Pleading for Clemency (tags Tyler)

[Magdalena "Maggy" Veloz]

Magdalena knotted her fingers through Tyler's under the table. She had never expected that charming, vain, popular Tyler would become a comfort to her, but after the miserable end to the park clean up she needed someone to talk to. Not Phil, since it was his fault, and not Mew, since he was always on Phil's side. She really had nobody else she could confide in, which left Tyler. They were dating -- not exclusively, but she wasn't comfortable with much beyond what they'd agreed upon -- and he'd consoled her during the shooting. She squeezed his hand tight; she wanted to cling to him, beg him to make everything all right. She hadn't been this upset even during the shooting, but then she'd had difficulty admitting that was real until attending Aimee's funeral.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered to the top of their table, free hand using her straw to poke disconsolately at the ice in her soda. "I can't believe....that's really not what we talk about during Church." She silently pleaded with him not to tar her with the brush Phil had so carelessly painted himself with. She'd been the one to convince her best friend to attend Church in the first place, and his interpretations were no fault of her own or the Church they attended.

"God, he's such an idiot sometimes." She dropped her hand from her straw when the waiter arrived with their food. Phil had well and truly screwed up, this time. He should have just told Annie she was mistaken instead of trying to argue with it; instead, he'd not only upset Gould's sweetheart, but he'd pissed off most of both clubs. Stupid, stupid Phil. She was lucky Tyler was even still talking with her, after witnessing that little altercation; how many people were going to taunt her becuase they knew she was friends with the bigot who'd made Annie Holmes cry?

[Tyler Durnham]

Tyler gently squeezed Maggy’s smaller hand when he felt her link her fingers through his. He would never had expected that he would have ever been one to comfort someone, that he would be the person someone would turn to for a shoulder to lean on, yet here he was being that person for cute, nerdy, unusual Magdalena. He was glad that the burger joint wasn’t one he, and the majority of his friends as far as he was aware, frequented. The side he was showing now to Maggy now wasn’t one that many saw, and he didn’t want any other witnesses to that now. Perhaps Sloane was right, maybe he was going a little soft. He really would have to do something about that. But really, what choice did he have? Bree was his friend, and knowing what she’d been through, of course he wasn’t going to be his usual self with her. And Maggy, well, he didn’t have any clue as to why he was the way he was with her. Sloane didn’t need to know that though, he didn’t need her troubling him more about the whole uncomfortable situation.

“I thought so.” he smiled softly, wondering just how he was actually meant to comfort someone. It wasn’t something they taught in school after all, or a lesson passed down from father to son. “Can’t say I’ve been to church for a very long time, so I don’t know what might be discussed there, but I know you. And Phil’s your friend, but that doesn’t mean his views are yours, so you don’t have to apologise to me about anything.” That sounded good to him, he was actually not too bad at this. He should have guessed that though, he’d always had a way with words.

He wasn’t about to agree with her about Phil being an idiot. Of course he’d acted like such, even Tyler would never go so far as to make a girl cry, especially Annie, he knew to be much more tactful than that. But, the guy was still her friend, and he knew better than to insult her friend, in case she then turned on him. “Relax, it wasn’t you who did anything wrong.” He turned his attention away from her for just the few seconds it took the waiter to place down their plates and leave them. “Tell you what,” Tyler spoke, coming up with a plan, “We’ll find Annie tomorrow, and you can tell her that yourself. Though I’m sure she understands that those views are his alone.” But that would make Maggy feel better at least, and maybe she would just want to show Tyler some gratitude. He was very much attracted to her, even if she was far from his usual time, and being who he was, their very tame ‘relationship’ was one he wanted much more out of.

[Magdalena "Maggy" Veloz]

Maggy nodded silently. Annie wasn't her friend; Phil was. However, she had nothing against the little red-head other than a general uneasiness when confronted with such aggressive perkiness, so it really wasn't right of Phil to shout at her like he had. She could understand why he was upset with Annie, really she could, but that wasn't an excuse to make other people feel bad.

