Lucky Number

4

Nerves had been buzzing through Tom's body the entire day. Strange that he could speak in front of thousands of people at comic cons no problem, but the thought of being reunited with you sent his stomach plummeting, heart racing, and palms sweating. To be fair, they were mostly the good kind of nerves—excitement would be more accurate. Really terrifying excitement that made him want to both run to and away from you. Seeing you again for the first time in months, although amazing, came with so much pressure. Would you still like him? Would your chemistry still be there? Had he built up what he'd had with you in his mind so that once you were together again, it would only be disappointing? What if you'd changed your mind about him?

Even though his brain kept spinning with thoughts and questions, all that noise was overshadowed by the overwhelming feeling of...something. Tom couldn't quite place what this overwhelming feeling was exactly. He'd never experienced anything like it and couldn't pinpoint when he'd started feeling it. Like a thought that had been nagging at the back of his brain. He wasn't consciously thinking it, but it was still there. Then one day, something kind of clicked, and suddenly he was aware that it had been there the whole time and now he couldn't stop thinking about it. This feeling had been dormant inside him, and now, mere hours from seeing your face again, all his doubts and worries were dwarfed by this Feeling.

Harrison poked Tom's side, startling him from his thoughts. "Oi, mate—you alright? Been awfully quiet...."

Tom straightened up in the backseat of the car. "Yeah, yeah 'm fine. Just have a lot on my mind I guess."

"Y/N?"

Tom's stomach churned at your name, a small smile appearing on his face almost reflexively.

Harrison smiled smugly. "I see...so when you said you weren't nervous, you were taking the piss." His voice softened. "You've fallen for this girl haven't you?"

Tom started to disagree, but Harrison cut him off. "Don't, don't even. It's all over your face, innit? I've never seen you like this, but I have to say it's a good look on you. Falling in love suits you."

Tom's eyes widened. "L-love? I'm not in love, mate...I can't be. I've only known her for what, a few months...and most of that time we haven't even been in the same city. No man, I'm not in love." A nervous laugh escaped him.

Harrison raised his eyebrows but didn't say a word. Best to let Tom work it out on his own, at his own pace.

A few minutes passed in silence as the car worked its way through the heavy New York traffic, but before too much longer, Tom's hushed voice broke the quiet, "Hey, so...how do you, er, how do you know if you're in love?"

Harrison tried to maintain a serious face. "I mean, I think it's different for everyone...so I can't tell you what it feels like for you. But what I can say is that I can always tell when you're thinking about her. It's like Y/N has changed you in the best way possible."

"I hear her name, and something inside me bursts." Tom's voice was timid but gained more confidence as he continued. "Her voice sends my heart soaring, and when she smiles...I feel like I can do anything. She makes me invincible. I know this sounds ridiculous...but I've never felt more myself than when I'm with her. Like I didn't know I was missing something until we met, but now that I know her, now that she's part of my life, I can't remember how I existed without knowing her." Tom's cheeks flushed, and he shook his head, curls falling across his forehead. "That's stupid, I know. How could I possibly feel all that in such a short period of time?" He sucked in a big breath, puffing up his cheeks, then let it all out in a huff. "I've just built this all up in my mind, I know it. It's not possible to feel like this so quickly."

"Maybe, maybe not." Harrison shrugged. "But you'll know in just a few minutes, I think we're almost there."

The knot in Tom's stomach tightened. It was going to be fine, yeah? He'd explained why he couldn't be in love, so he just had to breathe and think logically. No need to be nervous, this was all casual...just seeing where things went.