"Have you been up here since you got back?" I asked as we hiked up the hill.
"No, I haven't gotten a chance since I'm forced to help Jenna around. Plus, this place isn't the same if you're not here." Toby replied as he grabbed my hand. "Be careful where you place your feet, the tree roots are pretty big."
"Thanks for the warning." I said gripping his hand tighter. "I haven't been up here since the night before. You know, I'm glad we're coming here together so that you can't scare me like last time."
"I didn't want to scare you on purpose, it was an accident. You heard me trip over something, which is what I'm trying to help prevent you from doing." He defended himself.
"Well, it was over a year ago and you are helping me now, so I guess I can forgive and forget."
"You guess?" He asked and I could hear the fake astonishment in his voice.
"Hey, you know full well that I'm stubborn so be glad that you got what you did." I laughed as he pulled me down so that I was sitting beside him on 'our' rock.
"I do know that you're stubborn and I'm glad that you've finally forgiven me for accidently scaring you." He said laughing as well, a sound that I had missed a lot.
"Is the view still the same?" I asked quietly once we stopped laughing.
"Yeah, it's still the same, nothing in Rosewood ever changes. It's really dark out so all the lights are on. The street light by the mechanic still flickers, the letter 'R' on the movie theater sign and it looks like the 'O' is starting to go too, and of course the 'open' sign in the coffee shop window goes on and off every couple of minutes."
"When is someone going to fix that place up? The place is an eyesore and the coffee tastes like mud. I know I drink really strong coffee, but even people who drink normal coffee wouldn't drink that stuff on a dare."
"Now that is one place in Rosewood that has changed. It's gotten worse, and if I were you, I'd be glad that I couldn't see it. Hopefully enough people get tired of the place and force the owner to fix it up or sell."
"It would be nice for the place to be fixed up because the only other place to get coffee is at a restaurant."
"I agree it would be nice to have a place that served good coffee." He said and then comfortable silence fell between us.
"Hey, Spence, you don't have to answer if you don't want to but what happened? You sounded upset on the phone when you asked if we could hang out because you needed to get away from your family." Toby asked a few minutes later.
"Tonight my parents, Melissa, her fiancé, and I had dinner at the club. When we got home I excused myself saying that I had homework and I went upstairs." I started to answer.
"Spencer, you always have homework."
"I know, I like to be ahead in school and it makes a really good and believable excuse. Anyway, about twenty minutes later Wren, Melissa's fiancé, knocked on my door and came in. He started to flirt but I just thought that it was his personality and that he didn't realize he was doing it. He even said 'up yours' to me in Latin. Then he sat down next to me on my bed. Before I realized what his intentions were, he lifted my chin with his right hand and I could tell that he was leaning in to kiss me."
"He was going to what? I thought you said he was Melissa's fiancé."
"He is. And both fortunately and unfortunately, Melissa saw us before he could actually kiss me. But she thought that I was the one initiating it but I wasn't. She started yelling at me and then I heard my parents come in. Of course they took her side and she ended up looking like a victim while I was the offender."
"So Wren just got off the hook while you took the blame?"
"No, Wren didn't get blamed but Melissa is still upset with him. I'm pretty sure I heard her throw her engagement ring at him before stomping out of the room. My parents told Wren to get out and then told me that they were disappointed with what I had done to my sister. After that I was left alone in my room and I just couldn't stand to be in the same house as them so I called you."
"Don't get me wrong, Spence, I'm glad you called me and I like spending time with you since we can only be with each other at lunch thanks to Jenna. But why didn't you call Jason? I know it's just an old rumor but I've heard that the two of you are…close."
"Usually I would have called Jason, but having him come to the house would have just added fuel to the fire. Plus, I like spending time with you too."
"Why would having Jason coming to your house make things worse? Do your parents not approve of you hanging out with a teacher?" He asked mostly curious but I could hear something else in his voice, jealousy maybe.
"I want to punch Noel Kahn and everybody else that started those rumors." I sighed. "Toby, I'm not dating Jason and I don't want to either. The reason having him around would have made things worse is because he's my half-brother."
"You're telling me that Jason DiLaurentis, as in Alison's older brother, is your brother?"
"Yes, my dad and Jessica DiLaurentis had an affair which resulted in her getting pregnant with Jason. Nobody knew about it because my dad told her to keep quiet since my mom was already pregnant was with Melissa. But after Alison disappear…after she died both our families found out." I explained since I could never keep anything from him. "Toby, you can't tell anyone what I just told you. My parents want nothing to do with Jason and they don't want anyone to know about the jumbo skeleton in the closet of the Perfect Hastings Family."
"I won't tell anybody, Spencer, but I'm glad you told me." He promised and he gave my hand a squeeze. "I wasn't sure how things would be between when I came back. You were worried about me hating you for giving Alison the lighter, but I was worried that you would resent me because you wouldn't be blind if you hadn't run in to help me. But things almost feel as if I never left and I like that."
