Terry, Tommy & Co. Sunday Afternoon

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Terry confronts Tommy at a local coffeeshop where he was hanging out with Josh and Duncan. Things don't go well for either teen and Duncan gets confused.


Terry strolled into the coffee shop with deliberate casualness. It was nearly empty this time of day, just a single barista, one old man reading the paper and three teen boys laughing together over blended drinks. She paused inside the door, waiting until at least one of them had noticed her, then went to the counter to order a drink. Let him wonder. She had every right to be here and if he wanted to dispute that…well, she was just dying for him to give her a reason, any reason, to release some of this anger. "A mocha, please. Medium."

Duncan was the one to see her first and he reached over to hit Tommy's knee. He was sitting on a single couch with his back facing the door, next to where Josh and Duncan sat on a regular couch. Tommy raised an eyebrow at his friend until Duncan pointed over his shoulder to the ordering counter. Turning to look over his shoulder, Tommy just rolled his eyes in response. "Just ignore her. She'll go away. So guys, we still on to see The Amityville Horror tonight?"

Terry collected her coffee with a smile and a thank you for the cashier and wandered over to take a seat at a table. She'd never met his friends and finding him with them meant that she couldn't just tear into him the way she wanted to. Uncle Tom had told her to always have a back-up plan though. She watched Tommy steadily over the top of her cup, listening to the boys' conversation and biding her time.

Josh nodded his assent to Tommy's question. "Definitely man. Chris saw it last night and said it was creepy as anything."

Duncan, on the other hand, hadn't stopped watching Terry over Tommy's head. When he saw her sit at a table, he hit Tommy's knee again. "Um, Tommy...she's still here."

Tommy just hit him back. "She'll leave. If she was going to come over here and say something, she would have by now..." Frankly, he hoped she would just go away. He really wasn't in the mood, plus he didn't want Josh or Duncan to get any ideas and hurt her. Turning back to Josh and their conversation, "But the original is so boring...how can the remake be better?"

Terry just continued to drink her coffee. She didn't want to succumb to the temptation to dump it over his head. It was far too well made for that even if she wasn't quite one of the caffeine addicts in the mansion, she could appreciate a well made mocha. Besides, it was fun to watch the boys get twitchy. Alison had showed her long ago that psychological warfare was nearly as good as actual warfare. Not that Terry didn't intend to engage in the latter.

Twitchy was an understatement. Duncan couldn't sit still and wasn't listening at all to Josh and Tommy's conversation about what made a good horror movie. About ten minutes later, Duncan couldn't take it anymore. "Tommy, she's still here! She's just sitting there!"

With a frustrated sigh, Tommy glared at Duncan. "For Christ's sake just leave it alone. She will leave eventually. Get a grip." Then he looked back to Josh, who was trying to suppress a laugh. "OH shut up."

Terry finished up her coffee and got up to throw it away. The trash happened to be right next to the boys' table. She dropped it in then turned to look at Tommy, her blue eyes challenging. "No, I won't leave," she said quietly. "You can't wish us out of existence. We won't go away if you ignore us. Or if you beat us or burn us. We won't go away no matter how much you hate us." Her voice trembled with rage and power but she kept her control.

She had the attention of all three boys. Josh had a wicked grin on his face and was cracking his knuckles. Duncan had a look of relief that she had come over and they could deal with it. Tommy was just amused. "We? My dear...are you telling me you are freak as well as your little faggot friend?"

"How does it feel to know you dated a mutant? Are you unclean now, Tommy? Did it help beating up one of my best friends? Do you need to beat me up too?" She smiled, still working on controlling her temper. "What do your friends think about your tendency to kiss mutants?"

Duncan and Josh both flinched but they were smart enough not to say anything as Tommy just continued to look smug up at her. "Yes actually, beating up your friend was quite relief and definitely allowed me to save face. Not to mention it felt good. You on the other hand, do you have any other dirty secrets you keep hidden? Do you always hide the fact you're a freak to get guys to date you? Or are you that much of a freak that even your own kind won't date you?" He paused a moment to let all that sink in. "And no, I got all the satisfaction I needed from your friend. Josh here on the other hand, I can only stop him for so long. I'd suggest you leave."

"Of course it felt good. I'm sure Jay is a very good kisser." Terry retorted. "I'm not ashamed of what I am. Why the hell should I be? There's nothing wrong with me. I'm not a closed-minded, arrogant bigot who can't even admit what turns him on." She stepped in closer to Tommy, ignoring the fact that it put one of the boys at her back. "You still wish you didn't know. Admit it, there isn't a damn thing about me that you didn't like."

