Work Text:
The rain was pouring down heavily from the dark clouds covering the sky as you watched the street below from your hotel room. It was time for the awards show because you were nominated for Best Actress of the Year. For you however tonight was bittersweet. You met him on this same awards show last year.
You wore a nice dress your manager, Sam chose. She had light brown hair always held up in a bun or ponytail and always wore office costumes or women’s suits. She was glowing from professionalism and you loved that about her. She became your good friend since you started working together. Your phone started ringing and you weren’t surprised to see her call.
‘Hey, Sam’ you greeted and you cursed in your thoughts because your tone gave away your mood.
‘I know you’re not thrilled that he will be there but please just keep on a professional smile, drink a glass of champagne and then you can leave. I’ll send a car for you’ she started trying to get your spirits up a little.
‘Wish me luck’ you sighed. ‘I don’t want to face him and his girlfriend.’
‘I know and I hope you won’t have to’ replied Sam. ‘Just call me if anything happens, especially if you win the award, okay?’
‘I’ll leave it in your office anyway, Sam’ you laughed knowing she was going to ask you to lend her the award so she can place it in her vitrine where all of her stars’ awards are. You hung up and went down to the black Mercedes waiting for you. You had bodyguards who kept an umbrella over you in the heavily raining cold November afternoon. You arrived and when you got out of the car you opened the umbrella and walked up the red carpet to be interviewed by a few reporters and the hosts of the event.
You spotted them two reporters farther and your feet stopped moving as you watched them. Your heart pumped heavily in your chest as it sank with pain. You clenched your jaw and closed your eyes. You’re here to celebrate and be who you are. You don’t have to cross paths with them. Everything’s going to be fine, (Name). you repeated it over and over in your head as you approached the first reporter. Your eyes glanced at the pair ahead of you. He was wearing a black suit with shining black shoes, his hair combed backwards but the smile on his face was… not the warm and carefree smile you got used to when you were filming together. He seemed less happy and was having a heavy, tired aura around him. On his left arm was her with her bright blonde hair, shining lips and piercing blue eyes. She wore a form fitting, silver dress without sleeves and exposing a lot of cleavage when she had no cleavage at all. She was tall and skinny with long legs and a pretty face but she seemed cold. Your attention snapped back to the reporter in front of you when she greeted you with a big smile and you smiled back. That kind smile on her somehow lifted your spirits and that was what you needed. Distraction.
When you finally made it to the inside of the big theatre someone hooked their arm around your shoulder drawing your attention to your good friend. Benedict. You beamed up at him, give each of his cheek a kiss as greeting and asked if Sophie was here.
‘It is not enough that you two talk almost every night an hour on the phone?’ joked Ben making you chuckle.
‘If I would still live so close to you, I would always be over at your place playing babysitter’ you poked his chest.
‘Soon you will have yours and will ask for a break’ smiled the brunette.
‘Oh, don’t start that again! You know how that ended!’ you sighed your smile faltering. ‘We should get our places.’
‘After a while he will realize how big of a mistake was that, (Name)’ walked on your side Ben while walking into the auditorium. ‘Did you see any of the news where the two of them were in the spotlight? Tom was… just not himself. He seems like he might run his car into another just to get away from that blonde harpy.’
‘They seem to fit together perfectly.’ you shook your head as you spotted them on the other row of stairs leading down to the stage.
‘I know it wasn’t fair what he’s done back then and believe me, he got a big amount of scolding from me after that… but maybe he realized that he chose the wrong path’ replied Benedict looking at them too.
‘I don’t want it anymore, Ben. It was never meant to be and I should’ve realized it sooner’ you said and started walking down to your seat in the front row and so you missed it when Tom’s blue eyes spotted you and how those eyes shined with regret. Benedict however saw and when his friend looked at him, he just shook his head disappointed in him.
The show soon started after a new pop-star singing their new song. You dazed off as the hosts called the winners of the different awards until Benedict started softly shaking your shoulder. You turned to him surprised and watched him chuckle.
‘You won’ pointed a finger at the stage in front of you making your lips part and your eyes widen in surprise and shock. You almost tripped on your dress as you made your way up to the stage to get your award. You thanked your managers, your parents and friends, Benedict, who co-starred in the movie you got the award for and quickly left the stage. You joined the stars at the back who got awards congratulating them and they congratulated you in exchange with kind smiles and warm handshakes.
No matter how you protested you were forced to join the after party with a glass of champagne in your hand. You took a few bites from the snack cakes and cute salty snacks before making your way to the bar and asked for a Martini. You sipped on it relaxed when someone approached you. A tall, dark haired man in a nice suit and a warm smile. He was handsome and friendly and you started talking. He was funny and a gentleman as he kept you company through the night. Until the only person appeared you didn’t want to meet. Tom walked over to the two of you shook hands with the friendly guy in front of you after greeting you with a smile. It was… nervous. You should be nervous approaching me after how you rejected me. Okay, it wasn’t a concrete rejection, your blonde girlfriend just appeared and started straddling you in front of everyone on set – you thought.
