Work Text:
"You're holding it wrong."
"Quiet, McCallister."
Tobey scowled, turning his back to his lab partner. The system for assigning people to groups in this school was utterly barbaric. Every time- Every single time- There was a project to be completed, Tobey was always put with the same girl; Becky Botsford.
He hated it. He hated her, with her lightning-fast wit and her dangerously expansive vocab. Coupling that with such a gorgeous face should be illegal.
He leaned on the palm of his hand and snuck glances at her. She was laser-focused on applying the right amount of liquid 3b to test tube number 2; Her nose scrunched up and the tip of her tongue poked out from the side of her mouth.
"Any reason you're staring so intently, Tobey?"
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't catch that you're about to set off the smoke alarm."
"Wh- Oh, shoot!" Becky reeled backwards and slapped a palm over the vial as if the rest of 3b would leap out and thwart her. Smoke wisped out of the test tube, and both students found themselves holding their breath...
Nothing happened. No blaring fire alarms.
Thank god; For both of their own reasons, neither wanted to draw so much attention to themselves.
"...Sorry," Becky mumbled, rubbing her face. "I didn't even-- My mind wandered for a second. Sorry."
Tobey's eyebrows knit with confused concern. How quickly did it take her to zone out? He hated admitting it, as per most things in his mind to do with Becky Botsford, but he'd been...Worried about her lately.
To anyone else, she was just as attentive and regal as always. Top in most of her classes, courteous with everyone, and a model student.
But he noticed things. Little things people didn't pick up on. The way her eyes held a weariness far beyond what any teenager should hold. The way she never really took a break; Every time the lunchtime bell rang she would disappear to another extracurricular activity. And whenever she *was* in the cafeteria, during the last few minutes before classes started again...She sat alone.
Tobey didn't have a lot of friends either, but at least he had Victoria and Eileen.
Come to think of it, Becky wasn't hanging around with anyone anymore. Her two old friends Violet and Todd hardly even acknowledged her. Botsford and Violet would walk straight past each other in the hall, Becky's pace picking up ever so slightly.
Honestly? It hurt to watch.
"I hardly think you need to apologise to me. I've done worse."
"Don't I freaking know it," She pinched the bridge of her nose with a humourless laugh. "You're a pain in the ass. The student council debated having villains be put in separate classes after your little incident three weeks ago."
"Which side were you on?"
"Against it."
"Ooh, you'd miss me too much."
"Absolutely. Nobody irritates me quite like you do."
He grinned. She graced him with a small smile that only lasted for a few, precious moments before it fell into a pursed line.
Tobey wanted so badly to say something. To tell her that if she needed something- Anything- he would oblige in a heartbeat. It wasn't the attitude to have for your biggest rival, but as the years had gone by, he couldn't bring himself to mind.
He and Becky had always had their back-and-forth bickering. People truly believed they hated each other, and for a long time, he did too. He told himself he was envious of her, and the flutters in his chest were just his desire to be better than her.
He didn't want to one-up her, he realized. He wanted to impress her. Prove himself to her, even.
Becky understood him in ways no one had before, and he could be himself around her. Obnoxious and brash, sure, but at the same time passionate and loud. His whole life people just sort of nodded and 'mhm'd whenever he talked about what he loved, but Becky talked *back* to him.
The rare moments where it was just them, after they snipped at each other, where they would fall into conversation. It was comfortable. It felt...Safe. It didn't matter if she didn't know the complications of coding or the fine intricacies of mathematics, the same way it didn't matter if he didn't know the latest development in the Pretty Princess Saga. They just talked.
"We've pretty much done the assignment set by the sub. And we've got a whole half hour or so left."
They used to talk for hours during class. It had pretty much stopped in the past year, as Becky slipped further away into whatever was going on with her. He found that he didn't want to talk to her now.
"That works. I've got some homework to double-check, anyway-"
...He just wanted to listen.
"Actually, Becky. Could you...Uh...."
Tobey drummed his fingers against the desk and puzzled over what to say. There was an answer. An easy one. The question was, would his pride let him utter the words?
Becky tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. Loose strands of hair fell over her face, and the sunlight from the window beside them gave her the most mesmerising glow.
Tobey swallowed the lump in his throat.
