Laughter [Tobuscus/Toby Turner]

Chapter Four

I looked to Tyler with pleading eyes.

Please don't be mad. Please don't be mad at me.

I went to grab a ball, my eyes landing on the shiny blue one, and I felt Toby's fingers brush along my thin bicep as he reached for an orange one. I slipped my fingers into the openings, plotting my first roll. Toby startled me as he came up behind me and spoke softly, just loud enough for me to hear.

"What's your plan?"

I was stunned because of the sudden closeness. I could feel his body heat radiating onto me. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding before speaking.

"Can you even have a plan in bowling?" I ask sarcastically, but Toby remains serious.

"Actually, yes. Mine's foolproof. You just have to learn the technique." I look at him questioningly. A technique? In bowling? I mean, I can see in, like, football. But bowling?? "Here," he says, easing the bowling ball out of my hand. "I'll show you. Follow me." We walk up to the front of the alley, and he stands right behind me, our bodies almost touching. His strong arm rubs against my weak one as he places the ball back in my hand, resting it on top of his open palm. He places his fingers down on mine, grasping my hand in the gentlest way possible.

"Okay, so the first thing you want to do is not put your fingers in the holes. It's hard to let go that way." I want to say words, but all i can do is nod in consent. Noise just catches in my throat and gets swallowed back down. With his other arm, he points over my shoulder to the area around the front pin. "Now you just want to aim for the space right between the first and second pins. Alright?" I nod again, and he brings my arm back, sliding his other arm behind my shoulder and releasing my hand that's gripping the ball. "Try it," he says, and enlarges the space between my back and his chest when he steps away.

No, come back.

Seriously, it's perfectly fine with me if you stay right there.

Do you want to??

I focus on the selected space, and then rolled the ball, sending it out onto the polished wood. It knocks over all of the pins, and toby throws his fists in the air. He high fives me, then yells "You got it!"

I smile like an idiot, right there in front of him, then look over and see Tyler looking at me. I look back, slowly shaking my head. Haha, aw, no. Not us.

It's not long before we start the match, and Toby's technique gets me at least a spare almost every time. Through it all, even when I miss completely and make a gutter ball, Toby makes sure to tell me how good I'm doing. It never fails to make me happy.

Midway through, Toby asks if we can take a break. Tyler reluctantly nods, and Toby walks away, turning on his phone. Oh God. LazyVlog time.

"Audience, wha?" He says, using that signature phrase of his. "What are you doing staring at a bunch of balls?" He pauses, thinking. "Nope, nope, wait! Bowling balls! Oh, God, I'm gonna get freakin' banned." He walks even further away until we can't hear him any more. Tyler opens his mouth to speak, but i cut him off with a kiss. He looks shocked when we stop, and I smirk.

"Don't be so worried. We're just friends." He nods, his sandy blonde hair falling into his face, and I kiss him again. I get lost until I hear Toby, yelling close by.

"Aw Look at the happy couple!" He says in a gangster voice, and I stand up, my face red from embarrassment.

"Toby Joe Turner, I swear to God, if you put that in the vlog..." He looks sarcastically afraid, then winks at the camera. I just put my face in my hands.

---

The bowling game ended with Toby and I winning by a mile. At the end, Tyler shakes Toby's hand really hard and tight. I act like I don't notice. Boyfriends get jealous. It's how it works.

I ride in silence on my way home, looking at my phone. I keep gaining instagram and twitter followers, and I'm at 2k at the moment. I guess people actually notice me. Well, I mean, I was on a LazyVlog. I guess I got popular.

Tyler drops me off at my house, gives me a goodnight kiss, then drives away. I smile, letting the feel of his lips linger on mine for as long as possible. When I get inside, I find myself getting on the computer and looking up Toby's channel.

Oh, God. The LazyVlog is already posted.

I get to the part where he caught us kissing, and I realize something. I look more into the kiss than he does. Is he losing interest in me?

I quickly brush the thought off. No way.

I come to a piece where he is complaining about me not having a YouTube channel. i start to consider it. Would i get views? Would people actually enjoy my videos??

Maybe later. Maybe eventually.

I am looking through Toby's videos when the phone rings. Ironically, it's Toby. I answer. "Hey, I was just-"

"I need you to come over. Now." He sounds like he's been crying, like he's under stress and he's sad. It's not just a sad kind of voice, though. It's worse.

"Toby?" I ask uncertainly. "It's nearly midnight..."

"I need you to come, now!" A small sob escapes his lips, and I can hear rustling in the background. Something's going on.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming right now." I pause to get my shoes on.

"Okay, hurry." He says, sniffling. "It's about Gryphon."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDHEJUINDJSKNIORNGKSNKLFDNSLKERNOPJROI

COMMENT WHAT YOU THINK IS GOING ON