F00L 4 U | Amy

[AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW]

Smirking, Amy rolled her eyes. "And what privilege is that?" asked Amy, indulging him. She took a drink of the firewhisky, and felt the heat boil through her bloodstream. She always did wonder if firewhisky actually lit her veins on fire or if it was just a figure of speech. Her cheeks heated as she took another drink, wondering if Toby would judge her for being kinda a lightweight. Eh, who did she care? Toby was her friend. Amy folded herself onto the sofa, and looked up expectantly at Toby. "Isn't there a song like that? Hurts so good? Is that John Mellencamp?" asked Amy, astounded as the knowledge spewed out of her. She turned a curious eye to her firewhisky. "Do you think this stuff makes you smarter?" asked Amy offhandedly.

Amy suggested a game or a film, and Toby immediately agreed. "Let's do truth or dare," said Amy. "I'm prepared to learn all of your best kept secrets," said Amy, her eyes flashing mischievously. She took another deep drink of firewhisky, before summoning the bottle. It landed neatly on the coffee table before them, a feat which Amy could not ordinarily perform. "Damn, maybe it actually does make you smarter. At least more confident," said Amy, accustomed to shoddy spellwork in general. "Alright Toby. Truth or dare?" said Amy, fixing her gaze on him.

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

"Jesters privilege is the ability and right to talk and mock freely without punishment." he stated in an informative tone, but he looked at her and laughed. The last thing he would want was everything that he said to be discredited, for nothing a Fool ever said mattered. Amy had a tendency to make him feel like the complete opposite though, so he wasn't worried about that. 

The firewhisky and drink from the pub mingled nicely in his system. Warmth spread amongst his insides, loosening him up from head to toe. Amy's smile put him at ease as she asked it 'Hurts so good' was a song. He raised his shoulders in a drunken, unknowing shrug. "Is it?" he asked with a laugh, not familiar with that song. She continued by asking if firewhisky enhanced intelligence and he bubbled with more laugher. Apparently they were both lightweights. His eyes watched as she summoned the firewhisky to the table and gave her a satisfied nod, "That looked good to me. Maybe drink firewhisky before you hit the books.." he joked playfully, filling the emptiness from their glass with more firewhisky. "Sometimes confidence is all we need to improve spellwork." he stated, before she went right into and asked Truth or Dare.

Toby took a large drink and swallowed. His warm brown eyes fell on Amy, causing his stomach to flutter as he stared for too long. Enjoying the sight he was seeing. "Truth." the lanky teen answered cautiously as his eyes fell to her gaze, his drunken grin growing. He'd work his way up to dare. The last time he played truth or dare one of his mates made him switch shirts with a female in the group for the rest of the game. Luckily, he didn't think Amy would have that brutal sense of humor.

AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW

[AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW]

Amy narrowed her eyes. “Alright, fine. Mock me all you want. And if you make me cry you get bonus points. I’m very feeble,” she said, pouting. But instead of maintaining a serious face, Amy dissolved into giggles, leaning back into the comfort of the sofa. She summoned the bottle of fire whisky closer to them and it landed neatly in the table. “I’ll pass on the books,” said Amy decisively. It wasn’t so easy as to just crack open a book and spend time studying it. Everything got all jumbled and confusing, so reading was a most frustrating process. Amy avoided books out of embarrassment more than anything.

Proposing a game of truth or dare, Amy was unsurprised when Toby immediately picked truth. She pondered for a moment, thinking about if she should really dig in deep. Maybe not yet. She took a long sip of her drink, and swallowed. Amy folded her hands in her lap and appraised Toby. She decided on a relatively safe question. “Tell me about the first time you got in trouble,” said Amy. “Like really in trouble and got reprimanded like detention or docked points or a telling off by work,” said Amy. He didn’t seem like the sort of person who did anything wrong so she was curious what he would come up with.

Once Toby had shared his tale, he asked the same question of her. Truth or dare? “Dare,” she supplied boldly.

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

Toby held back his best “California” impersonation, for now, thinking he couldn’t imagine ever wanting to make her cry. He considered her question. It took a moment to actually consider her question because he was too busy staring at her sitting looking pretty. Toby nodded, taking a long drink when he decided the naughty memory to share. He took a nice long drink, knowing it would be a little embarrassing.

