Chapter Text
The concept of a soulmate was the most romantic thing known to man, in Becky Botsford’s eyes. Two soul bonded individuals the universe created, destined to find and spend eternity with one another.
The stories she read as a child were so enchanting and romantic, she had only dreamed of being able to find her one and only soulmate. The one who would take her by the hand and bring love and joy into her life– The one who would lift her off her feet and make her feel like the only girl in the universe.
You could only imagine the pure delight when her mother explained that she would get her soulmark when she would turn 15. It was an exciting moment for her as a 5th grader. Not only would she be having a gorgeous quinceañera , surrounded by her friends and familia , she would also get to have a permanent marker that would show her she was tied to someone for life. Her dream would finally come true.
The unfortunate part about having her soulmark is that it wasn’t as easy to find her soulmate. Which was fairly ironic, as soulmarks glow when you are in physical contact with your soulmate. Weeks after her 15th birthday, Becky was ecstatic to finally find her soulmate. Though she didn’t realize how time consuming and long it would take. Having saved so many people as Wordgirl, anytime she’d have contact with anyone, nothing would happen. She had just about made contact with everyone, and it seemed as though Becky was out of luck finding her soulmate here in Fair City.
________________________
Wow, that was a long intro! I need a drink.
“That was a huge personal attack. And I’m not out of luck! Clearly I just haven’t found the right person.” Becky huffed at the Narrator, running a hand through her curls as she rummaged through her locker, an attempt to avoid any more conversation with the disembodied voice.
Right, right. Sorry, just reading off the script. Anyways...
“Ah, Botsford. You’re here.” Tobey McCallister, former child prodigy and boy genius, walked up to the smaller girl, teasing laced in his cocky tone. Becky closed her locker, turning around as her golden eyes stared into Tobey’s. She raised a brow, looking at the taller boy in front of her. “Why wouldn’t I be?” She inquired. A smirk tugged on the corner of Tobey’s lips. “Oh, I don’t know. I was hoping you would fall ill and not have to show up today.” Becky rolled her eyes at him, her arms crossed. “And why is that? Are you trying to surprise me with a gift? Perhaps a machine that can protect my house from being crushed by a robot? Or do you just await my downfall?”” She teased, a smirk playing on her lips. Tobey cringed at the mention of his past destructive states. “For your information, Botsford, that was a long time ago. I’ve matured as a person–”
“Have you now?” Becky eyed him, a giggle escaping from her. “ –And I would never give you one of my beloved robots. You know not a thing about them.” He put his arms behind his back as eyed her. “However, awaiting your downfall doesn’t seem too bad. Anyhow, I simply said that only because you have a quiz in your mathematics class. I would hate to see your grumpy attitude after you complete it.” Becky blinked, looking at Tobey with confusion plastered on her face. “How did you-” “I overheard Heaslip this morning. Anyways, it gets quite annoying hearing you grumble to them about how ‘fractions are stupid.’ Your choice of wording is always very lackluster when you’re fractious.
Becky leaned against her locker, eyeing Tobey carefully. A very familiar feeling crawled up her spine. A word war was approaching. She had more adrenaline comparing words with Tobey than she had being Wordgirl.
“Would you prefer I say ludicrous, futile, or inept?” She hummed,
“Perhaps you could say fatuous instead.”
“Asinine.”
“Absurd.”
“Inane.”
“Injudicious.”
“Cretinous.”
Tobey looked down at her, raising a brow. “That’s not a word.” .
“It most definitely is.” Becky huffed back, the same teasing smile stayed on her lips.
Tobey couldn’t help the small smile forming on his face before Becky’s friends arrived in front of them. “Hey Becky, hey Tobey!” Violet smiled softly at them, Scoops by her side. Their hands were linked together, both of their arms glowing a faint shade of blue. Tobey cleared his throat, pushing his glasses inwards as he stood up straight. “Greetings.” His expression was unreadable, the small smile that was formerly on his face gone. Becky, on the other hand, smiled brightly at her companions, a visible sign of her tooth gap. “Hey guys! What’s up?” Her arms were behind her back childishly, her golden eyes glittering. She was happy to see them. Scoops let go of Violet’s hand, the glow fading away as they shoved both of their hands in their coat pockets. “Oh, nothing. We went to watch Victoria practice for the upcoming game. What about you? You guys looked like you were arguing from afar.”
