I really appreciate the reviews, especially to the one reviewer who left some very kind words about my writing! That was incredibly sweet and made my day. I hope you all will enjoy this next chapter. I also think that the storylines about the others' lives are a lot of fun and make things much more interesting. Thank you all again!
At World's End
Chapter 10
"We all must get ready together for the ball!" Hanna exclaimed, taking a sip of her drink.
The five ladies were seated together a table in the Rosewood Tavern, discussing the ball that would occur at the Campbell Castle that night.
"We should," Spencer agreed, nodding her head. "How about you all come to the castle a few hours before and we can get ready there? Bring your dresses!"
"That is what I was hoping you would say," Hanna smiled proudly.
"Hmm, is that the only reason any of you are still friends with me?" Spencer teased, chuckling quietly. "You all want to have access to all the royal entities?"
Hanna joked, "That may be true..."
Alison sighed, admitting, "I do not know if I will even be attending the ball, actually."
All the girls' eyes widened.
"What? Why?" Aria inquired, tilting her head to the side. "It is going to be so wonderful!"
Staring at the floor, Alison continued, "I had a bit of a... fight with Elliott this morning. I do not think that he is willing to escort me to the ball anymore. He is quite angry."
Emily pressed her lips together, watching the blonde, feeling her heart sink a little bit. She hated that Alison was with this man. Alison had said and done a few bad things in her life, but she did not deserve to be trapped in a hateful relationship. And Emily saw the way Elliott was at that dinner—she knew he wasn't an ideal husband. And the worst was that Emily was thinking about how much better she would be able to treat Alison if she had a chance to.
She tried to shake off the thoughts, though. Elliott may not be the greatest man, but Casey was still an excellent one. Emily wouldn't mind hurting Elliott for how he had been behaving, but Casey didn't deserve to be hurt. He had been nothing but good to her since the moment their marriage was first arranged. But Emily's protective nature made her desperate to protect Alison from whatever harm Elliott was causing her. She just didn't know what she could do to help her.
She simply reached out to Alison's arm, placing her hand on it and squeezing it lightly. To everyone, it appeared as nothing more than a friendly, comforting gesture, and that was what Emily intended for it to be, but she and Alison both couldn't deny the butterflies they felt when Emily's hand came into contact with Alison's skin. They looked up at each other, locking eyes for a longer than necessary moment.
"You do not need to bail on the entire ball just because of him, Alison," Aria said reassuringly, to which all the girls nodded their heads in agreement. "While it is nice to have a man escort you, it is not necessary. You can simply go without him."
Spencer nodded her head, "I was actually about to go without Andrew because we got into a bit of an argument recently, but we resolved things, so he is escorting me again."
"If only you did not resolve the argument so soon, then I would not have been the only one alone at the ball," Alison half-joked, chuckling bitterly. "We could have sulked together in the corner... but I am happy for you, Spencer."
"Wow, thanks," Spencer said sarcastically, chuckling.
Emily suddenly chimed in, "Well, Casey is a very patient man, so I know he would not mind if you tagged along with us the entire night. How about that? I will make sure you do not feel lonely tonight."
Alison smiled sincerely, gazing into Emily's eyes again.
"Oh Emily, you are always so sweet to me," the blonde gushed, tilting her head to the side. "As kind as that is, I do not want to burden you on your lovely night. You should spend it with Casey."
Emily shook her head, "Nonsense. He and I will have plenty of time to spend together. You should not have to spend the entire night alone or skip the ball entirely just because of Elliott's poor behavior. I insist that you tag along with us. It will be a lot more fun that way, anyway!"
"We will see," Alison smiled.
Aria added, "And feel free to spend time with any of us throughout the entire night, right?" The tiny girl glanced at the rest of her friends, searching for approval, which she got when they all nodded their heads in agreement. "See? Perfect! We are all willing to spend time with you tonight. These men are great, but they are not the center of our universe. We have all been friends forever, so it is only right that we continue sticking together."
"Always," Hanna nodded her head.
