Chapter 15:

The Monsters Are Due On Marshall Street

"You know, this would be a whole lot easier if you let me do it by myself." Spencer sighed, stretching her thin frame to its extent as her fingertips entrapped the edge of the light bulb and she let out a soft 'gotcha!'

Toby chuckled beneath her, his arms still wrapped snuggly around her legs, making it almost impossible to concentrate. "But would it be as fun?" He asked, not making any move to disentangle himself from her.

Spencer let out an exasperated sigh as her fingertips slipped from the light bulb, letting them fall against her thighs with a sharp smack. "You're making this very difficult." She complained.

"Hey, it was your decision to do some spring cleaning – which, may I add, is supposed to be done when it's actually spring. Not the middle of November."

"Only because I did a faceplant into your closet because you haven't replaced the light bulb in God-knows-how-long."

Toby chuckled, shaking his head and smiling. He was situated against a low shoe-shelf in the semi-walk-in closet of the master bedroom in his apartment, his arms wrapped around Spencer's sweatpant-clad legs as she stretched on her toes atop a kitchen table chair, her fingers grasping anxiously for the long-dead light bulb in the closet's high ceiling.

"You could point the flashlight, you know…"

"Spencer, it's in the middle of the day. You should be able to see fine."

"Well, I can't. You can take me to a zillion eye doctors but they'll all say the same thing and I am right now – it's too freaking dark in here!"

"Which is why you should change the light bulb." Toby teased, toying with her.

"That's what I – oh, good God, Cavanaugh, you are just…"

"Hilarious?"

"I was going for 'on my last nerve' but…"

Toby chuckled again and peered up at her. When she rose once more to reach for the light, the hem of her tank top riding up, he leaned in and kissed her stomach, over her bellybutton. She giggled and stumbled back, but his firm grip of her legs kept her from toppling over. "Gah! Stop it!" She said between laughs as he blew a raspberry on her belly, "You know I'm ticklish!"

"That's why this is so fun." Toby grinned evilly, and reached down to tug her shirt back into place.

"You know what? Now I'm going to make you do this." She said, putting her hands on his shoulders and tugging at him until he let go.

"Fine." Toby shrugged, still ever-so-chill. Without warning, he got into a standing position, and wrapped his arms around her knees once more, but this time, ducking down to hoist her over his shoulder, narrowly missing knocking her head against the closet wall. Spencer yelped in surprise, but before she could voice a complaint, he set her safely on her feet outside the closet. Moving the chair aside, he stretched up on his tiptoes and unscrewed the light bulb with ease, setting it down on the top of the shoe shelf and quickly replacing it with a new one. Immediately, the light glowed to life, illuminating the closet.

Toby smiled and turned to her, gently ruffling her hair, "Done and done."

"I…you…ughh!" Spencer groaned in exasperation. "You, Toby Cavanaugh, are terrible…" Spencer turned and headed out of the closet, through the bathroom, Toby at her heels, still chuckling, completely amused with himself.

"And, you, Spencer Hastings, will have to learn one day that you don't need to win at everything you ever do. It was changing a light bulb, for crying out loud!" Toby laughed.

Spencer sighed and stopped when she reached his unmade bed, silk white sheets still strewn across the mattress. She shook her head and couldn't stop a soft smirk from gracing her lips.

"Alright. But I'll get you back by beating you at Scrabble tonight." She turned around, back against the bed. He was right behind her, still smiling.

"Scrabble on a Thursday night? Wow, my, my, Miss Hastings, getting edgy aren't we?" He teased, leaning in so that she was pinned against the bed. He placed a soft kiss on her nose, "As much as I'd love to, I might be a little late. I promised Jason I'd help him move around some couches to make room for some new things."

Spencer's face turned somber at his words. "Yeah, Jenna's things!" She exclaimed.

Toby shook his head and sighed. He pushed a few strands of hair from her cheek and tucked them behind her ear, "I know you hate it, Spence, but Jason really needs help."

Spencer sighed, shaking her head. "Alright. For Jason. My brother with poor judgment." She snorted. "Okay, no more classes for the day, but I promised I'd meet Em for coffee – she leaves tomorrow."

"Tell her I'll drive her to the airport in the morning." Toby replied.

