Not A Cliché
"WHAT WAS THAT?" Tom almost roared.
“That was Lily Collins. She’s damn good at impressions, isn’t it?” Haz replied nonchalantly and suddenly became interested in the structure of his own room and looked everywhere but at Tom.
Tom bent to get in Harrison's view. “Astrid? Astrid Williams? That was her, wasn’t it? The Mercedes girl?” Tom was sitting straight now with his brows furrowed.
Haz stood up as he put the phone in his pocket. “What are you talking about? C'mon, let’s go eat.”
Tom refused to give up. “How do you have her number?!” He squealed.
Harrison turned and observed Tom's fuming face. He sighed. 'Man, I don't see any other way out of this...'
He bit his lip and spoke, “...You remember when I went to the country to spend some time?” Tom didn’t reply but kept listening. “That was where I ran into her.”
Tom's eyes widened and his mouth fell agape. "...Wh-" He placed his hands on his waist as he stood up. "T-That was in October! It's February now! When were you going to tell me?!"
"Never," Harrison replied with a shrug.
Tom rolled his eyes. “HARRISON!!!!"
"Look, I know you're angry but right now your voice only seems like a puppy squeaking."
"An angry puppy, I'll tell ya!!" Tom yelled and shook his head. "I mean, shut up!!"
'What's with his reaction? Why does it matter so much?' Harrison sighed, "I am in the dining room 'cause I don't wanna get my ears blown up. Meet me there when you've calmed down."
Tom's jaw tightened and he raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay! Fine." The blonde turned behind, "I'll be a quiet puppy. I mean," Tom took a breath, "I'll be quiet. Okay?" Harrison eyed him for a second and grabbed two beers from the table.
He handed one to Tom, "Here."
"Yeah, thanks." Tom murmured.
Harrison took a seat on the armchair while Tom leaned against the cream wall.
Tom puckered his lips, wondering how to approach the topic again. 'By talking, how else?' He took a sip before asking, "So, what was she doing there?” His interest had gone through the roofs.
Harrison looked up at him, "Same thing that I was. Blowing off steam.”
“Okaaaaaay." Tom prodded exasperatedly. "But if you just ran into her why do you have her number and why is she messaging you?” He asked, there was some agitation in his voice.
Harrison shut his eyes for a second before answering, “Well... We thought it would be a good idea to explore the countryside together, you know. The more the merrier thing." He shrugged casually. "So we spent some days just visiting places and having fun.”
“WHAT THE FUCK!! So you basically went out with her???” Tom yelled.
Harrison looked startled, “What? Not like went out went out...” He defended. Not a good defence though.
"Not like went out went out." Tom imitated Harrison with a scrunched up face and Harrison sighed. "What a lousy excuse." Tom shook his head disappointedly. “This feels like such a betrayal. How could you do this to me, Haz? How could you?”
Harrison peered at Tom with crossed eyebrows. “Me? What’s your problem? Why are you hyperventilating so much? What, do you have a crush on her or something?”
"..." This caught Tom off-guard and he blankly stared at Harrison, unable to think for a comeback and the blonde man's eyes widened at the pause.
“Oh my god! You have a crush on her!!”
“SHH!"
Harrison pounded on the chair's arms, "Why the hell are you shushing me?!" He licked the beer from his lips. "You really have a crush on her!"
Tom visibly panicked, "I-It's not a crush! There’s nothing actually.”
Harrison looked like everything made sense to him now. “Shit. That’s why you were so obsessed with her at the gala. Defending her when I said mean things about her, dancing with her and looking at her with your Mr Stark eyes.”
“Huh? Mr Stark eyes?”
“Those damn puppy eyes that shine brighter than the sun." He continued, "You used them when you wanted me to come with you for the gala. Such a manipulator.” The blonde stated.
“Oh yeah, I forgot that.” Tom stuck out his tongue cheekily.
“NOT THE BLOODY POINT!! I thought it was me who spoiled your mood! That because I was talking about the food too much, you were cranky.” Harrison scolded and Tom rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Tom took a few gulps of the drink and kept it down.
Harrison shook his head and asked more seriously now, “Tom, how did this happen?”
Tom noted the change in his friend's voice and sighed before flopping on the bed. “Like crushes always happen, man. Nothing else. It’s just... a crush, like you said. And I thought it had faded away, but then you came into the picture."
"What, picture? There was no picture, to begin with." Harrison spoke bitterly. He took a pause before smirking and cooed, "Tom and Astrid sitting in a tree- K I S S I N G!" He continued singing.
Tom punched the pillows. "Oh, god!! This is so embarrassing! Shut up!"
Harrison laughed and went quiet for some moments as he observed the figure lying on the bed. The clock's ticks complemented the silence before he spoke, “That deal happened last January. A year ago. That’s way too long to be a crush.”
“...I guess. But it is only a crush. I promise.” Tom insisted, his voice muffled as he had covered his face with a pillow.
"Aww, you promise? I'll have to take your word then." Harrison mocked and Tom growled. Again, silence engulfed them while Harrison's gaze remained on his friend. 'If he says it's only a crush, I suppose I can trust him.'