Alison smiled wider, "I must say... You all have made me feel so welcome in the group since my return. I sincerely appreciate it. I know I was not always the best person before I left, and I made quite a few mistakes, but you all have found a way to give me a second chance, and for that... I am eternally grateful to you. I was afraid that I was going to be shunned from the group when I returned, so... thank you."
Aria smiled, "Of course not. You are always welcome here, Alison. We find a way to forgive each other, and will continue doing that forever. I love you all so much, and I do not know what I would do without you."
Spencer nodded her head, "I love you all, too. Thank you for being in my life."
"We will be friends... forever," Alison grinned. "Nothing will ever tear us apart."
Later that day, the girls all came to the Campbell castle to get ready for the ball. They brought their beautiful gowns and dresses, did their make up together, and got ready to perfection for the lovely evening. The starting time for the ball was rapidly approaching. The girls were sitting in the spare room where they were getting ready.
While Spencer was staring in the mirror, touching up her make up, there was a knock on the door of the room. All the girls turned their heads to watch as Spencer walked to the door and went to open it. It was Andrew.
"Good evening, my love," Andrew greeted, warmly, reaching out to take the brunette's hand. "You look lovely... but that is not what I came here to say. I came here to remind you all that the ball will begin in ten minutes, so I would like you all to head out to the grand hall soon for the beginning. But I am sure you all are prepared and know exactly when to come already."
"Of course we do," Hanna joked. "We have only been preparing for this ball... for hours."
Andrew chuckled, "Okay... I will be heading down to see if my father and brother need anything before the start. I will see all of you beautiful, lovely ladies soon."
Andrew shut the door as he left, leaving the girls alone.
"Wow, that Andrew... he sure is sweet," Hanna commented. "I do not understand why you doubt him. He will surely be a wonderful husband, Spencer."
"We have had our fights, but I know he will be a wonderful husband," Spencer said, sitting down on the bed with her friends. "I got mixed up because of all the tension since he was very upset about Jasper being crowned the next King of Rosewood. But we have had time to talk through all our problems, so I am now very sure of our relationship. There is nothing in the way of us anymore."
"Good, I am glad. Besides, the title of prince is still amazing," Hanna gushed. "He should be very proud of himself. He does not have the same responsibilities as his brother, but there are still many as the prince."
"I know. And I hope he will come to accept that he is very lucky to even have such a title," Spencer nodded her head.
Toby had just put on his finest suit for the ball that evening. It was his first real attempt at moving on from Spencer, but he figured that he would have to start trying—it was better now than later. He stared in the mirror, adjusting his tie as he thought about everything that was going on. Samantha seemed like a lovely lady, and he was very excited to see her at the ball. Although they weren't officially going together, it really did feel that way—especially when she had demanded that he save her a dance, which he was most certainly planning on doing.
But while looking at his reflection harder, he suddenly thought about her. About Spencer. His throat went dry.
He pressed his lips against her neck while moving inside of her, stroking his hands up her sides until they met with her hands, taking both of them, intertwining their fingers. He moved his lips up from her neck again, pressing their lips together for a long, long kiss. Her breathing grew heavier and her moans grew more frequent as she neared her climax, wrapping her legs around his waist.
He removed himself from her at the perfect moment when he felt himself about to lose all control of his body from how good it felt to be with her. He released himself on to her body, heat rushing through him at the sight of the white fluid landing on her body. Using her legs, which were still wrapped around his waist, she applied pressure and pulled him closer so that she could connect their lips again.
They kissed harder and harder, laughing happily at the moment. He brought his hands up to her cheeks, cupping them with a smile on his face while they kissed. He was on top of her before, but tumbled over as they kissed, his hands still on her cheeks. She rolled him over so that she was on top of him, moving her lips from his, dragging them down to his neck and chest, trailing kisses everywhere. He shut his eyes, just enjoying the sensation of her kisses on his body. He brought his hands down to her waist, holding her firmly while she was kissing his body.
Toby shivered at the memory. He would never forget that night he spent with her—it was simply unforgettable. He would always remember the way his hands roamed her body freely, the way their lips touched, the way their bodies moved together in sync. He wished he could just forget it, but it was stuck on his mind.
Interrupting his thoughts was the sound of a knock on the door. He sighed quietly, walking over to open it. He smiled when he saw Margaret Campbell standing there with a sweet smile on her face.
