a/n: OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG ! WOW, your reviews made me smile a whole lot. THANK YOU SO SO SO SO VERY MUCH. YOU GUISE ARE SO CUTE AND I LOVE YOU.
Now, down to some serious business. This chapter is pretty much a /filler/ chapter. It also begins the story of the flashbacks (which by the way is told through italics). Nothing really happens, the next chapter where it will really \begin\ you know? So, yeah...not that great of a chapter.
Chapter Two: Who will drown who first?
The first day of school was known as the best day of school in Spencer's book. Most hated it. It was the beginning of a year of misery and torment, well according to their rabid minds it was. But to her, it was the start of the new enlightenment. It began the period of time full of new ideas and new techniques. There was so much ahead of her. So many things to look forward to. A whole year of education was in front of her. Unlike most of her peers, who had taken the easy (idiotic) route for senior year by signing up for all the blow off classes. Why would they waste a whole year on nothing? It was such a waste of their pathetic little brains.
Her first period of the day was AP physics. Aria had nearly collapsed when hearing the news that she would be taking the class. Physics, alone, was one of the hardest classes to pass, but AP physics that was basically digging up your own grade. But Spencer liked the challenge. Besides she would be among her intellectuals whom ranked at the same level as she on the IQ chart. She wouldn't have to associate with the whiny, uncaring, annoying—WHAT WAS TOBY CAVANAUGH DOING IN THIS CLASS. She knew for a fact that this was the room; 113. He had to have gotten his room number wrong or something. There was no way he was taking this class, too. He probably didn't even have the ability to get in. She hardly made it in herself!
She marched right up to him, her lips spanning out into a rigid straight line, blocking all the curse words from spilling out. "Um, I think you have the wrong room. This is AP physics. A class that your intellect is far from reaching." Her words were fast and venomous.
He smirked, that annoying, stupid smirk that he always did, which always had the ability to make her fingers tingle with the eagerness to slap him. "Actually," he said pulling out his schedule from his pocket. It was folded four times and slightly wrinkled. Of course it was. He didn't care about his papers being wrinkled. He was a disorganized mess! How the hell did he get in? "I'm in this class too" he pushed the yellow piece of paper in her hands. "Looks like my intellect isn't very far from yours," he hummed smugly.
She darted her squinting eyes of doom up. "How did you get in this class? Did your dad bribe principle Hackett?" She cocked her head to the side, her words challenging.
"No, Spencer. Not everyone's parents wave their money around to get what they want." He took the paper from her, in a more or less rough matter. "But I guess you wouldn't know that, would you?"
She glared at him, her upper lip quivering in disgust. A wicked smile crossed her features after a moment, "well enjoy failing."
…
The morning after the engagement party Spencer was awaken by a shrilling (OK it wasn't really shrilling, per se, but at the moment it tended to sound like it, considering she had a mild hangover) sound that referred to itself as a ring tone. She made an inhumane sound before reaching for it. Reading the caller ID, it was revealed to be Hanna. "What?" Spencer asked in a groan.
"Spencer!" Hanna squealed into the phone. The blonde obviously hadn't rotten the liver with alcohol the night before because she was as chirpy as a bird. "Are you awake?"
"I am now."
"Good!"Hanna announced. "We're going to Emily's swim meet in an hour."
"What—Hanna, I'm still in bed."
"Well then, get yourself out of bed. Take a shower so I don't have to be a victim of your pit stench, and get your ass over here. I'm driving."
"Hanna," Spencer sighed, rolling her eyes upward. "I think I'll just pass"
"No! You can't! We were going to discuss wedding stuff. I had this whole thing planned out. I would go on telling you the tiniest little details of my wedding, you know like all brides-to-be do, and you would begin to silently wish that someone would just drown you in the pool and then you would ask me why I was telling you all this—you're not my maid of honor. But that's where you would be wrong. I would then ask you to take the position and you would say yes."
Spencer didn't say anything back. Her head was pounding from all the words that had traveled out of Hanna's mouth and into her ear. She couldn't even make sense of it all, it was just a bunch of mumbo jumbo racking at her brain.
"So, it's settled then. You're going to be my maid of honor! Oh, I love it! OK well see you in an hour, Spence!"
The line went dead.
Spencer's eyebrows went crooked. What the hell just happened?
…
After pushing herself off her bed and getting ready for the swim meet she didn't really remember agreeing to go to, she drove to Hanna's apartment. Hanna lived with Caleb. They've been living together for six months now. It was so crazy. They were so young. They were barely twenty three and getting married. Spencer didn't see herself sporting a ring on her left hand's forth finger in at least ten a ten year period. Although... Hanna did like jewelry.
Spencer's knuckles started to grow tired. It was so typical of Hanna to tell (force) her to come over and neglect the responsibility of letting her in. She knocked again, harder, and yelled. "Hanna! I'm here. Come to the door!"
After a few seconds, the door opened. Hanna's hair was an absolute mess, curls crossed everywhere and her lipstick had been smeared on the maximum level. Not to mention how she wasn't wearing on pants.
"Hanna!" Spencer yelled , appalled, her eyebrows ceasing, as she looked up and down at her friend.
Hanna rolled her eyes, letting the door hang open and went inside. Surely enough, there was Caleb over by the counter, smearing cream cheese on his bagel without a shirt or pants on.
"Hanna!" Spencer repeated.
"Chill! I just need to fix my makeup, and change, and redo my hair."
"So, basically we'll be leaving for the meet in about three hours."
Hanna groaned, "Just go with Calen then! I'll catch up."
Spencer rolled her eyes, muttering something inaudible under her breath. "Hold on, I just have to put on some pants," Caleb told the brunette, "and you know a shirt."
