hothouse flower

it's like serena clairmont is powered by the sun.

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

Tom couldn’t help but smile warmly at her, his eyebrows raising slightly in admiration of her confidence in making the drink - the slickness of her movements not quite matching her level of intoxication. “Yeah - that’s happened a few times. Sleeping in hedges is another common occurrence.” He laughed, knowing full well that eventually Alex would do something which would pull Tom away from Serena. “Thanks, Serena.” He grinned at her, taking a sip before a loud bang from outside startled him - the carbonated water going straight down his throat and catching in his windpipe, setting him off madly coughing, punctuating his words. “It’s good - I mean - it is good, I’m not lying - it is actually good!” Eventually his cough died down and he gave her a warm smile, taking another cautious sip. “It’s actually good - sorry - thank you Serena.” 

“In that case, I’ll make sure the hedges get checked tomorrow morning.” She shook her head, in awe that calm, kind, designated driver Tom was the twin of the guy who fell out of her tree two months ago. Watching him sip at her drink, Serena widened her eyes, alarmed by the coughing. For a moment, she was worried she’d accidentally slipped him something he was allergic to. “I know you said you weren’t lying, but like… I kinda think you’re lying.” Reaching out to take the cup, she tried some. “Oh, nope! You’re not lying, it’s an excellent mocktail — I’m perfect.” She was being facetious, of course, but she was still impressed with the drink. It tasted good in spite of the fact that she had made it drunk, and without any alcohol. “You really should stay over one night, think about how good this would taste with a splash of rum, Tommy.”

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

Tom blushed slightly at the inference that she was fine being here, with him - as opposed to being with the swarms of guests. “You don’t have to do that - but at the same time, that sounds good, thanks.” Tom usually thought that he was more concise than this, but something about Serena seemed to make the words slip off his tongue easily (and he wasn’t even drunk). Something felt gutturally good about the way she said his full name; nobody really said it ever - he was Tom or Tommy for everyone else. Tom followed her towards the kitchen, unsure why the growing noise of the rest of the party seemed like an unwelcome intrusion. “I think Alex plus-oned me a couple of times but that involves babysitting Al, you know.” It didn’t need to be said that Alex’s antics often occupied Tom’s time at parties if he wasn’t also getting drunk. “Oh that sucks, you should come to a Sampson house party - I’ll take on all the hosting duties and you can chill out.” 

Yanking open the fridge with very little grace, Serena pulled out limes, mineral water, and a handful of other ingredients. “I know what I’m doing, even if I’m drunk.” She stated, unsure whether or not she was trying to reassure Tom, or herself. Stepping up onto her tip-toes, she grabbed a glass and cocktail shaker from the top shelf, putting together the drink as though she was on autopilot. “Oh, I know your brother — I woke up one morning and he was in one of my trees. Great drunk, absolute nightmare when he’s hungover.” Serena marvelled at how different Alex and Tom were. She liked the contrast, and how well they seemed to compliment each other. Slamming down the lid of the shaker, she furiously shook the concoction before pouring it into the glass, sliding it over to Tom. “One virgin margarita, sir.” She watched him intently, eyes slightly narrowed. “If it’s good, you have to lie. Don’t think my feelings can take the rejection of you hating my drink.”

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

“Oh, of course not - Princess Leia is unparalleled.” He grinned at her, leaning slightly forward on his chair, just to be slightly closer to her. “Well - the problem with Saturn is that it is gaseous, so we’d have to somehow build a platform so we could live on some solid surface, or we’d just have to adapt to living on gas. Reckon it’s doable though.” He teased her gently, elbowing her arm gently. It was better than being at a party, assumedly finding Alex up a tree or trying to get Colin to come home with them for the eighteenth time. Tom was drawn back to the ‘real world’, the world that didn’t involve moving to space, noticing that her phone was buzzing, rather than being in space they were very much on earth and that a party was in fact happening and he had kidnapped the host. “We can go back to the party if you want, don’t want to keep you away from your guests.”

