More to Life Than This - Tanner

[Robbie Wilkes]

It had been three hours of dates upon events upon wars upon stupidity after another and Robbie was getting quite sick of it. Yes, the fact that this upcoming graduation was important to him did occur to the blond weather manipulator. Not just because his friends were essentially about to leave him to pursue better crop fields, or however the saying went.

The couch they were on was a choice regretfully made because it was just not conducive to a studying environment. It was plush, it made the little butt indentations when you got up, and it was nearer to the dimmer part of the library where if the light went just a little bit lower, one could be deceived into thinking it was nighttime and therefore it was time to sleep.

Robbie's head was lolling as Tanner's surprisingly soothing higher octave voice permeated through his skull every once in awhile.

He found refuge on Tanner's shoulder every now and again, apologising to the older boy every time he did so. In the times when he was awake enough to hear English words coming out of his third tutor, [Alyss and Estelle were busy with their own studies, he couldn't very well bug them] he did a lot of shirt tugging and hair ruffling. Suffice it to say, Robbie was getting restless.

At one point in his head lolling, he actually buried his face in Tanner's neck, rubbing his cheek against the cottony soft texture of the other boy's t-shirt, trying to find a perfect spot to lay his head; like a cat pacing its sleeping spot before settling down for a nap.

Once he started to drop from Tanner's shoulder, he cried out in anguish and slammed his textbook shut on his lap, causing a few startled library-dwellers to glare at the pair. Purposefully ignoring the stares, he looked up at Tanner with a pleading look, the corner of his lips tugging down in a pout. "This is ridiculous I can't concentrate this library is suffocating my brain cells let's do something outside please?"

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten roped into helping Robbie study. The blonde had enough difficulty maintaining his own high Grade Point Average without having to worry about other people's marks. But the two were friends, and Tanner was a complete pushover, so when Robbie had asked, the pyro had really had no other choice but to comply. At any rate, it wasn't in the young blonde's nature to deny a call for help - quite the contrary, Tanner loved helping others whenever he could - but he only wished Robbie could just focus for a little while.

Tanner was the type of boy who took his classes seriously: he always did his homework on time, studied hard for his tests, and was proud to be one of the top students of his class. So needless to say, when Robbie suggested they sit on one of the couches and then proceeded to laze around and try, on more than one occasion, to use his shoulder as a pillow, he didn't take it particularly graciously - especially considering the fact that Tanner had an abnormally high body temperature, and so this just made him warmer, almost uncomfortably so. Tanner was never a rude kid, but he had prodded Robbie at least twice with a heated finger, giving him a stern look and a short lecture on the importance of paying attention if he wanted to do well and graduate with his friends; these little lessons didn't seem to stick, though, and it wasn't long before Robbie was begging him to let them go outside.

"Outside?" Tanner repeated. "But... we've barely gotten any work done." He frowned; he liked doing his work. But Robbie, as he already learned, was apparently not the same way. Actually, they were different in a lot of ways; Robbie was much more outgoing, spontaneous, and flirtatious than he was, while Tanner was much quieter and more thoughtful. He wasn't even really sure how the two had become friends; that was just how different they were. But Robbie was always a pretty nice guy, and Tanner was trying to broaden his horizons in the friend department, so he was willing to look the other boy's... idiosyncracies... for the sake of getting along.

Besides, Robbie was cute as hell. Were it any other guy, Tanner would be absolutely wild about the boy's face being buried in his neck, and the blush that developed on Tanner's cheeks certainly confirmed this as he attempted to keep his thoughts on his reading; but this was Robbie, Robbie who was straight, Robbie who had a girlfriend, Robbie who was being just a little too touch-feely for the library. In fact, based on the glares they were now getting, Tanner decided that perhaps Robbie was onto something with his suggestion. "I guess a little break wouldn't hurt," he said. "But after that, we're buckling down," he added sternly, eyebrows furrowed just slightly. "So, what do you want to do?" He asked, gently closing his textbook as he turned to look at the other blonde. He certainly looked tired, now that Tanner was facing him; he should probably go take a nap, but then Tanner wouldn't have anything to do.

