Twilight 03

"I swear to fucking god, if you snap your head to the side one more time I am calling Kayden and having her drag you home."

I glared at Tammi, my lips thinned into a near non-existent line. "My last experience with school was decidedly not good. I'm jumpy. Sue me."

"Nobody is forcing you to come. You can stay home. Go. Home."

"Hi, Taylor, Taylor's friend." I twisted so fast that I could hear my neck creak. I was halfway through the movement as Carlos' voice registered, though I wasn't able to consciously stop myself until I was already looking at him as he dropped his tray down onto the table across from us. "Wow. You really are on a hair trigger," he said, chuckling. "I thought you were homeschooled now?"

"It's Tammi's first day at Arcadia so I'm here for moral support," I replied. Letting out a slow breath I forced my heartbeat to calm down. Breaking out my pita bread I tried to fake a nonchalant shrug. "Also, apparently with one parent out of town on business and the other working full time, the district has 'concerns' about my studies. Funny, they never cared when I was actually completely unable to study. But noooo, now they care."

"So you're making an effort," he said.

"So I'm making an effort."

"How's that going for you?"

Someone laughed behind me, high pitched and trilling, and far too much like Sophia. I clenched my fist, shut my eyes, and very deliberately took a bite of my sandwich.

"Absolutely stellar," Tammi spat. "If I can't call Kayden then will you at least let me record you? Don't you have a lawyer now? They can use this as evidence of PTSD or some such bullshit."

"I'm. Fine." She didn't have to know about the small puppy that was curled up in the pocket of my hoody. It was well concealed and I could pop it in a moment if anyone looked like they could see it.

"Yeah, I'm calling in support for this," Carlos said, shaking his head. He raised his hand and waved to a nearby table. "Yo, Chris! Get your but over here bro!"

I glanced up and saw a mass of brown hair amble towards us with a tray balanced in one hand and a notebook covered in scribbles in the other. "Why am I switching tables to…oh. Hi, Taylor."

"Hey, Chris." I sighed. "You really don't have to move. I'm probably not going to be here tomorrow."

"Don't scare away new friends. You can't survive with just me and beefcake here. Even if said new friend is a nerd."

"I'm a nerd!" I exclaimed, throwing up my hand and glaring at Tammi again.

Chris set his things down and snorted. "I would fight that remark, but I totally am one too. Hi, I'm Chris."

"Tammi. Taylor apparently has no manners."

"You are infuriating!"

"And you are distracted finally," she smirked at me. I grumbled in reply and dug back into my pita. Tammi just smiled wider and turned to Carlos raising a hand in greeting. "Hey. So you're definitely not my competition then, right? Taylor said so, but well you're here now, and I might as well be direct. Most guys wouldn't invite another guy over if they were interested in throwing their hand into the ring anyway."

Carlos blinked as he stared between me and Tammi. I had to fight the urge to bury my head in my hands. This was almost worse than Winslow. How was this worse than Winslow? How could one person be so embarrassed and survive? Did I have enough blood to keep conscious? It had to be all in my face now with how hot the room had gotten all of a sudden.

"Your competition…? What do you…Oh. Oh you mean. Ooooh."

I couldn't actually see his eyes since I was focused solely on my lunch, but I imagined they were wide as saucers.

"Saw you two together in the ice cream shop on the Boardwalk before the city decided to go insane."

Carlos burst out laughing and my blush must have gone to dangerous levels. "Oh girl, you have no idea. Don't worry about me trying to steal your girlfriend. We were actually talking about our mutual issues with dating in this city considering our own preferences."

"Carlos!" I squeaked. The puppy licked my hand and I scratched its ears. When had I given the little guys tongues? I didn't remember doing that…

Chris glanced up from his notebook, looking at his friend. "Since when are you open about that sort of thing?"

"Since the Empire Eighty Eight has basically disbanded and I don't have to worry about my family being targeted anymore. So it's Tammi right?" he held a hand out and she leaned over to shake it.

"Yup. You sound familiar…Have we met?"

Chris' eyes narrowed as he looked between the two of them, then he centered his eyes on me. Then he groaned and closed the notebook. "Oh jeez, you've been here three hours. That didn't last long."

"What didn't last long?" Tammi asked, frowning. "Wait…I know that hair. Oh. Fucking hell." She groaned and wiped a hand through her hair. Turning to me, she hissed, "You're friends with Wards?"

"I almost was a Ward," I hissed back. "Be nice! Carlos and Chris are cool."

Tammi sighed, nodded. "Fine, fine, sorry."

Carlos waved it off. "There's nothing to apologize for. Honestly whoever thought that we should all go to the same school was kind of an idiot. Anyone with more than two brain cells at this school has a pretty good idea of who we are. The covers are paper thin and mostly for the veneer of keeping secrets. Other cities have it easier from what I hear, but this is Brockton Bay."

"Here's to the shithole capital of America," Tammi said, chuckling and raising her drink. The rest of us raised our cups as well in solidarity.

"You know you guys are lucky. Vicky is out today, when she gets back the hurricane will land and you will be swept into her circle or you'll drown. It happens to us all. Good luck my friend. May god have mercy on your soul."

I glared at Carlos and defiantly took a large, obnoxious slurp from my cup. "I don't socialize. I'll be fine. I'm still technically homeschooled so I can always run if I have to."

Chris tapped the table, shook his head and grunted. "Alright fuck it, I can't stay quiet, I have to ask. Tammi, how in the frozen fires of hell did a Nazi go lesbian for a vigilante hero in Brockton Bay of all places?!"

