Hey. My name is Courtney and I've been telling stories for as long as I can remember. I hope you like them.
Hey. My name is Courtney and I've been telling stories for as long as I can remember. I hope you like them.
Chance and Tobi were my subjects for a 30-day themed writing challenge in fall of 2012. It's a series of short slice-of-life scenes, because I love seeing what my characters are up to in their day-to-day lives. Being slightly older writing, I don't think these scenes are all as strong as they could be now, but I'm still fond of them.
Prompts: beginning. accusation. restless. snowflake. haze. flame. formal. companion. move. silver. prepared. knowledge. denial. wind. order. thanks. look. summer. transformation. tremble. sunset. mad. thousand. outside. winter. diamond. letters. promise. simple. future.
There have been dozens of iterations of this first meeting since I first conceived these characters, and I'm no longer very fond of this one. I wrote it when I was seventeen and I think even then I wasn't a big fan. These days I prefer a version in which they meet at a club, and the kiss follows alcohol and dancing and some measure of attraction... rather than being a random act on the street which would be interpreted by many as an assault.
I really don't know what I was thinking when I went with this version.
“I can be spontaneous,” Chance muttered to herself. “I can act on an impulse. I can do something outrageous.”
She wrung her hands around her orange-gold hair, frowning. Her older brother Adrian had been teasing her over Skype the day before. “You’re too cautious,” he’d said. “You never do anything out of the blue. Get out of your comfort zone!”
She was glad, sometimes, that she didn’t have to talk to him every day.
Adjusting her shopping bag over her shoulder, Chance took a moment out of her thoughts to glance up and take stock of the street around her. The neighbourhood was more than familiar by now, but the people were always new.
Ahead and to her right, a young man was coming out of the little Italian café where she liked to go for lunch sometimes. He’s attractive, she thought with mild surprise as she saw his dark hair, his serious expression, his crisp black button-down. He came out onto the sidewalk and began to walk in her direction.
Chance watched the young man walk for a moment. She thought of her brother. And then, as the stranger approached, she reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt. Not giving herself any time to think twice, she pulled him down and kissed him.
For a split second, he froze. Then he jumped away from her. She let him go, face burning.
The stranger stared in shock for a moment, and then his face grew livid. “FUCK!” he shouted, not seeming to care about the other pedestrians, who were watching the pair oddly as they passed.
“Fuck fuck FUCK!” he announced again. “Do you know what you just did?! FUCK!”
Chance felt herself cowering. I’m never doing anything crazy ever again.
Avery and Juliet are two of Chance's closest friends from her school years. Cameron is a recent friend of Avery's, who's a bit less kind, and doesn't seem to fully trust Chance. She rather likes Tobi, though.
“You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?” Cameron demanded.
Chance nearly dropped her drink, sputtering. “I am not!” she squawked.
“Seriously, Chance? Look, I know you’ve always had a rep for being the ‘innocent one’ or whatever, but really.” The blonde shot a pointed look at Tobi where he sat at the bar, then looked back at Chance. “He’s always – always – around when you are. If any of us hit on him, you get that look like you’re crazy pissed and don’t want to admit it. That one time that some drunk creep tried to hit on you, Tobi practically growled him out of the joint. He lives in your apartment. And-” She gave Chance a meaningful look. “-the guy is smoking hot.”
Chance flushed red from both anger and embarrassment. She shook her head. “Cameron, Tobi and I are not sleeping together. He’s a roommate and, sometimes, a friend. And aside from that, what either of us do in our private lives is absolutely none of your concern.”
Avery and Juliet watched, stunned, as Chance got up from the table and began to storm away. Recovering from her shock, Avery leapt up from her seat and went after her, catching her arm.
“Chance, I’m so sorry about Cameron,” Avery stammered. “I would never have thought she’d say something like that.”
Chance pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to calm down. She relaxed slightly and gave Avery an awkward smile. “It’s okay, Aves. You have every right to make new friends; obviously I have. It just… it seems Cameron and I aren’t getting along so well.”
Avery nodded. “Still, I’m really sorry. Girls’ night sometime soon? Just you, me, Juliet?”
Chance smiled again, relieved now. “Sounds good. Just like old times.”
Avery let Chance go, waving an apologetic goodbye. Chance waved back and then approached Tobi. She tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned and looked at her. “What, girl time get cut short?”
Chance cast a glance over her shoulder, and saw Cameron watching them with annoyance. “Sort of. Come on, I wanna go home.”
“Now?” He lowered his voice, cracking a grin. “I’m teaching the barista to make the Devil’s coffee. Does some real shit to the mortal digestive system.”
Chance made a face at him; she didn’t have the energy to get properly mad. “Yes, now. Please.”
Chance rolled over in bed and looked at the clock. 2:37, the blue numbers blinked, teasing her.
She groaned loudly and hauled herself out of bed. With Tobi around she couldn’t do what she normally would, but maybe a snack would help her get to sleep.
She padded quietly out of the bedroom, her eyes well-adjusted to the darkness by now. On her way to the kitchen, she passed the couch and the demon sleeping there. She had never seen him so still; he looked unexpectedly peaceful.
Just as she reached the kitchen door, Tobi asked, “What’re you doing?”
She glanced back in surprise. He hadn’t moved. “You aren’t asleep?”
He sat up, the sheets sliding away from his shoulders. “Neither are you.”
She sighed and leaned against the doorframe. “Couldn’t sleep. I get this way once in a while. Wasn’t sure what to do… thought a snack might help.”
He stretched and stood up. “What do you usually do?”
“Go for a walk around the neighbourhood,” she answered. “Most of the time, at least. But I didn’t want to disturb you.”
He watched her carefully for a moment, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. Why don’t you just order me? But she hated giving him orders, and he knew it.
Finally he spoke. “Well then, let’s go. Put something on; it’s pretty cool out.”
Chance lifted her eyebrows, and he looked at her expectantly. After a moment, she went back to her room to change from her pyjamas into a sweater and a pair of jeans.