"Okay. I'm not proud of this one." he warned with shifty eyes to preface. Sinking into the sofa, he became hyperaware of Amy's closeness. Their sides were mere inches from pressing together. "During my fifth year I was given detention for the first time ever after classmates paid me to do their homework.." Toby confessed with a laugh, feeling incredibly nerdy and lame when he said it out loud. He wished he had that sort of time on his hands now. Doing peoples homework sounded silly, like why would any teen want more homework. He cleared his throat, deciding to share more. "Well, the headmistress called it "plagiarism" but it wasn't...because I truly wrote everything from my own memory and studies...but the work wasn't the students who were claiming it, so that became problematic. Especially when some people are shitty test takers. Professors viewed me a little differently after that so I'd never do that again." he finished, happy with his answer so he was ready to switch it up on her.

Of course, she chose dare. He wouldn't expect any less from Amy. Tobys gaze fell on her, looking her over slowly, feeling adoration begin to well at the pit of his stomach. "I dare you to show me the most embarrassing picture you have on your phone... " he dared, before adding. "I understand if there's restrictions for that so whatever you decide to share will do." Toby watched her carefully, taking a drink.


AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW

[AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW]

the pair scrutinised one another for a long moment, before amy relented and asked her question. When was the first time he’d gotten in trouble? She’d thought it would take Toby longer to come up with something, but she supposed that since he didn’t seem like the trohblemaker type there wasn’t much to choose from. So he’d had a little homework dealing side gig? “That’s sick. Naughty but sick. I shoulda called on you,” said Amy, laughing. “You probably would have been like who’s this crazy American bitch and how did she hear about this? I always know Toby. Always know. Well, except for this I guess,” she amended with a frown.

Predictably, Amy chose dare. She wondered what sort of wild activity Toby would think up. She snorted at his suggestion, and retrieved her phone from her pocket. She took a sip of fire whisky as she scrolled through her recents. “God, there are so many options. But what’s embarrassing?” Thankfully, she didn’t have any nudes stored because she’d never taken one. She knew what happened when illicit photos were leaked. Nothing good. Finally, Amy found a snap that she’d sent to her brother Lewis. “Here,” said Amy, sliding the phone this way. “Me and my four chins, all in my glory,” said Amy proudly, taking another drink. There was a fuzzy buzzing in her head. “Truth or dare?”

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

Amy seemed amused by the fact he shared, stating that she would have used his services. Toby shook his head, ruffling a hand through his hair, ”Nah, I’m glad you didn’t. I can actually help you with your studies now, rather than give you the answers.” he stated sweetly, truly meaning it. He hoped that Amy would take him up on the offer, he’d be willing to attempt studying at home if it meant Amy was open to the idea. Though he wasn't sure how much studying they would actually get done.

Toby watched her face as she scrolled her phone. She was always so cute when she was focusing on something. He leaned in a little closer to her as she revealed the embarrassing picture on her phone to him. He took it in quietly before howling with laughter, after a beat he turned to her, imitating the exaggerated double chin with a deadpan face. ”That’s a good one.” he nodded with satisfaction, tilting his head to examine her chin by raising a hand gently to her chin. ”-Yup. Just one chin, like I thought.” he confirmed with a chuckle and confirming head bob, dropping his hand back to his side. Not realizing how touchy feely the firewhisky was making him now.

”Dare.” he chirped with a drunken smile, finding the sudden anticipation in his gut exhilarating as his gaze met Amys.

AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW

[AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW]

Amy arched a brow. "Wouldn't want to get you in trouble again, would we?" said Amy, tilting her head so her long blonde hair tumbled over her shoulder. "Sure professor Burke will be able to tell where you've been helping. I think you're too smart for my voice," Amy admitted with a shrug. She wasn't ashamed, as she excelled in things that did not involve studying. At Toby's dare, Amy unabashedly scrolled through her phone and found an exceptionally unattractive shot she'd sent to her brother. She shared it with Toby, barely suppressing her giggles.

When Toby mimicked her, Amy couldn't hold in her laughter. "You look ridiculous," said Amy truthfully. She drank more, the buzz in her head intensifying as the liquor seeped through her blood. He tucked a finger under her chin and inspected her, and Amy's breath hitched. He was very close to her... almost close enough to taste. Her heart hammered in her chest and her breath only returned when Toby dropped his hand back to his side. Her cheeks were flushed pink with a mixture of tipsiness and something a little more delicious.