Serena shrugged, “My guests are probably too busy raiding my liquor cabinet and sliding down the polished bannisters to realise that I’m even gone, Thomas.” Her words were paired with an eye-roll, finding it a little funny that Tom didn’t realise she would rather be up here, listening to him ramble about stars than anywhere else. “We can go downstairs, though — I’ll make you a non-alcoholic cocktail. I make them for Seb all the time. Can’t cook for shit, but mixology? It is my jam, Thomas.” She liked using his full name for emphasis, almost as much as she liked calling him Tommy. It just so happened that saying his name was something Serena found herself enjoying. “I’m sad you weren’t at any of my parties before this… wait, were you at my parties? I’m sorry, I usually end up breaking up fights between the lacrosse and swim team, don’t get a lot of time to socialise at my own parties.”

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

Tom couldn’t help but blush at her compliment - his cheeks growing redder and redder the more she seemed to look at him, but it felt nice, in some sort of way he couldn’t quite articulate. “Once you conquer Earth? Serena Clairmont, Empress of Earth does have a nice ring to it.” He teased gently, nudging her arm slightly, unable to stop himself from just grinning back over at her - he wasn’t sure why he couldn’t stop smiling (Alex teased him all the time for never smiling). “Well - in the distant future living on Mars would be a plausible option. Firstly, it has actual solid ground and has a probability of being carbon based like Earth is. Which means we could potentially terraform it and have a variation of life on Earth, but adapted to Mars. Kind of like how Matt Damon in The Martian survives? Or - we could maybe live on the moon - build a big dome that is pumped with oxygen and nitrogen, and make some sort of artificial water cycle….Then you could be Empress of Space as well.” 

“Mars sounds excellent.” Serena said abruptly, like she was willing to completely abandon her life on Earth at a moments notice. “You just give me the signal, Tommy — my bags will be packed for a one way trip.” Even if she was sober, she probably would have been just as agreeable to running away with Tom. “I saw that one! Not as good as Star Wars, but better than Gravity.” Her words were slightly slurred, but Serena had a feeling that Tom would just get what she was saying. Or at the very least, politely nod along like she was making any sense. “Moon is boring, we’ve been to the Moon, planted the flag — like, don’t get me wrong, I love the Moon — but I want to go somewhere different. Saturn would be even better, I dig the whole ‘ring’ vibe.” Serena was almost giddy, talking absolute nonsense with Tom. She didn’t even want to go back to the party. And while her phone was buzzing incessantly in her pocket, she happily ignored it all in favour of Tom.

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

Tom just frowned at her, running a hand through his hair as he tried to comprehend her gesture - hoping that she would just forget about it, plus with the amount of money her parents were paying for tutoring he would eventually be able to afford a fairly good telescope, anyway. “Uh - kind of, but no D.” He laughed softly, watching her animated face in the lights was kind of entrancing for a reason he couldn’t quite comprehend. “Living on the moon would be pretty cool - it’s also awesome the research they’ve done on Mars, how the organic chemistry has some of the basic structures that the life here does.” He gave her a grin, turning on his side slightly to be facing her. “Well - you know black holes? There’s theoretically something called a white hole - which lets stuff out of this great mass of matter, there’s never been one discovered but its mathematically possible. But that whole paradox - of something which nothing is meant to escape, has a form in which things seem to emerge from it. There’s just so much we don’t know - you know?” 

Serena giggled, “Holes,” She echoed quietly, laughing to herself once more — the picture of immaturity. Truly, she could have listened to Tom talk about space all day. Not even because she was all that invested in black holes and white holes and paradoxes, but because he was so enthused, the energy was infectious. “Tommy, you’re so cute.” Serena was unsure if her words came out flirty, or condescending, or just plain friendly. She was also unsure as to which one she was hoping for. Nonetheless, she wouldn’t explain herself. “Hearing you talk about space makes me want to live there. It’s the next big adventure, I’m sure of it. Once I’ve conquered Earth, I think it’s time to move upwards.” It was as though she intended to plan an actual trip to Mars, like black holes were a tourist attraction she could take a polaroid of. Taking another sip of her drink, she perched herself on the edge of a deck chair, her eyes on Tom. “You should come over more, Tommy. And not just to tutor Seb. I like having you around.”

