#ticcitobyrewrite

[foressfaction]

SPOILERS FOR THE REWRITE

this is an animatic that i made for the rewrite, i figured since im posting that here that i should share this too! I posted it to youtube a while back but yknow.

This took me maybe 3 months to finish so i hope you enjoy it! The song is Everlong by Foo Fighters!

A childhood favorite...

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

Chapter 9

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers. This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome. !!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Chapter nine

"Hey, hey listen to me okay?" A soft voice rang out, it was Lyra's. Toby opened his eyes to see the bright bathroom lights. He must've finally passed out. He felt a tight restriction around his torso, it was wrapped in gauze, and blood was still soaking it.

"Everything is alright, everything is alright!" She was holding his hand, obviously noticing the red hand marks. She knew what happened.

"...i fell.." Toby mumbled out.

"Dammit Toby! I know you're lying! What happened!? You were bleeding everywhere, your arms are bruised and red, and- are those hand prints?! Were you jumped?! Please tell me!"

Lyra was crying, in tears. Her hair was a mess and what little makeup she did wear was smeared all over her face.

"You're covered in so many other little cuts! You know I can't handle seeing you like this! Tell me please so I can fix this!"

He was flinching to her worried yelling. "You can't fix this, Lyra." Toby started, wincing to the pressure that finally hit him. "T-To fix it, you'd have to fix me. A-And I'm…simply unfixable."

Lyra hugged him tightly. "I'm going to tell you this…at school tomorrow….you go to that kid…and you break his arm, do you hear me! Break his arm!"

Her grip on him was very tight. He had to pat her arm to let go so she wouldn't accidentally suffocate him.

"..Sorry…Sorry I'm just so angry.." She wiped her tears. "So very angry,"

"I'll get in trouble" Toby mumed weakly, not liking the sound of her idea. "I'll do it then." She insisted though he sat up quickly, shaking his head. "No, don't! That's wh-what-what he wants, attention…a reaction!..I-if i just keep ignoring them, they'll leave me alone-"

She cut him off. "Okay well look where that got you, Toby!"

Toby flinched at her sudden words, looking a little offended. "If they don't get it, they'll do what they can until they do! It's a natural human instinct. You have to stick up for yourself!" Lyra kept going, but he felt obligated to confess. "I did try! They were too strong..They threw me around as if i was a ragdoll…"

"Then tell the police! I'll call them myself so be it!"

He perked up, fear in his eyes. "They threatened to kill me…If we do-" he warned.

Lyra went quiet, staring at him. She didn't know what to say

"..Can we just forget about it? Look, I'll b-be healed in a month or so- everything will be normal again.."

Lyra still didn't know what to say. She felt helpless. She leaned on the wall and slid down, sitting criss-crossed. She was sitting right beside the tub where he was laid and treated, and now sat in.

He didn't like the fact she just sat there, looking lifeless.

"Lyra?"

"I love you, Toby, you know?" She spoke, staring at the wall.

"But sometimes you are…A handful.." She slightly laughed under her breath. Toby couldn't tell if she was joking or annoyed, maybe both, who knew.

Toby huffed a weak laugh as well. "y-yeah because…g-getting jumped is my fault, haha.."

She faced him, sighing. "..no..no…you're just lucky i'm not as dense as mom, who believes your tiny lies about your physical state." She pulled her knees up into a hug.

During that time of pure silence, Toby was thinking about that figure he saw again, he didn't know why but he couldn't remember much about that day honestly.

•••••

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

Chapter 7

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers. This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome. !!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Chapter seven

"Let's go out my window, they won't hear us." Lyra opened her room window that led to the roof and crawled out. Toby followed behind, slipping down the roof a little but eventually they were both able to jump off safely landing on the grass below.

The two siblings started to sprint down the sidewalk, slowly merging to the side of the road. Toby would pass Lyra immediately but the two would both slow down to a steady pace. Toby would fall behind shortly. "Where are we even going?!" Toby would yell, running behind his sister, her ponytail blowing behind her as she kept running, in the lead. Toby was getting out of breath but stayed competitive. "To the abandoned school! It's cool! I wanna show you."

The two kept running, shoes echoing off the old cracked sidewalk that has seen better days. The road was dead and it seemed no one was out at the time. The cold weather pinched at their faces, making their noses red and their faces a little pink.

About midway Toby stopped to catch his breath, bending down to hold his knees, huffing. Lyra stopped, no longer hearing him running.

Toby turned to see the woods, getting a very familiar feeling. He stayed huffing, holding his stomach tightly, he saw a figure…tall as the trees just facing him. It was all black, but definitely unnerving. This time though he felt like he was in danger…not that usual friendly feeling he got from the creature.

His eyes were locked on.

"Toby?" The girl called out. Toby snapped from his daze and looked at her. She was about 15 feet away. "You okay?" Lyra yelled out.

Toby nodded and went back to jogging, passing her who started after him.

He looked back a couple of times.

Lyra wondered why he suddenly went quiet

The two made it to the old school, both huffing to catch their breaths, especially Toby. "Wow, they painted it more since the last time I came here." Lyra hummed out, waking further inside. There was a hole just big enough for them to fit through the boarded door. Graffiti lined the walls on every corner. Almost no negative space was left. "Here!" She tossed Toby a can of spray paint. "Huh? Where did you ge-get this?" he asked, shaking it a little.

"It was laying in the corner over there, some dumb-nuts left'em." She shook her own can and tested it out on the walls. "A gift for us then huh?"

Toby laughed a little, joining her to mark up the walls. She wrote words while he painted his lil symbols, and stick people. That figure didn't leave his mind either. He started to spray paint the tall man, getting the proportions as correctly as he could. He was so concentrated that he didn't notice the girl looming behind him in confused awe. "Who is that, Toby?"

Toby turned quickly and sighed a little. "..A…a friend."

She tilted her head, concerned but played along. She was always worried about her brother. The kid was pretty slow and unique but she loved him anyway. That was one of the traits that made him so lovable. "Oh ahah, a friend? Well tell him I like his tie." She referred to the red tie that Toby painted on. The figure was in a suit.

The wind picked up suddenly. The two had been there for a while, and the sun was starting to set.

