When You Least Expect It (Version B)

[YumekoSama]

Closed for Erlind and I

Leila Brookfield sighed softly as she stretched leisurely. Considering the school's art fair was coming up, Mr. Hanson, the art instructor had been allowing her and any other art student who wished to participate to stay late in class to work on their pieces for the show. She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was past 7pm.

Honestly she didn't mind staying late because it gave her a chance to avoid the other students who usually, constantly made her life hell. Then again that was the nature of Humanity, torment and ridicule those different and indeed she was different from others considering her outwardly goth appearance.

She sighed softly as she began to clean up her paints and put away the painting she had spent the last couple of classes working on. After she had finished, she gathered the rest of personal supplies she left out. Before she left the school she headed to her locker to grab her backpack and sighed once again as she found her locker full of slips of paper with rather insulting notes from other students.

Leila didn't even bother reading them as she gathered them up and stuffed them in a nearby garbage can. "Why me?" she sighed softly knowing there would not be an answer. As she finished cleaning up her locker she had a feeling that someone was watching her.
+++

Name Leila Brookfield
Age 18
Hair: Dark brown with Hot pink and Purple streaks
Eyes: Light brown
Skin complexion: Cocoa butter brown

[Erlind]

Name: Tobias Grace (called Toby by most of his friends)
Age: 19 (he repeated the 3rd grade though most people don't know that)
Hair: Short spiky and blond
Eyes: Blue
Skin Complexion: He has a light tan
Height: 6' 2”


Toby had to stifle a bit of a laugh when all of the slips of paper fell out of her locker. He knew some friends of his did that, but he never knew there were so many. He had stuck around after practice to find Leila. His friends made a bet with him that he wouldn't go out with her and he never lost a bet. He just hoped she didn't try to do something freaky to him when they went out. He had heard lots of rumors about her and though most of them were jokes it was hard to tell how much wasn't a joke. “Here goes nothing,” he thought to himself.
“Uh, hey Leila,” he said trying to sound causal, “what's up?” He didn't know which was going to be harder, getting her to go out with him or actually doing it. He put on his most charming face and hoped.

[YumekoSama]

Leila jumped startled as she was not aware that someone had approached her while she was cleaning up the mess of notes. She glanced over at the person who addressed her and her surprised expression melted to one of indifference when she saw it was one of the popular kids.

"Great...another one. I wonder what the prank is this time." she mentally sighed as she glanced around looking for someone with a camera figuring she was being set up for some sort of joke. "I don't know what the prank of the week is, but let's just save both of ourselves our dignity." She closed her locker after grabbing her bookbag. She brushed her long bangs out of her face and started to walk past him.

[Erlind]

“Wait, don't go!,” he called after her, “I know my friends can be jerks, but don't group me in with them. You didn't even give me a chance to explain.” In truth though he thought the pranks they pulled on Leila were pretty funny he had never done any of them himself. He didn't want to have to sit out even one game for some stupid prank. The only way he was going to college was scholarship and missing even one game could just kill that. He started to put his hand on her shoulder, but he stopped just before touching her not wanting to come on too strong.

[YumekoSama]

Leila sighed and looked at him over her shoulder, her expression still rather flat as she glanced at him. "You guys are down right assholes towards me" she said as she glanced at him. While she had not seen him amongst any of others when she stumbled into their pranks, she wasn't eager to trust anyone. She sighed deeply. "Fine" she turned and looked at him through her dark bangs. "What do you want Tobi?" she asked.

Honestly he had a point it wasn't fair for her to group him in with everyone else, but still in the back of her mind she felt she was being set up.

[Erlind]

“Look, I know this is going to sound strange, but I was wondering if you might want to go out some time.” It was weird. He had gone out with probably literally dozens of girls, but he had never been nervous before. Toby was scratching the back of his head and looking at the floor as he asked the goth girl out. “I know you think a guy like me would be interested in a different kind of girl than you, but I guess that's why I'm asking. All the girls I ever go out with never really get to know me, they just go with me to be popular or something. I don't know ... I guess I just thought you might be different ...”

Even though it was a prank as he said all of this he kind of realized it was true. " ... Who cares,” he thought to himself, “Its not like anyone finds their future wife in high school anyway.”

[YumekoSama]

She sighed softly as she looked at him shaking her head. For her this was new. Was he going to take her to a Pig party? set her up for a date and ditch? She didn't know but her life was boring enough she would go along with it. "Fine...ask" she finally said as she turned to look at him.

She crossed her arms as she looked at him. "Let's be honest...are you setting me up for some sort of prank?" she asked as she looked him directly in his eyes.

