Time Bomb [Tom Holland]

REAL LIFE

Tom had knocked several times on the door before it was opened. Once it did, it revealed Val in a huge shirt and pyjama shorts. She had her brunette hair let down and her deep brown eyes had bags underneath them. In short, she looked like a mess. Tom had never seen her like this before and somehow he liked that. This means that she was getting comfortable with him and they had eased up on each other.

"Sup?" She groggily walks back in to her living room and leaves the door open behind her. Tom subtly greeted back and walked in her apartment.

Val's apartment was more than you can imagine for a nineteen year old girl. She never told Tom but it was pretty obvious she came for a family who had a fair amount of wealth in their hands. He could see that from the family pictures.

He slumped back down the couch where Val sat. "I hope your superstar ass don't mind, but I'm too lazy to fix myself, so you're gonna have to deal with all of this ugliness." She said and gestured to herself.

"Where's the pizza?" Tom asked. "It should be here by now." She answered. Just as Val said that, the doorbell rang, and Tom stood up quickly. "I'll get it." He said like a kid.

Tom took the three boxes of pizza from the delivery guy and gave him a tip as well because he was feeling extra good today and strutted back to the living room where his friend is sprawled out on her couch, holding her phone in her right hand.

"Fuck yeah." She exclaimed as Tom placed the boxes of pizza on the coffee table. Tom sat back down the couch and took one box of pizza for himself and placed it on his lap.

"So," Val started. "What is Harrison up to today and why isn't he being your "assistant" today?" She said, doing the quote hand gesture. "I let him have a day off. I was getting tired of his face." Tom jokingly replied. Valerie scoffed. "Yeah right, I bet you two had a lovers quarrel or something like that." Val looked at the puzzled Tom. "Why does everyone think we're gay?!" She put down her phone and reached for a pizza box and placed it on her lap as well. She bit into a piece and leaned to Tom, chewing loudly. "Because you are." She whispered. "You just don't know it yet."

Tom leaned in as well, their faces close and only a few inches apart from each other. Now hold up, I bet you're thinking "Oh, shit. This is where the romantic part starts.", well I think not. The both of them had their mouths full of pizza chunks and chewing. I don't see the romance in that. "I'm not gay." He emphasized and winked. Val found it uncomfortable, as it had some pleasant effect on her stomach, she leaned back, going back to her original pose.

"What about Zendaya then? You look cute together." She suggested, continuing to munch on her pizza and keeping her eyes on it. Tom shrugged. "She's gorgeous, yeah." He agreed.

"Oh, and very nice too. I mean, if you don't, I'll totally date her." Val said, making Tom's eyes widen and look at her. He swallows the food on his mouth and covered it with his hand.

"Are you—?" He questioned. Val rolled her eyes. "No, I'm just trying to prove a point. But there's nothing wrong with being gay." Tom sighed in relief and drank his cola. He didn't know why, but there was something in his stomach that made an unpleasant feeling when he thought of Val not being attracted to men. Not that he didn't like or support this minority but it was something more.. individual? Only for Val.

"But I mean, yeah, like if I was given the chance to date her I would totally do it." She continued, making Tom spit out his drink all over.

"What the hell, dude?" Val reacted, standing up to get some tissue for her friend. She got some from a corner and threw it to Tom, which he catches easily because he's a physically fit show off, that's why.

"Thanks," he muttered. Val sat back down on her couch groggily.

"Enough about Zendaya and I. What about you? That dude Toby?" He started as he wiped himself with some tissue.

"Toby's my best friend. We're not together together. It's just that I happen to find him tolerable than most people out there so people mistake us for more. Even though we have so much things we disagree on. That dude's sometimes an ass but he's also real chill." Tom adored how she talked about her friend, but can't help to feel a slight prick in the inside. He didn't know why so he ignored it.

"Did you have past boyfriends before?" Tom asked.

Val shrugged. "No one was interested enough." She answered bitterly and suddenly the mood changed.

Tom furrowed his brows, he felt uncomfortable all of a sudden. He thought about how the question affected her and he felt guilt run through him.

"I know there will be. You're a great girl." He smiled. Val hissed.

"Don't say that." She chuckled and picked up her cola and drank it. "Say what? You're great? But you are." Tom argued.

"Don't compliment me! I hate it when people do that!" She snapped and slammed her cola on the coffee table.

"S-sorry, I was just trying to comfort you-—" He was interrupted. "Well, compliments are not gonna work." She said.

"Then what will? Why not?" He asked her and placed his pizza box down for a while.

"Nothing. Because I know you're lying!" She raised her voice.

The two stayed silent for minutes, no one daring to break the silence between them. It had only been a while since they met and became friends, yet here they were fighting. Their hearts wrapped around the silence and their emotions had their mouths sealed.

It takes a lot of courage to revive yourself from a fall, a breakage.

"I—I'm sorry, Tom. I just—" Val was interrupted when Tom wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. She gasped, shocked of what had happened. His one hand took the box of pizza on her lap and placed it on top of the other box. Then, he rested that hand on her back with the other. His head resting on her shoulder. Tom was taller, so it was a bit uncomfortable, but okay.

"It's alright. I'm here for you, okay? I am not lying to you. And I'm gonna be here for you. Because I'm your friend. And I don't know what happened in your life that made you think that. But you're okay."

And just like that, it was like her bent heart has heard a melodious benevolent song. A heart that was told to be broken, yet here it was dancing at hearing something so pleasant. Yet, her mind still aches from the doubts of her past. It was always like this for her, some kind words from here and she will be wrapped around your finger. It had always made her vulnerable, weak. She hated it. She hated it so much that she promised herself she would never believe another person's lie. But what she had right here, right now.. it was something irreplaceable, she thought. Who was this man, really? He was just another actor, just another boy. He was no more than that. He's just another human being with a thirst to crush a soul for her being undesirable.

"Tom..." She whispered and hugged him back.

"It's alright." He assured her.

The two stayed in each other's arms longer than expected. That night the two had stayed close to each other, not minding if there was still a label on top of them. The two stayed where they felt comfortable, where they felt happy.

-

i was feeling somewhat deep when i wrote this lol cRINGE