The brunette and the blonde girl were sitting against the wall playing with an old toy top they found on the ground. Toby was spinning it, trying to beat Lyra's high score of 30 seconds of pure spinning. His highest was 6..

"Hey, go see if you can find any other little things, I bet I can find one faster than you." Lyra always wanted to play a game out of something. She was a very competitive person. Toby got up quickly. "we'll see then!" He called out.

Toby ran down the hall of the old school, leaving the section they were in and entered a whole new one. His shoes echoed down the halls.

Toby really stopped to take a look at all of the halls. They were all painted on and just destroyed. People wrote satanic symbols, numbers. Some were confession letters and secrets.

'I wonder who Doug is.'  Toby thought to himself as he stood in front of a giant wall that had 'I really hate Doug' spray painted on it.

Toby finally caught the eye of a pile of boxes and bags. Bingo! "There has to be something in here!" He thought out loud as he ran over and started to dig through. There were a bunch of burned up books and papers. Toby dug deeper and eventually felt metal against his gloved hand. He pulled it out, a lighter?

He flicked it on and the flame bursted up, lighting his eyes and half of the semi-dark room up. "woaahh.."

"HEY!" A man's voice yelled out.

"What are you doing with my stuff you little twat!"

Toby looked behind him quickly and immediately scurried out of the room, taking the lighter with him.

The older boy chased him, grabbing at the boy's arm and successfully pulled Toby back violently.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Toby screamed out, kicking the other male in the shin, slipping away again and running as fast as he could.

He ran into his sister, nearly knocking them down. She huffed out and held him. Toby was practically hugging her. Lyra was in shock but saw the other guy approaching them fast. "Don't hurt my brother you asshole!" She yelled out, baring her teeth angrily.

"Oh, you're a cute one aren't ya~" The older boy cooed out.

Lyra groaned in an annoyed way and sprayed the guy in the face with spray paint. He screamed and grabbed his face, it getting into his eyes. Lyra took her brother's arm and started to run.

Toby had shoved the lighter into his pocket in the process. "Haha bozo!" Toby laughed out, being tugged away once more around the corner.

Despite that encounter, that was the most fun the two have had in a while.

After the two got home and got showers, they stayed up most of the night in Lyra's room, either reading funny stories from a book of jokes, or making a fort out of all of her blankets. It was the weekend so they didn't have to worry about school or work. Toby fell asleep on the floor in the pile of pillows and blankets. That day was really eventful. The tall man even paid him a visit in his sleep.

••••••••

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

CHAPTER 1

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers. This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome. !!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Chapter one

It was a couple of days full of constant debate between the two adults in the home. Toby had been up all night. The only thing that let him know was the sun that just peered from the horizon; it was his alarm clock piercing through the quiet morning air. Toby turned from what he was doing to shut it off. He was sitting at his desk scribbling in all of his school note books. The odd doodles ranged from stick men to just plain scribbles and German words he was trying to learn. He was half German after all, he really wanted to learn it. A pop screeched from his neck, closing his eyes tight and widely opening them a few times before blinking off the tic. Was it the first day of school?

Toby's mind wandered back to the hallway of flickering lights and sudden thick atmosphere. He kind of felt that way just then as well. It was probably the anxiety he just got. "Wait really?" muttered Toby to himself. He reached his hand up and pulled one of the blinds down, squinting his eyes to the red and orange bright light of the rising sun. "hmmm….black hole sun." He mumbled in reference to a song he liked. Toby never listened to music all too much but on occasion he would.

Toby pulled his backpack next to his leg and shoved all of the journals into it, some pencils too. He was surprised no one else decided to come in and try to wake him, despite him never going to sleep in the first place. The boy always struggled with sleep, it had been especially hard these last few days. He just felt like his mind was blurry. Toby knocked on his sister's door, assuming she actually might still be asleep, but was wrong. The bathroom door just across the hallway opened and there she stood. She looked exceptionally tired, hair in a messy bun and all stringy. That was kind of a family thing, stringy frizzy hair no matter how much you wash and brush it. "Aw never mind." Toby sighed out, earning a confused look from the blonde girl. "Never mind what?"

"You're tired, I was going to ask if you could drive me to school—" He was caught off guard by her sudden fast speaking. "Right, I didn't get much sleep last night. If at all, work was tiring and my co-workers thought it would be funny to complain about me to my boss..i might get fired." She sounded very stressed, almost as if she was going to cry while speaking.

"Complaining about what? You're such a-a goo-good worker?"

She shrugged at his concern. "It's probably because how late I usually am, by the time I'm done with all of my chores and school, work is just something that's piled onto that. I honestly think getting fired might be the best option, but what would dad think?" Her voice cracked a little at the end of her sentence. Toby didn't really know how to respond. "That won't happen, right? Things won't go downhill anymore right?"

The girl kinda just frowned, taking her brother by the shoulder and into a hug. "I hope not, if so…I can drive, i can just take us someplace quiet, get away for a while huh? Sound good?"

Toby smiled just a little, a weak one but the idea was there. "Jawohl." He replied. "Picking up German?" Lyra asked in remark to his unexpected reply, to which he nodded with a stupid grin. She patted his back in a gesture to tell him to head downstairs. "I'll drive you just let me get my shoes."

At that moment Toby descended down the stairs and towards the door. Neither his mom or dad were in sight. He wasn't sure if they slept in the same room or not. Toby looked outside to see that his mom's car was gone. His only assumption was that his dad took it somewhere, or they were both out, which wasn't completely unbelievable but still a little odd.

It wasn't long before Lyra had taken her brother up to his new school. Well it wouldn't really be considered new, just a different campus that went up with his grade, same people, same idiots. Toby grabbed his bag and sat there for a moment, staring down then to Lyra who also met his eyes at the same time he met hers. "I can tell you're nervous. I mean the first days are always nerve wracking." She started. "You got this though okay? You're unique..not different."

He listened to her with a small nod, yet half of him still doubted that. "Okay, Lyra, just this once.."

Lyra smiled warmly before speaking out rather loudly as he got out. "Love ya!"

He turned suddenly with an immediate response. "Love you more!"

