(Ticcimask) One In The Same

Old Wounds

        It was one of those perfectly slow and lazy days where spring was creeping around the corner. Toby, Brian, and Tim were walking along the parkway sidewalk that afternoon once school let out. Brian hadn't bothered to drive this time considering he had let Seth borrow his car for a few days.

It had something to do with location scouting— Tim wasn't exactly sure. But apparently Seth, Jay, and Alex  went together, looking for some pretty remote places, and needed the extra storage space for equipment. Brian of course, was more than happy to oblige his friends with whatever they needed.

Tim had been keeping himself at a respectful distance away from their tagalong, opting to listen to Brian's advice, and just leavening the kid be. However, Toby seemed different these last few days. He was quiet.. and almost listless. Tim, being the kind of person he was, had found that his empathetic nature was making it damn near impossible to mind his own business in the matter. 

The senior was trapped between concern and wanting to respect the teen's privacy. Everyday stim grew slightly more resolved to ask for Toby's phone number. By the end of the day, he figured he would do exactly that, just to check up on him. Toby only had Jay's for assignment assistance, and Tim wondered why he hadn't asked for anyone else's.

        "–On top of that, now suddenly it's my fault that the guy has a black eye! He shoulda been the one to side step out of the way in time. Like, he's on the opposition for a reason. I was just doing my job as a quarterback."

Brian's tale from football practice had Tim zoning in and out of his thoughts at the moment. Only catching the last bit of the sentence Brian had ended on to either nod, or shake his head to show he was partially listening.

The dark brunette took the opportunity to look over his shoulder at the dower teen trailing behind. Toby's shoulders were slumped and eyes casted down at the sidewalk. Tim couldn't take this anymore.

Tim cocked his head toward the side, a well meaning question just on the tip of his tongue. Until something alerted the group to the left. A sudden, loud, bang.

The two seniors looked over to see that two cars had clipped each other a good ten feet away. Thankfully, the street wasn't busy and the driver's seemed to be okay. But the fenders and headlight on each impact's respective sides were caved in. The car that took the hit had their horn jammed, so it kept blaring despite the danger having passed.

The noise was gaining a crowd by this point.

"Whoa! Damn, that was right next to us. Doesn't look too bad— but what bad luck, am I right?" Brian commented with slight amusement at the spectacle.

Tim felt something tug at his gut, causing him to look back over his shoulder on instinct. Tim stopped short as his peripheral caught sight of their teenaged friend. Having fallen onto his knees upon the sidewalk, Toby had also covered his ears, trembling. Tim instantly knew what was happening and muttered, "Oh shit." Under his breath.

He waved to Brian, pulling his attention away from the accident. The blond's hazel eyes widened as the situation became more personable and he began to crouch down to the teen's level. As the jock was about to open his mouth and ask concern on behalf of Toby's wellbeing, Tim ushered him away with a light yet urgent shove.

Toby couldn't be crowded at this time, it would've made his panic attack worsen.

"Quick— go get some water okay? I'll watch over him."

"But—"

"I got it Brian, I promise. Please, go do this for me, okay?"

Brian, feeling helpless once more, had to swallow his pride and begrudgingly leave his two companions behind. There was a convenient store around the park somewhere. He didn't have to travel too far, thankfully. And the taller male  jogged off without another second to spare.