She nodded. "Will do." She smiled softly, leaning in to kiss him softly, just for a second. "See you tonight."

"It's a date." He wrapped his arms around her middle.

She nodded and stepped away from him. Without warning, she socked him, hard, in the shoulder.

"Hey!" Toby protested, rubbing the place where she had punched him, "What was that for?"

"For being a know-it-all, Mr. Fixit." She replied wickedly, wrinkling her nose in an evil smirk. She gathered her bag from the bed. "Toodles." She waved her fingers at him as she broke free and headed for the bedroom doorway.

"Perfectionist!"

"Love you, too!" She called over her shoulder on her way out.

"Good God, Bree, if I have to walk in on you watching Grey's Anatomy reruns one more time…." Spencer rolled her eyes as her roommate scrambled for the remote and flicked the TV off, nearly toppling off her bed in the process. "The show's been over for more than a year!" She shook her head, heading towards her closet to grab a pair of jeans.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it!" Bree replied, sticking out her lower lip in a pout. "I just miss it, okay? And hey, you still watch Gossip Girlsome nights and talk to Chuck and Blair as if they are going to jump out of the TV screen."

"You don't understand what they had!" Spencer exclaimed defensively, although the t-shirt constricting her body as she hastily tried to pull it over her head muffled her voice.

She could hear Bree snicker across the room as she shifted off the bed to put the DVD back in its case. "So, are you up to get a bite to eat?"

"Well, I promised I'd meet Emily before she left tomorrow…but feel free to tag along. I'm sure Em wouldn't mind." Spencer answered, now successfully changing into a pair of black jeans and a cream blouse.

"Awesome." Bree smiled. "Just give me a sec to put on some pants." She said, gesturing towards the grey sweats she wore. She headed over so that she stood in her closet doorway. "So, question for you…."

"Yeah?"

"How long have you and Toby been going out?"

"It was four years on Tuesday. Not counting the few months we were broken up, though."

"Uh-huh. And Aria's been around here and yacked about you two enough times for me to know that he's pretty much the only Romeo who's ever going to touch your heart."

"Have you been listening in on my phone calls…?"

"The point is," Bree insisted as she tugged on a pair of boots. "Is that you two are pretty much the fall-in-love-get-married-young-have-a-bunch-of-kids-and-grow-old-and-die-together-straight-out-of-a-Taylor-Swift-song kind of couple."

"So….?"

"So, what's the hold up?"

"Oh God," Spencer groaned, flopping down face first onto her unmade bed, "Did Hanna put you up to this?"

"No! And I'm just wondering!" Bree protested.

"Really, there's no rush. I'm not even twenty-one until January."

"So? The weirdos from Twilight were like, twelve."

"Eighteen."

"Close enough."

Spencer sat up, running a hand through her hair.

"I mean, really, you practically live at his apartment, he's all you ever think about, and the nights that you aren't with him, you talk to him on the phone. You're practically married as it is, so why not make it official?"

Spencer shook her head. "Come on, we're going to be late meeting Em."

"Think about it Spence – you're only twenty once! Live it up!"

"By getting married? Bree, I think you have that speech backward." She replied, grabbing her bag and heading for the door, her roommate at her heels. "I think you're supposed to be talking me outof getting married young, not into it."

"Well, all I know is that you guys have the best romance since Meredith and Derek."

"Did you seriously just compare Toby and me to a fictional couple?" Spencer asked, arching her eyebrow as she opened the door, holding it open for Bree.

"Fine, since Chuck and Blair."

Spencer rolled her eyes. "Still fictional."

"It doesn't mean their love isn't real!" Bree exclaimed, locking the door behind them. "Say what you want, but we all know Spoby is just footsteps away from tying the knot."

"Spoby? Why has that phrase become such a regular vocabulary word amongst my friends…?" Spencer muttered under her breath.

"Wow, that's beautiful." Emily smiled, peering at Spencer over the screen of the iPhone, "It's so Aria."

"Isn't it?" Spencer nodded, taking the phone when Emily handed it back to her. "It took her a while to decide, but that's the one she wants."

"Wow, you must have spent hours in vintage wedding shops all over Pennsylvania."

"Definitely. Thanks, Bree." Spencer nodded to her roommate as she joined their table, handing each of them their order of coffee.

"Oh, Aria's wedding dress? Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous." Bree said, sipping her latte.

