Over the time of standing out there, Tatum had relaxed a bit. Enough that her shoulders and neck hadn't been tensed up, and enough that her knees weren't shaking. She was in the process of tossing the roach onto the ground, when Amber started talking about Frankie, and all of the tension rushed back into the girl's body. She stiffened up, a frown crossing her face as she listened to Amber speak.

"W-What? No! Why would she be with Gray? She's not-- she's.. she isn't.. I mean, she was, once, but that was like.. n-nothing. It wasn't anything. She's with me," Tatum managed, trying not suppress the stammering, to stand up for once. She felt actually offended for the first time. She could take everything else Amber said with a grain of salt, she always did, but this was somehow different.

"Why does it matter what we have in common?" she snapped, coming off a little bitchy, and immediately regretting it. If she didn't watch her mouth, she'd be getting her ass kicked, either by Amber herself or one of her cronies. Either way, not good. She hadn't actually gotten beaten up since sophomore year when those girls stuffed her into the trashcan after astronomy, and she intended to keep it that way. "We have.. lots in common. We're not weird. She's not-- she isn't weird. I guess I'm weird, but she's not.. she isn't weird. At all. She's amazing, like.. we like each other. So who cares?"

Getting back to Frankie was at the back of her mind now. She was more concerned with, what she considered, defending her honor. At least for the time being.