ax_main | Warren and Tamara, backdate to Aug 8

The morning after the riot, Warren drops by to check on Tamara, only to find her waiting and already upset with him. Cue the TEEN DRAMA.

Warren hadn't wanted to intrude on Tamara's life last night, after she and the others had gotten back from that fucked up protest. But now it was morning, and he was showered, and he decided a text message might actually be kind of nice, from a friend. So he sent her:

Hey, you okay? Been thinking of you. Was gonna come knock, but I figured you'd be stressed and hopefully sleeping.

Tamara frowned down at her phone, not particularly thrilled to see that particular text message. What, like a text last night would've been some kind of burden? No, apparently Warren hadn't bothered to think of her until now... Nevermind that she'd been all over the news and her hometown was blowing up over it and she was now a poster child for the Mutant Menace or whatever, or that her wings friggin' killed this morning, or that her father had called in the middle of the night to yell that she was never welcome near his home or family ever again (she'd gotten that delightful drunken message first thing this morning...).

Flat-out scowling now, she typed a short message back:

Then come knock, I'm awake.

After a quick "omw", Warren threw on a super soft gray t-shirt, velcroed it, grabbed his phone, and was off to the girls' wing. He knocked and said. "Its Warren."

Despite her bad mood, Tamara really did want to see him. Just, y'know, twelve hours ago. She sulked in the direction of the door for a moment, then said, "Come in."

She sat on her bed, back toward the wall and legs crossed under her, wings tucked up against her back for now. It wouldn't last, they still hurt from yesterday, but for the moment at least she was in control of them. Her makeup was flawless, as usual, but she hadn't done anything more with her wet hair than brush it and tie it back in a ponytail, about the only sign that something wasn't right.

Warren poked his head in first. Girl rooms were a mystery to him, and he was curious, but more curious about Tamara for the moment. She looked good, pretty as ever... but also subdued somehow. He couldn't put his finger on it. "Hey. You look amazing, as always." He slipped all the way inside and closed the door behind him, ruffling then settling his wings.

Tamara's side of the room wasn't much to look at. A few shirts and such out of place, but no decorations. She didn't have anything yet, and had been using her school-issued spending money on rebuilding her wardrobe, first and foremost.

"Thanks," she said, though it was completely flat. Damn him, anyway, she thought idly, for always looking amazing too. Didn't change that she was mad at him. She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to say more.

Jesus, poor girl. She'd been through some shit this weekend; had he thought a compliment would make it all better? Warren came closer, frowning seriously. "You okay? I mean, seriously. Facing down that kind of hate..."

Well, Warren had never done it before. But he had a decent imagination, and had a feeling he better start using it to prepare.

"It sucked," she replied shortly. "Those assholes are lucky I didn't light up more than their signs..." Well, sort of, she'd only done that to keep them off the group... but still. Would've served them right.

Speaking of... she didn't move to make room for him on the bed, not yet. Let him stand there awkwardly. "Wasn't sure you'd heard." That was a lie, of course, the whole school was on alert; she was just being petulant.

Utterly clueless, Warren came to her bed and crouched at the side of it, tucking up his wings and leaning his forearms on the mattress. "Of course I did. I saw. It looked scary as hell, but you... didn't look scared." He smiled a little, though, knowing she must've been.

She looked away, sulking... and trying not to be too flattered. "I'm not stupid," she replied, trying to be insulted. "They could've really hurt us."

He nodded. "Yeah. True. Which is why I wanted to check on you. I mean, even if they didn't get violent, it had to suck hard." He rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand, displacing his t-shirt collar.

"Yeah?" Tamara kept looking away, still frowning as she stared down at her bed. "So... why not check on me sooner, if you were so worried?"

Warren's brow furrowed and he frowned, trying to understand. "Like... sooner like last night? I didn't... I thought you'd be... tired or..." For once, he was truly at a loss.

For a moment, Tamara let herself really feel small, feel all those things she'd been crushing down for the last day. She wiped at a tear before it could fall, already pushing it all away again. "...or maybe it would've been nice to see someone who didn't hate me?"

"Oh..." Warren blinked, sort of surprised to see her so close to tears... but also not. "I... should've come last night?" If he sounded uncertain, he was.

