A Private Tour [log 10.05.14.]

TOBIAS:
Whether or not he'd lost to Rachel on purpose remained to be seen, but Tobias had been relieved when all she'd asked for was a walk home. Honestly, he'd half expected her to tack on “...in a purple dinosaur suit” or something, after the request that came. So it was that he was waiting for her outside the doors to the Hedgeview High's gymnasium, where she apparently stayed late on certain days for cheerleading practice. Tobias mulled over this particular academic choice with amusement as he tapped a pack of Marlboros against his palm. On the surface it seemed to be so obvious that Rachel would be a cheerleader...but when one really got to know her on any level other than the superficial, they realized quickly that she was much more than met the eye. Tobias' lips twitched in a slight smile as he raised his hand to clasp a thin cigarette between his lips...which turned into a frown as his chemistry teacher walked by and shook his head. “No smoking on school grounds, son,” he said, walking briskly past with a disapproving look over his shoulder. Tobias tucked the cigarette behind one ear; he was actually surprised it hadn't been taken away – but he would respect the rules and refrain from smoking it here, even if he was a little nervous. Leaning against the brick wall in his black leather jacket, he probably looked like something straight out of Grease. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “...'Is that all it takes, fifteen minutes?'” he murmured to himself with a soft laugh. Good thing he amused himself, because a guy walking past him looked at him like he was crazy, asking questions of empty air. Tobias was used to that sort of thing. For as long as he could remember, nobody he knew had ever called him normal. Not that he cared; Tobias was more than happy to live in his own little world. He didn't seem to like the one around him very much. He put his earbuds in while he waited for Rachel, seeming to prefer the sounds of a band screaming over the dull roar of chatty teenagers being released from mandatory confinement.

RACHEL:
Hmm, a purple dinosaur suit would have been rather adorable, no? Rachel was considered one of the popular girls, high ranking on the cheerleading team, fairly decent at gymnastics, apparently "model material'. She had some friends in that clique, however, they always seemed more like acquaintances than actual friends. Rachel had what it took to be the Bitch of Hedgeview...but it wasn't worth it. Not when you had genuine people around you who would be affected by it.
Which is why Tobias did not wear any sort of goofy suit. She respected him too much for that. A leather jacket suited him just fine, she'd come to quickly notice.

He got picked on, he got overlooked, and although she could guess why (not that she agreed), she also somehow didn't understand. There was nothing wrong with shy and “awkward”. It was endearing; cute, even. And what others claimed to be awkward was everything but that to her. Yet that could just easily be because she wasn't a total, nagging crotch to those that didn't fit into the jock category.
James Dean worked far better than ridiculous football gear in her opinion anyway.

Speaking of chatty teenagers. Once practice let out, she left the gym in a small group of other girls. There was chatter, there was laughter before she departed with a wave of goodbye, nearly skipping down the steps with that curly ponytail waving about at the back of her head. Rachel didn’t bother taking the extra time to change out of her uniform; there was no reason to have to stay there longer than necessary.
Did she enjoy cheerleading? Sure, it had its moments. She could use her skills as a gymnast, she was allowed to yell...it was usually fun. It also didn’t help that the school didn’t have a proper gymnastics program.
The wide smile on her face seemed to change the moment she spotted the lone boy against the wall, drowning out the world with his music. The smile softened, became more genuine compared to the half-fake one she offered the other girls in departure. Tobias probably didn’t hear her coming, but she wouldn’t purposely try to scare him. She rounded about his side with a tip of her head to get his attention as she gently pulled out one of those earbuds to hold it to her own ear for a listen. Classic rock? Heavy metal? Rap? She was just curious.

TOBIAS:
She had a lovely smile, didn't she? He just noticed as he turned in response to the tap on his shoulder, which was how she was able to pull the tiny speaker out of his right ear without him quickly snatching it back. The fresh sound of droning chatter poured into one ear while The Offspring still yelled in the left:


His eyes had widened when she took the right earbud, body stiffening up somewhat. Music was, perhaps, a personal thing for him, and it might be obvious that he was not accustomed to sharing his playlist. Still, despite that initial reaction, Tobias found himself reluctantly grinning. A sort of uneasy smile, but it was a happy expression nonetheless. "Hey," he greeted her as casually as he could, which might have included a slight flush to his face. Hey, he could have been caught listening to a lot worse! As long as his neck hadn't gone pink, he was fine. "So, uh...how many little people did you have to schtep on to descend from the top of the pyramid? Six, eight?" He laughed, then his face sobered up a bit. "No, seriously, how many." Eyes a startling shade of robin's egg blue flicked down to her red and white pompoms and back up to her hopeful-prom-queen face. Rachel sure did have a lovely smile.

RACHEL:
It was a bad habit of hers, really- just going and taking, brazenly. It was part of her personality, made it known to other people that she was comfortable with being around them. Though, if she had noticed the way he tensed up, she might have thought twice and acted a bit more respectfully, even if she only ever meant to be playful.
"Oh wow, haven't heard them in awhile," she said in mention of the music. It had been years, actually. Rachel's taste in music fluctuated...a lot. Much like fashion in ways. "Hey," she finally added cheerfully, returning his greeting with a tiny delay.

A gentle laugh at his question that was apparently a real one, she began to walk with the earbud still in her ear. Well, that would prove interesting. She'd have given it back, but now she was too into the groove and was waiting for the song to end.
Oh, the memories of her punk rock phase...
Rachel offered up a shrug. "Come to a practice and find out for yourself." Something told her that he wasn't the type to sit through something like that, even with all the girls in tiny skirts. She herself wouldn't have tolerated it were it not for the fact that she was one of those pompom-waving bimbos.
Okay, so she did find it fun for the most part. So sue her.

TOBIAS:
Of course she was used to taking. She probably didn't see it the way someone else might - most naturally popular girls didn't - but, just like the song, he supposed, Tobias didn't really mind. True, he might have had something to say if it had been anyone else, but he'd hung out with Rachel a little more than the others at this point. He was just more comfortable with her, so it had to be a part of her personality as much as the taking. The tradeoff was worth it. It was awkward when she began to walk with him; Rachel was a tall supermodel type, but Tobias was gangly and still several inches taller. He managed a somewhat awkward stride so they could keep apace of one another, while it simultaneously occurred to him that this particular act might be a lot easier if he slipped an arm around her shoulder. Not that he was going to; just the thought made his ears turn pink. Say something, asshat. SAY something to her.
"...I like Offspring."
Smooth.
"They're not on the radio much anymore now, but I had their first album when I was a kid." Pfft, like she cared to know background noise. Tobias didn't often discuss himself. They'd walk on awkwardly in companionable silence for a little while then, partly because he wanted to hear what remained of the song and partly because he couldn't think of much else to say and didn't want to embarrass himself worse. The song (or wanting to listen to it) gave him some time to mull over her answer to his question, which was probably the only reason he didn't start stammering or something. Come to a practice and find out for yourself. Such a thing had never occurred to him. "Sure..." he said, a little hesitantly. "Why not." Self Esteem ended and the next track popped up, going straight into automatic play.