"Tobias!" she exclaimed. "You look so dapper! Are you all ready to go?"
He nodded his head and added, "Thank you, Margaret."
"Gladly," she smiled. "Why don't you come down to the grand hall now? The ball is beginning!"
He nodded his head again before opening the door wider. Margaret moved aside to give him space to exit. After he shut his room's door, the two of them walked down the stairs together, heading towards the grand hall: where the ball awaited them.
Once they arrived in the grand hall, Toby noticed that a flood of people had already arrived. He looked around and saw people socializing and drinking, laughing and having a good time. He scanned the room for Samantha, but couldn't seem to find her just yet. He needed somebody to talk to so that he wasn't standing all alone, so he was glad that Margaret was there with him.
But unfortunately, Margaret quickly left his side once she saw Jasper walking towards her. Jasper, grinning widely, came up to the two of them, snaking his arms around Margaret, pulling her close.
"My love, you look so wonderful," Jasper breathed, pushing a strand of Margaret's hair behind her ear. He seemed like he wanted to kiss her, but stopped himself when he looked up and saw Toby standing there. "Tobias! Look at you, all dressed up in that suit. Don't tell me that there isn't a lucky lady who you are escorting tonight!"
Toby shrugged his shoulders bashfully, "There may be somebody..."
Jasper grinned, "Oh, really? Where is this lovely lady of yours?"
"I do not see her yet. And I am not exactly... escorting her," Toby admitted. "I met her recently. She told me that she would be coming to the ball, and that I should save her a dance tonight."
Jasper grinned wider, "That sounds promising. Tonight, I am sure that you can make this lady all yours. Just sweep her off of her feet."
Toby chewed his lip nervously, "That sounds... hard."
"Well, it is easier said than done," Jasper admitted, chuckling. "However, you seem to be a great man, Tobias. I am sure that this lady is extremely lucky to see you tonight. I believe that you can do this. And if things do not work out, then... there are sure to be other ladies. It took me a few attempts before I found the perfect lady for me. And as you can see now, the pain was worth it because I found the best in the end."
Margaret blushed at his words, grabbing the material of his suit, pulling him closer so that she could passionately kiss him on his lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeper. Toby stood there watching awkwardly, scratching his head. He decided that he would allow the two of them to enjoy their night together, and walked away, hoping to find Samantha or somebody else that he knew well enough to talk to.
In the corner of the grand hall, he spotted some of Spencer's friends talking and eating. He recognized them from the dinner. All of them were with their men except the blonde—Alison DiLaurentis, the one who was engaged to that Elliott man with the big mouth. Toby decided that he would test his luck (even though he did not think he was really friends with these people) and approach them.
"Good evening, ladies," Toby greeted politely, smiling sweetly. "You all look absolutely wonderful."
"Oh, it is the lovely knight!" Hanna exclaimed, unlinking her arm from Caleb's. She took a few steps closer to Toby. "Wow, you clean up nicely, Knight."
He chuckled, "I suppose so. I usually come from long hours of battle or training, so... And my name is Toby, by the way— in case you did not know."
"Oh, I knew," Hanna smiled. "I just like calling you the knight. It suits you. But if you wish to be called Toby, then Toby I shall call you... sometimes, at least."
He chuckled again.
"Um, so... where is Spencer?" Toby asked curiously. "I thought that she would be here out of anyone. It is her fiancé's ball, after all."
"Of course you'd want to know that..." Hanna muttered under her breath, giggling.
"She had a situation with her dress," Aria supplied. "She should be down here soon."
"Andrew's helping her take care of her situation," Emily added.
"What a gentleman!" Aria commended, swooning.
"Well, I would do the same for you, my darling," Wesley told her, stroking the back of her hair.
"And that is why I love you, Wesley," Aria chuckled, pecking his lips gently and briefly.
The group continued bantering while Toby searched around again, for either Samantha or Spencer. He shoved his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor, giving up his search, hoping that they would come to him when they arrived at the ball.
But then he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder from behind him. Instantly, he turned around; he smiled widely when he saw the lovely Samantha standing there, dressed in a beautiful white gown.