[Robbie Wilkes]

Robbie liked to think he was persuasive. Charming, would be the word that he thought best described his personality. That was how he made friends with the likes of Estelle Flores, JD Paerson, Ann Hudgins even and of course, there was Tanner. There was nothing false about his charms though. He didn't lie to get what he wanted. He simply pinpointed truths about a person and went from there. Sure, people found that to be deceitful but he thought of it as a means to an end. Most of the people he befriended served their purposes quite well in his life. They also sort of end up being his best buddies.

It didn't matter to him if they actually hate him in secret or if they have nothing in common; hell, he had nothing in common with Ann but they got along well, it wasn't so much of opposites attract than it was of Robbie-would-befriend-a-lamppost-if-he-could type thing. And while he thought Tanner was a tad too quiet most of the time and far too serious, he enjoyed spending time with the blonde [shocker, really] because Tanner was willing to listen to his rambles without complaint.

He was also smart and that was a huge bonus. Robbie liked to hang out with smart people because he knew he could learn a lot from them. Or relearn what he had lost. And if Robbie were more truthful with himself, it was also because Tanner was damn good looking. That smile of his, whenever he did anyway, could melt ice and that wasn't even an expression.

All in all, Robbie liked Tanner and didn't quite care that they had nothing in common except for their hair colour. Which Robbie had to admit was kind of weird since his tolerance for blondes was not as high as it was for brunettes. He didn't know what it was really.

And one thing he knew that could easily persuade people to do his bidding was his whining. It was loud, obnoxious and...really loud. And in a place where people actually demanded silence, he thought he had the science down pat. He did visibly brighten when Tanner finally agreed to let them have a rest. "Oh goodie. Okay, I know it's sorta distracting and stuff but could we play Rock Band? We could play like...for half an hour at least. Studies show that taking half hour breaks is conducive to studying with a partner." At this point, Robbie knew even Tanner knew he was mostly talking out of his ass. But anything to stop the other blonde from wanting to continue studying.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner liked to think he wasn't susceptible to Robbie's charms - or anyone else's, for that matter. He was used to being more or less alone, an introvert, someone who was more comfortable when by himself than when with others. So how could he be persuaded by puppy dog eyes, or a whiney voice, or the magnificent warmth of Robbie's face in the crook of his neck- err, or by anything else people did that could persuade him? Perhaps Tanner just had a more bloated ego than one would think, but he would never admit that he, like anyone else, could be affected by charms.

It would not surprise Tanner in the slightest to hear that Robbie was his friend because he was smart; heck, if someone were to ask, that would probably be the first reason he would cite; after all, it wasn't like they had anything else in common. Tanner was used to being more or less used for his intelligence, and Robbie certainly wasn't the first person to hit him up for a tutoring lesson. Sometimes it made him feel a bit badly - did people just like him because they knew he couldn't say "no" to requests for help? - but he figured everybody used everybody else for something at some point; he would just have to figure out what he could use Robbie for.

The blonde pyro would never - never - admit this aloud, but the look that Robbie got in his eyes when he finally relented and agreed to take a break with him was... absolutely precious. He was like a little kid who was just told they would, in fact, be going to Disney World. It was endearing, really, and it was all Tanner could do to bury his face in his backpack as he stuffed his textbook into the largest compartment to avoid making it terribly obvious that he was blushing.

He stood now, slinging the backpack over his shoulder. Rockband, eh? That sounded... interesting. "Umm... I've never played," he said with a shrug. He knew what it was, of course, and how it worked, but nobody had ever asked him to play before; most of his friends didn't even own the game, anyway. "And that's not true," he said, eyebrows furrowing again. "Studies have shown that taking breaks only inhibits the brain's ability to move new information from the section that stores short-term memories to the section that stores long-term memories." Yep, Tanner was a nerd. "So, uhh... your room, then?" He couldn't believe he was doing this; he had told Robbie he would help him study, and now they were just wasting time. And Tanner hated wasting time, especially his own. But he supposed time spent with Robbie, in Robbie's room... well, maybe that was time well-spent.

[Robbie Wilkes]

Were he at all aware of how bad Tanner felt, Robbie would have been crestfallen. Ever since the prank and getting together with Dani and especially after finding out that his parents had moved without telling him, Robbie was mumch too full of emotions. It was ridiculous especially since he needed all his emotions dealt with immediately in order to not distract him from his graduation goals.

...

Moving on.