For just a second, Tobias forgot where he was and what he was doing. He was still mostly aware of the world around him, but music had a way of being able to transport him somewhere else for a brief period of time. He snapped back to reality with a deliberate blink. Rachel was leading the way, of course, so that when they reached her house, Tobias jerked a step or two ahead of her and yanked the bud out of his ear. He stumbled and narrowly avoided falling over and making a complete fool of himself. "Sorry." He found the apology slipping out of his mouth reflexively. "I'm..." He didn't really finish that thought. A mental flashback surfaced of going to some shitty hole-in-the-wall diner with his aunt and her friends. They'd chattered among themselves like fat, complacent hens about why he'd been dumped on her doorstep, while he'd pressed himself to the wall in the booth, making himself as small as he could (as if he hadn't felt an inch tall already) and trying to pretend their words didn't sting. Not normal, Mary, that's what it is. He's just an odd little boy. I know. Frank and I don't know what to do with him.
"...not normal," he finished, blinking back the sudden affronting image of his aunt Mary's face, all the way on the other side of the country. Rachel's face was in the here and now, and much prettier to boot.

RACHEL:
Rachel was used to being forward with the others. So, in perhaps a semi-obtrusive way, this was wordlessly expressing that she was comfortable near him also. That, and she silently wanted to see him come out of his shell a little bit more. Even a popular girl understood shyness, but she didn’t want him to be. At least not around her.
“Yea, they’re pretty cool,” she replied absently. The Offspring certainly wasn’t the type of music “her kind” was supposed to like. The band wasn’t her favorite, but they still made the list in her book; she even walked with the slightest bobbing of her head.

It would seem that she didn’t find the walk awkward at all. She was content with casually strolling along, making sure not to drift too far ahead and remained close to his side so as to not tug the earbud out of his ear or her own. Rach figured he would say something if he was uncomfortable...but then again, he seemed too quiet to do that.
A part of her hoped he wouldn’t say anything.
There was silence and comfort, things she didn’t often get. Even if they hadn’t spoken much during the walk, it was enjoyable nonetheless. When he came up short, her feet automatically stopping without thought in front of her house, a smile tugged at her lips. “It’s alright,” she said, the gentlest laughter evident in her voice. Pulling the bud out from her ear, her movements instantly slowed down when he spoke again.

I’m...not normal.
As quickly as that bright smile appeared, it dimmed while she looked to him. The edges of her eyes softened, but her mouth was set into a hard line like she would have yelled at whoever claimed that of him. “Why do you say that?” Rachel couldn’t help it. Suddenly she felt so guilty to ask, but she didn’t budge, letting the distant thrumming of music from the earbuds linger above the silence.

TOBIAS:
Was that blonde ponytail actually bobbing along to the music? Tobias didn't smile much, but he felt a sudden urge to at the sight - an urge he fought to control so that his only reaction was a twitch of his lips in what appeared more like a quick look and afterthought. They halted in front of her house and he gazed at it for a moment, then turned clouded blue eyes back to Rachel's face. He cringed, wishing he hadn't told her he wasn't normal. It was true, but now she wanted him to elaborate.
Tobias scratched the back of his head and looked somewhere above hers for a second, clearing his throat. "Because..." I mostly just talk to Dude. "...I'm not into all this high school hocus pocus." And I'm walking Little Miss Prom Queen Candidate home. He shoved a hand into his jacket pocket and shrugged a shoulder. "I..." Tobias faltered and stalled, running fingers through the unruly blonde tufts that served as his hair. I'm talking to a gorgeous girl, and all I want to do is like...disappear under one of these fucking lawn rocks. "I'm different, but I don't stand out," he blurted. "It makes me invisible instead, but I'm cool with that." Tobias removed his hand from his jacket pocket and retrieved the cigarette from behind his ear, trying very hard to look as though he really was cool with that. "Besides, I uh...hear it a lot."

RACHEL:
She stared at him. Blue eyes never blinked, never faltered from his face as he tried to answer her rather difficult question. She could have backed off, could have apologized, but Rachel couldn't help but be curious about why such a guy as Tobias felt this way. Felt so...alone? She wasn't exactly sure what it was.
"You stand out to me," she said after a moment of silence. That probably came out far more bluntly than she had wanted, but it was still sincere nonetheless. It was truth, and when was she ever afraid of that? A shrug of her shoulders, she toyed with the earbud between her fingers.

"What's normal anyway? Who even dictates what normal is? Those assholes who've retaken senior year a hundred times because they're too stupid to comprehend much of anything else?" A gentle sigh, she stepped forward and handed over his headphones. "I like different. Don't let it get to you." Rachel attempted to smile; it was soft and genuine, but it was small. Perhaps it was easy for her to say all of this when she certainly wasn't invisible. Didn't mean she never wished to be every once in awhile.

TOBIAS:
Didn't she realize it wasn't any easier to talk to her when she stared at him? He squirmed a bit while he stood there, feeling, as usual, so uncomfortable in his own skin. Then she said five simple but profound words that made the fidgeting stop, words that made Tobias freeze in time for a space of heartbeats.
You stand out to me.
She uttered it so bluntly, so simply, as if it was anything other than a revolutionary concept. His own family didn't even want much to do with him and they didn't care if he knew it. He could go invisible to them for days at a time and it wouldn't matter...but she had noticed him, or always looked for him, since that silly locker incident. He responded in a way that might have been uncharacteristic of him - hell, it was somewhat. "You're something else, Rachel. If there's anybody I'd wanna stand out to, it's probably you." He grinned outright, a flash of bright pearly whites, and tucked the cigarette back behind his ear. Tobias usually smoked when he was stressed out, but Rachel made him feel more at ease than he had around anyone else in a long time. The need to smoke was not paramount at present. He didn't blush after he said what he did either, for once. It was the honest truth, and since she seemed to give him nothing but honesty, he might as well reciprocate.
He laughed when she got all snippy and cited the status quo, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Okay, okay, point taken," he conceded, holding up empty palms in the universal gesture of surrender. "It's not so easy for stuff to get to me just now."
You walked her home, hadn't you better leave her at her door now? Turn around and go home. She can afford to say stuff like that, can't she?
Tobias frowned for a second at the pessimist in his head, opened his mouth to say something to Rachel, and then snapped it shut again. What was he going to say? That he didn't want to leave her at her door? She still had to change out of that...outfit. Ugh. He briefly looked away and scratched the back of his head. "Well, if you really like different so much..." No, no, no. Abort, man. Abort mission. "...and you don't have anything better to do..." ABORT! Quit while you're AHEAD! "...maybe you'll wanna hit up the planetarium with me? I almost hate to leave you at the door." There it is. You're a douche. An awkward, forward douche. Congratulations.

RACHEL:
Well now. She didn't exactly expect to go off on that small tangent like she had. There was more she could've said, could've really gotten moody about, but she kept it subtle. For the most part. Frankly, she wasn't sure why it irked her as much as it had. But his words brought an almost embarrassed smile to her face, one almost as bright as his own...and she almost blushed. Almost. Maybe there was a small tint of pink. "Well...I'm glad," came her soft reply. Then, surprisingly, she didn't know what else to say.
Perhaps she should say goodbye and head inside before one of her sisters got nosey and poked their head out the window. Jordan, the little snitch, was most likely spying already, prepared to pounce her with annoying questions the moment she set foot through the door.

Just when she was about to open her mouth to speak, he beat her to it. A cant of her head to regard him with curious eyes, that smile ever so slowly returned. "Sure." The answer came quickly because she didn't even bother to think about it. "Let me just...change real quick. I'll be right back."
There was a bit of a hop in the way she turned, rushing towards the front door of her house. Rachel would have invited him in but she truly did not plan to take that long and wanted to avoid the questions that were certainly going to come up.

