I hate this school. The only thing worse than the work is the people that go here. They all like to call me 'Ticci-Toby' because of my disorders. My disorders have gotten even worse since Lyra died... No matter how quiet I am they always find a way to pick on me or tease me. I hate everyone here and I-
"Rogers" Said the teacher in a stern tone as she tapped on the desk with a ruler, "This is no time to sleep". Toby startled awake and pulled his head up from his crossed arms, looking around groggily. A few snickers came from some of his peers as they peeked over, whispering rude comments to each other.
Toby rubbed his sleepless eyes and rested his head on his palm with his elbow on the desk. A tic jerked his head to the side, making his neck pop. The teacher continued on with the lecture over a complicated math problem, which didn't make Toby any more awake. His mind wandered into a daydream that had nothing to do with math, until it was rudely intrupted.
"Psst, Hey..." Y/n whispered from a desk over. Toby's eyes snapped over to her, expecting some sort of joke or tease about him.
"Do you have the notes from yesterday? I wasn't here.." She said quietly. Toby took a moment to comprehend if she was being genuine or not, but when he saw that no one was giggiling around him, he was a bit surprised. Even though she was a newer student, Y/n was very well liked. She always looked nice, got invited to everything, and was smart too. Toby started to feel a little more anxious than before.
"Y-Yeah.." Toby said, digging into his folder and pulling out a sheet of notebook paper with a few formulas. He offered the paper over with a bandaged hand. Y/n gently took the paper with a smile.
"Thanks" she said in return, setting the paper down next to her's to copy it down. Toby's stomach swirled in confusion. Was this really not some cruel trick? Or was she just being nice out of pity? Toby looked away, not wanting to stare and make things more awkward. Toby wanted to believe she was being nice to him, but something inside wouldn't let him trust her.
The bell rung loudly and everyone stood up and started to leave the classroom. Toby stood up as well and grabbed his things quickly, walking out after everybody else. Y/n took Toby's notes, holding it in her hand along with her own notes. She was about to give it back to him, but he was already out of the classroom.
She looked down at the paper and read his name, "Tobias..." she said softly to herself. She grabbed her binder and walked out of the classroom. There were people talking and laughing to each other as they made their way to their next class. Some people were hanging up decorations and fliers for winter homecoming, but there was no sign of Toby.
Y/n walked down the hallway with a sigh and went to her locker. She was hoping that she could have given the paper back now. Her friend Maddie came up to her and bumped into her playfully.
"Hey! So... wanna skip the rest of the day? We could go get coffee instead" Maddie said in her usual bubbly voice. Maddie was the first friend Y/n made that this school. Maddie was the type of girl to know all the drama, and somehow all the guys. She wasn't the nicest person, even if she said she was. Maddie always wears clothes to show off her attributes, but a friend was a friend, so Y/n had to stick with her. Y/n shook her head, opening her locker door.
"I can't today, I already missed a lot because I wasn't here yesterday" Y/n said, putting away her binder and taking out some cash for lunch. Maddie rolled her eyes.
"Bummer..." Maddie said, using the mirror in Y/n's locker to reapply her lip gloss. Maddie's eyes flicked over to the Toby's paper, "Uhh... Why do you have that?" She asked, her voice a tad judgemental. Y/n looked at the paper.
"I was copying his notes and he left before I could give him his paper back" Y/n said, showing Maddie the paper. Maddie gasped and snatched the paper from her.
"Oh my god... Is this Ticci-Toby's!?" She said loudly, her eyes scanning over the paper. A few passerbyers glanced over from just how audible Maddie was talking. Y/n tried to take the paper back but Maddie kept it out of reach.
"I thought you would have tried to get one of the cute guy's notes, not some emo's" she giggled, her eyes scanning over the sheet of paper. Y/n grabbed the paper back firmly.
"Cute guys are stupid, if you haven't noticed" Y/n snapped, trying the smoothen the wrinkles out of the paper. Maddie gave her an unamused look.
"Oh, come on. You can't say that all the attractive guys are dumb..." Maddie crossed her arms, giving her a guestioning look. "What are you gonna do, take a nerd to homecoming?"
"I wasn't going to take anyone..." Y/n said, closing her locker and walking to the cafeteria. Maddie followed right beside her with a teasing look.
"Awww... Are you gonna take Ticci-Toby?" Maddie whispered with a snicker. Y/n's eyes widened and she gave Maddie a slight shoulder shove.
"No! I'm not going with anyone..." Y/n said firmly, trying to get it through Maddie's thick skull. Maddie laughed again and shook her head.
"I'm just messing with you" Maddie said, glimpsing down at Toby's paper, "You should probably get rid of that paper, before people assume things" Maddie said, giving Y/n a cautious look before walking off to sit at a table of other people Y/n barely knew.
