INTERLUDE // Tubbo X Reader

10

Unfortunately, it couldn't last forever. 

Time flew like your fingers across the keyboard. You had the bare bones of a song now, and the more you played it, the more you fell in love with how it sounded. It leaned classical, with that dramatic sort of sound that ballets and operas had. To really go the extra mile, Toby had had the bright idea to turn it into a duet for two pianos - a page and a half of music for each. You were still tossing the idea of adding a round in there somewhere, but that could be solved at a later date. 

Either way, it was probably the most fun you had ever had on a school project. Of course, it helped that Toby was great company. He spun around and around in his gaming chair, marking down notes and making suggestions about where to go next - along with lots of dumb jokes you couldn't help but laugh. They were so bad it was funny, and it was worth it to see the little self-satisfied smile that played on his lips after he made a particularly bad one. 

Maya had had a point when she'd said he was cute. Objectively, of course. 

You had spent about three hours and made some really good progress before your phone buzzed, breaking the pleasant spell. You pulled the device out of your pocket to see a text from your mum. 

coming home soon?

You glanced back to the top of the screen to check the time. You had told her you would be coming back around lunch... and it was about an hour past now. 

sorry lost track of time

You looked up from your phone. "Hey, I've got to go."

Toby stopped his spinning, turning to look at you. "Awh, really?" The corner of his mouth twitched down. 

You frowned as well. "Yeah, I told my mum I would be home around lunch, which was about an hour ago."

Toby's eyes drifted over your head to the clock on the wall behind you. "True." He got up out of his chair, beginning to gather up all the pages of sheet music and notes that had been scattered around while you had been putting everything together. "We made some good progress though."

"We did." You agreed, getting up from the piano bench to gather up all your notes and tuck them back into the folder you had brought. "We should be able to finish the rest in class."

Toby handed you a few other papers and you slid those into the pockets as well, standing back up. His hands slipped into his pockets as you neatened your papers together, a silence falling over the room for the first time in hours. 

"This was actually really fun." He said, breaking the quiet. 

"It really was." You agreed. In years previous, back at your old school, projects outside of school had been you and your friend procrastinating until the last minute and then just doing the bare minimum. Now, with subject matter that you actually cared about and a partner that was just as invested as you, you had had a great time while still getting loads of work done. It was a win-win for sure. You hovered near the door of the room a moment more. "I should probably get going."

"I'll walk you out." Toby offered, holding the door as you walked through. 

You padded back down the stairs, Toby's slightly muffled footsteps following after you. His sister wasn't on the couch anymore when you got downstairs, and you hesitated by the front door as Toby stepped down from the stairs. You could see him fiddling with his hands in his pockets. 

"We should hang out again sometime." He said. "Like, not for school."

You glanced over at him as the words left his mouth to find him absently watching the floor. "Yeah." You said. "We definitely should... maybe we could play some video games or something." 

His head perked back up at that, a little smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah." He said. "Definitely. I would really like that."

Another silence fell over the both of you - this time less awkward than upstairs and more excited. You were going to hang out again at some point, and without the burden of schoolwork - though it hadn't really been much of a burden this time, since you both loved playing piano and the project was designed to be creative and fun. Still, you would love to hang out with Toby again - he had proven to be great company.

"Alright then." You said, reaching for the door and pushing it open. "See you at school?"

Toby held the door open so you could step out onto the porch. "See you at school." You hopped down the steps in front of the porch, tossing one last wave over your shoulder before he closed the door and you were starting down the pavement, grabbing your headphones from your pocket again. 

The sun was much stronger now than it had been when you walked over in the morning, and you were just beginning to get a little hungry. Mostly, you were just happy though - it felt good to be hanging out with someone outside of school, especially since you hadn't been since you moved. Plus, the fact that Toby wanted to hang out again (and not because of the project) made you feel good - someone actually liked you here. 

You had been worried about making friends for nothing. Between Maya and Toby, you were set for pals. You would have to tell Maya about how the hangout went, she had insisted that you let her know at some point. You could already hear her overreacting about the fact that he had asked you to hang out again - because of course she would. After she had gotten you to agree that he was cute - objectively - she had become a menace. 

You didn't mind that much - it was all in good fun - but you couldn't help but wonder what she saw. Whatever it was, you were missing it.