nice guys finish last | toby & kinsey

[tobias charles watkins]

January (4th day back from break) 2025

Toby finally finished the project he had been working on over winter break with Anastasia. Well, more, for her, since he finished with his part before the start of break. He spent days constructing a presentation on Golpalott's Third Law that they would be sharing with the class later the next day. 

The Ravenclaw was looking forward to seeing Anastasia, despite it effecting he and Kinsey’s friendship recently, but they were actively working on it. They just didn’t really talk about it. Admittedly, Toby wasn’t good with confrontation, especially when he felt like he was wrong about something. 

Approaching Anastasia took much more mental preparedness than he'd ever admit, but he found the courage to approach her with her friends outside the doors of the Great Hall. “Hey Anastasia,” he greeted, feigning confidence with a small smile as he started to hand over a stack of neatly bundled papers, as usual. It was sickening how content he was with her taking credit for work he did, in exchange for being in her presence. For Toby it wasn’t really much work -- until he was doing two of everything. Today, Anastasia stared at him without greeting him with words, so his eyebrows went up. “I finished the potions assignment, all we gotta decide is who’s going to cover w—” his mouth slammed shut when he was cut off by Anastasia turning to him, slapping him in the face with her pony tail. There was a snooty look on her face, and for the first time in his life, he didn’t find her absolutely enchanting.   

“One sec, Tommy.” She snapped, holding a perfectly manicured finger to her lips to ‘shh’ him while huddled around a group of pretty girls. She batted her eyes after the word ‘Tommy’ as if she was aware that wasn’t a mistake. That was a new one. Anastasia barely looked at him, which hurt more than he wanted to admit.. He wasn't sure what to do... Toby was used to being painfully polite, but this time he wasn’t going to just play it off cool and calm, he felt betrayed. He had defended Anastasia so much. Toby had heart eyes over her for almost six years, like a complete idiot, even after his best friends numerous warnings. Everything was starting to unravel in front of him and it pissed him off...

Toby hesitated for a second. ”What did you call me?” he challenged with a snort, unable to hide an eye roll. She giggled, waving away his confusion with a scrunched nose. "Toby...?" he said slowly, eyebrows raised, suddenly feeling the need to defend himself.

The girl smiled. “Huh. Same thing, basically.” she scoffed, not looking at him. His face faltered, taken aback completely by her attitude towards him. Anastasia had never been so rude to him, ever, it was usually to other people. Toby couldn't help but start to wonder what he did to upset her..

His expression faltered out of confusion, a nerve struck. "Tommy, and Tony, and Toby aren't the same thing." he corrected her as matter of factly, jaw going tight. Anastasia’s face twitched as she looked at one of her girlfriends to exchange a look, and then back at Toby. “Caaaaalm down...although, I gotta admit you are kind of cute when you’re mad..” She looked him in the eye before staring at his lips, probably to play with him. Toby didn’t like it. This felt so wrong. Toby bit down on his lip, unsure how to react, he swallowed to earn an extra second but he wasn’t going to let it go this time. He was tired of people using him for his kindness and/or smarts.  Especially someone he had admired for so incredibly long. 

“Uh-I’m not sure what you’re doing, but I’m not playing with you.” He told her simply with a clenched jaw, shaking his head and stepping away from her.

“I’m not playing.” She giggled, obviously playing, grabbing his arm and squeezing it. 

The giggle sent him into overdrive, causing him to go red hot in the face. Toby turned to Anastasia to yank  the pile of papers from her pretty little fingers and tossed it to the floor, following with a flick and swish of his wand...the stack of papers caught fire. Nothing left but a pile of smoldering embers and ashes. She stared back, gaping. "Now you aren't playing. F-ck off." he growled, turning on his heel quickly and walking away without another word. He started across the courtyard as quickly as his legs would carry him to get away from everyone watching the encounter, heart beating rapidly out of his chest. There was a weird mixture of panic and excitement welling up inside of him, he felt like he may explode.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey was tired. Last night she had the worst dream of her life, where Dan, Riley and even Toby seemed to hate her. No, they didn't seem to hate her. They did. Riley flat out told her he didn't care about her, Toby told her she wasn't a good friend and Dan basically said he needed friends that were better for him. She actually ended up waking up right as her last class ended. Kinsey groaned as she rolled over, then looked at the clock, which was when she knew something was wrong. She'd never slept through her alarm before. In fact, Kinsey was normally easy to wake up. Apparently not when she was literally stuck in a nightmare. 

