Bleachers & Tacos - Tyler, open

[Tyler Durnham]

Outside the school, whether it be in the car park, or at the fountain, or his current location sitting on the bleachers, seemed to be quickly becoming Tyler’s usual lunchtime haunt. Well, it was better than the cafeteria anyway, and what they tried to pass off as food. And so far it seemed hanging around outside was working out pretty good. It was their car park meeting that kicked off his fun with Maggy, what a way to while away a few hours. He enjoyed the relative quiet, while still being on the receiving end of admiring glances from his fan club. And a few nerds, surprisingly cute nerds, also all avoided the cafeteria, so he had fun flirting with them too on the odd occasion, watching them get all nervous and stumble over their words. He loved being him.

He was halfway through his first taco, having had rushed out at the start of lunch to buy some actually edible food, and he’d brought back more than he could polish off. It was intentional, he was actually hoping that in this location, he’d stumble across one of his friends without having to head indoors. He hadn’t spent much time with the team outside of practice for the past week, or had any real ‘intimate’ time with any of the cheerleaders, something he wished to rectify. Besides, playing games with cute nerds and other girls he wouldn’t normally talk to, and riling up guys he didn’t know nor care too was all well and fun, but even Tyler Durnham needed to see a friendly face now and then.

[Alexia Dashwood-Dune]

Lexy's iPod was on full blast as she ate the burrito her father sneaked in the lunch pack her mother made for her and Pip. Not everyone liked Granola bars and apples and protein shakes, ma. Her father was gracious enough to make her his famous chili burrito and as she chewed on it, she looked around the front 'yard' of the school and spotted Tyler Durnham looking exceptionally good looking that afternoon.

She turned back to her notebook and grimaced when she found that she had scribbled Mew's name in different coloured pens. She was turning into Erika Christiansen's character in "Swimfan". As she thought of all the encounters she'd had with Mew (none), Lexy had to believe that Mew was the sweetest guy to ever walk through Gould's hall. He was kind-hearted and completely oblivious to his charms. Lexy wanted to talk to Mew. But it was odd that she was okay with talking to every other guy despite her shyness but Mew was the only boy she could never bring herself to talk to.

Perhaps she should ask someone's help in the matter. Perhaps all she needed was a bit of a push. Maybe what she needed was Tyler Durnham's suave confidence to finally get what she wanted. But was he willing to help her?

Stuffing the last piece of burrito into her mouth, she rummaged through her bag for her breath mints. She didn't want to talk to a jock with chili breath. She crammed her notebook into her little rucksack and slung it over her shoulder before walking up to Tyler, the loose blouse she had on swayed a bit in the gentle breeze.

Clearing her throat loudly to get Tyler's attention, she wondered if Tyler was waiting for someone.

"Um...Tyler? Could I...uh...talk to you for a second?"

[Tyler Durnham]

The footballer let his mind wander as he ate, his eyes idly on the field opposite, a small group of girls having gathered there to perve from afar. The ‘burden’ of being so good looking. His thoughts weren’t with them though, he had more important things to concern himself with. He had a date that night after all, something he always took seriously. Mainly because he usually only ever had one date with a woman, before sleeping with her or at least fooling around, not needing nor wanting more than that. Something told him things wouldn’t be so easy with Maggy however, and surprisingly, he liked that idea. It still felt like a chase to him, even though she agreed to date him, he had to win her over more. And he very much enjoyed that excitement. And annoying, he very much enjoyed that girl.

Then a girl approached, something not unexpected, nor something he could blame her for. She knew his name, which wasn’t a surprise, just about everyone at Gould and Silver did. But as he turned, grinning automatically, he realised he knew her to. Or at least, knew of her. She was cute, so that helped, though her sister was much more his type. Twins though, there was a great appeal in that for him. He loved his twins. “Of course, Lexy.” he grinned, motioning to the empty seats all around him. He didn’t know what she would want to speak to him about, but he could guess. Either way, his lunch just got a lot more fun. “What can I do for you?”

[Alexia Dashwood-Dune]

When Tyler called her by her nickname, Lexy wasn't surprised. She had even expected Tyler to know it. She would have been shocked if he didn't. Pippi Longstockings probably talked about her enough to everyone who would listen. Seeing as Tyler was not the type to completely ignore a person who was talking, Tyler probably knew a lot of Lexy than she ever wanted him to know.

