Word count: 4400
"A wedding?" I pulled the invite off the fridge.
"Yes!" Jacob exclaimed, running into the kitchen. He sat down on the stool next to Tom and Harrison, Zendaya was looking through the fridge. "Harrison, when do you get that penis cast off?"
"It's not a cast!"
"It's a hardened mold around your penis to prevent you from moving it, what else do you want us to call it?" Tom asked, shaking his head.
"You don't have to call it anything! Stop thinking about my penis, idiots." Their bickering continued while Zendaya and I rolled our eyes.
"Hey!" She called, gaining their attention as they quieted down. "Whose wedding is this?" She gestured toward the invite in my hand.
"Don't know. Friend of a cousin's friend? We got it in the mail and it just reminded me of what we're all lacking-," Jacob was interrupted.
"And, what's that genius?" Jacob knocked his hand against Harrison's thigh, moving him in his chair slightly. "asshole."
"We're all lacking sex, you dumbass. We're going to this wedding to get laid – to pick someone up. None of us are going home alone." Jacob and Harrison high-fived, and I glanced toward Tom to catch his reaction. He was smiling, shaking his head at the other two boys. His head lifted and his eyes met mine, but I dropped my gaze immediately.
"Well," I cleared my throat, "Saturday? You in?" I looked at Zendaya and she shrugged.
"Why not? These losers and you are kind of the only people I can tolerate in LA. So, if you're going, I'm there with you, babe." I looked back at Tom to see him still looking at me. It had been three months since I asked Tom to show me he liked me instead of telling me, and he hasn't – maybe he gave up. Maybe I should, too. I smiled and faced Zendaya again, nodding.
"Looks like we're in boys. No one goes home alone." The boys yelled in triumph, beginning to talk about if we'd carpool, should we all get dressed together, Jacob smacking Harrison for asking such a stupid question considering all of us, basically also including Z, lived here. Tom had gotten off the stool he was sitting on and started to walk away from the conversation, me being the only one who noticed. I managed to slip away and follow him when Harrison started to tell Jacob that he'd be able to score more girls than him and Zendaya pitting them against each other and making bets.
"Tom?" I called out, once we were both out of ear shot. He had almost made it inside his room.
"What's up?" I shrugged, looking down at my feet while my hands locked together in front of me.
"This isn't weird, right?" He cocked his head to the side, confused. "I mean, us trying to score a night with someone else? It's just – it's been three months..." Tom shook his head, shuffling on his feet as his weight shifted from leaning on his right leg to his left.
"No, no it's fine. You're a free woman, you can do what you want. Same with me. Uh – the free part, not the woman." We both let out a soft laugh, our gazes meeting each other.
When we all went to go see what happened why Harrison was in the hospital three months ago, everything felt normal. But, as time progressed, normality seemed to slip farther from our grasps. We didn't talk much, we tried to avoid a room if the other was in it – hell, we even tried to memorize our bathroom schedule's so we wouldn't end up in there at the same times.
"Tom?" our eyes were still trained on each other. He hummed in response. "Are we ever going to be okay again? Because – I miss you." He shook his head, smiling down at his shoes.
"What do you mean? You see me everyday." I shook my head, stepping closer toward him, causing him to take a slight stumble back.
"You know that's not what I mean. That!" I said, pointing toward his instinct to not be too close to me, "That's exactly what I'm talking about." I sighed, running my hands through my hair as I leaned against his closed room door. "I miss having you as my friend." He groaned in frustration, pacing in front of me.
"I get that, trust me I do," he stopped in front of me, his shoulders slouching slightly. "But, that's just the thing. I don't want that," he stepped up closer to me, trapping me between his body and the door. My breath caught in my throat. "You know what I want. I want to be able to kiss you and not feel sorry about it – like I did in your room. You had a boyfriend, and I didn't feel sorry about it." His hand came up to my chin, tilting my head up slightly, his lips so close to mine I could smell the stick of gum he chewed about an hour ago, after lunch. "I don't want to be your fucking friend," he leaned in. I was caught in a daze and I was so close to kissing him, but I could hear Lucy and I could see her falling over Tom.
