Sorry I missed you... (Andy)

[Tobias Vaughn]

Tobias had an eventful yesterday, and so he enjoyed the extra sleep he received while all of his friends were back in school for the day and his parents were still out of town. They would be coming back later that night, however, and Toby wasn't sure what to expect. He'd been in a fight at school, broken his nose and suffered a serious concussion, but... was that enough to bring his parents back to him after they had so ruthlessly kicked him out? He was almost afraid to see if they showed up or not. Regardless, it was only around 3:30 and he still had four hours until either of them showed up.

For now, he was content to drift in and out of sleep, helped greatly by the pain medications that were slowly working their way into his system now that he'd eaten lunch and taken his pills. Who knew he could be in so much pain over something as simple as a punch or two?

Awake again, Toby flicked aimlessly through the channels on the television which was mounted on the wall. Hopefully, if all went well with his tests, he'd be out of there in the morning.

[brower]

Andy had heard the rumors flying around school earlier in the day. That some senior wrestler had been knocked out and taken to the hospital yesterday. He'd asked around and it hadn't taken long to find out that the senior was Toby.

He didn't have a car, but he was used to walking places, and rushed over to the hospital at the end of the day. All this time he'd been thinking that Toby hated him, and had regretted ever agreeing to anything with him, and here he was holed up in the hospital with s concussion or something.

He got Toby's room number from the woman at the reception desk and made his way up the stairs and to the proper floor. He paused outside it and wondered if he should go in. He tentatively leaned around the door frame and peered inside. There he was: flicking through tv channels and looking content.

"Hey," he said, running a hand through his pale locks: the other one was stuffed into his jean pocket. "So I heard you took a hit or two yesterday. . ."

[Tobias Vaughn]

Toby looked up as a figure appeared in the door's frame, expecting it to be another nurse or doctor. He was pleasantly surprised to see the familiar face of Andy Brower. Toby smiled for a minute before he remembered their date the night before. Or lack thereof, he supposed.

"I tried to call you, but... well, I don't have your number. And I didn't know anyone who did, so..." Toby felt horrible about standing Andy up for their meeting/date/whatever it was, even though he really couldn't have helped the circumstances. He just wished that there had been some way he could let him know what was going on instead of leaving him to think Toby had ignored their date or stood him up.

"Yeah, there was an issue involving Ravi, some liquid heat, and the wrestler's cups," he said, figuring that the entire school had probably heard about it by now. Toby knew that he looked like a wreck. His nose was broken and still a little crooked, and the lump on the side of his head was wrapped in a bandage with a special solution on it to help keep down the major swelling. He looked up at Andy, not sure what he should say next.

"I'm glad you showed up. This place is fucking boring," he said to fill the empty space between them. He hoped that Andy might have something more important to talk about to keep him occupied, but he'd be content with small-talk at this point. "How was Chem?"

[brower]

"Yeah, I thought you might have just decided against it," he said in what he hoped was a nonchalant kind of way. "It's cool I got called into work anyway."

It was hard for him to see Toby in the state he was in and not show that it affected him. He didn't like to see that he was obviously in pain. He heard the name Ravi, a name he was only recently acquainted with. He merely nodded his head at these news.

"I'm glad you showed up. This place is fucking boring. How was Chem?"

"Boring as hell," he said with a half smile. He pulled a seat over to the bedside and plopped down into it.

"So how long do they want you to stay here?" he asked concernedly.

[Tobias Vaughn]

Tobias nodded, glad that Andy didn't seem to harbor any hard feelings bout Toby not getting in contact with him the previous night. It had been on his mind all night and though he'd never admit it he'd been really worried that Andy would somehow hold it against him.

"Yeah, I thought you might have just decided against it,"


"Oh, no way. Kyan was here to visit, and I was going to send him to the pizza place, but by the time I woke up it was already an hour past when we were going to meet, so I figured you wouldn't be there anymore..." Toby shrugged, knowing that it was in the past now.

"Boring as hell,"

Toby laughed, and was glad to see Andy pull over the chair that was left in the room for visitors to sit on. He had thought, at first, that Andy might have just been checking up on him to make sure he wasn't dying, then he was going to leave. The idea of him staying to chat was a pleasant one. It would certainly keep his mind off of the situation with his parents. This made Tobias smile, truly smile, for the first time all day.

"So how long do they want you to stay here?"

Tobias could sense Andy's concern and couldn't help but feel a slight fluttering in his stomach over it. He was still unsure as to whether or not they were dating (as they hadn't actually gone on a date yet) but still... it was nice.

"Well, it depends. They ran a few tests last night, some sort of MRI or scan or something, to make sure that there isn't any internal bleeding in my head," Toby said this in a way that told Andy that he wasn't worried about it, so neither should he worry about it. "Just a precaution. Assuming it's just a concussion, they said there isn't a whole lot they can do for me. I can go home, but I have to try and take it easy..."

