Disclaimer: Thrashin' is copyright (c) David Winters, Fries Entertainment, and all others associated with legal rights.
Author's note: This fanfic was co-written with Markolvr a couple of weeks ago. It takes place before the events of the movie (spring time to be precise, since the movie takes place during the summer) and it features Tyler (Brooke McCarter's character) and an OC.
"Kickstart My Heart"
"I can't believe I gotta do this," Tyler muttered as he made his way to the library after school to meet up with the student tutor he had been assigned to. After his last progress report, he had been sent to the guidance counselor to see what could be done to ensure that he would graduate next year. It wasn't as if Tyler was struggling with any particular subject. Most people wouldn't even assume a skater like him would be able to retain much of anything unless it involved skateboarding or girls. Tyler was just lazy, and school in general bored him. But he didn't want to repeat a grade and he sure as hell didn't want to be grounded for the summer. His parents were planning on going away on a second honeymoon, and if Tyler was grounded, that meant he would have to go WITH them without any skating equipment. Talk about the ultimate punishment!
With his skateboard under his arm, Tyler pushed the library door open and was greeted with the smell of old books and near silence. This was already torture.
He had no idea what this tutor was going to look like. All he knew was that it was a student who was doing well in their studies and they were supposed to help him bring his grades up. Sure, whatever.
At first, when they had asked Jenn about helping out a fellow student, she wasn't exactly thrilled, but when they promised her early release because of it, she couldn't say no. However, she did hope to high heaven that the guy would turn out to be a quick study and not some brain dead moron. Bored fellow peers were easier to handle then someone who really didn't have a clue, as mean as that sounded. But the reality was that Jenn had a life and spending an entire afternoon in the library was not her idea of fun, no matter how hard she studied on a regular basis for herself. The entire point was to get the work done and have lots of time to play after.
'Where is he?" she muttered, tapping her pencil on the desk as she watched the second hand on the clock tick around over the numbers repeatedly. Then she heard the door open and jerked her head towards the entrance, even though she couldn't see it from behind the stacks. Perhaps sitting in a secluded spot in the corner near the back wasn't such a good idea. She sighed and got up, walked out towards the center of the room in order to see if this was her assigned fellow student.
Tyler walked to the center and looked around. All he could see were tables occupied with nerds with their noses buried in books or dorks playing Dungeons & Dragons. A few kids were seated toward the back and were obviously sleeping, many with their faces buried in their arms or backpacks. Man, he envied THOSE people right there.
Scratching his head with his free hand, he heard footsteps and that was when he was blown away by a seriously hot chick heading his way. She had blonde hair, green (or was it hazel?) eyes, and pink lps that had some kind of shiny lip gloss over them. He'd seen her around school from time to time, but this was the first time he saw her up close. What was SHE doing in the library?
Jenn stopped short when she saw him looking a little frazzled and a little lost and frowned, placing her hands on her hips. The small v to the neckline of her white shirt crinkled and opened, showing off a bit of her cleavage and her hips swayed a little as she took a serious stance in front of him. It wasn't really her nature to be offish towards anyone, but in order to get the other kids to take her seriously, she had to be direct at some point when she was tutoring. "Are you Tyler?"
Her eyes took in the sight of him and she felt hot all of a sudden. He had shorter, yet shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes that could pierce the sky. His face was soft and yet he was all masculine, right down to the board he carried under his arm, and by the time she was done looking him over, she realized she was biting her bottom lip. Not very professional, but she quickly corrected herself and cleared her throat.
"I, uh..." Tyler began almost stupidly as his eyes fell to her chest. Nice. REAL nice. This girl was his tutor? Ultimate score!
Clearing his own throat, he chuckled. "Guess I am!" he declared before earning a sharp "SHUSH!" from one of the librarians behind the main desk.
Tyler simply shrugged and tugged on the end of his shirt. He wore an oversized surfing shirt which was sleeveless, showing off his tanned arms from having been outdoors nearly every day. He even wore boarding shorts and his thrashed up slip on Vans which had seen better days but they were good with keeping his feet planted on his skateboard.
Briefly Jenn glanced over at the librarian as if her shush didn't mean a damn thing, and then, without giving Tyler the slightest concern she said, "Good. Let's get out of here."
There was a slight lean in her posture towards him as she let go of the stiff attitude, without realizing his eyes had been on her breasts. Naive as it was, in her mind, she had only made him nervous.
She turned and grabbed her things, very calmly and clucked as she walked past him as if signaling him to follow and once they were closer to the doors she whispered, "I can't think in here, it's too stuffy. How about that table outside under the tree? No one ever goes out there and it's a nice day."
"Now that's what I call the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Tyler stated as he was more than happy to leave the library. The silence was just killing him. It was safe to say his future with books was nowhere in sight.
As soon as they stepped through the doors, Tyler let out a loud yawn and stretched his arms above his head before he parked himself on one side of the table. He set his deck on the ground underneath the table and planted his feet on it. His backpack was tossed carelessly onto the space behind him.