"No!" I pushed him away from me, harder than I intended to. He stumbled across the hall and steadied himself against the opposite wall. "You don't get to do that! You don't get to kiss me and then think we're going to be happy forever, alright? The last time you did that, I broke up with my boyfriend for you and you threw me to the fucking curb, for an ex that shattered you!" I pushed my finger against his chest, trying to emphasize my point. "You can't just tell me these things and expect me to believe you – I've heard it before."
"You're being so unfair!" His voice was raising, and I could feel the other people in the loft staring at us while we argued, but I was too upset to care. "Every time I try, you push me away!"
"'Trying'? When have you tried? You spent three months avoiding me! You gave up on me after reuniting with someone who hurt you – what's gonna happen to me if you run into an older girlfriend you actually got along with?" He walked up closer to me, his face finally softening.
"I don't like anyone – I don't want anyone else, I want you." His hand came up to hold my cheek but I pushed it away, pushing past him to get to my door.
"You have a real funny way of showing it. Have fun at the wedding, and good luck." I walked into my room and slammed the door, locking it before sliding down against it with my face in my hands.
-
"Why did I agree to come to this, again?" Zendaya looked at me and smiled sadly at me, my chin resting in my palm while my arm rested on the table.
"I think you wanting to come to have fun turned into you wanting to come to spite Tom." I frowned, seeing Tom talking to a couple of bridesmaids with Harrison and Jacob. "Want a drink?" I shook my head. "Want to dance?" I shrugged. She rolled her eyes, grabbing my hand and pulling me up with her. "We're gonna dance, and we're gonna drink. Alright? Forget Tom! No one's going home alone, alright?" I sighed, plastering a smile on my face.
"You're right, no one's going home alone!"
-
"So, we all came home alone."
"Yup," all six of us sighed. "What did we do wrong?" Harrison asked.
"I could tell you exactly what you did wrong. You told everyone that you got your penis cast off – very off-putting." Harrison punched Jacob on the shoulder, causing Jacob to shove Harrison off his seat, managing to push him onto the floor completely.
"Alright, alright," Tom pulled Harrison to his feet. "Enough. We didn't come home alone, we're all together."
Harrison looked up at Tom, smiling widely. "You saying what I think you're saying?" Tom nodded as he and Harrison both opened their mouth to speak at the same time.
"We all have each other." "We're all gonna have sex with each other." Tom shook his head at Harrison, shoving him. "You're an idiot. A big, freaking idiot." Everyone shook their head at Harrison.
"What? You were all thinking it!" We all let out a collective 'no we weren't'. "Whatever, Tom. You could've gone home with someone. Why didn't you bring that bridesmaid home?" Tom shook his head, looking away from Harrison and catching my eye. I looked at him with wide eyes as he shrugged.
"Because," he sighed, "that's not who I wanted to wake up next to in the morning." The air grew thick with tension as we stood in silence. My gaze dropped from Tom's intense stare, Jacob clearing his throat as he asked what we wanted for dinner.
-
"Tom?" It was well past the wedding, almost one thirty in the morning. I knocked softly on Tom's door, hoping he was still awake. I sighed, there wasn't any sound that he was up so I started to walk back to my room. I almost closed the door when a hand stopped it.
"Did you need something?" I turned at the sound of Tom's voice and saw him leaning against my door.
"Yeah, I just – never mind." I shook my head, going to close my door again, only for it to be stopped by Tom's hand again.
"No. You what?" I looked up at his pleading eyes. "You can't knock on my door at one in the morning after I told everyone I wanted to wake up next to you, and then not tell me what you wanted from me." I sighed, bringing my hands up and rubbing my arms. "(Y/N), please," he begged. "Please, I need to hear you say it – say something."
"I just – I wanted you to know that... that I," I paused, looking up at him. He had gradually moved closer to me, standing directly in front of me. His hands reached out to uncross my arms. "I wanted you to know that I wanted the same thing."
"You wanted what?" one of his hands held my chin like he did a couple of days ago in the hallway, while the other wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. He leaned in and I didn't push him away like last time. "I need to hear you say it." He whispered. I sighed, closing my eyes.
