A/N: Well, here's the moment of truth when you finally get to know Thomasin a little more (and if that isn't enough, there is some more in the next chapter--with some Connie and Julie.) Like with most people (most especially OC's), you either like them or you don't. However, I've tried to make her slightly realistic, based on my favorite people and some of my own experiences. So, it's my hope that you all end up liking Thomasin!

Adam and Tom sat directly across from each other at the dance. Their eyes locked for a moment, and then in a split second she turned her eyes away. Obviously, Tom was a quiet person, just like Adam. He wasn't sure if she was just shy, like Adam was, or an observer of people. It was an odd term, 'observer of people,' and Adam didn't know why it suddenly popped into his head. But the way Tom watched him during his conversation with Pilar made Adam want to know what kind of judgment she had passed on him.

"So...Scooter said that your full name is Tom Logan. That's interesting, seeing as you're a girl and all." Adam stopped himself from slapping his forehead. Of course, he thought, Tom knows that she's a girl—and she probably gets questions about her name all the time.

Tom gave Adam a questioning glance. "What do you mean?"

Adam waved a dismissive hand to his own comment. "Oh, nothing. It's just that it's a really modern name."

To Adam's surprise, Tom laughed, a husky laugh that held no hint of girlish frivolousness. It made Adam think that she didn't laugh very often. "It's funny that you say that, actually. 'Tom' is a nickname—its short for Thomasin Inez, which may be the most traditional and old-fashioned name that you will ever come across."

Adam smiled at her comment. "So which one do you prefer—Tom or Thomasin?"

Tom's eyes were fixated on the sleeve of Adam's sweater and she picked off a piece of lint before she answered. "Only teachers and my relatives call me Thomasin nowadays. And Tom—it's a half-baked idea of a nickname Pilar thought up and now it's stuck. I haven't told anyone this and I don't know why I'm telling you, but," she paused for moment, "I can't stand either of the names."

Adam almost laughed at her admission. "So, what would you like me to call you? I don't want you to inwardly cringe whenever I say your name. I mean, we just met and that's not the type of impression I want to make."

Tom looked like she was surprised that Adam cared about the impression he made to her. "Again, I don't know why I'm telling you this—I guess you just seem like someone I can trust." Adam smiled as he realized that Tom was telling him in her own way exactly what judgment she had passed on him. "I was named after my grandmother, and before she died I loved her more than anything. One day when I was snooping through some of the stuff in her basement, I found some letters that an old boyfriend had sent her from the old days in Barcelona. They were steamy, passionate letters...I still remember to this day how much I blushed reading them. Anyway, this Francisco guy, addressed all of his letters to 'Tamsin.' And since that day, I've always wished that someone would call me that."

There was a silence. "Well, I guess that settles it." Adam leaned back into his chair. "Tamsin Logan—I like the sound of that."

Tamsin leaned back into her chair as well, her hand partially covering her face. "Oh, God, why did I just tell you that? That might have been one of the most personal things that I have ever told anyone."

Adam pulled Tamsin's hand away from her face. He held onto her hand for a moment longer than necessary, and Adam liked the feeling. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm glad that you told me that story."

Tamsin's eyes searched his face. "So, do you really like Pilar?"

Adam answered more flippantly than he probably should have. "Oh, yeah, definitely. Pilar is everything I look for in a girl—vibrant, easily to talk to, confident and very pretty. What more could I ask for, right?"

"Right." Tamsin's response was curt and sharp. "That's how things always turn out. Pilar and I, we've been best friends since the 3rd grade, but we're as different as two people can get."

Adam knew that she was implying something in her statement, but he couldn't quite grasp exactly what. Adam could be quite stupid about girls sometimes and that was something he knew for sure.

"I should head back to my dorm now." Tamsin suddenly stood up to leave, and Adam inexplicably put a hand on her arm, impeding her progress.

"I don't know what I did, but I get the feeling that I offended you. And I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Tamsin gave him a wry smile. "It's not your fault. When you have a best friend like Pilar, you get used to things happening a certain way. Talking to you, I thought that maybe things could be different. But no...they always stay the same."

