"Do you mind me asking if you drank a lot of alcohol?" The boy asks, his eyes searching curiously into hers, the rain drops falling on her windshield, making his deep blue eyes glow and sparkle. Spencer just fixes her review mirror, and then she sarcastically answers him with,

"No, I have angry parents waiting for me at home, but come on, it's a party, so…"

The boy raises an eyebrow, and he seems a little unsettled. She smiles, and she exclaims, "I'm just kidding. I wouldn't get you killed by driving you home."

His body is turned away from her, and she sees that his eyes are looking at her in the outside car review mirror on his side. Once she sees his blue eyes, he looks down. She feels air pile into her stomach, turning into butterflied fluttering gently. Awkward.

He doesn't say anything, just nods. "So, where am I dropping you off?" She asks, her voice a little bit more kind due to the awkward silences the boy was giving off. "Uh… just the Brew." Spencer feels a little confused, the Brew was a small red coffee shop. "You're going to stay there?" She asks, not being able to hide the obvious concern in her voice.

The boy turns and looks at her. "You better hurry, you have mad parents waiting for you, don't you?" His attitude slightly shocks her from his originally quiet and awkward state, but she just nods, mouthing, "Wow." She easily pulls her car out of the parking space, and the boy says, "Thank you."

She begins to drive evenly straight in the pale reflection of the moon, the street lights dancing on the black floors as she drove. "Your welcome." She says in a monotone voice, afraid of showing real happiness that she gets to drive him home.

There was an awkward silence between Spencer and the boy, and she hadn't even tried to ask him what his name was, or how he was, or where he had come from. She kept rehearsing the conversation in her head, that they would actually get to know each other… but it was just not happening. The car drive was actually quite peaceful, there was still some rain falling, her windshield wipers timing counting up to five, then wipe, then again up to five.

But she didn't want to push the conversation, so that was that. She was driving to the Brew. She felt a little bit sick from the alcohol rolling off her tongue, but with the air running in her car, the smell of rain touching the tip of her nose, she felt better. The boy kept looking at the buildings around her, almost like he as measuring their proportions with his eyes. Spencer had to pinch herself mentally to let herself talk to him.

"Are you into construction or something?" She asked, but she instantly wanted to take it back, she felt like she sounded rude. He just looked at her, his eyes dropping to her shaking knee. He looked up at her, and Spencer caught his eyes in the review mirror above her head. She could only see into his eyes, as he murmured, "I'm a carpenter, I just like to observe." With that, he looked away again, his chilling blue eyes reflecting off the mirror. Spencer sighs, and she feels the need to apologize, but doesn't say anything. "What were you doing at the party?"

The boy suddenly asks, and it catches her off guard. She laughs gently and quickly, asking, "What do you mean?"

The boy looks at her, but she doesn't look back at him, she keeps her hands on the wheel, her eyes straight on the black road ahead of them. "I mean, you don't seem like the partying type, that's all." He looks away again, a slight teasing smile on his lips, as he looks down at his hands.

"What? You can see that just by how I look?" Spencer asks, her voice raising in irritation. He lets out a muffled laugh, it was gentle. "Who else would wear a blazer to a party? And, you're not drunk." Spencer furrows her eyes at him in the mirror, and she hisses back, "It's a jacket."

He rolls his eyes, and looks at her again. "I didn't know all jackets had buttons on the front." Spencer just keeps her eyes on the road, her fists clenching the wheel so hard, they turned white. He got her there. "Okay. I'm not much of the party type of girl. I went with a friend but… Never mind." She thought about mentioning her curfew, seeming like it was stupid. And mentioning her bratty sister would make her definitely crash the car. He looked down, and he doesn't ask her, but she can tell he is slightly curious.

Spencer stays quiet for a few seconds, before her phone chimes. She sighs, and grabs it from her pocket, and looks at it. It's her mother.

She picks up quickly, and the boy looks at her. "Hello?" Spencer answers quickly. She can already feel the angry smoke on the other end of the line. "Spencer Jill Hastings, where are you?!" Her mother's raging voice forced Spencer to tear her ear away from the phone slightly. "I'm helping a friend get home, okay? I'll be home in like ten minutes."

"Ten minutes? Spencer it's almost one in the morning! Get yourself home before I really lose my top!" Spencer just closes her mouth, and she hangs up abruptly, throwing her phone on the small counter between the boy and her. He is looking at her with curious eyes. "Everything alright?" He asks, his voice so concerned it brought pain to her heart. "No, it's fine, just my mom."

His eyes look down, seeming a little sad and guilty. "I'm sorry you had to take your time to drive me home, if you pull over, I could just walk the rest of the way"-

"Stop it, don't be ridiculous." Spencer interrupts him, looking at him seriously. "I wouldn't do that, especially now that it's raining." He slightly smiles at her, his eyes sparkle slightly at her response. She looks back to the road, her stomach filling with the nervous fluttering butterflies. "I'm still sorry." He says, and she doesn't have to look back at him to know he's still looking at her.

