Bestfriends
Tobin and been notably withdrawn ever since that night, Alex had observed. Appearing to be more in her thoughts than in the real world.
She was quieter; and seemed to designate more of her focus on the thorns and their season.
It was a bit unsettling for Alex.
Tobin's uncharacteristic behavior had her brain racking, desperately trying to draw conclusions to Tobin's oddness.
Not to say that their relationship was drastically different, that was a bit of a stretch. They still sat too close to each other on the sectional, arms and fingers ever so often brushing against each other, before Tobin would give in and rest her head in Alex's lap, desperate for contact.
Tobin preferred voicing her wants and needs though touches and looks, and Alex would call herself an expert in the field of deciphering these non verbal communications. But as of late, the skill was becoming increasingly difficult.
The look Tobin had given her twice that night at Providence Park was becoming a commonplace sight for in their household.
It made her want to hide; mostly because she wouldn't want to give anyone else a chance to look at her like that.
And it came at such odd times too. Alex would be doing something like brushing her teeth, or scolding Tobin about leaving her dirty cleats in the middle of the hall, or reaching for the family sized pack of Oreos at the grocery store, although they both knew only Alex would eat them, or Alex eating said Oreos and managing to get the crumbs on her forehead while she rambled to Tobin about nothing in particular. The point was, she had been getting the look a lot in the last few days and she wanted nothing more than to get to the bottom of it.
**
"Hey Tobs, do you want to do dinner this week?" Alex asked in passing, trying to make it as casual as possible in efforts to conceal her ulterior motive.
"Uh ..." Tobin started, as if searching for an excuse not to go. "Oh! I forgot to tell you. Lauren and Amy are going to be in town this week!"
"As in your bestfriends?" Alex asks, trying to remember all Tobin had said about them.
"That would be the ones"
"Alright, cool." Alex said, hiding her frustration.
"You're going to training soon right? Are you on the team yet?"
"Possibly by the end of the week I'll know." Tobin said with a hint of a smile. "It's a pretty big week, huh?"
"Yeah, our three months are up on Sunday."
"Well, I'll try and make it the best week of your life"
"And Tobs?
They would be stupid not to take you."
**
"Are you Alex?" asked the curly haired brunette who stood on the other side of the door along side a blonde and her equally as blonde child.
"Yes, I am, and you are?"
"Didn't Tobin tell you we were coming over?!?!"
"Lauren and Amy? Oh I'm so sorry, Tobin mentioned it earlier, but she didn't say when."
I'm going to kill her.
"Come inside."
**
It was surprisingly easy for Alex to get along with Lauren and Amy, quickly bonding over their fondness for the only person absent from the equation, Tobin.
Tobin, Lauren and Amy became friends sometime into the first week of seventh grade, Lauren recalled.
"She was sitting by herself at lunch, she was the new kid, moving from Jersey and all. and I was getting so tired of only being friends with Amy." Lauren joked, earning an incredulous look from Amy.
"So we just introduced ourselves, and the rest was history." Lauren finished slinging her arm around Amy for emphasis.
"Tobin's been really aloof lately though." Amy said hinted.
Alex blushed.
"She must have someone or something occupying her time." Lauren played along.
Alex was sure her face was ten times redder than it was a few seconds ago.
"Well -" Alex started before the lock clicked, signaling that Tobin had finally come home. Thank God.
"Honey, I'm home." Tobin called, already searching the house for Alex. She was readily surprised to meet not one pair of eyes starting back it her, but four.
"Hey honey!" Little Ryan shrieked, running giving her the littlest of hugs around her knees.
"Heyy Ry, you're getting so big." She acknowledged picking him up in her arms before placing him down.
"You guys didn't tell me you were coming today." Tobin said confused, but happy never the less to see her bestfriends.
"Uh, yes we did. You probably didn't read the message properly, we're in town for a couple of days, Jrue's team is playing the trailblazers, so we thought it was a perfect opp to come and see our little Toby."
Alex snickered.
"Well let's turn this into a party then. "
**
And by party Tobin meant curling up on the couch with her four favorite people watching Forrest Gump over a box of pizza.
Ryan had taken a swift liking to Alex, Tobin observed as she watched him wiggle his way into the small space between Tobin and Alex. Halfway through the movie, Ryan fell asleep, head falling against Alex's shoulder and she too drifted off, letting her head fall against the arm of the chair.
Tobin's heart just about popped out of her chest at the uber precious scene; Lauren and Amy aswell, although their scene had consisted of one more person than Tobin's, the other two women part of the best friend trio only had to glance at each other once to know exactly what was going on in Tobin's head.
**
"So about Alex ..." Lauren said, trying to introduce the topic casually.
Tobin had decided that it was a good idea to treat her friends to lunch, but sitting across from them, moments away from being apart of a discussion on her love life once again she was reconsidering.
