Title: The Cost of Being Different

Author: Jailynn

Rating: PG-13 (ish) later

Pairing: Toby/Emily (with Emily/Ben mentions)

Warning: Alternate Universe (Alison is dead, but Toby was never suspected of killing her. Her murder isn't an issue- mostly because I've never read the books and I don't want to dive into that storyline. I haven't decided if I'm going to make Jenna blind yet or not...)

Spoilers: None

Feedback: Would be great. Please let me know what you think of the story and if I should continue...

Emily Fields tapped her pencil against the edge of her notebook, her mind drifting from the droning teacher standing in front of the class to the window. The leaves on the trees in the courtyard outside of their classroom swayed back and forward, hypnotizing her for a moment. Calling her to come outside and sit in the sun, bask in the waning summer days. She bit back a sigh and forced herself to look at the board. Equations blurred before her chocolate brown eyes as Mr Kane wrote them on the black surface. She knew she should be paying attention- Mr. Kane loved pop quizzes, to catch his students off guard- but she couldn't find the desire to listen, let alone write the notes down. She would just get them from one of her best friends, and the town of Rosewood's resident genius, Spencer Hastings. Spencer knew better than anyone how boring this teacher could be, having taken this class last semester. She would happily help Emily out, of that Emily was sure.

A chair in the back of class creaked, drawing her gaze in that direction. The student shifted again, his long legs careful not to bump into the seat in front of him. His head lifted for a brief moment and their eyes locked. She turned back to the front- quickly breaking any connection that might start to form. Next to her one of the football players- Jake Lawson- coughed an insult, causing many around him to laugh. Emily ducked her head, tucking a chunk of her ebony hair behind her left ear, while turning slightly to see the student's expression. Toby Cavanaugh didn't look up, he didn't do anything other than scribble words in his battered notebook. And that bothered her a little. She wanted to be brave enough to say something, to tell Jake to just shut the hell up for once, but she didn't. Her reputation- her friendships with the same people that snickered at Jake's comment about Toby- stopped her words.

Emily turned to the front and bit her full bottom lip. Her mind started to wander again, only this time it wasn't imagining the feeling of sitting in the sun, but rather the boy that sat in the back of her in Physics class. His head was always down, his face half shaded by long brown bangs. When he looked at you, if he looked at you, he always seemed to see through you. He spoke in slow, quiet tones. Never loud enough to overcome the noise of rumors that surrounded him and his step-sister Jenna. The jocks and popular kids, even the unpopular ones, took shots at him and he just accepted them with a haunted look in his icy blue eyes. It was that look that made her stop every once and a while and stare at him. So much of her world was easy to understand, but he wasn't. It intrigued, as well as, frightened her.

Not to say she was immune to the rumors: That he tore the head off squirrels or that he had a collection of bones in his closet. Ridiculous -yes, but he never countered any of them. He just went from class to class, talking to Jenna, walking her to class and maybe speaking briefly to a few other outsiders. In study hall, he sat in the corner and read. Last week it was "Catcher and the Rye", this week- she thought she saw "The Tale of Two Cities" poking out of his army green shoulder bag. Emily wondered if that was how he made it through the day in a town that didn't like him and never wanted to get to know him. If entering the world of whatever book he chose was how he coped with the constant pranks and insults hurled on him or if he just really didn't care. If he was smart enough to just be above all the high school crap that she couldn't escape...

Her thoughts got interrupted by a hand on her right shoulder. Emily jumped a little in her seat and looked around. The class was filing out slowly, groups of friends talking as they left. She raised her head to see who woke her from her Toby coma and smiled a little tightly at her boyfriend, Ben. His eyes held a sympathetic humor in them as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Sorry babe, but I'm glad it's you with the freak and not me." Kissing her cheek he left her in stunned silence. What the hell was that about?

Grabbing her bag from the floor, her eyes fell upon a beat-up pair of once white tennis shoes. Her head rose to meet his eyes. Toby adjusted the bag higher on his shoulder and waited for... what she wasn't sure. Her stomach tied in knots as she gathered her stuff quickly. It didn't go unnoticed by her that they were now alone in the room. She couldn't think of a time they've ever been alone together and she wasn't sure she wanted to start now. Emily stood up on the other side of her desk, sliding her purse on her shoulder and pushing her books into her chest, creating a barrier between them. Toby's blue eyes flickered from her crossed arms back to her eyes and for a split second she thought she saw disappointment in their depths. What he could be disappointed in, she didn't know.

Shifting her weight from foot to foot, Emily licked her lips. "Um..."

"Did you want to meet in the library during study hall to start?" He asked in his soft voice.

"Uh," Shoot- she panicked, what are we starting? I knew I should have paid attention. "Uh, sure?"

A small smile broke across his lips, "Was that a question or a statement?"

Her stomach jumped once she realized she would have to admit she had no idea what they were talking about, "A little of both." She sighed, "I don't really know what we're doing..."

He nodded, "I figured when you didn't react at hearing my name." His eyes shifted to the floor for a moment before meeting hers again. "We have to a Physics project. It's up to the partners to pick the subject matter."

"Oh," she nodded, tucking more hair behind her ear. "Okay, um, I have swim practice today after school, so study hall would be the best time for me." Emily moved the books against her chest to look at her watch. Lunch was about to start. "Well, um, I'll see you later then?"

Toby smiled again, "Was that another question or a statement?"

"Maybe a little bit of both," the right side of her mouth curled up in a half smile.

"I'll see you later," he confirmed. He waited another second, just watching her, then left her alone in the classroom. She watched him leave through the door and disappear from sight. Emily's stomach settled once she couldn't see him anymore. She couldn't tell if it was plain fear or just nerves that caused her insides to quiver, but she was sure it would mean trouble later on...

A/N: Should I continue? Oh and please forgive all my horrible mistakes...