"If you're trying to get a rise out of me by shoving in my face that I kissed a guy, you can try but it won't work. I already told the guys how your little friend came on to me and it was the perfect excuse to get his guard down. Nothing to be ashamed of." Uncurling himself from the chair, he stood up with the ease of a stretching cat. Josh moved to stand up also, since he was the one she had her back to, but with a glare from Tommy, he sat back down. "You're right. I'm man enough to admit it. I did like you. A lot. But you...you kept something major a secret from me...something disgusting and vile, so I wonder...what else are you hiding? That thought doesn't make you look very attractive anymore..."

"Disgusting and vile? The only vile and disgusting thing here, Tommy, is you and your friends." Terry shook her head, not intimidated by his height advantage, not with her temper up. "I don't want to get a rise out of you. I just wanted you to know that it's not going to work. You can hate us all you want." She gave all three boys an equal glare, "You think it's funny, that there is something wrong with me because I was born different. But it's not. There is nothing funny about having to be afraid to tell people the truth because it can get you beaten to death in an alley. There is nothing funny about knowing every person who is associated with you is a target for every low-life, scum of the earth, lack-witted idiot with an inferiority complex!" Her voice had raised precipitously. She wasn't shouting, yet, but it was plenty loud anyway, thanks to her voice training. "You want a really good laugh? Try this. You're all bloody terrified of me!"

Tommy blinked and pretended to cower. "Oh please, don't hurt me. I'm sorry, I'll kiss the ground you walk on." Duncan and Josh both burst out laughing and Tommy joined them once he was standing up straight again. "Why don't you go back to your mansion and cower from the big scary bigots?" He emphasized his words with hand gestures, then slowly and confidently sat back down. "Just go home, Terry."

"Why should I? I like this coffee house. They make a good mocha and I saw a scone over in the case that looked fantastic. Maybe I'll even bring my friends back. Or maybe I'll just drive you all out. Make you think that you're going mad." Terry faced Tommy directly. "What can you do to stop me?"

Tommy sighed and rubbed his temples. "I don't care what you and your friends do. Just go now."

Duncan and Josh stood up now, Josh moving forward to take Terry's elbow. "Let's go freak." Duncan flanked him both looking determined. "Or we'll show you how we can stop you." Duncan took the other arm and they began to lead her out, ignoring any protest from Tommy.

Terry could have shattered their eardrums. Her control was better than it had ever been and precise enough that she could have applied just enough force that neither would have ever heard again. But why should she waste the effort when the mansion paid instructors good money to put the students through self-defence? "Get your filthy hands off me!" She broke their holds on her arms and tripped them neatly. She backed off and whirled back to Tommy, "These people, right there, are the people you should hate. Jay has never done anything to hurt someone like that. You're a vile, wretched excuse for a sentient creature and you will rot in hell for it."

Tommy couldn't help his flinch, as he remembered saying the same thing to a broken and bloody Jay, the same Jay that haunted both his dreams and his nightmares. Josh and Duncan both looked to him for a sign for what they should do. Sighing, he motioned for them to back off. "Terry, please just go." He moved to sit back down, his back to her.

She grabbed his shoulder and made him face her. "Are you even a little sorry?" The anger bled out of her voice though she struggled to make it stay, preferable as it was to the pleading that was underneath. "Are you at all the boy I thought I was falling in love with?"

This time he was able to school his face to not show the flinch when she mentioned that she had been falling in love with him. He would have been blind to admit he hadn't been falling for her as well...not to mention that fucking Jay... Tommy knew that he had to get her out of his face before he did something he regretted. "No...And I would do it again in a heartbeat." He forced the words out in a snarl as he shrugged her off and sat down to return to his now cold coffee.

"Then I'm going to make very sure you never have the chance." Terry swallowed hard and told herself not to cry. "Everyone is going to know who are you and what you did. You might think you're a hero now but people will see you for what you are and you'll get what you deserve." It was an idle threat. Terry knew she wouldn't be able to bring herself to expose him. But let him think about it. Let him worry.

Tommy knew it too, but he didn't say so in front of the boys. He wouldn't have them putting her down if he called her on it. He'd rather lose face and give her that. So he ignored her.

Josh glared at her as he moved to sit back down and Duncan looked around, almost as if he wasn't sure what had just happened. Finally, he ran a hand through his dreadlocks and moved to sit down with the other boys. Duncan also knew her threat was empty, as all evidence of Tommy being at the club and involvement in the beating had been erased from police record by his father, so why didn't Tommy call her on it? Rub it in her face. Instead, he decided to keep quiet, watching Tommy out of the corner of his eye. Something was going on...and Duncan was going to find out what.

Terry gave Tommy one last glare, hating herself for wishing things were different. "Too bad. If you weren't such a freak, you might have been cool." She tossed her hair, "God, I hate normals." Turning on her heel, she stalked out before any of them could say a word.