As then she spat back "Love you most!" Toby huffed, visibly distraught but in a joking way. "you never let me win!" with that said he sorta literally ran into the building. The place wasn't as big as it seemed the day he came up here with his mom. It was probably because the halls were empty, now they were crowded with lost kids trying to find their classes. Toby had his schedule in hand and surprisingly knew where most of his classes were already due to his little mini journey he got a few days ago. Toby trotted straight to his main home room class, an English class with a teacher that looked about 80 years old. The desks were lines in rows of three. The boy chose the seat closest to the back and rested his stuff onto the ground. No one really was batting an eye.

The battle of holding his tics in was the hardest part. The teachers knew, the kids didn't. He didn't want to become the center of attention the second he blurts out a curse word.

Toby shook his head to that thought and opened up his journal he was doodling in last night. The first 8 pages were full of stupid little comic doodles. He even drew Mr. Cowbells. He thought it looked nice. Sooner or later class started, and the room was filled with kids of all diversity. Back when he was with the 'different' kids, they were almost all the same, when he tried talking to them, they would just give vague replies. He didn't understand them and they didn't understand him. But he ended up forcing himself into friendships with them only to be ripped away and thrown into a class of kids who were considered normal. Was this a way of considering him…normal?

He didn't feel normal, he was unique, Lyra says. He liked her choice of wording. 'unique' just rolls off the tongue so well.

"Alright everyone! As we know it is the first day of 6th grade, before you know it, you'll be in highschool, yippee right?" The sweet tone of the teacher silenced the once talking room of kids with her words. "To start the day off, why don't we all stand up and introduce ourselves with our names, age and a fun fact hm?"

Oh, this was weird. Toby watched as each student started to stand up and sputter random facts and an introduction to themselves. Some were longer than others, and some were as simple as could be. He didn't quite realize that he had to go as well, glancing over to meet eyes with the teacher as it was finally his turn, last to go.

Toby took a few glances around to see almost everyone was staring at him. He felt this feeling of dread take over him, like he was going to throw up, actually…..he might.

Toby, after taking a small breath, stood to his feet, holding his journal and looking down at it. "My name is Toby, uhm, I'm 13," he had to pause, feeling an itchy feeling in his throat. A sharp pressure building up to something he knew he couldn't control.

"Mh, mh! look at a spider!~ woo! spider, woo!-"

He could feel the embarrassment prick at his skin, his neck jerking forward as his hand jerked up and twisted a few times, as if he was waving royally. Toby heard a few giggles within the room of kids, looking back to the eyes of his teacher who didn't seem to mind much. He knew she was informed but he still felt bad. "um, I like to draw?"

He said as if anyone really gave a crap. They were all kinda just staring. He could feel them silently judging.

He felt another sensation at his throat, stomping his foot three times in a row while repeating a phrase. "Stop! Stop! Stop!" he shook his head, the embarrassment growing even more before he took a seat again, head hanging low.

"That's great to know, Toby, I bet you're a wonderful artist. Now does anyone have any questions?" Just then a kid raised his hand, a snarky grin on his face. "Yeah, I do." He pointed to Toby. "Why is he so ticci?"

The teacher didn't really understand at first, but it took a moment to hit. "Ah, let's not ask rude questions, this classroom is a safe space for all." She glanced at the brunette boy, who just sat there, like a sad dog. He knew what the kid was trying to hint at. "They're tics." Toby spoke out, eyeing the kid. "They're unique."

"No, they're annoying," The kid started up. "Can't you just hold them in?-"

"If we're going to have a problem already, I can tell you now I will not tolerate any bullying in my classroom, or on this campus young man, Toby is minding his own business, if you don't like what he can't help then leave." The older woman slightly snapped. "This is the first day of school guys, please don't make this hard on me."

Toby felt a little better knowing his teacher would be nice, his old one was very, let's just say, strict.

"You okay?" She looked towards Toby who met her eyes shortly after. He nodded, accidentally locking eyes with the kid who was making remarks a minute ago. If he remembered, the boy's name was Cameron, Cameron Winston. Toby didn't say anything, just glanced away quickly and opened his journal to start doodling again. This was his attempt to calm down.

Eventually the class was over, but as Toby was leaving he noticed the lights above. They were flickering again. The teacher was standing in the doorway farewelling her students. As she waved to Toby he stopped. "You guys should r-r-really fix your lights." He spoke out.

She looked up, tilting her head a little. "What do you mean?"

"They're working fine."

Toby shook his head, "No, they flicker all the time, how can you not see it?"

"It's lunch time, Toby, want me to escort you?" She changed the subject. Which Toby wasn't very happy about, but shrugged it off. "I mean yeah sure." With that, the nice woman started to lead Toby to the giant room where all the kids sat and ate, the cafeteria.

•••••

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers.

This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome.

!!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Prologue

So it begins. The boy tugged on the skirt of a middle aged woman. She was his mom. Her hair was short, cut into a nice layered bob, though it had grown over time, it at one point was a pixie cut. She had diamond shaped ruby earrings on, in an attempt to look formal. Her name, it rolled off the tongue very smoothly, Connie Rogers.

"Why are there so many old people here?" The brunette boy asked. Connie's son, who's name also seemed pretty vague. Tobias Rogers.

The woman was quick to correct him, shushing him loudly while murmuring under her breath with a hint of embarrassment on her face. "Toby! Haha, I'm so sorry about him," she yearned off the stares she got from her son's odd choice of a question. And a rather rude one too. Toby had always been quite the weird kid. He said what was on his mind, whatever it was, and when he wanted to say it. Maybe the question would've been better at a funeral, or a grandma's birthday party. Do grandma's have birthday parties? Toby wouldn't know honestly. He never did meet his mom's mom. That's a funny way to put it.

The two were currently at a 'meet the teacher' day. Y'know, the day about a week before the first day of school. For Toby, he will be starting the 6th grade. To him, school has always been a joke. He barely passed 5th grade and was one point away from having to be stuck doing summer school. He had never been a people person either, especially with other kids his age.

"Are any of these people actually going to be important?" Toby asked, earning a glance from his mom. Her dark circles are more visible than ever.