“Well, not necessarily-”
You guys were bickering, were you not? I thought you were.
Becky looked at Tobey before shaking her head. “It was more like playful banter.” she stated as she leaned against her locker once again. Tobey nodded. “We were simply chatting,” he added, “Nothing more.”
“Banter?” Violet tilted their head to the side, their pale blue eyes giving away their confusion. “Like… banning someone? From where? Who are you banning? It’s not us, right?”
Tobey pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, taking a deep, agitated breath. Violet’s insolence always seemed to give him the worst headache of his life. He was surprised Becky was able to deal with how uneducated they were, especially with her vast knowledge of words.
Becky shook her head, letting out a soft yet pained laugh. “We’re not banning anyone, Vi. Banter means talk or exchange in a good-humored, teasing way. For example, Tobey was teasing me about my frustrations after a math quiz, causing us to have playful banter and start a word war.” Becky explained thoroughly, keeping the same bright smile on her face. Tobey knew she was struggling to be this nice about a simple word like banter; Then again, not everyone was an academic genius like the two of them, which is why they had been rivals all throughout primary and even partly secondary school.
This isn’t England, Tobey-
“Is that what you call our word debates?” Tobey asked Becky, narrowing his eyes as he stared at her. He decided he was going to avoid any conversation with that insufferable disembodied voice for the rest of the time.
Only for this chapter~ You can’t ignore me forever!
Becky looked at the blonde boy and giggled. “I personally think it’s funny, because then I can say I won the war.” She watched as he rolled his eyes, a very faint smile dancing on his lips. She turned away and looked at Violet and Scoops . “But, anyhow, it was simply light-hearted teasing between friends. Right Tobey?”
Friends? That’s a change. Didn’t realize she thought so highly of you, Tobey!
For a moment, Tobey was completely taken aback by her words. She had considered them friends. Friends.
“Tobey?” Tobey came back to reality as he looked at Becky. Blinking, he remembered she had said his name to confirm what had happened. “Right! Yes-” He put his hand on Becky’s head and ruffled her hair, bending down slightly to look at her. “We were just fooling around.” He grinned slyly, his red and gold braces showing clearly. Becky giggled, grabbing his arm and taking it off her head. “Stop it!” she cried out playfully as she shoved him away. He raised a brow as he looked down at her. “Oh? I think not.” The smile on his face grew as he grabbed her sides and began to tickle her, making her laugh out loud, trying her hardest to fight him off of her.
Violet smiled at them, feeling quite giddy for the two. “I can’t believe they’ve gotten along so well over these past few years,” She said as she looked up at Scoops. “It’s so nice seeing them as friends now.”
“Mhm, yeah,” Scoops said absentmindedly, eyeing the two as they playfully fought.
Tobey and Becky had started becoming friendly in the middle of last year. For what reason? It was completely beyond Scoops. They only remembered Becky coming up to Violet and them with her strange aardvark friend one day, tears streaming down her face. She was frantic and crying, completely incomprehensible. She never told them what was up, or what happened, but they knew something bad must've went on when she was Wordgirl. Tobey disappeared the same day and was gone for weeks, which left Violet and Scoops to an understanding; it was between Becky and Tobey.
The two couldn't do anything except comfort and care for their friend. Victoria, their partner, had no idea what had happened either. He had said he hadn’t seen Tobey at the EVA (Evil Villains Association) at all that week.
When Tobey returned, he had a cast on his arm. At first, they hadn't seen much of a change in him. He was still quite cold and monotone, venom leaking from his tone whenever he deemed someone incompetent. But, as time went on, his demeanor changed. When someone was struggling with any sort of task or schoolwork, he stepped up to help and explain the concept to them or give them a hand in general. He and Becky started talking shortly after, and it seemed like after awhile, Tobey enjoyed socializing; Or at least he felt comfortable doing so with Becky by his side. Becky herself had gotten better; but there was no denying the amount of guilt she was carrying.
