Chapter 20: Detox Just To Retox or, I'm Just A Creature Of Habit
Rating: M mainly for language, and I can't discount any funny business later on
Disclaimer: I work with only what J.K. Rowling has given me.
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It was almost midnight by the time the last stragglers had finished or given up on their work and retreated back to their dormitories, meanwhile Toby sat alone on the couches in the Slytherin Common Room, playing idly at a chess board.
As was usually the case, he noticed Liv before she noticed him, but he let his eyes drop down again, ostensibly fixed on his game as she disappeared behind the curve of the staircase. Her footsteps came to a sudden stop as she hit the bottom and was met with a direct view of the couches. Toby tinkered with the piece in his hand, discomfort growing in his stomach as her gaze bore into him, until finally he figured it would be better for them both if he just looked up.
Her eyes were painfully guarded and careful when they met his, and despite the plethora of different ways she had looked at him over the years that couldn't be described as positive, this was the only one that truly felt like a punch to the gut. He didn't smile or adjust his expression in any way; he simply waited for her to react, his heart all the while thrumming in his chest.
She swallowed, her gaze never leaving his, and Toby watched her eyes as they came to a decision. He always knew to look at her eyes. He saw her lips part slightly as she let out a slow exhale, the barest of noises in the silent room, and then she squared her shoulders and made her way over to him.
"Aren't you sick of winning by now?" she asked quietly, attempting a small smile as she picked up the cushion beside him and sat down, placing it back on her lap.
Toby could smell the soft, sweet scent of the perfume she always wore, and he let the white rook slide between his fingers, playing with it for a few moments more before he set it down on the board, two squares away from the black king. Check. "No one else to play with."
"You don't even like playing against people," Liv pointed out.
"I don't?"
"You always complain that they're too slow."
"I always complain that you're too slow."
A laugh spilled from her mouth before she had time to stop it, and God, Toby had missed that wonderful sound. He had to smile a little, and then she smiled at his smile. His heart trembled, and he turned back to the game. The black king moved out of range.
"How'd you even get this good anyway?" Liv asked. She leaned towards the board, inadvertently shifting closer to him as she did so. "What happens if I just—" She pushed a black pawn one space forward; after a brief moment, it slid back into place. "Oh."
"I didn't really 'get good'. I just kinda started off that way."
"So you were like a five-year-old chess prodigy?" she asked, a slight grin tugging at her lips, but her eyes hadn't moved from the board.
"Basically."
"You must've had better hobbies than that, I can't imagine a-"
"Liv."
She paused, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing, "What about sports? You can't've spent all your time-"
"You're not being fair, Liv."
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