I PROMISED, AND I GIVETH! I kept my promise, new TCM story comin' your way!

Inspiration...? Well, I started it when I somehow talked my mother into watching both remake movies with me. Because I missed the first like... 10 minutes when I watched the prequel the first time, that was the part I immediately watched, even before I watched it with my mom. Then when I watched it with her, something just clicked; Tommy needs a friend and he needs love!

... Well, we all knew that anyway, eh? But I kept thinking, that one guy at the factory, that the boss told him to go tell Tommy to leave. He seemed a LITTLE friendly at first - I mean, till he called him a dumb animal. He was trying to be nice, I guess he was scared of Tommy too. So what if someone was like that dude, but treated Tommy better? Like... scared of him a little, but not enough to not be friends with him.

And THIS WAS BORN. I really hope you enjoy it! More Watch and Learn coming soon, too, in case anyone was wondering. :D

Nobody bothered Thomas Hewitt while he was working. That was just a known fact around the Blair Meat Company; more like an unspoken rule, really. If you interrupted his work, you could count on receiving an angry stare and a hard shove. Sometimes he even held up his cleaver as if threatening to bury it in your skull or something if you didn't leave him alone.

But she didn't know that. This was her very first day on the job, and she was hopelessly confused about where to go. She knew she didn't work in the actual slaughterhouse or the butchering area - she knew she was supposed to be on the line, packaging the meat in brown paper and tying it off with twine. But the problem was that she didn't know how to get to there from here. This was the first part of the factory she'd walked into, and nobody had given her a map.

So everyone watching virtually held their breath when the young woman walked up to the masked man, and lightly laid her hand on his arm. Was she crazy, out of her mind? What was he going to do to her for being bold enough to touch him while simultaneously disrupting his focus?

Slowly Tommy turned around, twisting in his seat to face her, and, as far as those looking on could tell, gave her a hard look and tightening the grip on his cleaver. But his eyes softened when they fell on her, because to him she looked... different. More muted than others, toned down a little, and she actually looked shameful about interrupting him - whereas everyone else, once they decided to do it, they just yelled at him. She hadn't spoken yet. He blinked a few times, and tilted his head to the side just slightly, running the tip of his tongue over his top front teeth. This was his cue to her: If you're going to talk, talk.

The woman carefully withdrew her hand, though her finger trailing down the side of his arm as it fell away unintentionally made him shiver. She blinked back twice, and then took a small step away. "I, um... I'm sorry for buggin' you. But, uh..." She looked around nervously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other over and over. "I-I don't know where the packaging room is. I-I'm sorry, it's my first day..."

He watched her carefully, looking for any sign that she might turn on him. They were nice at first, sometimes; then they took to calling him names, giving him disgusted glances. But she was red-faced, and that look in her eyes did scream disgust, but it was disgust with herself, not him. Boy, and if he didn't know what that was like. He really ought to help her. If he could just remember where that room was... wasn't it just to the left of this section? He was terrible with remembering floor plans - terrible with remembering most anything, really. But he didn't feel anger or hate rolling off this woman's body, though, and that prompted him to do what he could to help her.

He placed his knife down on the table where he'd been working, and wiped his bloody hands on his black apron, feeling a compulsion to straighten the garment as he did so. After all, here was a pretty girl who didn't seem repulsed by him; how often did that come along, and he wasn't even presentable? He took a few steps away from his table, and looked back.

She was just standing there, rubbing at her arm and studying the ground. Her face was still pink, color flushing her cheeks all the way up to her temples.

Tommy gave a grunt and waved his hand in his own direction. She was the one who wanted his help, wasn't she? There wasn't any point in it if she just stood there and didn't follow him.

She looked up and the blush in her cheek darkened. "S-Sorry! I'm comin'..." She caught up with him and began to walk beside him; not behind him or in front of him, but beside him. Like she wasn't ashamed to be seen with him. "Thank you... I-I didn't think you'd actually do it. Nobody's been nice to me since I got here."

He nodded slightly. He could understand that; really, no one but his family was kind to others. He looked over at her and offered a shrug, because after all, what could anyone do to change other people's attitudes?