"Stealing some Gryffindor courage, are we?" asked Amy, casting her gaze around the room. She suddenly remembered a package she'd been meaning to send to her brother for Valentine's day. It contained a special assortment of treats from Honeydukes - as he'd not been to the UK since they'd left Hogwarts. Amy had taken it upon herself to purchase some cockroach clusters, planning on disguising them as chocolate peanuts. She summoned her bag, much too comfortable beside Toby to get up, and dug through, grabbing the package and holding it up with triumph. Amy tore open the paper. "This was gonna be for my brother, but I dare you to eat this cockroach cluster!" said Amy, presenting him with the cluster with a flourish. After all was said and done, Amy decided to switch things up. "Truth."

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

Amy grabbed that courage and shoved it where the sun don’t shine, presenting him with a cockroach cluster. His head tilted to the side, ”That’s just cruel.” his eyes widened in disbelief. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure if he’d done worse… maybe the time with Zen and the blood lolly incident. ”Alright. Hand it over..” he accepted it with shaky fingers. Toby didn’t inspect the chocolate covered insect cluster, in fear of seeing legs or antennas sticking out. ”In places like Mexico and Thailand eating cockroaches is a delicacy…I reckon it can’t be that bad.” he stated before plopping it into his mouth whole, chewing it exaggeratedly in a panic and swallowed dramatically. ”Oh, bloody hell, that was fucking terrible.” Toby gagged. He took a long drink of his firewhisky to clear the palette, also draining his cup. 

His face was warm, suddenly losing track of the questions. He wondered if this was when everything would start blurring together. Tobys warm brown eyes fell on Amy, ”What is your biggest fear?” he asked her, slowly getting a little deeper with the questions. This was surprisingly more fun than he expected, rather than being forced to eat a cockroach cluster. For Amy, anything..

When everything wrapped up, Toby chose Truth.

AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW

[AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW]

Amy silently applauded herself for her devilish dare. She couldn't stop laughing as Toby smushed the entire thing in his mouth, panicked, and swallowed. Her eyes were streaming as he drained his firewhisky. "Well done," said Amy, refilling his glass with a fresh pour. She topped herself up as well. "I'm proud of you," said Amy, tapping Toby lightly on the shoulder before giggling to herself again. She wished she'd filmed it - but the memory itself would have to suffice. Maybe she could fine a pensive.

Amy's expression sobered at Toby's question. She mulled over her response, her mind drifting at once to Alora. Suddenly uncomfortable, Amy squirmed in her seat, before drinking more firewhisky. Should she eat something? She was having a good time. Maybe Toby had some toast. As long as she didn't have to eat a cockroach cluster. "Being abandoned," Amy whispered, her eyes finding Toby's at last. She didn't mean to say that, but Amy supposed it was true. After her disastrous rendez-vous with Alora, Amy had thought long about what her mom and dad had done to Alora. To be fair, Amelia had been the cause. Surely her mother would never have abandoned her daughter out of choice... but the facts remained the same.

Amy ran her fingers through her hair, settling herself once more. She looked at Toby, and took a drink. "Truth or dare?" she asked, still somewhat unable to shake the strange feeling that had settled over her. She searched his face, taking in every freckle, every scar, every smile line. Amy found herself speaking, once again her filter deserting her. "Have you ever been in love? Can you describe it to me?"

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

Amy congratulated him for his accomplishment of choking back a cockroach, patting his back and filling his glass with his firewhisky. ”Thanks” he gestured, feeling his surroundings start to blur, but he liked the uplifted feeling it gave him. Toby felt like he could climb a mountain. It appeared that his question made Amy a little uncomfortable though, his expression softened for her, "That's a reasonable fear, no one wants to be alone." he validated her response, cupping her shoulder lightly before slowly retracting it. He didn't really want to.

Amy’s follow up question caught him slightly off guard. Had he ever been in love? And to explain it... His breath hitched in his throat and he couldn’t control his expression from faltering slightly. He considered how he was going to answer the question as his mouth went dry. Usually he wouldn’t go trauma dumping about his ex girlfriend but that was considered ‘juicy’ in the world of Truth or Dare. But thinking back to his days with Lusie admittedly made him a little sad. That was a rabbit hole he was afraid of jumping into while very drunk. But he breathed, thoughts of Lusie fluttering his memory.

