…
Toby's POV (3 weeks later)
I looked outside, seeing the truck, alongside a multitude of other students, including Craig, Marco and Ellie beside me, watching eagerly at the truck.
Eventually, the trunk began to slowly open, and I could see a familiar face emerge from the back of the truck, or an ambulance I couldn't tell. There I saw Jimmy smiling, looking better. One could be blind to notice the wheelchair he now resided in, but the fact of the matter was that he was back, alive.
"Hey La, my boyfriend's back," I heard Hazel speak, and as I looked down to their direction, I saw that she was speaking to Paige.
"I know this is so song worthy," She replied.
I saw as Jimmy slowly got out of the truck, smiling at everyone.
Returning to Degrassi after a 3-month break would be a difficult time, and I knew that Jimmy's basketball career was pretty much over. I felt bad for the guy, he didn't deserve this.
My mind turned as I saw Spinner walk out of the front door, waving back at his friend, guilt swallowing his face. I fumed.
"How could he walk out and wave to Jimmy not knowing the damage he's caused?!"
I was very close to approaching Spinner, telling him to screw off for what he's done to Jimmy. I already had an idea on what happened behind the shooting, but Spinner's face of guilt only reinforced what I believed happened. While I already knew that Jay, Alex and him set up the paint prank, I was unsure as to why he shot Jimmy. Now I knew.
"He blamed it on Jimmy, blamed the whole prank on Jimmy," I said gritting my teeth. While I wasn't sure if they outright told him that Jimmy was responsible, it didn't matter.
"What?" Craig asked, but I shook my head, I didn't mean to speak out loud.
"Nothing, just some stuff going on in my head," While Craig gave me a look of concern, he looked back to see Jimmy, smiling as his former bandmate was back,
With all the noise happening outside, I decided to go inside the building, get all of my stuff and head to class. I would greet and welcome Jimmy back when I could get the time to see him again.
Looking back at the scene, my mind continued to fume at the thought of Jay, Spinner and Alex, still walking around the school as if nothing's wrong. I was tempted to tell someone, but nobody would believe my accusations. What stopped me however was the guilt ridden all across Spinner's face. Once I saw the look, not only did I know he was responsible for Jimmy's paralysis, but I knew he would crack eventually.
There was no possible way that any sane person I knew could hold in that much guilt for a long time. Eventually, Spinner would tell someone, and because how fast everything spreads, the whole school would know of his involvement, it was only a matter of time.
As I walked into my class, putting everything down, I heard the sounds of students talking to Jimmy. I looked outside my class to see him there, getting to his locker, clearly struggling to get the stuff high up due to his wheelchair.
Seeing as he wasn't being bothered by anyone, I decided to welcome him back.
Approaching him further, I saw that he was actually talking with Craig, Marco and Ellie. Shrugging I still decided now would be a good time, it could've been with another group I didn't interact with.
Sure enough, Craig noticed my presence.
"Toby, nice to see you again,"
I nodded, "Thanks, but I thought I would talk to Jimmy again, it's been three long months,"
Jimmy smiled at me, "Thanks Toby, it has been a while, but I'm back,"
Craig, who seemed excited decided to talk to me, "Hey Toby, we're having a party at my place to celebrate Jimmy's return, you up?"
I looked at him, eyes full of confusion and suspicion, but I spoke, "I don't know who's going?"
"Jimmy of course, Hazel, Paige, Marco, Spinner and myself," Craig responded. I groaned slightly at the mention of Spinner being there, but I decided to move past it.
"What about Ellie?" I asked, as I saw her looking at Craig.
Craig laughed, "Ellie's living with me, of course she'll be there,"
"Wait, Ellie lives with you now?" I heard Jimmy ask, to which Craig and I laughed.
"Yeah she's staying with me until her mom sobers up," He composed himself seriously, I saw Ellie's face turn to a frown, a mix of sadness and hopelessness.
I thought about it before accepting, "Okay, I'll be there," to which Craig's smile lit up.
"You will?" He asked exclaiming, to which I nodded.
"Aww thanks man, you're the best!"
With that said, Craig, Ellie and Marco all left, leaving me with Jimmy.
I looked at him awkwardly, it really sucked seeing him reduced to a crippled, but that's what happened.