"A lot actually." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. But then she choked. What was she supposed to ask him? She had thought for sure that Tyler would throw his taco at her and walked away. She didn't expect him to turn and actually ask what she wanted. She tried to calm herself down before Tyler found her too weird and ran off in the opposite direction screaming that she was a freak.

She gulped and looked up at Tyler with a short smile before sitting on the bench beside him. "I have this thing for this senior who doesn't know I exist. Okay well he does. But he doesn't really see me as someone potentially good enough to talk to. Or something. I don't blame him. I'm not really that interesting but that's not the point. Point is, I am seriously lacking the tools to get his attention. And to make matters worse I always choke every time I even think of talking to him." She babbled in a single breath before looking up to see Tyler's reaction.

"I'm not really asking for your help to seduce him because I don't think he's really that easily seduced. I just want you to help me with...I dunno, getting the nerve to talk to him? I'm sure it's really easy for you to go up to any number of girls and talk to her but...damn it everything is coming out wrong...I just want him to notice me the way he notices other girls...people...whatever." Lexy sighed. She knew she sounded desperate but she didn't care. She was. Mew was going to leave school soon. After this year, she would not see him again. She needed something to hold on to.

[Tyler Durnham]

Tyler happened to be an excellent poker player whenever he dabbled in a game. Not only did he have the gift to bluff well, but he could keep a straight face. And so his poker face was in employ now, betraying nothing but attention when Lexy started to speak, asking for his help. For a brief moment he assumed he was the senior she was talking about, but he quickly dismissed that. Her trouble was being able to talk to the object of her affections after all, and she was talking to him just fine. Odd, a girl who didn’t like him. Not unusual, just not common either.

But if she wanted help in this matter, she couldn’t have gone to anyone better. Tyler knew guys well, being a particularly women loving one himself, and he knew better than anyone just what got a guy’s interest. And she had a point, it was just about the easiest thing for him to go up to a girl and turn on the charm straight away. Not only was it easy, it was fun.

“Well, Lexy, this guy has certainly got under your skin.” he grinned. “But let me correct you on one thing. Any guy, doesn’t matter who, can be seduced, and fairly easily too, if you know what gets to him. So, it’s just a matter of finding a point of interest is all, to get him to notice you. And trust me, every woman has the tools to get a guy’s attention.” Tyler offered with a chuckle. He would give Dr Phil a run for his money for sure, at least he knew what he was talking about.

It was lucky for Lexy that he was bored, otherwise he might not be so inclined to be too helpful, especially knowing there was a diminished chance of him getting a little something something in return for his effort. “Okay, first things first, be confident. Even if you’re not,” which was clearly the problem with the less popular twin, “Pretend that you are. The more you pretend, the more you’ll actually feel it.” It sounded good in theory anyway, and he was even impressing himself. He didn’t know how it worked in practice though, seeing how lack of confidence had never been an issue for the footballer. “The next time you see him, walk straight up to the guy, and just speak to him about anything. Confidence will generally always get a guy to notice you, we love it in girls.”

”Can you tell me who’s the guy? I might know him, it’ll help me think of some way for you to get his attention. And don’t worry, I’m not likely to run around the school telling everyone of your crush.” he grinned. At least this was truthful, it didn’t matter to him in the slightest who the girl had a thing for, unless there was a way for Tyler to benefit from it. And he seriously doubted that.

[Alexia Dashwood-Dune]

Huh. Well maybe Tyler WAS a nice guy. He was actually going to help her out. How about that, a popular kid reaching out a helping hand to the less fortunate. Lexy was about to smile to that until another thought dominated the latter. Maybe it was because Tyler had nothing better to do than to entertain some asinine crush a junior had on a particularly sweet and kind and caring and... Focus, Lexy. The man is talking.

Mew? Under her skin? What a thought. Lexy tried shutting herself up and concentrating on what Tyler was saying. Okay, so Mew could be seduced. Apparently any guy can. With a common interest? She played World of Warcraft, she was on his swimming team for the good Lord's sake. What more of a common interest could she... Oh he was still talking. Lexy made herself listen. So every woman has the tools huh? She looked down to her body and checked her breasts out. She wondered if these were the tools Tyler was talking about.

