topic number 2 [brenny]

Toby smiled as he woke up the morning of Friday, February 14th. The air felt crisp and cool. The difference this year as opposed to last Valentine's day for Toby was that this year he wasn't single and failing to mingle. He tossed the sheets from over him and slid out of bed. He quickly went to the bathrooms and threw off his pajamas, taking a long shower and using a plethora of soap. He then wrapped a towel around himself and made sure nobody was looking, and then dashed back to his room. He clothed himself in a pair of jeans and a nice short-sleeved plaid button-down. He didn't really care if his scars were showing because he figured Finnegan would love him anyway. Well, he hoped really.He slipped on some shoes, and returned to the bathroom. The steam from his shower had fogged the mirror, and he had to wipe it down. He then began to shape his hair so that it gave him a handsome-without-trying sort of look. He smiled at himself in the mirror and made sure he looked good before he felt safe to return to his room. He picked up his wand, his wallet, a bouquet of flowers, and exited his dreary cabin. As soon as he stepped outside, he could tell the camp was different today. He looked around the large U of cabins, and saw campers looking their best, girls skipping around in dresses and boys with ties. The Aphrodite cabin practically radiated perfume, giggles, cologne, and it was decorated distastefully with pink streamers and bows. He snorted at them, and then turned his brown eyes to the rather normal-looking Athena cabin. However no matter its refusal to acknowledge the holidays, it still put a smile on Toby's face. He began across the semi-courtyard to the Athena cabin and stepped up to the door. He knocked and then waited patiently. Unfortunately, the one who answered was not one he was hoping for. It was just some other camper, though Toby was sure he had seen the boy before. When he realized where he recognized him, he frowned. "He's not here," the boy snapped, adding a very unkind word for someone like Toby. Someone like him who romantically liked someone like Finnegan. Toby leaned forward, grabbed the doorknob from the boy, and slammed the door for him before leaving the cabin. Toby hated the kid to Hades. He was new to this whole homosexual thing and the surprising number of bullying he's gotten in the past couple of days. Not only was it known that he was dating a guy, but also that he was a weak fighter, and legally deaf. He felt so much more useless than he had ever felt before. Realizing he was standing still and musing over this, he shook his head and continued walking. Not today. He wouldn't let his thoughts get a hold of him today. Today he was going to celebrate what he had. And if Finnegan was not in his cabin, there was only one other place he could be. Toby continued to the library briskly, holding the flowers to his chest. When he reached the building, he tugged open the doors and entered. Rows of bookshelves presented themselves, and they were void of people. Toby made his way to the back of the room where there was an area for reading. Finally, as Toby rounded a corner, he saw Finnegan. The boy was lying on the ground, open and unruly books scattered around him. He looked absolutely ridiculous, but it still made Toby chuckle. He walked over and set the flowers down on the table. When he approached, Finnegan muttered, "Ugh, give me five more minutes." Toby stooped over to pick up the books and stack them on the table again. He then sat down on his knees next to Finnegan. "Hey," he urged, giving Finnegan a push. "Dude, wake up. How can you sleep so much," he sighed, shaking his head.

Toby ran a hand through his hair out of habit, and then once he realized what he'd done he frantically tried to fix it again. He hadn't spent like half an hour on his appearance for nothing. As Finnegan was distracted with trying to awake himself, Toby glanced in a mirror and attempted to fix himself. When Finnegan stood up, Toby stood expectantly, but it seemed as if he had gone unnoticed. He bit his lip and watched as Finnegan oriented himself for a couple of minutes, until finally his eyes locked on the other's. Toby listened to Finnegan talk a little. Staying up as late as Finnegan does did not seem very healthy, and it really reflected in Finnegan's dark circles beneath his eyes. Toby couldn't judge though. There were nights where he would never sleep, and days where he made up for the loss of sleep by laying in bed all day and staring at the ceiling. That was not healthy. Toby was so consumed in thought that he had been oblivious to the conversation before him. Finnegan looked quizzical, and Toby guessed he had asked a question. What he had asked was beyond the boy, and so he opened his mouth to admit he had not been paying attention. However the sequence of events following when he opened his mouth startled him. First, Finnegan drew closer. This was a little shocking because Toby didn't like being very close to people, and he didn't fully comprehend that it was Finnegan and that it was okay before he tried to take a step back. Second, he felt something moist and soft touch his lips, and typically that would have felt weird, and Toby was extremely close to spitting whatever was entering his mouth out, until he realized he was being kissed. This extremely slow comprehension process resulted in Toby twitching his head to the side, and if Finnegan hadn't withdrawn, Toby might have knocked skulls with him. He felt his face flush at his extremely concerning action. Deciding not to address it, he moved to the table. "Happy Valentine's day to you, too," he said. He picked up the flowers and presented them to Finnegan. "I know you're like a smarty pants and think it's irrational to celebrate a massacre or whatever, but I just thought I'd get you these," he explained quickly. He handed Finn the bouquet.