A Hard Night's Day (Everyone Welcome!)

By four o'clock that afternoon, Tobias had finally rolled out of bed. He hadn't managed to find time to eat in the last two days and the first place he wanted to go was the dining hall. He needed something in his system other than nicotine, and booze.

He had thought that the smell of cooking would send him quickly in the other direction and straight into the men's room. The moment he first caught a whiff of lemon pepper chicken, his basic instincts had taken over.

Tobias had taken a back seat to his wolfish instincts, and with a full moon at rise that night, but for all his hunger, Tobias ate slowly. His hangover was a sledge hammer bounding against his forehead, a weak-kneed feeling that all the showering in the world couldn't make him feel clean.

The comfort of food distracted him slightly. Seasoned potatoes, with double helpings ham and chicken, all drizzled in gravy.By the looks of his plate, Tobias's eyes were far too big for his stomach. His thin, lanky frame further denied the idea that he could eat as much, never mind the sight of it all would give a normal man with a substantial hangover, stomach churning side-effects, but Tobias managed to swallow the last bit of meat before absentmindedly chewing on the bones.

In a haze, Tobias watched students wonder in and out of the hall. Some were laughing or holding hands, others were wondering absentmindedly with their noses shoved between the pages of a book.

With a heavy sigh, Tobias lit a cigarette and inhaled the sweet tobacco before using the same hand to support his head as he leaned forward exhausted from the hangover.

He watched some of the older girls saunter in with swaying hips and tight fitting clothes that left little to the imagination. Tobias pictured briefly what it would be like to bed one of them, all moans and thrashing, none of the comfort that a real woman could provide. He put the cigarette to his lips and let his lungs fill with tar and smoke.

It felt like forever. She hadn't walked around in such a long time. What had kept her...?

New family situations, vacations, family drama, jobs, schooling. The piles of excuses filled her mind, but there was no solid reason for it. She had just been so...absent. Her heart hadn't been in anything after the whole break-up/dating episode and she had needed something to take her mind off of everything. Being in the school just brought her down more and more.

After the whole Kenric thing, Amorina had needed some well-deserved time to herself. She had visited her family much longer than intended and had forgotten much of her time spent in Foresta. There were her close friends who had stuck out in her mind though; Caroline and Emilio. Her gut gave a sharp drop at the thought of the name. How could she leave for so long without a word? He had probably moved on by now, no man like that would wait around. Amy's mood dampened at the thought of it. She hadn't even left a note.

Her stomach began to stab at her. Thinking so much had made her hungry to the point of pain. Her eyes glanced around the room. She could easily just walk downstairs and grab a bite to eat. It had been a long time since any drama, and if she happened to see anybody she could easily retreat to her room. Her mind was made up. She would eat. Now all she had to do was remember where the damn cafeteria was.

Finding it proved easier than she thought. Her nose had helped her more than anything. Noticing the students, Amy looked at herself and felt a little odd. She had lost some weight from the stress and now fit into her younger cousin's clothes. Slacks and a blouse were the "Reject" clothes Clara had given her, but she didn't mind. She still had to look like a teacher for the most part.

After she grabbed a plate of food, she looked around for a familiar face. It wasn't hard before she smelled one. For the first time in a few weeks, her lips curled into a smile.

"Toby, do you always have to smoke so much?"

Tobias looked up and Amy slowly came into focus. He stamped out his cigarette against the hard false-wood table top and let out a heavy sigh. "'Ello there love," he said slowly as he leaned back in his chair. "where have you been all this time?"

He gathered his fingers together at the tip and stretched his arms high above his head and arched his back until it gave a loud, satisfying pop. The hangover was killing him. He shouldn't have even been drinking on a work night. Was it as easy as this to jump back into old and dangerous habits.

"Are you going to sit or stand and eat?" he asked lazily scratching his chest and resuming his slouch. He tugged at the flea collar around his neck reminding himself why he hated American Springs. In Ireland it was too cold and wet for flees to make much of a bother until late summer and by that time he'd already be somewhere else in the city, not bothered by the rural parasites. No matter how often he bathed, which happened to be twice a day, that never stopped fleas from hunting out his wolfish genes and attacking. Yet another reason to hate why he was born.

"So where have you been, what do you know?" Tobias asked Amy with a somewhat forced smile. He was truly happy to see her. He had missed her dearly, but his emotions were slightly stunted at the moment.