When she came out and headed for the front closet, Tobi was already waiting, wearing his shoes and a dark pea coat. He opened the door as she pulled on a jacket. “Shall we?”
“Thank you,” she said as she stepped into the hall. A smirk tugged at his lips as he followed her and let the door fall shut behind him.
Tobi, being a denizen of Hell, has a very high natural body temperature. It comes up a lot, mostly because I'm cheesy as all get out.
Wrapped in a warm housecoat, Chance stepped out onto the balcony to enjoy the morning view. The sun glimmered off the layer of snow that coated the roofs below. She watched, smiling slightly, as a snow plough made its way along the street.
She heard Tobi come through the door behind her. She glanced over at him as he leaned against the railing beside her – his shirt only half-buttoned, his hair still messy. She chuckled to herself and returned her gaze to the street.
“Aren’t you cold?” she asked him.
“Nah,” he answered, shaking his head. “I’m just naturally hot, remember?” He grinned.
“Ohoho, you are funny,” she answered, rolling her eyes. Then she glanced at his arms against the railing; the frost was gone there and water dripped from the cold metal. The snow was melting around his feet, too. “I’ll never get used to that,” she murmured.
Tobi shrugged, not looking at her. “You’ve got a long time.”
Chance watched him for a moment longer before noticing that it had begun to snow again. She broke into a smile and reached her arms out over the railing, hands cupped as if she hoped to catch a snowflake. Tobi began to chuckle.
“What?” she asked, smiling despite herself.
“For someone who always seems to be too cold, you sure do like winter.”
“I can’t help it.” She grinned. “I’m Canadian.”
You know how we all have those tropes that we're super weak for, even though we know they're really cliché? One of mine is 'character A is trying really hard to be emotionally distant and has to fight against their growing fondness for character B.'
“Feeling any better?” Tobi asked, sitting gently on the edge of Chance’s bed. He placed a glass of water on the bedside table, pushing aside the thermometer and a half-eaten sleeve of soda crackers.
Chance rolled to face him, moaning. “Better than yesterday… but still pretty hazy,” she responded quietly. She pushed herself up to sit and take a few sips of the water.
“I suspect that yesterday was the worst of it,” he said. “Brought you a new cloth.”
He scooped up a warm, damp cloth from the pillow as Chance laid back down. When she was comfortable, he spread a fresh, cool cloth across her hot forehead. She smiled groggily. “You’re being very nice,” she murmured.
He grinned awkwardly. “Yeah, well, you’re no fun when you’re sick. Don’t let it go to your head.”
Chance just continued to smile as she let her eyes drift close. Tobi glanced at the clock. “Hang on, don’t fall asleep yet. I need to grab you another Gravol.”
“Mmmmmhm,” Chance answered, clearly already half asleep.
Tobi got up and headed for the bathroom. The Gravol was already out on the counter; he’d been giving it to her regularly for a couple of days. He picked up the bottle and glanced into the mirror.
Demons don’t just take care of the ill.
He stared at his reflection. It would be one thing if Chance had asked for his help. He wouldn’t have had much choice. But he was doing this of his own accord. He couldn’t even come up with an excuse of mischief.
Then he turned away from the mirror and left the bathroom, a Gravol in his hand.
This is the first appearance of Bastion, another demon. He's older than Tobi and from a deeper circle of Hell - while Tobi's purpose is to cause general chaos, Bastion is distinctly more evil, though I've wavered over the years on his specific role. The way I wrote him in early pieces like this is a bit over-the-top, but he's fun to work with.
“So this is the girl I’ve heard about, hmm?” The blond walked a circle around Chance, eyeing her up as if she was to be his dinner.
Tobi gave the other man a hard look. “Yeah, I guess she probably is.”
The blond stopped, grinning maliciously. “She’s cute, for a mortal. I suppose I can see why she’s your new flame.”
“Excuse me?” Chance squawked, despite her discomfort with the stranger. “I am no such thing!”
The blond turned to look at her, still smiling. “Oh, but he kissed you, didn’t he?”
Before she could respond, Tobi cut in angrily. “Leave her alone, Bastion.”
The man pretended to pout. “Won’t you even give me a chance?”
“Not a chance,” Tobi answered, a dangerous edge to his voice.
“But I thought she wasn’t yours!” Bastion’s eyes flicked briefly back to Chance, glinting with just a hint of that evil smile.
Tobi moved just slightly closer to her, never taking his eyes off of Bastion’s. “Yeah, but you know. If I let you guys make friends, you’d be around all the time, and I’d never get away from you then.”
Bastion’s wicked grin returned full force. Chance felt herself flush, irritated by the way the stranger treated her. “Look, asshole, I don’t know who you are or what you’re trying to accomplish but I’d really like you to leave me and Tobi the hell alone, okay?” she snapped.
Bastion’s smile widened. “Ooh, but she is fiery!” he said to Tobi.
Tobi returned Bastion’s smile, now; just as false, and just as scary. “Yes, well, I suppose I just got lucky. Either way, I do believe you were kindly fucking off…”
“Oh yes, I believe I was,” Bastion answered, his tone full of sticky-sweet mock sincerity. “Ta-ta for now, little ones…” And then he was gone.
Chance shuddered. “What a creep.”
“Don’t let him get to you,” Tobi said with a shrug. “You told him off pretty well, so he knows you wouldn’t be an easy target even if I were gone. And the fact is, while I’m around, he won’t go after you. He can’t.”
This is one of my favourite scenes in this whole lot, and I later went on to write an extended version in which we meet some of Adrian's friends and colleagues, including a recurring character named Isaac. You can read it here, if you're curious!
Chance bit her lip, then looked Tobi in the eye. “Promise you’ll be well-behaved tonight,” she said to him, mustering all of her resolve.
He lifted his eyebrows. “I promise I’ll be well-behaved tonight,” he repeated. He watched her for a moment. “That’s the first time you’ve given me an order in quite some time.”
She sighed. “I know. I don’t like doing it, you know.”
“I know.”
“But this is for my brother. And I know you’ll be inclined to cause trouble.”