She prodded at the broccoli on her plate; she had very little appetite after what had happened. "I don't know sign language or anything." She told Tyler after a moment. Phil was the one who had attempted to learn, interested as he was in communicating with his deaf friend. Phi had always been the better friend, the one who supported and encouraged. And now he was the one who made stupid, rash comments in the heat of an argument. Only, she knew that as much as he liked Annie he'd meant everything he said. He could have been more tactful, if he had to say anything. Better yet, he could have just kept quiet.

"I don't want to go home." She announced, more to her plate than to Tyler. She didn't want him to think she was ready to hop into bed with him -- or even into heavy make out sessions; as pretty as he was, she was still adjusting to being in any sort of romantic relationship at all -- but she didn't want to be alone, which she most certainly would be if she went home. Even if her parents were there, she couldn't very well explain to them what had happened; her mother would agree with Phil, her father would frown and say nothing because he didn't want to upset her mother, and neither one would succeed in comforting her. "I just don't want to be alone." She sighed.

[Tyler Durnham]

Though Maggy was generally shy, at least around him, she had started to open up a bit more, and Tyler had actually had some very interesting, surprising to him, but interesting conversations with the girl. Not now though, she was quiet, and she was seemingly back to her habit of speaking to inanimate objects instead of himself. It was extremely frustrating to the footballer, all this effort he had put into developing this side of their relationship, something he very rarely bothered with, with barely more than a kiss in return, and now it seemed as if things were regressing.

She couldn’t really be blamed though, she was upset, which seemed understandable given the situation and her nature. She would be feeling sorry for Annie, the deaf girl seemed to have taken Phil’s rant more than just a little badly. If Tyler had been in Maggy’s place, he would have been much more concerned if any of it would reflect back on him, damage his reputation in any way. Maggy didn’t seem one to worry about that. She was clearly upset though, and if cheering her up helped him, then he would play the shoulder to cry on. “Well, she might have someone with her, a friend, who can sign. Or we’ll write a little letter or something, we’ll work it out.” he smiled, squeezing the hand in his. “Don’t worry, you have nothing to worry about.”

“I don’t want to go home.” It wasn’t the first time he’d heard that sentence, and he greatly hoped it wouldn’t be the last. It was generally spoken by his current fling, some beautiful girl in one state or another of inebriation, then this usually followed by a suggestion to go back to his house, or car, or another party spot, no matter where, the night always ended in one thing. He very much doubted that Maggy, who seemed intent on avoiding kissing him when she could, had that in mind. Tyler was good, very good, but he wasn’t that good.
He enjoyed alone time himself, but he enjoyed the company of others, and especially of women, a whole lot more. And staying with Maggy now would put him even more in her good books. First the shooting, stumbling across her then, and now this. It seemed Fate, if such a thing existed, was smiling down on him.

“I was just thinking the same thing.” Tyler mused, still smiling, before idly munching a fry off his place. He didn’t have much of an appetite either, which wasn’t quite like him, but his thoughts were on much serious matters than eating after all. “We may as well save the other from that.” In a deliberate move, hoping it would appeal to her as it would appeal to most girls, though Maggy was admittedly not like most girls, he moved their hands from under the table, pressing a kiss to hers before resting them on top of the table instead. So there was no mistaking that they were here together. So many women liked to show off that they were with him, subtly or not.

“My father and my step-mother won’t be home till later, if you want, we could hang out in my pool house, maybe watch a DVD? It’ll give you a chance to go through and mock all the movies I own.” he teased lightly. But he also figured she might be more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of being so alone with him, something which confounded him to no end, so he gave her a way out. It would do no good to scare her off now. “Or we could head over to the cinema, catch a movie there. Unless you want to talk some more? We could find somewhere quiet.”

