Toby/Jenna Ficlet: 15: Fire

[lt_sp]

Title: Stand-In

Author: lt-sp (or OneShotWonderment on FF.net)

Fandom/Character(s)/Pairing(s): Pretty Little Liars / Toby & Jenna (also mentioned: Toby & Emily and Toby & Spencer)

Genre: Angst/Romance

Rating: K+

Words: 329

Challenge/Prompt: 16: Fire Still Burns for fictionland and 15: Fire for my T/J claim at pllchallenge100!

Warnings: Spoilers for episode 2x03 of Pretty Little Liars and, oh yeah, stepsibling incest.


Something of that fire burns still and, as much as he wants to, Toby can’t deny the truth; he and Jenna are irrevocably tied together by their secret and their love. He had tried to deny her, tried to pretend that he didn’t want what she offered him, but it wasn’t true. He wanted everything she offered and more; he wanted her for himself.

His head and heart warred over it and in an attempt to find an agreeable solution he tried dating other girls. First, there was Emily Fields; she was sweet, kind, and saw him for just who he was. Jenna had always been that way…with him at least. She never thought Toby was a bad person, even though he had given her plenty of reason to. In the end, though he just had to break it off. It caused his heart great pain to pretend with her when she wasn’t perfect…when she wasn’t Jenna.

Then came Spencer Hastings; bound and determined Spencer Hastings. The girl was cool, calm, strong, and opinionated and Toby thought he found the perfect stand-in. She was even exceptionally sweet, kind and saw him for himself just like Emily…and even more so like Jenna, but this side of her was hidden as well. For a while, quite a while, it worked. He was content with Spencer and even got over the ‘I Love You’ hurtle without meaning to do so (she had just taken him by surprise with that truck and it slipped out.) That, like his plans to escape the tempting love and arms of Jenna, fell to pieces with the four words that fell from Jenna’s mouth the night before he was set to leave.

“Please don’t leave me.”

Those words, along with the beautiful image of Jenna unguarded, reminded him that he couldn’t settle for Spencer. It would be unfair to her, Jenna, and most specifically himself.

“Never.”

Because the truth was Toby only burned for one person: Jenna.