"So what'd the heads tell you about me?" he asked Jenn before she could take a seat. "Like I was some kinda big time failure or something?"
"No," she said simply, honestly, shaking her head as she sat her things down and took a seat beside him instead of on the other side. Tutoring involved getting elbow deep into another persons mind as well as their papers, which meant sitting fairly close. "Hope you don't mind," she smiled, catching his glance for half a second before setting up her own little workshop.
"Close is better for learning," she giggled. "Well it is, it's umm, what's the word? Intimate? But you know not like the sexual kind, so please tell your girlfriend that I'm not trying to hit on you. I mean if you have one."
She stopped and stared up at the school for a second realizing that she was actually nervous. She had never been nervous tutoring anyone before. Truth be told she was a secret fan of skateboarders and the sport they chose. Maybe that was it, because to her he was almost god like with what he could do with that piece of wood stuck to wheels. "Oh, but no. All they said was that you were having some trouble." she nodded and gave him a pleasant smile. "It happens to the best of us."
"I zone out a lot," Tyler said point blank but at the same time sounded unashamed about it. He moved his board back and forth using his feet but was careful not to accidentally knock into his tutor's feet or ankles. Up close, she had a sweet smell to her. It was a hint of some kind of body spray and it was nice because she didn't smell like she bathed in it like most girls tended to do.
"If I really dig something, like skateboarding, you got 110% of my attention. Otherwise, I just don't care, you know? I'm not gonna use my world history knowledge to perform a flip kick or biology trivia to do a nosegrind on a rail... But hey, what's your name?"
Jenn agreed with him, nodding while she played with both ends of her pencil until he asked her name and then she sat up real straight.
"I'm sorry, duh. You know I don't think my mind is here today in all honesty. I'm Jenn. I'm sort of a fan of what you do, but no one here knows it. I mean learning all this, it's not exactly fun. I would rather be out here. Maybe we could, you know try and put all this together with what you love and go from there? Make it not so, dull?" she laughed then because even though she was nervous she also felt right at home with him right away. "Have you ever tried to put a little history into your sport? I bet a lot of what you hate studying is connected to that board under your feet."
She slipped her shoe off and nudged the nose of it under the table but accidentally hit his foot instead. "Okay so I'm not savvy on this, but seriously I don't want to bore you to death."
"Not boring me at all," Tyler replied in all honesty. He felt her foot against his but didn't flinch. Even though he was wearing shoes, he could tell she was so soft. She looked soft all over. How the hell did he not notice how cute she was even from a distance? She was one of the most knock out chicks he'd seen in school and he only NOW noticed her. "But seriously? You like what I do? How come I've never seen you at the ramps before? I would've totally noticed you!"
"Well that's because I sit really far away," she confessed with humor, making a slight face. "I'm the one in the jeans and the hoody covering my face." she laughed. "No I'm kidding. To tell you the truth I'm not sure why I haven't noticed you out there before. I guess it was just one of those passing moments, that and a few of my friends don't approve. They think you guys are all trouble makers. But not me. Unless you count the Daggers. I think one of them has a thing for me, which is why I don't really make myself well known. I know they have their own area but why make it a point to have them come this far right? Because you know, from what I've heard they're not beyond murder. Is that true?"
Tyler's jaw almost dropped when Jenn actually mentioned the Daggers. Not too many kids from the schools even knew who they were unless they were actually part of the skating clique. Tyler and his buddies, known as the Ramp LOCALS, were always butting heads with the Daggers. Those punks had such a massive group of followers or tag-a-longs or whatever. They were like locusts whenever they came by, taking over everything in a big swarm.
Recovering from his shock, he grinned at Jenn. "No wonder we never bumped into each other. Different crowds sorta. Now I'm gonna have to make it a mission of mine to see you whenever I'm out by the ramps."
"Well kind of," she laughed, suddenly finding that she was blushing beside him and looking down at the paper of her notebook. There was a small breeze blowing it just at the corner. "I don't care to hang out with jerks. But if you're not one of those, maybe we could exchange a little? Maybe you'd want to show me some tricks, or teach me to ride a little and I could help you with this stuff?" She waved a hand over the books, even though she felt she would get the better end of the deal.
"All I gotta do is actually pay attention and I can pass," he insisted airly, but he couldn't help but stare at the way her hair blew against her cheek, making her so much more graceful. It was like he was staring at some super hot princess right from a fairy tale, just dressed in cute, modern clothes. "But I'm down for hanging out! I'm meeting up with some buddies after this but uh... How about tomorrow after school? If you're not doing anything?"
She couldn't believe how giddy she felt and in such a short time. After all they had just met, but she didn't want to act as if she was some crazed girl falling for some guy, even if he was totally hot and she felt herself shiver. From the corner of her eye she could tell he was looking at her. Of course, people usually did look at each other when they talked. Naturally then, she turned and focused once more on his eyes and for a second she couldn't speak. One or two 'uh' noises and she realized she couldn't remember what day it was. She probably looked mortified... Way to go.