"Alright, now that the engagement party is done, I'm now faced with my next two challenges: the bridal shower and bachelorette party."

"Oooohh…" Bree teased, her eyes wide in faux surprise, "The Wedding Games step it up a notch. May the odds be ever in your favor, Spence."

Emily laughed and took a bite out of the croissant she bought. "Have you seen Jason lately?"

"Not since Jenna moved in." Spencer sighed. "Toby's over there right now. He's helping him move around some stuff to make room for her."

"And are you okay with that?" Emily asked cautiously.

"Well, what choice do I have?" Spencer shrugged, furrowing her eyebrows. "I mean, Jason is my brother, and Jenna is his step-sister. And he's just trying to be a decent human – even if it means being a stupid one, two."

"I never met Jenna. What's she like?" Bree asked, curling her lip like she smelled something sour.

"The epitome of crazy and a pit of fiery rage harnessed into a tiny, ex-blind brunette." Spencer answered bluntly.

"Wow. She sounds delightful." Bree said, her eyes dropping to her coffee cup in her hands, "And she's Toby's step-sister?"

"Uh, yeah." Spencer sighed. "But…"

"Uhm, Spencer doesn't love to talk about that subject." Emily muttered.

"Oh…" Bree nodded. "Sorry."

"It's no big deal. Just something stupid that happened in the past." Spencer waved it off, like it had been nothing. "Anyway, let's talk about something else. Em, have you talked to Samara a lot recently?"

A smile graced Emily's lips – the kind of smile she used to reserve only for Maya, years ago.

"Oooh, look at you, all smiley!" Bree nudged Emily with her shoulder, giggling.

"She's good." Emily replied, "She wants to see me when I come back to visit in a few weeks for Christmas. She thinks it would be fun to go someplace fun together."

"Ooooooooooh!" Spencer and Bree chorused suggestively.

Emily blushed. "Stop it! We're starting out slow, okay? Of course, my mom is all too happy about me getting back together with her. Although, Samara was pretty much the only girl my mother actually liked who I dated…" Spencer remembered Pam Fields' strong dislike for Maya's bluntness, and uncouthness when forced in a public situation.

"Well, I'm happy for you, Em." Spencer smiled, reaching out to grab her friend's hand and squeezing it. "Looks like you might have found your Romeo – or Juliet in this case."

Emily laughed softly. "Like you did?"

"Well, my Romeo is just a guy in a tool belt who likes to build rocking chairs, and houses, and tables, and makes me smile when I'm sad."

"And quote Shakespeare." Bree pointed out.

"And beat your ass at Scrabble." Emily joined in.

"And buy you roses, just because."

"And play lullabies for you when you can't sleep."

"And – "

"Alright, alright, I get it. Toby does a lot of romantic things. But that's not why I love him."

"Well then, why do you?" Bree teased, batting her eyelashes.

"Well, you tell me, Miss Love Doctor. Why does Meredith love Derek?"

"Well, obviously," Bree rolled her eyes as if it were obvious, "for the same reason Chuck loves Blair!" She replied, poking her in the shoulder with her index finger.

"Uh, am I missing something?" Emily asked, her face a mask of confusion.

Spencer and Bree burst out laughing. Spencer set down her coffee, "Oh Em, go get obsessed with a fictional love story; then come try to convey your feelings to us. Trust me, there are no words."

The streetlights in Rosewood turned on earlier in the day as winter crept nearer, the town already knee-deep in November. It was dark and cold by the time Spencer got into the passenger's seat of her car, letting Emily drive and Bree stretch her feet out in the backseat. They rounded the corner, away from Lucky Leon's Cupcakes and back towards Emily's parents' house.

"Alright, so we'll just drop you off and then head back to the dorm to drop Bree off. I have a Scrabble date at Toby's." Spencer said.

"Wow, you crazy kids…" Bree teased from the backseat, absentmindedly twirling a lock of her hair. Emily laughed from behind the wheel as she turned the darkened corner onto Spencer's street.

"Shut up…" Spencer sighed, peering out the window. "I wonder if Toby's still at Jason's." She wondered out loud. "Maybe I should call…Bree, can you hand me my purse?"

"Where is it?"

"Behind Emily's seat." Spencer peered over her shoulder.

