Oh! Darling --* TOBY

[april]

thank god for best friends, if it wasn’t for eli and char, who knew where lexi would have been mentally. They had helped rejuvenate the brunette almost back into her old self, before she had gone through her shift in personality just days ago. Her past had come and bit her in the ass when she least expected it and it wasn’t pleasant, though it was nice seeing toby again. She hadn’t seen him since then, but the two had spoken once, actually being on okay terms, but still, she was just glad they wouldn’t have another uncomfortable confrontation. As the days went by, she was slowly getting back to spunky tomboy alexis, getting back on xbox live blasting all the losers on there, smoking pot, and going out again. She still had those little moments where she’d stop and let her mind wonder back over to toby, but it didn’t last long, only because she wouldn’t it. that was something she didn’t want to get back into. She wasn’t even sure how she felt about him anymore, was he a completely different person? Would he like the person that she had become? And the way that he looked at her when he found out she was sleeping with one of his bandmates just haunted her, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to really face him again. Something toby probably didn’t know though was that lexi had stopped seeing will, she really didn’t like toby thinking so ill of her, even though she shouldn’t necessarily care.

Today was a regular tour day: wake n bake for lex, performance, meet n greet, pictures with fans, more weed, then walking around the venue. She had heard Live Tonight was one of the last bands playing tonight and she actually wanted to go see them, never really seeing them live before. She’d heard their music but she never had the courage to see them perform right before her eyes. She was a little late to their set, mainly because she was busy playing Call of Duty on her tour bus and she was doing really fucking well, but she eventually peeled away from the television and managed to get to the stage. They were probably on their last song, but hey, at least she made it to one, right?

Her hair hung loose, she wore a Stealing Sanity tank top that Tyler had given her from her bands merch booth and black ripped up skinny jeans with her navy blue Toms on her feet. She was a little chilly but she paid no mind to that really. She didn’t bother going to deep into the crowd, the tiny girl didn’t want to get trampled, plus, what if someone recognized her? She didn’t want to avert any attention from the band. She crossed her arms across her chest and watch as they played, she smiled watching one person in particular, and believe it or not, it wasn’t Will. She nodded her head, mouthing the words to the music, actually knowing the song.

W O R D S --* 509
T A G G E D --* toby
N O T E S --* (:

[poppy]

The lights shone down upon him; his skin damp with perspiration as he spun around during his solo rift. They were the last act of the night and tonight they’d put on a good show. He grinned as the crowd went wild. And within no time the last song of the night was over; and as he jumped to end he noticed a certain someone in the crowd. His eyes stared at her as August thanked the crowd. He couldn’t take his eyes from her, but then it dawned on him, she probably wasn’t really looking at him. He glanced back at Will and resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he instinctively raised his hand to wave at the crowd, and walked off the stage. His mind was ticking with anxiety; this was the perfect opportunity; he could do it now. He could get her attention now in amongst this big crowd; it would be big… epic even. Better than what he’d imagined before. He ditched his electric guitar and swapped it for an acoustic. He shrugged at his band mates and ran back on the stage.

The crowd hovered around like they did at most gigs, waiting for the band to offer a last sneaky song. They cheered as he came back out; and walked over to the microphone. ”So… I’m gonna try something a little different. Your gonna have to help me… y’all know I don’t like singing in front of big crowds.” He laughed awkwardly as the crowd screamed support. He ran a hand through his hair as he prepared himself; plugging his guitar into the amp. Tobias sang the backing vocals for the band which was fine and he wrote some of their lyrics and what not but singing on the main stage in front of this was not a good move for him. He was a talented singer but he lacked confidence in his ability. ”You might of heard this one. We gotta thank Christina Perri…” He strummed the guitar to begin the melody. ”This song is for a girl; she’ll know who she is… I’m sorry.” He stated, before he took a deep breath and started singing, his own version of A Thousand Years. ”Heart beats fast, colours and promises… How to be brave, how can I love when I’m afraid to fall…” The shaking that was initially present in his voice began to fade as he moved on to the chorus. His eyes finding Lexi in the crowd.

He smiled, it seemed to be going down well with the crowd and he could only hope Lexi knew it was for her. ”I have died every day, waiting for you; Lexi don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years… I’ll love you for a thousand more.” He held the last note and ended the song before he thanked the crowd. ”Thank you! You’ve been amazing.” He laughed as he waved to the crowd before heading off the stage, with his guitar as the crowd cheered, and speculated about who the song was for.

