A/N: I posted this on tumblr thinking it would be a one time thing, but I've thought of new chapters, so stay tuned :D

Teen Cuties: Compilation 1

Asking Out One Dynamite Gal

He knew that Tamora loved action movies, and with Iron Man 3 coming out, he thought it would be the perfect opportunity to ask her out on a real date.

She was the new girl, just moved in from…he forgot where. Somewhere very different, he supposed. She wasn't used to small towns—that much was obvious—and she wasn't much like the other girls. She was intense and no-nonsense with school work; her short, messy blond hair looked as if it could never be tamed; there wasn't much to her fashion sense, just the essentials; she sat alone at lunch and rarely socialized in or out of class; she was even on the football team for crying out loud, captaining boys that were twice the size of Felix. Her leadership was incomparable, her strength threatening and graceful all at once. The rest of the team never called her by her name, always by their nickname for her. Sergeant.

And Felix was infatuated with her, wondering how on earth such a dynamite gal could possibly feel the same about him.

They had just one class together, English, and had first met when Felix was designated to show her around campus. He was instantly smitten, Tamora probably the most stunning girl he'd ever laid eyes on, but that wasn't at all what kept his interest. She'd been distant and cold to him for reasons he'd only heard rumors about. He wanted to help her in any way he could, so the least he could do was remain friendly and considerate.

They'd later gotten to know each other better when they were assigned to do an English project together, and with Ralph. She'd come over to his house and they'd discuss the book and their project, Tamora still very straight forward about work, though he could tell that she was at least trying to relax around him. What she was genuinely annoyed by was his obvious affection for her, coupled with the fact that Ralph knew close to nothing about the book and usually had to bring along his obnoxious kid sister.

But the day they'd bonded over candy canes and chocolate milk was a day he'd not soon forget.

But that was a different story.

Felix wasn't shy when it came to Tamora, no, sir. He'd always been an all-around confident person, but Tamora made him feel like he could do anything; she made his heart feel full. It impossible for him not to smile when he saw her every day, she just made him beam.

There were a few times when he'd been cautious around her, not wanting to push the wrong buttons or bring up something that she was sensitive about. That had happened once already, and it was about an ex-boyfriend. She rashly decided not to talk about it, though he hoped that maybe later, she would want to.

But that was also another story.

This was the story of one of the most important questions he'd ever ask in his life thus far.

"Want to go to the movies Friday?"

Tamora looked down at Felix standing next to her at the lunch line. She shrugged. "I'll buy the popcorn."

Busted

"Hey, Tammy!" Felix practically shouted from across the crowded hallway of their school. The look on Tamora's face was enough to let him know that she wasn't too appreciative of the nickname being so public. He immediately remembered the conversation they'd had about keeping the name on the DL. Oops.

He fast walked to her locker and flinched when she slammed it shut. "Sorry, Tam. I plum forgot about the whole 'keeping your nickname a secret' thing. I just love it so much."

She looked down into his eyes and he could see the frustration melting away into a smirk and a shake of the head. Unknown to Felix, the combination of the boy's big blue eyes, smile, and southern accent was just enough to make Tamora forget whatever anger she had.

"It's all good, short stack." She said, grabbing his shirt collar as she did. "Just don't do it again." And with that, she brought their lips together in a soft kiss. When she pulled away, the honeyglows were absolutely burning up her boyfriend's cheeks. She relished in the effect she had on him, wondering how red he'd be if their kissing ever lasted longer than a mere three seconds.

Felix looked at his watch to check how much time they had before class, Tamora having let go of his shirt. "Four minutes till English. Might as well get there early."

"Or a little late." Tamora said, her voice getting that devious edge it had whenever she felt like doing something that was frowned upon, which was quite a new thing for her. To Felix's surprise, she and grabbed his hand, proceeding to drag him over to a more or less secluded area of lockers. She pinned him against the wall and locked her lips with his in a feverish kiss. She swept her tongue into his mouth and felt his entire body tense, the feeling so entirely new and unfamiliar to him. It took a minute for Felix to relax into her crushing embrace, but the second he did, they were caught by the principal, Mr. Litwak.

After an embarrassing talk with the principal, Felix and Tamora were walking to class with devilish grins on their faces. After a second, Tamora was chuckling to herself.

"What's so funny?" Felix asked.

"It's just, I never noticed until now…" She trailed off, not exactly knowing what to say.

"Noticed what?" Felix prodded, genuinely curious.

She was still laughing a little when she glanced at him. "My friends from my home town were always saying I was a namby-pamby rule follower, a goody-two-shoes with a hall monitor badge and a hyper sensitive sense of justice. I guess they were right. Well, except for the namby-pamby part."

"You? A rule follower? With that stunt?" Felix scoffed, his nerves still on edge from their little escapade.

"You haven't known me for that long. I hate it when people are out of line, makes everything lag for the rest of society." She took his hand as they turned a corner. "But, um…when I'm with you, I just feel like doing something crazy."