Carlos slapped a hand over his face and groaned. I felt like I should probably be taking some sort of offense to that - somehow. Yet, the shear incredulity in his voice and wonder leaking into his tone pushed it right back over the line into hilarity instead.

Apparently Tammi felt the same way. She was laughing so hard that she was actually holding a hand around her side, a wide grin across her face as she tried to wipe away tears with her other hand. As she finally got some breath back, she managed to wheeze out, "Well, when a girl gives you a puppy, there's only so many appropriate responses, Chris."

The blush that I had finally gotten back under control, roared back with a vengeance. "It was one time!" I hissed. "And you were hurt!"

"You just keep telling yourself that was the reason, Tay."

She was entirely too smug. Entirely too smug. And Carlos and Chris were zero help. They were just laughing along with her. Traitors.

"If you started dating her because she got you a dog, what'll happen if she gives you a unicorn?" Carlos asked, smirking.

Tammi just waggled her eyebrows.

Traitors. Every. Last. One.

Class was finally done. I had even managed to make it through the last two classes without my hidden puppy.

Hmm, maybe I should make a name for that particular little guy. Cuddle Bud? Hidden Adorable? Hoodie Secret?

Oh god, I shouldn't be allowed to name things.

"Annnd you're not listening to me at all are you?"

"Hmm? Oh! Sorry, Chris," I said. Shaking my head, I smiled and waved for him to go on. "I was distracted. What were you saying?"

He snorted. "Yeah, I saw. I was just mentioning that if you decide to stick around, there's a book club that meets every Thursday. I know you said your mom was a Lit. professor so I figured it might be interesting if you're into that sort of thing."

"They have clubs at Arcadia?" I asked. I turned back to the school and frowned. "That's…new."

"No, Taylor, that's normal," Tammi said, laughing. "Just because Winslow is a shithole and can't afford the regular stuff that most schools do doesn't mean they aren't normal for most schools."

"You guys didn't have clubs? Jeez, I thought the stories about that place were exaggerated, but I'm starting to think they were undersold."

I shrugged. "Winslow had a lot of gangs. I don't think they wanted to give more outlets for the members to recruit from."

"Backwards logic," Chris sighed. "Tammi how did you even get the transfer here? Isn't the waiting list like super long?"

"Conditions of my newly changed 'extracurricular' activities," she replied.

He grimaced and nodded. Muttering, Chris said, "Wow. So much for the rules."

Tammi just shrugged. "I'm not surprised. The Big Man basically said I was going to be screwed as soon as I left with Taylor so…Yeah, if I get a nice school out of it, I figure things could be worse. You nerds got any music clubs here? I used to play the violin ages ago."

He nodded. "Yeah, though I'd recommend the Garage Band rather than the Concert. The GB are pretty informal; they don't care if you have to run off in the middle of something. The Concerts are a bit snobby."

"How are the Literature people?" I asked.

Chris laughed. "Oh they are very used to folk running off. Vicky's one of their primary contributors and the way that she tells it, you could almost set your watch on local emergencies by when she's giving an impassioned rendition of one soliloquy or another."

Tammi gaped and the three of us came to a halt just before the main gates. "Wait, wait, wait! Are you saying that Glory Girl is in the Literature Club? Collateral Damage Barbie? She's a nerd?"

Chris' smirk stretched the bounds of what I considered polite as he nodded. "Oh, indeed. She may seem like a bit of bimbo, but she's really smart and she gets people. She just doesn't know how to hold back. In anything. You should hear her Hamlet impression. I don't even like Hamlet and I loved how she talked to Yorick. Dennis described it as her making verbal love to the apple she was using as a stand-in."

I nodded. "Yeah, alas poor Yorik is always a good one when people get into it. Especially if they play it up. You can basically make out with whatever you're holding and it'll be totally within character. I was always more partial to the Seventh Soliloquy though."

"Which one?"

"How all occasions do inform against me and spur my dull revenge!" I shrugged, a small smile tugging at my lips. "I liked some others more when I was younger, but that one has resonated with me for a while now. It's basically Hamlet cursing himself for not being able to take his revenge against his murderous uncle."

Tammi looped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to the side. "And on that cheery note, I'm taking her home. Talk to you tomorrow, nerd."

"Bye, Taylor, nice to meet you, Tammi. Taylor, watch out for her!"

"I will!" I yelled back, waving.

As Tammi tugged me down the street, her arm slipped from my shoulder and ghosted down to grip my hand. I dropped my head to try and hide my blush.

"So, um, how come you basically had us running away, Tammi?"

She squeezed my hand and sighed. "You really don't see the parallels, Taylor? I'm not a fancy English person like you, and I saw them."

"What do you mean?"

"Not being able to take revenge? Cursing himself? Angry at the world? Powerless? Ring any bells?" The more Tammi talked the deeper I grimaced.

"I…hadn't thought of it like that. I just…maybe I did see a bit of myself in him."

"You need a new favorite soliloquy. How about the Yorick one? Kissing is good, right?"

I glanced to the side through the curtain of my hair and smiled again as I saw Tammi blushing and looked determinedly forward. Her hand in mine was sweaty. "Kissing is indeed good. Just one problem with that in context with Hamlet and Yorick."

"Yeah? What's that? Cause it only seems like upsides to me."

I leaned over and pecked her on the cheek causing her blush to nearly explode across the rest of her face. "Yorick is just a skull. Hamlet is talking to a skull."

"Oh," Tammi murmured. "You don't say."

"You've never read Hamlet have you, Tammi?"

"…Shut up."

I grinned and leaned into her side as we walked to the bus stop. Maybe this day hadn't been so bad after all.