This story will be at least 12 chapters, each chapter spanning a month and the entire story being told over the course of a year. But if one of the months get out of control I might divide it into two chapters. Some background information, this is starting early second semester their junior year. Everyone is the same age in this, and Spencer and Toby starting dating in their sophomore year.

Um, yeah. This sets stuff up, but it'll all happen pretty quickly from here.

I know I said I wouldn't post this until They Take Their Shots was done, but I have no self control. But I PROMISE it will not be updated again until then. So consider this a little teaser.

Shouts to caitycaites for liking the idea and giving me my title. Because I suck at titles. The good ones probably either weren't my idea or took me longer to come up with than it took me to write the stupid story.

Chapter 1

January

TPOV

He never thought that he would be one of he popular kids.

And to be honest, he still wasn't really. But the apathetic disinterest he received from the classmates that used to torment him was a far cry from the cruel words and painful accusations that used to be so casually thrown his way. He didn't decide to date Spencer Hastings because it would boost his place on the social ladder that was high school, although that was most certainly a benefit. He chose to date Spencer because she was the only person who saw him. He spent every day surrounded by people, but to most of them he was just the quiet, bullied kid that no one really knew. But Spencer took the time to get to know him. And she maybe decided that he was worth knowing.

And that was everything.

He ran a hand through his hair as he walked past Noel Kahn without so much as earning a second glance. It was a relief, that was for sure. He had enough to deal with. He walked into the cafeteria and headed over toward the table he sat at now. It wasn't empty any longer, and despite his introverted nature, it was a relief to have friends. It was a relief not to have to spend another lunch hour pretending to read a book, hoping that no one would notice how much it stung to be so lonely.

"Toby! Oh my God, tell me that you have your notes."

He grinned as he slid in across from Hanna. "Good afternoon to you too, Hanna."

She rolled her eyes. "Cut the pleasantries, Cavanaugh. Do you have the goods?"

He laughed fully and slid his Calculus notebook across the table. He struggled through most of school, but math was easy for him; a lot easier than it was for Hanna. But he didn't mind helping her. She helped him in other ways.

She sighed dramatically and hugged his battered, black notebook to her chest. "I love you," she exclaimed. "Seriously, I love you."

"He's spoken for," a soft, laughter filled voice said, suddenly appearing next to him.

It was funny. He didn't even realize that he was tense until she sat next to him and all the tension left his body. He didn't realize that he was even waiting for her until a sense of calm came over him at her arrival. "Damn straight he is," he said softly, leaning in to kiss her chastely.

He heard Hanna scoff. "I was talking about the notebook anyway."

He broke away from Spencer with a laugh. "Oh, well I wouldn't want to get in the middle of this love affair."

Spencer uttered a low curse under her breath. His smile only grew. He certainly never thought that he would be with someone that make even cursing sound endearing. "Something wrong?" He asked her quietly, lightly tugging on one of her curls. He actually couldn't imagine feeling anything wrong. This was so simple, but it was so significantly different from the life that he had become accustomed to. Relaxing lunch breaks were maybe his favorite thing in the entire world.

She shot him a reassuring smile. "I just forgot my lunch money in my locker."

"I can buy you food," he rolled his eyes. "I haven't gotten myself anything yet either."

She laughed and tilted back to kiss him. "I can buy myself lunch, Toby."

"I know," he said. That wasn't the point at all, though. He sneaked a quick kiss to her forehead before stepping into the short lunch line.

Rosewood always had limited options for lunch, but he managed to pick a few things he knew she would like. He didn't really care what he ate as long as she was happy. He had never been all that concerned with his own happiness. At school it was a forgone conclusion that he would be miserable. But somehow it had transformed to Spencer's happiness being his own happiness.

When he sat back down the bright smile she shared with him was all that he needed. He was relaxed and his insides were all warm. It was like someone wrapped his heart up in a fuzzy blanket. He was happy, and as pathetic as it sounded, he had never really known happiness before this. Maybe his troubled childhood was distorting what he was feeling now, but it didn't matter so much.

He put the tray down between them and waited for her to pick first. He would eat anything, a trademark teenage boy attribute that he hadn't been able to quite avoid. Spencer took his hand under the table and slowly worked on an able with her free hand. "Do you still need help with your French homework after school?"

