Put on your game face, Harkin.

Who: Thom & Chrissy
When: Towards the end of lunch
Where: Music room

After leaving Gabe's company, Chrissy made her way towards the music room, decidedly not going to the lunch room. She figured she could use the time to further the faux relationship and hang with Thom in his natural surroundings. She found the boy in one of the rooms, fingers brushing across the keys of a piano. She just stood in the doorway for a moment, listening to the melody before walking in further and giving his hair a bit of a ruffle. "Hey you." she said, flashing a smile at the boy.

Thom had been aware of someone coming into the room, but it hadn't stopped him playing. At least, not until he felt fingers in his hair and heard the voice. He stopped and closed his eyes for a moment - he'd hoped not to have to do this this lunchtime. He didn't listen to rumours, but that didn't mean that he didn't hear them, and there were definitely a number flying today. And he'd known that since some of them involved her, he'd be expected to play his part. But, there were also the rumours about his ex, which even though he dismissed them as bullshit, it still brought things to the surface he'd prefer to deal with alone. But, obviously, that wasn't going to be an option. He took a breath, opened his eyes and, just a moment after he'd stopped playing, turned to her. "Hi," he said, glancing toward the open door. They were alone, but anyone could walk past at any moment.

She watched him glance at the open door and her attention turned to it as well. She sighed and walked over to it, closing it and then returning to him. "There, closed. Calm down." she said, shifting her bag on her shoulder. She'd heard the rumors about Caleb and Leija herself, and for a moment she wondered how he was handling all that, but she wasn't here to check his mood on that topic. "So... you... a woman beater. Pretty funny, huh?" she said with a little shake of her head. "You or one of my many other boyfriends." she said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't not calm," he retorted. "Just checking how to act. And yeah, apparently so - did you start that little rumour? Seems like your kind of thing. Deflects attention away from your embarrassing little 'accident', makes you the victim again," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow beneath his dark mop of hair.

"There was no 'accident'." she said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "That's all bullshit. And no, I didn't start the rumor about being beaten either. A fucking bruise and a nosy kid peering into the hallway did." she muttered. "And I'm not a 'victim'."

Thom wondered whether he believed her about that. He wouldn't put it past her and nothing in their agreement meant that she had to tell him the truth, after all. "Right, sure - and I was actually talking about Homecoming." He wouldn't be so crass as to actually refer to the pregnancy rumours in that way. He hadn't been going to bring them up at all, not if she didn't.

Her face flushed slightly at the realization that he'd meant the dress incident and not the baby centered rumors. "Oh." she said simply. "Well, people aren't even really talking about my ass anymore, so I honestly don't really care about that bullshit. They've moved on to my uterus, apparently. Though I'm sure you already know that." She sighed and shifted her bag off of her shoulder onto the floor. "And I didn't start the rumor about the bruise. Didn't try to stop it... but I didn't start it. Though I'm sure you're far more concerned about the Caleb rumor, right? Him being betrothed and all." Okay, she was being a bitch, hitting him where she knew it would hurt, but their deal said nothing about her being nice to him. And he'd started the snipping anyway.

Thom jaw tightened and he swallowed, standing. "So - what is it you want me to do, Chrissy? How do you want me to act? let me know what my part is in today's little circus, so I can be sure to play it properly," he told her, tightly. Because, yes, she'd hit him where it hurt, right on target, in fact.

"Well for starters, it'd be lovely if you'd at least pretend to not be reeling over Leija running off with Caleb." she rolled her eyes. "You and I both know she might be MIA, but that doesn't mean she's married to Caleb." She slid her fingers down the front of his shirt, finding the hem and tugging him closer. "It doesn't look very good if people think I'm a rebound, pretty boy. So you need to prove the rumors false, and fast. And as for the bruises. They're from Gabe. He kept me from falling when I tripped. That's the story. Stick to it. Unless of course you want to tell people you grabbed me. Either way." She was keeping up her side of her deal with Gabe. At least for now. If her name didn't get out of the news soon, she might change the story.

"I know she's not - I'm not stupid," he said, pulling away from her and taking a step back. He just didn't like hearing their names connected together, that was all. Since she'd left him for the guy - or, at least, left him because she liked Caleb. More, obviously. Or something. He took a breath and steadied himself, rolling his shoulders and forcing himself to relax. She was right - he had to act at least like he wasn't obviously on the rebound, and he should be in a better mood around his 'girlfriend'. "Gabe stopped you falling, right. So - should I walk you to class?" he offered her.

"Only if you're going to stop your little pity party." she said. "As soon as we walk out that door, Leija doesn't exist, understand?" she questioned. She showed no sympathy for the boy and his issues with Caleb and Leija's elopement centered gossip. Her own charade being far more important to her at the moment. "And you should really stop pulling away from me too, that'd be lovely. Wouldn't want to fuck up our little deal now, would you?" She smiled sweetly up at him.

Thom swore silently again at the gods that had given him fucking Kaysen for a protected and that had got him into this whole thing in the first place, but he made himself smile and incline his head. "Don't worry - I know my place, have a little faith," he told her, stepping back in and putting a hand on her waist, in case she needed to visual.