He was, at the moment, unaware of Tanner's thoughts and good thing he was since he would have probably grovelled and have a guilty conscience the size of the earth. To top it all off, because Tanner was such a nice guy, that guilt would have doubled. Turned out, Robbie had a soft spot he wasn't quite aware of.

Jumping up after Tanner, Robbie collected his books quickly but was interrupted mid pick up when Tanner revealed he had never played before. "You poor baby!" Robbie straightened up, his height just an inch shorter than Tanner, before he reached a hand out and patted Tanner's cheek lightly in sympathy. "We'll totally rock though."

Robbie stared at Tanner as he explained his 'study' and the younger blond rolled his eyes. "Jeez, fine, Mr Know-it-All." He teased, bumping slightly Tanner as they walked in the direction of Robbie's dorm room. "Yeah, my roommate has the equipment and all. He doesn't mind if we borrow it so we're cool." He hitched the strap of his bag and they spent the walk chatting idly.

Once they arrived at Robbie's dorm, the first thing Robbie did, as per usual, was remove his top to get into something more comfortable. With one hand unbuttoning his shirt, the other hand shoved his bag down to the ground while both his feet kicked off the sneakers he was wearing into a corner.

"Soda's in the fridge and snacks and stuff are in the cupboard overhead. Help yourself to anything. I'm going to go change for a bit." He said just as he shrugged his shirt off in favour of tugging on a new tee.

"So this might sound a bit rude and stuff but...if you've never played Rockband..what the hell have you been doing in your spare time? Reading actual studies about taking breaks?" Robbie poked his head out and grinned so it didn't sound too much like an insult.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner couldn't help but roll his eyes when Robbie offered his sympathies and patted him on the cheek upon hearing that the pyro had never played Rock Band before - although these words and action did make his face feel even hotter than usual. It was moments like these that made the blonde realize just how different they were from one another. Robbie was much more similar, for instance, to Zac, both of whom were certainly more rambunctious and, well, easily entertained than Tanner ever was. All of the boys around here were so touchy-feely, as well; you would never find Tanner patting someone else on the cheek. Although this was the same kid that had been using his shoulder as a pillow just now, so he supposed he should be used to the other boy's displays of physical - well, it wasn't affection, but whatever it was, it was certainly physical - by now.

And then Robbie called him "Mr. Know It All," which made Tanner grin; not only did he like the Kelly Clarkson reference, intentional or otherwise, but he did like it when people appreciated his intellect, and if anyone should be appreciating it right now, it should be the boy he was helping graduate on time. "And don't you forget it," he said with a friendly wink - extremely bold, perhaps, but heck, what was a wink between friends, especially one wh owas obviously straight as an arrow? He elbowed Robbie after being bumped as the two headed out of the library and across campus to the dorms.

Upon entering Robbie's room, Tanner turned away to shut the door behind him, and was given the shock of his life when he turned back towards Robbie to find that the other blonde was now shirtless! Having absolutely no idea how to respond to this, he simply turned away again, suddenly quite interested in his shoelaces, a hand instinctively clutching to the back of his neck (a nervous habit he had always had). It was, of course, silly that he had turned away; Robbie was, after all, a guy, so it wasn't like he had just walked in on Lindsey changing or something. "Uh, thanks," he said meekly when Robbie offered him something out of the fridge. Suddenly he was feeling very hot, and so he went ahead and did just that, grabbing a can of coke out of the fridge and chugging half of it gracelessly.

But why did he care that Robbie had taken his shirt off? Why had that made him suddenly so nervous, so uncomfortable? Guys took off their shirts all the time and Tanner never seemed to care; hell, back in gym class that was something they all did regularly, and it never bothered the blonde in the slightest. Regardless, Tanner was suddenly thinking perhaps coming back to Robbie's room wasn't such a good idea; he had some thinking to do. "Uhh, this and that," he replied when Robbie asked him what he did all day, eyes darting around the room like a trapped squirrel looking for a way to get out of the room as soon as humanly possible. This was terrible, this was just terrible; he did not like the way Robbie was making him feel right now, nor did he understand it in the slightest.

