Forget-Me-Not (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

(13) The Dilemma

The rest of the day went by uneventfully and Nina still wasn't used to not having a snide remark or comment thrown at her every so often. Kyle hadn't been answering his phone, and Nina didn't know why. She tried to tell herself that it didn't matter, that maybe his phone was dead and he'd most likely misplaced the charger but that was being pretty optimistic.

"So are you enjoying yourself then?" Tom offered to take Nina's bag as she left her trailer.

"Yeah, I am, thanks." He held her bag strap in his hand along with his own and she stretched as they walked, letting out an involuntary yawn. "I thought I'd be more starstruck but you guys are way more down to earth than I anticipated."

"Ehehehehe! I promise us actors aren't as rich and snobby as we might be made out to be. Thanks to my publicist, I do tend to come across as a dashing gentleman who happens to be rather photogenic, but really I'm six foot two of Shakespeare and sugar." Nina let out a soft laugh, looking across at Tom's face which was once again creased into a smile. "Speaking of my publicist, I've got to meet with her later in the hotel bar after we get back. You're perfectly welcome to come and join us for a drink."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to get in the way."

"Don't be ridiculous, Nina." Nina loved the way her voice sounded in his accent, smiling weakly to herself. She quickly snapped herself out of her little daydream. What would Kyle think?

They soon found their driver and he took them back to the hotel. "You wouldn't mind putting the radio on, would you?" Nina looked into the mirror at the driver.

"Certainly, Miss." He flicked on the radio and Shakira came blaring out of the speakers. Nina rolled her eyes and went to ask if she could change the channel over but Tom piped up first.

"What a good song! Nina, don't you like this?" He tapped his feet to the beat, humming along to some of the lines. "Come on, you've got to at least admit that it's catchy."

"The Plague was catchy but it wasn't good." Nina retorted playfully, and Tom's eyes widened, his mouth forming a lopsided smirk.

"Are you dissing Shakira?"

"Might be."

"Just admit that it's a decent song."

"Nope." Suddenly Tom's face wasn't Tom's face anymore; his eyes resembled those of a forlorn puppy. Nina glanced at him and did a double take, not being able to look away. "Um...Tom...what are you doing?"

"Trying to charm you into admitting that Shakira is good."

"Never!"

"Ok, then." Tom dropped his figurative puppy mask and straightened himself up, his eyes glinting more mischievously than before. "If the eyes don't work, how about I find out if you're ticklish?"

Nina's eyes widened in mock horror. "Oh, no. No. No. I'm not." She blurted defensively.

"So you are..." Tom suddenly extended his arm towards her and his fingers jabbed her softly in the ribs. Nina curled herself up as best she could, letting out a small squeak. "Oh my gosh! Nina, was that noise you?"

"Probably..." She uncurled herself and stretched her legs as best she could in her limited space. Tom went off into a world of his own then, staring out of the window and humming along to whatever song came onto the radio.

Nina now had a choice to make. She could either sit back and relax for the rest of the journey. She could try and start up another conversation with Tom. Or she could try and text Kyle for the thousandth time that day. Whatever she chose, she could make an educated guess that it would end awkwardly. Possibly with her embarrassment.

Eventually she decided she'd get her phone out. She couldn't sit still; she was crossing and uncrossing her legs, or chewing on her sleeve as she tapped at her phone, waiting for it to turn on. Eventually it turned on and it took a few moment but a single text came through. Nina wasn't sure, but Tom might have been watching her. She tensed up, anticipating the worst but it was just Molly.

M: i think i'm local to you tomorrow, you fancy meeting up if you have a few moments for your sis? xo
N: I have the afternoon off, so we could arrange something then? xo
M: yeah, ring me later and we can meet at a café or something :) xo

"Who's Molly?" A small smile flickered across Tom's face.

"Sister." Nina sighed quietly, shutting her phone off and placing it back in her pocket again. "I barely get to see her, so if she's local tomorrow that'll be...nice, I guess."

"Could I come with? Would that be any trouble?" He seemed to involuntarily use his lost puppy eyes as he looked across at her.

"Uh..." Nina didn't know what to say for a moment. Yeah, sure you can meet my sister, Tom the famous actor who Molly regularly obsessed over. "If...if you want? Are you allowed to do that?"

"Of course I am." He laughs. "I have a publicist, not a master."

"Ooh, kinky." Nina snorted softly, cringing intensely as she mentally reviewed her words. Did she really just say that out loud? Suddenly an old Blink song came on and Nina's ears seemed to perk up. "What a good song! Tom, don't you like this? It's better than the Plague."

"Oh, be quiet." He replied playfully, threatening to tickle Nina again and laughing as she shrank away from him. "It's ok, I suppose. Not generally my cup of tea but then I'd much rather just have a cup of tea, wouldn't you?"

"Camomile tea. No more, no less." Nina glanced at their hotel in the near distance.

"Perhaps I should treat you and your sister to one tomorrow, then." The car eventually drew to a halt and Tom was opening Nina's door in the blink of an eye.

"Perhaps." Nina pulled out her phone as she clambered out of the car but her phone decided to examine the cobblestones on the floor. It flew out of her hand and crashed to the ground, and Nina and Tom both went to pick it up at the same time.

The moment that their hands touched over the phone seemed so cliché to them both as Nina's hand lingered for a moment before she grabbed the phone and shrank back slightly, standing back up and accepting her bag from the bemused looking driver.

"Half seven in the bar then, yeah?" Tom smiled earnestly as they soon came to parting ways in the corridor. "Drop by my room if you're ready any earlier. You know where I'll be."

"Sure thing, Tom." Nina blushed and muttered her goodbyes as she trailed down the long hallway to the elevator. Tom watched her until the disappeared behind the lift's shiny metallic doors, before he then opened up his room and decided to have a shower to wash all of the days products out of his hair. He did rather like having his hair styled but sometimes cleaning up afterwards was a nightmare.

As he went into the small lounge area he noticed something lying on the table that he hadn't noticed before; it looked like a diary of some sorts but it probably belonged to Nina and it had been there since it perhaps fallen out of her bag when she slept on his couch.

Tom liked Nina a lot - they seemed to had instantly clicked quite well and it was nice having someone like her around with her slightly odd sense of humour and her generally humble nature. But what Tom had interpreted about Kyle was that he misused Nina - almost as if she was a toy that Kyle hadn't read the instructions for.

He looked briefly towards the kitchen, the cupboards practically calling his name. Surely he had time for just one biscuit before he got ready?

[A/N] this is probably one of the longer chapters, for sure! and it is definitely one of my favourites- sparked a lot of inside jokes at school. shakira shakira. but just go with the flow and see where it takes you, ok? does it take you to the vote button perhaps?
yours truly :) x