𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲

Thirty One | Wood

Y/N

We all piled into the back of a van to be taken from the train station to the countryside property. For me, a foreigner not used to these types of landscapes, I felt like I was on the way to fucking Hogwarts. It was cold, lightly snowy and full of empty paddocks.

I'm always fascinated by snow. It doesn't snow like this where I grew up and it definitely doesn't snow in Los Angeles, so whenever I'm amongst a white dreamscape like this, I'm like a kid at Christmas.

"You know I'm kind of glad you're here this time... Last year, Zendaya didn't come and I had to share a room with Harry and Paddy in bunks. But Bob said we can take the master room which is like, the best room on the property," Tom grinned.

As a large group we challenged the freezing wind from the van to the house; which was fucking beautiful by the way. It was a picturesque house that looked straight out of Bridgerton, which Tom was right about. It wasn't large but it was stunning to look at. The snow had stopped but the temperatures remained sub zero.

I am definitely not used to this weather.

"Can you still feel your toes Y/N?" Dominic laughed, unlocking the front door as the large group of Holland's piled inside. He could tell I wasn't used to this level of cold.

"Barely," I chuckled, following Tom into the foyer and smiling at the quaint country house.

Nikki and Dominic's sister organised the troops, telling each person which room they were going to be staying in for the weekend.

Nikki and Dominic.
Granddad Bob
Paddy and Harry
Sam and Clark
Tom and I

Then the other side of the Holland family which I gathered was the 'shittier side' according to Tom, was as follows:

Tom's Aunt and Uncle
The other random uncle
The three cousins sharing bunks.

It was weirdly segregated for a family, but like Tom implied, all families have their bouts of drama. Nikki got along well with Dominic's sister who was the mother to the other three cousins. Her husband was a bit of a wanker so far as I could tell.

"So if I became a movie star, would I get the good room too?" Jasper scoffed jokingly, although you could tell he was bitter having to share his bedroom with his siblings.

"If you managed to bring a girlfriend along maybe then you would," his mother joked back.

Tom nudged my arm and motioned me to follow him down the corridor to our room, avoiding the first of what I presumed would be many family bickers. Our suitcases were loud as they rolled down the old wooden floors, the walls adorned with old artwork and dim glass lighting. As I followed Tom, I looked in bedrooms that we passed, all similar styles with different bed configurations.

"Here we are," Tom said holding the door open for me to a much larger bedroom with large windows overlooking the property. It was just gorgeous.

"I can sleep on the couch if you're uncomfortable, I just figured it would be obvious if I shared a room with my brothers or something," Tom shrugged.

"Don't be stupid, we're adults. We've slept in the same bed before too, when you passed out at my tiny studio in LA. This is so nice though, I feel like an old Elizabethan princess or something," I laughed, putting my suitcase to the side and looking out the window as the snow covered grass.

Tom went to respond before hearing his Dad yell his name from the other end of the house, asking him to grab his boots and head outside with the rest of the boys. He groaned and told me he'd be back soon.

I unpacked a little, nothing extreme but just placing some of my skincare in the bathroom and placing my pajamas at the end of the bed. The windows had large heavy curtains on either side which I ran my fingers along, admiring the soft satin feel.

Through the window I saw Tom, Harry and Sam refuge through the wet grass in heavy jackets towards a little shed. Hm, Sam must have just gotten here a little after us then. Swinging the doors open, they went inside and I sat on the windowsill to watch what they were doing.

Rummaging through a cupboard, Harry pulled out a large axe and the three boys put their gloved hands in the air to play Rock, Paper, Scissors over who I presumed would be the one to chop wood for the fireplace in the main living area.

Tom threw his head back dramatically and flipped his middle finger up at the twins. This was before he reluctantly grabbed the axe to lean it up against his shoulder. It was really hot to watch, Tom swinging an axe down onto chunks of firewood over and over again. Despite Tom looking like marshmallow in a large puffy jacket, he still looked great. Not to mention the soft curls of his hair peeking out from under his beanie. Fucking adorable.

Fuck, the feelings are definitely coming back. I shouldn't have come on this family trip, what was I thinking?

"Y/N?" I heard a soft female voice say from outside our room. Perfect timing, I can draw my attention away from spying on Tom.

"Come in!" I called out, not knowing who was on the other side of the door but being more than open to chatting with one of Tom's family members.

"Hey, I-I'm Clark... Sam's girlfriend? We haven't met before but I uh, I know about you and Tom," she said coming into the room whilst whispering the last part of her sentence.

"Oh! Hi! Sorry I didn't even realise you two had gotten here," I said standing up from the windowsill and stretching out my arms to hug her hello. She was naturally beautiful, petite and quite innocent looking. She was young, but so were Tom's brothers.

"You watching those idiots chop wood?" She laughed, noticing them out the window and smiling. I nodded, explaining to her that I saw them all fight over who would take the axe first and then play Rock, Paper, Scissors over it, which made her laugh again.

"This is my second year on this Scotland trip. It's really nice having another girlfriend here though, I mean, not girlfriend but like, you know..." she stuttered, tripping over her words slightly.

"Don't worry, I got what you meant. I'm honestly still really nervous being around all the family members though, I kind of want them to like me," I awkwardly laughed.

"They will, the fact you're here means you're already better than Zendaya in their books. She always bailed on family things with us, but Tom always went to her events. Anyways, I'm really glad you're here and if you need anything let me know. I've done this all before. Oh! And uh, make sure you brush up on your card skills because it's a tradition that the first night we all play poker and drink to warm up," she smiled.

"Lucky I know how to play poker then," I smiled.

"I don't know how you can fake date someone without falling for them. I wouldn't be able to do it," she shrugged, shaking her head in astonishment.

And to be honest, I couldn't give her an honest answer because I have fallen for Tom. I had tried to surprise my feelings and pretend like I was delusional but no, I've accepted that I'm just a fucking idiot crushing on one of the worlds biggest celebrities.

Great.