Let Me Know He Cares - Fletcher/Jones - Chapter 11
Title: Let Me Know He Cares
Author: valquiris
Part: 11/?
Rating: PG-13 for language, violence, and sexual situations
Pairing: Fletcher/Jones
Genre: Romance
Summary: He quickly shot his eyes open at the sound and found himself immediately staring at Giovanna’s upside-down face. He scrambled to sit up and rubbed his eyes, yawning widely. Giovanna jumped on the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, burying her face in the crook of his neck, making some of the hairs there stand on end.
A/N: Ugh, I just couldn't keep it off any longer. I had to post this today. Such a chore writing this chapter really, I must have revised it five times.
Disclaimer: I do not own McFly in any way.
Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10
At that moment, he wanted to do so many things at once, he couldn’t figure out which to do first; he wanted to scream his lungs out until his throat was sore, he wanted to tear his hair from his scalp, he wanted to send Giovanna back home, he wanted to die… But he couldn’t bring himself to do any of those things. He found his throat tightly constricted, making it impossible to let out even a soft cry, and the only thing he could do at the moment was to stare at Giovanna, eyes wider than dinner plates, as her eyebrows drew closer together in confusion.
“Tom?” said Giovanna with a smile, leaning her head closer to his but keeping the rest of her body where it was. She pulled back when no reply came and turned to Mrs. Fletcher, who had apparently just emerged from the kitchen and was now looking at her son in exhilaration, her smile flourishing into a full-blown grin. “Oh, my gosh, you were right! He’s speechless! Oh, I’ve missed you so much!”
Tom eyed his mother in horror as she laughed with Giovanna, her hands covering her mouth (that was the way she laughed), and the next moment, he found Giovanna’s arms clasped around his neck once again, her lips placing soft kisses all over his face, paying particular mind to avoid his lips in fear of killing him in shock-if that was even possible. He still couldn’t bring himself to utter a word; he feared he lost his ability to speak altogether. The trauma of the moment burned in his brain and in his heart, and he felt like fainting at the spot.
After a while, Giovanna refrained from the kisses, and grabbed Tom’s hand to lead him to the sofa, which was a rather difficult task since Tom seemed to have lost the ability to move his legs as well. She sat him down and took the seat next to him, clutching his hands tightly in hers on his thigh, and positioned her head on his shoulder, her hair tickling his neck in the most dreadful way he felt like he was about to throw up.
He felt like an empty shell, devoid of all thought or motor skills-much like a marionette, and Giovanna was the puppeteer.
It took him a good five minutes before he regained the ability to speak, and the first thing that came out, in a low, almost hoarse voice, was, “Gio… What are you doing here?”
She lifted her head up at the question and looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, visibly befuddled.
“To visit you, of course,” she said with a smile, her hand reaching up to play with a lock of his hair. “Who’d you expect was coming?” Nothing seemed to make sense anymore, and Tom quickly turned his head around to look at his mother, who was leaning on a wall holding a freshly made mug of coffee. Why’d you lie to me, Mum? This of all things!
“You said she was-” Tom started, but he was interrupted by a startling giggle from Mrs. Fletcher, joined shortly by one of Giovanna’s.
“Gio wanted me to keep it a secret, so when you became all suspicious, I had to think of something to say,” she said after taking a sip of her coffee. Tom turned back to Giovanna, whose smile never left even for a second, and managed a smile of his own, though it took all he had to do so.
What the hell am I going to do now? No, this just cannot be! I was so close to breaking it off! So fucking close! I can’t just end our relationship right now, it’ll break her heart! He stopped at the last thought and stared into Giovanna’s eyes, which were looking back, a blinding sparkle of joy flashing in them. Fuck, I just can’t do that to her… She deserves better… So much better… And all this time, all I’ve wanted to do was break up with her. Now that she’s here, I just can’t do it. I didn’t know how hard it would be to actually do it…
“Did you miss me?” Giovanna asked him so suddenly he gave a little start, and she laughed in delight. Tom recovered a second later and feigned a smile at her, nodding ever so slightly.