Harrison sighed, "You are such an idiot, Tom. Crushing at 26. Really?" Some laughs left him.
"Shut up," Tom complained softly and peeked out from under the pillow. "Back to the real matter at hand. What did you two do there?"
Harrison shrugged, "Uh... We went to some wine tasting places, cycling, horseriding-" He noticed Tom's face flinch at 'horse riding.' 'Crap, shouldn't have said that.' "Uh, and stuff like that." He quickly added.
"YOU WENT HORSERIDING? THAT'S OUR THING, HAZ!!" Tom screamed as he sat up straight.
Harrison hurled a throw pillow at him, "Turn your voice down! The housekeeper may get the wrong idea!"
"She does already! She once told me: I support you and Mr Osterfield completely and I will never say anything."
Harrison's shoulders slumped, "Ugh, great. So that ship's already sailed." Tom nodded cheekily and made him continue about Astrid and his secret rendezvous. "So yeah, she and I did many things there. It was fun, really."
Tom glanced at him with suspicious, narrowed eyes, "So, what, you two are all buddy-buddy now?"
"Basically." Something sank inside Tom at this, and he got anxious as he listened to Harrison. "Even when we met up later-"
"Whoa, whoa. Hold up." Tom raised his palm. "Edinburgh wasn't the only place you met her?"
'Oh, fuck.' Harrison rubbed the back of his head, "Ah, no. Well, we really hit it off there and so we did meet a couple of times after that."
"Oh, I hear the word couple already," Tom complained and threw his arms in the air.
"Could you cut down the drama? It's getting annoying." Tom pouted and Harrison continued, "She and I, we're just friends."
"Just friends?" Tom asked with hope in his tone as he hugged the bed pillow.
"Just friends," Harrison emphasized. "Stop reading too much into lines."
One or two moments passed before Tom nodded. "Alright man, I trust you." Harrison came to sit next to him. "So, tell me more. What's she like?"
The blonde kept the beer on his bedside table. "She's... a good person actually. Nothing like I made her out to be at the gala." Harrison looked down at his sleeping friend.
Tom puffed out his chest proudly. "See, I told you." His brown eyes shone brightly now. "And? What else do you know about her?" Tom eagerly asked.
"Uh, that she is from Washington DC."
"Ha! I knew that as well!"
"Ohkay, buddy. Calm down, alright?" Tom nodded sheepishly. "And she has a brother, who is... I think in real estate, and her parents are professors." Harrison noticed the dumb look on Tom's face. "Ha, ha! You didn't know that."
Tom pouted. "Yeah, whatever." He continued, "What else?"
"Uh..." Harrison trailed, lost in thoughts. "I don't know, I mean I know so many things about her, its hard to decide exactly what to say." He winked at his friend.
Tom scowled before turning his eyes towards the ceiling. "Well... you could tell me if she's... dating someone."
Harrison brushed his hair as he answered, "Yes, actually."
Tom's adam's apple bobbed and suddenly everything felt dark inside him. 'Dammit, why do I feel like this?'
Harrison licked his lip as he observed his friend. 'Well, not that I blame him. It's never good news when your crush dates someone.' "Wanna know who it is?"
'Holy fuck.' Tom shut his eyes at those words. It was obvious what he meant. "No... No. It's... No. It's not Ashton, is it?" He hid his face under the pillow.
Moments passed and Tom called out, "Haz?"
"Yeah?"
Tom moved the pillow out of his face, "What are you waiting for?! Say it!"
Harrison screamed as well, "Well then stop acting like a Disney princess. Thrusting your face in the pillow like a damsel in distress."
Tom sat up. "Fine." Harrison leaned his back at the headboard. "So? Is it Ashton?" He looked back at his friend.
Harrison's face stayed grim and Tom saw the dark look on his face as he refused to answer. "Oh." Tom laughed uneasily. "Damn! Well, can't say I'm surprised." He spoke disappointedly.
"You should be surprised. Because she's not dating Ashton."
Tom was stunned at first and then yelled, "Oh shit! What the hell was with the suspense?! I almost died." He placed his palm on his chest. "Shit, you're getting better at acting."
Harrison raised his beer, "Learned from the best."
Tom smiled and then sighed, "Oh god, I wasn't even this scared when Harry told me that Tessa was going to shit on my bed." Harrison laughed. "But man, I am so glad it isn't Ashton."
Harrison nodded, "I know."
"I mean, there's nothing wrong with him..." Tom explained, "The problem was his-"
"Father!" Both of them burst out laughing when Harrison completed the sentence. "Trust me, man. I know. His father is such a whackjob."
"Uh, tell me about it. Practically matchmaking there. I am so glad it didn't work for him as he wanted." Tom walked and grabbed the beer from where he had put it earlier.
He took a sip and remembered something. "I still can't get over how you thought his father wanted Astrid for himself. That was so stupid."
Harrison reddened at this, "Well, it was plausible, okay? I mean, old guy, young girl, too mushy with her- what was I supposed to think?"