"Wouldn't've killed you text or something," she mumbled back, rolling her eyes but feeling like an idiot. She hadn’t meant to nearly cry, Jesus… “God, sorry, I just..."

Warren shook his head, brow still furrowed. "I'm... sorry. I thought you'd..." have someone more important than me to be with. But even he wasn't dumb enough to say that. He scratched at the back of his neck again.

Tamara looked back over at him, all big brown eyes and pouted lips, ready to make up and maybe get a little comfort after all.

What she said, though, was, "Ohmygod, is that a hickey?!"

Warren was momentarily dumbfounded by the sudden change of topic. Then he realized where she was looking, and his cheeks heated up. "Oh, uh--probably?" He really should not be thinking of Jean-Paul's lips right now, though, not when he was trying to figure out what he should've done for Tamara here--

Her wings flared indignantly, or tried, but the bed was in way, so it was more of a flopping wiggle. Tamara was too distracted to even wince, because she'd just spotted a second mark on Warren's neck. Her eyebrows were sky-high, and surprise was quickly turning to something hotter, electricity stirring inside her. Well no wonder he hadn't thought about her until now.

"What the hell, who gave you those?" she demanded. Hadn't they been flirting all summer? What bitch had snuck in and marked him up like that -- who did Warrren like more than her? Dammit, he could've been flirting with anyone when he wasn't with her, could have a girlfriend he wasn’t telling her about, she'd been stuck on her belly, she'd never know--

Warren blinked, at first confused and surprised. And then he got a sinking feeling as he realized. "Tamara. You're upset, I get it, but--"

"So glad you could pry her off you long enough to drop by," Tamara spat back at him, scooting herself toward the edge of the bed, putting some distance between them as she moved to stand. "Some goddamn hero."

Warren stood too and took a few steps back, holding out his hands in surrender and ruffling his feathers with repressed indignation. He should be calm, cool--she'd been through a lot--but this... nope. So much nope. Even if it was pretty much his own damn fault. Okay, entirely his own damn fault. "Okay, first of all, him, and second, I wasn't with him last night. But even if I was--Tamara, we're not--I mean, I know you've just had a really shitty time, but we never..." He trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence. He had no idea she thought they were... whatever. A thing. Let alone an exclusive thing.

Tamara's wings actually drooped as realization set in, and she rolled her eyes at herself. "Oh man, that figures. No wonder you never made a move! I mean, I thought it was just, y'know, I was stuck on my stomach and it was weird and the time wasn't right or whatever-- you could've told me, you know. God, I thought you liked me. I mean, you took me flying, and I would've sworn-- I mean, if I hadn't dumped us in the lake, I know I wanted to..." Kiss his stupid face off? Yeah, probably not the thing to say right now. "What, in all that flirting, you never thought to mention that you're into dudes? ...wait, did I imagine all those times you checked me out?"

"I--what?" Warren felt like his head was spinning. He kept his hands out, as if that'd somehow help. His feathers had ruffled indignantly when she said 'he never thought to mention' he was into guys, but otherwise he just stood there, looking amazed. "No, of course I checked you out. And flirted. I did--I do like you! I didn't realize that meant you thought--" More wing ruffling. "Plus, why would I tell you I like guys? That's, like--I mean, you never asked about my sexuality. That'd be weird."

Hang on — Tamara checked herself. “Wait, you mean you're not gay?" she asked bluntly, blinking up at him.

Warren winced. Like, not because he minded someone thinking he was gay, but just because... he wasn't, and why was that a conclusion a girl he'd been flirting with would jump to? "I am obviously not gay, Tamara."

Huh. Angel-boy was more complex than she'd given him credit for. ...she liked that. And honestly, she was a lot less put-out knowing that it wasn't another girl who'd marked him up (a thought she quickly gut-checked for biphobia, but no, she'd been keeping a quiet eye out to make sure he wasn't flirting with every girl, but she hadn't been watching for boys at all, so...).

After a thoughtful pause while Tamara looked up at him, trying to figure out what exactly she should be understanding from all of this, she ventured, "So... you do like me?" There was a smile ghosting around the edge of her mouth - but if he gave her some line about liking her as a friend, she might actually shock him... "And this guy... is he your boyfriend?"