"So, how've you been?" I asked slowly.
He shrugged, "I'm been better, you look different yourself, big man,"
I scratched the back of my head, was my height difference and look really different?
"It's probably the different angle," I retorted.
He laughed, "The last time to now I see Toby, he's wearing a headband, hand wraps and I'm seeing a bit of muscle growing beneath you, someone's been working out,"
I chuckled, while I was very tempted to tell Jimmy about my theory of Spinner's involvement to the shooting, I ultimately decided not to tell him. The last thing I wanted was to throw dirt onto someone's name without any viable proof.
So, with nothing to say, I waved goodbye to Jimmy, and I head towards my class, seeing Craig in his spot.
The rest of the day went smoothly, despite the return of Jimmy, everything was normal as they could put it. Lunch was filled with enjoyment, and in a way, the environment of Degrassi seemed a lot livelier than I have seen in a while.
Maybe it was Jimmy's absence, as he was a big part of the school, being a basketball mvp, Now, the cafeteria was louder, livelier and much brighter, as if the sunlight was shining more. I looked around and saw many smiles and laughter, something I really hadn't seen in a long time. Was it the fact that I rarely paid attention in school, or was it the fact that Jimmy had returned? I didn't know, as I munched on my food, talking to Craig, Marco and Ellie yet again.
The last classes were relatively easy to cross by, nothing interesting every happened but atlas, it was over. I got up from my seat and found Craig and Ellie, talking to each other about band stuff probably. I approached them, Craig smiling as he saw me, and we talked.
However, as soon as I got with them, another voice brought my attentions elsewhere.
"Toby," I looked around and saw Jt.
I sighed, not wanting to deal with him, "What do you want Jt?"
He seemed a bit taken back, but continued, "With everyone asking how Jimmy's doing, I thought it would be a good time to ask how you're doing?"
I scoffed at his concern, "Well, if you really were concerned with me, you would've asked when I was hurting a week after the shooting,"
"I know, but I wasn't thinking properly, I was just thinking how much of a pyscho Ri-"
I shuddered once I heard his name, that name that caused so much unnecessary attention made me fume, fury in my eyes.
I cut Jt off, "So much to not see how your best friend was doing? Oh sorry, ex-best friend it seemed,"
"I was wrong Toby, I was! I was so confused and shocked at what happened that I wasn't thinking properly, when Danny laughed at you, I wasn't thinking, so I joined back!"
I shook my head, turning around to face Craig and Ellie, but Jt put a hand on my shoulder.
"Give me another chance, Toby," I saw him plead with his eyes, but again, I was in no mood to forgive him. Turning around, I saw Craig looking at me, eyes moving, as if he had heard everything.
"Fine, I'm sorry Toby, I want my best friend back!" I closed my eyes; my breathing was getting quicker.
He continued, "Is that what you wanted to hear? Because that's what I want!"
I looked at Craig, my back still against Jt.
I could read Craig's eyes telling me, "Give him a chance,"
Sighing, I turned back around to Jt, looking at his eyes.
"I'm sorry Jt, but you've already done too much damage to me for my forgiveness," I saw him lower his head in hopelessness, almost on the verge of giving up.
But I wasn't finished and I continued, "But I am willing to give you a second chance to at least redeem yourself. I can't see you as my best friend for now, but maybe in the future, I could forget about this,"
I finished, as he looked back up to me, smiling.
"Alright then, thank you for this chance Toby,"
I nodded in reply, watching as he walked away, I took a sigh of relief. That was finally out of my head.
"I think you should become his best friend again," I heard Craig tell me.
I looked back at him, not saying anything, before Ellie interrupted, "Craig and I had our arguments multiple times, but we've come to forgive each other for our actions,"
I saw Craig nod in approval, confirming that this happened, not that I needed any proof, as I was there mostly to witness them making up for their wronged behaviour.
Sighing, I replied, "I don't see that happening now, but through repairing the damage, maybe in the future, besides, it's better than a flat-out rejection, right?"
Craig and Ellie both shook their head, before walking to head out. Again, I took a deep breathe, as I went towards the bus station, my mind pondered on so much. But all I could think about clearly was going home and working out, yet again.