She stood guard by Tobey, holding his books and carrying his backpack as the periods interchanged. Her signature was bright and clear on his cast. Once his arm healed, things did not change. Instead, they kept their routine. They were clearly much closer than they were before;
Tobey had already sat with them at lunch before as they were only people he knew at the school, so it didn’t feel any different than it had before. However, his interactions with Becky were different. They were friendly, they joked together more, and their snarky bickering turned more into playful teasing. It felt like they were a couple, yet they both denied it as they were “waiting for their soulmates that couldn’t possibly be each other”. Becky had explained that they had touched each other so many times throughout the fights and even just in class, so that there was no possible way they could be soulmates. She would’ve known after all. Having been Tobey's rival in both of her lives, she would know if Tobey was her soulmate. It was a topic she had defended unnecessarily hard. Tobey was less inquired to talk about soulmates, in fact he seemed to be uncomfortable with the very concept. He very rudely brushed Scoops off the first time they asked. "Hadn't you have yourself anything more important to do, Ming?" They remembered Tobey say the first time they had asked about soulmates. All in all, they were quite clear about their relationship status as only mutuals.
Scoops kept their eye on them and for a split second, they thought they saw a soft blue glow shining dimly from Becky’s beige sweater.
If they hadn’t found their soulmates yet, so could they-?
“Hey, do you think-” They looked at Violet before they stopped speaking, thinking about what they were going to say. They had just thought about this. They weren't soulmates! They established this already. Their eyes were playing tricks on them; Simply to force themselves to think of something that wasn't real.
“Nevermind.”
It would make for a great story though!
“I know, right? It would be a story for the ages! Wordgirl and Tobey McCallister- Former Enemies, Now Soulmates? That would be a hit!” They laughed along with the voice. “Wait, who said that?”
“Who said what?” Violet peered over at her partner, who looked back at them. “Some voice. It’s like I hear them say something one moment and the next they’re gone.” They shrugged before wrapping their arm around her. “Oh well. Hey Vi, do you want to go out for ice cream with Vic later? It’s on me.” Violet let out a soft squeal as she hugged Scoops. “Yes yes yes!! Date time!” They stood on their tip toes and kissed Scoops’ cheek, making the reporter melt with a silly smile.
The bell rang.
Becky and Tobey broke apart, Becky’s laughter slowly dying down as she dusted off her clothes Tobey was fixing his hair, his long blonde ponytail loose and messy. “Well,” Becky inhaled, smiling brightly at her childhood friends. “We should head to class. I have a math quiz waiting for me.” She linked her arm with Violet, who let out a small gasp before giggling. She pulled them away from Scoops with her tongue sticking out, in which they returned. Tobey scoffed as he crossed his arms, eyeing his classmate. “And you are going to do awfully.” He said with a faint smile on his face. Becky returned it. “I think I’m going to do just fine.” She hummed before clicking her heel against the tile and turning away, then leaving to her next class with her best friend.
________________________
Well...
Becky groaned as she walked along the sidewalk, kicking at small rocks that were in her path. She was walking home from school after a long day, ready to crash on her bed and scream into her pillow. “62%! I completely flunked that!” She shouted, kicking a rock into a tree. She was very frustrated; The tests always ended up being a bust as she usually ended up failing them. She always got her grade around her last period, which is why she was in such a terrible mood.
Tobey was right it seems.
She sighed in what seemed like defeat. “He usually is.” She pulled her hair back out of frustration before letting her hair free, her hair bouncing back to its fluffy nature. She adored how her hair began to curl as the years passed on, she thought it made her look adorable. She was also contemplating on getting braids, which she had thought would make her look cuter. She also-
“So, how’d you do on that mathematics quiz Botsford?”
Becky jumped what felt like five feet in the air, completely startled by the sudden British accent that appeared in her ear. She spun around to find Tobey next to her, his mismatched eyes looking down at her with a mischievous twinkle. She huffed before punching him in the arm. “Don’t scare me like that Tobey!” She crossed her arms as he stood there. He chuckled, running his hand on the part she had punched him. “My sincere apologies,” He said sarcastically, making her roll her eyes before turning her heel and walking away. He was quick to follow her.
“So, your mathematics quiz?” Tobey repeated his previous question, both hands resting behind his back. Becky scoffed. “And I’d tell you why?” She looked up at him, her unique golden eyes filled with indignation. She did not need him to pester her about how he was right. “Well, we are friends, are we not?” He asked, and Becky stopped in her tracks.