She jumped out of bed, dressing quickly and running a brush through her hair. If she hurried, she might be able to talk to her professors and explain what happened before dinner started. She grabbed her bag, hurrying out the common room and rushing toward her classes. At least she only had three today. She hadn't missed too much. 

However, she forgot entirely about finding her professors when she reached the main floor of the castle. Toby was with Anastasia, which really shouldn't be a surprise to her, but something was different. Kinsey stopped at the bottom of the stairs, watching her best friend with her eyebrows furrowed. Was he ... arguing with Anastasia? Maybe she was still sleeping. She stared as Toby shook his head, moving away from Anastasia. She seemed to be teasing him, or flirting or something, but he wasn't having any of it. This couldn't be real. Kinsey's jaw dropped when he turned back to Anastasia, grabbing parchment from her hand, throwing it to the ground and setting it on fire. Kinsey took a quick, concerned step toward him. What happened to Toby? Her calm, lovable, friendly best friend? 

The next thing Kinsey knew, he was striding away quickly. She was sure he wanted to get out of the crowd, but Kinsey couldn't just let him go. Her terrible night aside and almost forgotten, she followed instantly. Rushing after him and pushing through the crowd, Kinsey's eyes searched the people around her. She saw him further ahead and quickened her pace. Wow he was walking fast. "Toby," she called when she'd almost reached him. "Toby, wait for me?" Kinsey wasn't actually sure if he wanted to talk to anyone, and she didn't want to force him, but she honestly wouldn't believe what she just saw until h e explained it. She couldn't. 

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

January (4th day back from break) 2025

Toby was surprised how quickly he was able to get away from all of the people that encountered the outburst. All he could hear was his heartbeat in his ears, thumping wildly out of his chest. The eagle's only focus was only getting away from the courtyard and to the grass. It wasn't long before he started hearing Kinsey calling out behind him. His stomach sank because she had seen something, which embarrassed him, but he stopped when Kinsey called for him a second time.

"I can't believe I did that." he squeaked, a couple of octaves higher than his speaking voice. Tobys caramel colored eyes went completely wide in disbelief. He was in some sort of shock apparently. 

Kinsey closed the distance and he stood in the walkway stiff, mouth gaping open. ""Ugh. I-can't-believe-I-did-THAT-" the words spilled from his lips quickly,  realization hitting his gut as the words started to sink in. "Oh, Kinsey, I'm so f--ked." he swallowed and turned to his best friend, panic setting in. "I burned everything." he breathed, nostrils flaring.


@kinsey

[Deleted]

At first Kinsey thought that Toby was just going to leave without a word, that he would pretend like he couldn't hear her. Her heart sank at that thought, but she still called out to him, a little surprised when he stopped. She heard him mutter that he couldn't believe what he did, his voice way too high to be considered normal, but Kinsey wasn't about to say a thing. She figured Toby already felt self-conscious about what was happening. He didn't need her to make it worse. 

She reached him just as he repeated himself. She was about to tell him that it was fine and whatever, but he was already talking again. His words registered to her quickly and her eyes widened. "Wait ... some of that work was yours too? What happened, Toby?" Kinsey didn't want to make him share anything he didn't want to, but she couldn't help the question. Her eyebrows furrowed and she shook her head, "Don't worry, you did the work. I'll help you recreate everything you need. When is it due?" For you. She didn't actually say it out loud, hoped she wouldn't need to, but she didn't really want to help Toby redo Anastasia's work. She would though> She didn't want to see him go into full-on panic mode. Kinsey was his best friend. She'd help him however she could. 

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

January (4th day back from break) 2025

"I'm done with Anastasia. I'm not talking to her ever again." he promised, looking his best friend in the eyes solemnly, his body was shaking with intensity.

Toby wanted to share with Kinsey on what had just happened, but he could barely sort his thoughts out, everything happened so fast. He swallowed a breath of air before he tried to explain,  "I approached her in front of her friends about the assignment we've been working on and she looked me dead in the eye and pretended she didn't know my name. She knows my f--king name." he shared, gritting his teeth out of agitation and embarrassment. He wasn't done yet though, the look on his face showed it. His heart was aching. "Then, she started being all cute-sy by grabbing onto me to get me flustered, but it didn't work this time." he admitted, actually proud of himself for that part. As he explained what happened, he could feel himself welling with anger and betrayal, again. He brought air in through his nostrils and released. Toby couldn't remember a time he had been this frustrated with someone who wasn't Claudia, it was a crazy feeling.

