Behind the Screen (a Tom Hiddleston Story)

7. Autumn Leaves

The seasons were changing rapidly as filming progressed. Greens turned to oranges and trees decided they didn't want their leaves anymore so discarded of them onto the pavement for unsuspecting citizens to slip and slide upon on their commutes to work. Which of course meant that Kate was in even more danger of falling on her behind than usual. So, taking extra care on her morning jog was crucial to her remaining dignity. She found that running in line with the curb, just centimeters away from the drop off part of the pavement to the road which luckily at this time of the morning was home to about two cars and one of those being stationary meant for a surprisingly easy exercise. Jogging really helped Kate cleanse her mind from all the modern worries she now had with her new lifestyle and new found love life which was great, but she found it taking over her mind almost entirely so it was good to get out of it for a short time.

Just as she was nearing the last block leading up to her apartment she could now see someone's car pulling up outside of her apartment block. She recognized it instantly as she neared it, jogging slightly faster now and with not as much care as she had been doing. Just as the door of the car opened she suddenly realized how fast she was running so immediately attempted to slow her pace to a normal jogging one, not an "omg my boyfriend is here" pace.

Before she knew it she felt like she was flying. Not because Tom had touched her to give her a welcoming hug or anything, but because she hadn't seen the wet, slippery pile of leaves that her next-door neighbor had kindly swept from his garden pathway to the pavement late last night. Before she could put her hands out to soften her fall she had slid away from the leaves on one foot and crashed forwards landing on her front, dragging her knees and face along the cold, hard gravel.

"Shit. Ouch ow ow ow," she muttered to herself as she attempted to get up quicker than it took Tom to see what she had done. It didn't work. He was once again running towards her to pick her up from her downfall. In the case, it was literal.

"Kate bloody hell girl that was quite a spectacular show!" he reached down and lifted her up from underneath her armpits as her hands were bleeding and tender. Tears were fighting their way through her closed eyes as she winced at the pain of being moved.

"Come on let's get you inside and we can patch you up again haha," his laugh was already making her feel ten times better, like a sedative to numb the pain which was getting increasingly unbearable by the second.

Luckily it was only a few meters away from the front door of Kate's apartment block but even that seemed to take them forever to reach. Tom set her down against the railings of the steps up to the door when Kate let out a "Fuck!"

"What?! What's wrong!" She realized that she had overreacted slightly. Tom, being already worried about her, was getting a little more anxious. This, coupled with a loud exclamative being a possible indicator of pain, maybe wasn't the best move.

"Shit sorry I've forgotten my keys! They were in my other joggers and I forgot I'd put them in the wash so I couldn't wear them this morning. What am I gonna do?" she didn't realize she had spat out her words quite so fast so had to take deep short breaths to catch up on herself.

"Bloody hell I thought you were dying or something," he smiled a relieved smile and helped her down the stairs towards his car.

"Look, I'll take you out for coffee in one of my favorite places and we can patch you up there okay? Can you hold tight till then?" She nodded tears almost spilling over her cheeks. Taking another deep breath, she took his arm and helped herself into his passenger side of his car.

They pulled up after only a few minutes of driving. It looked like something out of one of Rowling's books. Magical and mysterious with a hint of danger. Okay, so Voldemort will not be making an appearance unfortunately but still. Kate was excited, minus the agony she was in due to her morning antics.