Toby high fived a few of their tech guys as he came off the stage and set his guitar on it’s stand, knowing the guys would pack it away from him. The crowd disseminated quickly, going to after parties and the signing tent. He however, wasn’t going to wait around, he needed to find Lexi. He quickly changed his shirt, sprayed some deodorant and ran off into the crowd to find her.

[/size]

[april]

they were really energetic and they sounded great live, she had to make a mental note to catch the entire set next time. She always loved watching other bands perform, seeing what the audience and the fans saw. She smiled watching them, really impressed by Toby’s talent and on stage persona. The song came to an end and her eyes ran along everyone in the band, taking in how they looked at their fans, not exactly noticing Toby looking at her. When the band members started leaving the stage, she turned on her heel, deciding to go back to her bus since the show was over. She was a little disappointed that she didn’t make it to their entire set, but that last performance was still worth the walk. She was started to walk away when she heard the crowd she had just abandoned cheer loudly, she stopped walking and looked back just to see what the fuss was about.

Her entire body followed shortly after and she began to walk back to her previous spot when she saw that it was Toby that had come back out. She frowned in confusion, wondering what he was up to. Was this a part of their act? She laughed a little as he began to talk; interested in seeing what he was doing. She crossed her arms across her chest again comfortably, she looked around to see the faces of the fans who seemed to be loving the fact that he came back out and that he was doing something new. It was quite cute actually, seeing some of the fan girls who were obviously toby lovers squeal happily. She chuckled a bit, she quickly turned her attention back to toby when he began to speak again. The song was for a girl? Who was he seeing? Lexi shook the thought away and just watched him. She was there to support him and his band, not to be questioning what he was doing in his personal life. It never dawned on her that the song was for her, but as soon as his eyes met hers, she was starting to think it was.

Lexi never looked away, seeing that he was getting more confident as the song went on and the fans seemed to have loved it. She wasn’t paying much attention to them though, just him. She couldn’t help but blush when he added her name into the lyrics, shaking her head laughing a little. Was he really singing this for her? She couldn’t believe it. Each lyric touched her, especially coming from his voice, and she couldn’t help but love every minute of it. She had heard the song before, but never like this. It came to an end, the crowd cheered as well as looked at each other on confusion wondering who the song was for. She hoped no one would connect the dots if they were a fan of her own band, especially if they noticed her there. He hopped off of the stage and disappeared into the back area, she wasn’t quite sure what she was going to do now.

She was still in awe, that feeling he used to give her so many years ago came right back and she wasn’t sure what to do with it. She took a breath and looked around, watching everyone go into different directions. She picked up a few of the conversations going on as they walked by and they were all about the same topic. Who was the lucky girl? Lexi shook her head, she had to gather herself. All she came here to do was watch his band perform, she didn’t expect a performance for her. She wasn’t even expecting to have any interaction with Toby, mainly because she still wasn’t sure when she’d be ready to be friends with him again. He was making it very difficult for her though, especially with a sweet gesture like that. She looked around, finally getting out of her head and back to reality.

She didn’t want to leave without at least saying something to him, it was the least she could do, right? Most of the crowd had cleared out, so it was easier to spot him when he popped out. Two fan girls had got to him before she could though, so she stayed back a little, but made eye contact with him and nodded letting him know that she’d wait till he was done. She looked away then back at the two girls talking to Toby, a few more minutes and they finally ran off. She met Toby half way and smiled, ”so do you sing a song to all your new guests or am I just special?” she placed a hand on her hip, a hint of a blush still present on her face but luckily it was too dark to notice. ”you can be such a sap, you know that?”, she teased, not used to sweet things like that done for her at all.

W O R D S --* 838
T A G G E D --* toby
N O T E S --* (:

[poppy]

Tobias was buzzing on adrenaline and a smile crashed on his face as he left the back stage area. He spotted Lexi and started to make his way towards her but was interrupted by two girls; fan girls. He laughed and tried to make the conversation short. Both girls talking about the girl he was singing about, one of them delusional enough to think it was her… apparently he’d met her before and signed her ass. He couldn’t remember it. He couldn’t remember her. The girls finally left him and he met Lexi half way. He laughed and shrugged his shoulders. ”You’re just that special… thought if I done it on stage; rather than outside your bus, there’d be more chance you’d listen, and less chance your band would attempt to kill me.” He told her, his cheeks also flushing a little, a grin present on his lips; full of adrenaline and energized. She teased him and he raised an eyebrow, ”Yeah but you came to see me… so I’m guessing you liked it.” He suggested teasing her a little. She was so cute and he was so on a high he wanted to kiss her, but he was trying to be reserved. He was trying to give her space and let her make the first moves. If there were moves to be made.