Felix squeezed her hand affectionately and looked up at her with a look of understanding. "Me too."

Mr. Gene Mayor, English Teacher

"Mary's here, I saw George…Tamora?"

Mr. Mayor looked up from the role sheet when he didn't hear her proclaim her attendance, though he thought he'd seen her walk in just a moment ago.

"Tamora?" His tone was bordering on stern when he saw her head lazily resting on her hand.

"Oh, ah, here I guess." She finally said.

"…" The short in stature teacher ignored the noncommittal response from Tamora and moved on. "Felix is here, Ralph?"

"He's not here." A student replied.

"Hmm. Felix, do you know anything about this?"

"No, sir." Felix answered, shrugging. "I haven't seen him all day. We don't live together, so I don't know, he may have come down with something."

"Very well. Thank you, Felix. Now class, today we will be going over The Great Gatsby. Did everyone read the first three chapters?"

Felix felt a tap in between his shoulder blades and heard Tamora whisper from the seat just behind him. "It's not like he's never skipped class before."

Felix looked over his shoulder at her. "Tam! I'm sure Ralph is done skipping classes after what happened with the whole, well, you know."

He heard Tamora chuckle, remembering the incident in which Ralph had tried to replace Markowski as the quarterback just a few months before.

Felix twisted in his chair in order to actually see his girlfriend. Her book was open to the first page of the second chapter. She glanced up at him and stuck her tongue out. "I didn't have time to read it last night, ok?"

"Says little miss 'goody-two-shoes.'" Felix whispered.

"Hey, I'm not perfect."

Felix didn't really think about what he was about to say, it came out on its own. "Yes you are."

The look of genuine love that had taken over Felix's features gave Tamora a surprise. She stared blankly at him for a moment before the instructor called on them.

"If you two are going to talk all day, then I suggest you leave my classroom." My. Mayor said. When Felix sat back properly in his seat with an apologetic smile on his face and Tamora slouched and crossed her arms, the teacher continued with the lecture.

Before a minute had even passed, Tamora was passing notes.

This jerk hates me.

Felix rolled his eyes and wrote back.

He does not hate you, he's just a little strict.

No, he hates me. He loves you. I think he's weirded out that we're dating.

Why would that weird him out at all?

I don't know, maybe he wants you all to himself

Felix had to cover his mouth with his hand in order to suppress a shout of surprise.

WHAT?

He seems like a perv, and you're like a teacher's pet. Come to think of it, he gives you a lot of privileges in class, and curves the tests whenever you don't do well, and you're the only one he goes to when he needs his car fixed…I could go on forever

Let's stop, I don't want to get caught writing this

"Felix."

Felix hurriedly hid the note away under his desk and snapped his head up to look at Mr. Mayor. "Yes, sir?"

"I hope you're taking notes down." He said a bit sternly.

"Yes of course!" Felix replied, trying to rid every bit of nervousness from his voice.

Mr. M seemed to buy it and continued with the lecture.

Felix felt a nudge at his side, then Tamora's voice again. "Told you so!"

She tried not to laugh as she watched her boyfriend collapse in defeat on his desk.

Waffle House

It was Saturday and Felix and Tamora were at a waffle house for lunch. Tamora had never been to one, so Felix has insisted on being the one to take her. Tamora was excited to see that the restaurant had a Galaga machine at the entrance, and had played a couple rounds before Felix took over and blew her score out of the water.

"When did you get so good at video games?" Tamora asked as they were seated and given menus.

Felix picked up the menu and answered modestly. "I'm not good at most video games, just the older cabinet games. I've wasted many a quarter on that one in particular. I think my high score is still in there."

"Impressive."

They were silent for a moment, reading through their menus before Felix cleared his throat.

"I wanted to ask you if you were thinkin' about going to the dance."

Tamora didn't look up when she answered. "This is the one with the dress code, right?"

"Yes…?" Felix trailed off, confused by the question.

"Then I don't want to go." She landed her finger on something on the menu. I think I'll have the blueberry waffles with extra hash browns."

Felix was perplexed by her sudden and slightly disappointing answer. "Why not?"

"Because then I have to wear a dress. Not that I don't like getting in a skirt once on a while, but if I'm forced to wear one, it takes all the fun out of it. I'd rather have a choice, you know? Takes away from my rights as a woman."

Felix was a bit dumbfounded; he didn't really know how to react. "You really feel that way? Isn't that a bit…extreme?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you had to wear a dress in order to be allowed somewhere?"

"Well, no—"

"Exactly!" Tamora said, pounding her fist on the table to extenuate her point. "How do you think it makes me feel? You've never seen me wear anything but pants and shorts. It's because that's what I'm comfortable in, same as you, same as anyone."

Felix was a mixture of astonished and impressed. "I've never met anyone who thinks that. And you're right."

