Divided

- Chapter Twenty Six -

Tia had just sat down on Tobias' bed and so Tobias turned his attention over to her.

"Making yourself at home? Yikes Tia, I didn't even say if you were welcome to stay..."

"Oh shut it Tobi, if you were going to kick me out you would have done it by now."

"Tobi? Nah what's with the nickname?" Tobias groaned, "If I get a nickname then what is yours?"

"How do you make a nickname out of a three letter name?" Tia chuckled.

Tobias joined Tia and sat down on the bed next to her, "Now do tell me, why did you come over here, really?" he asked her.

Tia was insistent on the fact that came with only the purpose of picking up her pencil case but Tobias saw right through that façade. He decided to drop the topic, and he wanted to just chill. He couldn't though. He still had not told Tia about Hannah's run in with her Father. Tobias did not know if it was his place to tell Tia that but he felt as if she deserved to know.

Tobias decided he could deal with that in awhile, for now he just wanted to lay down. He was still holding onto Tia's pencil case so after he had laid down on his bed, he began rummaging through it and looking at all the cool stationary.

"Hey put that away!" Tia insisted, jumping over to him to snatch back her stationary and pencil case.

Tobias laughed as he made the case unreachable to Tia, she kept trying to reach it but Tobias made it completely impossible. It got to the point where Tia had basically situated herself on top of Tobias in order to get back her possessions.

"Woah, I get that you came over since you can't stay away from me, but don't you reckon this is overkill?" Tobias smugly said.

"Give me my shit and we wouldn't be in this situation, idiot!" Tia retorted.

After awhile of Tobias continuing to tease Tia with her stuff, she gave up and just decided to lay down next to Tobias. What she did not realise was that his arm was already located there. As she laid down she felt Tobias' arm under her neck - it was a good support but definitely not something she was expecting. She contemplated whether or not she should move but truth be told, Tobias had a comfortable arm.

"Well then..." Tobias stated as a way to break the silence.
"Well what?" Tia replied, confusion evident on her face. Tobias analysed all her facial features; her hazelnut eyes, the slightly red pigmentation that took place on her cheeks, and the way her lips correlated with her eyes to create an unforgettable look.
"You got a staring problem mate?" Tia said, pulling Tobias out of a thoughtful process he was going through.
"You're the one with problems, you got plenty of 'em" Tobias snapped back, rolling his eyes and taking his attention up to his roof so he was no longer facing Tia.

The atmosphere shifted from lighthearted to serious and Tobias thought now would be a decent time to bring up what he had been needing to bring up.
His arm was still around Tia so he felt as though she could feel safe in that moment? Not that he felt some sort of 'safe person' rubbish you see in the movies - but he imagined it would be comforting to hear whilst in the touch of another person.

"Tia, I need to tell you something."
Tia turned her attention to look up at Tobias, "Yeah, what's up?"
"It's serious..." Tobias warned.
"Okay."
"Tia - Hannah saw your dad."
Tia fell silent and she began to fidget with her purple stick on nails.
"What do you mean?" Tia managed to project after a moment of being quiet.
"Look, I shouldn't be telling you this, it's just so wrong. But I think you deserve to know. Hannah ran into your dad in public. He's nearby." Tobias said, trying hard to sound comforting despite the situation that was at stake.
Tia remained situated on Tobias' arm and just laid there, trying to process what she had just heard. It's not everyday you hear your absent dad just so happened to run into one of your closest friends.

Tobias did not dare to mention the fact that Tia's dad had verbally harassed Hannah, he did not believe it was his place to mention, and Tia seemed overwhelmed just by the idea of her dad being in the area.

"It's alright." Tobias said, trying his best to comfort Tia.
He skewed his body onto an angle and started using his free hand to stroke her hair.
"Cringe." Tia said with a chuckle, making Tobias laugh back, "I'm here for you, okay?" He confirmed.
"Thanks."