He hesitated. “It’s in my nature,” he admitted.
“Yeah.” She looked away. “We should get going. I have to be there on time.”
“Don’t forget your sweater,” he reminded her as they headed for the door. She nodded and scooped it up off a chair, pulling it on over her bare shoulders.
They took the elevator down to the lobby and headed out the front doors, turning right onto the street. The venue for the event wasn’t far away. Chance’s sensible sandals tapped against the sidewalk in a way she wasn’t used to.
“I hate these shoes,” she murmured after a while, partly just to break the silence.
Tobi chuckled. “You can’t go to a charity event in your skate shoes.”
“Easy for you to say,” she grumbled. “You wear loafers and dress shirts every day. All you had to do was put on a tie and you were ready to go.”
“Oh, it’s true,” he answered in a falsely wistful tone. “I am always classy. I just can’t really help it.”
Chance rolled her eyes and shook her head. There was no arguing with Tobi’s ego.
He leaned down close to her ear. “But you know I look sexy in the tie,” he growled, smiling mischievously.
Against her will, she began to blush. “You’re an ass,” she answered in annoyance, looking away.
“But I’m your ass, aren’t I?” Tobi began to laugh, unable to contain himself.
Chance rolled her eyes again. “Come on, hotshot. The hall’s right over there.”
Chance's parents, who have pretty good money, decided to retire in Europe, but Chance is still close with them. Even though in real life I admittedly harbour some resentment for anyone with that kind of money, I love writing Chance's family.
“No, mom, he’s not my boyfriend,” Chance chuckled. “I don’t have one.”
“Oh, well,” her mother responded through the phone. “One of these days. But tell me about him. In that lovely way that you do.”
“Hmmm,” Chance took a moment to think. Then she began. “His hair is like ravens’ feathers and his eyes are the colour of dad’s coffee. He dresses like a man always ready to meet a lady. He walks like nothing can stop him. His voice is a beautiful baritone, smooth as chocolate. He smiles like he’ll always know something you don’t.” She smiled to herself. “He sleeps without moving or making a sound. He’s always warm. He loves eggs, and would rather cook them himself than eat anything I made.”
“Oooh, he sounds like such a devil,” her mother teased.
Chance laughed. “You don’t know the half of it!”
“But in all seriousness, honey, you know this is a good guy? He’s really okay to have in your apartment?”
“Yeah, mum. I know. He acts like he’s so tough, but…” Chance made a face, trying to decide how to phrase it. “He couldn’t hurt me… He’d do anything I asked. Even if he wasn’t happy about it…”
In the next room, Tobi sat in silence. He was listening to Chance’s side of the conversation, surprised by the way she described him. He hadn’t realised that she was so observant – nor had he expected to hear her describe such odd details. It wasn’t the way most people talked about others. But it gave a remarkably good idea of what he was like.
He cocked his head as she spoke again.
“I guess you could call him a friend. He’s company, at least. Usually decent company.” She giggled. “But enough about me! How’s Sweden?”
Bowl of cereal in her hands, Chance seated herself on the edge of the pull-out bed. Tobi was sitting up and stretching, the sheets falling away from his bare chest.
“So I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” Chance said personably, not bothering to say good morning. He never said it, so she’d stopped trying.
He scratched his head absently. “Sure.”
“I’ve been thinking,” she began around a mouthful of Cheerios, “of moving apartments.” She swallowed and gestured with her spoon at the living room around them. “I figure, if we’re going to be living together in the long term, we should get a place with a second bedroom.”
Tobi glanced around at his sleeping arrangements. “I don’t honestly care that much,” he said. “But it makes sense.”
“Great.” Chance smiled. “Because I was looking into it the other day, and I found a decent place with third-storey two-bedroom. One thing I liked about it was there’s a café right next door, and I think it’s close enough that one of us could go down there while the other is still in the apartment.”
“What, are you tired of having me around?” Tobi grinned mischievously.
“Hush.” She waved her spoon at him. “You know you’d appreciate it, too.”
“Yeah, I probably would,” he admitted, stretching and then lacing his fingers behind his head. “But you’d miss this glory every morning.” His eyes flicked downward to his chest for just a moment.
Chance rolled her eyes and got up off the bed, wandering back to the kitchenette to rinse out her bowl. “I’m sure I’ll survive it somehow.”
Chance uses a lot of vague excuses to explain to her friends why she and Tobi are always together, but we all know that vague excuses are never enough for moms.
“We’re what now?” Tobi asked incredulously, lifting his eyebrows.
“We’re going to Sweden…” Chance chuckled sheepishly, scratching her elbow.
“Why the hell are we going to Sweden?”
“Because, um.” Chance faltered. “Because my parents are sort of ridiculous?”
“No shit, they are,” Tobi responded with a meaningful look.
“Come on, though,” Chance insisted. “It’s their silver anniversary, it’s a big deal. Me and Adrian are basically all the family they have any more, and they want to celebrate with us and with some of their new friends.”
Tobi shook his head wonderingly. “How’d you convince them to pay for me, too?”
Chance shrugged. “Didn’t even have to. Mum suggested it before I ever got around to saying anything. Which is good, actually; I’d feel awful asking and if I pulled that ‘it’s a legal thing’ excuse on her, she would want to know all the details.”
Tobi threw his hands into the air and planted himself on the futon. “Yeah, okay.” He looked up at her, his face hard to read. “You realize that unless we get married or something, they’re gonna have to know the truth eventually.”
Chance stared at him for a moment, then began to sputter. “M-married?!”
Normally Tobi would have started teasing her at that point, but clearly this particular matter was as serious to him as it was to her. “Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about what would happen in the long run. I’m gonna be around for a long time, and I can’t leave.”
Chance, looking stunned, dropped into the armchair facing him. “I-… I never had thought that far ahead, honestly.”
Tobi shrugged helplessly. “We don’t have to panic right now. But one day, this is going to be an issue.”
This is one of my oldest mental images of Tobi. I actually have a drawing from middle school if this taking place.
Chance watched, vaguely unnerved, as Tobi vomited demon energy onto the living room floor.
