Lady Advice

[Erin Hackett]

Tim! R u in class?

If u r sneak out. If not, call me.

It's important...kind of.

U r literally the only friend I know who landed a girl.

Not that I'm trying 2 land a girl or anything. Just call.

Please.

((Tag:Tim Tawfeek))

[Tim Tawfeek]

A disgruntled, mostly unshaven Tim wiped at his face while he stared down at the computer screen. He was almost certain that he'd nearly hacked into the servers, or that his people had started hacking it, or that he was on the trail of getting into someone who could possibly...

his phone buzzed.

Tim actually stared at it for a bit, as if not certain what the thing was. When it buzzed again he nearly lunged. That didn't look like his email alerts, and if someone was texting him, then it could be something major, something important, something...

oh, Erin. And apparently she wanted girl advice.

"The hell is everyone asking me about that for?" Tim wondered aloud, rubbing at his face. Girl advice. He felt like laughing. OR texting back a "stay the fuck away from them." Instead he hit the call back number.

"What's up?" He said into the phone, trying to sound like someone who hadn't been skipping class. After all, it was somewhat interesting to hear that Erin was interested in someone, right?

[Erin Hackett]

Erin had no clue what Tim might have been doing at that moment, but she hoped that she was not getting in the way of anything important. Like alone time, it was rude to get int he way of a guys alone time so hopefully he was not doing that. Of course her mind went there because it often spent time hanging out in the gutter. Her mind practically lived there, but now was not the time for that because she needed Tim to help her figure something out. While she was still confused on his current relationship status, he did in fact have girl which was more then Erin could say for herself or any of her other male friends.

Her phone was ringing then, having first expected for him to text back but he went right into the call. Thank the powers that be. "Hey Tim...sorry to like bother you. Especially with this sort of thing when you have your own stuff to deal with but...you're the only one that I think can help." Erin responded already feeling a little nervous, which was odd for her because this was over the phone which was almost like doing this over the computer, minus the fact he was hearing her voice and no doubt the emotions in it. "Uh...so I like this girl. A lot. Liked her since I first met her...like pretty much all girls, but like over time it was different with her. Like now I really really like her." Erin said, stopping then as she moved to get comfortable on her bed.

Only to wiggle her way under her mound of plush Pokemon to hide. There was always something about being under things that helped her calm down and think straight. Well...straighter because she was gay. Bad joke. Erin mentally scolded herself. "I kissed her, like hard." Erin then blurted out.

[Tim Tawfeek]

Tim shrugged as Erin mentioned bothering him. He knew that the gesture didn't exactly transfer all that great over the phone, but he really didn't have any other way of expressing his sort of nonchalance about the thing. "Shoot," he offered when she mentioned her problem, though he was already scrolling through is computer screen.

A girl, liked her, not a surprise there. seemed like all of Tim's friends like pretty girls. The really liked her thing actually had him letting out a slight laugh. there was just something so middle-school about the expression that he couldn't believe he actually heard it from someone who'd hit eighteen years of age. He could practically see Erin burying her head in a pillow or something.

"Ah, well," Tim said, adjusting his glasses. "That's pretty bold. I didn't know you had it in you. Congrats," he had to actually smile slightly. Maybe his friends would be fine after all, if even Erin could work up the courage. "Did she take it well? I'm guessing it either went really confusing or really bad, what with your calling me in emergency mode and all."

[Erin Hackett]

Erin didn't know that Tim was shrugging, she could not see it but he didn't seem to be grumbling or making any sounds that revealed that he was displeased or bothered. Still, she felt bad and would make it up to him. She honestly never did anything like this before but she literally didn't know what to do and was starting to have a panic attack over it. Socializing and making friends was proving to be more difficult then what reading about it led her to believe. Yes, people did say it was hard but it was nothing like actually living through how hard it was. He gave her the go, and she went. Erin was still new to all of this, never really feeling this way about someone before.

Yes, she crushed on girls; like all the time, but this just felt different. She wanted more but at the same time she was freaking out and felt bad because she still felt like she had done something wrong. Alex had assure her that she did not, but Erin still was not so sure. He spoke of how it had been bold of her to do that and how he would not have expected her to do that. "I had a few drinks and so did she. I kissed her. I was a bad friend. She was dating someone at the time and I kissed her because I just could not stop thinking about it. It felt so good and she even kissed me back. I remember all of it." Erin said, moving further to try and become one with her plush collection.

He asked if she took it well, that was what Erin was not certain about. She was so confused over it all, even with having had a talk with Alex after said kiss had happened. "This happened a while ago. Took her to Japan...but she pushed me away and said she couldn't. So I went to give her space, but she pulled me back, and we started making out again. It was just...ugh it was just so right and I wanted more but I was freaking out at the same time. Then she passed out." Erin said, feeling like she was taking to much but she could not stop. It was all just falling out right then and their as her mind tried to still understand what it all meant.