"I'm sure they will be, look, that's your principal, you should probably go say hi, or....something. I have a lot of paperwork to fill out. Go have a look around, stretch your legs, we've been walking all day."

Toby made a spitting noise as if he thought that was one of the most boring things she could've said. He bared his braced teeth. Meet his principal? He didn't realize going to a different school would be so tiring. Toby eventually left her side, wandering out into the empty halls. Oh so that's why there was a big sign on the door that read 'staff only.' Not like that mattered to him, no one saw, no one had to know. Despite it being a day for his entire grade to be here, it was almost like the halls were abandoned. His mind was always a little trickster, it would make him believe something when that 'something' isn't in existence. Toby took some steps forward, then found himself walking further away from the chattering of the people from the room he was just in. His entire body felt cold, chills running up and down his broken nerves.

It was kind of eerie, not gonna lie. The only thing Toby could hear was the pitter patter on his own shoes, the same old shoes he's had for years. Honestly surprised the souls haven't torn off yet. The boy found himself turning multiple corners and met with endless hallways of lockers. He's never seen a locker before. There were thousands of them, atleast, that's what his mind was showing him. 'Did I take my medicine?' was the first thing he thought to himself as he continued down these narrow halls. He was over thinking the reason why his mom shooed him away, probably because he was a distraction, or knew he needed one. As uncanny as this felt, Toby found himself quite occupied. He had started counting the lockers, every one of them, and remembered the exact number of lockers on the 8th hallway.

That's suddenly when he saw that one part of the hallway's lights were off. It was right smack in the middle of the hallway, so why did those lights not work? Toby grew curious so he started to inch towards the area. That's when he noticed they weren't just off, but flickering a little.

He knew this feeling a little too well. That feeling of being watched, judged. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. He felt the air grow thick around him, as if gross, slimy water had just been poured onto him, soaking him to the heavy weight of being drenched. This of course actually didn't happen, but it felt like it did.

Toby turned around quickly, hearing something behind him, then again in front of him. He thought he was going to give himself whiplash from all of the darting of his head. Nothing was there though, nothing of sight, atleast. When Toby looked back to the hallway where the lights were supposedly off, he noticed they were working now. This caught him a little off guard, but as he looked closer, he could see that even further down than before, lights were off.

It was leading him further down the hallway?

Toby shook his head. "No that's not real." He whispered. "That's not r-real," he once again whispered with a little more voice. He felt that if the longer he looked, the more that feeling of tightness would increase.

Toby turned his back to the suffering lights, inching his way back to the room he was in not too long ago, with his mom. He turned the corner, only to nearly run into the frantic woman. "There you are, goodness, I thought you left this building." She spoke in a rather worried tone, taking his hand into hers, her rings were cold against his fingers. "You're really warm, are you okay? Are you sweating?"

Toby looked at her quickly, confusion sweeping him. "Am i?" He asked out while taking his free arm and wiping his forehead. Behold, bits of what felt like condensation rubbed off his skin. "Well we can forget meeting your teachers, I have your schedule here. I don't want you overheating again in all those layers, you know you can't feel temperatures to an extreme, you know this." She slightly scolded. Toby was just confused. He didn't feel too hot, he didn't know he was sweating. He does struggle with a certain disorder where he could technically place his hand on a lit stove and not feel a thing, despite his flesh melting off and severely damaging his hand. If anything it would just feel warm.

It was sad to be reminded he wasn't like the other normal kids in his grade, and certainly wasn't looking forward to another year of the constant reminders either. "I will be more aware next time." He stated, tone sounding a bit degraded.

It wasn't long before the two brunettes were on their way home. Toby was gazing out of the window, sitting in the backseat with his legs pulled up into a hug. The ride was silent, but his mom had never been too talkative after the last few months. Things weren't too good at home. Though he was going to go to a different school, they still lived in this dump of a house. Denver was a nice city, but in winters it was hard to stay warm, and in summers it was hard to stay cool. The house overall just about had it.

And the family knew that.

Toby finally broke the silence as the car hit a few road bumps. "There's exactly 286 lockers in the school." There was a moment of silence, but when he expected an answer there was nothing. "Mom?" He called out, not moving from his position but did lean his head over to try to peek into the rear view mirror that hung on the roof of the car.

He could see makeup running down her face, hands clenched onto the steering wheel tightly. If he listened closely, he could hear sniffling.

Toby knew better than to barge into questions but this time he knew the answer. He would have the same reason to cry, but lately he hadn't been able to feel much emotion at all. He, again, only saw life as a joke, nothing was real, no matter how hard he pushed away the reality. A 20 minute drive full of sniffles and awkward silence finally ended as the brown Subaru pulled into the cracked driveway to an old two story house.

The thing looked as if it was gonna fall in at any given moment. On the inside it was pretty big, still had carpet though it was old and stained, very stained.

A couple of whistles left Toby, followed by a few uncomfortable popping sounds from his neck. He had something called Tourette's Syndrome which caused the boy to jerk and tic uncontrollably. It was very uncomfortable for both him and those having to witness it. If he wasn't careful, he could accidentally hit someone, or himself. Which he does occasionally. Toby stepped out of the car to see the man standing on the porch, cigarette in hand. Seemed like he didn't see them pull into the driveway. Toby knew he did.

Toby noticed his mom left the folder of his school rules and other stuff in the car on the dashboard. He opened the door to reach in and grab it, his hand slipping with a slight tic, accidentally honking the horn, making the woman jump.

"Fuck- sorry, fuck! Sorry!" The boy jumped to coo out as he held the folder up. "Got it-"

Toby quickly closed the door to head inside, hearing the man spur something up. "Fuckin' boy." He muttered in a southern accent.

Toby paid no mind as it was something he was used to, rushing into the house and sitting the folder onto the counter, opening it and looking at all the papers. "Oh there were 287 lockers..I was off by one." He had his finger on where it stated the fact. He didn't understand why he was so fixated on the locker count. Gave him a distraction probably.

Toby moved the papers just enough to peer at his schedule, something he didn't have at his old school. "Wait mom? Why did you sign me up for public classes?"