Y/n sighed, folding up the paper and putting it in her pocket. What was so wrong about Toby anyway?
Toby walked into the overwhelmingly loud cafeteria and pulled up his hood. He turned up the volume on his phone so the music was blasting in his ears. He didn't bother getting a lunch because he didn't feel hungry, he never feels hungry.
People met up with their friends, ate lunch, laughed and talk to each other. A few jocks we're tossing a basketball around until one of the teachers confenscated the ball. The jocks seemed upset and they went to sit down with a few other people. One of those people were Y/n.
Toby realized he was staring and he looked down at his hands, picking at the bandages that covered them anxiously. Even though he was across the cafeteria he didn't want to be noticed, especially by the jocks. He couldn't help but glance over every once in a while to see what they were doing.
A few of the more athletic guys, who obviously weren't the smartest, we're talking with Maddie and Y/n. Maddie was loving every second of it, but Y/n was starting to find it annoying. Maddie looked over to Y/n.
"I heard that Jason finally broke up with Ashlyn" Maddie said, stabbing her salad with a fork.
"Okay, and?" Y/n said, before taking a bite of her own food.
"I'm glad he's done with that hoe bag" Maddie said bluntly, eliciting a chuckle from a few others at the table.
"I don't understand why you're so obsessed over your ex, Jason is not that special. He has dick for brain" Y/n retorted. Maddie shrugged with a smile.
"You can't say anything because you aren't trying to date anyone" Maddie said matter-of-factly, looking around before her eyes landed on a blonde haired guy. Her face lit up as if she had a brilliant idea.
"You know.. You would look really cute with Brad" Maddie said, pointing to a tall, broad shoudlered, football player. Brad was surrounded by the rest of the football team, making inappropriate jokes and comments about people that passed by their table.
"Really, you think I'd look good with him?" Y/n grimaced and shook her head, "I'd rather date a brick"
Maddie scoffed and looked around the cafeteria. "I'll ask him for you! I mean, homecoming is this weekend... If you don't have a date you'll be alone at the dance" Maddie said with pity. She stood up from the table and started to walk over to the football clique's table.
"Maddie!" Y/n said, standing up. Y/n followed Maddie, but she couldn't stop her before she started to talk.
"Hey, Brad, my friend really needs a date to homecoming" Maddie said, hugging Y/n. Y/n rolled her eyes and pried Maddie's hands off of her. Brad raised an eyebrow with a smirk.
"Cool, I guess?" Brad said, resting his elbows on the table. A few of the other guys snickered.
"So, will you take her?" Maddie asked, glancing at Y/n. Y/n was about to interupt until Brad talked over her.
"Why would I do that?" Brad questioned in a cocky tone, looking from Y/n to Maddie.
"Because..." Maddie quickly slipped her hand into Y/n's pocket and pulled out the slip of paper, "If you don't, Ticci-Toby will. He already wrote a love letter" Maddie said, flashing him the piece of paper before putting it in Y/n's hands.
An abrupt laugh came from the entire table.
"Awww! Someone has a crush!" One of the other guys at the table joked. Maddie let out a small chuckle as well. Y/n shot a glare at Maddie.
"No! These are notes from Geometry!" She said, unfolding the paper and showing the formulas on the page. The table didn't care about what was really on the paper. Brad stood up.
"I'm gonna go talk to him" Brad said, starting to walk over towards the other side elf the cafeteria. Two of Brad's friends followed behind him. Y/n's face fell. When she was about to tell them to stop, Maddie took the paper from her hands and started to walk back to their table.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Y/n said under her breath, following close behind.
"I did you a favor" Maddie said plainly, crumbling up the paper into a ball. Y/n took the paper back and started to gently press it back to be flatter.
"I told you, No! I don't want to be with him" Y/n said, glancing to where Brad was. She saw how Brad was talking to Toby, all while his friends behind him suppressed their laughter. Y/n's stomach twisted, feeling bad for Toby.
"It's just a joke..." Maddie said, putting a hand on her own chest in an offended manner.
"You know, Maddie, you can be such a bitch sometimes" Y/n said, picking up her tray and carrying it to the trash. Maddie's face filled with shock and her jaw dropped as she sat back down. Y/n discarded her food and put the tray back. Walking down the hallway, she looked at the notebook paper.
The court yard was mostly empty, so she decided to wait there for the next bell to ring for class. She sat on the side of the fountain, folding up the wrinkled paper and holding it. There was no reason for everyone to be so mean to Toby, so why would they?
The bell for the next class rung and Y/n stood up slowly, her eyes still trained in the paper. The door on the opposite side of the fountain opened, followed by a familiar laugh. She slowly looked around the statue that was in the center of the fountain to see Brad and his buddies. They were all pushing and shoving someone closer to the fountain, someone Y/n recognized...
Toby.