She was glad to see her old friend and extremely happy that he hadn't forgotten her. She took the seat he offered and crossed her legs slowly, leaning on the table and looking at him. "Well, I visited familiy for a little bit and took a little time off. Too much drama here and there and it was just too much. I needed to get away for a little bit,"she explained. Of all her friends, Tobias was probably one of her oldest and dearest. They had their odd moments, the times they had tried to date but it just hadn't worked. Men..

Amy took a forkful of food, chewed and smiled before she turned back to him. "You look miserable Toby." She knew him almost too well sometimes. It had been years since they had first met and they always seemed to end up in the same place. She took notice of the flea collar and scratched his head a little, not wanting to irritate him. "How have you been? I'm sorry I didn't leave a note or anything. I thought I would be back sooner."

Going back to the food, she took a few more mouthfuls. It felt amazing to eat.

Tobias sighed and took a drink from his water. 'I'm just a bit hungover...and I'm still hungry...but I just can't seem to...move my feet." He scratched his nose ring and sniffed. "What sort of drama did I miss out on? I haven't been in the school lately. Working from ...home. That whole thing."

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. It was one of those days where he felt like years of grime soaked his bones and left him unclean. "you look... good." His eyes scanned over the curve of her body, and the way her hair fell over her shoulders. "Sorry... I don't mean to be rude but...are you thinner?"

Amy tsked. Toby, always drinking or smoking...It was a wonder he was still alive. She gave a soft sight and shook her head. "Why do you insist on slowly killing youself? What will I do when you die?" She gave him a puppy-dog pout before letting out a soft giggle. She was never able to beat Toby's puppy face. Amy doubted she would ever be able to. "Oh, the drama... Just the whole Kenric crap. I needed a little time to just let it all blow over."

She ran her hands through her hair and blushed when he brought up her weight. "Umm..yeah.. With the stress and stuff I just haven't been eating well..." She gave a small shrug. "Oh well."When she looked back to her plate, she noticed most of it was already gone. Amy smiled and pushed the plate away, completely full. Perhaps she should eat more... She had never been too worried about her appearence until now.

Tobias let out a laugh. "Oh you know me, suffering in quite desperation is the Irish way." Tobias locked his gaze with Amy's. "I didn't know you were having such a rough time about everything. Why didn't you talk to me?"

Had he really been that isolated? Where had he been these last few months? He barely remembered that episode Caroline had with that Hector fellow...he barely knew where his standings were in the school. He hadn't even bothered to talk to his old friend, Sebastian, after he moved in to be the gym coach.

The thought of his withdrawal from society was too depressing to think about. This must be why he drank...but he didn't want to think about it anymore. So, he stood, swaying slightly. "I'm going to get something else. Want anything...french toast sounds good..." he mumbled the last part to himself. The one thing he didn't like about hangovers, other than the obvious headache and inevitable vomiting, was the hangover munchies.

Hearing Tobias' laugh made her smile as she chewed her eggs. When he asked her why she hadn't talked to him, she fought for an answer. Why hadn't she? They had been friends for years, and she had never worried about talking to him before.

"I guess... It was just oneof those things that people have to do themselves. Nobody but me was going to help me out of this one. But I know that talking probably would have helped more."

Amorina almost stood up with him, but just grabbed his arm a tad to steady him. "Are you sure you're okay to walk?"she asked, trying to hide her scowl. He should know better. How many times had she told him to not drink as much as he did. Did he listen? No, never. Why would he? At least he was off of the drugs now..

After mulling it over, she decided to walk with him in case he was too wobbly to walk. "I'll just come with. You know I'm picky about my food."

“mmm, Right,” Tobias mumbled popping a cigarette in between his lips. Then he mumbled something that resembled ‘don’t need’ and ‘sitter’. He had pulled his arm from her grip perhaps a little too roughly and thought about apologizing…

Instead, he refilled his mug off coffee and filled his plate with a second helping of bacon, or was it his third? Because of his new work-out regime, Tobias was eating and exaggerated amount more than what he had been. He was now on the same high-protein diet as most athletes, and didn’t think about it as much as often as he should.

He didn’t take in the probability of cholesterol or fat…yet slowly his body was building up again, developing into the lean, hard hitting, killing machine his DNA was designed for.

“Well, future reference, give me a call won’t you?” Tobias said, gripping the cigarette between his teeth, while balancing his plate and coffee in one hand, while trying to keep the bile, building in his stomach from the smell of grease, in his stomach.