The folder was snagged away from his hands, probably giving him a paper cut. "Stop complainin' and suck it up, it's about time you learn with other kids." The man scolded. Toby could see the vein popping from his forehead. The same shaggy blond buzz cut blanketed the man's head. His dad; he carried a name that would make anyone grimace just hearing it, Jacob Rogers. "Dad!" Toby tried to take the folder back but that only earned him a smack on the hand with the rather hard plastic outsides of the yellow folder.

Toby glared slightly as he took a deep breath.

The brunette woman strolled in, setting her bag down on the small island counter as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Look, Toby, I tried to suggest special education, but they said that it was time for you to get to know your grade better, plus wouldn't it be great to hang around people who...Actually respond when you talk to them?" She spoke out, slightly raising her voice.

"But they were nice to me," Toby added, narrowing his eyebrows, taking glances at the folder in his dad's hands. "Can i atleast see it closer? Again?" He eyed the man after asking.

"Your sister takes public classes, so can you. It's time we stop babying you, you're 13 years old for fucks sake. Act like it."

"Jacob!" Connie shouted with an offended tone. She knew the man was an asshole but she usually tried to defend her kid's opinions. Their marriage hadn't been the best lately, especially after her husband started to waste their money and abuse alcoholic substances. Speaking of which, the blonde man held a dark green bottle in his hand that wasn't clinging to Toby's school information.

The second Toby noticed that his mom saw the bottle, he knew they were about to bicker.

He just didn't want to be in the middle of that, excusing himself from where he took a seat.

Toby disappeared upstairs to one of the rooms he called his own. It wasn't much, just a carpeted floor, a dark blue rug with matching bed sheets. Completely unintentional. His shelves consisted of vintage toys he never touched, books, a lamp, and other nick nacks. He only ever kept one thing out, a stuffed cow. Why? He honestly grew an attachment to it. The poor thing was ripped up in many places, had patches on the stomach and left side of the head. It looked derpy as hell but he loved it to death.

Sometimes though when he holds it, he can't help but remember the time he 'played tug-o-war' with his dad who eventually ripped the head completely off while trying to take it from him. His only reason was because 'he was too old.' No one is too old for a comfort item.

Toby crawled onto the bed and took the cow plush into his hands and stared down at it. He gently gnawed at the inside of his cheek, a habit he developed a while ago. "Today isn't the best day, Mr. Cowbells, will you make it better? At least until Lyra gets home.." He hugged the stuffie to his chest and stared down at his sheets. It wasn't long before what he assumed would happen started up. He heard their loud voices downstairs. He knew it wasn't going to be too long until he heard thrashes and door slams.

It was like this all day, everyday.

All day, everyday.

••••••I

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

CHAPTER 6

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers. This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome. !!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Chapter six

Toby got home that night, realizing what he had done to his hands on the way home. They were chewed, bloody. Most of the blood was dry, but it wasn't hard to wash off.

Toby found some old pairs of winter gloves, they were black. He cut the tips of the fingers off, pulling them onto his hands to hide his scarred skin. He mostly wore jackets and flannels so the gloves wouldn't stand out as much. He really didn't want to be bandaged up again.

Lyra came opening his door, looking at him wide eyed. "What's up? I had an odd feeling just now."

"Eh? Oh, I'm fine, just- sitting, yep." he shrugged, tugging his hands into the creases of his elbows.

"Wait, Lyra, I have to ask, why was dad so mad yesterday?" he spoke, now thinking about how his head was healing. A white strip of gauze wrapped around his forehead halfway.

Lyra came in and sat down on his bed, hopping a little as she did so, making the bed bounce. "I'm so sorry I forgot to tell you. I quit my job, and well now we don't have much income."

Toby looked down slightly, kinda upset too. "heh..let me guess, dad did-didn't like that because you we-were the only one making money?"

She nodded. "I couldn't handle the drama, I wasn't getting promoted, I was only getting yelled at, work used to be my only escape from the verbal assault but I just didn't feel safe there." Lyra explained. This made Toby wonder, was Lyra skipping school? She never talked about it.

"You're still going to school right?" Toby asked. This earned a guilty side eye from the blonde girl. "Look- don't tell mom and dad okay? It was just too overwhelming and i had to work and- and-"

Toby grabbed her hand with a weak smile. "it's safe w-with me, why would i tell them? I know how dad would react, and mom would nev-never see the end of it." He looked down, a few facial tics leaving him.

"Let's go somewhere." Lyra randomly suggested. "Anywhere, for a drive, walk, even running doesn't sound so bad, I bet I can beat you in a race." She winked childishly. Despite being five years older than Toby, Lyra was a rather playful person. She was just overall chaotic. All she wanted to do was to make her brother laugh, see him smile. He never smiled much, or when he did it was an awkward smirk.

"Nuh uh, i-im way faster than you, believe it." Toby responded, taking on her challenge.

Lyra laughed stupidly and got up, lightning the mood. "Get your shoes on." She left the room quickly.

Toby got up and pulled on his old converses, they were all dirty and worn out from wearing them for so long. Toby followed the girl who disappeared into her room.

Lyra was putting her hair into a loose ponytail. She had bangs that fell perfectly above her eyes, and side tails that were just too short to fit into the ponytail. Her hair was thick and naturally a yellow blonde color. It was rather messy too, a family trait. She pulled on her own pair of plain white converses. Despite being white, they were still in way better shape than Toby's. Her style was pretty casual for their time, baggy jeans, band T-shirts with flannels or other sweaters layered over. They did live in a colder area so thicker and warmer clothes dominated their wardrobe. Plus the family's poor income only allowed them to mostly thrift all of their things, and stick to the same pair of shoes for years.

It's a good thing they never really grow out of old clothes. Both of the siblings being underweight and pretty malnourished. Lyra keeps Toby in check by doing things like they are now, exercising, without knowing it. Lyra and Toby honestly just liked being active. Staying inside all day was a bummer, and so what if it was 50 degrees out, they weren't going to suffice being bored to death all day.

School or work was the only reason they left the house, sometimes it was good to get out.

••••••

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

CHAPTER 4

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers. This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome. !!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Chapter four

Later that night, Toby sat alone in his room, surrounded by notebook pages full of small doodles. Stick men and symbols, one that stood out the most, a bunch of circles and X's. He found it fun to draw, therefore obviously showed it. There was a knock on his door, glancing up, Toby hummed out a response. "Come in."