"Toby, I couldn't let you, or even Jenna, get hurt because of Ali. And it was my decision so if I ever regret it, which I absolutely won't, the only person I could resent would be myself." I assured him.
"Well, look it at it this way. If things were reversed, and you went blind helping me, would you resent me or regret it?" I questioned already knowing his answer after a minute or two of silence.
"I'd help you no matter in a second, Spencer, without any regrets or second thoughts. And I already told you the other day that I could never hate or resent you." He stated and I could tell how much he meant it.
"I know, Toby, and it's the same for me so you don't have to worry. It's kind of funny how we're so different yet so similar. And I'm glad things are the same as they were. But I don't want everything to be the same as it was before."
"What do you want to be different?"
"Toby, I just got you back and I don't want to hide things from you. That's why I told you about Jason even though my parents would blow a fuse if they knew. And I'm getting back together with the girls too so I don't want to hide anything from them either. I want to tell them that you and I are friends because Ali is gone for good and we don't have to worry about people knowing now."
"I don't want to hide either, Spence, and if you want to tell your friends that's fine. But if Jenna finds out she'll be worse than Alison." He pointed out.
"If she doesn't find out that's great. If she does, I say who cares. There's nothing she can do about who you choose to be friends with and she can't hurt you anymore." I told him confidently.
"Okay," He stated sounding just as sure and confident about it as he gave my hand a squeeze. "So when should we tell them?"
"How would you feel about sitting with us at lunch?"
"Being the only guy at a table with five girls, I'll pass. How about I stop by your table, say hi, and then make up an excuse about talking to one of my teachers."
"That sounds good." I nodded with a smile.
"Hey, Spencer!" I heard Hanna call.
"Hey everyone." I smiled as I sat down in my usual seat next to Emily and across form Hanna.
"Where have you been? We've missed you." Emily asked in concern.
"Yeah, you haven't sat with us at lunch all week." Aria added.
"Believe it or not I've actually missed having you around a little bit." Mona admitted but since I couldn't see her face I wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not.
"I've missed you guys too and I'm sorry if I seemed like I was ignoring you. But I wanted to hang out with a friend that hasn't been around in a long time." I replied glad that the girls were providing a good way to tell them about Toby.
"You have friends other than us? How is that possible when the only people you talk to are us, your family, teachers, and really, really smart people that are more like frenemies?" Hanna asked in disbelief.
"Just one friend and I've known him for almost two years now." I clarified.
"Spencer Hastings, has a guy friend? Why are we just finding out about this?" Aria questioned.
"Because my guy friend, as you put it, is Toby." I answered before taking a sip of water.
"Toby as in Toby Cavanaugh, the guy whose life you saved, and the guy that Ali bullied?" Emily stated curiously.
"Yes, of course it's him. How many other Tobies do we know?" I said rolling my eyes even though they couldn't see behind the glasses. "I'm sorry I never told you guys, but Ali would have been worse to him if she knew so I just didn't tell anybody. But he's back now and things are just like they used to be but neither of us want to hide anymore."
As I expected the girls fired questions at me left and right for at least fifteen minutes.
"Wow, that's a lot to take in, Spence." Aria sighed.
"Okay, I know that Ali was capable of a lot of bad stuff, but…" Emily trailed off probably trying to wrap her head around what I had just said.
"I'm not surprised." Mona stated frankly. "Alison liked control and Spencer didn't listen. She was also over dramatic so she probably thought setting a fire and making Toby take the blame would be the perfect way to get Spencer back under her thumb and Toby out of the picture."
"Toby is a great guy and an even better friend; I really like him a lot." I told them and a small smile spread across my face. "He didn't deserve to be treated that way by Ali, or the reputation he got because he was blamed for the fire."
"Alison gave a lot of people reputations that they didn't deserve. I know that from first-hand experience. But I actually can picture you being friends with Cavanaugh. You're both bookworms and he's smarter than people think. I wouldn't have passed that stupid woodshop class I was forced to take that year if he hadn't helped."
"I've never really known him that well other than waving to him sometimes because we live on the same street. But he must not be as bad as Ali said if Spencer of all people hangs out with him." Emily commented.
"Since when did Ali ever say anything that was true?" Hanna sarcastically asked. "But if Spencer likes him, I'm willing to give it a shot and get to know him."
"Me too," Aria added.
"Me three, although I kind of already know him, but you can always get to know a person better." Mona commented and once again I was surprised by Mona.
I never would have pictured me and her as friends but that because I believed what Ali wanted me too. Exactly how the others believed what Ali wanted them too about Toby. And just like the girls wanted to get to know Toby better, I found myself wanting to know Mona better.
Hey readers! What did you think? Sorry if the chapter seemed like a filler but I figured I owed you all some present-time Spoby. Plus I wanted to show the girls' reaction to finding out about Spoby. Let me just say that Wren did NOT kiss Spencer because I want her first kiss to be with Toby. And that is coming I promise! And in case you're wondering, the old coffee shop Toby mentioned will become The Brew later on. So review and let me know what you thought and again 6 reviews for the Friday update.