"I wanted to wake up next to you, too." And then his lips were on mine, and it felt better knowing I didn't have to stop, and neither did he. Neither of us rushed, this didn't seem needy, it felt like a relief. My hands came up to hold his face while he walked me into my room and shut the door.
"Can we start this off by waking up next to each other this morning?" His hands were already working at the hem of his shirt while he removed it. I smiled, pulling him closer to me by the back of his neck while I nodded.
"We have a lot of lost time to make up for."
Part 10
I stretched out in the bed, my toes peeking out of the blanket and my fingers brushing against the headboard. I tilted my head slightly to the left, feeling an arm tighten around my waist. I let out a small yawn and scooted a little bit closer to the warmer body. "Hey," I whispered, poking his cheek. Nothing. "Hey," I tried again, dragging the word a little longer. This time, I got a hint of a smile, causing a smile to appear on my face, too. "Wake up," he shook his head, pulling me closer. "C'mon, I miss those pretty brown eyes." He let out a chuckle and opened one eye. "You're getting closer." He moved his head away from the pillow slightly, opening the other eye, his smile widening.
"Happy?" Tom teased, pulling up the blanket and wrapping it tighter around us, forcing me to shift so my chin was resting on his chest, so I could look up at him.
"Hm," I brought a hand up to his cheek, "ecstatic." He shook his head, leaning in and kissing my forehead.
"Nerd," he murmured, his lips still pressed to my forehead. He groaned after seeing the clock on my bedside table. "It's so early." I rolled my eyes.
"Tom, it's almost eleven."
"Only?" He laughed at my expression, pinching my cheek lightly. "I guess since I'm up, I'll go shower." He sat up and stretched, I pinched my nose playfully and fanned my hand in between us.
"Good, I wasn't gonna say anything, but," he turned to look at me, a feigned shocked expression on his face.
"You're so fucking rude," he lifted his shirt off and threw it at me, causing me to laugh. "Hey," I removed the shirt from my head and tried to pat down the strands sticking out before looking up at him.
"Yeah?" He leaned on the bed, his arms supporting his weight as he hovered over me.
"Good morning," he whispered, kissing me softly. When he pulled away we smiled at each other. He pulled away completely and walked toward the door, sending me a wink on his way out. When I heard the bathroom door close down the hall, I let out a content sigh, getting out of bed and pulling on the pair of shorts I tossed on the floor last night. I walked out of my room and into the kitchen, catching Zendaya walking out of Harrison's room at the same time. She hadn't heard me walk in yet, seeing as she still thought she was successfully sneaking out.
"When did this happen again?" She jumped slightly, placing a hand on her chest and tried to regulate her breathing.
"Jesus, babe," she complained, her cheeks turning a light shade of red. "You scared the crap out of me." I opened the cabinet closest to the fridge and pulled out my mug, lifting it toward her to silently ask if she wanted some coffee. She nodded and I pulled another one out and poured the coffee that was on the pot into each mug. "Cream and sugar still in pantry B7?" I silently chuckled at Harrison's obsession with labeling the cabinets to 'make things easier for us'.
"Yeah," I picked up the full cups and turned to placed them on the kitchen isle. "So, you and Harrison?" She shrugged, but I could see the smile on her face.
"I don't know, I really like him – he pisses me off to no end, but he's really into me and... I guess I am, too." She shrugged.
"So, and not to sound like a school girl but, are you two official?" I nudged her as she blushed, causing her to nudge me back as we playfully gushed about how cute her and Harrison. We stopped abruptly when we heard the sound of clapping behind us. We turned and saw Harrison standing by his door, his hands covering his mouth, then gesturing toward us both.
"Look at this," he pretended to wipe a tear away, "my two favorite girls." He walked over and stood in between us, putting an arm around Zendaya and leaning in to kiss her cheek.
"Ew, you guys are cute." I pinched his cheek and laughed when he swatted my hand away.
"How are you and Tom?" Harrison groaned, covering his ears.
"Girl talk? I suddenly have to use the bathroom," he dodged Zendaya's hand and sped-walked to the restroom.