"Good boy." she said, her smile still firmly in place as she reached up to brush his hair away from his face and let her hand rest against his cheek. "So, boyfriend, ready?" she questioned, her lips twitching slightly and her smile bordering on turning into a smirk. She had him where she wanted him. She knew that much. Totally in control. It was a nice change to have something completely at her disposal.

Thom let her go and turned to pick up his bag and guitar, slinging one over each shoulder, before turning back to her. "Now I'm ready," he agreed, slipping his arm back around her waist, ready for this afternoon's public performance.

She reached for her bag, tossing it over her shoulder and let him lead her out of the room and into the hallway towards her next class. "You going to Kavin's party?" she questioned, tossing a glance up at him. She figured she'd ask. If he was, people would assume that she'd go with him, or at least hang around him while she was there even if she didn't stay the entire time. Yet another social event to deal with.

"As far as I know, we're playing Kavin's party," Thom told her, though Isaac had taken the lead on organising this one, as far as he knew. "So, yeah, I'm gonna be there , so I won't be able to give you the attention I'd like," he added, fully playing the part now that they were out in public and people could overhear them.

She smiled. "Guess we'll just have to make up for it afterwards, won't we?" she questioned with a light giggle. She too was playing the part, but at the same time, doing her best to annoy the boy. "Suppose I'll just have to make do with watching you play all night." Her fingertips trailed to the hand he had at her waist, flickering across his fingers. "At least I'll have something sexy to keep my mind occupied."

"Yeah, I know - all eyes on Isaac, right?" Thom joked, easily, shooting her a look, his brown eyes sparkling. He couldn't resist the jibe, but hey! It worked just as well as something he'd actually say if they were actually dating, so that worked!

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "No, silly." she said, her hand moving to his stomach, lightly playing with his shirt. "You're far sexier than Isaac." Her fingertips slid up his chest and to the side of his face, pulling his head closer to her so she could whisper to him. "Just might have to take advantage of you right there in front of the whole party." she breathed. Of course she didn't have to say that, she could have whispered something else to him. No one would have known the difference, but she wanted to stir some sort of reaction out of him.

Mindful of the eyes on him, Thom pulled her a little closer and nuzzled his nose against her cheek a little, bringing his lips to her ear. "Jason'll be pissed if you screw up the middle eight for me," he whispered - easier to joke than actually coming up with something else, even if nobody else would be able to overhear. He pulled back a little and brushed a kiss over her lips before pulling back. "Come on, or you'll be late for class," he told her, starting them off down the corridor once again.

Good boy she thought to herself as he spoke the words, a little grin coming over her lips. The kiss she wasn't expecting, but she played it off like she was, managing to return it before he pulled away. "Wouldn't wanna be late again. People might start talking." If they weren't already, they would be. Even if she hadn't been late, people would assume she had and spread it around. By the next day, she'd be the one that'd been in the janitor's closet with Harkin. Not that she minded those types of rumors. They were easier to listen to and laugh off. Hell, they were pretty fun to laugh at and it just boosted her popularity. Screwing in the closet was so much more becoming than a pregnancy.

Like they're not talking already, Thom thought to himself as they headed toward her classroom. They'd talk, tongues would wag and probably it'd be said that he and Chrissy spent the entire lunchbreak in the janitor's closet or something. But, Thom guessed that would be better for her than the current rumours - unless it was her intention to be the victim and she'd been spreading them. Thom didn't put it past her, despite her denials. "Well, we can't have them talking now, can we," he said, glancing across at her and raising an eyebrow, still putting on a performance for their audience.

She smiled and shook her head, her curls bouncing around her head. "No, can't have that." she replied continuing down the hall. It didn't take them long to reach her classroom and she shifted away from his arm around her waist slightly, leaning back against the wall beside the door. "So think that you can spare a few seconds for me before you guys start up the show at the party tomorrow?" she questioned. "Promise I won't keep you that long."

"Yeah, sure - anything for you, you know that," Thom told her without missing a beat, making a point of ignoring the people passing them and heading into the classroom as he stepped into her, resting one hand on the wall by her shoulder.

She bit her bottom lip, raising a brow at him slightly and letting the fingertips of one hand brush across his chest, down to the waistline of his pants where they remained. "You're such a good boy..." she breathed. "Sometimes..."

He knew they were being stared at and watched, even if he was looking only at her. This - this wasn't him. He didn't do this. This whole overt-flirting-in-the-corridor thing. Not this far anyhow. But to pull away now - if he didn't do it right, it'd cause the wrong sort of gossip. Everyone was just looking for a reason, after all. Thom Harkin and Chrissy Chapman - half the school couldn't believe it was true, so anything at all, any little cracks. It'd break it for the gossips. So, he leaned in and brushed another kiss over her lips, barely a touch this time, more a flirtacious gesture than anything else. "I'll have to try harder then, won't I? If it's only 'sometimes'," he said, pulling back and stepping away, feeling incredibly uncomfortable until he was firmly back in his personal space.

She smirked at him. "Well, being good is pretty overrated, baby." she told him. Adjusting the strap on her shoulder she glanced behind her at the door to her classroom. Students already filing in, each taking a second to glance over the blonde and her 'boyfriend' and raise a brow. "I should probably get in there. Call me tonight?" she questioned.

"Course," Thom lied smoothly. "Have fun - talk to you later," he added, before heading off to his own class, back to the music department again.