The rest of the drive is quiet, but she feels a ton better. She felt like they actually could possibly be friends, of course, if the boy wanted them to be. Spencer slowed her car down as she reached the Brew, and decided to just brake the car in front of the café. It was a small red building, musty, a staircase crawling up to a second floor loft that always seemed to have been empty. Spencer didn't want to ask him why he wanted her to drop him off there, so she just turned and smiled at him.

The boy smiled slightly back, before he unlatched his seat belt, and opened his car door. He gets out and closes it. The rain is falling onto his hair gently. He turned to walk away, sliding his hands into his pocket, his back about to turn from her.

Suddenly, she rolls his window down, and she can't let him walk away.

"Wait!" Spencer calls the window. He turns, his eyes searching hers past the rain. "What is your name?" She asks, her voice almost pleading for an answer. He smiles gently, and calls back to her, "Toby!"

His name was Toby. It was… different. And she liked it. Toby smiled at her, before calling back, "Can I know the name of the person that drove me home?" Spencer laughs gently, and she calls out back to him, "Spencer! My name is Spencer." He looks down, and then looks back at her under his hair. "I like it. It suits you well, Spencer."

With that, Toby turns around and jogs to the staircase, pulling keys out from his pocket. She realizes he lives in the loft. He reaches the top of the stairs, rain pouring off his hair, as he gently slides the keys into the red door at the top of the stairs, and unlocks it, and he slides half of his body inside, before looking down at Spencer, who still was parked in her place. He slightly gives a small wave to her, and she raises her hand, waving back.

He disappears into the building. But she still doesn't budge. She doesn't want to, but she has to get home. Goodbye, Toby…

Driving home was much lonelier now that Toby wasn't in the seat next to her. But she was more worried of getting her ass beat by her parents when she got home. She was used to getting yelled at by her petty parents, but she hated it each time it happened, even more by a little every time.

The rain was rushing on even more, each drop seeming too close to cracking her window shield. She had no idea even if she was going the right way, her mind had travelled so much. She looked at the clock in her car; 1:17. Damn, she had to get home now. She tried to peer through the glass, seeing only rushing rain and some street lights. She could make it home… maybe…?

Her phone rang again. She rolls her eyes in irritation, and she picks up her phone from the counter next to the clutch. "Hello?" Her voice answers, low and irritated. "Spencer, we are waiting for you when you get home. You're in big trouble young lady"-

"Young lady? That's a big 18th century word right there." Spencer sasses back, her mother hissing on the other side of the line. "I'm not joking, Spencer. You need to tell us why Melissa saw some man in your car!" Spencer freezes in time. "What are you talking about?" She asks, her voice growing louder.

"Melissa was heading to the party to check on you," Spencer thought this was already bull shit, "… and called me saying you were heading out into your car with some guy! Was he drunk!? Are you drunk!?"

Spencer just slams her phone into the back of her seat after she hangs up. Melissa didn't go to check up of her, she went to tell some dumb lie to her parents. To make her seem like the town punk. To her parents she was that. What a great older sister, Melissa was.

Spencer feels sudden tears starting to burst into her eyes, first small ones, then they were slipping down her cheeks. She didn't even try to wipe them away, but she finally saw her house from some clear spots through her window. She hated the place she called home.

She drove her car up into the driveway, just a long narrow strip of land. Her house was fairly large, an older house that had tall windows, big wide rooms, and a lot of family drama. She braked her car, and stayed inside for a little while, preparing herself for the worst to come from her parents. Here I go again… She thinks to herself, trying to calm herself before she had a panic attack. She had panic attacks quite often now, being a senior with a whole bunch of responsibilities and new hardships that came along with it. The only way she could calm herself down was with her ADHD pills that she had taken daily, due to her long history of stress.

She was just hoping she wouldn't have to take more pills after tonight. She grabs her keys from her ignition, slamming her keys into her blazer pocket. She picks up her Windows phone, and she opens the car door. She runs out of her car, her skirt getting drenched, and her legs pale and cold. She ran up to the gate in front of her house, pressing in the code to the lock, "901-214" and the gate clicked open, and she slammed it shut behind her, before opening the front door, a majestic double door that was white. She reached inside, closing the door quietly behind her, but she could hear her parents arguing in a different room, probably the kitchen.

"Spencer? Is that you?" She could hear her dads tired voice strain to reach her ears. She sighs, and groans, "Yeah, it's me." Her mother's straight black heels click along the wood tiling, and her beady dark eyes find Spencer's in the dark. Her mom has shorter brown hair, curled loosely, her black blazer with a blue blouse underneath. Her lips were pressed into a firm line as she switched the living room lights on.