“Of course I did,” he managed to say, lightheadedness falling over him like a brick. “It’s just so sudden, y’know?” Giovanna nodded back with a smile and stood up, her hands remaining closed on Tom’s.
“Come on, your mum made loads of food! I’m starving!” Tom tentatively stood up, wanting desperately to stay seated in the sofa for the remainder of his life, and followed her into the dining room, where his mother was already plating the table.
The night wore on terribly for Tom, his eyes quickly glancing over to the door whenever he was granted the chance in hope that Danny kept true to his word. If he sees her, I swear I’m going to take a butcher knife and kill myself on the spot…
He didn’t eat very much, only sticking his fork to the piece of steak resting on his plate, occasionally tearing off a piece to eat, and playing with his mashed potatoes, making silly little drawings on the surface. Giovanna and his mother chatted the whole time, sometimes asking Tom for reassurance about something that he never bothered to follow, and his responses were only nods and “yep”s. When they started talking about Giovanna’s life after Tom moved, he couldn’t bear it any longer. He stood up and excused himself as politely as he could (“I’ve had a really stressing day today. I need a bit of rest. Let’s talk more tomorrow, yeah?” he said, much to Giovanna’s disappointment, but she accepted all the same).
He dragged his feet up the stairs, keeping his hand on the banister for support in case he passed out and fell backwards, breaking his neck and his spine. Right now, that doesn’t sound all that bad… Once he reached the landing, his gaze immediately fell on the guest room, for it was the only room upstairs that had light. It was wide open (he had to squint slightly to avoid irritating his eyes), and moving closer, he could see that Giovanna had already unpacked; her sleeping gown was already laid out on the bed and her pink suitcase was propped against the side of the bed. He sighed deeply and ambled over to his room, locking the door behind him.
He undressed as slowly as he could and discarded his clothes in the middle of the room absentmindedly. He slumped face-down on his bed and reached a hand for Little Johnny, which was sitting against the headboard between two pillows. He slid over to place his head on one of them, hugged the bear tightly, and began to cry.
What am I going to tell him? ‘Hey, Danny, have you met my girlfriend?’ So stupid… So fucking stupid… Should have called her sooner… What am I supposed to do now? Just tell her we’re done and ask her to go back to Harrow? Just like that? No, I don’t think so… Hopefully, this is just a dream, and when I wake up tomorrow, she’s not going to be there…
Then, without realizing it, he had cried himself to sleep.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Danny approaches the door, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a knitted beanie in the other, sporting a wide smile. He knocks twice and steps back to wait, expecting Tom to answer immediately. The door opens and his smile falters slightly at the sight of Giovanna appearing before him. She stares at him rather sternly, like he’d done something wrong, and crosses her arms over her chest.
‘Who are you?’ she asks, leaning her shoulder on the doorframe. Danny composes himself and answers politely.
‘I’m Tom’s friend, Danny. These are for him.’ He presents the gifts with a beaming smile, but quickly retracts his hands when Giovanna wrinkles her nose in disgust. She reaches a hand to grab the bouquet and tears it to pieces, laughing at Danny’s newfound desolation, tears forming in his blue eyes as he stares in disbelief. A claw snatches the beanie from his trembling hands, and his eyes widen in horror as Giovanna stomps on it on the ground with intensity, her hair flying with each hit. Danny is crying now, and he kneels on the ground to salvage the remainder of the beanie he labored on for a week, hugging it as close to his chest as he possibly could in hopes that it would somehow fix it.
‘Why’d you do that?’ he asks, his voice cracking as he chokes on his tears. Giovanna severely shoots him a sneer and positions her hand on the door to close it.
‘I’m his girlfriend. And you are nothing.’ She slams the door shut, her laughs perfectly audible on the other side, and Danny lays broken on the sidewalk, sobbing as hard as his lungs could muster…
Tom’s eyes opened in a flash. He quickly sat bolt upright, wiping a bead of cold sweat from his cheek, which seemed a bit odd since it was freezing cold. I have to convince Danny never to go to my house until Giovanna leaves…
He jumped lightly off the bed, landing cat-like on the floor as to not make a sound, and unlocked his door as quietly as he could. He opened it just enough for him to slip through, and closed it back slowly, wincing in fear that the click had woken Giovanna up.