He didn’t seem to be in any discomfort; if anything, he looked unenthusiastic and a little bit irritated. The strange energy that poured onto the hardwood glowed a dull purple colour and disappeared as it reached the ground. Chance recognised the purple hue as the same one that emanated from Tobi’s body on the rare occasions she’d witnessed him using demon magic.
As the energy continued to stream steadily from his mouth, Chance began to grow concerned. “Are you- are you okay?” she questioned, unsure what she was supposed to do.
He didn’t move, but his eyes flicked towards her. After a moment, he gave her a small thumbs-up.
Chance wrapped her arms around her middle and watched uncomfortably for a few minutes. Eventually the flow of demonic vomit began to dwindle, and finally, it ended.
Tobi straightened up and opened and closed his mouth a few times, making a face, as if the energy had left a bad taste on his tongue.
Chance leaned towards him slightly. “Um. Are you… prepared for this? Like, are you gonna be all right?”
Tobi shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter if I’m ready. It’s a performance review; I have to go.”
Chance hesitated, then reached over and quickly squeezed his hand. “Good luck.”
He lifted his eyebrows at her. “…Thanks.” He began to turn away, then glanced back at her, looking sheepish. “I’m probably going to be sick some more afterwards.”
“So… what exactly are you saying right now?” Chance asked, looking confused.
Tobi closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m saying,” he began slowly, “that you have knowledge of Hell that no mortal should. Lucifer wants you to come to Hell with me and sign a contract agreeing not to share any of that knowledge.”
Chance stared at him for a moment. “I won’t be signing away my soul or anything, will I?”
“No!” Tobi cried, throwing his hands into the air. “Look, for one, he would never do that to you; you’re too innocent. Everything you think you know about him is probably wrong.” He sighed. “For another, I will personally read over the document before you sign.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “How do I know you’re not looping me into something I don’t want?”
For a moment, Tobi looked stunned. Then, for just a fraction of a second – hurt. Finally, he sighed in exasperation. “Chance,” he started, putting his hands on her shoulders, “we don’t always get along, but that doesn’t mean I would wish any particular suffering on you. I’m a chaos demon, not a sadist.”
Chance heaved a deep sigh. “Okay, I’m not saying I will, but what happens if I refuse?”
Tobi cringed away from her. “Then he sends the sadists.”
“So.” Grinning mischievously, Tobi put his elbows on the counter and leaned toward her. “Was I your first kiss?”
“W-what?” Chance stammered, reddening. “No!”
Tobi’s grin widened. “Oh really? Who was then?”
Chance crossed her arms and looked at him defiantly, clearly still embarrassed. “Why should I?” she demanded.
“Because I won’t believe you until I get evidence,” Tobi answered.
Chance closed her eyes. “Fine! My first kiss was a year ago. His name was Keith.”
“Keith who?” Tobi’s grin didn’t falter.
“Keith Alton. Who turned out to be a huge jackass, so.”
“Oh really?” Tobi said again. “Do tell.”
Chance sighed, passing a hand across her face. “It’s not much of a story. Avery first got me in touch with him. He was her cousin’s friend, or something. He seemed nice at first, and he was really good-looking. He strung me along, kissed me a few times, then I found out he had a steady girlfriend. And that he was doing the same thing to another chick as he was to me. Suffice to say, he ended up single.” She shrugged.
“What a charmer,” Tobi muttered.
There was silence for a moment, then Tobi spoke again. “So if I wasn’t your first kiss… was I your best kiss?” He broke into another grin.
“Hey, Tobi. You’ve gotta see this.”
Tobi glanced over his shoulder at Chance, who stood with her back to him. He made his way around a collection of chairs and joined her.
She had taken the lid off of a storage bin, and was rummaging through an assortment of small toys, grinning widely. “I haven’t seen these in forever,” she said.
Tobi leaned over the side of the bin and peered down at its contents. “What is all this?”
Chance put a few of the toys onto the lid of the bin at the top of the next stack, setting each in motion with a few twists of a knob. “Our old wind-up toys,” she answered, unable to contain her smile. “My brother took a shine to them when we were kids, and ended up collecting them for years.”
“Huh.” Tobi watched for a few moments, then looked back down into the bin. He picked up a small, violently orange truck, wound the yellow knob, and set it free into the existing chaos. “There are a lot of them.”
“Yeah.” Chance rewound one of the ones that was slowing down. “He takes a couple of his favourites with him to his digs, but this is almost all of them.”
“Impressive.” Tobi reached to help as she started to put them away again.
Chance smiled. “I miss those days.”
“Everyone does.” Tobi shrugged. “So what are we looking for, again?”
I could have written this one about Chance ordering Tobi to do something, but that seemed to obvious.
“So what can I get you guys tonight?”
The waitress was tall and busty and bursting with cheer. Her smile didn’t falter. I guess a waitress has to be that way, Chance thought. “Um. Just a burger, I guess. Tomato, no onions. With fries.”
“And to drink?”
“An iced tea?”
“Sure!” The waitress scribbled something into her notepad and turned to Tobi. “And for you sir?”
“I’ll take the roast beef dish with a side of salad. Raspberry vinaigrette, please. And the sparkling tropical fruit juice.”
“No problem!” The waitress’s smile broadened as she took the menus from Tobi’s hand. He winked at her.
“Oh, and can we get the shrimp dish starter?” he added.
“Of course!” The sunny waitress waltzed away from their table.
Tobi looked back at Chance across the table and raised his eyebrows. “What are you giving me that look for?”
She shook her head, chuckling to herself. “Do you really have to flirt with every waitress?”
“What? It gets us better service.” He leaned across the table, grinning. “Why, are you jealous?”
“Fff.” Chance rolled her eyes. “Hardly.” After a pause, she added, “Just listening to your order, it’s so obvious you cook. Do you ever have a lazy meal?”
Tobi leaned back, hands behind his head. “I enjoy fine food, so what? I can stop cooking for you if you like.”
This takes place well before Chance and Tobi become involved romantically... but can you blame her for saying it? This dude's a creep.