Tom was still laughing, creases forming at the end of his eyes, "Lord, I forgot how funny it was." Harrison glared at him and Tom smiled. "Okay, okay! I won't touch the topic-" Harrison slightly smiled, "Anytime soon."
"I swear I'll smash your head with your bottle."
Tom gave a cheeky smile, "Fine. No more of it okay?" Harrison gave a growl and Tom took another sip before speaking, "So, who is she dating then?"
"Me."
******
BAM! How's that, did any of you see it coming?!
Haha. Kidding. Scroll down to read the rest of the chapter. ;)
******
Tom snorted, "Come on. Who's it, really?"
Harrison chuckled at being caught, "Some hotshot lawyer. Name's Nolan."
"I see." Tom nodded softly and puckered out his lips, "Why hotshot though?"
Harrison shrugged, "She's dating him, so he's gotta be something." Tom had to agree with this. "And his name is Nolan. That's such a hotshot name, so I had a hunch."
"Yeah, just like you had with Astrid and Ashton's father."
Harrison narrowed his eyes with a scowl, "You're never gonna let it go, are you?"
"Never, ever, ever," Tom smirked and Harrison sighed.
They sat quietly for some moments, just sipping the alcohol and looking out the window that offered a view of the woods. Tom was sitting at the bottom edge of the bed while Harrison at the top. They saw trees rustling with wind and they could feel it's cool.
"Harrison," Tom called out, "Why did you hide this from me? Did you like her or something?"
Harrison huffed as he leaned behind, "Hide isn't the best word. I ran into her and we had a really good time. But to tell you the truth, it didn't seem like a big deal at all. If we know someone barely and then if any one of us runs into that person randomly, would it really be that imperative to inform the other person?"
Tom looked back at his friend as Harrison continued, "And I didn't know if you even remembered her. Clearly, I was wrong." Tom blushed at Harrison's smirk. "That's the only reason I didn't tell you. Not because I am scared to tell you that I like someone, which FYI, I don't."
The brunet shook his head in agreement. "Makes sense." He tapped his foot on the exquisite carpet for a while before stopping, "Then again, why don't you like Astrid? In that way. Is she not dating material?"
The blonde looked into Tom' eyes and pursed his lips before answering, "God, no! She's way too good. But see... We hardly met at the gala, and I had almost forgotten about her but I was surprised when I could recognise her after months at Edinburgh."
"Yeah, she does that to you."
Harrison continued, "And when we met there, that was when I actually got to know her you know, as a person." Tom listened on. "And even though we immediately hit it off, I think I would take more time than that to get into the dating thing." He cracked his neck and looked down at his bottle now, "And she is dating someone else, so..."
Tom's eyes narrowed at this as Harrison proceeded, "So, that's another point. I mean, not that if she was available I would've dated her... Uh... I don't know." He took a pause there. "We've got quite close and she is a fantastic person. But I don't see a relationship. I think I really like her as a friend."
Harrison looked up at Tom as if looking for some response.
"Oh." Tom could only say this much.
"Convenient for you, eh?" Harrison winked and Tom giggled nervously. The blonde stretched his feet on the bed. "So, I am definitely out of the competition." They both laughed, "Then again, she is a nice girl... Hmm, maybe she could be someone I could marry if we both are unmarried at 40?"
Tom chuckled, "You, single at 40? Yeah, right. And she, single at 40? Yeah, right."
Harrison closed his eyes, "Both unlikely."
One or two moments went by as Tom turned ahead again, "So you're meeting her tomorrow?" He asked softly.
Harrison's eyes shot open, "Oh shit! I forgot to send her a reply." He took out his phone and Tom moved quickly to his side. Harrison began typing while keeping the screen away from the peeking Tom.
"What are you guys doing? Just hanging out?" Tom, who was being blocked with Harrison's hand, asked innocently.
Harrison stared at his phone for a while and then turned to his friend, "If I told you, you'll crush on her even stronger."
Tom rolled his eyes, "Seeing that I've already crushed on her for more than a year, it seems impossible to take it to another level now."
'Won't be when you hear it.' Harrison thought with a smirk and Tom asked, "So? What is it?"
"Golfing. We're going golfing."
Tom sat there, stupefied, before saying, "I love you so much, man."
"Haha, thanks. But you're not invited." Harrison stuck out his tongue and left the room.
As Tom kept his beer down and exited the room, he said, "Never stopped me, you know."
****
I was laughing so much when everyone shipped Harrison and Astrid. Sorry to drown your ship, guys ;) Then again, you never know.
Also, wanted to ask if you guys wanted pictures of Astrid's inspired outfits or should I leave it to your imagination? Majority wins.
Thanks to:
-dhydd123, Ray4209, whyfeelsolow, RachelLisetC, Fatinlvs, mahgadahling, Reality_sucks07, kash-01, tomhollandxfanfic, wxllqz, mm82774, Lilykaji98, ginapluto06, evangelistgirl and tom_atoholland for voting.
-dhydd123, Reality_sucks07, StylishStylesX, Edentheperson, Yamilet154, kharmaandrews and Read4EverPls for commenting on the story.
-30 May, 2020