Fire Starter | Tom Holland

54 | Real Life

Blanca stood in front of the photo op background, waiting for the last person of the day to come up and have their photo taken with her. Mike, her security, and Abbi stood in front of her to her right being the ones to led everyone to Blanca. Annalise, Blanca's P.A., stood to her left being there to grab the presents and anything else people were bringing. Tom, though, was the highlight of the day. He was at one of the candy tables - helping people pick out what candy they were putting in their bags. He took the time out to take pictures and answer questions, but made sure to not try and keep the attention to himself. Tom wanted Blanca to receive the attention and praise she deserved.

After seeing the time and money that Blanca spent without even debating it, he realized how much she truly cared for every person who watched her videos. She made sure that there was a variety of candy bought: "I know one girl who's coming who is allergic to gluten", "Not everyone likes M&M's with nuts, so I have to make sure to get the plain ones - oh! Someone is probably gonna want the peanut butter ones too, can you grab a big bag of that please Tom", "I don't know if I have enough sour candy - not everyone has a sweet tooth". This was before Abbi received the call to confirm the order that Blanca had placed for cake pops and a cotton candy machine. Blanca knew how excessive this could seem to people, but she never wanted anyone to be excluded - even if it did seem as if it was a detail that could easily be overlooked. When Blanca explained this to Tom, he couldn't help to get this feeling. A feeling that confirmed that he was spending time with the right person. He loved the way she loved people.

The feeling magnified when the last girl who had taken a picture with Blanca came to the candy table and told Tom, "She's pretty great, isn't she? This is only my second time I've been able to meet her. The first time was less than five minutes with her but she still remembered my name and what we talked about. I love her so much." Tom's smiled widen at the girl, who couldn't be more than 15 years old. He looked to where Blanca was just moments ago but noticed she was no longer there. Instead he saw her rushing towards the doors that led to a small lounge where she had gotten ready. That was not right. Blanca wasn't supposed to go there for a break until after the Q&A which was supposed to start right now. Without giving a second thought, he sprinted to the room.

Blanca was there sitting on the edge of the couch. Her hands held on to the edge of the couch cushion to the point of becoming completely pale. Her breathing wasn't right. It was as if she was trying to breathe through a straw, inhaling and exhaling was becoming confused and Tom knew what was happening. Luke told him that this could be a possibility, but he never expected it to be this bad. Blanca was having a panic attack and for the life of him Tom could not think of what to do. Thankfully, Blanca's two best friends had arrived just in time for their 'surprise appearance'. 

"Go sit next to her, don't touch her though. Just let her know you are there. She just needs to know someone is with her," Jax whispered to Tom, "If it gets worse, Abbi will go grab either me or Luke."

Tom finally looked away from Blanca, eyes darting towards Jax and Luke, "Where are you going? Aren't you going to stay?" The nervousness was obvious in his voice.

"We are going to go entertain everyone out there. You got this, you just have to sit there and wait it out. Remember, don't touch her. She doesn't like when people touch her when she's having a panic attack." Luke explained before the pair walked out to where Tom came from.

Tom moved over and sat next to Blanca, "B, it's Tom. I'm right here." It took all his self-control to not wrap her in an embrace and just sit close to her. He wasn't sure what else to say. He sat there while her breathing continued being uneven and a few tears fell from her eyes.

It was ten minutes before Tom received any sort of acknowledgement: Blanca reached for his hand and he quickly took hers. That was the moment Tom vowed to never let Blanca go through this alone.