Ah...Tyler talked a lot. Lexy better listen if she wanted to learn how to get Mew to pay attention to her. Confidence. That was what Lexy lacked and that is what Tyler thinks she should use? It wasn't possible. Everytime she had the opportunity she literally choked on her own saliva! Once, she slipped and almost cracked her head wide open in the swimming complex when she tried to strike up a conversation with the ginger-haired senior!

And then Tyler asked the million dollar question. Who was the guy? Who was the one that has certainly got under her skin? That guy? Well. Of course Tyler knew him. They were practically 'buddies', him and Tyler. Best of. Right. And pigs can fly.

Even if Tyler ran around the school revealing her crush, it didn't matter. Maybe she should ask Tyler to do that. Lexy sure as hell couldn't. She was a pussy. All she knew was how perfect it would be, the day Mew finally realised what he had been looking for was right in front of his eyes. "It's me, Mew...it's me." She would call out...wait. Did she just say that out loud? In front of Tyler friggen Durnham? Maybe she could take it back. But how? Mew had a disctinctive name, another thing Lexy was so drawn to him. Unique names or even nicknames were rare and Mew sounded so cute. It would be the exact sound she would make if...

"Pretend you didn't hear that." She blurted out and blushed something awful as she tried to hide the fact the she was indeed blushing.

[Tyler Durnham]

Mew Fischer. There was a girl, nerdy, but still a relatively cute, girl who liked Mew Fischer. Quite badly too, by the sound of it. Well, there was no accounting for taste. He supposed that it was bound to happen at least once with the amount of students at Gould, one of the geeks having a girl crush on them. But still, Mew Fischer. And not that Tyler spent much time thinking about Mew, nor anyone else besides himself and hot women, but he’d always assumed that the guy was gay. Well, this was one way to find out.

“Hear what? That your crush is on Mew Fischer? No, I didn’t hear a thing.” he smirked, not able to help himself. This lunch time just got a whole lot more entertaining. He considered playing with the girl, making things a bit more fun for himself. That was what was important after all. He could string her along a bit, mess with her mind just a little, and he was sure he could to, she seemed to be hanging off of his every word. Which was no surprise, he obviously knew what he was talking about, he figured he could get her to believe almost everything he said.

But he hesitated at this, there was a small chance that these fun and games could backfire a little on him. And while normally he wouldn’t worry about that, if something about this got out, and Mew found out, he would most certainly tell Maggy, and that could just be more trouble than it was worth. He’d just managed to, at least he felt he had, convince Maggy he was a decent guy, and was serious about her, about this whole rather foolish dating thing. If Mew complained about Tyler to her, that could just mess things up. And he couldn’t have that, not with the work he put in.

So, he would have to play this straight. Not quite as entertaining, but, the things he did for a cute girl. And it would have been good at least if he was sure the guy in question would turn Lexy down flat. But Mew being Mew, that is, a nerdy, odd looking guy clearly not flooded by the attentions of woman, Tyler was sure the guy would bite, and fairly easily too, if Lexy could actually bring herself to speak to him. Unless he was gay, in which case, this would be funny.

“Can’t say I know the guy that well.” he admitted, but he didn’t think he needed to. It was obvious what Lexy needed to do. The reasons for it though, he would keep to himself. He didn’t need some pissed off geek whinging at Tyler’s insults about the guy she liked. “But this is what you need to do. You have to ask him out.” he instructed. “I know, I know, easier said than done.” For her anyway. “But it’s the way to go. Guys love it when a girl makes the first move, and it’ll stoke Mew’s ego, knowing you like him. I reckon it’s as simple as that. Hide your nerves, force yourself to speak. Just go up to him, say hi, and ask him out. Make it something simple, like the movies or something. Pick a movie you know he would like, and ask if he wants to come with you. Trust me, it’s the way to go.” Okay, he was being so nice it was even scaring him now. So, Tyler quieted, grabbing out another taco from his bag.