He high fived one of his friends as he walked by, giving Toby a smirk knowing the song was for Lexi. ”I hate singing in front of big crowds.” She’d always known that, he felt comfortable with his guitar but not with his voice. ”So did you enjoy the show… thanks for coming?” He asked her curiously. He had no idea that she was a fan; if she even was a fan. Or maybe she’d just come to see Will… he didn’t know, and right now he didn’t care because he’d just done something that would definitely help him win her back. And if it didn’t then he just needed to work a bit harder. He’d hurt Lexi more than he’d ever intended to, but surely if three years later, she still couldn’t stand to be around him; then it must mean that she really cared? Maybe. He didn’t know what any of it meant but either way he was determined to show her he wasn’t the jerk she knew him to be.

He chuckled a little, shrugging a shoulder before he glanced around making sure the coast was clear. ”I meant what I said. I’m sorry for hurting you. I know you don’t want to talk about the baby, but when you’re ready, then I’ll be here.” He told her, his eyes finding hers. ”I’ll wait for you Lex.” He told her enjoying the light breeze on his face. Toby figured there wasn’t an awful lot more he could say to her, since she’d made it clear she didn’t want to talk about it. ”We can move past the past you know… if you want to.” It was true he was willing to give anything a go. He didn’t really have anything left, even his pride had gone and so she was the only thing apart from his band that he had to fight for.

Tobias figured he should probably let her get back to her bus or whatever it was she’d be doing tonight. He was convinced her friends would give him some grief given they’d probably heard about what he’d done. ”I’m gonna go get a drink, maybe celebrate or get an early night, I haven’t decided… you coming or you got somewhere you gotta be?” He asked her awkwardly, they weren’t really friends, and one song didn’t make everything get better. He waited for her to respond and then allowed the words to roll off his tongue. ”I do… love you, you know. I’ve never stopped loving you.” He told her bravely, not really expecting anything back but he had to tell her.

[/size]

[april]

Alexis had a long necklace around her neck, it was skinny black leather with a silver arrowhead at the end. She played with it as she looked at him, a habit of hers whenever she was trying to distract herself from something. She looked him over, really glad they were in each other’s presence under better circumstances than the last time. She was kind of glad he did that on stage, it calmed her and made her feel less angry with him. She didn’t even feel that awkwardness she felt the last two times she spoke to him, which was definitely a good thing. She did not want to become that person she was a few days ago, all sad and out of it, she wanted to be this lexi. The happy lexi. She laughed at his response, ”good choice” she said finally releasing her grip on her necklace. ”well, thank you…” she said trying to hold back a blush as she looked at him. ”sorry about the boys, by the way.. They’re just… protective” she shrugged a little, apologizing a bit for her best friends aka her band members. She was appreciative of how protective they were of her though, it was nice to know people cared enough. ”even though I can take care of myself rather well, I can box, you know? Total boxing master on wii” she joked, laughing a little.

Lexi smiled and shook her head, trying to really not blush. She finally controlled it and gave a light nod, ”well, I didn’t want to leave you hanging…”. ”but yes, I liked it. it was … sweet” she said with a smile, ”I’m not really used to sweet” she admitted, but showed how appreciative she was from his act. She watched him as he high fived someone and smiled at his next words, ”I know, which is why I enjoyed seeing you sweat at first”, she teased. ”you’ve gotten better… vocally, just saying” she gave a cute little shrug and slid her thumbs in her belt loops. She didn’t know what it was, but she always had to be doing something with her hands. She nodded thinking about the band’s actual person she did happen to see, ”yes, I did… I have to admit though, I only made it to the last song… so I’ll be back to see the entire set one of these nights… I’ve never seen you guys live until tonight” she admitted, she never wanted to see them live because she was never really ready to see toby before. ”but now I see what I’ve been missing….” she said with a smile, praising his band.

She tensed up a little but not too much when he got serious, she nodded, ”thank you,” she said simply, she appreciated the fact that he wasn’t pushing the subject. ”I’m just sorry I didn’t tell you sooner” she said biting her lip a little, she frowned a little, ”wait for me for what?” she asked confused. Did he want her back? Or did he mean as friends? Their eyes locked and she can see it in his eyes that he really did mean everything he was saying. She nodded a little, ”we can start fresh… “ she nodded, ”the past is the past… “ she said softly, willing to try the whole…friends thing. ”plus, you still have to get to know this lexi… she’s much awesomer than high school lexi,” she joked, just trying to lighten the mood with some light humor.

