(no subject)

[bullethewords]

52 Week Prompt Table

Without

Love

Trust

Voices

Charm

Impulsive

Silence

Pattern

Small

Wish

Mistake

Death

Regret

Skin

Hate

Lost

Tomorrow

Broken

Maybe

Ultimatum

Train

Nightmare

Past

Weak

Control

Secret

Lie

Fear

Risk

Reward

Delusion

Memory

Pain

Time

Alone

Lonely

Trouble

Winter

Summer

Fall

Spring

Hide

I'm Here

Try Again

Escape

Touch

Instinct

Hands

Choice

Coffee

Sunlight

Glass

by killthecake

Comments

Week 1: Memory

[bullethewords]

Toby remembers the first day that he met Marcos; it was the first day of Junior year, and he was early, like he always was, because being at school was at least better than being at home. Mr. Silvan spotted him the second he walked through the front door of the school. "Yes, perfect. Tobias, come here," he waves the boy over.

Pale brows arch high on his head at being noticed by the principal. That was never a good sign, was it? Hm. He re-shoulders his backpack and tries to push down the swell of nerves churning in his stomach. "Is something wrong, Mr. Silvan?" He tries to convince himself it's not, that everything is fine, but he never has been a very good liar, and especially not himself.

"You're not in trouble, if that's what you're worried about." The older, portly man assures him with a warm smile. "I just need someone... responsible for a task this morning. Come with me," he ushers him into the office, where another boy stood awkwardly waiting. He was messing with one of the paperweights on the desk he was stood in front of and placed it back where he'd found it when the pair walked into the room. "Marcos, this is Tobias," the principal makes a sweeping gesture toward the blonde he'd dragged along. "he can show you around school, help you get acquainted and such."

The boy nods, glancing over at this... Tobias that was so gracelessly saddled with showing the new guy around. Never the most fun place to be, but Marcos always tries to make it less awkward; this was hardly the first time he's moved into a new town, and a new school, he was always more used to this than the other kids that got dragged into the whole mess. "I'm sure we'll be fine, Mr. Silvan." His words are only lightly accented, and his voice is smooth.

"Yeah, we'll be great," Toby nods his assurances, tries to ignore that awful, beaming grin that adults always give him just for being a half-way decent kid, and then nods his head for Marcos to follow him out of the office into the hallway. "So, what's your schedule look like?"

Marcos shrugs, "Nothing special," he says, but he pulls out a pristine, perfectly folded schedule from his backpack and hands it over for the blonde boy to look at. There's something inherently stressed about him, somehow, in a way Marcos can't quite pinpoint.

Toby doesn't even notice the other boy lingering just a little too long with his gaze; instead, he's focused on the classes and teachers he's got. "Well, we have the same home room," he comments, scanning the paper carefully. "Oh, man, you've got Johnson for history. That sucks."

"Oh, no?" Marcos questions, an amused sort of curiosity spilling across his face. "Is it that bad?"

"She wrote the book." Toby says, snapping his head to look up at his new acquaintance. "Literally. She's the hardest hard-ass in the whole school."

"Yikes." He grimaces. "All right, I'll make sure to double-up my history study."

For a bit, they're winding their way through the halls with Toby pointing out where his classes will be, which teachers to pay more attention to and which care less about things, and even giving him a few tips around the social circles of the school. Eventually, though, that task is coming up to a close and there's still so much time before class starts.

"Are you always this early, Tobias?" Marcos asks curiosity, his lips curled up in amusement. They're headed into the cafeteria now, to grab a bite of breakfast before class, or at least a drink.

"Just... Toby is fine." He actually hates his full name. He supposes he and Emmy both do, since they both refuse to go by anything other than their preferred nickname. "But, uh- yeah. I mean, unless I'm running behind with my little sister. I have to make sure she gets to school first."

"Your mom doesn't do that?" He doesn't sound judgmental like just about anyone else in this town would; but Toby realizes that's only because he doesn't know to sound that way yet. A little time in town and he'll start hearing the rumors about the Williams house, no doubt. There were plenty to go around (and not even a quarter of them were true).

"My mom's..." He hesitates, not sure how to explain it, without giving too much away, and not handing over an outright lie. "...sick. I do a lot of stuff for my sister when she can't."

The smiles he gets in soft and genuine. "That's really good of you, you know. Most guys our age wouldn't step up like that." He would, has, does, all the time. But that's because his family is that tight-knit. They all pick up for, and with, each other whenever it's needed.

Toby shrugs, stopping at the vending machine near the entrance of the cafeteria, shoving the coins in and grabbing the Sprite that was dispensed. "It's just us, so if Mom can't, I kind of have to pick up the slack, you know?"

Marcos nods, and grabs a soda as well and then the two of them wander over to an empty table. "Yeah, my family's like that." He twists the cap off the bottle and takes a long drink from it.

Toby's positive that his family isn't like his, but he keeps that to himself for the time being. No need to get into those details on the first meeting, right?

There was no way to know that was the day he'd meet the guy that would change his life.