No Way Out// Tommy, Terry

[x-traitor.livejournal.com]

After he gets settled into his new room, Tommy gets a visit from Terry. She comes bearing gifts and a hope for him to at least embrace the idea of change.


The room was still pretty empty, especially compared to the mildly decorated common room outside the door. But compared to the two other empty rooms off the common room, this one had one difference. There were a few books on the shelves, sheets on the bed, the beginnings of a wardrobe in the closet and a teenage boy sitting on the bed by the window, reading.

Terry took this all in before rapping on the open door, leaning against the jamb. There was a rolled up piece of glossy paper in her hand that she was tapping against her leg and her expression was carefully guarded, uncertain as to her welcome. The last time she'd seen him was when she'd fallen asleep on his hospital bed and then she'd slipped out without more than a murmured thank you. Not really the best parting but superior to their usual fights at least.

Tommy barely heard the knock as he was wrapped up in what he read, but when he did look up, he couldn't help but grin. "Hey Terry. Come on in." He set down his book and carefully moved off the bed. "Sorry it ain't much, but apparently, it's home."

The smile was reassuring and Terry pushed away from the door, crossing over to stand facing him, head tilted to the side so she could look up at him. "It's...minimalist." She held out the roll of paper. "I brought you something to brighten it up. Thought you'd probably not have much in the way of decorations."

Taking it, he leaned back against the bed and unrolled it. When he saw the recognizable yellow figure of Pac Man, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "You defiantly have taste TRC"

"Course I do, TMJ." The poster bore tiny pinpricks at the corners, having been hastily removed from her own wall when she'd decided that she needed a reason to come by to see him beyond just wanting to check up on him. "So how are you liking being out of the medlab?"

Tommy shrugged as he moved slowly over to place the poster on his desk. "It's different that's for sure. But not much, since they stuck me in this group of rooms by myself." He turned with a sarcastic smile on his face. "Not that I blame them really..."

Terry's eyebrows arched dubiously, "You'd be complaining if they had put you in with other students because they'd be mutants. Don t sulk just because they're trying to help you. It's rude and it's unattractive."

"Oh I'm not sulking. I'm glad to be in here by myself, because your right, I don't want to be near other students. Just because i have to live here, doesn't mean I want to be surrounded by mutants 24/7." A hand slipped into one of pockets, fingering the lead twig, reminded of why he had to stay here.

Terry's jaw tightened and she tossed her hair, her temper flaring, "Maybe I should just go then, if you want to be by yourself. You always seem to ignore the fact that I'm a mutant too." She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "No one here has tried to do other than help you and that when you do nothing but throw it back in their face. If I were them, I'd not have been as patient."

Tommy chose to ignore the first thing she said. "I wish I could say I am grateful, but I would lying if I did." It wasn't his fault that the choice to leave had been taken from him. "Would you rather I lie? I may be a mutant but I still believe what I do."

She closed her eyes, sighing. Her voice was soft when she spoke. "I'd rather I wasn't an exception for you. If you're going to hate mutants, I don't want to be special. It makes me feel sick." It had taken her a long time to understand that. That being the exception just made her feel like a prized dog, still not really good enough. And still not human.

Seeing Terry upset caused Tommy to sigh and close his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry. I can't help it that I knew you before I found out you were a mutant. You made me feel normal...and now I can't help but want to keep that feeling even in the different context. I can't help it."

"It's a lie though. I'm the same as I've always been. Just because you didn't know I was a mutant doesn't make me different." She opened her eyes. "You can be normal and a mutant at the same time."

He couldn't help that small bark of sarcastic laughter. Right, he was trapped in this mansion for the rest of his life, he wasn't even close to feeling anywhere near normal. "Right, sure..."

Her eyes narrowed, "You can. Your life is differently now, aye, but that happened to all of us when we came here. Our lives all changed but that isn't just something that happens to mutants. It's just part of life. You grow up and your life is different than what you expected. Do you think that I really ever thought that I'd be living in New York without seeing my home for years at a stretch?"