"I thought I saw that handsome man I met yesterday!" she exclaimed, the smile on her face not faltering one bit.
"Wow, you look... great," he commented. "I was beginning to think that you were not going to show up."
"And why would I not show up? I was promised a dance with the most handsome man at this entire event," she flirted, reaching out to take his hand and squeeze it gently.
He stared at her with a smile on his face before Hanna and Caleb interrupted them, squeezing near them. Once they joined in, his eyes instantly moved away from hers. He also moved his hand away, bringing his arm back to his side, shoving his hands in his pockets again nervously.
"Well, well, Knight... looks like you've got a very pretty lady here with you tonight," Hanna smirked, glancing over at Toby, who was looking quite sheepish. "Does the lovely girl have a name?"
"Samantha," she introduced herself with a smile, reaching her hand out to offer it to Hanna. Hanna shook her hand politely and quickly.
"Nice to meet you, Samantha," Hanna said. "My name is Hanna Marin. This is my handsome man Caleb Rivers."
"A proudly failing inventor," Caleb added with a humorous grin.
Samantha chuckled, "Toby, you did not tell me that you had such great friends!"
Toby scrunched his eyebrows. He didn't really think of them as friends—he barely even knew them! But he did not want to offend anyone, so he decided to keep his mouth shut. He thought Hanna and Caleb were genuinely nice people, so he wanted to keep them around. Maybe they would grow close enough to be actual friends someday.
"I like this girl already," Hanna grinned. "It truly was a pleasure to meet you, Samantha. I hope to keep seeing you around... hopefully with Toby, that is." Hanna smirked at the other girl, who simply blushed and scratched her head awkwardly and nervously. Hanna linked arms with Caleb, announcing, "All right. Caleb and I are going to leave you two alone so that you can enjoy your night. So, please... enjoy it."
"Will do," Samantha agreed with a chuckle as the couple walked away, leaving her alone with Toby again. She turned back to the knight, tilting her head to the side. "Well, she certainly was nice."
"Yes, she seems so," Toby nodded his head. "Truthfully, I do not know her all that well. She is a very close friend of one of my friends, so we speak... sometimes."
"Nice to know. I like that you are an honest man, Toby," Samantha noted. "Honesty is a very good quality in men. It is hard to come across, you know."
"It must be hard to come across in women, too. So, why don't you show me that you are an honest woman by telling me all about yourself?" he smoothly asked.
"Fair enough," she smirked. "I will reveal more about myself as the night unfolds, I can assure you. But for now, why don't you be a gentleman and get us both a drink?"
Toby nodded his head, "I certainly can do that."
Alison and Emily sat next to each other on a couch, talking quietly, laughing. Casey sat a little distance away from Emily on the couch, fidgeting with his fingers, as he didn't exactly fit in when the two of these girls were together.
He sighed, excusing himself, "How about I get a drink for all of us?"
Emily smiled, finally looking away from the blonde girl and at her fiancé instead. "Oh, that is a wonderful idea, Casey! Thank you!"
Casey nodded his head weakly. He got up from his seat, but then bent back down to place a short peck on Emily's lips before heading off to where the drinks were. However, he decided to not just go get drinks, but instead also spend a bit of time talking to one of his friends after spotting him at the event. He figured the two girls had been apart for a long time and had a lot of catching up to do, so he would give them the space they needed to reconnect.
"I have to say, Em, you are so sweet," Alison gushed, her hand dangerously snaking up Emily's thigh, resting on a spot very high up on it. "I thought I was going to be miserable here... alone while the rest of you enjoyed your nights, but you meant what you said about not leaving me alone."
Emily smiled, "Of course I did. You know how much I care about you, Ali..."
It had been a while since they started using each other's nicknames regularly, but it was starting to feel right again.
"You look..." the blonde quietly said, turning her head so that she was looking at Emily. Emily turned her head as well, both of them staring at each other with very little distance between their heads and bodies. "...so amazing tonight, Em. I have no words to express your beauty."
Emily blushed, "If you are saying that I look beautiful tonight, then I have no words to express how beautiful you look tonight... and always."
