𝑩𝒆𝒓𝒌

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒊𝒗𝒆

"Shut up! Look- I'm trying to revise." The brunet snapped, scribbling harshly onto the off coloured paper.

Toby was once again sat his corner table, and was once again plagued with the other members of his class; it was a small class, but they were meant to be the best of the best.

He was sat down, occasionally picking at his food, but mostly drawing basic pictures and diagram in his book. Unsurprisingly, he was also getting rather frustrated with Jeff- as usual.

A scoff left the black haired male, "No, you're doodling. That isn't how you revise. And you're probably gonna grab one of those little Garden Dragons anyways." Jeff laughed. He, himself wasn't preparing for the upcoming assessment. He was cocky and being told he was capable of a lot only fuelled his ego, making him refuse to 'waste time' revising.

"Leave him alone, Jeff." Jane sighed, not bothering to glance up at anyone, as she flipped through the book- she was just as sick of the boy's attitude as Toby was.

"I can stand up for myself." Toby seethed, his expression forming into one of annoyance, as he did his best to continue staring at the book in front of him; dipping the quill into some ink.

"Yeah, stop acting like a sister- he's already had one." Jeff snickered, "He doesn't need another one, Jane. If he needed one in the first place he wouldn't have been so careless."

Toby's fists clenched, his knuckles turning white. "Why do you sit at this table, despite having nothing useful to contribute to it?" He asked, finally tearing his eyes from the book.

"Well, the simple question is, why don't you move?" Jeff retorted with a smirk. The claw scars on his face emphasized his horrid, smug expression. His scar was a singular line that ran across his face in a shape of a smile; and was caused by his ignorance and impatience.

"Because I was sat here, first." Toby growled, holding his glare to Jeff. His eyebrows were knitted together, and he clenched his jaw, "You lot came over to me like a Dragon to a pile of fish."

Jeff rolled his eyes, "Sure, sure. The main problem with your comparison is that Dragons like fish."

"No, it's true." Jack mumbled. The shy, auburn haired boy grabbed his things, standing up, "Sorry for bothering you, Toby." He stated with a sigh and the shake of his head, before leaving, to sit at another table.

Jane sighed standing up- a concerned look filling her soft features, "Jack, no, don't go." She mumbled, grabbing her things to follow the boy, in an attempt to make sure he was okay.

Jeff scoffed, watching Jane leave, before turning his gaze back to Toby- tilting his head to the side in a belittling manner, "Wow, you really do push everyone that cares about you away- I give it a week or three before one of your parents hate you." He stated with a chuckle, before leaving, himself.

Toby rolled his eyes, gently biting his cheek as he went back to looking at the diagrams he'd drawn into his book- trying to hide the fact that Jeff's words hurt him, and, that he was actually worried about it.

He was an antisocial brat in most people's eyes, who openly hated dragons. He knew the thought of his parents hating him was irrational, but he couldn't help but anxiously ponder it. What Jeff said over the course of knowing him only reinforced his views about how people saw him; and Toby himself believed that Lyra should've been the survivor, seeing as she would've coped a lot better than he was. Not only that, but, she loved Dragons, loving Dragons is what got her killed. Toby refused to believe he could ever love a Dragon like Lyra did; the damage was done and he didn't know how to undo it, especially with even more damage being added onto it on a daily basis.

The only Dragon he still got along with was Stormfly, he didn't like any others that the previous generations had tamed. For some reason he just preferred the blue creature. Oddly enough, he would occasionally pet and talk with the Deadly Nadder, too, but would always shun the Nightfury. It was odd behaviour that he refused to explain, but then again, to most people he was odd.

It honestly didn't shock him that Jane left. Jack, too. Especially since Tim's advice had started to become.. Dry, in a fashion, as well as monotone- copying what everyone else was saying. Brian became distant first, he was losing Tim, he just lost Jane and Jack. It wouldn't surprise him if his parents were next, but it still hurt to think about.

The only thing he could do is grin and bear it, and work out his own plan.