The hand not in his pocket went up to clutch at the bridge of his nose. "You have a future to look forward too..." He said softly, taking a deep breath before adding, "If I leave this place, I'm dead. The FOH know I'm alive and will waste no effort in killing me. They don't ask questions when it comes to traitors. So excuse me if facing a life stuck in this house doesn’t sound very appealing." His tone was soft and somewhat lost, but did clearly say one thing. This was between him and her, no one else.

"You're not stuck here." She stepped closer to him, lifting her chin, "You're only trapped here if you're alone. If you choose to push everyone away, then, aye, you've no choice but to hide here, afraid of what the rest of the world will do. But you aren't alone. You've the entire school if you'll just give us a chance."

"oh right, because I'm supposed to be all hunky dory so everyone one will like me." The sarcastic happy smile he'd adopted faded quickly. "No thanks." He moved past her back to the bed. "I'm not about to change over night so everyone will like me. For once, I actually like not being forced to be the center of the social circle."

"I'm not asking you to be fake!" She turned, following him with her gaze. "Unless you were being fake when I met you. You just have to be yourself. Stop hating us for something we can't control and give the school a chance."

Tommy spread his arms. "This is me. It's how I've been my entire life. Take it or leave it!"

"You can change a belief," Terry said stubbornly.

The moment he was sitting back on the bed, his hand went into his pocket again. "Maybe so. But I wouldn't count on it."

"You can change a belief," she repeated. "Or do you think that you're the only mutant to have hated what he was? To have believed so strongly that mutants were evil that you'd hate what you don't even know?"

"I belonged to the FOH, or were you paying attention? Of course I hated mutants and your right, I do hate what I am. And I have no doubt that I'm not the only one. In my opinion, all mutants should hate what they are." He shrugged. "I'm being real with you, what more do you want from me?"

"I know what you belonged to!" Terry exclaimed, exasperated, "And I know that you think I should hate myself for what I can do. But I don't. My point isn't that I don't know what you think. It's that you can change it. Because your genes aren't going to change, Tommy, so you'd best get used to it."

Tommy just gave an exasperated sigh. "You may think it's so easy to change your thinking, but I'm still coming to terms that I'm a mutant. I think I should get a grasp on that until I can rejudge the rest. So excuse me if I hold on to what I feel until then. Who knows, it might not change...Is that what you want to hear?"

She was quiet for a moment, actually thinking about it. "Aye," she said finally. "I just want to know that you're going to give us a chance. You nearly died, Tommy. This is your new life. Don't live the same one over again just because you know no other way."

Tommy picked up his book to avoid answering for a few extra minutes. "I will try. But when you know of only one way to live, it's hard to find another, especially over night like many of you expect of me. That I just can not do."

"I only want you to try." She looked away, staring at the floor, unsure why she felt so strongly about this. Swallowing hard, she took a step back. "Anyway, I need to go. I've got to meet Bobby soon as his training session is over or I'll make us late for the show."

That made him raise an eyebrow. "Bobby? But I thought you two were..."

She blushed. "We...mended things. He apologized for overreacting." She was a total moron. Of course, he wouldn't know. "We're all right now."

Tommy smiled slightly as he was happy for her...but couldn't help being jealous of this Bobby. "Told you he was overreacting. At least I was right about something..." He bit the inside of cheek, not really knowing what else to add.

"Yeah...you...that really helped, being down there that day. One of the reasons why I can't give up on you, I guess. You never do quite what I expect." She smiled somewhat apologetically. She hadn't forgotten how he'd flirted with her but wasn't sure if that had been sheer habit or not.

"Well, your welcome. Now, go run off and meet your boyfriend. I'm sure he wouldn't want to find you here..." His tone was dismissive, more so because he wanted to forget the image of Terry from that day, so close and yet so out of his grasp.

She flinched and she struggled to hide her hurt at the casual dismissal. "I...yeah. I should go. I'll see you later, Tommy."