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

“If you squint hard enough I’m sure you can see the Millenium Falcon.” He teased gently, leaning back on his heels as he glanced down at her - a warm smile staying on his features. Tom glanced up, unable to keep the grin off his features as he slouched onto a neighboring chair - hand behind his head as he stared up at the sky. “What?” He was in disbelief that Serena would just offer him an expensive telescope. “No - it’s okay - you don’t have to do that, I don’t have a beautiful veranda to look at the stars off, anyway.” He just blinked at her - in awe of the tipsy kindhearted girl across from him. “Anyway - you don’t need a telescope to see the supermoon.” He pointed across the sky to the moon beginning to rise above some of the trees; bright and beautiful yet for some reason Tom found himself more drawn to watching Serena react to it than it itself. “So this happens when a full moon coincides with the earth’s rotation being the closest it comes to the moon - which is called a perigee, fun facts - making it look huge in the sky.” 

“Please take it. My parents have so many nice things. Too many. And they’re not even nice people.” She reasoned, nudging the telescope stand with the tip of her sneaker, as if pushing it closer to Tom. As ridiculous as it was, she really couldn’t stand the idea of her parents letting another nice thing go to waste, especially when a perfectly good guy like Tom could be using it. “Perigee? Like… an expensive dog?” Serena definitely hadn’t heard correctly, a result of the alcohol causing a buzzing in her ears, and the loud thud of the downstairs music still echoing even on the balcony. “I love that, though. The moon is the best — I’d live on it, if I could. Actually, I’d live on the sun, but we aren’t even close to being able to do that, yet.” She rambled, knowing very well that she was spewing absolutely nonsense, but she had already shirked the need for a filter with Tom. And not just because of the alcohol. “Tell me more space facts, Tommy.”

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

Tom just grinned at her enthusiasm, simply thrilled that somebody was enjoying the night sky just as much as he did. “No - I wish. Sometimes when I was a kid I’d convince my parents to take me to the NASA centre in Washington, but the dream has always been to go to the one in Houston. Maybe after school finishes or sometime. I just spend too much time googling this.” He shrugged, eyes glancing up the night sky once more as he got his bearings once more in the stars. “Okay - so the brightest one in the sky, that is Sirius - and we use that one to work out where Gemini is…and where Cancer is.” He couldn’t help but grin at her, before moving over to study her telescope carefully - “Holy Shit Serena - this is so cool .” He grinned at her, feeling the less chill that he had ever been as he leaned down slightly so he could peer up to the heavens. “Come, look at this!” Tom motioned over to Serena to step in front of him, making sure that she could see through the telescope, trying not to think too much about their proximity while at the same time finding it easy to forget about. “It’s the Lyrids Meteor Shower! So fucking cool! That one has a full on fireball and everything!”

“I don’t know what those words mean, but sick!” She exclaimed, almost giddy from feeding off of Tom’s excitement. “Honestly, Tommy, I’m kinda drunk but these stars are dope. I wonder if we look hard enough through this telescope, will we see the opening crawl from A New Hope?” Serena looked up at Tom, a twinkle in her eye. She loved parties — carefully curating her reputation as Lancaster’s resident party girl. But this almost beat that feeling. The sheer glee she felt at stargazing on the roof with this boy was just as thrilling — if not more — as playing a heated round of flip-cup. “You can keep the thingy, by the way.” Serena gestured towards the telescope, taking a long sip from her red cup. “That thing’s just been collecting dust, you’d be doing me a solid by getting rid of it, seriously.” She said, “Consider it a party favour.” It may not have been customary to give away brass telescopes like they were lolly bags at a party, but Serena couldn’t help think that something so precious should be in the hands of the right person. And she wholeheartedly believed Tom was the right person.