Her words stunned Adam for how closely they seemed to echo the predicament he found himself with concerning the Varsity hockey team. Adam still didn't know exactly what Tamsin was talking about, but he could understand the hopelessness and helplessness that went with that feeling. "I should walk you, then."

"No, no, its perfectly alright. I'll be fine. I just want to leave."

Adam was feeling somewhat desperate. "How about a dance?"

Tamsin was surprised at his request and Adam didn't blame her—he was surprised, too. "I have a confession to make—I'm a terrible dancer."

Adam laughed at how serious she made her confession. "Well, that makes the two of us. We might as well look stupid together."

Tamsin couldn't help but laugh with him. "When you put it that way, I don't see how I can resist."

And so Adam and Tamsin walked out onto the dance floor together, under the questioning glance of Scooter, who tried to meet Adam's eye. It was a slow song, so Tamsin awkwardly placed her arms around Adam's neck and he tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist. They paced back and forth, their bodies several inches apart. Adam wasn't exactly Don Juan Demarco, but even he had to laugh at this shuffling, barely-touching dance.

To change things up, Adam suddenly twirled Tamsin, a movement she wasn't expecting. In a moment that seemed to go by so slowly, Adam watched in horror as Tamsin stumbled onto another dancer's foot and cry out in pain as she crumpled to the floor.

"Oh, crap—Tamsin, are you okay?"

For some unfathomable reason, Tamsin started laughing. Hard. She laughed and laughed until she was hardly breathing. Adam just stood there with a confused look on his face. When Tamsin finally caught her breath she said to Adam, "You weren't joking when you said that you would call me that. I don't know, but I really like the sound of it—maybe it's just the way you say it."

Adam crouched down and sat cross-legged on the dance floor, ignoring all the questioning stares of the other students. "What's hurting you right now?"

Tamsin looked him directly in the eye. "A lot of things. But right now my ankle is killing me. I think that I sprained it."

Adam scrunched up his face in dismay. "Ouch, I'm sorry."

Tamsin held up a hand. "No, don't apologize. It's kind of funny when I think about it. But I guess I should get campus security to drive me back to my dorm."

Adam smiled at her. "Don't be ridiculous. It was my fault that you sprained your ankle, so I'm the one who is going to make amends." Tamsin gave out a yelp as Adam collected her up in his arms and carried her light body in a way that reminded him of bridegrooms who were carrying their new brides up to honeymoon suites.

People clapped as Adam collected Tamsin's purse and carried her out of the dance floor. It was truly a surreal and hilarious moment. When they were outside of the gymnasium, Tamsin finally spoke. "You're crazy, you know that?"

Adam laughed. "I didn't until now." 'Crazy' was never a term anyone ever used to describe Adam. He was never one to do things impulsively—until now.

"I kind of like it." Tamsin seemed to be surprised at her own admission.

Adam himself was surprised as he responded. "Me, too. Now, where is your dorm?"

When they finally reached the doorstep of Tamsin and Pilar's dorm, Adam placed Tamsin down and she leaned against the wall, shifting all of her weight on one foot. She dug into her purse to find the key, and as Tamsin unlocked the door she told Adam, "Okay, well, thanks for the erm...lift. I'm okay now."

Adam watched wordlessly as Tamsin tried to walk into her dorm by placing the slightest bit of weight on her sprained ankle. After about three steps of the most ginger walking Adam had ever seen, Tamsin crumpled onto the floor. Adam rushed over there and picked her up again. He had to admire the girl. Adam could see that she was in a lot of pain, but she never cried like he might have expected.

Adam placed Tamsin onto her bed, and she quickly sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Thanks again."

"No problem. I'll call the school doctor and send him up tomorrow morning. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, I'll be okay." Tamsin held her hand out to Adam to shake. "You're a good guy, Adam."

"Well, thanks."

Tamsin continued. "You're going to be good to Pilar, I know it. You have a date with my best friend on Thursday, remember?"

"Oh, right." Her statement made Adam feel surprisingly empty. "I guess I'll see you around then."