“Sir, I’ve asked you several times to please leave me alone.” Chance cringed against the brick wall.
The guy took another step closer, smiling a greasy smile. “I ain’t gonna hurt you, sweetheart…!”
“I- my boyfriend is inside, okay? I’m gonna-” Chance faltered, searching for something else to say.
“Come on,” the stranger started, still smiling. Then, before Chance could register what was happening, Tobi stepped into view and slugged him.
The greasy smile tumbled over and landed on his ass, cursing. “What the fuck, man! What the fuck!” The dirty-looking woman off to the left, who’d been leaning against the wall smoking a blunt, started to laugh.
Tobi didn’t even pause. He scooped an arm around Chance’s back and swiftly escorted her away. He didn’t slow until they were several blocks from the smoky bar.
“God, I hate this part of town,” Chance muttered angrily.
“Take it easy,” Tobi answered quietly. “You’re shaking.”
Chance stopped walking, and Tobi turned to stand in front of her. He put his hands on her shoulders and dipped his head to look her in the eye. “Are you okay?”
She rubbed irritably at her eyes, frustrated to find herself crying. “W-why did you do that?” she asked suddenly.
“Seriously, Chance?” Tobi’s voice softened. “The guy was a creep and he was harassing you. Do I need a better reason?”
She dropped one hand to her side, not looking up at him. “A few months ago, you would’ve,” she said, very quietly.
Tobi didn’t answer. After a moment, Chance dove forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you, Tobi!” she said into his chest. He felt his shirt grow damp.
Awkwardly, he hugged her back, stroking her hair. When she was calm enough to pull away, he looked down at her with raised eyebrows a small smile. “So, I’m your boyfriend now, huh?”
She laughed. “Screw you. I had to say something.”
This scene seems to take place immediately after 13 (Denial). It pairs very well with the song I've Never Done Anything Like This by Bowling For Soup, right down to the girl's name.
“I hate you,” Chance said casually, leaning back against the washing machine and giving Tobi a dirty look.
“I haven’t even done anything!” Tobi responded indignantly from his perch atop the adjacent drier.
“You don’t have to do laundry. You just magic your clothes into existence in the morning, and then back out when you go to bed. That’s why I hate you.” The washer rumbled its agreement.
“Oh, come on,” Tobi argued. “It’s just so convenient.”
“Exactly!” Chance hoisted herself up onto the washing machine so that she was at his level. “And on that note, why do you always wear the same thing every day? You could have literally anything you wanted, but it’s always the same shiny loafers, the same crisp black dress pants, the same sharp black button-down.”
“Sometimes I wear purple.”
Chance raised her eyebrows at him. “Yeah. Purple so dark it might as well be black.”
Tobi huffed at her. “Fine, fine. But this is my look. This is me. It suits me. And it’s classy. There’s no such thing as overdressed,” he said, grinning.
Chance rolled her eyes. “On rainy days you occasionally lie around in your pyjama pants all day.”
“Hey.” He pointed at her. “Those are the same days that you just put on your housecoat or some sweats and we do nothing but watch movies. And just because I like to be classy doesn’t mean I can keep it up all the time. It’s hard work, you know.”
This is another image I've had for a long time, and that shows up in old drawings. Tobi's true demonic form is not very human - it looks more like a mass of the strange energy that Chance also sees when he directly uses his magic. Typically he doesn't use this form, but occasionally when he's overwhelmed or otherwise loses control of himself, he is forced back into it.
Tobi kept hacking, bits of violet energy flying like bile from his lips.
“Oh, god. Oh, god. Are you gonna be okay? What do I do?” Chance asked frantically, kneeling next to him on the hardwood floor.
“Hang on,” he grunted, gripping at his midsection. “Overwhelmed. Gonna see… something new.”
“Oh, god,” Chance said again. She rocked back on her heels, biting her lip.
Suddenly Tobi was tearing at his shirt, fumbling to undo the buttons, as though he couldn’t breathe. Alarmed, Chance jumped forward and helped, her own hands shaking too much to move much faster than his did.
He pulled the shirt off as fast as he could, gasping. His whole body glowed purple with violently flickering energy. It felt like pins and needles everywhere it touched Chance’s skin. Then Tobi was pulling at his belt, tugging open his pants.
Baffled and frightened, Chance leaned back and watched in dismay as the staticky energy began to envelop him completely. Soon she could see nothing of Tobi; only the dull violet glow where he should be.
And then the glow changed shape, as if standing upright. Chance stumbled to her feet and stepped back. The glowing energy came to a point at the top, as tall as Tobi. And then, to Chance’s shock, it opened two wide, slanted eyes. A familiar wicked grin curled across its face.
“So much ENERGY!” Tobi cried, laughing. “I need an outlet! I need to go somewhere! I need to cause chaos!”
Chance stared, wide-eyed, at the sight in front of her. Tobi cackled. “Don’t panic, little mortal. This won’t last forever. I just need a fix!” His eyes were wild. “Take me somewhere. Let me be a demon. I need my freedommmm.” He drew out the last word, a dangerous edge in his voice.
Chance began to move as she began to catch up with her thoughts. Still staring, she stammered for a moment, and then blurted out the first fully-formed question to reach her lips: “Why are you triangular!?”
This prompt seemed to invite something really sickly-sweet, so I had to turn it on its head.
“What are you watching?” Tobi asked skeptically, leaning over the back of the couch to speak into Chance’s ear.
She turned and looked up at him, appearing terribly unimpressed. “Some scary kinda mindless bullshit. Help me.”
He chuckled and made his way around the sofa to sit down next to her. Making a face, Chance handed him the remote. “I can’t find anything. Save me from this terrible television show, please.”
Tobi grinned and set the remote down out of her reach. “I dunno, it might be worth keeping on just to watch you suffer.”