‘How are you, (Name)?’ asked Tom making you scowl.
‘Oh, please, just stop this… acting nicely and go back to your girlfriend’ you rolled your eyes. ‘She must be looking for you.’
‘Can we be civil, (Name)?’ he asked looking over to the crowd.
‘I wasn’t thinking clearly back then and I’m sorry for it. I must’ve been annoying’ you flashed him a tight lipped smile before sipping from your Martini. You looked on the clock above the bar shelves on the wall and slid off your stool. ‘It’s time for me to depart. Have a good night!’
You turned around and walked away not stopping when you heard Tom call after you. You didn’t want this. This mess. It hurt too much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next morning you were packing your things to go back to your hometown/city because you had a few weeks off before you would be filming the next movie you were signed to. You wanted to be with your parents and close friends. You had a few hours till the flight so you decided to go down to the gym and work-out some.
And when you reached the gym you immediately regretted going down. There Taylor Swift was jogging on a treadmill with her earphones plugged in her ears. You took the farthest treadmill from her in the room and started your own work-out program. You lost track of time and only noticed it when your phone started vibrating in your pocket. Sam scolded you for missing your flight and soon arranged the closest one. You thanked her and started for the door to leave the gym, take a shower in your room and leave for the plane when Taylor walked up to you.
‘What are you think of yourself?’ she asked angrily. You quirked an eyebrow at her confused of why she approached you when you didn’t do anything.
‘What?’ you asked back confused.
‘Don’t play dumb, bitch’ rolled her eyes the blonde. ‘You got a reservation here because you knew Tom and I would be here too.’
‘You know, no one wrote it on the hotel’s homepage that you made a reservation here’ you replied. ‘Now, if you excuse me, I need to reach a plane.’
‘You’re trying to break us apart, I know!’ she screeched making you stop, your hand on the doorknob.
‘If there’s problem with your relationship, you should talk about it with Tom and not me, you know. Please leave me out of it’ you replied and left not waiting for her reply. Back when you were filming with Tom and she appeared, she was always looking at you like she was disgusted. You wanted to get out of here and never face any of them ever again. However you knew you would eventually.
On the plane you finally could lean back and close your eyes. You had an eight hour long flight and when you touched down you were grateful that you can finally stand up and move. Your parents were waiting for you with your best friend and they all cheered when they spotted you. They asked about anything and everything on the way to your old home where you could take a hot shower and went to bed.
You remembered that you set an alarm but thought you set it to wake you up way later. You groaned and picked your phone up to see that Benedict was calling you. You furrowed your eyebrows and picked up.
‘Don’t be so clingy, Sophie will notice’ you said making Ben chuckle.
‘Did you see the news?’ asked Ben making your eyebrows furrow further in confusion.
‘I just got off the plane and had a nap, so no’ you replied.
‘Oh, maybe you should watch it’ came the reply.
‘If it’s about Tom and Tay-tay, I don’t want to’ you said. ‘I closed that up last night. It’s settled and-‘
‘Please, don’t do this! I know, hell, you know that the two of you are meant to be together! When I visited him on set back then he was always talking about you and everyone saw how the both of you glowed in each other’s presence! You fit so perfectly together! I know you’re hurt and you have every right to be hurt because of how he led you on but it is time for forgiveness. You are so sad and look so lonely since Rainy Day!’ rumbled the brunette quickly. ‘I want to see both of you happy and everyone knows that you can only be happy if both of you give this another chance! Please, (Name)!’
‘Ben… it hurts so much because I fell in love for the first time. It was the first time that I really, really loved someone, adored someone so much. Never before, have I felt anything like that… still feel like that…’ you sighed tears welling up in your eyes. You couldn’t hold back a sob as you shielded your eyes with your right forearm. ‘And I crashed into the ground with such force I don’t think I can get up ever again. I feel like every bone in my body is broken and like I’m floating on cold water while I can’t move. But I can’t move on… I can’t forget his joyful smile, the way his blue eyes twinkle when he smiles, how he laughs, his kindness and politeness… but I know that those smiles were never meant for me.’
Suddenly there was someone standing up hurriedly while pushing their chair back with the chair’s legs scratching the floor loudly and then falling over with a bang on the other end of the call.
‘Hey! Where are you going?!’ yelled Benedict on the other end.
‘Hey, what was that? Is Sophie there?’ you asked. Was she worried about you? Was she going to scold Tom too? No, she wouldn’t do such a thing… would she?