Friends.
She had forgotten that is what she called Tobey earlier. It still felt weird to hear, and even for her to say that previous moment, but it wasn’t wrong. She did consider Tobey her friend, for they had gotten so close over the past year she couldn’t see him any other way. Well, perhaps her frenemy in a way that’s “we are friends but we argue a lot still”.
“We are.” she said as she played with her sleeve, avoiding eye contact momentarily before she looked up at Tobey with narrowed eyes. “But if you mock me for my low grade I’ll drop you and we’ll go back to being rivals.” She huffed, but a small, sweet smile played at the corners of her lips.
Tobey rolled his eyes and let out a playful sigh. “Oh, how dreadful.” He placed his right hand on his heart as he lifted his left hand in the air. “But, you have McCallister’s honour.” He hummed before putting his hands back in place, watching her closely as they began to walk once again.
Becky sighed as she fidgeted with her sweater sleeves. “I made a 62.” She held her hand up to stop Tobey from saying another word. “That quiz was extremely difficult, I hope you know. The entire lesson itself was complete and utter bullshit.”
Language! This is a PG rated story, there are children present.
“Might as well make it PG-13 then.” She mumbled before continuing her rambling. “I mean, like, geometry absolutely blows. You cannot expect me to understand the concept of y = mx + b and add letters to a math problem.” She groaned. Tobey listened intently to Becky’s complaining, finding her struggle quite amusing. “I don’t understand how you’re able to handle pre-calculus right now. Didn’t you do trigonometry last year?” The shorter girl asked, looking up at the boy genius almost incredulously. Tobey nodded with a slight smirk on his face. “I did indeed. Mathematics is essential when you’re so deep into engineering. Building my robots all throughout 5th grade to junior high required plenty of mathematics. When I took higher and more skilled classes, it taught me better ways to calculate and make my robots better. Although I-” His expression darkened momentarily. “Don’t- build my robots to terrorize the city anymore, I use them to help with everyday tasks around the house. Mother still isn’t a fan of them however. She doesn’t want me to go back to…”
He felt his voice fade, unable to finish his sentence.
“Villainy?”
He looked down at Becky, who’s golden eyes were staring up at him. She looked worried. Tobey cleared his throat and stood tall. “Yes. Well, she won’t have to worry about it. All my giant robots are hidden away and have been untouched since last year. Anyhow,” He walked in front of Becky and turned towards her, stopping her in her tracks. “If you need any assistance with your geometric homework, I’d be delighted to help. It’d be enjoyable to poke fun at you.” He teased, smirking at her as his mismatched eyes sparkled with mischief.
Becky eyed him carefully before a small smile appeared on her lips. “That would be nice. Would you want to come to the library tomorrow to help?” Tobey blinked, surprised by her instant invite. “Wait, already?” He asked, his accent slipping away slightly. Becky laughed as she heard his normal voice. “If you don’t mind, yes please! It’ll help me when I need to make up the test.” She bumped into him, smiling brightly. A familiar tingling feeling ran up his forearm, which almost instantly disappeared. Brushing it off, he fixed his glasses and looked at Becky as he bumped back into her. “Might as well.” He smiled at her. He took a deep breath before stopping at the end of the sidewalk, which split into two ways. “Well, this is where we part. I can see your strange beaver friend down the street from here.” His accent returned smoothly as he put his arms behind his back, standing straight as he looked at Becky with his signature smirk.
Becky scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “Bob’s a monkey. How does no one see it?” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Well, he sure doesn’t look like one.” Tobey chuckled. “Farewell, Botsford. I shall see you tomorrow afternoon.” He patted her head before turning away. Becky sighed as she shook her head, that same smile returning to her face. “Bye, Tobey!”
The two parted and walked home, both seemingly happy after their conversation.
Bob ran up to Becky, grabbing her arm as he swung up to rest on her shoulders. “Hey Bob! Are you getting used to being home with mom and dad?” She asked as she held his legs. He chirped, making gestures with his arms. “I bet. Mami usually spoils you.” She chuckled. Bob chirped again and Becky smiled.
“I had a great day today.”