But suddenly the rational, logical, thoughtful part of Tanner took over, telling him to relax, telling him that it was natural for a gay boy to occasionally gawk at the idea of an attractive young man such as Robbie taking his shirt off in front of him. It was a natural part of growing up, was all. No sense in getting worked up over it; they were friends, and that was fine. He just had to keep himself under control, in order to avoid similar discomfort in the future. Finishing off the rest of his soda, he tossed the can into the trash and collapsed onto the couch, waiting for Robbie to come join him. Robbie his friend. Robbie his straight friend.

Robbie who needed to put some clothes on before he beat the shit out of him.

[Robbie Wilkes]

There were certain things that Robbie took for granted. One of them being his lack of boundary awareness. He was so used to being physical with everyone he met [he made it a point to jump on a taller boy's back, wrap his arm around a girl's shoulder as they walked, or basically just being up in people's faces all the damn time] that he figured as long as they didn't complain, he was in the clear. And it didn't help that he was completely unaware of Tanner's discomfort.

Robbie grinned and chuckled at Tanner's quip, nodding in appreciation at his friend's blase attitude to his teasing. The younger blonde liked people who didn't take things too seriously. Most of the people he acquainted himself with had been 'trained' to withstand his teasing so it was all good. And then there were people like Tanner who just go with it. He was alright in Robbie's book obviously.

Still oblivious to Tanner's discomfort and not too aware of the older boy trying very hard not to look at him shirtless, Robbie took his time with his shirt. It wasn't like he was ashamed of his body. He had a rocking one and he was proud to show it off. He was probably only delaying it so that Tanner could appreciate...nope, he was definitely prolonging the shirt wearing so that Tanner would appreciate his body.

Why? Heaven knows.

Looking around for the console, Robbie had to do a lot of stretching and bending over to find the cables and equipment. When he finally found everything [his roommate had put everything everywhere], he set it up and finally put his shirt on. "Okay you know what everything is right?" Robbie asked, handing Tanner one of the plastic guitars.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner wasn't sure why Robbie's sudden shirtlessness was making him so uncomfortable, anyway; given his abnormally high body temperature, the blonde usually wore less clothing than most people himself, wearing shorts and a tee shirt in winter, and actually going topless himself quite frequently in the summer (despite his meekness, he had learned that it was literally impossible to function in the summer without doing everything he could to stay cool, and this included frequent cold showers, minimal clothing, and anything else he could think of). So why was Robbie taking his shirt off making him so uncomfortable? This was a question the young male just simply couldn't answer - and that concerned the "know-it-all" more than anything.

But God, the weather manipulator was sure taking his time finding another shirt to put on. Even worse, he was contorting his body this way and that, muscles flexing and relaxing, flexing and relaxing, as he looked for the game equipment. This was getting to be like something out of a bad porn movie - not that Tanner knew anything about that. But suffice it to say that this situation was making Tanner feel hotter than ever, and it was clear the boy was getting more and more flustered. What was happening to him? Why couldn't he take his eyes off Robbie as he bent down to grab something off the floor? No, this wasn't okay, and in fact he was starting to feel a bit dizzy, a common symptom when his body temperature was getting too high. The pyro walked rather quickly to the cupboard, holding onto the counter for support as he grabbed a glass and filled it up with water at the sink, chugging it down. The water was lukewarm, which obviously didn't help, and so instead he took the glass, went over to the freezer, and took six or seven ice cubes, placing them into the glass and putting the glass against his forehead. He was breathing shallowly now - a result of his body temperature, not just the half-naked boy behind him - the sweat from the glass dripping down his forehead towards his chin. All of this was done with his back to Shirtless Robbie, and when he was finally feeling a bit more comfortable - the ice having melted after coming into contact with his high body heat - he turned around to see the other boy extending a controller towards him.

Well, this was embarrassing.

"Uhh... heatwave," he said simply, gesturing towards the glass that was still placed against his forehead, which had helped some but had not completely lowered his temperature to normal levels. "I, uh... was hot." Hot and bothered, more like it. "Can we turn the AC up?"

[Robbie Wilkes]

Not paying attention to Tanner's sudden 'heatwave' Robbie missed out on actually piecing two and two together. The vaguely sudden explanation of the appearance of the glass on his forehead was taken with a nod and an awkward smile. "Sure. The knobby thingie is by the fridge." He said distractedly as the game started to load.

"I'm guessing you at least know a thing or two about the game. But if you need to get the basics down, we could totally do the practice session first. Let you get to know your equipment first." Surely Robbie saw the joke in that.