"None of your business, Jordan!" she shouted as she ran out of the house. It was a new record for her- less than ten minutes to make a wardrobe change! A pair of worn out jeans and a simple navy, button-down blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.
She went to join him at his side once more. "Sorry about that. I would've invited you in, but...sisters." That one word might explain it.

TOBIAS:
Tobias blinked in surprise when Rachel said yes; she really did seem like the kind of girl who'd have something - anything - better to do. He smiled again as she twirled away from him, practically skipping up the steps, and hardly seemed to notice or care about not being invited in. Standing outside waiting might have made another guy feel awkward, but Tobias was all too used to that, so things that should probably have made him feel out-of-place just didn't, and seemingly commonplace things did. "Okay."
Rachel disappeared inside her house and he slipped his earbuds back, pulling the cigarette back out from behind his left ear. He wasn't stressed, but he had just done something rather out of the norm, and he'd rather be calm about it than all jittery with nerves. Since smoking was beginning to become a habit and he was a self-conscious person, his other jacket pocket had a little tin of mints in it. Aunt Helen would have had a cow if she could smell tobacco; hers was a non-smoking house, thankyouverymuch. He was unaware of curious eyes on him from the window, but he didn't get to zone out to his playlists for too long. While Rachel was worried about Jordan spying, Sara had quietly slipped out the front door and wandered up to Tobias, who was caught up in some lyric or other and didn't notice. She tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped and whirled.
"Why are you on my lawn?"
He blinked. The girl was so candid, but she didn't ask the question with a cruel inflection. She asked with a sort of blunt curiosity that was quite like Rachel's, and yet somehow still managed to catch him off guard. "I'm...Tobias," he introduced himself awkwardly, "I'm just waiting for Rachel."
"Jordan wants to know why you're out here, I don't care." Sara put her hands on her hips and took a few steps back, wrinkling her nose. "You shouldn't smoke. Don't you have health class?"
Tobias shrugged, not seeming phased in the least by her barrage of questions. Rachel came running back out, though, and Sara thought better of interrogating the strange boy in the yard. "Well, bye!" She was off like a shot toward the back of the house, leaving him staring after her with his head slightly tilted, a bemused look on his face. Eyes snapped back over to Rachel and he sort of smiled with a careless shrug. Sisters, indeed. He didn't have any, but he could only imagine they got under each other's skin now and then. He popped a mint and bent down to put out his cigarette on the sidewalk, stashing the half that remained in his pocket. "It's just a couple miles from my aunt's," he explained about the planetarium. He was dying for a set of wheels, but in the meantime he walked pretty much everywhere. Since he hated sitting inside at home amongst all the arguing and bullshit, Tobias was out walking a lot. He offered an earbud to her again, with the trademark sounds of The Ramones pouring softly from the small speaker. "There's a gas station about halfway where I usually stop." Usually for a pack of Marlboro Reds and a 20-ounce of Mountain Dew. The guy behind the counter knew his ID was fake and didn't care; he'd be eighteen in just a few months anyway.

RACHEL:
Was it sad that she didn't have much going on? Her mother kept saying that, at her age, she should be hanging out with friends, dating, so on and so forth. Well, she did hang out with Cassie and the others frequently enough, yet the idea of going to the mall (as much as she loved it) with the girls from the squad just didn't appeal to her. Despite having very similar tastes in fashion...that was all they had in common. Rachel may have a slight obsession with gossip, but that didn't mean that she was interested in hearing about who was dating which football player. More than half of them didn't have a brain.
Aren't those helmets supposed to protect their heads?
The worst was when they would harp on the new kids or, you know, those who weren't "normal". There was that damned word again. To be quite honest, she was far more interested in this boy in a leather jacket (seriously, how has this been overlooked?) than douchebags in football pads. Sure, he was cute and a little shy at first...but he was smart, she could tell, and there was just something about him. It was interesting because she didn't have to pretend to be someone she wasn't, nor did she feel as though she were being put up on display. He didn't ogle...but she wondered if she would truly mind if he did.
Wait...what?

Rachel caught sight of her youngest sister rushing away at the last minute, nearly rolling her eyes. It didn't seem like Sara had done any harm, so she wasn't going to dwell on it. She was sure she'd get a boatload of questions later, however. For now, though, she was going to enjoy the rest of the day.
A nod, she didn't mind the few miles walk as it was still so nice out; yet what teenager didn't wish for a car? It would mean not having to take the bus everywhere or walk the same streets every day.
Oh, to dream...
"I can't remember the last time I was there," she said with thought. "Actually, it was probably a middle school field trip." And she remembered pretending to hate it simply because her "friends" thought it was lame. Needless to say, Rachel didn't hang out with those girls anymore.

It was difficult to hold back the smile again when he freely offered up one of those earbuds. She accepted, slipping it back into her ear as she nonchalantly slipped her arm through his. You know, to make walking a bit easier, of course. "Well, I don't mind the walk at all." Honestly, she'd be totally cool with just walking around if that's what he wanted to do.

TOBIAS:
He grinned when she assured him she didn't mind the walk, but the smile faltered for a second when Rachel slipped her arm through his. It was hard to stop the ill-disguised look of surprise that flitted across his face, and for a moment he didn't say anything. Didn't it occur to her that they'd probably look like they were together, walking around arm-in-arm? He knew she was a gymnast, she definitely didn't have any issues with balance she could blame it on. Then again, she didn't seem like she cared to blame the action on anything; Rachel was the sort of girl who could just let a thing be what it was. At least, it was the impression Tobias gleaned from the casual way she went about things. "A...middle school field trip?" he faltered, trying to bring his mind back to what she was telling him. "We didn't have one where I went to middle school. The one they have here is pretty awesome." He decided he'd skip the gas station, maybe hit it up on the way back.
It was a little easier to walk like this with her, sharing headphones with their arms linked. Of course, as soon as this thought occurred to him, one of the reasons he didn't share his playlist began to croon from the speakers.

"Uh...maybe we should change this one," he said hastily and perhaps a little too loudly, as if she wouldn't be able to hear Howie Day. If Robbie had taken his headphones and heard a single second of that song, Tobias would end up with his head in the toilet again. "I'm...I'm trying to learn it," he blurted. It was true, but it was a better excuse than "I actually like Howie Day." He'd been teaching himself how to play guitar, which was a point of contention in Aunt Helen's house because the sound of him plucking the strings grated on her ears. As a result, he hadn't picked it up much lately.

RACHEL:
Rachel knew for a fact that people were talking about them. It wasn't a spreading rumor- not yet, anyway. But she had caught some of the girls whispering about it when they thought she was too far away to hear. It didn't bother her at all; clearly it didn't. Teenagers were always going to talk, and if they had to question why she hung around him (or any of her friends, honestly), then they didn't have the right to know. She liked him, and that was that.
In a moment, she'd be asking herself just how far that liking could go. Learn it? As in...sing or guitar? Cue up those silly, girlish fantasies. There was certainly more to him underneath the softly shy exterior.