"Oh yeah, here it is – "

"Whoa, what's going on?" Emily asked suddenly. Spencer's head snapped up and followed Emily's line of vision, seeing an ambulance speed past them, siren's squealing.

"Hey, what's…where's it going…?" Spencer asked, knitting her eyebrows.

Emily drove the car further down the street, where the ambulance was heading, and then they saw it – an accident scene, about thirty people gathered around cones swathed in caution tape, creating a large circle around a police car. The people that were gathered around made a space for the ambulance to pass through, and it entered the scene of the accident.

"It's at Jason's house." Spencer whispered, and her heart fell into her shoes. "Stop the car, Emily." She said monotonely, unable to tear her gaze from the scene in front of her.

"Spencer – "

"Stop the car." She repeated, already undoing her seat belt. Emily parked along the curb and Spencer stumbled out of the car, moving like a zombie towards the scene. Was Jason…?

"Spencer." Emily called after her, and Spencer heard the sound of doors shutting behind her as she and Bree, too, got out of the car.

Spencer was hurrying now, heading straight for the crowd, fighting through them. Her eyes searched for any sign of blood, or worse, murder. She thought that the last time she would see an accident scene like that was when Maya's body was found. Nothing seemed brutally alarming, and she peered over the crowd, standing on her tiptoes to locate a body bag. Her heart thudded in her throat, and she spotted the ambulance close their back doors, having already loaded someone inside.

"Jason?" She murmured under her breath. "Jason? No, no, no…" This couldn't be happening. But he…he was better. He was fine when she last saw him. All she could think of was some brain damage kicking in, sending him to an early grave, and her anger and disappointment towards his decision of letting Jenna stay being the last thing she said to him. Bile rose in her throat, her stomach churning with acid. "Oh, God, no." Something inside her snapped. She fought hard through the crowd, elbowing her way through. When she reached the gate of caution tape, she gasped. She was able to see the porch, and Jason standing there, to her surprise, staring at the ambulance with his jaw set tight.

So if Jason wasn't, that meant…

Her heart stopped beating. Everything around her became fuzzy, like her ears were full of cotton balls, or the people chattering around her were speaking through pillows.

Toby.

Spencer gasped and began to stagger towards the ambulance, her mind whirling, a queasy feeling overcoming her.

"Hey, hey, please take a step back, Miss." A policeman appeared in front of her, "You cannot step onto the premises." His voice was echoey and sounded far away.

"I just, I have to, please…" But she was already trying to step over the caution tape. People blurred around her, and her vision clouded, creating an image of three wavering policemen, instead of one.

"Miss, please step back!" The policeman said forcefully, grabbing her shoulders, pressing her back.

"No, I need to get – " But his hold was too strong. "Toby!" She screamed, her voice raspy and broken. Hot tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over her cheeks as she gasped for breath and fought against the police officer's grip, reaching out a groping hand towards the ambulance as it began to drive away, as if she could stop it, reach it somehow. "No, no!" She screamed in a broken cry. She suddenly felt Emily's arms around her middle and Bree's hands on her shoulders behind her. "Toby! Toby!" She cried.

Jason peered over the crowd and his eyes zeroed in on her, hearing her cries. He hastily hurried down the porch stairs, towards her. He stood on the other side of the caution-taped cones, his hands reaching out for her, "Spencer, Spencer." He said soothingly, trying to calm her.

"It's…" She gasped, trying to speak through her strangled cries, "Toby's – " She felt Emily's grip tighten and the policeman continued to hold her at bay.

Jason shook his head, his eyebrows knit and his expression somber. "It's not Toby."

Spencer stopped and took a few deep breaths, attempting to steady herself. "Then who – "

Jason's eyes peered over her shoulder, watching the ambulance speed away, its sirens giving out screeches to alert the town. Tomorrow, everyone would know about the accident scene in front of Jason DiLaurentis, who just lost his sister five years ago, 's house. When his eyes finally returned to her frantic gaze, he sighed. "It's Jenna."

alrighty guise, yep. so idk what else is new. once again, just a little shout out to my buddy bree, who is going to be working with me on another little climax of both our stories - something that starts in mine and continues into hers - so keep an eye out ;) thanks to all my reviewers - you make me truly inspired to write this.

live. love. spoby. - AJ