Character Analysis
Not Exactly Being All That He Can Be
There's a Tommy Webber in every high school—he's the guy who kisses and tells, the guy who's only as nice to girls as he has to be to get them in the sack. Unfortunately for Deanna, she was one of his conquests. When her dad found them in his car and her brother beat him up, Tommy retaliated the best way he knew how: by spreading rumors about Deanna and ruining her reputation.
Tommy hasn't exactly made the most of his life since graduating from Terra Nova. He's working at Picasso's Pizza and, apparently, not saving any money or doing much with his time off. As their boss, Michael, tells Deanna, "He's always on time. The register is never short. He spends half his paycheck on the Ninja Warrior machine and pizza. I'm practically making money off of him. (3.78). In other words, Tommy's many things, but a high achiever isn't one of them.
Kind of Okay, in His Own Misguided Way
As much of a jerk as he's been to Deanna, Tommy's not entirely horrible. Turns out he actually does have the capacity to change, even if it takes a girl jumping out of his car topless and screaming at him to bring that change about. After Deanna finally confronts him about the way he treated her, he says, "If I really did all that… I mean, I know I did, but if all that was true about how you felt and everything… and, you know, how I talked about it, I'm sorry" (8.72).
It's not the same as realizing the need to apologize without being told, but it does indicate that Tommy's capable of learning something and feeling bad. When Deanna tells him she forgives him, he tells her he feels different—"Different like I don't have to feel like a piece of s*** every time you look at me" (14.19). Even though he'll never know it, this moment—Tommy's last scene in the book—is the one that convinces Deanna she has to apologize to Lee.