He trotted downstairs, skipping steps along the way, and made for the door. Closing it behind him, he stepped onto the sidewalk and ran barefoot all the way to Danny’s house, ignoring the cold shooting through his body with every step. It was extremely dark outside, the lamplights having stopped working, but nonetheless, he easily found his way to Danny’s.
“Danny!” he whispered as he banged his fists on the door when he arrived, for he didn’t want to wake the whole neighborhood up by yelling. Soon, he was rapping on the door, not taking no for an answer, ultimately adding his foot to the cause. It finally opened after a few minutes of relentless banging, and a groggy Danny came into view, scratching his head, his eyes partially open. Tom let himself in, grabbing Danny by the hand, and closed the door to keep the cold outside.
He sat Danny down on the sofa much like Giovanna did earlier and knelt before him, his hands closed around Danny’s and resting them on his knees. Danny didn’t seem the least aware of what was happening, and he only yawned and blinked uncoordinatedly.
“Wha’ happah?” asked Danny in mid-yawn, and Tom didn’t hesitate to answer at once.
“Danny, you can’t go to my place for the rest of the break,” Tom replied, seriousness coating every word. The statement seemed to have finally woken Danny up, and he looked at Tom with curiosity and worry.
“Why not?” remarked Danny, yanking Tom to his feet, and he did the same a second later. Oh, my god, I never thought of the reason! Tom desperately tried to formulate a plausible excuse in his head, his eyes never leaving Danny’s. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What am I going to say!
“My cousin’s the one that’s visiting and she doesn’t take too kindly to strangers.” Being the first thing that came to his mind, he decided to go along with it, and when he saw Danny open his mouth to speak, he quickly added, “Y’see, she’s visiting from her asylum and she has this mental illness. Whenever she feels threatened, she freaks out. Usually after seeing someone for the first time.” Tom crossed his imaginary fingers in the hopes that it would work, and he bit his lip in anticipation of what Danny would say next.
“Alright,” Danny finally said, much to Tom’s intense relief, who let out a soft sigh. He pulled Danny into an exhilarated hug, and pressed his lips against his, all his worry flying out the window. Danny’s always kept his word. Always. I’ve nothing to worry about. Nothing at all…
They spent about half an hour on the sofa, and Tom had to break the kiss off when he felt he needed to go back home.
“D’you have to?” asked Danny, not wanting to let Tom go just yet. Tom smiled, nodded, and placed a kiss on his cheek before untangling his legs, which were intertwined with Danny’s. “Well, then let’s hang out later. I’ll come to your place at eight o’clock. Make sure you open the door.” Tom accepted this (at least I know when he’s coming), stood up, and walked over to the door, Danny right behind him, his hands holding Tom’s hips. They kissed one last time and Tom strolled outside the door, waving at Danny before he closed it shut.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
“Tom!”
He quickly shot his eyes open at the sound and found himself immediately staring at Giovanna’s upside-down face. He scrambled to sit up and rubbed his eyes, yawning widely. Giovanna jumped on the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, burying her face in the crook of his neck, making some of the hairs there stand on end.
“Come on, your mum says breakfast’s ready,” she said as she lifted her face up and relinquished her hold on him. He grudgingly got up after looking at the digital clock (it read 6:47) and followed Giovanna out the door and down the stairs. He sauntered into the dining room and helped himself to some of the sausages and omelet already prepared in his plate and downed a glass of cold water.
“Why don’t you show Gio around,” said Mrs. Fletcher rather suddenly that Tom choked on a piece of sausage, and he had to shower his throat with a glass-full of water.
“I can’t,” replied Tom a bit louder than necessary after setting his glass back on the table. “I’ve already made plans with Danny.”
“Who’s Danny?” Giovanna asked Tom, cutting a piece of bacon in half. Tom was about to answer when his mother responded first.