"....Could you look over my English essay for me?"
"Me? Look over an essay for you?"
"You've got ten seconds of gloating while I get it out of my bag."
Becky laughed again, soft and genuine, and Tobey felt his heart soar. He rifled through his bag for his paper, sliding it across the table to her. She eyed it warily.
"What was the assignment?"
"Write about a tough experience. They, uh, had a few other options, but I figured it would be good to go out of my comfort zone. Not that anything is too much of a task for me, of course."
"Of course," The girl repeated in amusement, shifting closer so they could look over it together. "Emotions aren't your strong suit, are they?"
Tobey hummed, sucking in a quiet breath and making a 'welp' face.
"Not really. I've got plenty of them, mind you. Just...Maybe a bit too many."
"It's not a crime to have feelings."
"It's sometimes a crime to act on them though. Specifically property damage."
His eyes lingered on her as he watched her read. He could feel the way she tensed the further she got, and he felt her lean a little closer.
"Your first time going to therapy. This is...Very personal for a school essay."
"Mr Briggs said I wouldn't have to share it with anyone," Tobey said in a low voice, "He thinks it would be good for me. He didn't force me to, obviously, and made it very clear I could swap at any time if it got too much. He's been really nice about it."
"I think so too. It's...A good idea, and..."
"And?"
"It's nice to read. Obviously it's not, like, nice to read you going through all this-- It's just--" Becky's hand lightly grazed his own. Not holding it, but enough of a gesture to replicate the meaning, "I'm proud of you, Tobey. You've come a long way."
"Thanks, Becky."
"I don't even know if I can grade this. I'd feel bad."
"Oh don't be silly. That's the whole reason I'm asking you for a second opinion and no one else."
When Becky shot him a quizzical, almost hurt look, he added in a hurry:
"You're the only person I know who won't be blinded by sympathy. It doesn't matter how much of a tragedy I am, you never pander. You're a perfect balance of empathy and 'that's enough now, get over yourself'. I...Trust you...With this."
He gestured loosely to the paper.
After a beat of silence, Tobey met her eyes. Warm as always, especially after his words, but he couldn't ignore the sadness that ran through them.
"...Any reason you're sharing all this with me now?"
"There is literally no way to bring this up naturally in a conversation. I wanted you to know, so I just...Told you."
"You have absolutely zero tact, McCalister. And...I'm glad."
Another moment without words, the two mirroring a small smile between them.
"And. And I...I want you to know...." He rubbed the back of his neck, the ease of speaking his mind leaving him by the second.
"...You can feel that way with me too. If you want. You're not-- If you did feel anything similar, or something completely different--- You--- I would--" He stuttered over his words until they were illegible, and he gave up with a frustrated huff.
"You can talk to me about anything. I don't care what it is. You're my absolute worst enemy, Botsford; It should be me tormenting you, not whatevers going on in your head."
"Tobey."
Tobey immediately snapped to attention, all fears hitting him at once. He'd made this weird. He had overstepped. He had so overstepped. Who the hell does that? It's not like he knew her like he wanted to think. He was just a stupid boy making a big deal out of nothi-
His essay was slid back over to him, red pen littered around the edges of the pages. Had she been writing this whole time? He hadn't even seen her hands move.
As he reached to grab the paper, Becky seized his wrist. For a split second, pain, before it subsided into a normal grip.
"...Thank you. There's no one I'd rather have as my worst enemy."
She rubbed a thumb over his knuckle, letting her gaze drop to the table to keep her composure.
"I'll think about what you said."
"I'll be here whenever you're ready, my dear. Even if you're never ready, I'll be here."
"I'm glad."
There wasn't much more said for the rest of the class. They sat there, watching the rest of the pupils act unruly to the substitute teacher until the class came to an end.
Becky didn't let go of his wrist until they parted ways outside of the classroom. However, not before he slipped a piece of paper into the palm of her hand:
'XXX-XXX-XXX-XX
Whenever you need to talk. My mum also keeps a spare house key under the second plant pot to the left. (Don't worry about imposing- She really likes you.)
Your greatest adversary,
Tobey xox
P.S: I didn't spell colour wrong. It's the british spelling. Pick up an oxford, idiot.'