She heard his remark and took her hands away from him. "Well if you didn't act like a child, stumbling and such, you wouldn't need a babysitter," she muttered, knowing that he could hear her. There was only so much she could do to help before she would just give up. All she had tried to do then was make sure he didn't fall over, but if he wanted to have a little attitude with her then fine.

Amy took his advice and grabbed two pieces of french toast, lathering them in butter and syrup. She glanced down at the food and wondered if she could actually finish it all. The responding growl from her stomach gave her the answer. She almost didn't hear Toby. "The next time somebody's being an asshole, you want me to call? Well where's the phone."

Something had changed with her. She wasn't going to be as sweet and docile as before. That lesson had been learned quickly. If she was going to be happy, she had to worry about herself before anyone else. If her kindness was going to be completely tossed aside, then she simply wouldn't give any.

Tobias looked up from his bacon, his thick brow raised. "What's going on in that brain of yours?" he asked quietly as he walked back to the table and sat down.

He turned his attention back to his coffee. What was it about the first gulp of black coffee in the morning that set the tone for the rest of the day? He could taste bits of the grounds, bottom of the cup strong coffee...the way he liked it. So strong, someone could throw a fork in his mug and it would stick straight up.

Tobias turned his gaze back to Amy. Again he admired her beauty, and wondered (as he did every now and again) what would it have been like with her. They had a history yes, but would she forever be the 'what if' in his life?

"If its one thing I've learned, it's that you've got to swallow your pride." Tobias added, wondering if he should listen to his own words or just eat them.

Biting into a piece of french toast, she had to stop herself from smiling. Sometimes breakfast was just so...delicious. She could never understand why fast food places didn't give out breakfast all day long. There was nothing better than a good, filling breakfast.

"Well, I was taken advantage of fo years and I'm not going to be anymore. So if you're going to snap at me for trying to help, I simply won't anymore,"she stated. Her tone wasn't cold, simply matter-of-fact.

Amy ran one hand through her hair, pulling it to one side over her shoulder. She glanced at Toby, catching his gaze. She had known him for years, had put up with so much crap from him and his constant drinking and smoking...

"I think I've swallowed my pride enough when it comes to me and you, Toby. For once I stick up for myself and it's a sin?"

Amorina gave a huffy little sigh and shook her head. Looking down at her plate, debating on what to eat next, she couldn't help but feel her mind begin to wander. What could have been if Kenric had never showed up? There had always been some odd chemistry between her and Toby, but it had never become anything. A part of her asked "Why not". Another part was thankful for it. She had always been afraid to be serious with Tobias, mainly because of his constant problems.

"Okay, okay.... I can take a hint," Tobias said. He pushed his plate away, the sick feeling of being full and nausous hit him all at once. He turned his face away from the smell of grease and fat and lit a cigarette to calm his stomach.

"But for the record, I don't think I ever took adavantage of you," he added inhaling the thick tobacco smoke and tilting his head back to let the stream of pale blue ribbons escape from his lips.

They were difficult, women. Always saying things and never putting in a back story. It wasn't like he could read minds...he was only half-wolf for crying out loud.

Amy almost choked. Coughing, she glared and Tobias. "Are you kidding me? You've never taken advantage of me?!" She got up, grabbed her plate, and walked away.

How dare he. How the hell could he say he never took advantage of her?! She was going to find somewhere else to eat but instead dumped the rest of her food out, put her plate up and walked back to him.

"All the years I have been there for you, tied you up so you couldn't hurt anyone, calmed you down from some wolfy-state and then have you act like a complete DICK to me, and you haven't taken advantage of me?! You are either seriously fucked up in the head or the dumbest person I have ever met."

She wasn't even going to bother lowering her voice. There was barely anyone in there anyway and she could feel her face grow hotter, almost red as she got angrier.

Tobias looked at her dumbfounded then let out an exhasparated sigh. "Really?" He said standing. "Really? You think I'm taking advantage of you because I don't give you fancy little envalopes with my hand written thank-yous attatched? This is just foolishness, you realize that don't you?"

He rolled his eyes toward the heavens and mummbled something in gaelic. "You're emotionally high-matainance, you know that right?" He too stormed over to the rubish bin and tossed his uneaten meal away.

"Shall I lavish you with pearls and wine and dine you for all your troubles? Jazus..." he too could feel the heat rising in his chest. The sudden outburst of hers set his already big temper hot in the flames. "Well THANK YOU! THANKS TO YOU I CAN LIVE AGAIN!"