"Also, we know Tom has a crush on Jayce but we never really got to learn why or why Tom even decided to speak with Jayce back in the day. "
I thought it was obvious he decided to speak to Jayce BECAUSE he was already interested. Kinda had that happen to me too. A guy 2 years older went to me and started a conversation when I was all alone in school.
Nothing really came out of that, we just interacted a little throughout the following years. It didn't even cross my mind at the time but when I look back and analyze it, he was clearly taking a chance with me. Tom had a similar aproach with Jayce, only it actually worked.