Warren had no idea what was going on, now. "I... like you, yeah. And he's not my boyfriend. But if you feel this strongly about me making out with Jean-Paul--I mean, I like him. A lot. It was just a first date, but I'm pretty sure there will be more." Unless Warren royally fucked this up, but he planned not to. And now he was a little concerned about this Tamara situation. Yes, she was under a lot of stress but... so much nope, out of left field...

Tamara sighed, leaning one hip against the end of her bed and crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's not like that," she said, sincere enough. "I just... I thought you liked me, and I definitely like you." A little fidget of her wings at the bluntness of saying so. "I mean, you think I call just any guy 'hero'?" Seriously, that kind of ego-stroking was saved for someone special. "And then you show up here with hickeys. Like, I know we're not dating or anything, and I swear I'm not going Swimfan on you here - but I don't want to be just some hopeless fan girl you collect and string along, y'know? I am not about that life."

"That's not--" Warren took a deep breath and tucked his wings up tightly, almost protectively against his back. They probably shouldn't talk about this right now.. but he knew Tamara, and he knew damn well if he told her they should wait until she was less tired and stressed, he'd only make things worse. Like, so much worse. As if he was implying she couldn't be rational. (Which he was now wondering, but she seemed to be coming around... sort of?) "I don't know how you are with other guys--or whoever. I... admit that I flirt a little harder with you, but I do like you, and you seemed to get it, or be like me, or whatever, so I didn't think... I didn't know we were at the stage where jealousy was a... thing." And he didn't want to be, but again, he knew better than to say that. "I'm sorry for--for hurting you, though. Really."

Tamara couldn't help it, she smiled, a little laugh bubbling over before she could stop it. "Wow, how can you be so dramatic and so polite at the same time?" she teased him, trying to school her face. "There's a difference between jealousy and this." She hadn't really figured out what the word for 'this' was yet, but she was working on it. "I like you, and I've been dying to kiss you, like, all summer." Damn their height difference anyway. "Thought you felt the same thing. So yeah, when it turns out you've been getting it on with someone else the whole time and I had no idea... kind of a slap in the face."

Warren could understand that, right? And yeah, apparently it had only been once, not all summer, but how was she supposed to glean that kind of detail off some hickeys?

Warren was pretty sure that when you wanted something and were mad because someone else had it (or had it first), the word for that was 'jealousy'... but he wasn't about to argue right then. He just nodded, because that seemed the best path to calm again. And regardless of how confused he still was, the point of this visit had been to check in on Tamara and make sure she was okay. The more okay the better. "I just didn't know I mattered. In as non-dramatic a way as possible. That's all I'm saying."

Tamara raised an eyebrow at him, completely unimpressed. "You're too smart to be that dumb." Then she frowned. "Does that mean I don't matter?"

"I... apparently am not all that smart." Also, he was apparently an even bigger asshole than he'd previously realized. "You totally matter." ... just not as much as she wanted, which was extremely shitty. Fuck. Warren didn't know what else to say without making it worse, in either direction.

Right, like that made sense. She mattered, but he had no idea he mattered... God, this was some BS she didn't need.

"Warren, literally everyone I ever knew has abandoned me, one way or another, since my wings came in. I mean shit, my stepdad got his drunk ass on the phone last night to be sure I knew he never wanted me to come near his precious boys again." Her throat tried to close as she said it, but like hell he'd get the better of her, even if he wasn't here to see it. She pushed through it. "So yeah, you're important to me. And I thought I was important to you too - and I don't even mean romantically or whatever, just... as a person."

She huffed a breath, looking away with a frown. "But apparently I'm just some girl you flirt with and not a lot else. Message received." She tossed one hand (and a wing, unconsciously mimicking) toward the door. "Fine, you can go. You're off the hook."

He shook his head. "I don't want off any hook. We are friends--even though I didn't know ALL of that. I texted you first thing when I woke up, but you wanted me to do it last night. I'm interested in dating you, but I dated someone else first and you got annoyed. I don't...." He sighed, wings drooping with his head. "You are important, but I can't work with stuff I don't know. I just feel like we should've... talked sooner."

The problem was, now Warren was thinking he shouldn't have flirted with her at all. Tamara sounded like she needed a friend, a real one, not some guy who was playing the field. She could say she wasn't jealous, but she was, and she could say she didn't need all his attention, but... he was unconvinced. And she shouldn't settle. And he shouldn't... what the fuck should he do? "What can I do to make it better?"