He nodded. He was actually not that bad at French, but she was adorable when she got all earnest about school. And her low, raspy voice speaking to him in French certainly didn't hurt either. "There's a test tomorrow."

She smirked. "We'll get you to blow that curve for sure."

While being smarter than everyone else wasn't exactly a priority for him, her certainly couldn't deny how endearing he found her competitive nature, even when it was secondhand. "I don't doubt it. I have the best tutor."

The grin she gave him was all he needed to get through the rest of the day.

Her hand was wrapped up in his as she drove them back to his house. Maybe it was weird to have her drive all the time, but he didn't really think so. He just had his bike, and as much as he loved speeding down the highway with nothing between him and the open air, it wasn't the most safe means of travel. He didn't really like the idea of Spencer on it. Anything could happen. So he let her drive.

"Is anyone home?" She asked him softly.

If anyone else had asked him that he would have thought that they had other intentions behind their words. But with Spencer he knew that she just genuinely wanted to know. She got so adorably shy around his parents. It was nice to see that side of her sometimes. She couldn't be high energy all the time, and it was honestly just really nice to know that she wasn't afraid to be vulnerable around him.

They had been dating for nearly a year now, but it still shocked him how beautiful she was. She was a subtle beauty, the kind that snuck up on you until you suddenly didn't know how you missed it; and then it was all that you saw. It was in the way that she moved, in the way that her eyes lit up. He saw it in the way that she lived her life with such passion. There were very few things in life that were so beautiful that they took your breath away. A sky full of millions of stars, the first snow fall of the year, being alone in nature... and her. Always her.

He was pretty sure that he loved her, but he would wait until he was positive to tell her. He didn't want to hurt her. He hadn't had a lot of love in his life, so it might be kind of difficult for him to distinguish.

He laughed when he realized that he hadn't answered her yet. "No, I don't think so." He didn't bother to check the garage. Both of his parents should still be at work. He jumped out as soon as the car stopped and hurried around to open her door for her. She pretended not to like it, but he could tell that she did. He didn't do things like that for her because he thought that she needed him to, far from it really. Spencer was the strongest, most independent person that he knew. He did it because it was the easiest way for him to show her that he cared about her.

They walked into the house together and dumped their bags on the kitchen table. "Um, are you hungry?"

She smiled. He liked it when she smiled. "I could eat. But I also could not eat. If you're hungry make it happen and I will help you get rid of it. If not I'll eat later."

He rolled his eyes at her passive way of telling him that she was hungry. He popped a plate of Pizza Rolls into the microwave and tossed a bag of gummy worms on the table. "A well rounded meal."

She snorted. "You really know how to treat a girl." She dug through her bag for a second until she found a rumpled looking notebook. "These are my notes from when I took French 1. They are as good as gold, and I better not see them sold on the high school black market."

"Damn it," he laughed. "You caught on to my side job."

She shrugged. "It's always the innocent ones. So you're having trouble with the conditional tense, right? It's pretty easy, you just have to-"

"Toby?"

He jumped, dropping Spencer's stuffed, ratty notebook to the ground. "Mom? What are you doing here?" He turned, his forehead wrinkling in confusion at her appearance. Her pink, fluffy robe skimmed the top of her worn slippers. Her hair was messy and her eyes were bleary. "Did you just wake up? Why aren't you at work?"

She looked confused. "Why aren't you at school?" She glanced at Spencer. "Why aren't you both at school?"

Spencer glanced at her watch. "It's almost 5, Mrs. Cavanaugh. Are you okay?"

He looked at Spencer and then back at his mom. It felt weird to be the one that was worried, but it was clear to everyone in the room that something wasn't right here. His mom ran a tired hand over her face and gave the two of them a halfhearted smile. "I'm just not feeling my best. Are you kids hungry? Can I fix you something for dinner?"

He just shook his head. "No we're okay. We're just studying. Do you need anything?"

Spencer shifted on her chair. "You know what makes me feel better when I'm sick? A hot bubble bath with a good book. You should try that!"

His mom's smile softened a little bit and she patted Spencer's head as she walked by. "You're a good girl. I think I will try that."

He watched her walk away, his concern ebbing away. That was weird, but she was just sick, right? That was all that it was. He turned back to Spencer with a tight smile. "So about the conditional tense?"