The door opened and Lyra stood in the hallway, stepping in to catch first glance at all of the little pages who Toby started to clean up, shoving it all back into the original journal he tore them from.

"Dumb, right? These d-d-drawings, am I crazy? Lyra, am I a freak."

Lyra's eyes widened softly as she got down to sit in front of him. "no no no you're not, who told you that?"

Toby turned and pulled something from his bag, the note that was slammed onto his back when leaving school. He unwrinkled the paper and held it out of her. Lyra's shoulders dropped, it seemed she too had the same reaction to the note as he did when he first laid eyes on it. Her eyes darted back up to him with an angry expression. "You're seriously going to let these kids bully you like this?" Toby just looked down with a huff.

"I've never been put with these kinds of k-kids, i c-can't blame them if they hate me, hah..i'm not exactly that likable."

Lyra was quick to correct him, grabbing his right hand. "Don't say that, Toby, you're the strongest, most lovable person I know, you mean so much to me..i…I can't bear seeing this happen to you." tears were forming in her eyes, her hand squeezing his.

"Here…" She held his hand up and mimicked something with her other hand. "I'm going to show you how to make a fist, okay." She moved his hand into a fist shape, making sure his thumb was rested over his fingers. "Make sure your thumb is always on top, if not, you'll break it." Her words were gentle, and so were her movements. She was careful about his jerky arms, keeping them down if he was going to accidentally hit her or himself. Lyra continued on with explaining the idea of fighting. She did take 6 years of karate before the family broke apart. "Your hands are weapons, don't ever use them unless you have a good reason..if someone hits you first, go crazy, kick, hit, bite even."

Toby laughed a little, it was a weak one, but he did laugh. The idea of biting someone was somewhat funny. "No but I am serious." She admitted, earning his eyes to glance back up, locking onto her worried expression. "Promise me you will stick up for yourself..if this progresses. The last thing I want to see is you hurt."

Her hand still laid over his now fist of a hand. Toby then made a fist with his other hand, showing her. Lyra nodded. "Yep, just like that." She lowered it. "I want you to be…violent when it's the time, but i also don't want to be blamed if you accidentally knock someone unconscious." She slightly joked, but it was also serious.

Toby looked down with a small hum. "Please, Toby?"

He looked up. "Don't hurt anyone unless they hurt you." She warned.

Toby just stayed quiet, but eventually spoke. "Okay, I promise, but wh-what about dad? When he hurts mom—" He was cut off quickly by her tugging his arm. "That's a different story…We're talking kids the same age as you,"

"But when he hurts you—is that an e-e-excuse to hit him?" Lyra quickly just pulled him into a hug once more, squeezing tighter than she usually would. Was this an attempt to shut him up? "Let's not talk about that yet…If it was an excuse don't you think i would've done something about this by now?"

She shivered a little, not letting go. "School will be over in just a few months..it'll go fast, i really hope you won't need to use these." She gestured to his hands, by which she just saw a few new blemishes that covered them.

"Are you chewing on them again?" Lyra asked with a sad sigh.

"mhh yes but- not as much as last year." The last thing Toby wanted were those tight straps of gauze wrapped around his hands to the point he couldn't even use them.

"Okay, get some sleep bud..like actually, get some sleep..it's starting to look like you got into my eyeliner again." she gestured to his dark circles that were beginning to get more and more noticable.

Toby nodded and sat everything that was once strolled out to the side by his night stand. Lyra left the room and closed the door.

Toby looked down to his hands, seeing the gnawing marks and small concrete scrapes from falling so much. His knees and elbows were covered in healing and recent bruises, who knows how many little cuts and scratches he had in total. He never could remember getting most of them.

At night his room would get pretty creepy. The whole night was the definition of paranoia. Toby would make out black shadows, deep whispers and even started to feel pressure on his bed like something was crawling onto it, or sitting on the edge. Toby would make himself as small as possible when he slept, in an attempt to not be woken up by his mind playing tricks on him.

Weeks would go by painfully slowly. Toby started to feel like he lived at school and only visited home. On this day though…He wished he never did come home.

•••••

[foressfaction]

I just wanted to say that I love your Ticci Toby rewrite. honestly I've always been hyperfixated on this character and I've imagined a different and more detailed story, you know? so you are literally making my dreams come true. I know it's only chapter two but it's amazing, I'm really enjoying it and I don't want it to end 😭😭😭 thank you for writing this and sharing with us!!

I appreciate this so much. I still got like 30 something chapters to transfer to here so dw its not ending any time soon! Im so glad you like it as rewriting the story has been a want and NEED to me for years. I figured well if no one else bothered..that i shall take on the challenge. It took months to finish and months of planning. Its FULL of my personal headcanons and story line changes. Theres so many references to many of the original art pieces within it. If you know all the silly little drawings made by the creator back then. I referenced like maybe 6?? Idk all yet.

Also making personalities for characters who canonly didn't have one. Like the dad and Lyra for sure. We just knew she died, we never git to bond with her personally or get to know their relationship fully. Since the story started right after her death.

Like c'mon. We gotta know. Why was he so sad after her death? Why did he love her so much? What made her death his breaking point? Like NONE of that was brought up. There was NO character attachment. BRO HIMSELF HAD MAYBE 4 LINES excluding the therapy appointment scene. Thats probably the most he spoke in the whole story dead ass.

It pissed me off bc yeah i get it, Wade was 12 when he wrote it but as something that built a community we all wanted more detail and we all know he aint ever bringing him back so..

That's our job

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

CHAPTER 5

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers. This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome. !!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Chapter five

Toby heard arguing the second he opened the door to walk in. Expecting that it was just his parents, but no, Lyra was home? And she was also yelling. Toby dropped his bag and ran over, stopping the man from raising his hand. "Don't touch her!" He growled. Lyra gasped slightly, looking over at their mom. The woman staying further away in the corner of the living room, she was scared to death. She had tried to stop the man before but that earned her the red mark on her face now.

"Stop d-doing this!" Toby screamed, holding his dad's arm back so he wouldn't swing at the girl. Due to the man's advantage of size, it was easy to slam the boy back and off of his arm. Slamming Toby into the wall behind the two.