Tamara was staring at him, finally feeling completely confused. After everything else he'd been saying, now, all at once, he decided to say everything she'd been hoping to hear? Was he just covering because she'd called him out, trying to say all the right things? He didn't seem like that kind of guy...

She didn't respond right away, letting him squirm just bit while she thought. "Maybe... cut me some slack?" She knew it was an ask, because yeah, he was kinda right about knowing things. She fidgeted, one hand finding the the clawed tip of a wing and rubbing at it distractedly. "It's been a rough 24 hours, my head's all turned around and it feels like everyone hates me." Maybe, just maybe, she'd overreacted some. Looking just a little guilty, she peered up at him through dark lashes, trying not to let her playful smirk break through. "And in my defense, those don't look like first date bites."

"That... was me cutting you slack," he admitted. If he'd said what he'd wanted to say, he would've fucked up their friendship completely. He was glad he'd been trained to keep his mouth shut, anyhow--because he really, really didn't want that. "But I can do better. I will do better. And I'm super far from hating you. I actually do give a shit, I swear."

He rubbed at his neck, though, right over one of Jean-Paul's marks. And tried not to smile. "And--I feel like at this point I should... not explain the hickeys but. Yeah. First date." Great date.

Which didn't mean they were going to be anything huge, and Warren was so not ready for that anyhow, not with anyone... but he was open to it in the distant and unknowable future maybe? Did it mean he should stop flirting with other people? That made it seem like he was angling for a boyfriend. He could... maybe see that in the future, but at the moment he mostly just wanted to eat Jean-Paul's face off. A lot. And feel those nails again. And the teeth--

Okay, not helping. Warren refocused on Tamara and the issue at hand. Issues.

So many issues.

Tamara's little smirk hadn't moved, because he was super cute just then. And what he'd said was fair. "Also in my defense, if you'd had a girlfriend, or boyfriend, this whole time when you were flirting with me, you really would be a jerk. And if I was actually mad at you for going on a date with someone, I'd be a jerk too. So good news, we aren't jerks."

"Cool, then." Warren still felt like a jerk. And he still wasn't totally sure the whole 'dating Tamara' concept was a good one.

But today, he just wanted her to know he gave a shit. So he said, "We could always hash this out more later. As part of the slack-cutting thing. And we could... watch a movie? For distraction purposes?"

Well, he was trying. Tamara didn't really like where that meant leaving things - he thought she was jealous, which she wasn't, but arguing it only made her sound worse - but maybe he was right. Maybe they needed a distraction.

God, she'd love to go flying right now, but that was way too big an ask.

She managed half a smile. "Breakfast first?" She asked like he might say no, but of course he wouldn't. He'd agree, they'd go eat and flirt a little (just to lighten the mood) and get back to normal, and then it'd all be fine. And that was what they both wanted anyway, right?

Warren nodded. "I could eat." He usually went for a fly in the mornings and sometimes didn't eat more than a quick granola bar til lunch, but this had been a... long morning. "You need a second?"

"Nah, I'm good," she said, not feeling like getting her hair figured out. She hesitated, though, looking up at him thoughtfully. "...you did worry at least a little, right? About the protest and everything?"

"A ton," he replied, all sincerity. "That shit is horrifying. But honestly, I was proud to know you guys."

She smiled, a little lopsided, and relaxing just a little. That whole breath-you-didn't-know-you-were-holding thing or whatever. "Thanks. Guess I just needed to hear that." She rolled her eyes at herself. "Lame, right?"

He shook his head. Especially if her step-dad was being a major douche (again--did that guy ever do anything else), "It's definitely not lame. Nothing about yesterday was lame except those asshole protesters."

Tamara just grinned, not at full brightness yet, but closer. "Alright, come on. Food. And I need a dumb movie, okay?"

"I've kind of been dying to see Bad Moms," Warren admitted, shoving his hands into his pockets. He was gonna be careful, polite, today. Until he could pull his head together. But he was glad she wanted to spend time with him, in spite of... whatever the fuck had just happened. That was what mattered at the moment.

"Ohmygod, that sounds perfect," she agreed, grabbing her phone and turning toward the door to lead the way to the cafeteria.