He slung the guitar around his shoulder and deftly pressedd buttons to get the game started. "If you need rain, just ask. I'm pretty good at getting rain down now." Robbie grinned proudly. Powers training had been a breeze to pass. Having Dani around had definitely gotten him used to keeping his emotions in check. Apparently love, or something equivalent to it, was a pro to handling every other emotion he had.

He'd have to thank Dani some day.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner could only be grateful that Robbie didn't know the real reason he was suddenly so hot; that would, after all, make things excruciatingly awkward. The blonde could just see himself sprinting from the room and not stopping until he was safely in another county - thankfully this was not a necessary course of action.

The boy quickly found the thermostat on the wall by the fridge, just where Robbie said it would be, and unironically turned it down to thirty - looking askance at the weather manipulator as he did so, for he didn't want to get scolded for making it so cold. He couldn't help it though - heck, he was just born this way. They could always turn it back up once Robbie got too cold - or for crying out loud, he could just put some more clothing on.

Mmm, rain... that sounded good at that moment, although somewhat unhelpful given that they were indoors. Could Robbie make weather indoors? He wasn't really sure how that worked. If he was in his own room he would've gotten in the shower just to cool off, but obviously that wasn't a possibility here. Or was it? Well... he would feel weird using somebody else's shower, especially someone who didn't really understand the experience of burning up in the middle of February. He would only ask if he really needed to.

"Nah, I don't think so," he said at the offer of a practice session. Sure, he'd never played the game before, but he wasn't a complete moron. The joke about equipment totally went over Tanner's head as he took his guitar, deciding against utilizing the shoulder strap and instead just resting it on his lap as he sat down next to the other blonde. "What songs are there?"

[Robbie Wilkes]

While Tanner adjusted the temperature, Robbie fiddled with his guitar and scanned the list of songs that he hadn't played yet and found one that he had always wanted to play but always chose another because he didn't want to look like a noob in front of his roommates. It was okay if Tanner thought he was a noob right?

The sudden cold didn't bother the weather manipulator at all; temperature hardly ever mattered to Robbie due to his abilities, he could adapt easily to any kind of temperature.

"Alrightie then let's rock!" He opened the song list once more and the likes of AC/DC and System of a Down and Journey appeared. "Why don't you choose? I'm good with anything." He shrugged, letting the other boy take the lead this time. He'll get to play his song another time if it didn't come up this time round. "They've got everybody I think. Bon Jovi, the Go-Gos, Bob Dylan, Guns N' Roses, The Who." Robbie listed all the ones he remembered off the top of his head.

[Tanner Larson]

((I'm making up a song choice because I just looked at the list of songs offered on Rock Band and was not impressed haha))

As Tanner scrolled through the list of song options, he was already starting to feel better: now that the room was getting cooler, and Robbie was clothed, things were back to normal, which was just the way he liked it: no stress, no awkwardness, no sexual tension- wait, what? That wasn't the reason Robbie had been inadvertantly making him uncomfortable, was it? No, they were just friends... that would just be wrong.

His eyes lit up suddenly. "Carry On Wayward Son - I love this song!" He said excitedly - and this, coming from a boy who was so rarely excitable, was probably a sight to see - as he chose that song. "Sweet, I'm gonna totally rock this."

And so they played, Tanner with a look of determination in his eyes, tongue sticking out to the side as he concentrated. After all, this was his first time, and he wanted to make an impressive showing for his first try. They kept playing after that, going from song to song, Tanner getting better and better - not to mention colder and colder, just as he liked it - and it wasn't until the end of "Wanted Dead or Alive" that Tanner looked at his watch and found that they had been playing for over an hour. "Robbie, it's been like an hour," he said, giving the other boy a playful punch. "We were supposed to get back to studying forty minutes ago." He dropped his guitar onto his lap with finality.

[Robbie Wilkes]

Tanner's enthusiasm was well received as Robbie shared in on it as he got ready with his guitar. "Awesome choice, dude!" And with that, he spent the next hour rolling around on the floor, jumping on the couch and head banging to the game. Of course, he had to sing with the song as well, which earned him a smack up the head from his roomie.

She obviously didn't think he had a masterful singing voice.

