#series note

As for notes for the rest of Pretty Little Thing, everything else ended up making it through the drafts. It was always planned for Tamsy to have some type of (not really) rivalry with someone else to spurn the jealousy he has. It was between August, Enjin, and Follo to see who'd be the one to temporarily take the your attention away from Tamsy.

Unlike August or Enjin though, Follo wasn't planned as a romantic rival perse. Had he had been chosen, you would've seen him as a cute little brother to nurture but he'd have an obvious crush on you that would've irked Tamsy to the point of the older man reaffirming your relationship in some public display of affection to ward the boy off.

Tamsy is a possessive man! He wants to be the only one who has your attention. Be it romantic or platonic, anyone who turns your eye away from him is someone to be rid of!

To show this off, Amo was brought in as a sort of replacement for the role the Follo was supposed to fill. It's more complicated given that Tamsy (MAJOR SPOILERS HERE) kidnapped her and starved the girl. You knew he did this, but still decided to stick by him. There was never a question on whether you'd leave him over this, but the fact that the girl has gotten the your attention simply for being so pitiful made Tamsy realize he needed to be more proactive to keep you by his side.

Should this series continue, there'd be a chapter where Tamsy would have to basically fight Amo for your attention. He'd have some air superiority over the girl because of the fact you didn't report him to the other Cleaners when he kidnapped her, but he wouldn't be satisfied until he's shown her that you're is his. Whether that'd be in another public but subtle display of affection like how he dragged you back to his room in Chapter 3, or something more overt in the form of some physical mark, that's up to your imagination for now.

Speaking of scrapped text, there were a few moments and details scrapped from Chapter 4, New Treat. The main scene of note was one between you and Amo. Amo would've seen some type of display of affection between you and Tamsy and, thinking back on her previous "relationship" (which was abusive) she'd ask you if you and Tamsy loved each other.

Your answer would've been noncommittal. Obviously, your relationship with Tamsy isn't exactly normal. The exchange would've hinted that the two of you care for each other in some capacity, and that could've grown into love, but you aren't exactly in love yet.

"It's important to get to know someone before you decide if you can love them." Would've been your answer. "Giving your heart out is a dangerous thing. You have to be careful with who you allow to handle if, if you can."

There was also a scene cut off from when Tamsy walks in as you're brushing Amo's hair. It got cut because it felt too blatant, but he was originally going to comment that he hoped that you didn't "make the same disgusting look your face whenever you brushed" his hair.

He was showing off his jealous side again, but it didn't make sense since you and him hadn't gotten to that point in your relationship where he allowed you to care for an important part of his appearance.

Also, the tension is better when nothing is outright said, like how Tamsy was tempted to kiss you in Chapter 2 but the word kiss is never actually used. He doesn't actually want to admit how you make him feel, which is why he gets flustered at the end of Chapter 3 when he accidentally tells on himself.

But yeah! That's about it for the series note!

Many thanks everyone who read Pretty Little Thing!

Scrapped Text From Alleyway Sweets:

The next time you came around to the HQ, Tamsy asked if you were free any time soon. When everyone else heard about the rather short affair from Semiu (you told him to just pick a day and you'd show), they all thought it a little crazy.

The implications of his question were both obvious and vague. No one had caught onto Tamsy having any sort of feelings towards you. You never interacted for longer than a couple of seconds those rare times you happened to cross paths. 

Semiu took the opportunity to ask Tamsy the reason as to why he was asking you out when he put in his request for time off, knowing that the day he choose would be the one the two of you went out into town. 

"As thanks for the fruits." Was his explanation. "It's important to show gratitude to someone so generous."

He couldn't blame the woman for her curiosity. After all, you're pretty reserved about your personal life, only talking about it in broad strokes when asked. Semiu probably asked you herself. But clearly, whatever answer you gave didn't satisfy her. 

"You sure you don't mean date?" Semiu had pressed, eyes narrowing from behind her glasses, scrutinizing his every bodily movement.

Tamsy didn't hesitate, though.

"I'm sure." He gave her one of his usual smiles.

He thought you were airhead, dumb, and ditsy only a few weeks ago, someone who brought fruits to buy some favor with the Cleaners.

You still act the same as before, like you're a little lost in the head and maybe you are. But the look in your eyes, the way you look so utterly debauched and delighted at the sight of him whenever you happen to catch each other on one of your visits, makes his pulse jump more than he'd like to admit.

The vacant look in them isn't gone. Your eyes are still as empty as before. But they seem to light up, not so much fill, but brighten a little at the sight of him and he's curious as to how you'll react with a little more looking and prodding.

All in all, something very different than romantic interest.