And that's what I did. I completed bench presses, deadlifts, and even stretches you name it, anything to get what happened between Jt and I off my mind.
Finishing the workouts, I let my mind ponder. From Spinner, to Jimmy to Jt, I was going through so much school problems, the exact thing I was trying to avoid.
But throughout all of that, I realized that I couldn't blame Jt for his actions. Just like I couldn't blame Emma on her actions, I couldn't treat Jt like absolute shit for that. Emma hooked up with Jay, yet I still defended her from the smack talks of a student. I wouldn't be surprised if someone were to talk about Jt badly, I would intervene and beat the living dirt of them. I blinked, even though all of that I still felt a bond between Jt?
Throughout all my thoughts, I realized I did, and now decided that Manny, Emma and Jt all deserved an apology. Our friendship was special, and unfortunately a devastating event broke that apart. It was none of our faults, as none of us could've done anything to change the course of time. I had spent too much time hating on them for not checking in on me, when they all had their own struggles as well.
In a way, I had become selfish, only thinking about myself. In many ways or few, everyone in this school was affected, and the mentality and environment were on edge, everything was off. I couldn't expect everyone to heal quickly and help those who couldn't. In many ways, I've taken care of myself relatively well, and got out rather fine, while others like Sean and Emma had breakdowns, where they needed external sources to step in.
While I still couldn't see it in myself to see Manny, Emma or Jt best friends again, I was willing to let the stuff work out and maybe reconnect eventually. The damage may have been done, but the recovery was finally starting.
My thoughts were interrupted when I got a text from Craig.
Craig: You are not going to believe what I had just heard.
Toby: What happened?
Craig: Apparently, Spinner and Jay pulled the paint prank, and blamed it on Jimmy.
My mind was shocked. I was right, my intuition was spot on. Spinner and Jay had pulled the prank, and blamed it on Jimmy. It all made sense now, that's why Jimmy was shot, that's why this incident happened in the first place!
Toby: Oh my god, I knew it!
Craig: You did? And you told no one?!
Toby: No, I suspected that's what happened, but I had no proof to back my claim.
Craig: ohm, but anyways because of this, Spinner's been excluded from the party tomorrow.
I smiled, not only was Spinner and Jay's involvement on the prank exposed, but now being exposed to the fact that they were responsible for Jimmy's paralysis and the shooting, this was going to ruin their reputation across the school.
People would now see what types of people they were truly.
Toby: Okay, I'll still be over.
I told him before shutting off my phone.
While I wasn't surprised that Spinner cracked, I was surprised at how quickly he did. A day that was supposed to celebrate the return of someone, was now the day the background of the prank was exposed.
I couldn't be any happier. Now I didn't need to do anything about them. The school would openly shun them from existence.
Craig's POV
What the hell?! I couldn't believe my eyes when I got a text from Marco, telling me that Jay and Spinner pulled the paint prank that caused the shooting.
While that was bad in itself, it got much worse. Now, it has been revealed that Jay and Spinner put the blame on Jimmy for the prank, which ultimately resulted in Jimmy being shot, and thus paralyzed.
I texted Toby, who shocked me by actually predicting it.
While he did say it was nothing, I caught him glaring at Spinner, saying:
"He blamed it on Jimmy, blamed the whole prank on Jimmy,"
I heard what he said and was actually shocked that Toby's assumptions were right. Regardless, I walked into my room, where Ellie was doing homework on my table.
Hopping into my bed, which at this point I haven't slept in for about a month, I spoke to Ellie.
"I can't believe Spinner and Jay would do such a thing,"
Ellie turned to face me, "I know, it's sickening, how can they live knowing they ruined a person's life,"
I nodded, "Toby told me when Jimmy came back to school, well more spoke out, that he thought that Spinner and Jay blamed the prank on Jimmy, which would've caused Rick to shoot Jimmy,"
Looking shocked she replied, "Well, he was right,"
I nodded, "The guys very smart academically, and socially. I know people give him crap for being a bit awkward, he's good at reading people's minds,"
We sat in silence for a bit, before Ellie spoke, "So what's going to happen at this party, revolving Spinner?"