“Oh, one of Tom’s friends,” she said as she smeared butter all over her toast. “And Tom, is that any way to treat a guest? She’s your girlfriend for Christ’s sake. You and Danny can hang out anytime, but Gio here’s only got till the end of the break.” Tom couldn’t believe how difficult his mother was being, but after presenting her point, Tom felt he had no choice but to accept the proposal. “Oh, don’t worry, Tom. He’ll understand,” she added after seeing her son’s downcast expression. At that moment, something inside of him made him believe that his mother was suspecting something going on between him and Danny. Impossible. How could she know?”
Tom got ready a few minutes before Giovanna did, and he waited sulkily on the sofa, tracing his finger on the “DAnnY JOneS” scribbled sloppily on his scarf. Tom had never broken a promise to Danny before, and he didn’t want to start now. I’m really sorry, Danny. I’ll make it up to you somehow…
He heard Giovanna’s footsteps behind him a few minutes later and they proceeded to leave the house, waving goodbye to his mother (“Have fun!” she said happily) before disappearing from her view.
The weather outside wasn’t as cold as the night before, but it was still cold nonetheless, and Giovanna’s arms, apparently in an attempt to get warmer, were tangled around one of Tom’s. They walked along the sidewalk, careful to avoid the children making snow forts and ducking as well as they could when they found themselves in the middle of a snowball war.
Tom’s plan for the whole walk was to avoid Danny’s house at all costs, forcing them to take the longer route to the heart of the neighborhood. Giovanna seemed to enjoy herself along the way, pointing this way and that, asking Tom his favorite places to go to with enthusiasm. Tom wanted to avoid Memory Lane as well (that was his and Danny’s place), but the opportunity vanished when she spotted it on the other side of the road and begged Tom to go there.
Tom held the door open for her, the tinkling of the bell making some of the people turn their heads like all the other times, and she made for the table next to the window, which, coincidentally enough, his and Danny’s table. When they sat themselves, the waitress came and took their order, but before she left, she noticed something was different.
“Where’s the brunette, Danny?” she asked as she stuck her pen behind her ears.
“Not today, Martha,” said Tom, grabbing Giovanna’s hand, which was positioned opposite him on the table, and interlocked their fingers. “This here’s my girl, Gio.” Tom felt the need to parade her around as his girlfriend for a reason he perfectly well didn’t know. He just did. Martha smiled at Giovanna, who happily returned the gesture, and left them to ring their order up.
“So,” Giovanna started, reaching her free hand to her hair to brush it. “Tell me about this Danny fellow everyone’s talking about.” Tom didn’t even know where to begin. He knew quite well not to tell her about how he loves him with all his heart, and how Danny gives the best sex he’s ever had. No, he couldn’t tell her that. What he opted to tell her instead was everything starting from their first encounter.
Tom told her about how Danny was more than eager to help him find his classes, how they hung out after school that very same day, how he helped Danny with his injuries after being “beat up” in the bathroom, how they spent their time in the theaters, how Danny gave him the scarf he was currently wearing around his neck… He said all of these things with a fiery passion in his eyes, and he admitted to himself, he had gotten a bit carried away with the details. But Giovanna didn’t seem to mind. She just sat there eating her ham sandwich, laughing at the more funny parts of Tom’s story.
They left the café shortly after Tom had finished his hot chocolate and walked around some more. It took them most of the day to completely cover the whole neighborhood, spending most of their time in the mall.
In there, they bought each other all sorts of things-purses, shirts, key chains, little trinkets that Tom thought had absolutely no function in the world-and took a few pictures in the photo booth. Feeling slightly tired, they decided to sit on one of the benches, and after seeing some couples making out, Giovanna wanted them to do it as well. Tom felt his heart constrict at the request, but he complied nonetheless. He tried his best to make the kiss as believable as he could, and hoped that they long interval between his leaving and her visiting was long enough that she wouldn’t notice the difference. To his relief, she didn’t, and they left for home a bit past eight o’clock.
They walked home in the night, holding each other hand in hand, the light of the streetlamps creating silly-looking shadows behind them, which Giovanna seemed to enjoy. Along the way, they decided to engage in a snowball fight. Tom pelted snowball after snowball at Giovanna, who couldn’t manage to create even one, but she finally got her revenge when Tom slipped on a patch of black ice and fell on his bottom.
