WILDFIRE

Chapter Twelve

TOBY POV:

When we were walking into the house to wait, Elena’s car got into the driveway, followed by Taylor’s car. Elena explained what was going on. Aria just nodded her head to let everyone know that she understood, she was really calm. Aria then said “Tonya, why don’t you go see if Toby’s parents are ready to go alright.” Tonya nodded her head yes, and continued skipping inside the house. Aria watched that until the door was closed and she was fully inside the house. She then turned to me. She smiled. How in the hell is she so calm? That was blowing my mind. Taylor got out of her car. She looked at Aria and then I. Taylor’s eyes were there and she followed my hand and noticed I was holding her hand. Taylor looked back up and smiled. Taylor said “Elena, I wasn’t done talking to you and you weren’t picking up the phone. But I was wondering if I could come to dinner. And now I see you are going with Toby and Aria (when she said Aria’s name, she was gritting her teeth.)

Elena replied, “Actually you can’t ask me because. Aria is the one who invited me. So I have to say you need to ask her. And by the looks of it, she is not going to let you. But you need to ask her.”

Taylor said “okay, Toby and Aria would be okay if I OK to dine with you?” Aria was still quiet and watching her. I said “Taylor, this is not a good time. It is a special night, so you will not be able to come.”

Taylor said “oh, come on Toby. I promise I will behave.” When I was going to speak, Aria spoke.

Aria said “Okay, you can come. But you are paying for your food. We will not touch your bill at all and also if you try anything. I will break your arms. Toby will not sit next to your ugly ass. Plus you need to wear fancy clothes. And you have 15 minutes because we will not wait for you and we will not let them know you are coming, so. Figure it out.” I was shocked. But I know she has a plan in her head. I will just go with it.

Taylor said “Oh, of course, I will meet you in fifteen minutes. She got in her car and left. Once she was out of sight, I turned to Aria. I asked “Okay, what is going through your head?”

Aria replied," Oh, she won't like me because the plan was to ignore her all night, not even to acknowledge her or her words or questions, besides her bill. That is for two separate checks.”

I was about to say something but before I could, Elena said “why would you do that. Why do I like it, but she still feel really left out.”

Aria said “that is the point. She wasn’t invited. She will know her place. I am not like my mother. I won't just take s**t anymore. And I deserve to be happy for once. And I am really happy with Toby, so yeah. She wants to fight and thinks she is going to win a war that she is the only one playing. I will win the war because I know how Toby feels about me and I trust him he won't hurt me. So yeah.”

I replied “OK, let’s play her game better than her, I will never hurt you. I love you. I will never hurt you.”

Elena said “wow, very devilish. I like it.”

Jacob finally puts his input in it. Jacob said “wow, she can shoot, she can make plans to hurt someone in a matter of seconds. Toby, don’t hate me for saying this, but I will not get her mad. And I can tell you're loyal and trustworthy from the second I met you, Aria. So, with that said if Toby ever hurts you, you can call me and I will hurt him. Not saying you can't, but I still have your back.” Elena nodded her head in agreement. Jacob laughed and everyone did as well. I like that my friend is really protective of her. Elena said “Okay, with that out of the way, who is ready to eat because I am starving?”

Jacob laughed and said “babe, you are always starving!” Aria started to laugh at their silliness. Just then, my mom and dad went out with Tonya. I looked at my mom and said “mom, you look beautiful.”

My mom said “thank you son, and Aria and Elena Thank you both look amazing! Shall we go?” I nodded my head. Yes. Aria, Tonya, Elena, Jacob and I got into Aria’s car. My parents got into their car. A short drive later, we got to the restaurant. We parked and went in. Everyone went to the host. I spoke to her. I said “Hi, we have a reservation for a party of seven. It is under Timothy Dodger.”

The host said “let me take a look.” she looked at her book and said “ah, here we are Mr. Dodger. If you would follow me please.” We followed her. Then we got to our table. We all sat down. I then spoke up and said “there might be a woman coming in stating she is with our party but she is not. Please don’t let her sit with us.” The host smiled and nodded. She said “no problem sir. Your server will be right with you.” With that she walked away. We sat there talking and looking at the menu. Tonya said “sissy, I don’t know what this says. Can you help me?”

