own pain, sadness, and anger... They didn't know how they were taking this... But they could feel the pain rise, the anger bubble inside them... And they saw it in each other, too...

That's when they kissed.

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In the very back of Liberty's mind, she knew kissing Toby was wrong. But, for once, she didn't care. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hungrily, heatedly. She pulled him to her, pressing her body against his. Who was she in love with, again? Something with initials, but she'd figure it out later. Their lips were hot against each others, and were soon opened. Her tongue lashed out to join the dance, and battled with Toby's for dominance. They explored each other's mouths, tasting each other. They were both unskilled, but the kiss felt perfect...

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Toby was sure his brain had run away or something. Kissing Liberty was wrong, but why didn't he really care? He didn't know. His body seemed to move of it's own accord. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her with abandon. Everything; school, JT, even Kendra flew from his mind as the kiss continued. It was fever-pitch by now. Liberty ran her fingers down his back under his shirt, and he gasped into the kiss. It was only then that he considered parting for air...

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"THIS IS WRONG!" They both said as they sprang apart. Toby pulled down his shirt and Liberty ran her fingers through her hair. She cleared her throat and sat back down on the couch.

"It's only natural for us to want to take out our frustration like that-"

"Or our desperateness." Toby continued.

"It's psychologically healthy to feel the need for comfort." Liberty stated.

"Some of the best relationships of our time were built on this theory." Toby continued.

"Yes, true. However, I am in love with JT."

"As I love Kendra."

"So... we should be focusing our energy on that instead of... you know." Liberty said, smiling.

"Of course." Toby said.

Liberty moved over to make room, and Toby sat down next to her. He ran a hand through his now-tousled hair and smiled at Liberty.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Same thing as I said before: go to the game. We'll see what happens there, then figure it out along the way." Liberty answered.

"Ok. I guess I better get back, huh?"

"Yeah, guess you better... See ya." Liberty didn't know why she didn't want him to leave.

"Yeah, see ya." Toby reluctantly got up and stepped out the door.

Liberty didn't know what possessed her to kiss Toby. TOBY of all people! She got up and went to her room, still feeling his lips on hers.

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Instead of going back to school, Toby went to his house after he left Liberty's. He couldn't think of any reason for his behavior. Kissing LIBERTY?! Without Kendra or JT around?! What was THAT?! He went straight to his room and flopped down on his bed.

And even after convincing himself it was stupid, that he never should have kissed her, He could still remember exactly how those lips felt on his...