pieces of you |t.h. au|

xi. |England|

WC 971 (mini part 1 of 2)

"In London, love and scandal are considered the best sweeteners of tea."

- John Osborne

Tom looked over at Ellie, who lay passed out in the airplane seat as the faint lights of London came ever closer. Her hair was matted and had fallen over her face, but she still looked beautiful. England was only a few miles below, yet Tom's heart was already racing. Why was it racing? That was beyond him, he was excited to be home, he was excited to roam the streets with Ellie, he was excited to take her to all of the super touristy locations, and he was excited to be back with his family.

An announcement came over the speaker, announcing that they would be landing soon. The sun had risen, casting a soft orange glow over the gleaming city of London reflecting off the panes of glass making each building seem to be encrusted with diamonds.

Ellie shifted in her seat and opened her eyes, before pulling her knotted hair into a slightly messy ponytail. Her eyes locked on the gleaming city in pure amazement.

"It's beautiful." Ellie murmured; her eyes still locked on the gleaming city.

"Welcome to my home." Tom whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of Ellie's head.

The pair walked off the plane, hand in hand, as they approached the glass doors that lead out to the parking lot. Ellie watched as Tom's face lit up and a hand shot into the air and waved at a car that sat near the curb.

The parking lot was a sea of different colored cars; the early morning sun reflected off each and every one reflecting shooting rays of color around the lot. As she looked around, Ellie could see many people climbing in or out of cars, talking on the phone, or embracing loved ones. So many different people were scattered among the vehicles, like little fish in the sea. Business clad men and women, people wearing pajamas, even people dressed like they were going to Coachella except Coachella was at nine a.m. in England.

"Hey, what's up, mate?" A curly, red-haired boy said as he climbed out of the passenger seat. Ellie recognized him from the picture in Tom's room. He must be one of his brothers.

"Nothing much, I thought that you were busy with school." Tom said, pulling the boy into what could only be described as a bro hug.

"Oi! Who's that?" The redhead said quieter, yet still loud enough for Ellie to hear.

"I'm Ellie; it's nice to meet you." Ellie spoke, stepping forward and extending her hand.

"I'm Harry, Tom's younger brother, and in this family, we do hugs." The redhead said before pulling Ellie into a hug. Ellie smiled. She could see why Tom was such a nice guy, he was raised in a fantastic family. By the time that Harry pulled away, Tom was already wrapped in another embrace of whom Ellie assumed to be his mother.

"Hi, dear, you must be Ellie." A red-headed woman said before pulling Ellie into a hug. Her hair smelled like tulips. "Tommy, here hasn't been able to stop talking about you." She whispered so only Ellie could hear. Ellie didn't need a mirror to tell her that she was blushing; her cheeks were hot enough.

Ellie smiled at the redheaded woman and looked over at Tom who was still talking to his curly haired little brother, the smile that painted his face was absolutely beautiful. He looked happy.

-

"Ellie, dear, please come back soon. I absolutely loved getting to know you." Nikki said as she pulled the brunette into a hug.

"I will, thank you so much for opening your home to me." Ellie smiled.

Ellie continued saying goodbye to the rest of Tom's immediate family that were able to come and spend some time at the Holland house even though they had many other things on their docket.

"Ready?" Tom questioned, holding out his hand for Ellie to intertwine her fingers with his. She nodded, the sweet smile still painted across her lips as her fingers intertwined with his and they walked out to the car.

The ride to the airport was rather quiet, but inside Ellie's head, something was screaming at her. A violent migraine hit her out of nowhere. It was like a bomb had gone off in her head, the sunlight that reflected off the hood of the taxi felt like a laser permeating her skull, splitting it in half. It was like her world was a photograph and someone upped the brightness and exposure to the max and shone a flashlight on the glossy image. Her grip on Tom's hand tightened as she attempted to stay as still as possible as the driver seemed to hit every possible bump in the road. Tom looked over at her, worry clouding his rich brown eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked, staring at her face, wishing that the last thing she was in pain.

Ellie clenched her jaw and nodded very slowly, not wanting to jar her head more than it already was. Her vision began to come back, and she could see that they were pulling off the highway towards the airport. "I'm okay, just a terrible headache that's it." Ellie said, her voice still sounded strangled, but she pasted on a cheerful smile in a futile attempt to convince Tom that she was okay.

"Where are we going next?" She asked with a more cheerful tone to her voice. 

a/n: Sorry this mini part was supposed to come out yesterday, but I have been really busy with school and drawing series for my best friend's birthday. I hope to write and publish the next mini part today or tomorrow morning. Thank you all for reading and for your continued support. 

-Nicole