"So?" I looked at Zendaya as I stirred my coffee, "you and Tom? It's been, what, four months?" I bit back my wide smile, nodding. She squealed quietly and I had to bring my mug up to hide my smile.
"I don't know," I repeated her words from earlier, "this has been the best relationship I've ever been in. He just – he makes me happy." I smiled to myself, shaking my head.
"What's got my girl smiling so big?" I looked up and saw Tom walking in, pushing his wet hair back as he walked to get a coffee mug out, stopping to kiss my cheek. "Morning, Z." She lifted her mug as a form of greeting him. He poured coffee into his mug, halfway up the mug and drank it black. He leaned against the counter, facing Z and me. "So? What's got that smile on you?" I looked him over, admiring how good he looked in plain t-shirts and regular jeans. I shook my head.
"Just girl talk." Tom gave me a confused look, but just smiled at me.
"Alright, no more smiles at each other, it's gross." We all turned around to see Jacob walking in, holding a cat.
"When did we – you get a cat?" Tom walked up to Jacob cautiously. "Did you pick up a stray cat, dude?"
"No, funny story," Jacob set down the cat and it walked up against him before stalking off back into Jacob's room, "I have a cat now because I stole it from my ex."
"You stole Stephany's cat?" Zendaya asked, curling into Harrison's side when he walked in and put an arm around her. Harrison looked at Jacob, baffled by the conversation change, only having heard Z's question.
"You stole Stephany's cat? Is the cat in this loft? Did you bring a fucking cat into this loft?" Harrison looked everywhere, bending down to look for the cat.
"Yes, see the thing is – Stephany and I are not dating anymore. Yes, she cheated on me while I offered to babysit her cat. So," he called the cat back into the kitchen and picked it up when it was within distance. "when she came to pick up Ferguson, I told her he deserved better. So, Ferguson is now part of our family."
"NO!" We all looked at Harrison, our eyes widening at his outburst. "That furry little beast is not staying in this loft, it's filthy." Zendaya rolled her eyes and nudged Harrison. "I'm never changing my mind."
"Babe, let him keep it," Z said.
"Alright, it can stay." Harrison smiled at Zendaya and winked at her.
"Glad that's settled... so, breakfast?"
"It's noon." Tom commented.
"Alright... lunch?"
-
"So, is Tom doing anything for your birthday tomorrow?" I shrugged, looking at Tom pouring a couple of shots for a few customers, even pouring one for himself.
"We'll probably just stay in all day – I don't really care what we do." I looked back at Z, only to see her giving me a disbelieving look. "What?"
"You don't care? The queen of overhyping birthday's?" I shrugged.
"I don't have to do anything with Tom – I know I get weird about my birthday but, it's different." She kept looking at me. "I mean, do I wish there was something planned? Sure! But, I don't need it." I looked back at Tom, seeing him already looking at me. I smiled and waved, smiling wider when he returned it, blowing a kiss toward me.
"Whatever you say, honey."
-
"Tom," I poked his cheek, hearing him groan.
"Baby, what time is it?" I grinned, peeking at the clock.
"Six thirty-seven," I smiled as he groaned again, "this is the time I was born." Tom chuckled, turning around and faced me, a smile on his face.
"Happy birthday, darling," he whispered, bringing his face closer to me so he could kiss me. He pulled away and smiled at me.
"Your breath smells," I whispered, causing him to laugh. "But, I'd still like it if you kissed me again... you know, since it's my birthday." He shook his head, rolling over so he was on top of me.
"Today, and everyday, your wish is my command." He leaned down and kissed me again, this time letting it go on a little longer, giving me time to pull him in closer to me and allowing me to card my fingers through his hair. I tugged on his hair, smiling as he groaned into my mouth. He pulled away reluctantly, his breathing harsh, matching mine. "It's too early for you to be getting me this wound up." He whispered against my cheek, peppering kisses from there to my neck.
"I could use a shower – can you?" He shook his head, causing me to frown.
"I'll shower later, it's too early." I rolled my eyes, cupping his cheeks and pulling his face up to mine.
"No, Tom. I'm saying I'm going to shower – and asking if you want to shower... too?" His eyes widened, his lips rushing down to peck me before pulling me out of bed quickly, causing me to laugh.
