"Just Like Belgium"
Toby hasn't realised it yet, but kissing games are dangerous.
"You won't face it," he jokes, peering up at Rick. "I won, fair and square. You only had one kiss."
"Quality, not quantity, my friend. Quality," he says, almost dreamily, and Toby laughs, flips the page in the Dungeons and Dragons book in his lap.
"I still won," he points out. "It was just one kiss."
Rick smiles, slowly. "A quality kiss. You know, like…" he trails off, leans over and kisses Toby quickly, lightly.
Toby draws back, wide-eyed. "I…Rick…I like…I like Emma, I like girls," he babbles, slightly flushed.
"Oh, I know," whispers Rick, dead serious. "I love Emma." He pauses, then adds, "What do you suppose it's like, kissing her? Really kissing her? Like this?" He leans in close, again, hesitates, and then kisses Toby again.
He could have moved away, Toby thinks, and it's probably not a good idea to go around kissing the class psycho. But…he's surprised, but it feels nice. He's been kissed before – by Kendra, notably – but it's never been quite like this. It's almost disappointing when Rick draws back.
"Do you think it would be like that?" breathes Rick. He reaches up, takes off his glasses, sets them aside. "Or maybe more like…"
Another hesitation, and Toby finds himself reaching up and removing his own glasses with one shaking hand. It's really nice he thinks; he sighs against Rick's lips and twines his fingers in the other boy's hair and if anyone would have told him his first serious kisses would be from a boy he'd never have believed it. But he likes it.
It is almost a disappointment when his friend's mother comes home and they have to return to practicing their trivia.
"I'm not, you know, queer," he says, the next time.
Rick blinks at him, owlishly. "Of course not, neither am I," he says dryly, seriously. "It's only a matter of research. Of practice. For Emma," he explains, and Toby smiles.
"For Emma," he echoes, reaches out and pulls Rick in close.
It's JT who notices the purpling bruise across his collarbone, changing in the locker-rooms before physical education. "Toby, the stud," he exclaims, elbowing his friend in the ribs.
Toby flinches, reaches up and covers the hickey with one hand. "Keep your voice down," he hisses. "Spinner finds out and he kills me and then Kendra brings me back from the dead so she can rip out my bowels," he pleads.
The lie comes easily, just like the way it's always Emma's name breathless on his lips. It was true to start with, and Toby's not quite sure how to face the fact that that façade is always slipping farther and farther away. And he would like to be kissing Emma, of course he would, but sometimes he's just happy kissing Rick and he doesn't know what all this means, not really. He doesn't understand any of it, and this is the last thing he needs with the trivia competition to think about.
That's more important, anyhow, he thinks. When it's over, he can talk to Rick about this. When it's over, he'll get everything sorted out.