"I'm having Rudo tag along, after all."

And you were absolutely taken by the malnourished boy, happy with the gift Tamsy had brought you. So ready to fatten him up with sweets and delicacies someone might've thought you were the boy's dotting mother or grandmother if not for your age.

The whole time you were out on the town, you gave Rudo all of your attention. Actually, it might be better to say that you just straight up ignored Tamsy in favor of Rudo.

If Tamsy tried to speak, interact or interject with whatever you were doing with the fifteen year old boy, you would just speak over or step in front of him. And because of your ditsy personality, it didn't come off purposeful.

It felt like he was being shunned. No. He was being shunned. You're smarter than you present yourself. You weren't just coincidentally snubbing Tamsy. You were doing it on purpose.

He wasn't as important as Rudo to you. Why would you give him any attention when you had the skinny Rudo to fatten up and make pretty? Tamsy understood well enough that you were just trying to nurture the potential you saw in the boy. Everyone gets tunnel vision in regards to topics they're passionate about.

Still, Tamsy would've liked it if you at least said a word to him, the person who invited you out and gave you such a nice gift.

"Say, Rudo... " You lean in close to the boy as the three of you walk out of the candy store, having just bought the boy a large lollypop. "How would you like to run a small errand?"

"Whatever you want boss!" With you having fully fed into his sugar addiction, Rudo would do just about anything for you right now. Something you planned? Tamsy was unsure. "Tell me my mission!"

"I need you to go buy some flowers. Red, yellow, white; a combination of those three that looks pretty would be nice." You fish your wallet out from your pocket for the umpteenth time today and hand Rudo some bills and coins.

How you have that much money, and how blasé you are about it, everyone is curious. Semiu never told Tamsy or Rudo what kind of job you worked, so maybe it's generational wealth?

"You can keep the change, save it, or spend however you want." Then, you take a look around the area you're currently in before turning back to Rudo with a smile that's a touch too sweet.

"'If you keep going down this street for about 10ish minutes... " You point to your left. "You'll see this corner store with a distinct look to it. Can't miss it. Turn there and the florist should be at the end of the street."

"Got it!" A second later, all that stands in place where Rudo was only a moment ago is unsettled dust. A sugar rush, most definitely.

You just laugh at the boy's excitement and all Tamsy does is raise a brow.

"Did you send him to florist on Drifters?"

"I did."

Tamsy raises a curled finger to just below his bottom lip, resting it over top his piercing. He mentally maps out the directions you gave Rudo in his head.

You're on Lane Street right now. It's a direct shot to Drifters and then a right turn. Your directions aren't wrong per se. But...

"There's two corner stores." Owned by a pair of competitive siblings from Canvas Town, sat right next to each other opposing sides of the street.

They're always trying to outdo the other in terms of aesthetics. That means both stores have a distinct look to them.

"At worst, he'll take thirty minutes."

Oh. So you did that on purpose. And if Rudo said anything about getting turned around, you have plenty of plausible deniability.

Tamsy smirks.

"Finally giving me the time of day?" Tilting his head, Tamsy leans slightly to get a better view of your face.

You still seem happy. But instead of unfiltered sweetness, a kind of nurturing and caring look, you seem mischievous, smug almost.

"What ever could you mean?"

Playing innocent when you both know you're guilty. And for some reason, it makes Tamsy puff as if he wants to laugh.

He'll let you slide for now. Just for a bit at least.

"We should talk somewhere private." He nods in the direction of a nearby alley. Most people don't frequent them this side of town, so it should be safe enough.

You peer over at the alleyway. It seems clear enough, so you shrug and walk into it, Tamsy hot on your heels.

When you're about halfway in, you park yourself against a brick wall. Tamsy stands opposite of you, looking you over one last time as he drops his facade, face flat and seemingly uncaring.

"I'm guessing you had fun?"

"Oh I had plenty of fun!" You giggle, twisting your heels into the ground. "Rudo is such a sweet thing! Eager to learn and grow, I'm sure I'll have him looking nice and pretty in no time."

He was receptive to when you taught him about the different types of fabric and their uses. More than excited for you to treat him to foods he's never heard of before. And most of all, Rudo looked to you as if you had hung the stars in the sky after you gave him his first eclair.

To you, he's just a boy, like clay before it's been fired. You can mold him properly, into his best self, still. And you have plenty of time to do so.

"You must see it too, that lovely boy's potential!"

"I do." Tamsy shrugs. "But instead of that tooth-rotting pampering you're doing, I have a different method to bring it out of him."

"Different?" You purse your lips, not even bothered by his tone. The way he said that word, it made it sound like he was up to no good, and he definitely is. "Different how?"