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

“Noted.” Tom nodded with a soft smile, taking note of the offer in the back of his mind. It still seemed weirdly intrusive - plus, Alex was well, Alex and Tom always felt like he should slightly have his wits around him in case his twin did something idiotic. He followed her to the balcony, the music of the party slowly transforming more into vibrations that lightly moved through the walls. Coming out onto the balcony, Tom’s lips curved up into a grin as the night sky was presented to them - truly unreal. “Okay…” Tom lightly nudged Serena to be standing in front of him, his hand lightly sitting at the small of her back as he pointed up and slightly to the south, trying to guide her vision with his finger - before stepping back slightly, unsure if he was invading her space.“Stargazing 101 - in Winter you always want to look for Orion first, so see those three stars in a row with the really bright one on one side and the orange one on the other - that lets you work out where everything else is.” 

The rooftop was one of the few things she truly loved about her house — it was gorgeous, an abundance of fresh air and gorgeous view of the sky. While Tom oriented her in the right position to see the stars, Serena sloppily poured herself some wine, before setting the bottle down. She was unsure whether it was the chill outside, or something else, but she felt goosebumps form on her skin when Tom touched the small of her back. “That one?” She asked, pointing upwards, one eye shut as though it would help her focus better. “Wait, no — I see it! Nice! Okay, I love this, keep going… what next?” Her eyes were wide with enthusiasm, eager to learn, but more eager to ear Tom talk about this, which is he was clearly passionate about. “Where did you learn to do this, anyway? Oh my God, were you one of those kids that went on that NASA space camp? I always wanted to do that.”

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

“No, I’m okay - thanks, though. I’m driving, boring but you know Alex…” The subtext was that last time Alex had said ‘he would find his own way home’ had ended in an ER visit, which was to be avoided again at all costs. “I can have a sip though.” Tom didn’t want Serena to think he was a complete dork - doing the maths of how long the alcohol would be in his system while taking a small sip of the liquid, eyebrow raising at how strong it was but feeling his system instantly relax once it had gotten past the throat burning stage. Tom reached across to the grazing table - rather lavish for a house party, but it was possibly the best guac that Tom had ever had. “Awesome - it’s meant to be at its brightest at about….11 or so…but it’d look cool anytime, and I can show you a bunch of constellations before or after. Don’t want to keep you away from the party though.” 

“You’re so responsible,” She marvelled, giving Tom a once over before taking her drink back, finishing off the rest, “But if you’re desperate for a drink, or a joint or… whatever — you can crash. Or Arthur can take you home again.” Serena shrugged, as if those were obvious options in spite of them only having properly met a week earlier. Shaking her head, she gestured to the rest of the party, with a slight eye-roll. “Nah, they can take care of themselves, I’ll come back later to make sure no one is swinging from the chandelier like last time.” Motioning for Tom to follow her, she fished out a key from her back pocket, before shoving it in to the lock of her parents liquor cabinet. Lips pursed in thought, she surveyed the alcohol before pulling a bottle of red from the top shelf. “Okay! I’m stocked, let’s go look at some stars.” She said, nudging Tom in the direction of her rooftop balcony.

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

By no fault of his own, Tom was running late for Serena’s party. In his defense - he was the designated driver not just for Alex, but for Eliza and her friend as well, who they’d dropped off at some sleepover on the way. Alex had spent ages in a servo, trying to get a pack of cigarettes and some cheetos but the cashier hadn’t accepted his fake id - making them late as Alex whined Tom to go to one that ‘always accepted it’. Finally pulling into the gates of Serena’s mansion, Tom parked his car carefully in the driveway. Before anything could be said, Alex had bounced off to find Isaac - and Tom headed into the house to find Serena. He couldn’t help but grin when he saw her, feeling that very weird flush of heat reach his cheeks again as he slowly made his way to her (dodging Luke’s attempt to pull him into a conversation).  “Serena!” He waved at her - finally navigating across the sea of people to reach her. “Hey - hope I didn’t miss anything too exciting.”

