LATIBULE | Tom Holland

chapter one

I WAKE UP on a monday morning at 5am. finally semester break, the last school year, was a real ride. without thinking about it any longer i jump out of bed and already hear my brother Charlie calling from downstairs "hurry up, i'm not waiting for you". i roll my eyes and quickly hop under the shower and get ready.

finished and freshened up i go downstairs with my huge backpack on my back to find a young man in sweatpants and a shirt lying on the couch. "I thought we were in a hurry?" I ask, and all I get in reply is a shrug of the shoulders. "I just didn't want you to take hours again, but let's go" my brother says and takes my bag.

we are going on a road trip. did i ever think i would go on one? definitely. with my brother? never.

but since my heart was broken a few weeks ago and he lovingly offered me a ride, why not. i have absolutely no idea who else will be along, he said just two of his buddies and another girl, later we would meet others. if this is such a diva, i swear to god i'm walking home. i don't care how far it would be.

we get into his jeep, check again if we have everything with us, tents, mattresses and our things and drive off. i open the window and let my head hang out, the warm morning air waving through my hair. we have to drive for a while, to an airport here in LA to collect his friends. meanwhile i can enjoy the peace and quiet for a while.

about an hour later we arrive at the huge and bright airport. he drives a few rounds looking for his friends until he finally calls them.

"hey where are you mate?" the voice of a young british man greets him on the other end of the phone. we quickly describe to him where we are and within a few seconds we see two more cars behind us. the guys get out to greet each other, but i don't want to get out. it is still early in the morning and i don't feel like putting on my shoes. however, i have decided this without my brother. i am leaning slightly on the door when he abruptly opens the door and i almost fall out "are you crazy?" i ask him snappishly.

"boys, this is my little sister Yn" i unbuckle my seatbelt, slip quickly into my shoes and walk out of the car. the two boys are tall, not as tall as Charlie, but definitely taller than me. a blond boy with the bluest eyes i have ever seen laughs at me and holds out his hand. "I'm Harrison, but you can call me Haz. nice to meet you." says the young man, or Harrison, in deepest British. I have to stifle a laugh. "nice to meet you." i laugh lightly and lose myself in his eyes. god they are beautiful.

"oh yes, and this is my girlfriend Liv." he says and puts his arm on the lower back of a smaller girl. and god, she is beautiful. her brown hair looks perfect, even though she probably just had an hour-long flight behind her. her brown eyes glisten in the sunlight and she beams at me. "hey, i'm glad i'm not alone with these idiots." she says with a light laugh. i've never met a person so quickly, so sympathetically.

well, i can probably put Harrison out of my mind. my gaze swings over to a very handsome young man. his brown curls lie in the wind a little above his face. he takes off his sunglasses and two brown eyes appear underneath. the sunlight shimmers through them slightly, making them look slightly golden. oh. my. god.

blond is not my type anyway.

"hello, i'm Tom" he speaks with a much heavier accent than the Harrison. a few seconds pass and i notice how i just stare at him. "oh sorry, nice to meet you." i say with a nervous laugh and i notice myself blushing. he smiles at me and his eyes switch between my brother and me.

i made up my mind. i really did.
not my brother's friends. it's worked so far. but this time-

we chat for a short while and then get back into the cars and the journey begins. i lean back in the seat and enjoy the air coming through the open roof window. but my thoughts were only on him. i can't stop thinking about him, even though i don't know anything about him at all, except his name. maybe he even has a girlfriend! i should just put that out of my mind and enjoy my hot girl summer. yeah right.

"Char?" i say to my brother curiously. "what's up little sis" he says while mimicking my voice. i slap his shoulder playfully. "does Tom actually have a girlfriend?" yes i know, you couldn't have asked more directly. but i'm curious.

his reaction was everything. he laughs briefly and brushes his hand through his hair. "he dated a girl a few months ago. but it didn't turn out as nice as he wanted, I guess he wants to stay alone for now." he answers with a glance in the rear view mirror, as if he felt watched by Tom driving behind us.

"But you're not interested in him, are you?" Char asks, with a fleeting glance at me. "what me? no. it was just out of pure interest." sure, of course it was. suddenly i remember that i haven't even contacted my friends yet. i desperately search for my cell phone, but without success.

"Char have you seen my cell phone?" i ask my big brother worriedly. "no, but you had it earlier and were writing to your friends." he's right, so it can't be at home. maybe it fell out of my pocket when i almost fell out of the car. oh god, then it's probably still in the parking lot! and probably even unlocked, because i was still using it before. great.

i stare out the window, annoyed, thinking about what will happen to my phone, when suddenly a call comes in. Harrison says, "pee break!" and hangs up right away. we both laugh and then drive to the next rest stop. Harrison and his girlfriend go to the bathroom and Charlie stretches his feet. so i'm sitting again leaning against the door, scanning the surroundings, when suddenly someone opens the door and i almost fall out again. what is it with everyone and this door?! i turn around, already half freaking out, because i'm very sure it's my brother. "what the fuck is your problem-" But when I turn around, a laughing boy with brown messy curls is standing in front of me. Tom. fuck this is embarrassing.

"sorry to scare you darling, I just wanted to give you this back." he says and pulls my phone out of his pocket. "oh my god, where was it?" i say and gratefully take it from him. "it was in the parking lot, i saw it before we left." he says and scratches the back of his neck while laughing nervously.

"why, thank you" i smile at him and i get lost in his eyes again, when my brother interrupts our conversation by closing his door. "enough with the flirting, let's move on!" he says laughing and Tom and i blush. i close my door but before we leave Tom pokes his head through my still open window and whispers "i left you something in your phone" he winks at me and walks back to his car leaving me sitting in shock. did he seriously just wink?

i unlock my phone and find an open contact "brothers hot bsf ;)" i chuckle. such a dork. but it was cute. i pull down my notification bar as i realize in shock that my friends have been spamming me for hours. so much for vacation.

(the pictures with the groupchat is on my instagram haha)