His eyes met Amy's before falling and scanning the room. ”Yes, I’ve been in love…or I thought it was at the time." he answered as honestly as he could. Toby ruffled a hand as he pondered her next question. "Have you ever heard the expression 'love is friendship on fire'? I know it sounds cliche, but thats what I experienced." Toby shared, taking a sip more to gain him time, knowing she deserved an answer where he elaborated a little more. When he looked at Amy he knew he felt something special there, but he was still trying to figure that part out. "-We dated for 2 years but we broke up after graduation because she decided to focus more on her princess duties. So yeah-" he stopped himself, feeling himself willing to spurt off for another ten minutes with word vomit. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He'd much rather focus on Amy and the way she made his heart flutter out of her chest. Toby smiled sheepishly, ears reddening, ”I'm oversharing now. Truth or dare?” Toby said quickly, his face going red as his gaze fell on her. She looked like she was glowing with her hair falling on her shoulders and angelic gaze. Oh, fuck, he lost count how much he had drank but he was wasted.

AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW

[AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW]

Toby validated Amy's response, though she wondered if he had understood it fully. It wasn't the being alone bit that scared her. It was the loss. Of losing something she'd never appreciated in the first place. She kept quiet however, before gathering her thoughts and asking her question. It was loaded, and probably an entirely inappropriate question for two friends getting drunk on Valentines day. But she couldn't take the words back now that she had said them. Besides, Amy was curious? What did it even feel like?

Shaking her head, Amy replied. "I've never heard that," she said softly. Friendship on fire. It didn't sound very pleasant, unless the being on fire bit was sort of like how firewhisky worked. Amy wondered if she would ever feel like that. She wondered if it was worth it. She knew love could be difficult and love could be hard, but was it worth all the trouble in the end? "Are you glad that you experienced it? Or do you wish you'd never felt it?" asked Amy, her voice hushed. She knew she ought to back off, she best not press. Toby stalled for time, sipping his drink before slipping in that his ex girlfriend had decided to focus on princess duties. "Princess...?" she echoed, her brow crumpling. Had Toby dated an actual royal? He did not seem like the sort to be interested in that.

Toby offered Amy a sheepish smile and an apology for oversharing. Amy said nothing, still contemplating the information he'd offered. "Dare," she said at last, looking up. "And before you ask, no I have no more cockroach clusters," she said with a grin, lightening the heaviness between them a modicum. To settle herself further, Amy took a drink of firewhisky before topping them both up.

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

Toby didn’t take long to answer her, it was something he had thought about a lot, whether he wanted to openly admit it or not. ”I’m grateful to have experienced it. The timing was just off, we were too young.” Toby said softly, knowing his answer would have been entirely different 2 years ago. Especially after losing his girlfriend and getting bitten in the same month.. It was the hardest month of his life, so far, but he managed to get through it without the help or support from his family. Toby realized he shouldn’t have assumed that she knew who the Windsor family was, since she was an American. He nodded when she echoed princess, looking confused. ”Yeah. She’s a member of the royal family. It was a lot of pressure so I think it was for the best..” he took a drink, watching Amy as she chose Dare, joking that she had no more cockroach clusters. Toby smiled.

”Luckily, for you, we have the resources here for your next stunt.” he informed her, standing up from the sofa for the first time and immediately sitting back down as the alcohol rushed to his head. ”Wow, okay, I’m legless..” he stated with a drunken laugh, sinking back into the sofa, sides almost pressed against Amy's. His legs definitely wouldn't bring him to the kitchen without knocking into anything. Toby summoned a plate and loaf of bread from the pantry. Both items wobbled in the air before landing on the coffee table with a thud in front of them. He chuckled because magic looked so sloppy while drunk. Toby would have toasted it for her but choking back boring plain bread made it seem a little more cruel. At least it wasn't a chocolate cluster filled with cockroaches.

Tobys gaze fell onto Amys as he tried to feign a calm and collected expression, but his drunken grin grew when he got a glimpse of her face. Toby removed a single slice and placed it on the plate before extending it to Amy. ”Eat this piece of bread with no hands.” he instructed, offering her a more expectantly expression she usually gave him.

AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW

[AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW]

Amy nodded, still looking thoughtful. She knew her parents loved each other deeply - it was why they had chosen one another in the wake of her mother being outcast from the Astor family. So many songs and stories and films were all written about love, but did anyone really have any sort of idea what it meant? Would people, as they said, do anything for love? Amy cleared her throat and sipped her firewhisky, properly drunk now. She had to be, otherwise she wouldn't be so pensive. "I'm sorry," said Amy quietly, not sure what else to say. On one hand, how much did a broken heart hurt? On the other, this strange turn of events had led the friends to one another. And for that, Amy was grateful.

