I THINK I'M IN LOVE ↠ TOM HIDDLESTON

chapter eleven

Before Tom and Eloise could bid them goodbye, one of the girls, who'd introduced herself as Melinda, said, "Hey, Eloise, how old are you?"

"Oh, I'm twenty-seven." Eloise casually replied, watching as Melinda slightly frowned, and she asked, "Then why do you still live with your father?"

Tom froze, and Eloise quietly sighed, looking from him to the young girl, and said, "I live with my father because I was previously in an abusive relationship. When I needed to go through recovery, I lived with him. But now that he's getting older, I want to be there to help him."

Tom licked his lips, afraid of what Melinda would say next. Her friend, Anna, was watching them all with big eyes. Melinda squared her shoulders, and said, "Even then, it's still kind of weird."

"My mental health begs to differ." Eloise did the same, looking at her, and then smiled at the two girls, and continued, "Now, it was really nice talking to you girls, but we want to go nap. We've had a very exhausting day."

Tom raised his hand, waving goodbye to them, and said, "It was nice meeting you two."

As they made their way towards the elevator, they heard Anna call, "Bye, Tom! Bye!" Then Melinda shushed her.

Once up in their room, Eloise changed into cozier clothes, and she laid on the bed next to Tom, who'd done the same. They were looking at each other, and then Eloise blurted, "Tom, I have to tell you something."

Frowning, he asked, "Is everything alright?"

Eloise hesitated. This was it. She was going to come out to him, once and for all. She felt, right now, right here, it was the moment.

"I'm asexual."

Tom blinked a couple times, and asked, "I'm sorry, I don't know what that means, if I'm honest."

"I don't feel a sexual attraction to anyone. Romantic attraction, yes, but not . . . Sexual. Sex, and oral, and all that other stuff hasn't ever interested or attracted me." Eloise explained. "I'm attracted to you, Tom-just not sexually. That stuff doesn't interest me."

Tom sat up, Eloise mimicking him, and he asked, "Did you . . . Think I'd just want a relationship built up off of sex?"

She hesitated again. "I'll be honest . . . " She started to say, "most guys do. When I tell someone I'm asexual, it turns them off and I never hear from them again. I was afraid the same thing would happen to you, which is why I haven't told you until now."

He gently placed his hands on the sides of her arms, and replied, "I'm glad you did. I'm glad you waited until you were comfortable." He shifted uncomfortably, and then quietly asked, "This wasn't something that . . . Came about after your . . . Ex, is it?"

Eloise shook her head. "He never hurt me that way. But he didn't like that I wasn't sexually attracted to him, or anyone. He thought . . . " Her voice broke, and she shook her head again. Her voice was small as she said, "He thought I was broken."

"You are not broken," Tom instantly replied, watching as Eloise sniffled. He hugged her tightly to him, and said, "I wish you hadn't associated yourself with that . . . "

"You can say it," Came Eloise's muffled reply.

" . . . Asshole. He is such an asshole, Eloise, and I'm so glad you're not with him. I don't want you thinking that of yourself. Because it is not true." He pulled away from her, and put one hand under her chin, lifting her face so then he could look into her eyes. "I'm a grown man. I don't need sex to survive. Yes, it's nice, but I can live without it."

Eloise wasn't sure what to say, so she just hugged Tom again, and whispered, "Thank you."

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After they napped for an hour, they were sitting on the balcony, just talking about things.

When a moment of silence fell upon them, Eloise asked, "Tom, have you ever fallen in love?"

Tom looked over at her, and said, "If I'm honest? No. I've thought it before, that I've fallen in love. But it's always been infatuation more than anything. It never develops into true, heart-felt, feelings. Have you?"

"No. I mean, obviously, I thought I had, but that wasn't love. I was just sad and lonely. He was the first guy to ever give me attention, even after I came out as asexual to him." Eloise replied, looking over at Tom, who nodded, and said, "I've never truly said it, but I hate that I was just . . . Taylor's rebound. Someone she used to get over. And the worst part is, I know she'll use it as a song."

Eloise frowned, and chewed on the inside of her mouth. "It was one thing for me to write an abusive relationship into one of my books, and how a character got out of it," She began, "but that was from my own experience as a victim. Using people and then writing songs about them afterwards . . . That's rude. It's mean. And I'll be honest, even as catchy as her songs are, I don't like her."

Tom chuckled, reaching over and squeezing her hand. "Thank you for being so kind about these things," He said, "I know it was hard last year to watch me date her. And I wish constantly that my head hadn't been turned."

"Well, now it's been turned the other way. And we're in Disneyland-enough of this sad talk," Eloise grinned at him, "I want to go watch the fireworks, and go on some rides. I want make this trip as magical as it can be."

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When the first firework went into the sky, the crowd ooh-ed.

Eloise was cuddled into Tom's side, and she would slightly bounce with excitement each time they exploded with light.

Sitting here, under the night sky, and the fireworks, and the castle, Tom felt an immense sort of peace. He knew that tomorrow would be different, Eloise would be working on her story as they ran around Disneyland, but he was incredibly happy he was here with her.

And that is when he realized that, perhaps, he really was truly in love with Eloise.

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hello! so sorry it took so long to write this chapter. at first, it just made me miss disneyland, but then life got really crazy. this is the first time in a while i've actually sat down and written over a thousand words.

i really hope you all love this chapter! THANK YOU for 1K reads!!! <3 <3