"I couldn't really enjoy it much when I went," she added, again not going into details. "But I'm curious about what makes it so 'awesome'." There wasn't much of a chance for him to answer when a familiar tune played next through the small speaker in her ear. Rachel was already grinning before he blurted something out.
"No, why?" came her quick response. If he went to go try and skip the song, she'd actually swat his hand away. "I like this song." Then he said it, and she was instantly looking over at him with an even deeper curiosity. "...learn it?" Now it was her turn to try and bring her mind back to the present. Oh God, she didn't sound like some simpering bimbo, did she? Or worse, look it? Well, she was grinning at him.

TOBIAS:
"Whoa, are you kidding me?" She'd been to the planetarium and she was actually wondering what made it so awesome? He frowned at her in disbelief. Maybe she'd been more invested in her friends than her surroundings at the time. "I can't believe that." He paused for a second, thinking it over. "It'll be almost like you're seeing it for the first time today then, huh?" For some reason Tobias sounded gleeful at the notion of this, or of witnessing it.
He had no idea that anyone was whispering about them. Sure, he knew they whispered about him, but he was used to it. He heard it from his own family, why shouldn't he hear it from his classmates? But them, as in Tobias and Rachel - it never occurred to him as a thing to be whispered about. Then again, his head seemed to be far up in the clouds more often than not.
Tobias did try to change the song, and he quirked a brow when Rachel wouldn't let him. Why? Because it wasn't macho? Did it really matter? He didn't answer the question of why, choosing instead to elaborate on that other thing - the guitar. "I'm learning the chords to this song," he insisted. "It's not too hard. I'm...not much of a singer, though." He shrugged. He played for himself, because it was something to do other than argue with his aunt, something to hear other than her disagreements with his uncle, and something to think about other than why the hell he was stuck with Aunt Helen and Uncle Frank anyway, and why his parents hadn't stayed around. Sometimes he would sing along with the music under his breath, but he didn't really need the sound of his voice to accompany the hum of the strings.
Wait, was Rachel grinning at him? Why was she grinning? Oh, right...the guitar. "Can you sing?" he asked her abruptly, with a tilt of his head.
That smile's kind of blinding, isn't it? I think she actually likes you, you jerk. Not sure WHY, but don't blow it...
They were just passing the gas station now, but he hardly noticed. He was too busy entertaining the idea that Rachel Berenson might like him. Hey, he liked wild theories!

RACHEL:
Yea, yea, she paid no mind to anything at the planetarium. Her friends had just gossiped the whole time and wouldn’t even let her look for more than a few seconds. That should have been Rachel’s first clue, but then again, it appeared that she had the perfect tour guide with her to see it all properly this time. She simply grinned at him again.
People were going to talk. They always did, even if you desperately tried to avoid it. Apparently, it wasn’t every day that a cheerleader walked off with some quiet new kid. To them it was ridiculous! To Rachel, he was refreshing. Real.
She was grinning a lot, wasn’t she? Hopefully she didn’t look like a complete idiot. And she wasn’t even sure if all those smiles and the way she walked with him was in any way flirting. It just...was, because she wasn’t thinking about it. Rachel often didn’t think too much on something. She just did it when it felt right.

“I’d still love to hear you play...if that’s alright.” That smile, however, gently faltered. Not in a bad way, as she looked to be more embarrassed than anything else. Sing? Out of all the other things she had done or wanted to be, Rachel never took the moment to dream of becoming a singer. At a young age, she wanted to be everything from a racecar driver (don’t ask) to a gymnast. Never had she thought about singer or actress or ballerina like most of the other girls.
“Sing?” she repeated softly. “I...don’t know, honestly. I can, but that doesn’t mean I’m any good.” Sure, she sang along with the radio and sometimes in the shower...but that certainly didn’t count! This just made her laugh gently at herself.

TOBIAS:
"You can hear me play," he assured her, "if you sing along." Blue eyes sparkled with mirth that he kept contained, restricted from spilling past his lips. He didn't mention that they might have to find someplace other than his aunt and uncle's house to hang out. They barely cared if he went to school, but they wouldn't want him bringing a girl back there - not even if they were just doing homework. Tobias rolled his eyes at the thought of Aunt Helen's screechy reaction. "You don't have to be any good. I suck at it, but if I get a song right, I can't help singing along sometimes."
They were coming up to the university which, of course, housed one of the state's finest planetariums. The place was practically deserted, as it was after hours and even field trip classes had been dismissed. Those that remained in the building were scientists, janitors and professors working late. Tobias unhooked his arm from Rachel's and turned his mp3 player off, tucking his headphones into the pocket of his jeans. He turned his cell phone on silent and put it back in his jacket, lips already spreading into a luminous smile at the sight of the small but distinguished elderly woman he could see approaching the doors through panes of glass. She had short-cropped salt-and-pepper hair and wore a black turtleneck and tailored pants beneath a crisp white lab coat. "Didn't expect to see you today!" she greeted him in a strong, deep voice.
"Hi, Professor," he greeted her cheerfully as she opened the door. He stood back so that Rachel could walk through first. "Thanks for letting me stop by."
"You don't stop by often enough," she admonished him with a joking smile.
"This is Rachel," he said, bypassing her statement so that he could avoid explaining anything. Now just wasn't the time. "Rachel, this is my friend Professor Powers. She helps keep the planetarium running."
"Nice to meet you, young lady." Professor Powers held out her hand, turning her friendly gaze to the pretty blonde girl in the blue sweater. She eyed Tobias for a moment, but his expression gave her nothing.

RACHEL:
Ooh, sneak! Rachel seemed satisfied as he spoke, agreeing to play for her...until the "if". This pulled a rather admirable smile from her. He seemed to be sneaking further out of his shell, so if she had to sing to make it happen even more, then so be it. She didn't think she was a horrible singer, but she wasn't great either. Average? Plain? "I'll...think about it," she laughed softly. "I'm kind of shy with that, just so you know..." Wow, something actually made her feel shy?

The planetarium came into view, and Rachel was pleasantly surprised that they were already there. "Is it closed? Looks kind of...vacant." Perhaps there would be no time for him to answer as they were greeted by the charming elderly woman. Bright eyes ticked back and forth between the two and she found amusement in the fact that Tobias was a very frequent visitor by the sounds of it.
"Nice to meet you, Professor," she said, shaking the woman's hand in return. "I was just telling Tobias before that it's been a long time since I've been here. He seems very fond of it."

TOBIAS:
"He's fascinated with space and the solar system," explained Professor Powers, peering up at Tobias with her kind eyes. "He often stops by to assist me with little things around here; he's very bright. You could study here on a full scholarship, Tobias. It may be a good option for you. What would your aunt and uncle say about that?"
"They wouldn't care," he mumbled noncommittally. He wasn't here to discuss what they'd say or how they'd feel about anything. "Listen, professor, can we just duck into the planetarium for a little while?" As much as he loved chatting with her, he'd prefer it to be about a different topic. And maybe at a different time.
"I'm leaving in about an hour," she told him, eyebrows raised, studying him over the rims of her wire-framed glasses. "Make sure you leave everything just as you found it. I'm going downstairs now to speak with a friend of mine in the lab, but I'll be in my office shortly if there's anything you need. It was nice meeting you, Rachel." Professor Powers reached up and patted Tobias on the shoulder, then turned in her sensible black pumps and clicked down the hall. Tobias didn't need a tour guide, he knew where to go. And she was smart and tactful enough to realize he didn't want one - from the way his pupils dilated when he looked at Rachel, she surmised that he probably liked the girl.
"She's...really nice," Tobias said in a semi-apologetic tone. He just hadn't wanted to stand there talking about scholarships and whether or not they were a good idea. As soon as he turned eighteen, he was peacing out of that house he lived in and jet-setting anywhere else. "She caught me sneaking in with a class once and didn't tell my aunt. Sometimes she helps me with homework and I'll help her mow her yard and pick all the raspberries in the garden. She can't always do it 'cause her hands get arthritis." They walked down a couple different corridors, footsteps echoing in the oddly settled quiet. They only saw one other person in the hall, who gave them one of those hurried, forced smiles as they walked briskly past. He found the door he wanted and held it open for Rachel. She was ushered inside a room suffused with a soft golden glow that was quite different from the hallway's bright industrial lighting. The change was starker still as Tobias held open the theater door.