"I like he-"
"You're in love with her." Amy stated, using a slightly more agressive approach than Lauren.
Tobin choked on her water, clearing her airways before she spoke again.
"Pardon?"
"You heard me, you're so in love with her its gross." Amy repeated.
"How do you know that?" Tobin said suspiciously.
"I literally only had to been in the room for half an hour to see you're head over heels for her."
"Yeah Tobs, you look at her like .." Lauren paused, trying to think of a good analogy.
"Like you're Van Gogh, and she's a blank canvas."
"ooo, good one Lauren." Amy praised, high fiving her best friend.
Tobin sat back in her seat, "yes I do." She admitted. "I've known since a few days ago. After my game I spotted her in the crowd, and she looked so happy and proud of me, and everything just fell in place for me."
"Wow Tobs, I hate to kill the mood, but you're so sappy." Amy said reaching across the table to give Tobin a hug.
"Do you plan on telling her?"
"For sure. I was thinking I'd do something special. She leaves this Sunday."
"So you have seven days to plan the most extravagant thing ever. What are you going to do?"
"She's doesn't really care for extravagant things you know, she's simple. Maybe we'll just do something in the backyard."
"What ever you do, don't fuck it up." Lauren admonished.
"She likes you way too much, and you like her too. And most importantly, Lauren, Ryan and I like her too."
"No pressure though." Amy smiled.
"So tell us more about the thorns." Lauren asked, changing the topic to much of Tobin's relief.
**
Coming home that evening, Tobin was delighted to find Ryan and Alex kicking around in the backyard. Alex was running circles around Ryan, much to his delight as he tried to chase Alex down.
"Stop staring and go say hi" Lauren whispered, pushing Tobin towards the door.
"Hey guys, what's going on out here?" Already drawing some conclusions from the grass stains on both Ryan and Alex.
"Aunty Tobs! Come play" Ryan yelled excitedly already chasing after the ball again.
**
"They're adorable." Amy sighed as she and Lauren watched Alex and Ryan team up against Tobin in efforts to get the ball.
"They really are." Lauren agreed.
"You think Press is still trying to get with her?" Amy asked worriedly.
"Of course. Tobin's phone buzzed like 10 times during lunch and I'm pretty sure 9 of those messages were from her."
Amy's face twisted. "Tobin's always been a sucker for pretty girls."
"Remember Daisy from 9th grade?" Amy recalled, already laughing at everything Tobin did to embarrass herself that year. Lauren joined in, both of them missing the skidding sound of the sliding door.
"What's so funny?" Tobin asks plopping down on the ground in front of the pair.
"Daisy, from ninth grade." Lauren says, wiping away her tears.
Tobin's face immediately reddens, which in turn sparks Alex's curiosity.
"Who's that?"
"Only Tobin's most terrible high school crush. She wrote that girl love letters almost everyday."
"How come you never write me love letters?" Alex asks feigning hurt.
"I already have you." Tobin smiles pulling Alex down on the floor into a hug, peppering her face with kisses.
"as much as we would love to stay and watch the buddings of young love, we've got to going, our flight's in the morning." Amy quipped, scrunching her nose and eyebrows together.
"Okay let us walk you out."
**
Lauren pulled Alex into a hug first.
"Take care, you're good for her." Lauren reassured Alex.
"Take care yourself." Alex replied satisfied that she had gotten the approval of Tobin's bestfriends.
Moving to Tobin next, it's Tobin who reaches out first, reveling in the softness of her best friend.
"Take care Tobs, and don't wait too long to tell her how you feel."
"I'll try, and take care of yourself too, I'm still waiting on a little Holiday."
Lauren gives Tobin a light pat on the back. "Soon."
"Bye Alex and Aunty Tobs" Ryan says from the car.
"Goodbye little guy" They both wave.
**
Once they're safely inside again, they spend a few quiet moments on the couch digesting their day.
Tobin looks to Alex to find her looking back at her, blue eyes intently staring as they are most of the time; and Tobin feels as if it's as good a time as any to say what she'd been thinking.
"So Alex, I've been thinking and -" the ring of Tobin's phone cuts into her sentence.
Tobin sighs, wondering who could possibly be calling her at such an important and inconvenient time.
"Hey Tobs!" An uber happy Christen Press pipes over the line.
"Hey Chris." Tobin says, only partially frustrated.
"Is this a bad time?"
Tobin looks to Alex who was now preoccupying herself with her phone.
"No, go ahead."
"Okay, I know this is sort of last minute, but my sister's corporation is having a gala and I was wondering if you could be my plus one?"
"Uhh, sure I guess." Tobin answers, thinking it's the friendly thing to do.
"Great, be ready for six. Bye!"