"Then recently...she like made it seem like she wanted me to just come out and say how I felt about her, but then told me to stop. Then there was crying, apologizing. Her telling me she did want to kiss me but then how she could not give me what I wanted. B-but then she said she loved me and that she would always be my friend." Erin said, her voice already shaking a little as she felt her emotions starting to get the better of her. "I'm s-so s-sorry Tim, I'm such a bad friend for dropping all this on you but...I just don't know..." Erin said, feeling like she was about to cry just because she really didn't understand and it was frustrating. Did Alex want more with her but was scared about something? Or did Erin get friend zones and not understand that was what it meant?

[Tim Tawfeek]

Tim definitely did not want to mess with all this right now. He'd already started massaging his temple, trying to insist that he needed to listen, that this clearly mattered to Erin, that despite everything Tim wanted to say, he shouldn't just point out that she was probably making something out of nothing. They'd gotten drinks, kissed, and Erin remembered it. Then something about a trip to Japan.

"Yeah, I remember that. Still bummed I couldn't go with," but Tim had stuff of his own to handle. He frowned slightly as she kept going and talking about passing out. "That's generally not--" Tim began, only to pause again as Erin continued. He sighed, leaning against a wall, trying to figure out how exactly he'd gotten involved in all this. Then again, hadn't he just been insisting that Erin branch out and get to know people? Seemed pretty hypocritical to not try and offer up some advice now that she'd up and done it.

"It's fine, Erin, really," Tim said, knowing what he should be saying and feeling immensely bad for not really meaning it as much as he should. "Look, I don't know---wait, this is Alex, right? Short thing," Tim held out a hand, again forgetting, "damn, Erin, aim high for the first one," he let out a chuckle, again massaging the bridge of his nose. "Ok, so, like, it sounds like she's super confused and all, and that, like, she wants to not mess up your friendship or something. Kinda sounds like you got friendzoned there..." Ah, the friend zone, how Tim knew it all too well.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin was at least happy that Tim was listening, even if she felt like he probably didn’t want to hear any of this and had better thing to do. His comment about how he was bummed that he could not go to Japan made her feel bad right away. Shit, I didn't even think to ask any of my guy friends. I only talked about it to the girls...it's like I really did plan to take advantage of whatever female went with me. Damn it all, I'm awful. So lame. Erin thought as she felt like sinking even further into her bed, but she could not. This really was all her fault, despite what Alex had said to her.

Tim assured her that it was fine, but she didn't think it was. She was already crying again with tears running down her face. Thankfully she was mostly a silent crier unless she was scared, so at most Tim would just hear her sniffling from time to time as she tried to stop crying just thinking about all of it. "Y-yeah...Alexandra Lawson." Erin responded with a few small nods, even if Tim would not see them. His next comment had her confused if he was being sarcastic or not or if that was a play on her height. "I...I know she is way out of my league but...she was just so physical and nice that...I'm such a lame loser." Erin responded.

She still could not believe that she had actually thought that she had even the smallest of hope that Alex enjoy kissing her and maybe wanted to do it again. She listened closely as Tim pointed out what Alex had been saying in a way about being confused and could not help but to wince at the friend zoned word. "I...she said that she didn't like me like that...so you are probably right. It's just...I thought she might be saying that because she was like scared to like...I d-don't know, just thought maybe she didn't mean it." Erin responded, rubbing at her eyes. That pained laugh then started to escape her lips as she shook her head.

"I keep forget the guy gets the girl in the end, not the girl. I feel so stupid for thinking that maybe she didn't really mean it. I feel like such a desperate loser. Sorry...sorry you had to deal and hear all of this." Erin responded as she let out a shaky breath. Alex didn’t like her…not at all that way, despite how everything felt? Could that really be true? She didn’t want to think it was but it seemed stupid to try and think and hope any other way. Alex would likely end up with a guy in no time and Erin would be left there wondering what was wrong with her.

[Tim Tawfeek]

Yeah, Alexandra Lawson. that made Tim stop and think of the little redhead. They'd run into each other a few times after all, though Tim somehow doubted that Alex would really remember him. Despite having very similar social circles and friends the two just hadn't linked up enough to really click. Seemed to happen from time to time, and there was no reason to get wrapped up in it.

Plus, it didn't really make much difference now. Tim listened as Erin kept going, talking about the attraction and all. "You're not a loser, Erin. Pretty sure I've said that before," he said, rubbing at his face again. Why was he doing this again? Oh, right, Lux. "And if she was being physical and crap then she was probably leading you on, and you've got every right to be pissed. Not right for her to mess with your emotions like that, especially if she knows how you are at all," and hell, Tim wasn't sure well he knew Erin and even he knew well enough that you didn't want to mess with her emotions and all that.