The planetarium was just a few shades short of pitch black, 150 plush seats beneath a 50-foot Astrotech dome. Each seat had a folding tablet arm attached for students to use. "Find a chair," he said, his face lit up with a beaming smile Rachel probably wouldn't spot in the dark. When she turned to oblige, he was gone, moving silently as a shadow to the back room which housed the projectors and the host computer. It took a few minutes, but the professor had shown him how to do this the easy way. Rachel was probably still in the process of finding a seat or had barely settled in one when the room plunged into pitch black and the massive dome came alive with the light of a hundred thousand brilliantly burning stars flecked around a huge blue planet swirling with copper and white.

RACHEL:
Listening to the professor express how bright Tobias was, Rachel found herself smiling gently again as she turned her attention back up to him. Not to be cliche, but the quiet types so often were the smartest and the brightest, and at the sound of it, Professor Powers believed he had what it took to excel. However, the light from her face dimmed just a bit at his response. He had spoken little of his aunt and uncle, but it had been enough for her to understand what was going on, or to at least have an inkling.
Were they blind? Naive? Just completely fucking stupid to not see this boy for everything he was and could be? Rachel had only known him for a short time, but even she could see it. And clearly she wasn’t alone in that notion. “Was nice to meet you as well,” she said in return, offering a little wave of her hand before the professor departed.

“She’s very nice,” she agreed, smiling again as he went on. It was good to hear that he at least had someone in his life to care about him, and the woman obviously did. From the brief conversation, the professor had some high hopes for him already. It was something that Rachel desperately wanted to ask about, maybe even encourage him to pursue...but something told her to hold off on it. It was a conversation for another time, maybe. Tobias needed the support of others, and she was totally okay with being one of them. He wasn’t off changing the world, but there was something inspiring about him.
Especially this light enthusiasm for the planetarium.
When he opened the door to the darkened room, she paused in the doorway to point something out. “You’re somethin’ else, you know that?” It was how she said it that made it obvious it was a good thing. Helping old ladies was kind of endearing, you know.

Rachel didn’t have to see that smile to hear it in his voice when he asked her to find a seat. Yet, even with the door still open, her eyes had to take a few seconds to adjust to the darkness as she slowly scrambled to find a suitable seat. Just as she was ready to sit, however, everything went completely black and she froze. “Uh, Tobias…?” Before she could utter another word, the domed screen lit up with those brilliant stars, and she blessedly forgot what she was doing. “Oh...wow.” Words fell quietly from her lips before the biggest smile painted across her face in awe; she remained standing there with her head tilted back in silent admiration.

TOBIAS:
"Thanks," said Tobias a little awkwardly, when Rachel commented that he was "something else." He wasn't positive what that meant, exactly, but it was obvious that it meant something positive, so the smile remained on his face.
It wasn't difficult to slip away in the darkness to the back room and set the whole display on autopilot, but he couldn't help wishing for a second that he had been at Rachel's side to witness her first reaction. He slipped into the seat beside her and pulled out his playlist again, more for soft background noise than anything else. "I chill in here and study the constellations sometimes. There are other slides too, these are just the space ones." He leaned forward in his seat somewhat, blue eyes bright and intent as the Earth disappeared, replaced by a copper-red planet characterized by a surface of thick burnt-orange dust. The display was zooming faster and faster into a closeup view of planet Mars. "That's Phobos, and that's Deimos." Tobias pointed, indicating the two small moons orbiting the planet. "They aren't actually moons, they're presumably small asteroids caught in the pull there." The scene switched, and suddenly it looked as though Saturn was headed straight for them, huge and imposing in three-dimensional view. He'd fallen silent explaining, though, preferring to watch the silhouette of the awestruck girl sitting next to him. Tobias had studied these slides a hundred times already (or at least it seemed that way), and he'd never once had any company other than the professor. He was far more interested in her reactions than on the projections reflecting off the wall. "There are aerial slides, prehistoric slides, the underwater ones are pretty cool."
He felt an urge to reach for Rachel's hand, but didn't act on it. He was too painfully shy. What if she pulled away or something? What if he misread her? He wasn't exactly a genius at reading others. His hand twitched, but he busied himself with changing the track on his mp3 player instead, holding out an earbud again.

RACHEL:
Perhaps she'd explain it one day, if he truly wanted to know. For now, though, she was too enthralled with the stars. It was a shame they were barely visible in the real sky from her house...but this was just as good. Rachel almost didn't hear him approach; without removing her eyes from the scenes playing out before them, she managed to fall back into the seat behind her somewhat gracefully. "I like the space ones..." she murmured in response before giving him some of her attention as he explained a few of the following slides.
He knew a lot. If anyone asked her, she wouldn't have been able to distinguish any planet from the other, except maybe for Earth. And wasn't Pluto not a planet anymore? Or had that changed again? She really needed to keep up on current events, and of the non-celeb kind. Didn't matter at this point because she was grinning like a mesmerized child.
The planetarium was indeed a great idea.

Partially snapping out of her quiet awe, Rachel spotted his subtle movements in her peripheral and came to realize he was holding out that earbud. "I could sit here for hours. It's kind of...hypnotizing, isn't it?" As though torn, not fully wanting to remove her eyes from the screen, she turned her head just a little as a hand blindly reached out for his own and that single, little speaker. Fingers gently wrapped about his own, she didn't pull away just yet. Misread her? No, he wasn't; she suddenly just realized it herself. For her, it wasn't weird or awkward or forced, it was subtle and simple. And nothing was ever just simple anymore, which made this worth exploring even more.
Finally drawing her eyes from space, she looked over to him with that ever-present grin. "Now that I know how smart you are when it comes to the stars, you're going to have to teach me all the constellations." Sure, it was more a blunt suggestion than a question, but it was evidently clear that she was enjoying herself and would do it again. Hint, hint.
Taking that earbud and placing it into her ear, Rachel leaned back comfortably as she drew her knees up. She shifted, just slightly, towards him and set her eyes back up to the screen. It was funny how confident and cool she appeared because she was smiling stupidly inside.

