Take Two | Tom Holland

02

Chapter 02

I.hate.running. With a passion. I don't think hate is even the right word anymore, what I'm feeling right now is straight up disgust. And still, my feet keep moving. One foot in front of the other. My pace is super slow, but I still feel like I'm dying. I figured that I should try to work out a bit, because my schedule isn't that busy. I have to attend 5 classes a week, and on Thursdays, I have the whole day free. So what better way to spend my time than to run? Watching Marvel movies, binging a new Netflix-show, meeting new people, discovering the city... Well, I guess I am discovering London.

Back in Belgium, my boyfriend would always motivate me to work out. I'm not that athletic of my own, so the motivation did wonders for me. A little smile appears on my face when I think about Finn. I miss him so much already. We'd spent every day together since we were both studying in the same city: Leuven. On the weekends, we'd both go home to visit our family. That's how it goes in Belgium. During the week, you stay at your dorm, in the weekends, you go home.

I can't get enough of him. I've never known anyone who makes me laugh like he does. Even the stupidest things could crack me up. I always joke about how bad his humour is. (It truly is the worst) But still, whenever he cracks a joke, I can't seem to stop laughing.

I should probably call him tonight to see his face and hear his voice.

In the distance, I see a little park. I could really use a break, I've been running for 20 minutes. A bench attracts my attention and I quickly sit myself down, catching my breath. The sun is shining. It's still pretty sunny and warm outside. It's only the beginning of September and, in my opinion, the nicest time of the year. Those hot summer months have passed and you can feel Autumn glooming around the corner, not yet ready to come out and make the world colder. I enjoy the rays of sunshine on my face as I look around the park.

A young couple walks by as their toddler screams out in joy. His dad is swaying him around, making airplane noises as he goes. I smile. A little further, some girls are laying on their backs, trying to get a little bit of an extra tan before the sun disappears. A pretty Stafford runs around the park, trying to catch the birds. I look around to see where her owner is, but I don't notice anyone with a leash. After 10 minutes, the dog is still running around and having fun, but I haven't seen anyone who has even looked her way.

I walk over to the girls still tanning. "Excuse me. Is that your dog over there?" I point to the happy Stafford, now laying on her belly.

"No, sorry", one of the girls says as she lifts up her sunglasses momentarily. I thank her quickly and walk over to the dog. When I'm a couple of meters away from her, I come to a stop. Maybe she's a street dog.

She seems well-taken care of, though. I make a few weird sounds to draw her attention, and only after the second time calling for her, she comes up to me. I let her sniff my hand for a second before giving her some pets on her head. She seems like a really nice dog. I lower myself as she looks at me happily. Her dog tag reads 'TESSA'.

"Well hello there little Tessa. Where are your owners?" I ask mostly myself, "We'll stay here a little longer, maybe they show up."

Half an hour goes by. "C'mon Tessa. Let's see if we can find out who your owners are. They must be worried." I tug on her collar and she follows obediently. I can't take her all the way home like this. With my free hand, I quickly look up nearby pet stores. Only a 5 minute walk.

When we arrive at the pet store, I immediately walk up to the cashier. "Hi, I found this dog earlier and I couldn't seem to find the owners. Do you happen to know how I could easily track them down?"

The young girl shrugs and looks at me with a bored expression. "You could try the vet. Maybe they know." I nod and quickly thank her before entering the rest of the shop.

10 minutes later, we're back outside. Tessa now on a leash and with a toy in her mouth. "Let's go to the vet then."

A/N Lil Tessa has arrived! She's so cute. What did you guys think of this chapter? Let me know! XXX