“Oh god, no,” Chance whined. “It’s like a horrible chick flick, except it’s a series, so there’s potentially hours and hours of this crap. Please. There’s the one guy that’s a douche and sleeping with everyone, and the other guy who’s just as hot and also sickeningly sweet but not interested in dating anyone, I’m thinking probably because he’s gay. And then there’s the main character who is apparently desperately in love with both of them and she starts shaking every time she talks to either of them, then she goes home and cries and writes on her blog about how desperately lonely and socially awkward she is, even though she’s just as attractive as the rest of the cast.”
“She shakes when she talks to them? Really?” Tobi cackled.
“No word of a lie. They have her interior monologue going through every scene. The girl has sticky teenage angst coming out of every pore.” Chance looked almost distraught. “Please. I’ll watch one of your freaky horror movies. Anything but this.”
“Do girls actually tremble when they talk to hot guys? Is that something that really happens?” Tobi asked, entirely too amused.
Chance growled in frustration. “If they did, you’d be surrounded by quivering ladies all the time. Now please turn it off.” She launched herself across his lap, reaching for the distant remote.
Laughing, Tobi snapped his fingers. The remote glowed purple and flew away from Chance’s grasping hands.
“Damn you,” she muttered in annoyance. She tried to climb off of him, but he held her in place for a moment.
“Too late,” he told her. “So did you just call me hot?”
“I never denied your physical attractiveness,” Chance answered, struggling to get out from under his arms.
Tobi’s grin widened. “I knew you’d fallen for my manly charms.”
Chance grimaced. “Yeah, well, I’m very close to some of your manly charms right now, so I’d recommend that you let me go.”
“Not that this isn’t nice,” Tobi began, “but why, again, did we drive almost two hours away from home to spend the day on a relatively unremarkable trail?”
Chance smiled. “I grew up around here. We used to hike up here all the time; it’s one of my favourite places. Can’t go a summer without a few visits.”
Tobi shrugged and leaned back against his arms. “Fair enough, I guess.”
They sat at the top of a tall escarpment, dangling their legs off the edge. In the sky in front of them the sun hung low over the horizon.
They’d spent all afternoon in the small conservation park. They’d eaten a picnic lunch when they arrived, then walked all the way around the longer loop of the trail. They’d stopped at the lookout for a while, watching golf carts trundle along in the course below, and offering sunflower seeds to the friendly chipmunk population. Then they’d taken the shorter loop of the trail twice; on the second round, they’d found the perfect spot to watch the sunset. They went back to the car, then, and went looking for somewhere to get dinner. After eating, they’d come back to the trail.
They watched quietly as the sun crawled slowly downward. Streaky clouds were painted vibrant hues of orange, pink, purple and red, and high above them the brightest stars were beginning to show themselves.
A small plane passed overhead as Chance yawned and leaned her head on Tobi’s shoulder. She sighed contentedly, and Tobi chuckled to himself.
“Comfortable?” he asked sarcastically.
“Quite,” she answered, grinning.
Isaac is a good boy.
Isaac and Chance sat on the steps outside the apartment building. It was after dark; they’d met for an evening coffee and were now just wasting time by the light of the streetlamp. Conversation had come to a lull, and they sat in silence for a few minutes.
“Can I talk to you about something?” Isaac finally asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Chance answered.
“I’ve been thinking about our coffee breaks and stuff…” He cleared his throat, staring out into the street as he spoke. “I’m not altogether sure what we’ve got going here. And if it were more, well…” He hesitated. “Look, Chance, I like you a lot. I’d be mad not to like you. You’re a great girl. I think under different circumstances, we could really have a going chance.” He shot her a sheepish grin then. “But you have other stuff happening. Someone not me.”
Chance reddened slightly. “What do you mean?”
He chuckled. “Come on, kiddo. You’re not stupid. Look, Tobi’s a really good guy. I think you’re lucky to have him.”
“What?” Chance asked, eyebrows raised.
Isaac smiled. “I dunno, maybe you’re not aware. But he seems to be most of your life. You talk about him often, and fondly. And to see the two of you together, there’s no mistaking the connection that you guys have. It’s pretty great, actually. I’m happy for the two of you.” He stood and offered Chance a hand, pulling her to her feet. “This doesn’t mean we have to stop hanging out. I’d love to stay friends. But.” He grinned. “Get a move on with that boy, hm? Don’t make me regret this choice.”
Chance laughed awkwardly. “We’ll stay in touch, don’t worry,” she promised, avoiding the subject of Tobi.
After they said their good nights, Chance went back up to the apartment, unsure how to feel. She opened the door and found Tobi reading on the couch. He looked up as she came in. “Hey. How’s Isaac?”
I'm never sure if I quite like this one.
Bastion wound up for another swing and brought his fist hard into Tobi’s stomach. Tobi gasped, a trickle of dark blood running from the corner of his mouth.
Grinning wickedly, Bastion gathered all of his glowing red energy into his arms and threw Tobi to the ground. The younger demon hit hard and slid back until he met the brick wall.
Shaking, Chance crawled across the ground to where Tobi lay. She choked back a sob when she saw his closed eyes, his bleeding wounds.
“Good luck helping him now, babe!” Bastion cackled, throwing his arms into the air in a mocking shrug. “Hell, you should thank me! When he dies, the binding is broken!” His grin fading, he looked down at Tobi’s face and snarled. “If you can hear me, boy,” he said, “now you know what you get for fucking with me one time too many. Too bad you won’t have the chance to learn from it.”
The glowing demon stepped backward into the bright red flames and disappeared. Soon after, the supernatural fire that he’d summoned began to fade.
Tobi lay still. He still exuded the now-familiar purple energy, but he wasn’t so much glowing anymore – it seemed to ooze out of him, as if there were nothing left to hold it in.
Choking back one terrified sob after another, Chance dragged herself around Tobi’s body until she was close enough to pull his head into her lap. Her raw fingers stroked his cheek softly. “Oh, my god,” she stammered. “Tobi… Please wake up, Tobi…”
He opened his eyes just slightly. “I’m awake,” he managed.
“Oh god, oh god,” Chance sobbed. “You’re bleeding… And you’re breathing so hard…”
“Definitely… internal bleeding...” he coughed. “Broken… ribs…”
“Don’t die,” she begged, tears running down her cheeks.