Reaching out, Serena grabbed Colin by the wrist, yanking him into a corner. “What the fuck is he doing here — I only said you could come, Colin. It’s too late to kick him out, but you owe me.” She hissed, completely looking past him to glare daggers at Luke. Before she could further her threats, Serena heard a familiar voice. Instantly perking up, she spun around, beaming. “Tommy! I’m so glad you made it, and you didn’t miss anything. Well, one of the cheerleaders did a keg stand but… I’m sure you’ll get to see another one if you stick around long enough. Can I get you a drink?” She asked, before holding out her own cup. “You can have a sip of mine — it’s the good stuff. Like, from my parents liquor cabinet.” Serena reserved the expensive shit for herself and a small selection of other people. It was risky, but she didn’t really care if her parents noticed. “I haven’t forgotten about the supermoon, by the way. Got that big-ass brassy telescope just waiting for you to use it.”

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

“I love dogs!” Tom leaned in slightly to Serena at this, grinning over at her as he finished the last bits of the brownie. “Well, I’m not allergic so I’d love to meet her at some point.” Tom wasn’t sure if he was beginning to make himself too comfortable in Serena’s house - but he enjoyed her company immensely, she had a charm he couldn’t quite work out, but it seemed situated in his heart and let a warmth flow around his blood. But - being the logical boy that he was, Tom just assumed it was his blood sugar spiking from the brownie. “You’ve seen the Aurora?! That’s incredible - that is on my bucket list, hundred percent. Darcy went, my older sister, and said it was just the best.” Tom was amazed at how much Serena had seen in her life, it sounded so exciting if not a little busy. “No, no you’re not - it’s okay I can just walk it’s like…twenty minutes away.” He shrugged, feeling more and more as an intrusion in Serena’s house and he stood up, slinging- even though the walk was thirty minutes away. “It’s not a hassle - I’ll see you around at school - or at your party, yeah?” 

Serena scoffed, “Don’t be silly, Tommy — you’re not walking twenty minutes when it’s starting to get dark. And it’s cold. If you get sick, Seb is going to get stuck with whatever grown-up psycho science freak my parents find to replace you, and we can’t have that.” She was kidding, but was also willing to say anything to make sure he got home safely. Pulling out her phone, she sent a quick text. “Get into the black Bentley, and tell Arthur your address.” Walking him to the foyer, Serena couldn’t help but feel a little dejected that he had to go. If either of her brothers were there, they would have scolded her for keeping him around this long in the first place. “Yes! It starts at eight, but honestly come whenever. I’ve gotten Isaac Bowden to supply the weed, if you’re into that kinda thing. Oh! And you promised to show me a supermoon, I’m holding you to that, Tommy.” She said, practically grinning from ear to ear.

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

Tom just softly nodded along at her words, enraptured by the passion that seemed to come out with every articulation she made. “Yeah - it’s nice? Don’t really have a strong opinion on it.” Tom shrugged his shoulders gently - laughing at his own inability to formulate a blistering take on it. “I’ve only ever seen pictures of the inside - the outside is cool, though.” He added as a caveat, biting on his lip a little nervously. “I’m interested in sustainability? Like cool modern looking buildings that aren’t just concrete - how to use natural light.” He was sure he was boring her now - nobody cared about buildings that much. “Star Wars is great - there’s a picture of Alex and me as kids holding matching Chewbacca toys…” Tom pulled out his phone, scrolling through his camera roll - hoping to god Alex hadn’t taken any dubious pictures without him knowing before arriving at the right one - showing it to Serena. Tom couldn’t help but nod excitedly at the idea of sharing his favourite hobby with someone who was as excited about it as he was. “Yeah - that sounds really great - I can show you how to find the planets and some constellations. I even think there’s meant to be a supermoon; so it’d really be something special to witness.”