Tamora gave a small smile. "Thanks for understanding, Fix-it. You know, you can still go. You and your friends like parties."

"Yeah, but this is a dance. A school dance at that. Wouldn't be much fun without a date."

"Then take Mary or something. I trust you not to do anything you'll regret." Tamora said slyly, kicking his feet from under the table.

"Tammy." Felix said softly, reaching for her hand from across the table. "I meant that it wouldn't be any fun without you."

Tamora glanced down at their hands for a moment, than back up at him with a slightly confused look on her face. "You've been to dances without me all your life."

"Well, I don't want to go to another one unless it's with you."

Tamora bit her lip to restrain herself from smiling too much, still a bit cautious about her tough as nails reputation. The boys from her football team could walk in any second and see her melting for the future mechanic. She had a reputation to uphold. She glanced mischievously at the side of the table where the salt and pepper were. She grabbed the salt and proceeded in sprinkling some over Felix's head.

"What the hay!" Felix laughed as he swatted her hand away. "What was that for?"

"You're too sweet sometimes. I needed something to balance out the taste."

After Senior Year - Changes

Tamora was driving, sunglasses on and the window rolled down some. When the view was finally visible, she looked over to Felix to see his reaction. He was speechless for a moment, looking out of her window like a child who was seeing snow for the first time.

Except this was the ocean, which was what he'd actually never seen.

"Tammy Jean, this is amazing!" Felix said, exasperated. When she'd asked him out just a week ago, he hadn't been expecting more than a TV dinner and a movie on Netflix, but Tamora had planned much more than that. She drove them miles away from home, denying his every "where are we going" and "are we there yet" that came from him. Eventually he stopped asking and enjoyed the scenery of the highway, and eventually, the mountainous and windy roads.

"You surprised?" Tamora asked.

"Surprised? I'm more than surprised, Tammy! I'm—I' m…well I'm as thankful as I could be!" He leaned over and kissed her cheek, feeling her smile widen.

"Well, I'm glad. I wanted to do something special today. And you've never been, so I thought it was as good a time as any."

"You're one dynamite gal, Tammy Jean."

"I know."

…

The day had come and gone. Felix built a sandcastle for the first time, had lunch on the boardwalk, swam in the freezing ocean and was nearly taken by a wave, all the fun stuff. The couple was now sitting together on a log, watching the sunset. Felix was getting cold, even in his jacket. He got up and held out a hand for Tamora.

"We should start walking to the car, it's getting late."

Tamora looked up at him and took his hand, pulling him down again.

"Felix, before we go, I need to tell you something." She paused, making sure he was paying attention. "It's serious. Beyond serious."

"Ok." Felix replied softly, taking his hand back and gripping his own knee, wondering what kind of support she needed, because he would give it. And she knew that.

"Felix…this is hard for me to say to you, but you're the first person who needs to know." She was scolding herself for not having said it earlier, like a few weeks earlier, but this was as good a time as any. No more beating around the bush pussy willow, just say it! "I'm joining the Marines."

Whatever Felix was expecting, he wasn't expecting that. They'd graduated just last month and now she was telling him? He froze for a moment, his eyes glued to hers. He could see the fear and apprehension in her face; she been afraid to tell him. She was seeking his approval, his support, his love. He couldn't deny her that. Not like Brad had all those years ago.

"When are you leaving?" Felix asked in a somber tone.

Tamora didn't even hesitate. "Two weeks from now."

Felix was silent again. "Darlin', I—" He was ultimately at a loss until he remembered just how much he trusted her with his every thought. And this was her trusting him. He had to say something. "As much as I want you to stay, I know I can't ask you that. I love you, and no matter what you do, I'll always be here."

Tamora's eyes were dry one moment, but once she saw the tears of shock in Felix's eyes, even after his words of approval, it broke her heart to see him feeling so bittersweet. She sat as close as possible to him, wrapped her arms around him and kissed his tears away, eventually capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and ran his fingers through her short blond hair, pulling her as close as physically possible.

They eventually separated when the sun was almost down. Neither could see each other too well in the darkness, but neither cared.

"You'll be waiting for me?" Tamora said, almost breathlessly.

She felt his hand gently brush along the side of her face, then his lips were at her ear. "Always."

This was why Felix was unlike Brad; better then Brad. Felix wasn't just a fun guy to be with, a party animal, a hopeless romantic, or a straight A student. He was hers. His heart was pure and his love unwavering.

…

It was close to midnight when Tamora parked in front of his house to drop him off.

"So," Felix began. "After you leave, when will I see you again?"

Tamora leaned over and kissed him for a few long seconds before pulling back and answering. "I'm not sure. I'll let you know."

"Ok." He said, opening the passenger side door. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You kidding, short stack? I'm not letting you out of my sight for two weeks. Take this time to prepare yourself." She said, warning with a grin.

Felix stepped out of the car and saluted. "Yes ma'am."