𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝.

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

Eventually the siren sounded, and the blonde pair sat patiently waiting for their friend to walk out of class. 

"Hey, guys!" Toby greeted, dabbing Henry up as he shot Holly a friendly smile. "Hey." Henry mumbled casually. Holly arose from her seat and said hello. "Hey, Toby!" She addressed warmly. His eyes lit up as he fixed his gaze onto her. "Hey." He requited in a sultry yet still upbeat tone. Henry gave him a slightly confused look. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to charm Holly." Henry laughed, causing Holly to go red in the face. 

"Oh, but that would imply she wasn't already mesmerised by my presence." Toby retorted, a lighthearted expression on his face. Holly's red glow quickly subsided, and she was grateful Henry didn't see it. "Anyways," She started. "Where are we hanging out?" The boys took a few minutes, they exchanged a few looks before returning their attention back to her. "Same place we hung out before the whole Ryan thing." Toby answered. He hesitated slightly when it came to saying Ryan's name, as he didn't know how Holly would react. She gave him a smile and a quick nod before walking off with the two boys.

They arrived at their hangout a few minutes after, and the trio made themselves comfortable. However, mid conversation, Holly was called over by Tianah. She apologised to the boys, and promised she'd be back shortly. This was a perfect time frame for Henry. When he was sure that Holly was out of earshot, he looked to Toby. "I need to tell you something." He confessed, a solemn look on his face. 

Toby looked at him, obviously confused. "What?" 

"Ryan had a go at Holly in first period." He professed, his eyes meeting Toby's. The brunette boy's gaze hardened. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He spoke. Henry shook his head. "Why?" Henry hesitated with his answer, but figured there was no point in lying. "Holly hugged me. She was feeling anxious about the fact that he was there, and he kept like staring at her. So, he stood up and called her a slut. Then when I asked him what the fuck was up, he rambled on about her jumping from him to me or some shit." 

Henry's words only angered Toby more. "I assume you put him in his place?" He questioned as Henry answered his query with an affirmative nod. Toby's angry facial expression died down, as he was just comforted by the fact that she had someone to support her through that. "Yeah, I asked him if a simple classroom tiff would be worth another lot of bruises and broken bones. That shut him up." 

Toby smiled at the statement, but he quickly began to worry. "You said that in front of Holly?!" He interrogated, a tone of annoyance evident in his voice. Henry attempted to reassure him. "Yeah, I did, but she didn't catch on. I even made a slight joke about it just before you came out of class, but she was quick to dismiss it."

Toby allowed himself to relax, and he put a hand on Henry's shoulder. "Good. It's not that I don't want her to know, it's just that I don't think it's the best time for her to find out, you know?" Henry agreed, but before they could continue, they were interrupted. "Hey guys, I'm back!" Holly announced, sitting herself between the two boys. "What are you two hens gossiping about? Surely fill me in!" 

The boys exchanged nervous looks. "Nothing, just talking about an assignment we have for woodwork." Holly felt a little suspicious, but she decided to just let the feeling go. She figured she was just overthinking. "Sorry I took so long, Tianah wanted to talk to me about something going on at home." Holly clarified, shooting the boys a genuine smile. Henry and Toby accepted her apology, and insisted that it was fine. 

"I did, however, see Bella walk past me when I was talking to Tianah, and boy she looked rough." Holly gossiped. "Why would I care?" Toby snapped, slightly annoyed. "Well, I don't know, but she gave me the dirtiest look." 

"Oh. Are you okay?" Toby questioned. Holly looked at him, her smile still genuine. "Yeah, I'm fine! How much damage is a dirty look going to do anyways? It's not like she called me a slut or anything." She reassured. The boys looked at her with worry. "Again, I'm really sorry he did that to you." Henry said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Toby requited his regret towards the situation, causing Holly to look at him suspiciously. "How did you find out?" She questioned. 

Before Toby could lie, Henry interrupted. "I told him." Holly took a few moments before replying. "Oh! That's what you guys were talking about when I was talking with Tianah." She spoke. "I'm sorry, Holly. I just didn't know how you would react to me telling him in front of you." Henry apologised. 

"You're sorry? Literally don't even worry about it! It's not a secret, and if anything, I'm glad you took my feelings into account." 

The three then exchanged smiles before the siren sounded yet again.