Emily would not lie, she wanted to kiss her right then. She wanted to feel those big, pink lips against hers once again, and this time for much longer. She wanted to kiss her long and slow, holding her close. She wanted to let her tongue move inside the other girl's mouth. She wanted to take her home, feel their bodies moving together. She was well-aware that she was feeling so many damn things for Alison DiLaurentis right now.
But ruining the moment was Emily catching the eye of Paige McCullers. She swallowed hard, her gaze moving away from Alison. Paige was staring at her with scrunched eyebrows, clearly suspecting that whatever she had going on with Alison was far from "just friendly."
Paige shook her head, turning around and walking away. Emily chewed on her lip.
"Em, is everything okay?" Alison asked, putting her hand on Emily's cheek and tilting her head so that they were looking at each other again. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Emily faked a smile. "Nothing at all. How could anything be wrong with you right here sitting next to me?"
Toby walked off to where the drinks were. A servant poured two glasses of the wine that he selected. He grabbed both wine glasses and began walking back to where Samantha was standing. She was staring at the wall with her back turned to him. He smiled, feeling lucky that he had the opportunity to spend the night with her. He was hopeful of moving on. Maybe he really could.
But suddenly, two people came from upstairs hand in hand, walking down the steps leading upstairs. And since they were coming from upstairs, they were clearly much more than average guests: they were Spencer and Andrew.
At the top of the stairs, it was obvious that they were not happy. She looked upset, and he looked like he was quietly yelling at her. They both seemed... fired up inside. But as they descended the steps, their anger turned into fake and forced smiles for the public. Everybody's eyes turned to them—excited to see the future Prince and Princess of Rosewood together. Hanna was certainly beaming, as she had been wanting to see the two of them together more often.
Toby could not take his eyes off of Spencer.
It was more than just his wonder of what she was arguing about with Andrew, although he was also curious about that. More significantly, she looked absolutely stunning in the beautiful navy blue gown that she had purchased at the shop with Toby that day. And he really liked the dress when he saw it at the store, but he loved it now. It looked good on a mannequin in the shop and when she tried it on, but the real thing was even better—it looked even more amazing when she was really wearing it, all dolled up.
It was like his eyes were stuck there, mesmerized by her beauty. It was such a shame that the beauty was covered with anger at first from whatever went down with Andrew, but he was glad that the anger faded—or at least, it synthetically faded.
He wanted to go over there and tell her how beautiful she looked, but he new he couldn't do that... not right now. The better part of his Freudian subconscious was telling him that he needed to leave her be... he needed to let her go. He had a lovely (unofficial) date to the ball who was waiting for him, and it would not do him any good to let his old feelings return by complimenting Spencer and having some type of moment with her. Especially not with Andrew standing right there by her side. He would be watching them like a hawk if he came up to her, and Toby was pretty sure that the last thing that Spencer's fiancé wanted to hear right now was another man calling his lady beautiful.
He used all the self-control he had and merely gave Spencer a small smile with a look of admiration in his eyes. His eyes said it all to Spencer, but he halted it quickly, and started walking back over to where Samantha was waiting. After all, he had to give her this wine, right?
Spencer, on the other hand, was a little bit disappointed that he didn't come up to her. Part of her thought that he would because she had told him that she had made Andrew promise to stop his jealousy. And she didn't really want to be alone with Andrew right now, as they had gotten into a fight—a silly fight, but it was still a fight. Maybe more of an argument. And sometimes fighting or arguing over the little things hurt just as badly as a big fight. She hated her mind her for feeling that maybe Toby could make her feel better about all of this. That wasn't the right thing to be thinking. She hated that her mind was depending on him—that her mind wanted to be around him so much. She wished that she could just force her mind to always want to be with Andrew, because that would make things a hell of a lot easier.
Her disappointment grew when she saw that Toby had approached that very pretty girl who had approached him outside of the dress shop yesterday. Samantha, Spencer recalled her name. She remembered the way Toby's eyes were glued to her when he saw her outside the store and the whole time that they were speaking. She was aware that he would be seeing her at the ball, as he had promised to save her a dance, but her mind had momentarily blanked and had forgotten about her. And she had to say, it was quite disappointing to remember that she existed. She wished she didn't feel that way, but she did.