[Erlind]

“Never mind.” Toby shook his head and started to walk past her. “I figured if anyone would take me seriously it might have been you.” If he was going to do this he needed his request to be sincere. He figured the best way to do that was to play the “I'm misunderstood” card. Now it was time to see if she was going to take the bait. He walked away from her trying to look a little upset, but not moving so quick she didn't have time to stop him.

[YumekoSama]

She rolled her eyes as she watched him walk away and mentally counted to five. When he was a few paces away from her, she sighed audibly. "Wait" She walked over to him. "Fine Fine. Look, I was heading over to Millano's for pizza, want to join me?"

[Erlind]

Toby thought he need at least another day and maybe even some help when she was letting him walk away, but then she called back for him. He wasn't sure if he was excited for winning the bet or nervous for having to spend time with the girl. He turned around to face her again, “Thanks Leila, that would be great.” It occurred to him as they walked in silence towards Millano's that he didn't have a damn thing to talk to her about. He doubted she liked football and he didn't even really know what she liked to do besides that she had been hanging out in the art room. This was going to be painfully awkward if they didn't find something to talk about. “So, you like art?” he offered weakly.

[YumekoSama]

Mentally she laughed as she though about what would happen. "Yeah, I love art." she replied as they walked off the school grounds and onto the main street heading towards the pizza shop. The rest of their walk was made in a akward but oddly comfortable silence.

"Hey Leila, your usual table?" the hostess said as she saw her favorite goth customer enter.

"Yeah Kim. but for two." Leila replied.

The hostess grabbed a couple of menus and took the two of them to Leila's usual booth. Once they were alone, She raised an eyebrow as she looked at Tobi. "Tell me the truth, what's really going on?"

[Erlind]

They were on a date. He was sure he would win the bet, but he couldn't tell her that's what this was all about.
"I don't know. I guess I just needed someone who might actually listen to me and I knew the girls I usually dated weren't going to so I found their opposite. I mean I've just got a lot happening right now and I needed somebody to ..." Toby trailed off. He couldn't believe he was about to pour his heart out to a girl he normally made fun of on a daily basis. No, he wouldn't do it and said the first lie that came to mind. "I mean, some guy told me you were into some freaky stuff and I wanted to see what." Toby nearly hit himself in the face for that one. He might as well shoot himself now he thought, because it would be faster and less painful than whatever she was about to do.

[YumekoSama]

"I thought so." She sighed as she looked at him. "So who put you up to this? Danny, Jake, or was it the whole football team and what do you get for winning?" She knew that he was setting her up for a prank, however when he started opening up to her at first she thought he was being sincere and actually dropped her guard so when it came out, it really hurt her.

"What was the prank?" she demanded softly, her voice reflecting more hurt than anger. She lowered her head, her bangs hiding her face and the fact that her eyes were filling with tears.

[Erlind]

“No, damn it,” Toby tried to explain, “I didn't mean that. I just ... say stupid stuff when I have trouble talking about something. No wonder the other girls never listen to me. I should just shut up and stick to football, its all I'm good at anyway.” Why did he care so much about this? It sounded like she was about to cry and it hurt in kind of a weird way. That was kind of the point though wasn't it? He had never felt so shitty about anything in his life. He needed to stop and think and not let people talk him into doing crap like this. The pizza arrived and he felt even worse for some reason. “Look, I'm sorry,” he said pulling a twenty out of his wallet and leaving it on the table. “I'll go and we can both just try to pretend this never happened.”

[YumekoSama]

"I'm just so sick and tired of people playing pranks or starting fucking rumors about me because I don't want to be like them. I just thought you actually would be different" She sighed softly, her voice still carried undertones of hurt and anger.

"Wanna know something?" She said as she kept her head down letting her hair hide her face. "I actually had a crush on you. I've had a crush on you since freshman year but because we're so different I just kept it to myself. While I knew this was just some sort of prank, I Still decided to go out with you, but now..." She got up and left the table.

[Erlind]

The next day in homeroom he was bombarded with questions. “Did she cry?” “Did she give it up?” “What happened, give us something.” He was in homeroom with Danny and Jake, who as Leila had guessed had put him up to it in the first place. “Look, nothing happened,” he told them, “she saw it coming and wouldn't go with me.” He pulled out the ten he owed the guys and gave it to them.

“Come on, you never give up that easy,” Jake urged him.

“I'm not doing it you guys,” he told them and that was the end of it. He spent the rest of the day unfocused and feeling like shit.

[YumekoSama]

Leila sighed softly as she went through the school day. Her head hurt seeing as she didn't sleep well. Normally when she fell for one of their pranks, she didn't let it bother her but somehow this time it really hurt. She was unfocused all day in all her classes.