[Alexia Dashwood-Dune]

Tyler's tease made Lexy squirm. Well, damn it all to hell. She sighed and let Tyler draw his own conclusions. She couldn't help that she was so smitten by her fellow swim team mate.

She remembered when she first saw Mew at a swimming tournament. He was fast and she had to admit. Even the scrawny boy back then looked good in a Speedo. She couldn't help but mentally laugh at that thought. It was on that day that she vowed to be in the swim team when she entered high school. And she then remembered the one incident that made her fall for him even more.

It was after a particularly rigorous training and the swim team decided to get shakes and fries at a diner nearby with the promise of working extra hard tomorrow to work it off. She remembered one of their team mates didn't have any money but she was too embarrassed to say anything. Mew bought for her a dinner plate in secret so she wouldn't feel left out. Lexy thought that was the sweetest thing anyone could ever have done. She vowed on that very day that she would love him for the rest of her life.

A lot more incidents like that happened throughout her school life. She often saw Mew in acts of kindness. She fell more and more in love with him each time until now. She couldn't stand to keep it in any longer. She wanted Mew to know that she liked him. Loved him even. Although that might be too strong. She'd just scare him off. No...telling a boy you liked him should be enough.

Oh, Tyler was back to talking. Lexy looked up and nodded as he told her about...what? A date? Ask him out? The nod quickly turned into a vigorous head shake. "NO!" she elongated the syllable. "Oh no. No no no no." She repeated the word no a few more times. "Are you nuts? What if he rejected me? I'd...oh man...what if he doesn't like me at all? Damn it I never thought about that. I mean...I knew it was a possibility but I didn't think he'd completely...what if he rejects me? I don't think I handle rejections that well. No I KNOW I don't handle rejections well at all. What if I start crying in front of him? Oh my God that's embarrassing. I'm sorry Tyler. I don't think I can...I'm sorry I wasted your time. I'm gonna go." She grabbed her bag and slid out from the bench and started to walk off, her heart beating way too fast.

The thought had occurred to her for sure but being confronted by it even if it was just a hypothetical situation, she got scared. She didn't want to get rejected by the one person that she cared for the most. If just the thought of it made her feel this crummy...

[Tyler Durnham]

Tyler was just a little bit taken aback by the passionate refusal of Lexy to take his advice, and a little bit surprised. If she didn’t want to listen to him, fine, he couldn’t care less, nor was he offended by it either. He just hadn’t expected it, especially when it was clear that he was the one of the two who knew what he was talking about, and she was the girl with the confidence issues. After all, if she couldn’t work up the courage to speak to Mew of all people, then there clearly wasn’t any hope for her. He had a brief, miniscule actually, moment where he thought that the girl could almost be another Bree in the making, but it was clear she and his friend were nothing alike. Bree, also beautiful, actually had potential, and Tyler was loving being witness to the girl’s blossoming, if you will. Lexy, she wasn’t going to blossom.

If Mew turned her down, which Tyler seriously doubted, the kid couldn’t have any other prospects after all, it would be a funny sight to see Lexy break down in tears. No one could ever accuse Tyler of having a heart of gold. Of course, the more likely situation, if the girl could bring herself to speak to her crush, was that he would be so surprised that someone actually liked him, he would agree to the date, and probably stutter as he did. That’s what nerds did, he thought. It wouldn’t be anywhere near as entertaining.

He watched as the girl fumbled, quickly moved away from him and he said nothing, just grabbing out another taco, unwrapping it. Sure Mew could say no, he agreed with her there, but then again, he could say yes. And Tyler would have pointed that out to her, tried to calm her nerves, help her with this. But then he realised something. He didn’t care. The entertainment factor of the whole thing was quickly dying, and he wasn’t friends with either of the two parties in question, so he had no real need, nor desire to help out. Because it was the nice thing to do just didn’t cut it for him.

And so he shrugged, the girl already losing his attention, as she started to leave him. “No problem, not a waste of time.” he basically dismissed her, taking a bite of his lunch. Well, this lunch was getting back to dull again. Where was a cute, flirty cheerleader when you needed one? Or even a bumbling sophomore geek, it had been a while since he picked on one of those. “Just try to give it a shot, might be surprised.”

[Alexia Dashwood-Dune]

[ooc: wrap for Lexi ]