Terry, Tommy- Wednesday Afternoon

[x-traitor.livejournal.com]

Whilst regaining her high Ms. Pacman score at a local arcade, Terry meets the young man who dethroned her. They talk and flirt, which leads to a follow up date.


Terry didn’t really like video games. She played them occasionally when she was bored but generally found most games to be simultaneously repetitive and too mentally taxing. However there was nothing to beat a classic game of Ms. Pacman in an actual arcade. Terry’s initials had been knocked off the top spot on the high score list she’d last been in and she considered it a matter of honor to get her place back. She was smirking, muttering to herself in Irish. Her throat was dry but she didn’t look away from her game for even a moment to locate her water bottle

When the "End Game" sequence flashed, her fallen water bottle was held out at her elbow. Tommy had to admit, he'd hadn't expected anyone to playing this particular game, so it was older and non violent, but yet his particular favorite. But he was pleasantly surprised by the quite pleasant looking redhead playing the game, attempting to beat his newly won high score. "Nice playing. I didn't think anyone else would go near this ancient thing..."

Terry punched her initials in the top spot again, TRC, then took the bottle from him with a quick glance and a grin. “I think of it as a classic.” She took a long drink from the water bottle, giving him another once over and deciding she approved. “Most games try to be too fancy and they miss what makes it great.” She stuck out her hand, “Terry.”

A hand ran through his hair before he put it over his heart. "Still my beating heart, a girl with same taste in video games as I. I think it is love at first sight." Then he stuck out his other hand with a grin. "Tommy." Then he nodded toward the game. "Seems I've been dethroned...I bow to the new queen."

She laughed. Love at first sight--a cute joke. Terry was Irish enough to believe in it and realistic enough to be amused by it. “Ah, so you’re TMJ, I wondered who had taken me down. You’re pretty good. Do you play often?”

He bows at the mention his initials. "That would be me. And yes I play as often as I can. My friends prefer the more violent monstrosities that come on PlayStation and X-box." Tommy tired very hard not to roll his eyes that the other reason was to escape Duncan, Josh and the twins. So they were his closet friends, heck he was 'dating' Andrea... sometimes he just got sick of being the brains of the bunch.

“Ugh, X-boxes are good only if you’re so bored that you don’t care that it’s melting your brain. So many of those games are just button mashing and no strategy. Pacman on the other hand is the whole human struggle in 8 bit graphics.” He was really cute. Terry gave her shirt a quick tug to be sure it was presentable.

Tommy turned away in a kidding manner. "Oh please stop! Say anymore and I might propose! Beautiful, wonderful choice in game and...did I mention beautiful?" Then he turned and offered his hand. "May I offer the winner soda and pizza?"

Terry blushed and cursed her fair skin. “That’d be great. Then I want to see you play. I have to get a feel for the competition, you know.” She winked and took his hand easily, the other hand grabbing her jacket from where she’d draped it on the chair of Cruisin’ USA.

"Oh definitely. Maybe if I see you play I can figure out how to dethrone you again." Tommy led her over to the arcade food area and looked up at the menu. "So what can I treat you too?"

She barely glances at the menu, just smiles at him, leaning against the counter. “I’m game for anything. Just water to drink though. Soda is terrible on the throat.”

Tommy gives her a playful wink before ordering. "I whole plain cheese pizzas, a Dr. Pepper and a water please." He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and paid as the teenager behind the counter handed him his drink order and telling him the pizzas would be about five minutes. "So I take it your a singer then?" He asked as he led her to a nearby booth.

She nodded as she slid in opposite him. “Aye. And my music teacher is a demon when it comes to taking care of my voice. I also get in trouble for alcohol, being around smoke, shouting, breathing improperly and being impertinent.” She grinned because Alison was absolutely her favorite teacher.

He laughed. "Wow, she sounds rough, but I'm sure she means well. I have some...counselors who are like that." He almost groaned inwardly as he thought of the training he had had at the hands of older FOH members. "But I bet you’re awesome...I'm sure you get this a lot, but the accent...HOT!"

“I’m great and my teacher is even better.” She confirmed laughing. “The accent’s real. I was born in Ireland. Lived there until I was 12, actually. You sound like you were born around here. Were you?” She sipped at her water.