TOBIAS:
After taking the headphone, he expected her to pull back right away. When she didn't, he blinked in surprise, as much at that as the fact that he let his hand close around hers. "Hypnotizing?" he repeated, glancing down at their clasped hands. "Yeah, sure. I can't really disagree with you...'cause I can't tell you how many hours I've spent in here." He shrugged, paused and then said, "I don't like to go home much." Though he grinned when she confirmed she liked the space slides, more than happy to change the subject. "I can't decide whether these are my favorite, or the prehistoric ones." He shifted in his seat somewhat, a gesture of nervous excitement. Tobias had almost forgotten he was still holding Rachel's hand; he didn't get to talk about what interested him to anyone but an apathetic cat most of the time - and occasionally an elderly scientist. "It's crazy to see 50-foot carnivorous prehistoric lizards gunning for you in 3-D with individual teeth the size of saws. The first time the T-Rex came at me with its mouth open I freaked out."
He could be clueless about a lot of things, socially, but he thought Rachel's suggestion to spend more time together was pretty plain...even if she did just want to learn about space or hear a tune on a scuffed '65 Harmony. "Okay, okay, wait." His smile softened somewhat, but it was still there. "You're about to see Venus and then it'll pan out to our galaxy again." Sure enough, when the milky pale planet sailed past them, the panoramic screen pulled up a brilliant, unobstructed view of stars from space. Tobias wasn't watching the transition, though. He was watching Rachel's face, upon which reflective points of light were dancing in the dark like so many glowing, changing freckles. His own probably looked similar but of course he had no mirror. When their eyes met, he shifted his gaze back to the screen. "That's Leo Minor." He pointed to a cluster of stars that roughly outlined a small lion. "It's barely visible from Earth, I can't catch it without a telescope. It's really only spotted in April, anyway." Was he rambling on? If you have to ask yourself, then you probably are. "Ursa Major, over here," he pointed again as the screen's viewpoint floated through space, "that's the big bear. And that one contains the Big Dipper." Still rambling. Wow. "The real thing is awesome through the right lens, but I really dig the planetarium because you can see this kind of stuff magnified and clear as day. If I wanted optimal viewing conditions for something like that, I'm waiting 'til January." Okay, SHUT UP now. She hasn't said anything for like, a million minutes 'cause you're a nervous babbler.

RACHEL:
’I don’t like to go home much.’

That struck a chord with her. A deep one. Not that she could fully relate, but that she still couldn’t quite understand why or how anybody could be so mean to him. Kids at school- fine, whatever. They were stupid anyway. But family? Rachel rarely got to see her father except for on television and every other weekend, and where her mother did love her and her sisters, she wasn’t always home. At least, she did try to be...but it was never good enough, something Rachel wasn’t able to voice so openly even with how it aggravated her.
Maybe it made her feel good that he was being himself and smiling around her. And briefly she wondered if that was why she liked him, because she felt sorry for him. Could she really be that way?
No. Despite what some thought of her, Rachel wasn’t the type. She didn’t give out her pity or sympathy just so she got something in return or a pat on the back. She genuinely liked him and even enjoyed his scientific rambling. It was cute, and was certainly better than listening to herself ramble about some sale going on at the mall.
Her friends liked to roll their eyes at that, she noticed. But Tobias, he...well, again, he really was something else. It wasn’t every day that she could go sit in front of a screen full of stars and love it. He made it so easy to.

A soft laugh, “Well, I guess we’re going to have to look at dinosaurs next.” Tonight, or next time...or whenever. Did he want to? Maybe she was being too forward; maybe she appeared desperate? How could you appear desperate? You haven’t really done anything. Against the continuous inner monologue, Rachel shifted just a little bit more as he explained a couple of those constellations. A tilt of her head at trying to find the ‘bear’, she’d rest it against his shoulder before a hand shot out to point at the Big Dipper. “Oh, I know that one!” Of course you do...everyone knows that one, blondie. At least she was able to laugh at herself. “I know that one and know Orion is...somewhere. But he’s the hunter and wears a belt…?” See? This was why he needed to teach her.
Well, that was kinda embarrassing, Rach…Way to fit the stereotype.

TOBIAS:
"Yeah?" Some girls could have made that a derisive joke, dripping with sarcasm. Sure, we could look at dinosaurs next. Rachel was different, though, and that was why he was starting to like her. That little revelation surprised him, but it shouldn't have. It probably wouldn't surprise anyone else - besides, his stomach sort of swooped every time she smiled. That it happened every time made it far too coincidental to be chalked up to indigestion. He fell into a sort of content silence while Rachel spoke, until she put her head on his shoulder and pointed out the Big Dipper. "Um..." What? He lost what she was saying for a minute. Oh, Orion's belt. "Yeah, he's the hunter. The belt is the easiest way to find him up there. Sometimes it's called the Three Sisters, because it consists of three different stars. I...can't think of their names off the top of my head. But Orion can be seen all over the world, and it has ten different stars with their own exoplanets. The brightest ones, though, are bluish white and red supergiants, which have higher masses than regular stars. That means they're probably due at some point to explode into a supernova." Maybe Tobias was rambling again, but it helped him calm his nerves this time. And it couldn't be insufferable, she hadn't moved her head yet. It was a little tricky putting an arm around her, but he managed to. He had a brief thought she might leap up and demand to know what he was doing...but as she'd put her head on his shoulder first, he squashed his negative inner voice with a placidly triumphant I don't think so.
"...I like you, Rachel." This simple four-word confession fell out unbidden, and for once Tobias let the phrase have its space, rather than wishing he could take the it back and tripping over himself to cover it up.

RACHEL:
What little kid didn't like dinosaurs growing up? Sure, it was sometimes "odd" when the kid was a girl and only had two younger sisters. Rachel happily blamed it on her father who she swore secretly wanted a boy. So to make up for it, she had always been okay with hiking, going to ball games, and curling up on the couch to watch Jurassic Park. She would forever enjoy those things. Still, her knowledge of the prehistoric animals was just as thin as her knowledge of the stars.
And Tobias clearly knew a lot.
On and on he went, and Rachel did not budge, not even when he so casually put his arm around her. She was even listening to him...not that she'd be able to reiterate half of it. Why wouldn't he want to study here? A scholarship was just in his reach; all he had to do was lean out a bit and take it.
That grin again, she spoke in soft jest, "I hope there isn't a test. I haven't been taking notes."

Then he said something. For a moment, Rach wondered if her ears were playing tricks on her, but then why was that grin brightening a bit more on her face? She knew she hadn't made it up and sat forward just enough so that she could turn in her seat to face him. Not too much though; wary of the earbud still in her ear that she refused to remove.
It had taken her a little by surprise. Normally she was the one to always jump in first, the brazen one...but here he had left her quietly speechless, wondering if she was expecting something that simply wasn't there.
Forgetting the mesmerizing stars, she was thankful for the dimmed lighting as she could feel the pink rush to her cheeks like the young school girl that she was. "Well..." she began, masking her slight nervousness. "I like you too."
This was all pleasantly and expectedly unexpected.

TOBIAS:
Tobias wasn't sure what he thought she'd say, but somehow it wasn't I like you too. He hadn't been expecting dislike or anything, per se - maybe more like an excuse. In all fairness, that was all he was really used to. Rachel was not the first girl to like him, but she seemed to be the first to like him without reservations, and clearly without hesitating to consider the matter as if he was disposable. It wasn't so much the words as the lack of hesitation in them that made Tobias grin.
Mutual like, great. You didn't expect to get this far. Now what?
For once, he and that negative little inner voice were in agreement. He had a thought, of course, but acting on it? What if she pulled away?
That's what you asked yourself when you went for her hand too, and she didn't. She didn't, so...what if she doesn't?
Rachel was leaning forward, looking at him, and even in the dark his gaze could find the perfect outline of her lovely, smiling mouth. His own smile was gone, but at the moment his mind was focused on something kind of nerve-wracking. What-if-what-if-what-if ...
And then he kissed her.
It felt as if a supernova was barely contained in his chest. It felt as if his stomach might drop to his feet. It felt as if time had stopped just for them, in their own single-room universe.