"Dad, stop it!" The girl yelled, seeing the man pick up one of the bottles that sat on the counter. He then approached the boy on the ground. "You've grown the nerves, boy, maybe i have to remind you who's in charge!"

"Dad, please!" Lyra screamed, covering her mouth knowing she couldn't do anything to really stop the man whose looks could kill.

Toby was still dizzy from hitting his head against the wall. He did manage to realize what was about to happen. However seconds before he could react, the glass shattered against his head, causing him to flinch and huddle up slightly, expecting more kicks and punches.

"Oh now you don't want to act like a hero!" The man spat, dropping the broken bottle neck next to Toby, stepping over the glass to head outside and smoke like nothing ever happened. His breath smelled so bad..

Toby stayed huddled up, holding his head where he pulled off blood, looking at his fingers. The rest of the family, his mom and sister stood frozen in fear and shock. The phone on the wall had been smashed as well..neither of them could call the cops, or they would've by now.

"..Mom?.." Toby called out, vision blurry and going red.

The woman rushed over and pulled him close, holding his bleeding head. She could tell her son was suffering from a minor concussion. He didn't expect this, but he never could expect anything. Everything was unpredictable.

Lyra huddled around the two, holding a rag to his head that suffered a deep cut. "We need to get him to the hospi-" Connie cut Lyra off quickly, shaking her head. "We can't  afford questions, please, please let's just treat it here."

A tear left one of Toby's eyes, blood mixing in with it. "I'm okay, i-i can't feel it." He still wasn't completely there. The room was spinning and he could see multiple of his mom and sister.

Toby was picked up and carried up to his room before he finally lost consciousness upon being laid down. The wound on his head was treated and literally being held together by bandages and tape. Hey if it worked it worked. Toby would never forget waking up with a pounding headache. Toby would never forget that day in general.

For the next week and a half, all Toby got were stares from the kids at school, and the bullying didn't stop. His mom stayed quiet about what happened to him, and warned if he was to tell a teacher, she couldn't control how angry his dad would get about that. Out of pure fear, he stayed quiet about it. If anyone asked, he fell.

"Hey ticci!"

A voice called out from behind him, seconds before his face was slammed into his lunch tray. Toby just laid there after they walked off laughing. He didn't even lift his head. Toby had a headache all day, that just made it worse. He finally lifted his head, smashed potatoes and gravy covered his face and hair. He rubbed it from his eyes and spat some of it out.

"Just thought you could use more food, you look like you need it." The kid added, making the entire table indent of him laugh.

Toby couldn't exactly help the fact he was malnourished. He could never eat enough to gain a healthy weight, and if he finally did, he lost it almost immediately, like water weight or something.

Toby only laughed with them, his laugh having a hint of inner pain. He just got up and threw his tray away, taking the back way out of the cafeteria and into the hallway.

Toby washed his face off in the bathroom. It was absolute hell getting the food out of his hair, it made it all sticky and matted. Kids were so lame, at this point he was almost convinced he was cursed.

Toby brought his hands up and gnawed on his knuckles until they bled. He just wanted to taste the blood and feel the skin within his teeth.

'if they hurt you, you hurt them, if they hurt you, you hurt them'

he repeated to himself through his mind.

Toby left the bathroom and started to inch back into the cafeteria, locking the same kid who angered him in his sight. Toby walked towards him, glaring sharply before he was interrupted by the bell, dismissing lunch.

I guess you could say this kid was saved by the bell.

Toby ticced a little, the sound of kids getting up and rattling trash made him experience sensory overload.

Toby turned quickly and left, squeezing past everyone else. He really was going to strangle that kid. This made him realize how bad his anger could get.

Toby stopped in the middle of the crowded hall, thinking he saw something in the window that led to the woods the school was built in front of. He just stood there, staring closer. He could see a figure as tall as the trees. He couldn't see a face at all, yet felt its 'eyes' staring back at him.

However the moment he blinked it was gone.

He knew what it was, he wondered if it liked his offering months ago..he hasn't seen it that much since then. "You're back…"

•••••

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

CHAPTER 3

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers. This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome. !!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Chapter three

Toby didn't eat much of his dinner, he just sat there and watched as his family picked at their food. Not even Lyra ate that much. He assumed she'd tell them about the situation at her job, but in fear of angering their dad, she stayed to herself. That night Toby stared at his ceiling, thinking, wondering. Mr. Cowbells laid next to him. He turned and faced the stuffed cow, furrowing his eyebrows. "Maybe i am t-too old for stupid stuffed toys.." he mumbled to himself, feeling bad almost immediately after. He pulled the cow into a small embrace. "No i take that back i-i didn't mean it, i promise." his leg jerked slightly in distress. He didn't wanna go back to school tomorrow.

Toby fell asleep. His dreams weren't so great. He was being chased in some dark forest, black thin trees stretched for as long as he could see, and that was it. He could see tall figures everywhere he looked. It was just a bunch of black silhouettes. Toby's dream panic mimicked his body, kicking his legs a little and grimacing a lot. The night wasn't so peaceful, honestly.

Toby did manage to get in a few hours of sleep at least, unlike the night before. It was the same routine as always. Get up, get ready, go to school, come home, ect. He didn't ever really catch a break.

The kids in his class started to get even more rude. They mocked his tics, mocked his name. He was more than used to it, though it did annoy the hell out of him.

Before he knew it, Toby was reaching the middle of the school year. Toby was leaving class when he felt a hand slap onto his back with a bunch of laughter echoing the halls. The sudden force was enough to make him jump, looking behind himself only to see a few kids giggling. His eyes were too sensitive to the bright hallway lights.

He chewed the inside of his cheek stressfully. What were they giggling about? Toby rolled his eyes with an audible huff.

Toby kept both of his hands on his bag, heading to the doors to exit the school completely. Suddenly Toby found himself hitting the floor, quite hard too. His papers flew from his bag and a few pencils too. Students trampled his stuff, his homework, textbooks, all of it. They even broke some of his pencils. Someone had tripped him.

Toby's vision was a little blurry, he found himself chewing into his cheek even more from the anger he was experiencing, he could taste blood, which he spat out.