"It'll still happen, but Spinner is no longer invited,"
More silence, I noticed Ellie hadn't spoken, instead stared at me. Deciding to change the subject I wanted to know how Ellie's doing.
"How's your mom?" I asked.
She sighed, "She's attending the meeting and going through therapy, but she's not completely clean yet,"
"It'll take a while, addiction isn't a joke,"
"I know, it's just the fact that I had to put up with this is crazy,"
I looked at her, "You didn't have to go through this, you had Ashley, Marco, Alex, Me, we all care for you Nash, we would've helped,"
She smiled, "I know, that's exactly what you've done, if you hadn't taken me in, I don't know what would've happened to me," I noticed her starting to get teary, so I got up and wrapped my arms around her back.
She was very soft, and the small skin I felt from her felt so sensitive, that I felt like I could tear her skin like paper, regardless, I caressed her hair, and wiping a tear away.
"Everything will work out how it has to, just take a deep breath and move on,"
"What happens if my mom doesn't sober up,"
I sighed, "Ellie, I thought my father changed when he approached me, I thought he was a changed man. But he didn't, in the end he resorted to his old ways, and he never got the chance to fully recover from it. I don't know if your mom will recover, but the best thing you can do is to give her determination and hope. She cares for you, Ellie,"
She looked at me, now laying in my bed.
"I know she does, but will it be enough to save her,"
"I don't know, but I suggest taking everything one day and a time, now, get some rest, you'll need some before the party," I smiled at her, her returning the gesture,, before walking out of my room.
Looking down on my phone, I told Marco to notify the others about Spinner's exclusion to the party, and that I would notify Ellie.
I had already told Joey about the after school party, and he was alright with it. He said he had a lot of stuff at the motor dealership, which worked out in the end.
All I knew now, was if they were going to show up, they'd have a lot of nerve to.
…
The next day
Walking alongside Marco, we were talking about the context of the after-school party. As we roamed through the halls of the school, we noticed a bunch of students, all glaring in one direction. Including other students, like Paige, Hazel, Ashley, even Ellie was glaring in anger at what occupied her sights.
Following the gaze of the crowd, I was shocked to see that Spinner had indeed showed up to school, clutching onto his books, head down in shame.
"Uh... what is he doing here?" I heard Marco as he groaned in pure hatred.
It was no secret that Spinner was homophobic towards Marco when he came out, which already put a strain on their friendship, but I knew know there was no redemption. Just like what I thought, Spinner had gone too far.
"I don't know, but somebody better tell him to screw off," I scoffed in disgust.
Marco seemed to catch my idea, but started to walk towards him, "Well then it's going to be us,"
Catching up to Marco, we approached Spinner, anger on our facial structures present.
"You actually showed up today," I told him, as he turned to face me.
Marco got up to his face, "Nobody wants to see you spin, you've done enough damage,"
Looking up to face us, he replied, "Exactly, and now I have to fix it," as he turned to walk past us.
I continued to stand in front of him, "well, go and fix it someplace else, as far away as Jimmy,"
"And that includes the party tonight, make other plans" Marco said after.
Giving us a nod, he went his way, this time us allowing him to after we got our points across to him.
As I gave him a look back, watching him approached Manny, I shook my head, before heading off to class.
Sitting down, I noticed Toby's absence, to which I raised an eyebrow. He was usually earlier than me, or at least had his backpack in his spot, but there was nothing.
"That's strange," I thought. Did he sleep in? Or was he running late? I didn't know, but accepted that he may not be here today.
However, he arrived just 5 minutes behind the class bell, before sitting down. While Miss Kwan was clearly upset, she let him go.
Once she was done talking, I turned to see Toby.
I smirked, "What took you so long?"
He shrugged, "Had to give someone a piece of my opinion,"
He definitely meant Spinner, to which I was curious as to what Toby had done to him.
"What did you do?"
He put his hands up, "Don't worry, I just told him to stay away from Jimmy,"
I nodded, "He's done enough damage,"
He continues to look in a direction, before facing me.
"So, what is this party?"
I laughed, "don't worry, it's not a party where you drink, we're literally celebrating Jimmy's return,"
He looked at me, "I skipped my work out for this man, this better be fun,"
I laughed at him, "Come on man, you've been working out almost daily for 3 months now, take a break every once in a while!" As I playfully punched his shoulder.