RACHEL:
Her own inner voice was telling her to go for it. Everything just felt so beautifully simple that she wasn’t wondering if it was too random or too soon. Still, where she might have normally jumped the gun and kissed him first...she was purposely lingering, waiting; wanting to see if his thoughts strayed that far as well and went to take the plunge. She loved the feeling of her softly, drumming heart, that moment of excitement and anticipation as the tension built up. It was a moment to just be a girl, a moment to just be Rachel. There were no chatty, snickering girls with pompoms, no fake smiles or lies, no competitions with coaches barking orders. There were no adoring friends to crack jokes and make fun or point fingers.
There was no one but them.

A little closer, she almost gave in before Tobias charmed her for a second time this evening. He kissed her.
She had known it was coming, whether by her doing or his, so there wasn’t that initial surprise or hesitation on her part, despite the fact that she smiled inwardly. There wasn’t any hesitation at all, really. So, if it were even possible, Rachel leaned forward more as hands grasped onto the armrest, returning the kiss instantly and eagerly.

TOBIAS:
Whoa! She kissed him back, like really kissed him back. Had he stopped breathing? ...Maybe just for a second. And for a space of quickened heartbeats, the “weird kid” felt a little surreal, and apart from himself - as if he were a third-party outsider looking in on his own life through a windowpane. Tobias saw himself sitting there in that darkened planetarium theater, exploring the rose-petal soft lips of one of the most beautiful girls to ever walk the Hedgeview halls. Maybe the Earth, even. He’d been dreaming about something like this for a couple of weeks now, and he’d honestly expected to quietly moon over her for the rest of the school year. Tobias figured he’d never have the guts to tell her anything, but here he was, sitting in a breathtaking cosmic dome with Rachel Berenson. And yet, Tobias pulled away - quickly, like something had shocked him. He was used to being called a weird kid. He was even used to having the occasional “out-of-body experience” (not so much from the usage of drugs as the occasional totally odd burst of deja vu). But he was not used to seeing the same thing twice. Tobias had pulled back because he’d seen that image of himself and Rachel as he normally might (assuming this whole thing could be called normal, and he was well aware that it wasn’t…), but he’d realized he could see the same image as if through a second set of eyes. Somewhat higher up. As if they each might reside on a slim, independently-swiveling stalk…
He jerked back, struggling for breath as his hands moved automatically to the sides of his head. “I’m...sorry,” he managed to croak finally, knowing he ruined the moment. “I’m sorry. I forgot my inhaler, and sometimes I think I stare at these projector slides too long. I get headaches.”
Maybe Aunt Mary was right. Maybe Uncle Frank and Aunt Helen SHOULD have you tested.

RACHEL:
Well that...wasn't something she expected.
What happened? Had she done something wrong? Did he suddenly change his mind, as easily as that? When he drew back so quickly, it stunned her, and she sat there frozen in place with an immediate overflow of different, random thoughts. Rachel was glad for the dim lighting of the room because she could feel her cheeks reddening with embarrassment, and it was such a rare reaction for her.
It had been a kiss, just a simple kiss. Nothing ever had to come from it, if that's what he was worried about. Not that she didn't possess a little bit of hope that something might come of it, but she wasn't voicing any of this. Flustered, she couldn't control the onslaught of reasons, because her mind instantly clung to one single idea: rejection. And Rachel had never felt that way before.

"Oh..." That was the only word she could mutter once she was able to snap out of her stunned silence. Before, her heart had beat wildly inside her chest, filling her with such an elated feeling...now, it had dropped to the pit of her stomach, and she felt sick. Saddened. Too many things all at once. "Right." Inhaler? Slides? Headaches? Excuses to put her down lightly; that had to be it. And she was too confused to get angry about it like she might normally have.
Nevermind, that didn't last long.
"So...you're not thinking straight?" Was that what he was telling her? That he kissed her because he wasn't in his right mind, not because he simply wanted to? The way she asked this question was innocent, but there was a slight edge to her tone still.

TOBIAS:
"Um..."Shit, he really had screwed the moment up big time. He shook his head, half in disgust with himself and half at what she said. No, he wasn't thinking straight, but he'd been struggling with weird dreams for awhile. He never thought they'd progress into daydreams. Telling her the truth would sound too strange. Tobias' stomach lurched in a brief panic; if he told her the truth she'd write him off as a crazy person and probably never speak to him again...but if he lied to her, she might be able to tell. He wasn't a very good liar. So...he'd try a version of the truth. It couldn't exactly be called a lie.
"I...had this weird deja vu moment for a second. And..." He'd paused, but not to steel himself to tell some sort of lie. It did sound somewhat like he was struggling for breath. "...I forgot to breathe, for another few. You're..." Tobias stopped, waiting for his breathing to return to mostly normal, and tried again. "I don't...girls like you don't talk to guys like me, Rachel." He could hear that little edgy note in her voice and he just hoped he didn't piss her off. He looked sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. "Guys like me..." He trailed off again and even managed a short burst of laughter. "Guys like me only dream about girls like you. I'm not normally very smooth." He looked around the room. The panoramic screen was now propelling their view through space, past planets and asteroids and flaring stars. "I'd be lucky to carry your books, let alone kiss you."
Tobias glanced down at his hands in his lap, highly embarrassed. But when he looked back up, one eyebrow was cocked in a gesture of slight incredulity. "Rachel, I know you don't see yourself the way other people see you. It's one of the best things about you. But if you think I have the ability to think straight after what just happened, you're overestimating my mental capacity. To sum up, you turn my brain to pudding." He didn't look as though he thought he said something clever. On the contrary, he sat there with his shoulders sort of hunched, looking like he'd rather not have admitted all that.
Way to go, motormouth. Your nervous babbling makes me sick.

RACHEL:
Screwed up? Yeah, it seemed like it. It wasn't every day that she felt so embarrassed, wondering what she could have possibly done to warrant such swift rejection. It was rejection, right? What else could it possibly be?
Tobias attempted to explain, but it was doing little to calm her nerves down. It was that whole 'cheerleaders don't date nerds' thought process, to be short, and it wasn't something that she felt like listening to because she heard it enough from the bimbos at school. "Girls like me?" What, because she carried the pompoms, loved the mall, and put on a little lipstick every once in awhile, she was a part of a stereotype? Was he really going there? Maybe you should just chill the fuck out for a minute.
Standing from her seat, her mouth opened to berate him, but his short laughter had her stop short...looking down at him with a confused, yet scathing look. His rambling, again, had her listening instead of talking.
Perhaps he didn't think himself very smooth, but those were some very smooth words to say; intentionally clever or not.

'But if you think I have the ability to think straight after what just happened, you're overestimating my mental capacity. To sum up, you turn my brain to pudding.' She liked pudding. Dammit.
Rachel bit down on her bottom lip and slowly lowered herself back onto her seat next to him. Now she felt pretty guilty. She knew from the start that he wasn't your "typical" guy, and the shyness just dripped off of him. And right now, he was already slipping back into his shell; her glaring probably hadn't helped. "I'm sorry. I just thought that-" She paused, deciding not to finish that sentence. So, with a gentle sigh, she continued. "Look, I don't know what this is. I just know that I've enjoyed myself, that I like you. And I don't care what 'girls like me' are supposed to want or like...because I wouldn't mind if you carried my books." A smile was creeping its way to her face as she turned her attention up to the planets as they rushed by them. "The part about kissing me, on the other hand...well...you didn't exactly leave me much time to judge that," she lied.

