Toby McIntyre (squirrelly) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2013-12-18 01:29:00 |
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Toby hadn’t slept a second last night. That, paired with the fact that he hadn’t gotten much sleep the past two nights before, meant that he was currently running on fumes. Though he would never ask her to leave, Emyli crashing in his bed was simply not conducive to a restful night of sleep. It wasn’t that he hadn’t gone full days without rest before – in fact he didn’t need more than a few hours of sleep to operate in the first place – but it was what filled up his waking hours that was the problem. Staying up all night at a party was his idea of a good time; staying up all night worrying over some girl was not. Emyli wasn’t some nameless, one-night stand, but that didn’t excuse the thoughts racing though his mind. Who had stabbed her? What would happen if they came back? And why did he have the desire to make them hurt for what they had done to Emyli? He knew he was just worried about his friend, though T.J.’s suggestions that he had feelings for her were doing nothing for his peace of mind. He just wanted to see Toby as love-struck as he was all the time: that was the dismissal Toby allowed himself.
He had forgone his usual marijuana cigarette for the traditional tobacco kind, and he puffed it as he made his way to the nearest coffee shop. It was his favorite for their dead-eye espresso drinks. Toby often joked with the baristas that the drink had a harder kick than speed, though they never seemed to believe that he would know the difference. He knew he was close to the shop when he spotted the large green umbrellas that covered the outdoor tables. The area looked significantly deserted and his mind searched for an explanation before landing on the high school, much later than it should have. It was through his survey of the empty tables that Toby’s eyes landed on one of the few patrons: a gorgeous brunette sitting alone with her coffee and a pair of crutches. She looked somewhere around Emyli’s age – not that that was a problem.
Toby circled around the fence squaring off the coffee shop’s property and walked up to the woman. “You are absolutely too good looking to be here all by yourself. Seriously, it should be criminal.” He took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it out into the street and taking one of the seats at the table that he had not been offered. There was every chance that she could throw her (very) hot drink in his face, but he didn’t tend to go into a situation with the worst outcome in mind.