"Oh my god," Spencer pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.
Caleb came out fifteen minutes later, clad in a striped swoop neck and black jeans. "You drive?" he asked her.
"Sure, just come on" Spencer grouched, turning around to exit the couple's apartment.
The university campus, where the pool took residence was a long ways away. While Spencer, Aria, and Hanna all lived by each other, their little mermaid did not. She took residence in one of the dorms at the university; it is actually where she met her current girlfriend, Paige. Emily always refers to them meeting as fate because Emily was so close to getting an apartment with Hanna. Although, Spencer doubted that. The college Hanna attended was quite the distance from Emily's; them getting an apartment together would just be illogical. But, whatever. Let her live her fairy tale, right?
"Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention," Caleb piped up as they pulled into the university's parking lot. "I told Toby we'd meet him here."
"You forgot to mention?"
"Don't worry, I'll sit in the middle. You won't have to get his cuties" he teased, sneering.
"You know he isn't the biggest fan of me either right? I'm not going to be the only one unhappy with this little arrangement."
Caleb waved a hand at her, carelessly. "Toby will be fine. It's you I'm worried about. I mean, personally, I think it would be cool to have a dead corpse as your best man at your wedding, but Hanna…"
Spencer stayed quiet for a second, sucking in a breath. "Fine, I'll play nice."
"That's my girl!" Caleb cheered her on.
She rolled her eyes, a smile embarking on her features.
…
Once they got into the pool area, Caleb started to look around for Toby while Spencer prayed he wouldn't fail in his search. Toby may have offered up a truce, but she seriously doubted he would now be playing Mr. Nice Guy. It was Toby. He wasn't nice. Contrary to popular belief among her friends.
"Oh, I see him!" Caleb told Spencer before striding forward. He was on the top bleachers. He got horrible seats, of course. That was just like him. Caleb probably texted him earlier, telling him that he would be bringing her along. Then, to annoy her, he moved to the worst spot you could possibly sit at.
They walked up the bleachers and Spencer got a weary feeling of déjà vu. It reminded her of the times where Caleb dragged her along to the basketball games or whatever. He would say it would be just them, but then Toby Cavanaugh would pop up out of nowhere like an ingrown hair.
Toby smiled at Caleb, and then awkwardly glanced at Spencer, his smile disappearing.
"Oh, yeah. Spencer's here," Caleb said nonchalantly, before taking a seat next to his friend.
OK so maybe Toby didn't know…
"Way to pick the worst seats, Cavanaugh." Spencer told Toby before taking a seat next to Caleb.
Toby didn't look at her, but his words were directed at her. "Worst? These are the best. You get a back rest."
"Wow, yeah you know what, I'm so glad I have a back rest, rather than actually seeing what's going on. You know, the whole reason I came here, it was to have a back rest," Spencer responded, mimicking Toby's actions and avoiding his sight.
"You can still see what's going on," Toby countered. "It's not that hard. You're just whining."
"You're just annoying."
"You both are annoying!" Caleb butted in, shaking his head. "God, do you really need to fight about every little thing?"
"I thought you thought it was funny," Spencer retorted after a moment. "Hilarious even?"
"You weren't the only one who had a little bit too much drink yesterday, Spencer" Caleb told her, causing her mocha eyes to roll.
The rest of the meet went pretty well. Spencer and Toby managed to ignore each other, well at least as much as they could. But sometimes words just slipped. They couldn't help but indulge in a debate about whether or not they were allowed to bring popcorn in the arena. Or about the positions on the swimming team, and what it meant to be an anchor. So, maybe it didn't go that well, but no one ended up dead anyways. Just like Spencer promised.
Although, when Caleb left to go meet Hanna after a very intense argument between the two about whether or not food was allowed in the arena, it finally became silent. How strange.
Toby began to laugh beside her, at nothing. He looked like a little freak. Then again, didn't he always. "Why are you laughing?" she asked after a moment, unable to restrain her curiosity. "What's so funny?"
He was hesitant to respond, "It's just—funny. How we finally stop fighting when Caleb leaves. It's almost like he's the root of the chaos."
An instant smiled blossomed on her face, but she was quick to uproot it. How could she smile at something Toby Cavanaugh said? No, she wouldn't. She refused.
"He's taking an awfully long time…" Spencer commented after a moment's pause, irritation subtly hinting in her voice. She strained her neck forward to see below. "Maybe if we were sitting a little further down, I would be able to see if he was coming" she murmured.
"Maybe you should pull out those glasses you used to wear? Freshman year, was it? Yeah, those things. Those were rad."
"Who uses the word rad to describe things anymore?" she retorted, glaring back at him.
"The same kind of people who would use those glasses."
"Then I guess were more alike than we thought, aren't we?"
"I guess so."
She groaned. He was so annoying.
Spencer in the moment, as if it was a blessing from god, saw the couple of blond and walking up the stairs of the bleachers. She let out a heroic sigh of relief as they made their way towards them. If they had been alone any longer, Spencer would have developed an ulcer.
a/n: uhhhhhhh not that great...right? WELL. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. PLEASE. I'm begging you. I would love to wake up tomorrow to reviews. I'm going up north with my mom where I will have no internet access or anything~ and my mom and I don't really get along. I REALLY would rather not go up there with her and I'm really going to not be in the best mood tomorrow morning, so i would really appreciate the reviews :) On that note, I won't be able to post a new chapter till Monday. But I promise I'll have one up by then. I'll have nothing to do upnorth, so I'll try to write as many chapters as possible so I can ACTUALLY UPDATE REGULARLY LOL. OK well, leave a review pretty please and thanks so much for the ones already given. xoxo.