TOBIAS:
Ooh, she looked angry. That swift and scathing look didn't last too long, but it still made him wince. Could it be possible that she actually thought he might've changed his mind about wanting to kiss her? If Rachel hadn't been looking at him like that, Tobias may have laughed. As he went on, though, seemingly unable to stop, she only appeared more confused and he was worried his babbling was making things worse. But then she was sitting back down, and he was distracted for a second by the way her teeth pressed down on her lower lip. Tobias was not an open book, but at times he could be pretty transparent, and he was clearly mesmerized until he realized she was talking.
An apology? Maybe he was a little luckier than he thought. He'd really expected her to storm out.
And I don't care what 'girls like me' are supposed to want or like...because I wouldn't mind if you carried my books.
"...Really?" Had he heard that right? Tobias leaned forward somewhat, his whole demeanor suddenly different. He was lit up, animated, for just a moment. And then his face registered a shy and slightly furtive look. "Well...can I carry 'em?"
Dammit, he forgot how to breathe again. You didn't exactly leave me much time to judge that, she said. He didn't wait for a "yes" or a "no" to his question. He'd upset her because she'd been embarrassed and confused, and he could remedy the situation. That whole plummeting feeling in his stomach was quickly shifting to nervous elation again; what he wouldn't give to be free of the angst of teenage emotions! Still, that elated feeling caused him to act spontaneously. The words had barely left his mouth before he stood up and took Rachel with him. He pressed his lips to hers for the second time that day, and this time, he even pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her waist…

RACHEL:
From the light of the large screen, still zipping through space, she could make out his face when she looked back to him. Was it really that surprising for her to like him, to want to be here and wherever else with him? Was it such a crazy thing? He seemed to think so, and perhaps she understood from a high school cliche' standpoint...but still. She did not abide by it. Although aware of them, things like that never really stuck with her or perhaps she pretended to be oblivious. Whatever the case, it simply didn't matter right now. Secretly, Rachel was glad other girls were stupid enough to overlook him; they wouldn't appreciate the adorably awkward and dorky nature he's shown.
Or when he finally decided to step out of his comfort zone.
God damn.

Rachel might have softly laughed or nodded her head to answer his question, but he took that moment to surprise her again. He was getting rather good at that, she noted in the split second she had to think. And that was all the time she was given before he pulled her back up to her feet...then against him for another kiss.
Ooh, she liked spontaneous Tobias.
Her heart automatically went crazy, beating hard against her ribs while hands found themselves resting upon his chest. One slithered up to loop her arm around his neck, drawing him down just a bit further to deepen the kiss. He didn’t have to forget to breathe this time; she was aiming to simply take it from him as he suddenly had, so easily, done to her.

TOBIAS:
All he could manage was a little sigh, and he was more than all right with her stealing it. Rachel took some initiative then, surprising him when she tilted her head to deepen the kiss. He was a gentleman and kept his hands carefully placed at her hips, despite the sudden speed of his heart rate and the subtle scent of her hair and tasteful perfume. She's kinda perfect, isn't she?
Tobias ignored his inner voice. Of course she wasn't kinda perfect. She was perfect. It was that simple. Rachel had taken his breath away without effort on more than one occasion, but he could sort of tell she was putting some effort into this. Not that she was the only one. Nothing seemed to exist but these two and this room. She'd bitten her own lip and, remembering now that he'd been so distracted by it, he followed suit. His teeth snagged down on her lower lip and gently tugged. Slowly, Tobias' hands seemed to be losing their battle to stay at Rachel's hips...but they were moving up rather than down. They slid up her sides, back and shoulders and finally came up to cradle the back of her head, fingers woven in her burnished blonde hair. His mouth slanted over hers again and again, and it didn't really matter how breathless he was anymore.
...And then they were blinded as the lights came on quite suddenly. Tobias heard the gravelly little snap of a throat clearing and he pulled away from Rachel to see Professor Powers staring at the two with a pointedly understanding look on her face...which was perhaps more embarrassing than eyebrows raised to high heaven and a shocked expression.
"Uh...hey, Professor," he croaked, a hand quickly finding the back of his own head instead of Rachel's in the universal gesture of mortification. If "do you mind" didn't sound so damn rude, he might've said it. She didn't look like she minded, but...she was still standing there. She nodded at him and then said, "I have to lock up now, Tobias, but I'll see you later this week. Mind you put everything in its rightful place, please." The professor managed a smile and almost winked, but figured rightly that it might have made the boy die of embarrassment. He was already looking pretty jumpy. "Have a good night, you two." She pointedly shut the door behind her and Tobias could hear the sound of her shoes fading away on the linoleum floor.
He turned to Rachel somewhat awkwardly and asked, "So...how 'bout them books?"

RACHEL:
The room and its beautiful stars no longer existed for her. It was as if they were floating into nothingness, into the deep blackness of space itself, yet she didn’t care. She couldn’t care; not when he kissed her like that. Dear God, seriously...how was it even possible for anyone to overlook this guy? Looks were always a nice bonus. A brain and interesting conversationalist was even better and desired (yes, how cliche’ of her)...but throw in a breathless makeout session? Talk about pudding for brains.
He gently snagged her bottom lip playfully and it made her breath catch in her throat. It was the barest of gasps in reaction; fingers curling into the fabric at his chest as though to steady herself...or perhaps garner control. She was even rising up onto her toes as if she wasn’t close enough...

Now, Rachel isn’t a very jumpy person, but she jumped when those lights came on. Another, this time louder, gasp slipped passed her lips as she practically yanked herself away from Tobias; eyes squinting to try and find the intruder. Her cheeks were flushed, and now they were beginning to redden more from embarrassment upon seeing Professor Powers.
She didn’t trust herself to speak. Too flustered, she offered a soft grin and a little wave upon the elder woman’s departure before she fully smiled, ready to laugh at herself. Was she seriously trying to remember how to breathe?
When Tobias spoke, Rachel actually took a moment to look around for those books, only to remember she had lazily tossed her school bag onto her bed earlier when she went to change. “Meet me at the lockers in the morning.” She casually stepped back to him and slipped arms up and around his neck. “Books, lips...whatever…” She’d catch sight of the time on her wristwatch and she sighed gently. “It’s starting to get late, though…” She regretted saying that.

TOBIAS:
As fond as he was of Professor Powers, Tobias was glad to hear her walking in the opposite direction. His face softened from embarrassment to amusement when he noticed Rachel actually looking for those books. Okay, he was fine with literally carrying them as long the implication behind the phrase remained the same. He could feel a smile forming again when she instructed him to meet her by the lockers in the morning. They usually did that anyway since their lockers were right next to each other, but tomorrow morning would be a little different. And in the meantime, he’d be looking forward to it. When Rachel reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, Tobias slipped his arms around her waist again, just briefly. He pulled her into a quick embrace and stepped back, holding out his arm so she could hook hers through it again if she wanted. She was regrettably checking her watch and he didn’t want this to end, but everything had to sometime and it had gone a lot better than he’d had a reason to expect. And he already knew tomorrow was going to be a much better day. In any case, he’d certainly have a bounce in his step when he walked her home, probably all the way up until he got to his own.