When Tanner punched him, Robbie made a face as he looked at the clock on the wall. "Whaaaat?" He exclaimed. "We just started five minutes ago!" He whined, collapsing on the couch with a grunt. "Okay fine, we'll study. But I ain't gon' go to the library again thanks. We'll just continue here." Robbie took his time cleaning everything up, making every single excuse to prolong actually studying.

But when he finally settled, with chips and sodas strewn across the table he had designated for studying, he looked at Tanner with a determined look on his face. "Alright tutor dude. Let's do this." Robbie started humming "Eye of The Tiger" under his breath as he flipped through the pages of his textbook.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner was as surprised as anyone that he was getting into the game: he'd never done anything like this before, and had barely played video games as a child, so this was a whole new world for him, and he had to admit that he was enjoying it. It was as though he was discovering a part of himself he hadn't realized was latent within him, a part of his childhood that he hadn't yet accessed but was now coming out. This was fun. This was really fun. Why hadn't he done this before?

Of course, he wasn't quite so excited as Robbie, who was bouncing around and scream-singing along to all of the songs, but regardless, a good time was had by all.

Once he had come to his senses and forced Robbie to turn off the game, he found himself spending an awful lot of time sitting on the couch, waiting for Robbie to calm down and get back in the "study zone." This really was like trying to get a little kid to settle down at bedtime: he made a mental note to thank his mother later for putting up with this. "Fine, we can just continue here," he said, giving a lazy shrug. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly in the mood to study anymore - he'd been doing it for several hours already today - but he knew Robbie wanted to help, and he never could say no. Letting the guitar slide out of his lap and onto the floor, he bent over to reach into his backpack, pulling out his textbook and placing it on the table, where it was soon joined by a wide variety of chips and sodas. Sugary snacks and drinks - just what Robbie needed. He rolled his eyes clandestinely before picking up his textbook once more and opening it up.

"Alright, we were on chapter five," he said, thumbing through the pages before finding their place. The book was in his lap, but he realized that didn't make much sense - did Robbie even have his with him? - so he shifted closer to Robbie and placed the textbook between them, one side of the book on each of their legs. "Gravity. Hoo boy." He wasn't sure how he was going to teach this; he wasn't even that much of a fan of physics. He preferred chemistry and calculus, really. "It's like..." He noticed the book was starting to sag into the gap between their legs, so he shifted a bit closer to the other blonde so that the book would stay up. He looked up at the weather manipulator, realizing they were right next to each other now. Like, bodies almost touching. Eep. It was then that he remembered how uncomfortable he had been just an hour earlier, which apparently he had managed to all but forget while they were playing Rock Band. "It's like... how two objects pull one another towards themselves. And the closer they are... the stronger the... attraction."

Gulp.

[Robbie Wilkes]

Robbie was glad Tanner was enjoying himself. He always took pleasure in having any number of his friends like something he had introduced them to. And Tanner was just much too serious sometimes that seeing him let loose put a smile on the younger blonde's face.

But of course, all good things had to come to an end and while he could whine till Sunday about not wanting to study, Robbie knew he needed to get over it and just study. Besides, Tanner was giving up his free time [when he could have been studying anyway], the least Robbie could do was make it worth his while. He was a good student, he was, he just needed the extra push.

Leaning close to Tanner as he pointed out the subject they had stopped at. Immediately, he could sense Tanner's discomfort, even as the older boy moved closer to bridge the gap the book was falling into. Robbie could feel the heat coming off the other boy and he looked up just as the other blonde finished his sentence.

Single Robbie would not have hesitated to jump on the tension and played it out to his advantage. A lot of restraint was present as Robbie tried to go back to the subject at hand. But Tanner was right there.

"Newton's head must have had a blast with that revelation huh?" Robbie laughed nervously, running his fingers through his hair. "Hot in here," he noted, pinching the front of his t-shirt and moving it back and forth to get a little wind.

"So...this isn't working out as I hoped. I...thanks for helping out. And uh...you nailed that last guitar solo, I gotta say." Robbie jumped up, accidentally sending the book flying up, probably hitting Tanner in the face. "Uh...I'll, I'll pay you next week. I'm kind of tight on cash right now. Uh...take the soda as collateral. Or something." Robbie practically shoved the soda bottle in Tanner's face.

This was getting so much awkward.