Chapter 3.

*KATIE'S POINT OF VIEW*

Griffin was adorable. I rubbed his belly enthusiastically and he responded happily. I love animals- especially dogs. They don't answer back. They just stay loyal to you no matter what and give you cuddles when you're getting bad flashbacks; always there when you wake up from a nasty nightmare.

Toby returned from his room and produced one of his shirt's to present to me. It was green and had some peculiar stony logo on. It read 'Tobuscus'. I wonder what that meant? But then I realised a slight problem. "Um" I began "I...I can't wear that. I think I'll stay in my own top t..thanks" I explained to him. He looked very confused. I really hope I wouldn't have to explain myself. "Why? It is perfectly fine and it is short sleeved- which means you can be cooler than you are now in this heat! Why would you even wear a long-sleeved top in this weather?" Toby joked. "That's the thing" I told him "I...I don't feel very...comfortable in short sleeved tops. I only wear long sleeved ones". This very much confused Toby. Understandable though. What sane person would wear a long-sleeved top in a Los Angeles summer day? Luckily he didn't question it though- just kept the puzzled look on his face. "It's fine honestly, I'm sure I can find a long-sleeved top somewhere!" Toby said smiling, and retraced his steps back to his room. I sighed in relief. I'm so glad he didn't press on with questions. It was almost like he knew I didn't want to explain myself. I liked that about Toby.

Soon, after much rummaging around, I heard "AHAAAA!" from Toby in another room and he quickly came jogging back to me. "I knew I had one somewhere!" Toby proudly announced, and chucked a long sleeved grey top to me. It seemed old and that it hadn't been worn in months. Still, it looked like it would do. I thanked Toby and he explained to me where the bathroom was so I could change. I shyly shuffled past him, and eventually found myself in his bathroom. It was a simple yet sophisticated bathroom in which I didn't think suited his personality at all. Toby seemed bubbly and full of life; not sophisticated.

I pulled my top off and stood in just my plain looking bra staring at my reflection in the mirror. I glared at my image. Why couldn't I be more like Toby? Why couldn't I be bubbly and full of life? Then I remembered I used to be, but then that life was taken away from me years ago. Avoiding looking at my arms I pulled on Toby's top. It fit just about right. "You know what" I whispered to myself "you don't have to miss out on life. Toby seems fun, he seems trustable, and why don't you try and be more open with him?" I breathed in slowly and held my breath before letting go afterwards. I was trying to relax. I wanted to try to be the old me again. I wanted to try and be fun.

I shut the door slowly and walked out of the bathroom to find Toby sat at his computer in his living room. His living room also seemed quite smart. I creeped up behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. "AAAAH!" Toby shouted and jumped back in his seat. This made me panic and I screamed in response jumping back also. Toby turned on the spot and suddenly burst in to laughter. "Jeez" he laughed "you scared the life out of me!" Soon I was laughing too. "You made me jump also" I admitted through giggles. "Good" I thought proudly to myself "Good progress with conversation Katie".

"Do you like video games?" Toby questioned me smiling. "Yes, I do actually" I replied. Video games were the one thing I could do at home to stop me being driven to insanity with boredom. "Really? What games do you like to play?" he asked me inquisitively, obviously surprised. "Hmm...Let me see...Gears of War, Call of Duty, Skyrim..." "I LOVE SKYRIM! LET'S PLAY SKYRIM!" Toby interrupted in excitement. "I've...I've never played with someone before" I admitted to him. "Well" Toby told me "There's a first for everything! Perhaps you could help me complete a few quests I'm stuck on". "Sure" I replied, and with that Toby shot up, pulled out a chair from nowhere and placed it beside his computer where he was getting Skyrim up. I sat down and begun to help him.

"Right, okay, so now you've killed them you need to click this button..." I instructed whilst waiting for him to obey. "Then you go to that quest and find this" as I pointed to the object on the screen. We had been playing Skyrim for about an hour now, and it was honestly the most fun I have had in months. Years even. I enjoyed Toby's company and somehow he made me come out of my shell a bit more. I checked the time on my phone. It was getting slightly late. "I...I best go Toby" I told him. "Awww, really? But we were having so much fun!" Toby protested, but he also checked the time and agreed it was late. "Can I take you home?" Toby asked. "I wouldn't feel right letting you walk home by yourself". I agreed instantly. I hate walking in the dark...it made me paranoid.

The ride to mine was silent on my behalf. Not from Toby though. He had his music on loud and was playing some song I hadn't heard of which he said was a cover by a group named Terabrite. I had no clue who they were, but vowed I would check them out some time. Eventually we reached my house and I requested for Toby to stop. "Wow, is that yours?" Toby gasped at me, and I nodded proudly. My house was very neat and the garden was drowned in different colourful flowers all organised in a specific way. Considering I always had a lot of time on my hands, I had to fill the time with something. "Did your parents do that?" Toby asked. I shuddered. I hated the word 'parents' and the so called meaning behind it. "No" I abruptly said "I live by myself". Toby didn't seem to notice my bluntness and continued to gawp "It's amazing. Perhaps you should be my gardener!" he joked.

I smiled sweetly and got out of the car. "It was nice meeting you Toby" I told him. It was the genuine truth. I felt...more alive. "Well, this doesn't have to be the only meeting!" he expressed. "Meet me tomorrow at 11am in Rogue Cafe and we will go do something fun!" Fun. I hung on to that word. "I'd very much like that" I replied. "Goodnight". "Sweet dreams" he replied before waving and driving off in to the distance.

Fun. I want fun in my life again. And wow. I actually made a friend.