“No promises,” he answered, coughing again. Blood flew from his mouth and flecked his teeth.
“Oh, my god,” Chance begged, growing more desperate by the moment. “Please don’t die, you can’t die.”
Tobi laughed bitterly, but his laughter quickly became bloody hacking. “Why… the fuck not?”
Chance choked again. “So many reasons. I can name a thousand reasons for you not to die. But the first, best, number one reason you cannot die is because I need you.”
His eyes drifting closed, Tobi gathered just enough energy to slowly shake his head.
“Oh god…” Summoning her very last hope, Chance leaned her head down to Tobi’s and said quietly, “Tobi, I order you not to die.” If ever Chance had put any resolve into an order she gave him, this was it.
He didn’t move. She sat up again, weeping and watching his face. After a few moments, he dragged his eyes open and gave the smallest, weakest smile she’d ever seen.
“I didn’t know if that was going to work,” he breathed.
The setting for this scene is based on a real trail - one of my favourites. It seems to work its way into a lot of my stories.
Tobi rolled up his sleeves as he clambered across the rocks, stepping carefully so as not to slip.
“Careful,” Chance warned. “They’re really slick.”
Finally he caught up with her where she stood next to the rock wall. Water trickled down from spaces in the rock, catching in the moss and dividing into dozens of dripping streams.
Beaming, Chance had her hands cupped beneath several dribbles of water until they were full. She held her hands up to Tobi, eyes shining. “It’s so clean… Do you think it’s safe to drink?”
He cocked his head at her, smiling. “Probably.”
She sipped the water from her hands, a deeply contented smile crossing her face. “Wow. It tastes so clear.” She looked back at the trickling rock wall, then over to the waterfall thirty feet to her left. “It’s beautiful here.”
“You really love places like this, don’t you?” Tobi asked.
“I do.” Chance adjusted the straps of her tank top and began to make her way across the stream to the crumbling wall of the old mill. Chuckling, Tobi followed, watching her carefully. When she slipped, he darted forward to catch her.
She climbed up onto the mill wall, inviting Tobi to come sit next to her. They made themselves comfortable and sat quietly to listen to the sounds of the water.
Bundling herself up in a thick sweater and her favourite blanket, Chance curled up on the futon with her DSi and a mug of chicken broth. It wasn’t long before she heard Tobi pad across the floor behind her from his bedroom to the kitchen. She focussed on her Pokémon, letting the clink of pans and crack of eggs fall into the background.
Awhile later Tobi emerged from the kitchen, hair uncombed and a plate of fried eggs in his hand. “How’s Pikachu?” he asked as he sank into the armchair near her feet.
“Wrong generation, dork,” she answered as she saved her game and put it down on the side table.
He shrugged and swallowed a mouthful of egg. “Sorry. Never really got past the second generation, myself.”
She rolled her eyes, chuckling. “So how are you this fine chilly morning?”
He smiled amiably. “Slept well. And not all that chilly.”
“I know, I know,” she answered before he could go on. “Naturally hot, and all that stuff.”
He grinned. “You know it.” Then he turned and glanced out the window onto the snow-covered balcony. “Really though, I think the weather will be good today. Do you wanna go out?”
She shrugged noncommittally. “I’ll complain about the temperature, but yeah, sure.”
“What a wuss.” He was smirking at her.
She grinned back. “You know it. We should go down to the park and make a snowman.”
“I’d rather make a snowdemon,” he answered.
She started to laugh. “That’s not too conducive to the Christmas spirit. We might make people angry.”
“Come on, Tobi. You’re not being very helpful here.”
Tobi bristled. “I’m a chaos demon. I’m not supposed to be helpful.”
Chance raised her eyebrows at him skeptically. After a moment he sighed, stalked over, and took the royal blue kite from her hands.
He started to simply walk away, but Chance called out after him. “You have to run! It’ll never get any lift that way!” Tobi tossed an irritated look over his shoulder and then dashed forward, eventually releasing the kite into the air.
“Much better!” Chance cried, grinning as the kite soared into the sky. She expertly handled the reel, letting the kite out to just the right height to catch in the wind and sail high.
Tobi smirked at the silly smile on her face, and then followed the line of the kite string up into the air. The simple blue diamond stayed aloft, a rainbow of ribbons streaming behind it. “You’re good at this,” he called out.
“My dad loves kites,” Chance called back, not taking her eyes off the one in the sky. “I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember. He gave me this one for my sixteenth birthday.”
Tobi looked at her face again, taking in her delighted expression, her reddish hair being tossed up in the breeze, the way she leaned and pulled against the wind. He smiled at the simple beauty of her happiness.
“You should have a look in the bag,” Chance told him, nodding vaguely toward the duffel bag that she’d brought her kite in. “Got you something at the mall the other day.”
He strode back toward her and knelt in the grass, digging out the components of a dark black-and-purple kite. “I have no idea how to put this together,” he pointed out.
She shrugged, grinning. “Figure it out. You’re not stupid.”
I love writing Chance and Adrian's relationship, even if it's long-distance like this.
Tobi stepped back into the apartment, closing the door behind him as he shuffled through the envelopes in his hand. “Bills. Junk. Hey look, you have actual mail!” He waved a brownish envelope in the air.
“Ooh!” Chance responded, coming out of the kitchen. She was drying her hands on a dish towel. “From Adrian?”
“Yep.” He tossed the other papers onto a side table and walked across the room to pass her the letter.
Grinning, she went back into the kitchen to put away her towel, then came into the living room and flopped down onto the couch. Curious, Tobi sat down beside her.
Chance tore open the thick envelope and unfolded the pages inside. On top was just a small note, so characteristic of her brother – I hope you know how much it costs me to send you these. Enjoy, kiddo.
She put the note aside, smiling, and looked at the first page. It was a drawing of the dig site, workers digging away under the simple tarps they put up to shade them from the sun.
Tobi leaned over her shoulder to get a better look at the drawings as she slowly went through them. “What are these?” he asked.