[Magdalena "Maggy" Veloz]

Maggy frowned thoughtfully, considering the options Tyler had presented her with. "No more talking." She decided; she had accomplished everything she'd wished by conversing with Tyler, and she had nothing further to add. She could have reiterated how unhappy she was with the current state of affairs, but there was really no point now that she'd finished venting. She didn't want to annoy her date by echoing the same thoughts, and anyway, she wanted to forget about earlier events, at least momentarily.

"A movie sounds nice." She sighed, "At your place or not, as long as there's popcorn." While she'd picked him up from his mansion, she'd never actually been inside -- in fact, the idea of entering the Durnham home left her stomach fluttering, from nerves or excitement she couldn't say. Perhaps both. She may have spent a good deal of time fleeing Tyler, but she did find the man attractive.

She sighed and disentangled their hands in order to scratch at short, dark hair. "Thank you. For listening." She whispered, bringing her gaze up to meet his. She had to remind herself that she ought to look him in the eye, that he'd been nothing but kind and helpful. They'd had conversations before, so it wasn't as if this was new and different. This shouldn't make her nervous! But it did; Tyler always made her nervous, though admittedly the more time spent together the less nervous she was with Tyler than with other people.

She reached for the check the moment the waitress placed it on the table, snatching it up before her companion had a chance to even look at it. "Let me pay, this time." It was only fair, since he'd only invited her because he was a gentleman enough to realize she didn't want to go home after the park fiasco. He shouldn't have to pay for that!

[Tyler Durnham]

Other than a movie, Tyler could think of something very, very enjoyable, that would involve no talking whatsoever. Maybe only a moan here and there, his name whispered, but no deep conversation. But seeing as how Maggy was taken with the idea of a movie, and seeing as how she always jumped away whenever he tried to kiss her for more than a few seconds, or if he even so much attempted to rest his hand on her as they kissed, he doubted he could convince her to change her mind. So, a movie it was. It didn’t mean that Tyler wasn’t go to try though, he was a Durnham. Durnhams’ very rarely took no for an answer, especially without trying everything they could first.

“My place it is then. I’m sure we have popcorn.” he grinned, thinking he would have a much better chance of seducing the girl in the privacy of his own home. Though he enjoyed the game, it still bothered him that he needed to seduce Maggy at all. It was a role reversal of him, usually it was the female who did everything she could to get his interest, and very quickly more than just that. Or a girl played hard to get, even when it was obvious she wanted him. That was fun too. But Maggy, she was making this really tricky for him. Tyler put that down as why he was so persistent, why he hadn’t given up by now, why he was after her in the first place. He knew that wasn’t the whole story, but he had to fool himself first, if he was to fool others.

Her speed was impressive though, he barely took notice of the check before Maggy snatched it up. It was rather cute though. No, not cute, Tyler didn’t find things cute, especially not shy, reserved, pretty band girls. “Ok, this time.” Tyler gave in, flashing her a lazy grin, already planning on making sure that next time he’d be more alert. He could easily pay, he wanted to pay, and he cursed himself for hoping so bad for a next time. She was making him soft, had to be it. If he knew what was good for him, he would seduce her today, sleep with her, and get this thing out of his system once and for all. Something told him it wasn’t going to be that easy though.

He waited for her to sort out the check, another role reversal, before holding his hand out and helping Maggy from her seat. He moved an arm immediately around her waist, leading her out. “How bout I drive you to my place, then I can drop you back here to your car when you’re ready to head home? Or you can follow me in your car, if you prefer.”

[Magdalena "Maggy" Veloz]

"I'll follow you." Maggy answered decisively. She loved driving and chafed when she had to be a passenger; and while she enjoyed Tyler's company, she was sure that at the end of the night she would like nothing better than to escape for her own home instead of worrying about making extra trips to get her car. Of course, that still meant they had to go back to the park first, but at least when she was ready to go home she could just go.