"Oh it's nothing." He might as well tell you. Depending on your reaction, he can just alter your memories, but he doubts that will be necessary, especially with how you've reacted to him so far.

You saw through his facade of niceties. His soft voice, his easy to look at face, and you didn't say a word of it to Semiu or Corvus despite being closer to them than he is to you.

Is it because of your similar natures? Being sick in the head? Or do you just find him so pretty you don't mind stabbing your friends in the back?

"I plan on breaking Rudo."

"You mean to harm him?" Your brows furrow, but you don't look appalled in the slightest. You just look confused. "How will that work? That boy is basically bones. Physical reprimand will likely kill him."

Tamsy scoffs.

"Use that head of yours." He reaches over and not so lightly taps your head. "I know you're not that dumb."

"Just spell it out for me. Thinking can be tiring, you know."

"You just want to hear me say it." Tamsy isn't stupid. For how sadistic and clever he is, he has to be quick on the uptake. This is the first time he's spoken so freely to you.

That must mean you're going to enjoy how pretty he is and stretch out the moment as much as you can.

Tamsy properly leans over you, trapping you against the brick wall with one of his hands planted beside your head, eyes zeroed in on your face.

"Fine." He snarls. "I'm going to mentally torment that boy, make him feel every type of sorrow, grief, and hate until it consumes him whole."

"Oh... " You shrink, eyes darting off to the side. "That's mean of you."

"Mean?" Just mean? Not even awful or horrible?

For how much you dotted on the boy today, he thought you would've had a more adverse reaction. How you describe things to be pretty has been centered around a person's health and wellbeing.

All you've done is spout how you wanted to fatten up the people around you, how everyone is too skinny for your liking. Then again, now that he thinks back on it, Tamsy remembers what you said during your first meeting, your first actual meeting.

You were talking about his face, how you already found him pretty. The only thing you would change would be the face he was wearing. Your exact words were how such fakeness was nice and all but that his true personality was far more beautiful than the act that he was putting on.

You enjoy things that are pretty in the aesthetic sense, and having a healthy body aids in that, but you also enjoy things in their most base nature.

If he's right about this, which Tamsy has a feeling he is, you'll enjoy Rudo's wrath as much as you do filling his stomach with sweets.

(MISSING SCENE)

"You're a freak." He downright spits right into your ear, and you shudder. Not shake, but full on shudder. 

Not because you relish in being insulted by him (something he has yet to fully test), but because he's dropped his nice and gentle personality that he's had to keep up. Here, right now in front of you, you get to enjoy the actual Tamsy. 

Mean bordering on cruel, lovingly sarcastic, and a handful too much sadistic: ask you're left to do is sigh wistfully at that.

Your eyes looking anywhere but his face as you raise your shoulders to shrink into, hands pushing at his to try and put some distance between the two of you, shying away from how giddy he's making you feel.

And when Tamsy leans in closer, truly caging between him and the brick wall behind you, leaving barely more that an inch or two between your chests, you bite your lip.

Not because you're nervous or uncomfortable. You're trying to stop yourself from smiling.

Smiling.

"I'm going to put Rudo through hell and you're getting weak in the knees because I'm insulting you."

"You said you were giving me a gift!" You whine, a nice pitchy whine, lip pulling itself from between your teeth. "One gift! Not two! It's a lot to handle!"

Two gifts?

What do you mean-

Oh.

Oh.

Tamsy grins a Cheshire smile that can only mean trouble.

"You're disgusting, you know that?" He looks you dead in the eye as he speaks, a single hand reaching up behind your head, deft fingers threading through your hair, nails scratching at your scalp in a way that makes your shoulders fall lax, before clenching into a fist and pulling down hard, forcing your head to drag back against the wall a little, chin up and neck flexed from how you instinctively archb your back from the pain.

What do you do? Do you cry? Do you ask him to stop? Of course not. Why would you? Any normal person would've shoved him away and ran crying to Corvus about his own disgust behavior.

You? The opposite.

Your feet are rooted into the ground. Your knees bend towards each other. Your hands fist in the fabric of his clothes and pull, not push, but pull him closer.

Then your jaw drops open, lip slightly puffy from being bitten, and you give him one of those pathetic cries, the kind that's more air than it is your own voice.

"You like it." You tug him nice and close, chests now compressed, breaths mingling as Tamsy keeps you down beneath him, hand still fisted in your hair. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be here in this alley like this. You wouldn't have given me that first gift in the first place."

And maybe he does. More than he thought he would anyway. But he's not going to tell you that and give you the satisfaction of being right to the point he'd like it out of you kept your mouth shut so you can't tease him more.