Dear Piper (Toby McDonough Fan Fiction)

When We Leave For Tour

They're finally on tour again. After how many months, they're on the road. They're gonna be heading to different states everyday. They're gonna be playing shows again. They're gone again. He's gone again. After all the time we spent getting to know each other, hanging out together, dreading the moment he'd have to leave, he's gone again. He'll be gone again for the next few months. And I have to make it through for the time being. I open my eyes, pushing myself up from my bed. The guys got on their bus about an hour ago, according to what he told me when he called. I take slow steps towards my desk, eyeing the box carefully.

The last time I saw him, right before he got into the backseat of the car, he pulled the box out from the window. He handed it to me saying, "You know I'm just a text message or a phone call away, but I figure maybe these could help just a bit more."

I opened the box to see a bunch of envelopes. "I wrote them in case you might need them. If ever you do, and you need me as soon as possible or need just a bit more, open them."

I closed it and fixed it in my arm. I didn't really understand what he was trying to say. As I did this, he blabbered on saying, "And of course you can just call me, and I'll always do my best to answer. I kinda just wanted to do this because you know, this all started cuz of your letters, and now it's my turn to write you something. Yeah but my handwriting isn't the best thing ever so I'm sorry if you might not be able to-"

I cut him off by throwing my arm around him. I had to tiptoe just so my head could reach his shoulder. He'd gotten taller since the first time we met. He put both his arms around me, hugging me tighter.

"I'm gonna miss you," he whispered into my hair after a moment. I sighed, letting my nose brush against his shirt.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Toby."

We stood there for a few seconds before he let go. He looked at me, brushing my hair out of my face.

"Please stay safe while I'm away. I'll be back."

I nodded, knowing that the moment I'd never wanted to arrive was finally here. Before I could say anything, he leaned in, pressing his lips against mine. I felt the small spark and flip my stomach did whenever we kissed. He pulled away slowly.

"I love you, Piper," he said.

"I love you too, Toby," I replied.

I lift the lid off the box. I carry the box to my bed and pour all the letters onto my blanket. They spill out, leaving the box empty. I flip one over, reading the words scribbled on it. I go through most of the envelopes and pull out the first one that catches my eye. I gather all the white envelopes into a pile and place them back inside the box. I take the one I left lying on my bed. I read the label on it.

When we leave for tour.

I tear it open, pulling out a folded sheet of paper.

Dear Piper,

If you're reading this, that means I'm not there anymore. We're probably on the bus and on the road as you're reading this. Well, I don't know the order of how you'll be reading all these letters but I suppose you'd open this one first. You're filled with all that common sense anyways. Let me just take the chance to explain this for you then. Since we're on tour again, I'm worried something might happen. Something might happen to you. You can always call me and I'll answer, but we're not sure if that's always gonna be the case. We might be playing a show, or my phone would be off, or I don't know. "Tour life," I guess you could say. So here are messages from me to you. They're the things you'd need- let me rephrase that. They're the things I think you'd need to hear in specific situations, so I labeled each envelope for you. And now, I guess you'd know how to manage. So, that's my explanation.

But yeah, we're on tour again. I can't believe it. It's been awhile. Hm... Can I tell you something? After we met and when we started spending more time together, I actually started hating the idea of having to go on tour again. Ok, to be more specific, I hated the idea of having to leave you. You're strong. We both know that. I'm just scared something will happen again. As good as things got, we know what happened. And I'm not saying I expect it to happen again or anything. It's just... in case. I know you can do this though. You can, and you will. If ever you do need me, even after you've read a letter, just call me or text me. Do whatever you need to reach me because I will do anything for you. Tweet me. DM me. Um, email me? I don't know. But remember that, ok? So while I'm away, I want you to take care of yourself. I won't be there to make sure so you have to try your best to. I don't know what I'd do if you didn't. Please be safe. Please be good to yourself. You deserve to be good to yourself. And if you don't want to do it for yourself, try doing it for me. It's just awhile until we get back. Can't wait to see you again. I hope you'll be alright. I love you.

-Toby

"I'll try," I mumble, smiling slightly as I fold the paper again and push it back into its envelope.

A/N:

Hey everyone! So, as mentioned at the beginning of the book, this is my sequel to Dear Toby by fleethoodmac. I just loved the story so much, and when I found out there was an opportunity to continue such a great story, I wanted to try it. I know this probably isn't gonna be as good as Dear Toby, but so far I think this is the only sequel for it that's been made, and maybe you want more of Piper and Toby. I don't know. So anyways, I just wanted to kinda clear this up first. This story isn't really gonna have that much of a clear plot. It's basically just different situations, and a letter from Toby, more or less. So it's about Piper's everyday situations that aren't really connected in a wholesome way, but anyways, yeah.

At this point, I wanna warn you that some of the future chapters will be quite intense. Keeping in mind what Piper would mention in her letters to Toby before, I don't want to lose that plot completely. So yes, this is a trigger warning. Don't worry though, for each chapter that I think might be a bit too much for some people, I'll put a trigger warning at the start of it. Please don't be hesitant to skip any chapters I mark if you think it would be best for you. So that's another reason this story isn't completely interconnected. In case you ever skip a few chapters, don't worry, you're not missing anything of importance.

So yeah. I just wanted to explain that now so I won't have to in the future or have any of you be all confused and what not. Even if this might not be a satisfying comparison to the original, I hope you enjoy or at least get entertained. Happy reading!

-Amanda