She hesitated as he placed his arm around her waist, suddenly tense and ready to dart away, but she forced herself to relax. They were dating, she should at least allow him to put his arm around her. "Thank you." She mumbled as they exited the restaurant, heading to the car.

Two car trips later -- from the restaurant to the park and then from the park to Tyler's house -- and they were sitting in the Durnham living room, trying to decide what movie to watch. Maggy frowned at Tyler's selection, "Don't you have Star Wars or something?" She asked; that was her all time favorite series of movies, particularly as she found Han Solo to be very attractive -- almost as attractive as Tyler! Or was it the other way around? She was pressed up against his side -- closer than she usually was comfortable with -- though her hands were balled into fists in her lap. "Or at least you have to have .Rec."

[Tyler Durnham]

He had been hoping to skip what he deemed an unnecessary extra car trip, but knowing that her car was outside his place seemed like something that set Maggy more at ease, and seeing how having Maggy more relaxed would only help Tyler in his efforts to bed the girl, soon, if not today, he smiled and happily went along with it.

He wanted to get her into his pool house, it was much more...intimate there, but unsurprisingly she seemed unnerved when he so much as suggested the idea, so the living room it was. The airy, not private, living room of the mansion he called home. It wasn’t completely ideal, but he was a Durnham, he wasn’t going to let something so minor prevent him from getting what he wanted. And at the moment, he wanted Maggy. Just what he would do once he had her, well, he hadn’t quite gotten to that yet. All in good time.

He wasn’t surprised with the way she disregarded his DVD collection, of course they had very different tastes. They were two completely different people after all. And as she dissected all his movies (the ones he left in the living room after all, his private collection stored in his pool house wasn’t one she would appreciate), he deliberately moved his hand over her thigh, though he pretended he wasn’t aware of this, the way her leg shook slightly as he touched her. Damn, it was delicious. He’d made a good decision to go after her, even if he himself doubted his taste at first.

“No, no Star Wars.” Tyler grinned, half apologetically, and half in amusement. “And no..., I don’t have the other one either.” He hadn’t even heard of it before. They were an unlikely couple. No, they weren’t a couple, he couldn’t allow himself to think of them that way. “I have all the Bourne movies. Some of the Bond ones. Uh, most of the Saw movies, all the Terminators.” he offered, trying to be helpful, though he couldn’t quite imagine the girl going for any of those.

“Keep looking, I’ll get us some popcorn.” Standing up, he ran his eye over Maggy, pretending that he was doing so discretely though of course he wanted her to see him do it. Heading off to the kitchen, he took his time, throwing a bag into the microwave, grabbing out a couple of cans of coke from the fridge. He felt like a beer, but she seemed the straight and narrow sort, so he resisted.

Throwing the buttery treat into a bowl, he made his way back to her, passing Maggy a can and holding the bowl on his lap, another deliberate move. He made sure his leg pressed right against hers. “Found anything you like?”

[Magdalena "Maggy" Veloz]

The movie was over, the popcorn eaten, the sky dark. Magdalena Veloz stood in front of Tyler Durnham's front door, one small dark hand pressed into his larger paler one. "Maybe your movies aren't too terrible." She admitted. "I enjoyed myself. Or maybe that was just your presence."

She graced him with a rare flash of teeth before leaning up to give him a quick kiss. She'd originally intended her night to end with Phil and Mew, discussing the fantastic success they'd expected from the park clean up and teasing one another. They probably would have stopped for pizza or something equally healthy before returning to their respective homes, glowing with happiness. Phil's very public argument with Annie had spoiled those plans, but while she was angry at him (for reflecting negatively upon the Church she'd invited him into as much as for arguing with people in public) she couldn't say she was unhappy with the way events had transpired after. Tyler didn't hold Phil's bigotry against her, and he didn't hate her for being a Christian, even after the spectacle at the park. He still wanted to spend time with her!

"I'll see you tomorrow at school," She promised as she breezed out the door, happiness restored once more thanks to Tyler.