Taking a book out of my book, he moved his fist to hit me, but stopped just centimeters away, after I flinched.
I looked at him, "Chill man, your blows probably can break bones,"
He laughed, "Don't exaggerate my strength, I'm not as strong as you think,"
I scoffed, "Yeah and I don't have as much muscles as you,"
We laughed yet again in class, excited for what the party would consist of. I was glad Toby was coming out of his protective barrier to enjoy some time with us. While it may be weird, especially for Paige and Hazel to see a different Toby, I think they'd quickly adapt.
As we continued talking, mainly about what Spinner and Jay had done to Jimmy, and about the party, my mind shifted to Ellie. While I hadn't officially invited her to this party, I was under the impression that she would attend because she was temporarily living with me. Questioning myself, I brought out my phone, with the intent to text Ellie about the party.
"You typing to Ellie, I see, why don't you ask her out already?" I heard Toby said.
I gave him a stare, "Toby, we're just friends who've bonded when we both were messed up,"
He shook his head, "You two clearly have some chemistry going on, Marco and I may joke around, but we seriously think you two should try dating, we think you two would be great for each other,"
I took a deep sigh at the thought of Ellie and I dating. While I would be lying if I said I thought Ellie was cute, I ultimately cared for her too much to risk dating her. If we dated and it ended horribly, my best friend was gone.
"Honestly, I'm too scared to date her," To which Toby gave me a stern eye
He looked unpleasing at what I had to say, "What do you mean scared?"
"I'm scared to lose my best friend, Toby. I mean, if we date and it ends horribly, I just lost my best friend, and judging from my previous relationship with Ashley-" I moved my head as to let him imagine to rest.
He spoke up, "So your scared of losing her,"
"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way, in a way, if we at least remain friends, we can have a long strong friendship, rather than risk for something close, and it breaking us apart,"
He continued to stare at me, "So do you like her like that?"
I kept my mind silent, thinking, do I? "I don't know honestly."
He smiled, "Well figure it out, because I don't want to see you regret being careful and realizing it before it's too late,"
I nodded, before texting her.
Craig: Hey, do you want to be a part of this party?
Ellie: What do you mean?
Craig: I never really asked if you were okay with this, I was just under the impression that because you live there, you'd join us.
Ellie: What are you trying to say?
Craig: I'm asking if you want to join us at the party?
Ellie: At the place I'm currently living in? Of course.
Craig: Okay, see you there.
Ellie: I think I'll see you there earlier than when it starts.
I laughed at her response, putting my phone once I realized the bell had rang.
I saw Toby looking at me, smirking.
"Don't get any ideas for this party, man," I groaned at him, hoping he wouldn't try and make anything awkward between Ellie and I.
He put his hands up, laughing, "Alright man, fine, I'll let you handle that,"
As we gave each other a handshake, we agreed to meet up after school, and Toby would help me set up for the party.
…
"Alright, is everything set?" I heard Toby ask
I looked around, making sure everything was set, popcorn, snacks, TV, everything to have a good time was ready.
"I think so, but I don't know if this is enough,"
"Oh come on Craig, you've done a great job preparing, I think it's ready," I heard Ellie tell me, sitting on the couch.
He nodded, agreeing to her.
"Okay," I said before taking a sigh.
Once we heard the door knock, everything went away.
It was all going great until someone had to show up and ruin everything.
Right now, we were singing karaoke, having a great time. Hazel and Paige were sitting down, Jimmy next to them, Ellie standing up right next to me, while Marco was sitting to the side, on a box. Opposite of Marco, was Toby, who was on the side sitting in a different couch. While he looked a bit awkward here, he was still laughing at the occasional lines.
"One more, one more!"
"Okay, I'm throwing it,"
"Cause I'm skipping the words, cause I don't know them!"
Seeing everyone smile, laughing and just having a good time was a nice thing to see. Unfortunately the smiles were interrupted by an unwelcome guest, who pushed a lamp off, the sound of glass turning or attention to the source.
Pausing the music, I turned to Spinner, who clearly looked drunk.
"You lost?" But he simply walked uncontrollably, pushing me out the way, towards Jimmy.