“God, I wish you’d designed this house instead — this thing probably guzzles more energy than anyone could possibly fathom.” Serena shuddered, her voice laced with disgust. She probably sounded ungrateful, but she couldn’t hide her distaste for her parents or the obnoxious house they’d chosen to build their life in. Scooting around the counter, she peered over Tom’s shoulder to look at the phone. “Aw, that’s cute. Al never told me he was a fan. I actually named my dog Leia! Do you like dogs? Ezra takes her for walks when you come over, in case you’re allergic. She’s fucking huge, but she’s really a big baby, I love her.” She was practically gushing, clearly overcome with pride for the husky her parents had bought for her sixteenth birthday. Her eyes widened, and Serena nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! That sounds sick, I don’t know if I’ve seen a supermoon. I have seen the Aurora Borealis once though, I think I cried. It was just so pretty, y’know? I loved Reykjavik. It was cold as balls there, but I’d still go back.” Stopping for a moment, she noticed she was talking so much she had barely taken a breath. “Oh, I’m not keeping you here, am I? My parents said our driver could take you home when you need to leave.”

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

“I mean….a bit, but from an architecture point of view it’s impressive.” Tom sat on the stool carefully, knowing full well from his bored googles that any house like this must of cost a small fortune. “I want to be an architect or a civil engineer. So buildings are generally pretty interesting to me. As boring as that is…” He nervously laughed off his interest - knowing that while Alex was only partially taking the piss when he teased his twin about his hobbies - he was pretty sure Serena wouldn’t see the appeal and he’d just come off as a huge nerd (which he was). “Alex plus-oned me in an attempt to make me his designated driver, but I’ll accept an invitation directly from the host for sure.” Tom nodded with a soft smile, sure the redness of his cheeks was giving him away. “Dancing? You’ll have to show me some dance moves sometime, then.” Tom didn’t know the foggiest thing about dancing but he was convinced it had to have magical properties if it made her nose scrunch up in that way when she described it (and Tom didn’t believe in magic). “I’m pretty boring - apart from architecture, I like space, reading about space and also stargazing - I like it when you can see science, I guess.” 

“Well, I suppose it should be,” She wrinkled her nose in disgust, “All my parents talk about is how expensive it is.” All her house was good for was parties, Serena was convinced. Otherwise it all felt far too cold, and echoey. Her face lit up, architecture sounded so cool. It was made doubly impressive by the fact that she couldn’t draw for shit, and the idea of Tom sketching buildings made him seem even more talented. “That’s sick! What do you think of Carnegie Hall, in New York? I know it’s so cliché, but imagine dancing there… ugh, I’d love it.” Serena said, before catching herself and making an effort to turn the attention back to Tom. “Anyway, Tommy — what do you want to design? What marvel are you planning on adding to our skylines?” She propped her chin up in her hands, genuinely fascinated in whatever he said next. As if she couldn’t have been more engrossed in what he was saying, the mention of space perked her up even more. “Oh shit, same! I love space, but that’s mostly because of Star Wars. Like I couldn’t name you any constellations or anything, but I love stargazing. My dad has some fancy telescope in our attic, we can use it on Friday from the roof, if you want? He won’t care, I doubt he’d even notice it was missing.”

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

He couldn’t help but grin back when she called him by his nickname - laughing slightly at how childish, how silly it sounded - but still, it sounded sweet coming from her voice. “That’s good to hear. I’ll make it as gross as possible for him, then.” Tom nodded enthusiastically, a warm smile growing on his lips that a student was actually taking on his advice - a rare occurrence. Tom looked over at Serena, studying her features carefully as she talked - it was blindingly clear how much she cared for her little brother, and that just made Tom smile warmly in return, very endeared to the little shine in her eyes. “I’d love one - thanks, Serena.” Tom returned her name carefully, trying not to think too much about her family having a chef. Tom felt his cheeks growing a little hot at the way she said his nickname. Standing up to follow her lead, he gestured for her to go through the doorway first - ‘always a gentleman’ he could hear Alex’s mocking tones in the back of his head. “What do you like to do with your free time?” He asked, hoping it came across as genuine interest in her life as opposed to idle small talk to fill time. “I like your house, by the way. The view of the sky from the roof must be incredible.” 