Plonking her glass firmly on the coffee table, Amy decided she'd had quite enough. She got unsteadily to her feet, and helped herself to a glass of water. As she nursed the restorative liquid, she glanced at Toby. "Want some?" she asked, holding her glass out to him. She curled into his side, tucking her legs under her as she rested her head on his shoulder. She was very comfortable, and suddenly her eyes were very heavy. Amy straightened when she selected dare, but kept her arm pressed against his. He was very warm.

"Can you read minds, cos I was definitely just thinking how I could use some carbs," said Amy, sliding off the sofa onto the floor to better inspect her options on eating the bread. She figured she ought to just go for it, and using her tongue, she nudged the corner of the slice of bread into her mouth. Once she started, it was easy, and in under a minute she'd polished off the slice of bread. "Hit the spot," Amy announced drunkenly, planting herself very close to Toby on the sofa. She wound her arm through his and returned her head to his shoulder. "Truth or dare, Toby?"

tobias charles watkins

[tobias charles watkins]

There was something liberating about telling Amy about Lusie. He wasn't sad about it anymore. Toby shook his head easily, waving her apology away. He didn't want her to pity him because of heartbreak. It didn't both him anymore..well, most of the time.

The gentleman inside him felt like a bad host by not offering Amy a glass of water, but he was glad, and maybe a bit relieved, that she was comfortable enough to help herself…because his legs probably wouldn’t have cooperated with his body in that moment anyways. He felt so lazy but also happy to be in Amy's presence. ”Sure. Thanks.” he accepted the glass and took a drink, "The life giving tonic." he sighed, instantly feeling his hydration levels start to recover. His body was practically begging for the water after nonstop drinking. But Toby stopped at one drink and set it on the table, more focused on Amy and her dare.

Toby almost regretted giving her the dare because he was quite cozy in their current proximity with Amy tucked into his side. She accepted the challenge while asking him if he could read minds before sliding off the sofa and examining the bread on the floor before going right in. "Nah. Trust me, I've tried. You just kind of had that look like you were keen for some bread." he joked with a laugh and grin. His head tilted to the side, raising his eyebrows with an expression laced with fascination and hilarity. She handled it with grace. Somehow Amy had the ability to make forced quadruple chin selfies and eating bread with no hands attractive… He bubbled over with drunken giggles. ”Well done.” he congratulated her with a golf clap, satisfied with the performance.

When Amy returned to her spot on the sofa, she was much closer than before. Her arm looped through his and her head returned to his shoulder. Tobys head rested on Amys lightly, finding her hand to lace fingers with hers. It was a good thing Amy couldn't see his face because he was smiling. ”Dare.” he stated bravely.

AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW

[AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW]

Amy wobbled over the sink to get herself a glass of water, before offering Toby some of her own. When he'd slaked his thirst, Toby placed the glass back on the table. "Rejuvenation station," she agreed with a nod. His dare came, and Amy wondered aloud, not for the first time, if he could read minds. "hmm, I'll keep that in mind. Usually my face has this look of what the fuck is going on," said Amy with a titter. She successfully completed the dare, before settling herself back into the sofa comfortably. Based on Toby's laughter, Amy thought she'd looked ridiculous.

Toby chose dare, and Amy considered him for a long moment. There were several forbidden thoughts racing along in her mind, each one louder than the last. Dare him to kiss you, they all hummed, mounting in pressure and volume. Amy bit her lip as she thought for something else - anything else. She couldn't stand to ruin the friendship they had, especially not when she had no one else. She was terrified of making things too awkward, and ultimately having Toby abandon her. Amy knew Toby would never do such a thing by choice, but it was the natural progression of such unrequited feelings.

But even as Amy searched the deepest folds of her mind, it was like everything was blanked out but for her real desire. Her stomach turned uncomfortably, and she reached for the firewhisky despite having promised herself she'd stop. She took a miniscule sip, trying to buy herself time to come up with a dare better than the one that was pounding through her skull. Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, it echoed. Amy could feel sweat gathering on her palms, could feel her breath quicken. "I dare you to kiss me."

tobias charles watkins