‘Um… I’m sorry, I… I have to go now. Please, don’t hesitate to call me whenever you want or Sophie and check out the news, okay? You will definitely feel a little better.’ blurted out your friend before pressing the end-call button leaving you in silence. You sighed and got out of bed. You made a cup of hot fruit tea and went back to your room. You sat down at your desk and eyed your laptop in the dark. You sighed, opened up your laptop and pressed the on-button. You waited until it warmed up and started browsing on the internet. You watched a few cute videos of puppies and little bunnies, some funny videos and read a few articles until you found it.
HIDDLESWIFT OFFICIALLY ENDED!!! was on the headline. You narrowed your eyes as you clicked on it and the article popped up. They were writing about how the pair met and how long they were together when they finally proceeded to tell the readers about the break-up. There was a video below and you clicked on it. And it was just… wow. The camera focused on the pair as they left the elevator in the lobby Taylor shouting angrily while Tom tried to hide his irritation.
‘I know you went over to her last night! Don’t you dare deny it! She’s trying to break us apart and you’re letting her do just that! Did you look at her? She’s ugly and disgusting! She’s no match for me and yet you keep going after her!’ yelled the blonde pulling a suitcase behind her.
‘Would you stop making a scene?’ asked Tom stopping at the reception. ‘I don’t want to discuss anything like this in public.’
‘Everyone has to know that you’re a damn cheater, Tom! You know what?! It’s over! This’ she motioned between them. ‘is over!’
Taylor turned around and stormed out of the lobby jumping in a cab leaving Tom in the middle of the hotel and the camera turned off quickly when he looked at the person holding it. You didn’t see what happened after that but you didn’t want to. You felt sorry for Tom and couldn’t feel joy or happiness. The blonde was a bitch and she was full of herself yet her words hit hard. You really weren’t that big of a deal, you were no match for her… or were you? Were you beautiful, pretty and good looking enough? Were you smart and funny enough? Were you enough?
You closed your laptop to see the sun peak out from the horizon painting everything into orange and yellow. Your phone started buzzing again a picture appearing when you unlocked it. The message came from Benedict. It was about Tom on a plane and there was a small message under the picture. Both of you deserve it. Your eyes teared up at that. You knew the man on the picture with light brown locks and with high cheekbones curled up in a light blue blanket, was still holding your heart. You made yourself believe that you were over him but you weren’t and you knew you were going to give him another chance if he works for it. As you watched your phone, knocking came from downstairs. You were alone in the house because your parents left for their weekend house for a few days. The phone dropped from your hand as you stood in your bathrobe and went downstairs with slow steps not believing your ears. You walked up to the front door and when you opened it your breath caught in your throat, your eyes widening. He was a mess, his suitcase at his feet. His hair was dishevelled, his clothes wrinkled and worn as he was breathing hard like he was running from the airport.
‘(Name)…’ he breathed as he stared at you. ‘I-I…’
‘Come in’ you said quietly not knowing what will happen now. You led him into the big living room before making tea. Both of you were silent until you sat down across from him and the cups of tea were on the coffee table. You didn’t know what to say or ask and so Tom broke the silence after quite a long time.
‘I think I didn’t really think over everything’ he ran a hand through his hair. You saw how nervous he was and you couldn’t deny that you were just as nervous as he was if not more. ‘I just… (Name), I made a terrible mistake. I led you on… but just because when I was with you, nothing else mattered. We got along so well and everything felt so right when I was with you I even forgot about Taylor. She was kind and nice but… you made me forget her. I fell for you, (Name) and I’m going to fight for this. Fight for another chance because I know that this is not the end. I want to fight for this… for us. Because you deserve it.’
‘Was that you, when Ben called me?’ you asked out of curiosity. Tom looked away as he nodded.
‘I heard you say all of that and… I knew I had to fight for this, that not everything was lost and I should make it right. You don’t have to say yes right now, just tell me you will think about it…’ looked back at you the man in front of you with hope filled blue eyes.
‘If you heard me Tom, you know I already gave you, this, us another chance at this’ you replied motioning between the two of you. His expression filled with joy and you saw how his muscles wanted to jump over to you and hug you tightly never letting you go. You knew because you wanted to do the same. However you stood up Tom following you and you met halfway. ‘I still can’t understand what you see in me though.’ you breathed tears in your eyes as you looked up at him. His hands slid onto your waist as he pressed his forehead to yours.
‘Your smile, your eyes, your hair, your laugh, the way you can make everyone laugh, the way you can be so glowing, radiant always amazed me’ he said. ‘You’re smart and funny, kind and caring, beautiful, breath-taking, exquisite.’
You closed your eyes and leaned into him, your arms circling around his waist as your cheek pressed against his chest. You breathed in his scent which was a mix of his cologne, his own scent and the washing powder he used. It was perfect. You were where you wanted to be since you met him and you felt at home finally. In his arms. Nothing else mattered.
End~