It's Not You, It's Me (Book Two) #Wattys2018

Since We Last Met...

POV TOBY

KNOCK, KNOCK.

Don't be impatient. He'll answer the door.

God, what if his mother answers the door? Maybe she knows what happened, maybe she hates me? Maybe she won't let me in.

Of coarse not. Don't overthink this.

DING DONG.

Toby, you look desperate already! Calm your tits, woman!

What if he knows it's me and has chosen not to answer?

I should leave.

I hear hurried steps coming to the door.

As an impulse, I run down the stairs to try to run away before anyone answers.

"Toby?" I hear.

I turn around slowly, like a thief being caught by the police.

I look at him, standing in his doorway, looking like Theo looks, except with a magnifying glass; everything about him seems enhanced: His perfection seems impossibly flawless, his eyes and hair and body, that I've always appreciated, seem in a way, new. And his imperfections, well, if he had any I'm guessing they'd also be enhanced. But that's something I'll never know for sure.

He was glowing. Or maybe it was just me, recognizing the fact that Theo is far more than the sum of his parts, once again.

"Hey!" I said.

I walk up to him and he closes the door behind him.

"What— uh, what's up?" He asks, politely.

"It's been forever since we last met." I say.

"Yes. Elliot sent his love, by the way. That night, in the party..." He shoves his hands in his pocket.

"Oh, yes, yes. Uh, thanks." I say.

He sighs and scratches the back of his neck. "So, is there a specific reason why you're here?"

I sigh and nod. "I was, uh, well, I was talking to Ziggy."

"Yes?"

"We were having lunch at the diner, and, well, you came up."

He chuckles. "Surprise."

I chuckle, "Yeah." I pause, and continue, "Anyway, so we were talking about you and she... She told me you weren't doing super well."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, and then looked at his house's door and then back at me. "Ziggy! She..."

"No, don't be mad at her." I begged, reaching out to his arm. When my hand touched him, we both stopped talking, and breathing for a second. And then I instantly backed away. "She only told me that because I am not really doing super great either."

He starred. "Oh."

"I wanted to check on you. See how you were doing."

He nods, and then walks down a couple of steps and sits down on one of them, I sit beside him.

We look at each other, and he grabs one of my hands.

With his touch, my face burns, and my brain commands my eyes to not dare shed tears.

"I'm leaving." He says.

"What?"

"I have to go to England. I was accepted to a uni there. I'm going to get to study art, Tobes. I'm going to follow my dreams."

I feel tears almost jumping out of my eyes, so I hug him for him not to see, and behind his back I wipe them off my face. "That's great, Theo!!" I say, and wipe off another tear that I was unable to hold.

I lean out from the hug, and put some hair in front of my face, for him to not see my watery eyes.

"Thank you." He says, melancholically.

I stand up, anxious to leave— knowing that I won't be able to hold in my real feelings for much longer. "Well, it's been great catching up. I'm so happy for you!" a tear falls, and I wipe it off my face swiftly. "I have to go, but we'll keep in touch, alright?" I start walking away, backwards, "Or not, you know!" Another tear falls as I laugh. "I'll see you around! Tell Ziggy I said— you know what, I'll tell her myself. Bye!" I turn around and run in a walking fashion down the street, away from him, crying so much I can barely see what's in front of me.

Suddenly, I feel a tight grip on my arm, turning me around, and when my body gets impulses by the strength that pulled me against his chest, he kissed me.

And we kissed for a while.

And then our foreheads met, and we just stayed there, breathing heavily, in each other's arms, feeling all of the feelings there were to feel.

"The question is, are you coming with me or am I going to have to stay?"