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[right][code]Current day
Interactions: Tommy
Outfit: Normal[/code][/right][hr]


This party sucked.

Tyler was leaning back against the drink bar, with both elbows on the top, and his face betrayed that he was utterly bored.  The music was nothing more than basic party drivel, those who danced to it lacked rhythm and skill, and worst of all, the drinks tasted like they were prepared by someone who never tasted anything finer than a cheap bottom-shelf whisky.  This was not the epic, end-of-summer party that Lupe had promised.  This wasn’t the welcome to the new year he was hoping for.  And yet he came because to these losers and ne’er-do-wells, Tyler was a hero.  He was a hero because he single-handedly led their football team to an undefeated season and a championship ring.  He was a hero, and what kind of hero would he be if he stayed at home?  Especially after what had transpired last year.

Tyler had a code when it came to his bullying.  He never bullied someone weaker than him, a disabled person, or a potential school shooter.  The reasons for each one were simple.  Tyler has always had a desire to be the best and the strongest, a desire that has been present since he was a kid.  As such, he gets little to no joy from ruining the day of someone who was mentally weak or could not fight back.  As well, to bully a disabled person was one of the lowest lows a person could sink.  Only weak people targeted those who, through no fault of their own, don’t experience life in the same way.  Lastly, he never bullied the usual suspects because this was America.  School shootings were sadly a reality that every student lived in fear of, Tyler included.  Others may have forgotten the day that Jared was arrested, but not Tyler.  That day revealed how little about others he truly knew.  While he had avoided bullying Jared and his little puppy like the plague, would they have realized the difference between their bullies and a bully?

That is where a hero like Tyler could step in.  He could be the one to either catch or stop the next idiot who tried to solve their problems with a coward's weapon.  That’s why he truly came here tonight.  From the outside perspective, it made sense for someone like Tyler to be at a truly dreadful party like this.  He was the generational talent who led their high school football team to a championship.  His father was a local legend who filled the trophy case back in the day.  Parties were where he was allowed to exist as the peak of the high school experience.  Even now, he watched as random women looked his way, practically begging for the tiniest shred of attention from the star.  While the rest of his football team drank their fill and leaned on their game on the field versus their actual game with the ladies, he sat at the bar with eyes sharpened by his years of training to see everything on the field.  Tyler had set a plan in motion, and it was deviously simple.  He had swiped a particular guys number from a mutual contact, and had sent him a message with a google number.  It was not tied to his name and was created under a fake account that would never link back to him.  He had sent him a message inviting him to the party, and it would be Tyler who….

Suddenly, the sound of two bodies colliding and one falling to the ground caught his attention.  He quickly located the source and sighed.  It appeared that the Jesus freak had knocked over… who had he knocked over?  Tyler crooked his head as he looked at the girl on the ground and racked his memory to try to figure out who that might be.  She had blonde hair, a heavy use of makeup, and was wholly unremarkable.  Was this a new kid?  Who the fuck had invited a new kid to a school party?  That was most uncool.  The fun of a party was it was typically filled with the people that you knew from class, activities, or other social means from the school itself.  More or less, the people who were invited, or invited by someone invited, would not be a narc.  Tyler hated the uncertainty that a new girl brought to the equation.  They had no loyalty to the school, to the culture, to the heroes that walked the halls.  He would need to get to the bottom of this.  

Suddenly, the most beautiful sound caught his attention as his eyes located Vicky, who had begun to sob.  A sickening smile crossed his face at the sight.  She was babbling about something or another, and in truth, it did not matter to him what had caused her to enter this state.  As long as she was feeling bad, that was enough to bring a smile to his face.  It wasn’t like he hated Vicky.  Far from it.  The two had practically grown up together, with their parents being aquintances who fancied the idea of play dates.  Instead of the cute, fun play dates that they had expected, their parents bore witness to the birth of a heated rivalry.  Even from the very first meeting, where the two had competed to see who could create the most intricate and beautiful piece of macaroni art, it was clear that the two would never have a normal friendship.  The two were simply two alpha competitors who just so happened to claim the same territory.  If she were thrown off her game early on in the school year, that would make it much easier for him to win.  Tyler blinked as the two distractions had pulled him from his thoughts, and he paused everything as he tried to remember what he was doing prior.  

[color=C0C0C0]“Oh, that’s right,”[/color] Tyler whispered, aloud as his eyes narrowed, and his head moved slowly from left to right, scanning the crowd.

…it would be Tyler who would see if Tommy was going to be the next threat to the school and be the hero who stopped him ahead of time.  Sure, Tommy gave no reason for Tyler to suspect anything nefarious.  He was a hardass who would bitch and moan, but still stop to help someone if they needed help.  Yet this did little to dispel the odd vibe he gave off.  There was some unspoken ick that seemed to emanate from the kid, and Tyler did not like it.  That is why he created the Google number, that is why he sent a text message to invite him to the party, and that is why Tyler was going to have a little chat with the guy if he did show up.    Not because he wanted to become the bestest of best friends, but to ensure that the bad vibe was just a vibe and not his hidden intent to harm.

Tyler’s posture suddenly straightened as he caught sight of the blonde hair and tired eyes that he was looking for.  Tommy had decided to show his face after all.  Tyler knew he had to play this smart and slow.  If he came in hot and fast with a [color=C0C0C0]“are you a school shooter”[/color] Tyler would be an asshole, and an idiot, and be the first one to go if a shooting went down.  Instead, he had to be the perfect asshole.  One that others expected for someone of his status, and one he was more than happy to shoulder.  With that thought in mind, Tyler skillfully glided through the crowd, all the while his eyes remained locked onto his prey as if he were a hawk diving on it from above.  Each step was deliberate, each near miss led to the next, and before long, he was right behind his mark.  With a powerful jab of his finger, Tyler made his presence known.  

[color=C0C0C0]“Wow.  Who invited you?”[/color]