-
"Yeah, this morning with Tom was... productive." I laughed into the phone, "No, I'm meeting him at the movie theater. I don't know what we're watching – apparently, he requested a movie to play? Yeah, oh hey," I looked at the clock on the stove and picked up my purse, "I'm gonna head to the theater now. I'll call you after? Okay, yeah, love you too, Z." I picked up my keys and walked out of the loft, taking the stairs down to the car garage. When I got into the car, my phone went off, signaling I had a text.
Tommy Phantom👻: when you get to the theater, say you're there for the special. see you later, birthday girl.
I smiled, putting my phone down and pulling out of the garage and heading toward the theater. It only took twelve minutes to get there, so I was earlier than expected. I got out of the car after parking and headed to the ticket stand. "Hi," I smiled at the teenage girl sitting behind the window, "can I get a ticket for the, uh, special?" The girl, Amanda, sat up in her seat, smiling widely.
"Happy birthday! You have the cutest boyfriend!" She printed out a ticket and handed it to me, "It's already paid for. Third theater on your right." I nodded.
"Thank you! And I do have a pretty cute boyfriend, don't I? Have you seen him, by the way?" She shrugged, shaking her head. I just smiled and nodded, walking into the theater.
"Are you, uh, Tommy's girl?" I rolled my eyes, but nodded. "Here you go." I grabbed the bucket of popcorn, with my favorite candy, sour patch kids, sitting on top of it and grabbed the drink from the guy's hand. "Third on your right." I nodded, thanking him silently. I looked everywhere in the lobby, not seeing him in the fairly empty lobby. I shrugged to myself and walked to the third theater on my right. The theater was empty. I narrowed my eyes and sat down cautiously, placing the drink in its holder and the bucket of popcorn in my lap. I grabbed a handful of popcorn and leaned back in the seat as the lights dimmed.
"Happy birthday, darling!" I looked up at the sound of Tom's voice. I didn't see him, until I looked at the screen. My eyes widened as I looked around again. "I rented out this theater and paid, and begged, them to let me do this for you. I know the movie theater is one of your favorite places, and you weren't expecting me to do anything, but... surprise!" I bit my lip, trying to fight the smile on my face.
"Hey," I turned around, seeing Tom behind me, "look under your seat." He took the bucket of popcorn off my lap and slid next to me as I bent down and picked up a card. I opened it and read it out loud.
"Tom calls me darling, and I'm terrified of heights. It's a little too dark, so let's turn on the lights." When I read the last word, the lights turned on and my housemates and friends all popped out, yelling "Surprise!" If my eyes could grow any wider, they'd bulge out of my head.
"Alright, sit down and be quiet! This is on a timer." Tom scolded everyone, putting an arm around me as clips of my friends and family played, wishing me a happy birthday. "Surprised?" I looked to my right, my vision blurry from the tears threatening to spill.
"Tom," I whispered, clearing my throat, "you did this for me?" He nodded. I placed a hand on his cheek and pulled him in to kiss him softly.
"I love you," he whispered. I froze, my eyes looking up at him.
"What?" He nodded, swallowing and leaning in again.
"I love you." I smiled, kissing him again.
"I love you, too." He smiled at me, looking at the screen again, causing me to look at it too, seeing him on the screen. He was holding a Tony Bennett CD in his hand and smiling.
"This was the CD I was listening to when you walked into the apartment about the ad. It was track ten, The Way You Look Tonight. I think I might have fallen in love with you when I first saw you – and whenever I hear this song, it reminds me of you... and I know I fall in love with you all over again. Happy birthday, sweetheart. If I haven't told you already, I love you." And then the screen went black.
"I'm glad I told you before everyone saw it," I looked at Tom, wiping the tears from under my eyes. He reached out, smiling, to help me. "Those better be happy tears, darling." I turned my head kissed his palm, nodding.
"Who knew that we'd be here when I moved in a year ago?" He shrugged, his arm going back around me as the scheduled movie played in the background.
"I didn't know we would," he said, keeping his attention back to me, "I just hoped we would."