A Test of Time (TomTord)

-Four-

"Wha?! How? When. I need ALL the details. N O W." Edd had been talking nonstop since Tom had gotten home the next morning at around 11:30.

"Shut it Edd. It's not such a big deal anyway."

"But this is TORD we're talking about here." the brunette looked like he was going to explode with excitement. In Edd's case, that usually only meant one thing - there would be mental torture rivaling that of an actual sibling in Tom's future. Yay. 

"Edd." Tom didn't even bother to hide the warning tone in his voice.

"Oh come onnnnnnnnn, let me have my fun."

"Go have your fun with Matt, idiot."

Edd stared at Tom for a minute, confused. As soon as he processed what the other boy had meant, his face turned bright red.

"T-Tom! Shut up!"

"See? Not so fun now, is it?"

"Speaking of Matt, please don't tell him yet, I'd rather not have the entire school finding out about this immediately." Tom said, snickering when Edd flat out snorted at his comment. 

"No promises."

-time skip-

The next morning came faster than any of the four boys would have liked, and with it came yet another boring Monday, which would be followed by another four days of b o r i n g.

"Hey Edd! Tom! Over here!" Matt called out to the two boys, waving at them. He and Tord were standing outside one of the main classroom buildings, waiting. They still had 15 more minutes before school started. Edd and Tom walked up to meet them. Edd and Matt quickly engaged in a conversation about some new zombie movie that was supposed to be coming out, leaving Tord's attention on Tom alone.

"Hey, pineapple." his tone was teasing, maybe even a bit flirty.

"Shut it, commie."

Edd was glancing over at them every now and then, obviously trying not to laugh. When he was done talking to Matt, he finally turned to talk to Tord.

"So Tord, how was your weekend?"

Tom and Tord shared a glance, but Tord widely chose to keep quiet about what he had really done that weekend," Oh, it was alright, I guess. Nothing much happened. Nothing of interest really."

"Hm?"

"I mean, Pau accidentally set the microwave on fire while trying to make pancakes, but again, nothing all that special." Tom snickered; Pau had actually ended up destroying the microwave in his attempt to cook pancakes.

The rest of the day, along with the rest of the week, went pretty well- Matt being completely oblivious to Edd's subtle teasing of Tom and Tord.

It was nearly three and a half months before Matt found out, and it wasn't even on purpose either. He was sitting in one of the classrooms after school, studying for a test he had later that week. The absolute last thing he was expecting was to look out the window to see Tom and Tord walking along one of the paths behind the school, wait... were they... HOLDING HANDS?!!

It wasn't just that. 

After a few more minutes, Tom stopped walking, causing the taller boy next to him to pause as well. Tom glanced around for a few seconds before pulling Tord's face close to his, saying a few words, then kissing him. And from the look on Tord's face, this wasn't the first time they'd done this, either.

-time skip-

"Edd! Edd! You wouldn't believe what I saw yesterday!" Matt was practically screeching at Edd as soon as the brunette arrived. For the first time since... practically ever... Tord wasn't the first one of the four of them to get there. Tom was also not with Edd that morning, since he had stayed over at the Norski's house, "school project stuff", they said.

"What, Matt? And jeez, calm down a little." 

"I saw Tom and Tord yesterday!"

"Oh wow. How shocking. How ever did you do that?"

"I mean like, together. They kissed!!!" that was too loud... way to loud. Edd winced, looking around, hoping that.... he..... wasn't around to hear it. There were some people at this school who would hurt others because of stuff like this. Unfortunately, Edd's group of friends happened to know a specific three of them.

-more timeskips brought to you by  ringo-

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here.... if it isn't one of our two little lovebirds. How sweet."

"Shut the fuck up, Eduardo. That's not even a funny joke." Tom growled, not even turning around.

"Oh but I heard it wasn't a joke. According to your little ginger friend, you and devil hair had a bit of an "intimate moment" yesterday behind the school."

"Matt? But he-"

"Whatever that idiot's name is. Now is it true or not?" Eduardo snarled, suddenly reaching out to grab the back of Tom's hoodie. He yanked the boy back, lifting him off the ground a little bit. Tom struggled, trying to free himself, but he couldn't break the brunette's grip.

"Let go of me!"

"Is it true? Or not?"

"Wh-why do you care?" Tom barely finished the question before Eduardo threw him to the ground, but just as quickly dragged him to his feet again. This time, instead of asking the question again, he punched Tom in the face.

Then again.

And again.

And again. But not just his face anymore.

Tom screamed in pain, feeling the scars of wounds, some old, some newer than he'd like to admit, being torn open. He never told anyone that he did this, but now he was somewhat coming to regret it.

"It wasn't real, okay? I never meant it. I never liked him like that. I never have and I never will!" Tom yelled, causing Eduardo to pause in his assault.

"T-Tom?"

"Tord!?"

The caramel haired boy had just walked up to overhear what the Brit had just said. And the look on his face hurt Tom more than any of his torn scars. But at the same time, something in Tom's mind ... broke. In a single moment, the blame of his suffering shifted from Eduardo to Tord.

"You heard me. Now get the fuck out of here while I still have some amount of pity for your sorry ass."

Tord's eyes filled with tears. He looked like he wanted to say something. But he didn't. He simply turned and ran. 

Eduardo simply dumped Tom onto the ground, walking away laughing. Tom didn't move, he simply sat there and curled into a ball, unaware of the tears dripping from his eyes.

It hurt. 

Everything hurt.

And then the blame shifted from Tord to himself.