21 Jump Street (Tom Hanson)

School Bus Kidnapping

"Have I ever told you that you're beautiful like an autumn thunderstorm?" He asked charmingly.

I blushed but said, "you've distracted me, don't change the subject. You're babysitting me."

He laughed and said with a sweet smile, "I wouldn't call this babysitting. I'd call this keeping you company."

"At least not today."

He smiled a bit more. "Especially today."

"You should have taken today off. You aren't on a case anyways."

"Take the day off to lounge around and wait for you to come home? No, thanks. I'd much rather be right here with you."

Today is Tom's birthday. For weeks I've been asking him what he wanted to do to celebrate it, but he just wished for a quiet night in, watching movies with me. I told him that was a boring way to celebrate his 24th birthday, and all he did was laugh. He always said, "just me and you, that's all I need." This morning, I gave him a charcoal gray hat of his favorite sports team, a bottle of his favorite liquor, a new bowling ball and a bowling towel, and a couple mixtapes I made for him.

On Friday afternoon, Doug and Ioki are going to kidnap him and take him out camping for a guys-trip so they can party all weekend long without any responsibilities. Doug is so excited, he has been planning it for weeks. I think Tom will like the weekend away. The guys are planning on taking the following Monday off of work too to nurse their hangovers.

Apparently, Ioki had an idea of bringing a baseball and a bat and some mitts to their woods-weekend, despite none of them ever playing baseball. I asked Tom if he thinks he would win a game of drunken baseball against Ioki and Doug, despite not even watching baseball on TV, and all he said was, "I know nothing about baseball other than the fact that I would dominate." So I think he is pretty confident.

"I think I can handle something as simple as riding the bus by myself," I stated.

"I know that you can handle it... I'm just not sure if I can." His voice got low.

I sighed softly. "It won't happen again."

"I... I know... it's just... I can't help it."

After what happened last time, even though I was the one on the bus, I know that Tom went through a lot of trauma too. It was harrowing when I found out that they had called a search and rescue team to find my lifeless body in the lake. Tom had prepared himself in the possibility that I had died that afternoon. There have been too many close calls in our line of work, so I could see that he needed to be there. Not for me, but for him.

I took his hand in mine and his shimmering eyes met with mine once again. I promised confidently, "it won't happen again."

Tom smiled at me and discreetly brought my hand up to his lips and he kissed the back of it. It made my cheeks flex and grow warm so I looked down at my lap for just a moment. I squeezed my hand a little tighter. I never want him to let go.

"Happy birthday," I whispered softly.

"Thank you. I love you. This love that I have for you will be yours until the day that I die. I'm going to love you forever, and ever," he grinned without looking away from me. His face lights up when he looks at me, like I'm the sun.

The bus began to slow down and I heard the bus doors opened with a hiss. Frank leaned over and asked loudly, "does anyone need any help?"

Frank is the bus driver. He's a bit older, his hair is gray and there are smile wrinkles by his gentle eyes, but he is so incredibly kind. Every day he greets me with a friendly smile and a "good morning". He gives everyone a high-five, and it's easy to tell that the kids adore him. He was very nice, sweet, clearly loves kids, and he obviously cares about them.