Just another average Tuesday in the shop
Who: Toby and Beth What: The first meeting Where: The Fix It Shop Auto Repair, just outside of Forks towards La Push When: Tuesday afternoon, around 4:30, January 2005 Rating: pg Summary: Beth's having car trouble; its a memorable meeting for Toby
There was a spray of wet mud that sounded every time a car passed by, and Toby noted and watched as the vehicles passed, flying by at a rapid clip. He had been working all day, and was taking a break to drink a hot cup of coffee, sitting in the open entrance into the garage. He was messy, his coveralls speckled with dark oil stains from the last three cars he'd changed and he had decided to take a bit of a break and watch the world pass him by.
It could have been him, driving off in one of those cars, he mused as he sipped at the hot liquid, and noted the light patter of rain starting. Another car sped by, the swishing sound distant and gathering volume as it grew closer, then dimming and settling back to the sound of just rain on the cover over the pumps. Tobias was working in his father's garage; he had been full time since he'd graduated high school just last June. And until that night, the one of the <i>change</i>, he had been certain that his future lay in the opposite direction, to the right, following the winding road south, past the small towns, crossing the border into Oregon and then California. Tobias had thought he might go explore, see the world or at least take a vacation, and then come back home to decide what his future held. It all changed the night of the change; now, his future was firmly embedded here in Forks, laid as thick as the granite bases to the mountains that surrounded them.
He was not a full Quileute; that had been the biggest surprise to Sam. But it hadn't been easy to explain to to himself, not when he could, at a moment's notice, bend over and mold his body into the form of a giant grey wolf. It had been the most exhilerating and terrifying experiences he had ever had; now, after practice, it was still mild boggling to think he had this talent inside of him. It had changed everything for him; any wander lust he had felt evaporated in that moment. He was one of the pack, one of Sam's boys and he wasn't going anywhere. But he still needed to work and bring in money; so he worked, as he always had, for his dad in the garage.
Tobias's nose itched and he checked his hand before rubbing his face, not interested in getting more oil on himself than necessary. He didn't really need the hot coffee; he was already burning up. But the coveralls helped make the clean up easier at the end of the day; never mind the sight of a half naked mechanic was not the most comforting of visions. There was only another hour to go for work, and he fully intended on a long run in the forest, to connect with the pack and find out what he'd missed, stuck in his human form. He was finishing his cup, and turned to rise when he heard the tell tale squeak of tires on the wet asphalt. He paused before turning, wondering it was service they needed or just some fuel.