It was so, so selfish because Spencer had made it clear to him that they could never be anything since she was going to marry Andrew, but she still didn't want him to be with another woman? She knew the right thing to do was to wish for him to be happy—to wish for him to be able to move on with somebody new... somebody who treated him very well, because that was what he deserved: the best of the best.
Andrew huffed, stepping extremely close to his lady. He took her arm, leading her outside to the terrace.
"It is so inadequate to make the future Prince late to his own family's ball," he practically growled. "You are going to be the Princess, Spencer. You need to learn to be punctual to these important royal events."
"Andrew, how many times have I apologized for it?" she sighed, shaking her head. "And I told you that you could just go downstairs without me! I did not ask you to help me! You chose to."
"Because I knew it would have taken even longer to fix your dress if I had not helped you out," he rolled his eyes. "Spencer, I love you so much, but it is so shameful to be late to the ball."
"It was an accident," she groaned. "I do not believe that all the members of the royal family are immune to making mistakes. I know damn well that you all have made mistakes, too. This is so, so silly."
"I was not there at the start of the ball. I was not standing with my brother and father. We three were planning on making the announcement of the start together, but I was absent," he reminded.
"Well, what is done is done. There is no reason to be fighting over this right now. I am sorry that you missed announcing the start of the ball, but there is nothing I can do about it now, so can we please just enjoy the night together?" she crossed her arms.
He pressed his lips together, "I should go see what Jasper is up to."
"Andrew!" Spencer cried, her mouth hanging ajar. "Why are you being such a child about this? First of all, Jasper is probably attending to Margaret, his lady, like a proper gentleman does. And second of all, you were so childish when you found out that Jasper is going to be the next King of Rosewood that you almost destroyed our relationship over it. And you are yelling at me over a dress? Over being late to the family's ball? Have you ever thought that maybe this is why your father chose Jasper to be the next King? That maybe he realized one of his sons is far more mature than the other? Because with this childish attitude, I highly doubt you would ever make a proper King of Rosewood."
Andrew's nostrils flared. Spencer knew that she might have just crossed the line, considering that she knew how sensitive this subject was to her fiancé. He was still so bitter about his father choosing Jasper to be the next king, although he tried to hide it since Spencer had wanted him to stop worrying about it.
"How dare you?" he demanded, clenching his fists. "You have no right to say that kind of garbage to me. What kind of lady are you to me? You are supposed to be supporting me, not tearing me down."
Incredulously, Spencer cried, "I have done nothing but try to support you! I have given you so many chances, but you just continue to hurt me. You think you make everything OK by saying 'I love you, Spencer' and giving me a charming smile, but that does not make anything OK. I want you to be the man I thought you were... the man I fell in love with—or at least the man I thought I fell in love with, because I do not even know if I love you... or if I ever loved you."
"You are just saying that because you are angry with me," he shook his head. "I know you love me, Spencer. And you have not been trying to support me. You have got that wrong, for sure. You have been against me since the moment I expressed to you that I am upset over my father choosing Jasper to be the next king. And yes, I made a mistake when I tried to plot to become king, but I stopped all that... I stopped it for you. I stopped it because I love you. I stopped it because I want to marry you. And what have you done for me in return? Gawk at the handsome knight who invaded our castle!"
"That is not—" she began, feeling her throat go try as she spoke. "I told you to stop being jealous."
Andrew scoffed, "Jealous? This is not about jealousy, love. I see the way you look at him and talk to him; I am not a fool, Spencer. I am not trying to deny it any longer. I know what the reality is, and fine, let it be as such. But I know that you are smart enough to not give up everything you have—everything we have for some lust you feel for another man. Before you do anything rash, think about my words. Think about what you want your future to be. You have everything right here. You will not have that anymore if you make a grave mistake."
Spencer stayed silent, pressing her lips together. She wondered what would happen if she told him that she had already made that mistake he was referring to.
"I am being so courteous to forgive you for looking at another man," he reminded her. "I am trying to make our relationship work."
