Bad Habits ~A Toby Turner fanfic~

Chapter 2: Heavy Rain on a Tin Roof Top

"Oh god... Jesus, why?" Arnia shook her head wildly about, exiting the stall and washing her hands at the nice, marble sink. She looked at her face in the mirror and tried to fake a smile with her pink lips. Today was just not her day. She was a generally happy soul who rarely got agitated; when she did get upset though, she didn't know how to handle it. She took pride in the fact that she couldn't, believing it made her better at games because she had more focus on things when she was angry. Either way it went, she needed this one win, if nothing else for the day. She only wanted a little taste of victory, just enough to eat in front of Franklin.

Cautiously, she tip-toed out of the bathroom to hear the whispers of various girls, 'I bet Frankie and Toby are going to hook up!' 'Yeah, right.' 'Seriously, they seem like a good couple.' 'He's so hot and she is too. Think about it.' Arnia sneered softly. She knew it was probably true, but it kind of irked her a bit. Toby was a funny, cute guy who liked pretty girls, why would it concern her who he screwed? She was just a contestant in a competition that had gotten in to a small accident before hand. She shook it off and put on her war face, concentrating her energy into focus as she prepared for the first rounds by doing a few breathing exercises.

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Toby sat by a hot dog vendor, watching the girl of his dreams play the hell out of Halo with her opponent. She was hot, affectionate, and she loved the crap out of him. He pondered to himself quietly, "I wonder if she'd go on a date with me.." He reached for his phone and saw a text from his accountant, stating Toby should get a hold of him. He dialed the number and walked outside so he could focus on Shaun, "Hello? You told me to get a hold of you?"

"Yes! I have great news!" Shaun was a little too happy for comfort.

"That's... Well, great! What is it?" Toby smiled, noticing a small huddle of people off to the side doing something he couldn't see which made him lose focus.

"You're almost in good financial standing! As long as you sponsor some more tournaments, you'll be back better than ever!" Shaun spun around in his cubicle upon an office chair, "Isn't that great? ... Toby? Are you even listening?"

"I'd love to hear more about your tortoise, Mint but I have to go.. Catch you later." with a click, Toby was walking toward the group of strangers, oddly drawn to the mystery of it.

Shaun sat there for a minute, confused, "... He didn't boop." Toby approached the group slowly, not trying to get himself mugged and/or beat up.

"Man, Williams already dropped out, you lost your money." A man with a thick voice plucked a few bills from another person's hand, laughing.

"That's no fair, I didn't know Williams was already out!" Another man dropped his money and promptly left. Toby had a light bulb go off in his head, signalling that this was where the bets were placed. Of course, it wasn't a very legal practice, so it had to be done outside the convention center. It all made sense as he inched closer to the group, putting a twenty dollar bill in.

"Who you betting on?" The thick voice came at him before he had said a word about who he was betting on.

".. Uhm, well, I was thinking Franklin-" Toby was cut off by a loud chuckle.

"Man, you new here, ain't you? Franklin ain't here to game. She just eye candy. Nobody has the heart to tell a pretty white girl no." The thick voice came from a tall, hispanic-looking fellow who looked to be about in his twenties, "My advice, bet on one of the more ugly ones."

"Well, there's this one in a pick up who has this hoodie on, think her last name starts with an H... I didn't really catch her name but I crashed into her car earlier. Might as well give her the benefit of the doubt." Toby scratched the back of his neck and looked down at his money. The hispanic fellow looked at his circle of companions, shrugging his shoulders to signal if anyone knew who it was.