"Gosh I'm sorry, Tyler. I guess I should've had coffee this morning or something," that was her excuse and she found it was easier to watch his lips move as she talked, even though her thoughts quickly moved from hanging out to kissing him. "I would love to kiss tomorrow."
Her cheeks then turned bright red and she popped up and scooted away from him a bit before burying her face in her arms on the table there. "I meant hang out. I have this song... stuck in my head," she lied, feeling like a complete idiot. "You sure you want me to tutor you?" Her smile had spread to each side of her ears.
His brows rose when she mentioned "kiss" instead of "hang." Man, was this girl ever so cute. She was different from the other girls in school, definitely more genuine. Already she was a hundred notches up from his ex-girlfrend who cheated on him last Christmas with that college football player.
Resting his arms on top of the table and leaning somewhat closr to her, Tyler flashed her a playful smile. "After just meeting you today, Jenn? I am totally sure I want you to tutor me."
Now she was laughing for no reason at all. Maybe it was his smile, but all she knew was that she was having a really good time, sitting there, getting to know him a little or trying to at least. Was it possible to crush on someone that fast?
Finally, she settled some but her smile never faltered and she grabbed a bag of Jelly beans from her backpack and offered him some. Then she handed him a couple papers with notes back to back. "These are for history. Basically I just wrote down every major factor the teacher wants you to know. It'll help with the test."
Then she started to scribble a little drawing of him on his skateboard at the top. It was mostly stick figure, but next to him she put 'Tyler's freedom' in big words. A small giggle came out of her as she showed him. "So you don't forget your goals. But where would you like me to meet you tomorrow?"
Tyler, having accepted her jelly bean offer, was munching on them when he nodded in agreement about her goal set up. The word "freedom" resounded in his head. He'd better get his act together if he didn't want to spend another year on these grounds if he could help it. Jenn's little drawings were just too cute, too.
Smacking his lips, he took the notes and examined both sides real quick before swallowing his beans. "How about we meet up right here, same time tomorrow, and we'll head over to the ramps together?" he finally suggested.
By then she had snuck a few of the tiny candies as well, creating a fruity link between the two of them from the smell alone. Now she was starting to regain her sense and she nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a really good plan to me. I'm not going to lie, I'm excited about it, but I might have to hit you if you laugh at me for falling on my butt a time or two."
"Ahhh, hey! No ragging from me, I promise," Tyler said as he held his hands up to show that he wasn't lying and crossing his fingers. It made him more excited to hear her say how much she was looking forward to hanging out.
I should've gotten some tutoring done sooner, Tyler thought with amusement. However, he may not have ended up with Jenn, and he couldn't have THAT now.
"Heeey, Tyler! This is where you're at?"
Turning around, Tyler broke out into a laugh as he saw Radley make his way over to the table. Radley didn't even go to his school but since it was after school hours, he was able to walk into campus without a fuss. The boys exchanged high fives.
"Told ya I had to get tutored," Tyler said but there wasn't an ounce of resentment in his voice. "Hey, Rad, this here is Jenn. Jenn, this is my good buddy, Radley. He goes to Pearl High but we've been friends forever."
Radley nodded as he took in the sight of the cute blonde girl. "I think I need to get tutored, too," he said jokingly as he took a seat on the other side of Jenn. "You gonna hang out with us at the ramps today?"
Tyler gave his buddy a look. "She can come with us? Will Bozo have enough room in his car?"
"Sure!" Radley laughed and added, "We'll tell Stevie he's gotta stay behind."
Jenn's spirits were high when she turned to see the stranger coming towards them and watched as the boys exchanged greetings. With a nod she said hi to Radley and started to laugh as he sat down and added that he needed to be tutored as well.
"Sorry, I only have room for one in my schedule." She gave Tyler a look as if they had already known each other forever, but tilted her head to consider her options.
"Well I wouldn't want to get in the way," she insisted. "I'm sure you guys could skate circles around me."
"And we will! Believe me," Radley said. "It'll be fun. You'll like it. Besides, look how bad my buddy here wants you to come. You know, we look out for each other."
Tyler reached behind Jenn to playfully tap Radley due to that remark. Was it THAT obvious he was digging her? Alright, maybe it was.
Radley slid backwards, away from Jenn until he reached the end of the beach where he jumped to his feet and exclaimed, "Let's roll! Bozo's waiting down the street for us."
"Sweet deal!" Tyler shouted as he placed the note Jenn made him inside his backpack, then threw on his backpack, and pushed his skateboard out from under the table until it rolled onto the other side. Afterward, he collected Jenn's things for her, gave her a wink, before he rounded the table to jump on his board.
Never in a million years did Jenn think that afternoon would turn out the way it had, and she was glad for it, even if she had butterflies in her stomach. Sure she noticed the guys must have thought she was cute, but she never thought of herself that way either, even if Tyler wanted some female company.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, surprised by his move to help her with her stuff. Man oh man he was fine. Yep, she was crushing big time. She trotted along beside the boys and wished she had brought a pair of jeans or shorts to change into.