Best Friends With The Bad Boy ✓

37 - Silver Lining

"Why- what are you doing here, Tobi?" I asked as I took her in, my hand resting on the doorknob.

She looked like she'd sprinted to my house due to her flustered state. Her black braids were messily tied into a low ponytail and a thin layer of sweat covered her face. Her red backpack was slung over her shoulder, contrasting her all blue outfit.  Ironic considering I was feeling pretty blue. She looked at me nervously.

"It's super urgent, Chloe." Tobi insisted, stepping forward. My hand didn't move from the doorknob as I examined her.

"If it's about the Instagram post, I don't want to hear it." I told her firmly. Then something occurred to me. "And I thought we weren't supposed to interact in public anymore?" I added, thinking back to a while ago.

"I can't explain everything now." Tobi told me in a pleading tone. "But I think its best we don't speak much anymore. At least, in public."

Tobi nodded, biting her lip. "Yeah, it's about the Instagram post. And we weren't supposed to interact, but this is seriously important."

I shook my head, my feet shuffling. "Look, Tobi-"

"I think I know who's behind the post." Tobi interrupted, staring at me. I searched her face for any signs that she was bluffing. I found none.

I stepped aside, silently inviting her in. Once she'd entered I locked the door and leas her to the living room, where she sat on the couch. I opened the curtains to let some light inside before joining Tobi, all with a nervous feeling inside me.

Tobi waited for me to face her and we made eye contact. "You know who did it?" I asked quietly. She shook her head.

"I have suspicions, a certain person in mind." She corrected, untying her braids so they sprung loose. "But we have to cross out a few names first."

I reared back slightly. "Wait, hold on. Why are you helping me? I assumed we weren't friends anymore." I asked.

Tobi sat quietly, thinking of her response. Finally, she turned to me. "Chloe, I promise I will explain everything later. For now, we need to focus on the task at hand, which is figuring out who did this to you. I need you to trust me and believe I'm here to help you, which I am. Can you do that?"

I bit my lip, staring at her while my mind ran at an alarming speed. Tobi was ambiguous and her intentions unknown, but we had been close friends throughout middle school. And she was one of the smartest people I knew. Maybe she could help me? I had no clue where to even start.

"Alright." I conceded, and she smiled. "But you have to answer all my questions later, deal?"

"Deal." She nodded, grabbing her bag pack. While she did so I glanced at the time. I calculated that I'd only slept for just over thirty minutes, so there was a while to go for lunch.

"Right." Tobi said, laying out papers on the coffee table before us. I watched her curiously as she picked out one and a pen. At a closer look I saw there were names of all my friends on it.

"Wow, going full out are we?" I joked, impressed and slightly creeped out. Tobi shrugged.

"I go full out in everything I do." She responded, then adjusting her position so I could see the list better.

"As you can see, I have a list of everyone in your friendship group. Out of all these people, did you tell any of them about what happened in Australia?" Tobi asked, watching me curiously. I nodded.

"Only John and Benjamin." I answered. "Separately."

"Cool, we can start there. Let's start with Benjamin." She crossed on leg over the other. "You guys are pretty tight, huh?"