[brower]

"Oh," he said when Toby mentioned sending Kyan out to find him. He probably would have rather just kept on wondering rather than have Kyan come tell him, but he wouldn't tell Toby that. ((Also they were getting pizza, but it's no big deal))

He listened to Toby describe the medical procedures and merely nodded, assuming that meant they wouldn't keep him in the hospital much more than a day or two.

"Oh. . . Well. . .I mean in that case, this Saturday there's a Halloween party or something. . .I heard about it, and if you felt up to it, I thought you might want to go."

[Tobias Vaughn]

((my bad, I changed it in my last post. My memory has been crappy lately, lol. Far too much going on to keep track of it all!))

Tobias was sure that Andy could care less about the tests they were running on him, but felt that since he had asked it would be best not to leave anything out. After all, it wasn't like there was anything wrong with a few tests, so long as they all came back negative for whatever it was they were testing for.

Then the offer of a Halloween party came up, and Toby's curiosity was definitely rising. Had Andy come all the way over here to invite him to a party? Or had he just thought about it, and felt like he should offer to make Toby feel better? Either way, he was sure that he would be grateful for the distraction once the weekend rolled around.

"That sounds promising," he said with a smile. He wished that Andy would just come right out and ask him to go as a date, but didn't want to push things. Maybe Andy really was regretting that kiss from before, and was just trying to be a good friend? Who knew. Maybe he was just shy.

"I don't have a costume, though," he admitted a little shamefully. Things had been kind of stressful lately, and on top of that he didn't really have the extra cash to be spending on a silly costume... he wasn't sure what he could go as.

[brower]

"Well, I have an idea," Andy said, a smile touching his lips as Toby seemed keen on going. "If you wanted to match, I mean. I watch this show online about Robin Hood. Well I thought I could go as Robin and you could go as Will Scarlett if you wanted. Will has darker hair, so I thought that might be ok."

Andy paused to give a slightly sheepish chuckle, he usually couldn't get into the more common cult things, but he found the show so addictive.

"I don't have anything for a costume yet, it was just an idea I was tossing around," he said resting his elbow on his knee and his head on his hand. ((It makes sense when you do it. . .)) "But I could get some things to throw together for us. . .so you don't have to worry about it. I figure you'd want to rest and recuperate before the party."

[Tobias Vaughn]

Toby grew even more excited as he saw the eagerness on Andy's face. It was obvious that he'd been hoping that Toby would agree, so he was glad that he had. The idea of going as Robin and Will was a nice one, something he was sure not many other people would be doing. He always liked to be original around this time of the year, when it seemed like everybody and their sister went as a Harry Potter character.

"Sure, matching is fine," he agreed, wondering if this made it more of a date. Usually only dates matched. Not just dates, but couples. Were they a couple yet? So many uncertainties. "And I'm fine with Will Scarlett," he added, smiling at the idea of dressing up for this party. It seemed like just the sort of distraction he needed.

"Oh, you don't have to do that..." Toby started, but realized that he'd be cutting it pretty close if he waited until he was better to go out and buy his own stuff. "Well... fine, but I'll pay you back for whatever you have to get." Toby didn't want to become a sympathy case already. "Thanks," he added sincerely. It meant a lot to him that Andy was willing to go to such lengths so that they could have a fun time on Halloween.

[brower]

"Oh sure," he said when Toby wanted to pay him back.

He knew that Toby wasn't living in his own house anymore, and that he was probably paying for his own food by now. . .and that he was working on a cashier's salary. He would probably lie about how much he ended up spending on the outfit.

"I haven't really gone out for Halloween in a while," he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "This should be fun."

[Tobias Vaughn]

Tobias knew that he didn't have a whole lot of extra money stored away. He knew that he couldn't live with Kyan forever and was trying to save up enough money for a very, very crappy place somewhere. He knew that he probably wouldn't be able to go to a decent college unless his parents came to their senses wither, which sucked for him. Yet, even with everything he had to worry about, he knew that things would turn out alright in the end. He didn't know how or why he felt this way, but he wasn't going to argue with it.

"Well, thanks again. I haven't gone out in at least two years, so this will be fun. Like being a little kid again, only with drinking and girls in slutty costumes," he added, shrugging his shoulders carelessly. There was a smile on his face as well, and he knew that he was looking forward to this just as much as Andy.

[brower]

"Sounds like a good time," Andy said, feeling some of his normal air returning to him. When he was around Toby everything felt different somehow.

"I'm glad you're going with me," he added, standing up and laying his right hand on Toby's hand. "Well, I guess I better go. I have to look up some pictures for ideas before I go to work."