Aria said “Let’s look at the kid's menu?” Tonya nodded her head yes. They begin to figure out what she would like. Aria then looked at the menu for her. She picked out what she wanted and we got it ready and we waited for the waiters to come. We were talking and laughing. I sat back and watched Aria open up. Her eyes shine back like life is back. The waiter came and took our order. We got back to our conversation when we heard a loud voice. We all looked over, and saw Taylor there creating a scene. I laughed. Aria grinned. So that was her plan. The host said “Ma’am, can you please calm down? Maybe I was mistaken for the person you told me you were looking for. Hold on, let me look. What was the party’s name again?”

Taylor replied “, of course it was your mistake. But the party’s name is Dodger, I do believe. Can I just go in to look around to see if they are here please. They invited me and I knew I was late, but I had to get changed, and get ready to go for tonight to look good.”

The host said “ma’am, I am sorry the party that you are talking about stated that no one else is supposed to sit with them. I am accommodating their request. I am sorry if you were late, but that is not my fault.”

Taylor said “So can I go see if they are okay with me coming to join them even though I am late?”

The host said “let me call my manager.” So the host said something through her headphones. Taylor was still huffing and puffing. My dad was getting red because he was embarrassed that I knew how she was acting. Like he is the sheriff of the town and she is making a scene in front of the whole restaurant. And people are staring and starting to laugh because of a grown woman throwing a tantrum. Just then, the manager came over to her and asked what was going on. The host explained the situation to him. Taylor kept stating they were expecting me. Over and over again. The manager said “okay, ma’am. You need to calm down so we can figure this out. And if you don’t, then I will ask you to leave. Let me talk to the party, to see if you can still be seated with them. If not, then you will need to leave. Can you please step aside so my employee can help the other customers.” The manager then turned around to come to our table. The manager said “I am sorry to disturb you, but um requested, we have a lady at the host stand yelling and throwing a fit of a tantrum about what you guys put in our requested books. But she wants to know if she can still come sit with you even though she is late? And honestly, you guys will be doing me a favor.”

Aria said “sure.” The manager nodded his head yes, and walked back to the host stand. We looked and Taylor was happier than ever because she got her way but I saw the look on Aria’s face. She has a plan. I leaned close to her ear, and whispered, “So what is the plan?”

Aria said “phase 2.” Aria smiled at me. Then Taylor came walking up to the table. Taylor had a huge smile on her face because she was thinking she had got her way. Taylor stood at the table.Taylor coughed a little bit.Taylor said “Toby, are you going to pull out of my chair for me?”

I said “Taylor, you can pull out your own chair.” Taylor huffed, and then just sat down. I started talking to Aria again. The waiter came back with our food. Taylor said “oh, can I get a menu, please?” The waiter nodded his head and went to get a menu for her. Taylor then said “So what is this dinner for anyway?”

I said “it is a special occasion for Aria.” The waiter came back with the menu and Taylor looked at it. Of course, Taylor looked at the menu really fast. Asked the waiter for a lobster, with mashed potatoes, corn. She looked at me. My father said “Aria, I am so proud of you for winning the case and for being so strong enough to deal with what you have been dealing with for years all by yourself, plus trying to take care of your little sister Tonya. You deserve to finally get your happily ever after.”

Aria said “Thank you Mr. Dodger.” We were eating when Taylor’s food came. She started eating her food. Aria said “So Taylor, why were you so energetic about coming to a private dinner that has nothing to do with you?”

Taylor spoke up and said “Oh, I just wanted to hang out with my best friends Toby, Elena and Jacob. This is really great, Mr. and Mrs. Dodger. Thank you for allowing me to come and sit with you even though I was late coming.”

My father said," Well, Taylor, that was not even me. That was Aria. You should thank her, not me.” Taylor looked frustrated about that but still said “thank you Aria.” Aria nodded her head. I cleared my throat and I said “Well, since we are eating now, I have another surprise for you, Aria.” She looked at me with her beautiful eyes. I said “well, I know we are young and I know we have only known each other for a little while now. But my heart wants what it wants. From the very first moment that I met you. I knew you were different. When you found me in the woods and helped me get back to my father’s office, I knew you were the one I wanted to be with. You are everything to me, and we don't have to plan until we are out of high school, but I want you to be mine. I want to be yours.” I got down on one knee and pulled out the ring box and opened it, “Aria Marie Moon, you do me the honor of marrying me?” Before Aria was able to say anything, we heard a voice.