Tom Holland X Reader - The Journey We Call Life

Chapter 16 - He's Back...

You saw the abs didn't you?
You clicked the picture didn't you?
You're welcome.
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And with that, he took the small, orange ping-ping ball, and yeeted/yote it against the table, where it jumped back up into the air to hopefully, for him, land in a cup.

You, Tom, and Steph watched in anticipation to see whether or not he would score the first point.

It finally landed.

You gasped at what happened next.
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Stephanie and Harrison cheered as soon as the ball landed in your cup.

"Drink up, losers!" Steph laughed.

Tom looked at you, and you looked at Tom.

"I'll drink," you both had said simultaneously.

But before he could tell you no, you jolted for the red cup and downed it. Considering it was your "first" drink "ever," it was still bitter and you made a split-second sour face before returning to your normal one.

"Too strong?" Tom asked while Steph and Haz laughed in the background.

"Nope!" You took the ping pong ball and measured how you should throw the ball in order to score a point and go toe-to-toe with your opponents again before the beer would be able to distort your system. "So I just throw it on the table, and when it bounces it should land in a drink, right?"

"Yeah," Harrison said, watching you, noticing your incoRRect form, but not saying anything.

"Wait." Tom walked behind you and put his hand in yours, moving it slightly higher as to help you with your first shot. Next, he bent your arm more than you already had it and kicked your right/left leg forward, so your dominant foot would be behind your other one.

"Hey, mate, that's not fair, you can't help her!" Harrison complained, seeing that you were getting closer to the perfect stance.

"Didn't you help Stephanie when she first started playing too?" Tom said, not looking up from helping you.

"You weren't supposed to see that..." He muttered.

"Okay, darling, so you should be ready," he said, inspecting what he had done and letting go of your hand as he took a step back.

"(Y/N)?" You heard Harrison ask.

You hummed a "hmm?" before he continued.

"I hope you lose."

"Well, we don't always get what we want, now do we?" You asked, letting go of your ball the way Tom had instructed. Watching intently to see if it'll score a point, you started to feel like you'll let Tom down if the ball didn't go in.

"PLOP," the ping pong 'said,' per se, as it landed in one of the other team's cups, splattering small quantities of beer surrounding it.

Harrison cursed, Stephanie laughed, Tom cheered, and you just smiled. At what? You had no idea. Maybe the fact that you befriended people who actually liked you, and didn't talk shit behind your back, or maybe that you found a group of people to have special moments with. Especially since you came into this new, unfamiliar place all alone and by yourself. Along with the fact that, now, you're really not, and you have people who make you feel included.