Toby took a seat on a nearby bench, holding his face in his hands. "It's due tomorrow." he frowned, running his fingers through his hair nervously. "I've never gotten a zero before." he squeaked, his heartbeat started to escalate at the thought. Toby felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.


@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey's eyes widened when Toby announced that he was done with Anastasia. What had she done to make him so angry? The thing was, she believed Toby when he said it this time. Whatever happened with Anastasia, he meant what he was saying. She'd really upset him this time and Kinsey felt bad. Sure, she expected it to happen eventually. This was why she tried to warn Toby of Anastasia sooner, but she didn't want him to get hurt like this. 

She listened as he started to explain, nodding every so often to show she was listening. She frowned as he explained Anastasia pretending she didn't know his name and then acting all cute with him. It didn't work? Well, that was definitely interesting and Kinsey couldn't help but wonder why, but she wasn't going to ask him. Toby probably didn't know why it didn't work this time anyway. "I'm sorry Toby," Kinsey said softly when she was sure he was done. She knew he likely didn't want pity, but she wasn't pitying him. She was empathizing and he was her best friend. She was allowed to be sad for him. 

He sat down, his expression one of defeat and Kinsey's frown deepened. She didn't like seeing Toby like this. Her mind started racing when he told her his assignment was due tomorrow. At his next comment, she couldn't stand it anymore. Kinsey sat down next to him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "You are not going to get a zero. We'll do it tonight. I can help you. We'll do your part of the assignment and you'll get a good grade like always." Her tone left no room for argument. She wasn't going to let Toby do poorly because of Anastasia. "We can do it Toby. You already know it, we just have to recreate. You can tell me what you need. We'll get it done." Even if she had to stay up all night, Kinsey would happily help her best friend. 

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

January (4th day back from break) 2025

Toby didn't want pity. It wasn't the last thing he wanted because deep down, he was embarrassed and frustrated. Kinsey was completely right about Anastasia and he felt like such a fool for defending her like a bloody idiot, but he was a little relieved to no longer be under her spell. He barely found the Slytherin girl attractive anymore; he couldn't stand being treated like he was nothing when he thought so highly of her for so incredibly long. For so long that it left an ache in him, but it would heal. Things were changing all around him, he was receptive to everything going on around him.

Kinsey tried her best to comfort him, which Toby was grateful. As much dread that filled him when he noticed Kinsey had seen the altercation with Anastasia, he was equally relieved to know that she already understood what happened without him having to tell her. Toby sat up on the bench, trying to hide the pain from his face, he was trying to be a good sport about it.. What's done was already done. Kinsey volunteered to help him, which he'd take, he would do the same for her if she were in the same situation. He really needed her right now. He allowed her words to sink in, swallowing puffs of air and letting them out. Toby wasn't going to allow him to have a panic attack over something he couldn't control, yet.

His eyes found hers, still frazzled, but trying. "Y-yeah. Uhh-yeeah. We can do it.." he sighed, nodding his head up and down a few times, as if it would make him believe the statement a little more. He was royally screwed. Toby gave his friend a hug, grateful for her in that moment. "Thank you, Kinsey. I don't know what I'd do without you." he told her, not feeling much better, but it was good to know that he had help. They could do anything if they put their heads together.

@kinsey
(we can start closing this one! time to hit the books..haha)

[Deleted]

Kinsey could see how close Toby was to having a breakdown, and she didn't want to let that happen. It didn't matter that her life was crap, she didn't want to see his do that too. "We can! I'll help you, you have nothing to worry about," she promised, trying to make him believe it just by saying it repeatedly. She hugged him back, smiling when he said that he didn't know what he'd do without her. "Without one another, we'd both be in a lot of trouble. You're here for me just as much as I am for you. Now let's get to the library and see how much of this we can do before dinner." She grabbed his hand, trying to pull Toby with her. She had no intention of letting him sit here and worry about what would happen. Kinsey would much rather work together with him and figure it all out.

--- the end ---

tobias charles watkins