"A party? You're drenched, and probably drunk, and you were with a random guy? Are you insane?" Her mother throws these words at her, but these words don't go through her. Spencer just stands with her head down. "It was nothing, Mom! I just drove the guy home! And drunk, no! You should be happy I didn't crash my car into some old elm tree."

Her mother stifles a fake laugh. "Happy? You want me to be happy, then for once, be like your sister and be responsible!" Spencer rolls her eyes. Be like her sister, some great advice, which meant to be a heartless bitch. "Don't give me attitude, Spencer!"

"Veronica, calm down." Peter says, her father. He wears his usual business attire, a black tie, a suit. His hair was shorter, but he always was much more calm then her mother. "Spencer is home, let's just discuss this tomorrow when she doesn't smell like booze." Her dad looks at Spencer, slightly sighs, showing he's disappointed. But that hurts so much more than them just to be angry at her, disappointment hit like a burn from hot coffee, but worse. Spencer sighs, her head beginning to ache.

Her mom looks at her dad, and she just presses her hand to her eye sockets, before she points to the hallway upstairs where Spencer's room was. "Out! And take a shower, burn those skanky clothes, too." Spencer feels her hands clench into fists, her legs shaking with rage.

"Skanky? I'm not a slut, Mother! I actually care about my future, I only went to support my friend, a friend who has cared and loved me just for who I was! I think you should try that for some time, but all you see in me is that: disappointment and a waste of breath."

With that, Spencer turns on her heels, heading towards her room; up the stairs and around the corner down the hallway. Her parents do not move, and don't say another word. Well, she was considering that conversation to have gone well… Still hurts.

She slams her door shut, shuffling back and forth in front of her bed. Her room was white, with red flowers printed along the walls. Nothing too much, like her sisters pink room, but it felt like it was her. It was preppy and organized, her pillows not one bit out of place. She had a large closet, it had double glass doors, and she had a window that went out to the night sky, and a huge old tree slanting against the house.

She pushes her hands up on the window lid, and lets fresh air breeze around her loose hair. She closes her eyes, and for a moment, she is relaxed. But another moment passes, and she remembers her commands to take a shower. Couldn't she just sleep? She really wanted to, but didn't want to push her parents any more than she had tonight. They could've easily taken her phone and her car, but didn't… at least, not yet.

Spencer decides to endure the night air, and she sits in her red couch chair next to the window. She breathes in the woodsy scent of pine cones and fall leaves, it was nice. The mixture of the aroma of fresh rain made every scent more soothing, like its own candle or perfume. It was a beautiful night despite all the horrible fighting.

When Spencer enters her bathroom after minutes pass sitting at the window, she looks like crap. Her light brown hair is out of place everywhere, her mascara now smeared under her eye lids from crying and the rain. Her eyes have hints of green in the mix of brown, mostly due to her father's parents. She had a single freckle below her left eye, and another under her cheek bone under that freckle. It was almost like a marker, a reminder of who she was, it was different from her sisters perfect complexion of tan skin, Spencer was rather pale, and not curvy like Melissa. Spencer sighs when she looks at herself again. She was nothing compared to her sister.

She peels off her black blazer, dropping her other clothes off as well. Her hips are wide, giving her waist a curve, but that was really it. Her chest had curves, but she was too skinny, and she was rarely ever seen as anything sexy except for her smooth long legs.

She heads to the shower, turning the metal knob to the left, warmth immediately escaping from above her. She was wondering what Toby was doing right now, was he thinking of her? Did he even like her? Was he staring out the window as she had done, or was he sleeping? And what was it about him that made her like him so much…? She turns the knob even more trying to not think about him, but he was still in the back of her mind, stuck.

She slides into the shower, pulling the white curtain closed. The warm water slips down her body, her head feeling warm from the contact. She slides her fingers through her natural ocean waved hair, and she grabs the vanilla scented shampoo from the small counter next to the shower knob. She rubs the shampoo into her hair, the same with her conditioner, and is too exhausted to deal with any more girly procedures.

She steps out of the shower, and the world instantly feels cold from her warm shower. She slips a white towel around her body, and rolls it under her armpit, keeping the towel up. She doesn't glance into her mirror, as she opens the door and goes to her room, Melissa's door closed. Spencer sighs, but she doesn't say anything.

As she enters her room, she sees her window is still open. Rain has fallen onto her red couch, and Spencer sighs knowing she will have to clean that up later. For a moment, she turns her back, but she feels like someone was watching her. Her curiosity causes her to turn around and look out the window. At the bottom of the house, under the tree, is movement. She peers her eyes at it, until she realizes it is a squirrel. Damn, she felt stupid. Why… why had she been hoping it was Toby… as if he was her knight in shining armor about to kill the beastly dragon and carry her away on a white stallion…

"In your dreams, Hastings." She whispers to herself, as she closes her window firmly.