Leading him through her house, Serena pulled out two stools at the enormous kitchen island. She rummaged through the pantry before pulling out a box of brownies — they still smelled fresh. Placing the box between them, she plucked out the best looking one and handed it to Tom. “Really? It doesn’t feel… empty to you?” Serena questioned through a mouthful of brownie, an eyebrow raised. She thought the house was horrid. No one should have this much space, a space that was made to feel even bigger by the frequent absence of her parents. “Oh, it is — it looks best at night, I could show you… Actually, are you coming to my party next Friday? Well, I’m inviting you anyway. Alexander is coming, too.” She added, completely disregarding the fact that she had already exceeded Ezra’s ‘fifty person rule’ by about ten. Eleven, including Tom. Considering the question, a smile formed on her features. “Dancing, I love it. I teach jazz to kids on weekends at the rec centre near the train station. But I’ve also done some tap, ballet — you name it, I’ll learn it.” She said, unable to hide her sheer excitement. “What about you, Tommy? What do you like, other than teaching biology to annoying fourteen-year-olds.”

[serenaclairmont]

sampsonthomas‌:

Tom was overwhelmed - well, as overwhelmed as his cool calm logical brain could get (to most people he would just seem whelmed). It was equally at the house that he had pulled up to - the frankly absurdly giant driveway and the polish of the staircase banisters - and the pretty (angelic seemed more appropriate, ticked more boxes) girl that had greeted him before and after the session. He knew of Serena, but she was always a couple of seats away or causing chaos with Alex. “Either works. Thomas, Tom, or Tommy. I answer to any and all.” He gave her a smile as she sat next to him - eyes widening a little at the sheer amount of money that was in the envelope. “He was great, yeah - he knows a lot of stuff - it’s just translating all that knowledge into a format the teacher accepts. He’s a good kid.” He gave her a reaffirming smile as he flicked through the science textbook that was open in front of them, closing it slowly. “Does he have a favourite area of science? Other learning is easier if it’s related to their interests. He just kept telling me his favourite bit of science was all of it, and the only person I know who thinks that is me.” 

She laughed, a childish giggle. “Tommy — I like that.” Serena couldn’t help but grin, she just hoped he wasn’t indulging her in a nickname he secretly hated. Studying his face for a brief moment, she could see the similarities between him and Alex, even if they seemed drastically different in personality. “That’s good, and Ezra said his grades are definitely improving, which means you’re way better than our last three tutors.” Beaming, Serena felt a swell of pride. Sebastian was the best of their family, and it made her happy to hear things were going well. “He loves the gross shit — like all the gritty parts of biology, y’know?” She pulled a face, shuddering. “Basically just make it appeal to a fourteen year old, they’re pretty simple.” Scanning over Tom’s notes and textbooks, she couldn’t help how impressed she felt. This guy was serious about helping her little brother, and there was something that made Serena almost giddy with how nice, and normal he was. “Are you hungry, Tommy?” She asked, trying out the nickname again, just because she liked how it sounded. “Our chef made awesome brownies last night, do you want some?”

[serenaclairmont]

When her parents had said they’d hired Sebastian a tutor, Serena was expecting a creepy, soulless accountant plucked straight from their creepy, soulless company. But instead, Tom showed up. She’d only seen him at a handful of parties, and in one of her classes — but he was cute. And seemed nice enough to patiently handle her little brother. Despite being given numerous instructions by her family not to annoy their guest, Serena couldn’t resist the opportunity to at least try and make a friend. “Thomas — or Tom, do you prefer Tom?” She asked, peering in to the study. “This is from my parents.” Handing over a thick envelope, she took a seat next to him at the desk. “Was Seb alright? He can be a pain sometimes, but I think he really likes you — it’s the first time he hasn’t complained about learning mitosis.”

[lovestereo]

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