The bit about scared and didn't mean it... Tim couldn't help but wonder if Alex was experimenting or something and Erin was just the hapless target of it. That definitely was what this sounded like, and he almost felt like saying as much to his friend. Tear off the Band-aid and all that crap. But he couldn't quite do it, especially as Erin kept going, kept sounding far too much like someone he knew.

"Hey, sometimes the nerds get the dream girl," he pointed out, thinking of his own circumstance.... and Jack. Damn jack. "Like I said, maybe Alex was messing with you or whatever, but that stuff happens. Doesn't mean that you're not going to end up with someone. Hell, we haven't hit the game over screen yet. You might still end up with her. Only way you don't is if you give up, stop playing," yeah, Tim had just used a gaming metaphor for dating, but he really couldn't think of anything else and this whole thing was just all kinds of draining.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin felt a little bit better at hearing Tim point out that she was not a loser, even if she still felt like she was. At least a little bit. After all, who crushed on a straight girl and expected to not get hurt after? Okay, she expected to get hurt after but she was not expecting for Alex to respond physically and verbally as she had. It made her just think and wonder if there had to be more behind the other girl's words and maybe she was doing it to protect Erin. For some strange reason. She listened as Tim pointed out how if she was being psychical then she was probable leading her on and that it was okay to be pissed.

The problem was that Erin was not pissed, she just felt sad that she had apparently not been good enough or that something was wrong with her? What was wrong with her? Was she not social enough for Alex? Love the indoors too much? She had felt that they both just really understood one another and both enjoyed one another company that it didn't feel like she had been lead on. Yes, Alex did say in a way that she sort of used Erin and Erin did feel used but...she liked being used when it was by Alex. Was that wrong? That seemed like it was wrong.

Especially given how sensitive she was...was that why she was okay with it because she had enjoyed the feeling so much her emotions grew to love it? Damn this was confusing. Tim then pointed out how nerds did sometimes get the dream girl; Tim was a perfect example of that. "B-but you are a guy so...yeah." Erin pointed out. She was a firm believer that guys had it a lot easier when it came to scoring with the girls then other girls did with the same gender. She was once again silent as Tim was trying to explain, but it was his last words that really stuck with her.

Playing the game and how you would not be sure of an outcome if you stopped playing a game. So...so she had to keep playing the game? Try and win Alex's feelings? That made sense. "I...I think I get it. T-thanks Tim. How do I...how do I repay you for listening to me be such a girl?" Erin asked, slightly chuckling as she sniffed and rubbed at her eyes.

[Tim Tawfeek]

Yeah, Tim was a guy. "And a nerd," he pointed out, since he felt that tidbit was fairly important and key to his identity and all. He sighed and rubbed at his face again. Had he managed to get through this? It felt as if he had, somehow. Erin seemed to be thinking so, considering that she was offering her thanks. Tim wasn't sure if he'd actually offered good advice or just said what he thought Erin wanted to hear so she'd leave him alone or what. He lowered his hand.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I get calls like this from people all the time. There's usually more crying," he had to chuckle at that. He didn't want to think about the amount of time he'd spent giving relationship advice to his friends. For some reason, far too many of them thought he'd figured it all out just because he and Lux had found something they could blunder through together.

Lux, gah, he needed to figure out something to do there. And with Jack. There was just... he'd have to work at something. But for now: Erin.

"You feeling better?" He asked, finding himself slightly surprised with how he actually cared.

[Erin Hackett]

“But still a guy.” Erin added. Yeah, Tim was indeed a nerd; even nerdier then Erin, in her personal opinion. However; he was still a guy and in her mind that just meant his chances of being able to be taken seriously by a girl and not just viewed as cute were higher. Tim might have not felt like he had given good advice, but Erin did. It was the best kind of advice she could get because it was from a friend and not her dad. She knew she could not rely on her dad to explain things to her; even if he was pretty good at explaining things in a logical way.

This just didn’t really seem like a logical manner and since he father was not good with emotions she needed someone who had been with someone to talk to about this sort of thing. She still felt bad for talking about all of this with Tim since he had his own things to deal with. That and she felt that she could have done better at keeping in touch with him due to the recent things she had heard about how Karsen had behaving. “Really? S-sorry to have to add…to that list of people but…I swear I’ll work on the not crying bit.” Erin quickly said, still feeling bad.

She really didn’t like crying in front of other people, but it was just so hard when she was an emotional girl. “Y-yeah…not sure yet how to go about uh…wooing Alex, but…I want to try. Keep playing the game.” Erin responded as she did several nods, peeking her head out of her plush collection and just taking the world in again. While she still felt like hiding away from the world, at the same time she desired to get out in the world and keep trying.

