Rumours
There’s no real love in you.
Oli knew this already. He knew that the love that he held for people didn’t really exist when it came right down to it, and most of the people who know Oli well knew that his love wasn’t real. It didn’t bother Oli that people would say he was a cold-hearted person who only liked people when he felt like it. He was used to it, the gossip, because it was just something that stupid people talked about when he passed.
People were talking again. Oli heard the rumours pop up again about how he was a cold-hearted bitch who only used people for their bodies. It made him laugh, to be honest, because the people who were talking about him didn’t really even know him. Their opinions meant nothing to him, so he shrugged them off as he walked home from a long day of photo shoots and interviews. He was tired and ready to pass out the second he stepped into the apartment he shared with his brother, but the second he stepped into the tiny apartment, he became distracted from his idea.
Tom was playing his guitar. That was the very first thing that Oli realized as he stepped into the room. He was playing Oli’s guitar, and he was singing. This was weird, because Oli knew that Tom didn’t like playing the guitar all that much, but he also hated to sing, so hearing his little brother doing both at the same time was messing with Oli’s mind. He closed the door quietly, listening to Tom’s singing. He couldn’t hear the words from out in he living room, so he walked closer to the room, listening as the words began to hit his ears.
“There’s no real love in you. There’s no real love in you.” Tom was singing about Oli, and this surprised the tattooed man slightly. “There’s no real love in you. Why do I keep loving you?”
This threw Oli into a loop of confusion. Tom was singing about him, and the singing wasn’t just normal singing about his brother; Tom was singing about loving him. On any normal day, Oli wouldn’t take this so weirdly, but the rumours were back, and Tom was fucking singing about his love for Oli. This wasn’t normal; this was a different type of love that Tom was singing about. Tom was singing about a relationship love that he wanted with Oli.
“Tom?” Oli asked quietly, and he boy abruptly stopped singing, almost dropping the guitar in the process.
“Jesus Oli,” Tom said as he looked up at him, holding tightly onto the guitar. “Thanks for scaring me half to bloody death.” He set the guitar down on Oli’s bed and bit his lip. “Sorry. Just got the urge to play. Didn’t think you’d be home for a while cause, y’know, you always go out drinking with the mates after a shoot.”
“It’s fine,” Oli said as he leaned back against the wall. “I’ve told you you’re allowed to play it. What were you playing?”
Tom shrugged and looked down at his hands, peaking Oli’s interest a bit. He wanted to see what Tom would say before he told his brother that he knew who he was singing about. “Just…nothing I guess. Was just fumbling around with chords and stuff. Pieced together a few words.”
“Bull,” Oli said as he looked at he looked at his little brother. “That song sounded practiced, so don’t like to me. We don’t lie to each other Tommy, so don’t start now.” Tom stayed silent as he kept his eyes focused on his hands, tracing patterns on his fingers as he tried to avoid answering Oli’s question. He didn’t want to talk about this, these secret feelings that he had for him, and he figured that maybe if he just kept quiet, he’d be safe from having to answer Oli. That would be best for everyone, if they just forgot that this happened.
“S’just something I’ve been working on,” Tom mumbled as he shrugged. It’s not a big deal Ols. Just something stupid.” He glanced upward to see Oli looking at him with a frown on his face, so he dropped his head again.
Oli pushed himself off of the wall and walked over to Tom, kneeling down in front of him. He was honestly playing the older brother role this time, not just the front that he showed to the public so they’d leave him alone about that too. He really, truly wanted to make Tom happy right now, and he knew that his little brother wasn’t going to be happy until he knew the truth that Oli had kept away from everyone. “Tommy,” Oli whispered as he reached forward and took Tom’s hands. “You can talk to me about anything. You know that right?”
A shaking head was the only response he got from his little brother, and Oli bit his lip. True, he wasn’t around much and he didn’t really spend any time with Tom these days because the boy was in college and had to finish up his last year while Oli worked to push his band around everywhere, but he wanted to make this all up to Tom. Sadly, he didn’t realize that this time, he just seemed to be making everything worse for showing his true colours.
“Tommy,” Oli whispered once more as he dropped one of Tom’s hands so that he could put a hand to Tom’s cheek. His brother shifted slightly and Oli knew that he just went on the defensive because of the touch. “You know you can talk to me about anything and I won’t ever judge you. I’m not like mum and dad. I love you.”
“No you don’t.” Tom’s voice escaped from his lips, quiet yet sturdy as he kept his eyes far away from meeting his brother’s. “You don’t love anyone.”
Oli bit his lip. “That’s not true,” he said in a barely there voice as he scooted closer to Tom. “I love you.” Quickly, before he could think about his decisions, Oli pulled Tom forward and placed a gentle kiss to his lips, holding onto him to make sure that he didn’t pull away.
Tom struggled against the kiss, knowing that Oli was just doing this to make him feel better, or at least that was what he thought until he realized that he could feel all of Oli’s emotions that he had locked away for so long gushing forth just for Tom, and slowly he began to kiss him back.
Relief struck Oli as he felt Tom’s lips move against his own, and he soon found his brother’s hands entangling in his hair as he tried to convey all of his emotions as well into something so simple yet so meaningful for the both of them.
Oli pulled away slowly, catching his breath as he looked at Tom, his eyes roving across the younger boy’s face. “I love you,” he whispered as he gently kissed the boy’s cheek. “I always have Tommy. You’re the only person I’ve ever loved.”
Tom’s hands gently touched Oli’s face as he smiled, slipping down onto the floor and next to Oli. “I love you too,” he told his brother with a smile. “Always have, always will.”
“Good,” Oli said as he gently kissed Tom’s lips. He was happy, Tom was happy, and rumours be damned, he did have real love in him.