Once he neared him, he started, "Jimmy," but was interrupted by him being pushed away from Jimmy. The whole room was completely silent, everyone hoping he would just go away.
Regardless, he sat down, before speaking, "Listen, I wish none of this would've ever happened, Jimmy," I was mildly impressed by how little he was slurring
Seconds past, and I watched as Toby slowly got up, preparing to push Spinner out of the house, but Jimmy responded.
"You're drunk."
Spinner continued, taking breathes, "How can I get you to stop hating me?"
"Spinner, you should really go," I heard Hazel reply, followed by Paige, shaking her head.
"Can't you take a hint?"
Spinner continued to shake his head, "Just, chew me out, bite my head off, I don't care, just tell me please!"
I watched shortly after as Toby pushed Spinner off of Jimmy. Now on the floor, Toby got close to him.
"You want to know how? Leave him alone! You've done permanent damage, there is no possibility for forgiveness or trusting at this point, the best you could do is stay away from him!"
He backed up, giving him space, but still glaring at him.
Jimmy, who had said nothing, instead turned to me, "Craig it's your song, still."
Not saying too much, but a nod, I turned the machine back on, letting myself get back into the groove, watching as Spinner slowly left my house.
While I was originally confused to see Marco run out of the house, shortly after, I didn't let myself care too much.
"Craig! Craig! Craig!" I heard Marco calling my name, with footsteps and his voice getting louder with each time.
I looked at the others, before I ran out of my house, the others not too far behind.
There I saw Spinner in a car, with the keys, and my mind turned.
I ran out, calling to him "Spinner, get out of the car!"
Attempting to open the door, I successfully managed to, hoping to stick my arm through for the keys. But that only happened for about a second, before he overpowered me, slamming the door shut, my hand still in the car, was now between Spinner shutting the door on my hand.
I huffed in pain as he continued to slam the door on my hand, interfering with the door being shut. After about 4 times, I gave up, my left hand was now swollen, bleeding and red from my hand being squeezed.
"Craig!" I heard Ellie approach me.
"I'm fine," I quickly said as I noticed Spinner lock the front door. From the other side, I saw Toby attempt to open the passenger door, but Spinner hit the lock switch, effectively locking all the doors to the car.
"Get out of the car,"
"Spinner, come on,"
The engine began to roar to life as he began setting the instructions to drive.
"Spin, don't!"
"Come on, don't be stupid!"
But he wasn't listening, he started the car, and began driving
.
.
.
Only to slam the brakes, as Jimmy was now in front of the car.
"Move out the way Jimmy, I mean it!"
Jimmy stared at Spinner, before speaking, "Look, I don't feel sorry for you, if that's what you want, okay,"
"I want my friend back!"
"When have you ever treated me like a friend? When you lied to Rick, when you told me about it?"
Spinner was shaking his head erratically, "You needed to know!"
"No, you needed to make yourself feel better, why don't you for once think about someone other than Spinner!
Silence for what felt like a minute ended when Jimmy continued, "Well you know what? Just go drive off a bridge, I don't care. You're dead to me already."
With that he moved away, as Spinner began to break down.
I walked up, with the window slightly opened, I spoke to Spinner.
"Keys." I said flatly, to which he gave me, before breaking into tears.
But I didn't care. We walked back towards me house, my hand bleeding from what happened, I didn't care for Spinner anymore, and I don't think anyone else did anymore.
I saw Toby, give me a smile of relief, as he went out, probably to get Spinner out of the car now that he was silently in shock.
By then, Ellie and Marco approached me, Marco taking my keys back, and Ellie telling me, "Let's clean up your hand before you touch the machine," she smiled, thankful the situation didn't escalate to anyone getting seriously hurt.
I smiled back at her, looking back at my hand, which was bleeding, red and swollen from the force of Spinner shutting the door on my hand.
"Sorry the party got ruined," I started.
"It's fine, nobody knew Spinner would show up like that," she replied, smiling.
We looked in each other eyes, smiling at each other. Even though all the hardships and the unexpected, we still had each other's back.
"You're right, let's just focus on my hand and go back to what we were doing." I finished, as we went to search for clothes and bandages for my hand wound.