As she walked from her homeroom to her first peroid class, she ran into Tobi and dropped her books. "Sorry" she murmured and picked up her books then continued walking to her class not expecting him stop or even acknowledge her.

[Erlind]

Toby was in a daze walking back from his first class and he literally ran into Leila. They both dropped their books. Gathering up his books he was almost too afraid to say anything not wanting to hurt her most. He bit his lip and called out after her, “I know you won't believe me, but I really am sorry.” He could only hope she would listen to him. He had given her every reason not to trust her, but still he actually kind of wanted her to forgive him.

[YumekoSama]

She heard him and glanced over her shoulder at him. She wanted to say something to accept his apology, however she glanced around and saw Danny nearby watching. Her expression hardened a little as she continued on to her next class.

At the end of the school day she headed as she always did to the art studio and pulled out her painting to try to work on it. She sat and stared at the near complete canvas and sighed unable to focus on it so she put it away and pulled out a blank canvas and started on a new drawing releasing all the hurt she had been holding in.

[Erlind]

After Leila left Danny followed Toby to his next class. “I thought you said nothing happened,” Danny taunted him, “or maybe you've got the hots for the little witch and ...” His “friend” started making kissing noises at this point.
“Look, when she wouldn't go out with me I called her a bitch and I just didn't want her going around calling me a woman hater or whatever. That's it, I swear.” If it got around that he liked Leila the rest of the year would go very badly.
“Ok, whatever man, I'm ditching class to smoke out behind the school you wanna come?” Danny was such an idiot, it was a wonder he hadn't gotten kicked off the team yet for grades.
“Nah, if I skip again Mr. Kellerman would fail me for sure,” he lied. In truth English was one of the few classes he did well in and though Mr. Kellerman was his favorite teacher he knew better than to say anything to that effect.

That night after practice Toby went back into the school claiming to have left a book in his locker. Instead he headed straight for the art room and snuck inside. Leila was there alone working on a painting rather furiously. It was no wonder she didn't hear him come in.
“I like your painting.”

[YumekoSama]

Leila jumped startled as she dropped the paintbrush in her hand. She glanced over at Toby all the hurt and anger having long left her, just sadness there now. "Oh. thanks." She sighed softly as she looked at the painting which was of a sad angel held in captured by sharp rose thorns cutting into her flesh.

"So why are you here?" she picked up the paintbrush and continued working on the painting.

[Erlind]

“You like me. And me me, not football me,” Toby told her awkwardly. “Besides, I didn't mean what I said, I just got nervous.” Toby's shoulders drooped for a moment and then suddenly he spun around and hit the hall, “I hate it when I do that. It makes everyone think I'm an idiot. Its why I like writing so much more than talking. If I make a mistake I can go back and get rid of it and its like it was never there.” Settling down a bit Toby turned back towards her, “I get it if you say no, but I was wondering if you'd give me a second chance.”

[YumekoSama]

"I want to say yes. Really I do, but how can I trust you after last night?" She sighed softly as she looked at him.

"What about your reputation?" she asked softly as she looked at him. Honestly she was surprised that he was there honestly apologizing to her and asking for another chance. Yes, she had always liked him and in fact at one point during her high school career she was willing to change who she was to get him to notice her but in the end decided to be true to herself. "Aren't you afraid of your buddies finding out?" her voice was still a little bitter.

[Erlind]

“Okay, I'm going to do this I've got to be honest, right?” he asked kind of to himself. “Here goes. My friends did bet I wouldn't go on a date with you and that is why I asked you out, but something in me couldn't let me be an ass like that to you. Then I open my big mouth and screw it up anyway only to find out that you actually liked me. Which I know sounds weird, but there's a difference between liking someone and dating them, trust me.” Toby had to breath deep after all of that, but then he continued on. “And yeah, I am kind of worried what they might think, but I told them nothing happened last night and I'm here aren't I?”

This was the first time Toby had ever had to lay himself on the line like this and really even if she said yes he didn't know what he was going to do. If he started dating her the guys would tear him apart and if nothing else he needed his team to listen to him.

[YumekoSama]

"Maybe the mistake was mine. I shouldn't have told you that I like you" She sighed as she finished the painting then started cleaning up.

"I admire you for coming clean with your feelings and all, but let's face it Toby we both run with totally different crowds. You with the popular cliques and well, I stand alone." She put her paintings up making sure.

After she finished cleaning up, she walked over to where Toby was sitting and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. "Go date a cheerleader. You can keep up appearances and do whatever." She headed out of the art room to her locker, she knew what she said probably hurt him but she knew that right now Image was more important than feelings.