Chance smiled again. “My brother’s sketches from the site. He draws all the time – and now that he’s out there, working, the site makes for some great subject matter whenever he takes a break. I always loved looking at his drawings, so when he went away, I made him promise to send me some every few months.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Tobi admitted, impressed. “He’s actually quite good.”
Chance nodded her agreement, and they sat in silence for a moment as she continued to shuffle through the pages, taking her time to study each sketch.
Then Tobi spoke up again. “So… smart, driven, artistic, handsome, successful… did your brother get all of the good genes, then?”
Chance laughed and whacked him over the head with the sheaf of papers. Laughing, Tobi dove off the couch and out of her reach. She put the pages aside and jumped up after him.
“Forever?” asked the girl on screen, wide-eyed and emotional.
“Forever,” promised the tall, attractive boy facing her. He reached up to brush his fingers through her hair.
“Ugh!” Chance responded, turning off the TV with surprising violence.
Tobi wandered up behind the couch. “What?”
“Cheesy couples making forever promises. And only half an hour into the movie, too.” She made a face.
“Okay, yeah. That’s bad.” Tobi circled the couch and sat down beside her.
“I hate forever promises,” Chance answered, screwing her face up even further.
Tobi lifted his eyebrows at her. “Aren’t girls supposed to love that kinda shit?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes. “Supposed to. But really? How many people can actually keep those promises? It just leads to that many more awful breakups, in the long run. Girls fall for that kind of bull for a while, but then they get dumped and it stings all the more… knowing that so many promises were broken.” She huffed. “Sorry, that turned into a bit of a rant there.”
He was watching her with raised eyebrows. “I detect a woman scorned.”
Chance turned away, trying to still look angry.
Tobi chuckled. “Hell hath no fury. That one’s true. Well, for what it’s worth, I promise not to make any promises.”
Chance tried to contain herself, but after a moment she began to laugh.
These kinds of days are my favourite to write about, and my favourite to have.
“Oh no,” Chance cried half-heartedly. “I’m almost out of hummus! What will I dress my corn chips with now?”
“Never fear!” Tobi responded, beginning to drag himself out of his seat. He pushed Chance’s legs off his lap and got up. “I anticipated that need and bought extra when we were at the grocery store yesterday.”
“My hero,” Chance answered, straightening up to watch over the back of the couch as he disappeared into the kitchen. She heard the fridge open and shut, and Tobi reappeared with a fresh container of hummus in his hands. “What would I do without you?”
He started to laugh. “Have dumb lazy days and watch stupid movies and TV shows all by yourself.”
She chuckled. “You’re probably right,” she answered as he wedged himself back into place and she stretched her legs back across him. “But they’d be boring that way. And I’d make myself sick doing it.”
“What, just because I wouldn’t be here to make sure you eat properly?” he asked.
She nodded, mouth full of chips and hummus. Swallowing, she elaborated, “I’m terrible at eating real food on days like this. All carbs and no protein.”
“Good thing I’m here to look after you, then,” Tobi answered. “Ah, shit,” he added, grabbing a napkin and rubbing at a bit of dropped salsa on his dark shirt. After a moment he sighed, spat on the stain, and rubbed at it again. It disappeared.
“I’ll never get over that weird demon-spit cleaning power thing,” Chance observed, eyebrows raised.
He shrugged, grinning. “Put on the next episode.”
At the time I wrote this I was very fond of the conventional future of marriage and a family. Today, I'm no longer convinced that that's what suits Chance the best...
“Hey, Tobi,” Chance called from her room.
Tobi turned down his music and straightened up. “Yeah?”
“Just got a message from Juliet,” Chance started. “She’s taking a survey for one of her courses and wondered if either of us would fill it out for her. Can you spare a couple minutes?”
“Do I have to admit to anything embarrassing?” Tobi asked, stretching.
She laughed. “Nope, doesn’t look that way.”
“Sure, then,” he answered. He heard her shuffling around on her desk, and then she wandered into the living room, laptop in her arms. She put it down on the coffee table and sat on the floor, poised to type.
“Okay, so… high school graduate?”
“Uh.” Tobi paused. “In as much as demons go to high school, yeah. Sure.”
“College or university?”
“Neither. Unnecessary.” Tobi grinned.
“You bastard.” Chance shook her head as she typed. “All right. So basically after that she just wants to know our intentions for the future in a few different categories… uh… family, career, and accomplishments.”
“Oh, okay,” Tobi answered, grinning again. “I’ll tell, but you gotta tell me what you put down for yourself first.”
Chance chuckled. “Honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing with myself right now. But uh. For family I put down that I’ll probably get married, maybe have a couple of kids. Definitely a dog. As far as career goes, I really don’t know right now, but apparently that’s a legitimate answer. And accomplishments… I guess they’re kinda mundane, actually. But I want to get to a point where I’m happy with my guitar skills… I want to go everywhere on my ultimate travel list… and I want to live the fullest, happiest life I can.” She shrugged.
Tobi was nodding. “Well, as far as my career goes, it’s pretty obvious I think. I want to cause as much shit as possible. It’s my purpose. Literally.” He managed to keep a straight face, knowing exactly how ridiculous he sounded using that mild tone of voice. “In terms of accomplishments, I’d love to win the Devil’s Fork, which is basically the highest form of recognition you can be awarded in Hell. I also aim to cause a stomach ache in every country on Earth.”
He paused for a moment and patiently waited for Chance to regain her composure. She was amazed by his ability to remain serious. Eventually, he continued, “And for family, all I’ve ever wanted is to bang an attractive lady every single night for the rest of my life.”
At this, Chance cracked again. She nearly dissolved into a puddle of laughter at his feet. A tiny smile began to creep onto his face as he watched her from the couch, nose held high. “Really. I’m quite serious.”
“We may have to tailor that a bit to fit the purposes of the survey,” Chance giggled.
“Oh, fine,” Tobi answered with a heavy sigh. His smile was growing. “But you’ll have to tell me more about this ultimate travel list, you know. I have to go with you to all of these places.”