She tilted her head, as if she was thinking. "I guess you're right, there isn't much I can do. I'm glad you're being nice to me." She looked up at him again, at his eyes. "How come everyone's so darn scared of you if you're so nice?"

He paused briefly to think about it, and considered giving her another shrug in response. But he'd be lying to her if he said he didn't know, because he did know why the others were scared of him. Finally he raised a hand and gestured to his mask, brushing the edge with the tips of his fingers.

"Your face? Oh. It can't be that bad, I don't think." The flush of color returned to her face, and she smiled at him... she actually smiled. "I mean, look at me. My hair's nearly white, maybe that's why nobody likes me."

They had reached the room he had been going for first - the locker room for the butcher area. He stopped in the doorway and faced her, gesturing to her and then to himself. He didn't want her to think nobody liked her. He knew that feeling too well, and it wasn't something he'd wish on anyone, especially someone like her.

She raised both her eyebrows, and her smile stretched a little, adopting a sort of glow to it. "You mean... you like me? You don't hate me?"

He shook his head. "Uh-uh."

"Oh." She giggled. "Well, then, I'm sorry for callin' you a nobody. You're not, of course. And I like you too."

Well, he had to admit; that felt good. To know that someone else was showing him the kindness he was showing them. He smiled back at her, which he rarely did. Then he waved her over again, walking to his locker.

She followed him, but he noticed that she looked confused. "I though you were taking me to the packing area. What are we doing here?"

He opened up his locker and pulled out one of his shirts, a dark one that would probably be way too big on her, and held it out to her. If she worked in that completely white outfit, it would be splattered in blood by the time she was finished. Not as bad as someone like him who actually cut up the meat, but he didn't want any part of her clothing getting any stains... she looked pure just like that, and if she got blood on her, she wouldn't look pure anymore.

She shook her head. "Oh, no, no, I couldn't take that. My clothes are comfortable enough, I'll be alright."

He shoved it at her again and swept his hand down the side of her body, starting at her shoulder and ending at her hip, gesturing to her outfit. Then he pointed to the blood on his own apron, and shook his head. "Uh-uh."

"Oh... oh, I see what you mean." She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, which for some reason were long. Didn't she know better than to wear something like that in the Texas heat? She was definitely new around here. "But it's alright, I can work like this. I'll just wash it when I get home."

He shook his head and held it out to her again, this time pushing it into her arms. He grunted and crossed his arms, waiting for her to put it on.

"Okay, okay." She still sounded confused, but she was... smiling. Like she was happy someone cared about her. "If it means that much to you, I'll wear it. Thank you." She slipped it over her head, pulling the bottom down. As expected, it hung off her frame, as she was more slender than he was, but at least it would keep her pretty white clothes from getting all dirty. "Wow..." She giggled. "It's a little big on me! I'll give it back at the end of the day then, if I can ever find my way back here."

He shook his head. He gestured first to himself, then made walking motions with his fingers, then gestured to her.

"Oh, you'll come see me after work? Oh... that works, I guess. Would you mind showing me to the packing room now?"

He nodded, and began to walk. He went outside the building and then turned, in the direction where the other building was. He was sure that was the place; he remembered going there a few times.

The woman broke the silence again. "By the way, my name's Abigail Lawson. Everyone calls me Abby though, you can too. What's your name?"

He looked at her, then looked down, and raised a hand to point at the nametag attached to his black leather apron.

"Oh! Right." She looked down from where she'd been looking at his face and her eyes moved over the tag. "Thomas Hewitt. Oh, I like that name - Thomas."

He shook his head. "Uh-uh."

"No?" She looked very confused now. Then she held up her hands in front of her. "Wait, wait. I think I get it - you want me to call you Tommy?"

He nodded, and gave her another smile - which actually hadn't quite left since he'd smiled at her earlier.

She returned the smile, and then looked down. Her face was all flushed again, and her hands were clasped at her stomach. "Tommy. I like that name even better."

Wheeee! I liked that. Tommy can be scary at first but once he sees you're being nice, he starts being nice back. :D

Reviews are LOVE and when I receive them I get happy and write more. So review if you read please! I'd like it. ^^