She was caught a little off by his invitation, she looked around then back at him. Was she ready to actually hang out with him? She debated in her head shortly, but he interrupted her thoughts before she could respond. She paused looking at him, she knew he meant it, but she wasn’t ready to reveal that she too always had a place in her heart for him, despite the pain he had caused so many years ago. There was silence between the two for a second; she didn’t know how to respond to that. So that’s what he meant about waiting for her…. She couldn’t have that discussion right now, she was still getting used to the fact that he was back in her life. ”so are we getting that drink or what?” she said trying to form a smile. ”do you have a sweater back stage by any chance? It’s chilly” she asked rubbing her shoulders a bit.

W O R D S --* 746
T A G G E D --* toby
N O T E S --* (:

[poppy]

Toby smirked and watched her fiddle with her necklace. She always had fiddled with her hands whenever she felt nervous or wanted to distract herself. He nodded as she confirmed he’d made a good choice. ”You’re welcome.” He told her pleased that his efforts had paid off. He couldn’t wait to hear Eli’s reaction. He didn’t like the boy one bit; he’d always considered him to be a bad match for Lexi, and he was sure Eli had been elated when Toby cheated on her. ”Yeah well, it’s good you have someone to protect you. And besides its nothing that I don’t deserve.” Toby knew that her boys only protected her, they had good right to. He hadn’t been good to her; and they’d done a good job of keeping him away from her. Maybe now they’d see how much he cared. He laughed as she spoke about the wii; they’d all played it on tour. When they weren’t practicing there wasn’t a whole lot to be doing. ”Yeah? Well I’m like the King of Just Dance.” He laughed shrugging his shoulders a little before he bit his bottom lip. ”I’d give you a game, but it’s totally embarrassing.” He smirked, enjoying this normality.

Tobias hadn’t really expected this sort of reaction from Lexi; he hadn’t been sure how she’d respond given it was a strange thing to have happen to you. ”I’m glad…. Every girl deserves sweet.” He told her calmly, hoping she didn’t think he was trying to suck up to him or chat her up. He just wanted to be honest with her. He didn’t want to cover what they were rebuilding with lines that he could use with any girl. Lexi wasn’t any girl; she was the girl he loved and wanted to be with. ”You enjoyed it? Lex… that was hard for me!” He chuckled, enjoying her teasing him. He blushed at her compliment. ”Thanks.” He wasn’t sure he was that much better but he sucked in her words anyway, as she shrugged her shoulders. He nodded as she told him she’d only caught the last song. ”Yeah I’ve been avoiding watching your band live too. Although I did catch you the other week; you were real good.” He offered, trying to make it less awkward than it could have been. ”But thanks. We work hard… “ Like most bands did, but they had a real energy on stage that not every band had.

He nodded as the subject got serious. ”Don’t worry, I didn’t exactly make it easy for you to tell me.” He had been quite upset that she hadn’t told him about their baby that she decided to get rid of. It was a painful subject and although he’d just found out about it, he guessed it would be just as hard for Lexi. ”I mean..” She looked confused, and he thought he’d made it clear so he stumbled awkwardly over his words. ”I just meant, that I’d wait for you to deal with what happened, and then when your ready, I’d be here and we could start again… if you wanted.” He wasn’t really making things make sense as well as he’d hoped but it was better than nothing. A smile fell on his face as she told him they could start a fresh; he didn’t know whether that was as friends or as something else, but he guessed it was a good start. ”Oh yeah? What’s this new Lexi got that the old Lexi hasn’t?” He asked her slightly flirtatiously, as he continued to try to lighten the mood.

Toby didn’t actually expect her to tell him that she loved him, or that she forgave him or to even give him anything more than what she was now. She was looking at him, she wasn’t running away. It was good. The silence wasn’t awkward for once and he smiled at her. He was about to speak but she spoke first, and suggested the drink. He nodded and smiled at her, noticing she was cold. ”Yeah sure. Your in luck I do have a hoody backstage which you can have.” He told her, rubbing her arms with his warm hands. ”You are cold Lex; let’s go get you warmed up, and get a drink.” He led the way through the pockets of people, and back stage where he retrieved a plain grey hoody. ”Here you go. Should keep you warm.” Toby left her to dress herself and came back a short time later with some beers for them. ”It’s all they had, we’ll have to go further out if you want anything else.” He offered, handing her two bottles of beer for herself. ”This is nice Lexi. Thanks.” He told her as he drank some of the beer.

[/size]