[Tim Tawfeek]

Man, did Erin have to learn about how this whole thing worked. Girls definitely had a better shot at girls if they were, well, look at say a Vera Marcello or a Devyn Solway or... what was the name of that girl that was with Zoe now? Alice? No, that was the other one. Point was: Girls got girls more often than nerds. He was tempted to argue the point; an older version of himself definitely would. But instead Tim just stayed silent, letting Erin think whatever she wanted.

"It's fine," came out as she apologized again. "You gotta cry to someone, right?" He had to smile wryly at that. Should take his own advice or something, right? He leaned his head back again, feeling emotionally drained, and he wasn't sure if it was just this conversation or life in general. Probably some combination of both. And Erin was still going and Tim was still standing there wondering when it was polite for him to hang up the phone.

"You know her, so do it that way," Tim offered. "And, like, be there and stuff. It's not like you're losing if you end up in the friend zone; you're just playing a different game. Plus, you can always just change your name to Ron and get out of there," he had to chuckle at that, knowing there was no way that even Erin was going to pick up on that reference, even if she did spend a fair amount of time on the interwebs.

[Erin Hackett]

What Erin might have been missing or that Tim did not understand, was that Erin fully saw that guys won in the case of woman who were not lesbians. For the case of a girl winning the heart of another girl, Erin was pretty sure that they had to be a full on lesbian for that to happen. If not, well then guys were going to win out no matter what. That was just how she saw it in her mind but that was something she would work on and figure out later. Maybe. Tim assured her yet again that it was fine and that everyone needed someone to cry to.

That made her feel a little better but it was not like she still wanted to have to cry to anyone. Anyone that was not her dad that was, since she cried to her dad a lot and it just felt like it was natural and easier to do. She just felt bad doing it even then, especially when she knew that he was busy. "Y-you...you can cry to me sometimes if you ever want to. I...I doubt I'll have good advice but I would try." Erin responded back. That seemed like something a good friend would do in return and she wanted to be a good friend to Tim. He was good to her, especially after dealing with this phone call when he didn’t have to.

"Yeah...yeah you're right. I'll try and like win her but like...you're right that it’s not a lose-lose if I don't get the girl at the end." Erin responded back, nodding her head a little. It would suck not to win when she had the hope for it but a part of her knew not to hope too much when it came to such a thing. She was Erin Hackett after all and while her father never really said it, it was clear that their family didn't really have the best luck with women, which was probably why they tended to be a generation that only had one child. "Uh...why Ron?" Erin asked, not getting it at all.

She didn't want to become a guy, shew as very happy being a female. "Oh, I should probably let you go. Don't want to hold you up forever." Erin then quickly said when she realized just how long they had been talking to one another.

[Tim Tawfeek]

Cry to Erin? "Maybe, we'll see," was all Tim gave her. He didn't want to admit that chances of his crying to anyone were pretty low at this point, and he definitely didn't want to get Erin involved in the shitstorm his life had become lately. He was pretty sure he could keep holding her at an arm's length though; she'd never been one to be that close and now she had Alex to distract her.

"Exactly, and if she's, like, straight, then friend's as good as it gets," Tim offered, adding another shrug. He didn't know what else to really say there. wasn't like he had a plethora of experience involving homosexual relationships. He was pretty sure that Erin was his only gay friend.

and of course she didn't get the joke, which had him laughing. "Google it,' he offered, smiling, knowing that she would and that it would be easier than explaining. He took another breath, nodding. "Yeah, sure, I'll see you around," he hung up right after, not wanting to give her a chance to really continue. Somehow, he had a feeling that they wouldn't be seeing much of each other, not with what they had on their plates.

[Erin Hackett]

Tim didn't really sound to certain about the whole coming to her if he ever needed to cry or something. Erin could understand that, it was not like she seem particularly strong in such and area and no doubt having gone crying to him that he probably viewed her as weak. She let out a mental sight as she felt like she had been demoted a level or something. She didn't say anything on it, just simply gave a silent not as she rubbed at her eyes some more. Damn was she happy that she wore liquid proof makeup, she would have had to deal with a face mess too many times and that would have just been a pain.

Erin just nodded when he spoke about how if she was straight then friendship was the best that she was going to get out of anyways. She wanted to say that he could be wrong here because even if Alex was straight, she certainly was a little bi when drunk. Not that Erin should have even been thinking that and was now scolding herself for being a bad friend again. Who knew liking a girl like this would cause her to think in such ways? Well, Erin knew. She had liked tons of girls before and thought this very way before, just never thought of actually trying to win said crushes feelings back or in the first place.

He said google it and she was already making her way out of her bed to do that, with the phone call wrapping up. Time was quick to hang up before Erin could say anymore, but it was not like she had any more to say. She had a thing to google to figure out what Tim meant and information to google on swooning a woman.