"Wow really? You actually lived there? That's so awesome!" Then he shrugged slightly. "Yes ma'am, New York born and bred. My parents came up here for the ah...jobs." To hide his slip up, Tommy went to retrieve their pizza and returned with a nice steaming cheese pizza. "Bottoms up!"

“Thanks.” Terry tugged a slice away and plopped it on her plate then blew on her fingers. “Hot. Very hot.” She waved her fingers in the air a bit more. “You know, you’ve bought me lunch and I still don’t know anything about you except that you’re from around here and you play a mean game of Pacman. Tell me about yourself, TMJ.”

Taking his own piece, Tommy began to chow right down, ignoring the hot as gathered his thoughts. "There's not much too me. I don't play organized sports but if there's a pick up game of football or soccer, I'm there. I got a group of friends that aren't the brightest of the bunch but they're fun occasionally. And I'm apart of a local human rights organization." Because the Friends of Humanity wasn't necessarily against mutants, but more for humans. "And what about the lovely TRC? What else is there to this lovely Irish red head...?"

“You just get better and better, don’t you?” Terry teased, sampling her own slice. “I do some work with a humanitarian organization too. And a civil rights group. I think we have an obligation to make the world better, don’t you? I mean, we live here and the adults aren’t going to do it. They’re the ones who made the mess.” Red X and HeliX qualified as far as Terry was concerned. “My friends are insane. Honestly, I know teenagers are supposed to be crazy but you’d be shocked by what they achieve anyway. One of my friend is obsessed with glitter. She made this banner for her boyfriend that basically attacked anyone who walked by with severe glittery doom.”

He ducked his head in thanks at her compliment, since his mouth was full of pizza. When he swallowed, Tommy whole heartedly agreed with her. "Oh, definitely! It's the youth of the nature that will inherit the future. If we're going to live here, we might as well clean it up. Selfish reasons of course." He kidded before laughing at the description of her friends. "Obsessed with glitter huh? If I were you, I'd invest in a better vacuum cleaner to fight it off!"

“Are you joking? Nothing fights off glitter. In fact…” she grabbed the napkin holder and examined her face in the shiny metal, “yup, see, glitter, right here.” She tapped just below her left eye. Several purple sparkles gathered there. “I’ve given up. I know I’ll just be glittered the rest of my life.” She heaved a melodramatic sigh.

In what would seem to be a daring move by others but for Tommy was just his confidence, he reached over and swiped the glitter away from her face, his fingers tracing lightly over her cheek. "Purple really isn't your color, clashes with the red. Does she have any gold or yellow glitter? That would just be enchanting on you..."

She chuckled and blushed again. “She likes purple. The Valentine’s Day card she made me was all green and gold though. She stuck it on my pillow and I had shiny hair for days.”

"Green and gold glitter in that red hair? And you have a boyfriend right?" Tommy just could not believe this wonderful, intelligent girl was single, not for a moment.

“Me?” Terry grinned and shook her head, “No, I’m single as they come. Which didn’t start to suck until my glittery friend got herself a boyfriend.” Her smile tipped toward flirtatious, “How about you, TMJ? Do you have a girlfriend?”

Tommy couldn't hide his excitement at the prospect before him. "Let's say, it's a manner of appearance. In the human rights group I'm in, appearance is everything when it comes to respecting authority. So one of my friend and I have an...understanding as it were." More that Andrea seemed to love the fact she was dating the head of their group and Tommy only dealt with her because none of their youth group leaders were single and the last time he had been, the homosexual rumors had spread. He couldn't suppress the shudder at the memory. Coming back to the present, he matched her flirtatious smile. "Does that bother you any, TRC?"

That was an odd answer. Terry thought without batting an eyelash. “Not a bit. Does your friend’s understanding stretch far enough to cover us doing this again? Like for a movie or something?”

"Can't imagine it would. I know for a fact she has a date next Wednesday." So it wasn't the truth but anything that got him a date with the lovely creature before him would do. "Say I meet you here about 6 o'clock?"

Wednesday at 6…usually she practiced with Faith then. But Alison would understand, right? “That sounds great.” She dropped her napkin on her plate. “Ready for that Pacman game? Winner buys on Wednesday.”

Tommy's eyes gleamed. "You’re on!"