"Aww is ticci gonna cry?"

"He's so red!"

"Embarrassing!"

"I'd hate to be in his shoes, poor thing can't even walk straight"

"hahahahaha"

"HAHAHAHA"

"Stop it! Stop it!!" Toby screamed out, covering his ears. His shouting shocked everyone in the hallway. One of the teachers came pushing past everyone and immediately went to help Toby up, who violently shoved her away. "Don't touch me!" he rubbed his nose, eyes starting to water. "This is-isn't my fault! They shoved me! They broke my things!" he started to shake in anger, hands and vision shivering out of control.

The teacher ripped a note off of his back, reading it. "Oh dear I'm-" she was cut off by him ripping the paper from her hands and grabbing his things from the ground. He shoved it all into his bag, unaware that the note was the reason he was tripped.

Toby pulled his bag over his shoulders and walked out. A fast pace to his step.

Toby made it to the car his mom drove and got in the back seat, slamming the door. The woman looked at him in slight concern. "What's wrong?" she asked. Toby huffed and pulled his bag up, he was still sniffling and seeing red. "Nothing, just drive..please." He mumbled, keeping his bag up to hide himself. The car took off down the school lot and onto the road, the sound of the blinker echoing in his mind as well as everyone's harsh words played on repeat from just a minute ago. Toby pulled his journal, the note falling out that was taped to his back. He hadn't seen it, yanking it from the teacher assuming it was one of his work papers she picked up for him. He read it.

'Kick the freak' it read, in scribbled child-like handwriting. He was currently hidden behind his bag so it wasn't like his mom could see it, but his face faded to a dull expression, shoulders dropping from their tense state. Something about that made him feel very crushed. He felt as if the world was falling around him.

It was just a simple note, but he read it as if every bad name someone could get called was written into it. Toby never did realise how hard something could hit until now.

•••••

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

CHAPTER 2

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers. This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome. !!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Chapter two

The rest of the day went seemingly well, though sometimes Toby would catch that one kid just staring at him. He knew he was different but damn. Cameron couldn't take his eyes off of Toby. "Take a picture, it'll la-last forever.." Toby finally muttered, just loud enough for the other to hear as he made his way down the hall. Toby wasn't trying to cause a scene, he was just kinda annoyed from being stared at. Cameron didn't exactly have any friends it seemed, he was just rude to everyone. Toby wasn't special.

Toby Made it out of the school building, but what he saw wasn't what he exactly expected. Where was his mom? Was she not here to pick him up? All he saw were buses, he never thought he'd have to ride one. He'd honestly rather walk home. Toby turned and went around the buses, none of the staff saw him slip from the rushing hoard of students trying to get home. Toby picked up his pace and started to jog down the main highway, watching the cars zoom by.

He stayed on the side of the road just shy of a ditch, it was bound to happen. Toby fell into the ditch by accident, by his leg giving up on him. He groaned, annoyed by how horrible his luck had been lately. "Maybe I'm just cursed.." He muttered to himself as he lifted himself up. Leaves and twigs coated his hair.

Just then two kids zoomed by on their bikes, noticing him and stopping quickly. "Oh shoot! Do you need any help?" One said, getting off of their bike and holding their hand out in a helping gesture.

Toby glanced up, one eye slightly squinty. He hadn't seen these kids before, even in his class. He of course reached for their hand, only for them to pull it away the second he was about to grab it, resulting in him falling back down, sliding further into the ditch.

The kids bursted into laughter. "Yeah, you thought, ticci," They called loudly and took back off on their bikes.

Toby glared dimly as they biked out of sight. He should've known he couldn't trust these kids, they were below him, and they knew it. Toby clawed himself out of the ditch with all of his upper strength, draining him almost completely. Wiping mud and dirt from the knees of his pants, he pulled his bag back up and continued to walk home, looking mangy and muddy now.

Toby trotted up onto the porch, seeing the blonde man standing there. The guy usually always stood on the porch, knowing Toby was coming home, an hour later than when school originally ended.

Toby went to push past the man, but was stopped, his face being grabbed to look up at the man whose breath reeked of the wretched smell of alcohol. Toby grimaced, the man's cold rough hands squeezing his face. "I fell." Toby mumbled out, glaring up at him. The guy hasn't shaved in months..he really did just stink, in general.

The guy hummed, finally letting go of him. Toby's face was a little scratched from face planting into the ditch, and it had some dirt still blanketing his left cheek.

Toby opened the door and went in slowly, dropping his bag. His mom was in the kitchen preparing dinner, turning around to see her son when he finally came home. "Tobias! Where were you? I was worried sick."

"If worried sick means not p-p-picking me up then I must've been lied to."  Toby crossed his arms, sniffling a little.

"I would've picked you up but your dad had the car all day, he said you'd be fine if you walked home and didn't let me…get a word in." She spoke, eyeing Toby. "It seems he was right, but you look rough, please go clean up for dinner." She held his shoulder, him pulling away with a subtle nod. He just hoped every day of school wouldn't be like this.

Toby went on to take a quick shower, getting all of the sticks and leaves out of his already messy hair. It was very thick, so it was hard to get them all out. By the time he left the bathroom, he was met by Lyra, who immediately pulled her brother into a hug. "Did mom not pick you up? I'm so sorry I should've been there, I had to work so late, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Toby put his hand over her mouth in an attempt to get her to be more quiet. "no shouting remember?.." He started, earning a small nod from his sister. "It's okay, i-im not mad..actually I now own a collection of sticks." he held out his hand to reveal the tiny twigs.

Lyra smiled weakly and nodded in approval. "hehe..it's a very nice collection…You better hide it though.."

Toby sighed slightly and closed his hand back, hiding the many twigs. "I'm going to go to my room first, th-then I'll be downstairs." Toby admitted before disappearing into his dark room.

He flicked on the light and rushed over to his desk, flipping through the pages of his notebook, finding one page where he had doodled a lanky stick figure. Toby laid the twigs and leaves he pricked from his hair onto the page. It looked like some kind of ritualistic aspect without context. Context that's not going to be explained.

"This…Is a good place, hopefully he'll like it."

•••••••