She squinted her eyes, feeling rage boiling over inside of her. Her body went into autopilot, not wanting to stand here any longer (especially with the guilt of knowing that she already made a mistake that would destroy their relationship if he found out). Maybe it would make things worse, but the autopilot guided her off the terrace and back into the grand hall, where the ball was still going on.
"Spencer!" she heard Andrew calling after her as she stepped back inside. "Damn this, Spencer! Damn you!"
When she stepped inside, Toby immediately looked over at her. He was sitting alone on a chair, drinking a glass of wine. His eyes were so pleading and apologetic. She scrunched her eyebrows before walking over to him and sitting on the chair next to him.
"Where is... Samantha?" Spencer asked, and she felt silly for asking, but it came out of her mouth before she had any time to stop it.
"Not here," he chuckled, scratching his head. "She went to talk to some other people. She said she would be back soon, but it has been quite a while." She nodded her head apologetically, but the worst part was that she was relieved that Samantha was gone. She felt bad that Toby was all alone and somewhat upset over her absence, but she still selfishly felt relieved. "I was worried about you," he continued. "You were out there for so long for him, and he seemed very angry when you two came downstairs—is everything all right?"
"No," she admitted truthfully. "Nothing is all right anymore."
"What is going on, Spencer?" he asked, reaching out to touch her arm comfortingly.
Her head was fixed on the floor with a long period of time with a distraught expression on her face, but she recomposed herself and perked her head up, smiling at Toby sweetly, but it was a somewhat forced smile.
"Would you like to dance, Toby?" she suddenly asked, tilting her head to the side.
Toby's eyes widened. Of course he wanted to share a dance with her, but it seemed... unbelievable. It was probably a bad idea, too. She was fighting with Andrew right now.
"Spencer," he hesitated, scratching his head. "Are you sure that this is a good id—"
Cutting him off was Spencer standing up from her chair, grabbing his arm, and yanking him upwards with a childish grin on her face. He decided to stop protesting as Spencer guided one of his hands to her lower back while the other to her hand, intertwining their fingers.
They moved their feet in sync to the gorgeous classical music playing. He followed Spencer's lead.
A tiny, closed-mouth smile formed on his face, the edges of his lips curling upwards slightly. He gazed into Spencer's brown eyes as they moved together, and she did the same with his sparkling blue orbs. He held her close to his body, feeling a spark run through him as he grazed his hand down the small of her back. She swallowed hard, squeezing his hand, looking straight into his eyes.
And at that moment, she knew she felt something for him. Something that most certainly was not just lust.
A/N: That is a wrap on the tenth chapter! Personally, I think this chapter was very dramatic, especially with that confrontation scene between Spencer and Andrew towards the end. And we also have a Spencer and Toby dance scene (swoon!). I think the chapter was quite Toby-Spencer-Andrew centric, with a lot less of the outside drama (although there was some stuff going on with Emily, Alison, Paige, and Casey).
The ball is not over yet, though!
The next chapter will have more drama with the others, too. But of course, Spoby's drama persists, as always. I think we will be seeing more of what is going on with Aria, Ezra, and Wesley. There has not been too much with them lately (but Wesley made an appearance at the ball, so he is certainly there). And of course, Ezra is also going to be at the ball, which you will see in the next chapter!
For Spoby, there are many things. Is Samantha out of the picture? What does this all mean for Spencer and Andrew's relationship? And of course, what in the world is going on between Spencer and Toby? It's a bit will-they-won't-they, but it is certainly a lot of fun. But I guess you'll have to wait until next time to find these answers.
Emison v. Paily: Well, what will happen there? Emily quite clearly is attracted to Alison (old feelings are definitely resurfacing). But Paige is still around, and the two of them did grow closer up until Alison returned. And I don't think Paige liked seeing her with Alison very much! Oh, and are we forgetting that Casey and Elliott still exist? Yikes... I think Elliott will be making an appearance in the next chapter. Fun times. What are these ladies gonna do about everything!?
Haleb: Well, they're just happy and in love. Nothing too deep going on there. Will there be drama between them in the future? Maybe... we'll see.
Anyways, I'd like to thank you all for reading the chapter (and this author's note, if you got through it... wow!).
Would you be so kind and leave a review of my story? Thank you so much! Love you all :)