They approached the door to Tom’s house completely entranced in laughter, and Tom fumbled his keys for a while before finally opening the door. He was surprised to find his mother sitting on the sofa, her arms crossed over her chest, her leg crossed over the other, her eyes looking at Tom with an unreadable expression.
“What’s up?” Tom asked, his smile fading quickly. Mrs. Fletcher stood up and walked closer to them.
“Didn’t you ever tell Danny about Gio?” she asked, eyeing her son in curiosity. Tom felt his heart drop and his eyes widen. I’ve completely forgotten that Danny was coming over earlier!
“Why would you say that?” Tom said as innocently as he could, for he felt his mother was definitely up to something.
“Well, he came over about an hour after you left,” she started, keeping all of her attention focused on Tom’s eyes. Oh, no. I see where this is going… “He asked for you. I told him you took Giovanna around the neighborhood. Then he said the oddest thing.” Tom could only imagine what Danny might have said, and the pause in her explanation made Tom’s heart race.
“What’d he say?” asked Tom, feeling hotter by the second, feeling a bead of sweat running down his cheek in defiance of the cold temperature all around them.
“He asked me if Giovanna was your cousin from the asylum,” his mother continued, a slight puzzlement in her voice. “Wherever did he get the idea from, I don’t know. I told him that she was your girlfriend, and you won’t believe how confused the boy looked. Then he left looking all sad.” Tom felt Giovanna’s hand slide away from his and found himself rounded on by both females.
“You’ve never told him about me?” asked Giovanna incredulously, her arms crossed over her chest in the same manner as his mother had. Tom scrambled his brain for quick answers to blurt out.
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Tom said almost defensively. “It slipped my mind is all. I’ve forgotten to tell him about dad, too.” This didn’t seem to satisfy Giovanna, but he spoke no further about the matter. Instead, he said, “And he was sad because I’ve promised him we would hang out today! It’s your fault, to be quite honest.” Mrs. Fletcher looked like she had just been slapped across the face, and she turned away from Tom, making her way to the kitchen. Tom felt slightly guilty for going off on his own mother, but in his heart he felt it was her fault. Everything’s her fault! None of this would’ve happened if she hadn’t lied to me in the first place! Now, Danny’s going to hate me for standing him up and for the fact that I’ve never told him about Giovanna! Fucking hell! What am I supposed to do now?
Halfway along the way, Mrs. Fletcher stopped and turned back to the two.
“Gio, dear, can you help me in the kitchen? Tom needs to have a talk with Danny,” she said, motioning for Giovanna to come over to her. Giovanna looked at Tom one last time, disappointment in her face (“We’ll talk about this later when you come back,” she whispered to him) before walking toward his mother.
Tom swiveled around on the spot when the two disappeared from his view, and he made his way out the door, thinking in his head anything that could possibly even begin to explain to Danny about the whole situation.
He’s going to hate me, I know it. The moment I knock on his door, he’ll push me away and never see me again. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle living without him. I love him too much…
He trudged along the snowed sidewalk, eyes stinging as he tried to hold back his tears. One or two managed to escape his barricade, and he quickly wiped them off with his hand. Before long, he found himself sobbing softly, and he stopped walking when he reached the door to Danny’s house, anticipating the horrible altercation that would undoubtedly follow, his heart racing fast, his stomach lurching, his heart aching with every beat.
Author: valquiris
Part: 11/?
Rating: PG-13 for language, violence, and sexual situations
Pairing: Fletcher/Jones
Genre: Romance
Summary: He quickly shot his eyes open at the sound and found himself immediately staring at Giovanna’s upside-down face. He scrambled to sit up and rubbed his eyes, yawning widely. Giovanna jumped on the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, burying her face in the crook of his neck, making some of the hairs there stand on end.
A/N: Ugh, I just couldn't keep it off any longer. I had to post this today. Such a chore writing this chapter really, I must have revised it five times.
Disclaimer: I do not own McFly in any way.
Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10
At that moment, he wanted to do so many things at once, he couldn’t figure out which to do first; he wanted to scream his lungs out until his throat was sore, he wanted to tear his hair from his scalp, he wanted to send Giovanna back home, he wanted to die… But he couldn’t bring himself to do any of those things. He found his throat tightly constricted, making it impossible to let out even a soft cry, and the only thing he could do at the moment was to stare at Giovanna, eyes wider than dinner plates, as her eyebrows drew closer together in confusion.
“Tom?” said Giovanna with a smile, leaning her head closer to his but keeping the rest of her body where it was. She pulled back when no reply came and turned to Mrs. Fletcher, who had apparently just emerged from the kitchen and was now looking at her son in exhilaration, her smile flourishing into a full-blown grin. “Oh, my gosh, you were right! He’s speechless! Oh, I’ve missed you so much!”
Tom eyed his mother in horror as she laughed with Giovanna, her hands covering her mouth (that was the way she laughed), and the next moment, he found Giovanna’s arms clasped around his neck once again, her lips placing soft kisses all over his face, paying particular mind to avoid his lips in fear of killing him in shock-if that was even possible. He still couldn’t bring himself to utter a word; he feared he lost his ability to speak altogether. The trauma of the moment burned in his brain and in his heart, and he felt like fainting at the spot.
After a while, Giovanna refrained from the kisses, and grabbed Tom’s hand to lead him to the sofa, which was a rather difficult task since Tom seemed to have lost the ability to move his legs as well. She sat him down and took the seat next to him, clutching his hands tightly in hers on his thigh, and positioned her head on his shoulder, her hair tickling his neck in the most dreadful way he felt like he was about to throw up.
He felt like an empty shell, devoid of all thought or motor skills-much like a marionette, and Giovanna was the puppeteer.
It took him a good five minutes before he regained the ability to speak, and the first thing that came out, in a low, almost hoarse voice, was, “Gio… What are you doing here?”
She lifted her head up at the question and looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, visibly befuddled.
“To visit you, of course,” she said with a smile, her hand reaching up to play with a lock of his hair. “Who’d you expect was coming?” Nothing seemed to make sense anymore, and Tom quickly turned his head around to look at his mother, who was leaning on a wall holding a freshly made mug of coffee. Why’d you lie to me, Mum? This of all things!
“You said she was-” Tom started, but he was interrupted by a startling giggle from Mrs. Fletcher, joined shortly by one of Giovanna’s.
“Gio wanted me to keep it a secret, so when you became all suspicious, I had to think of something to say,” she said after taking a sip of her coffee. Tom turned back to Giovanna, whose smile never left even for a second, and managed a smile of his own, though it took all he had to do so.
What the hell am I going to do now? No, this just cannot be! I was so close to breaking it off! So fucking close! I can’t just end our relationship right now, it’ll break her heart! He stopped at the last thought and stared into Giovanna’s eyes, which were looking back, a blinding sparkle of joy flashing in them. Fuck, I just can’t do that to her… She deserves better… So much better… And all this time, all I’ve wanted to do was break up with her. Now that she’s here, I just can’t do it. I didn’t know how hard it would be to actually do it…
“Did you miss me?” Giovanna asked him so suddenly he gave a little start, and she laughed in delight. Tom recovered a second later and feigned a smile at her, nodding ever so slightly.
“Of course I did,” he managed to say, lightheadedness falling over him like a brick. “It’s just so sudden, y’know?” Giovanna nodded back with a smile and stood up, her hands remaining closed on Tom’s.
“Come on, your mum made loads of food! I’m starving!” Tom tentatively stood up, wanting desperately to stay seated in the sofa for the remainder of his life, and followed her into the dining room, where his mother was already plating the table.
The night wore on terribly for Tom, his eyes quickly glancing over to the door whenever he was granted the chance in hope that Danny kept true to his word. If he sees her, I swear I’m going to take a butcher knife and kill myself on the spot…
He didn’t eat very much, only sticking his fork to the piece of steak resting on his plate, occasionally tearing off a piece to eat, and playing with his mashed potatoes, making silly little drawings on the surface. Giovanna and his mother chatted the whole time, sometimes asking Tom for reassurance about something that he never bothered to follow, and his responses were only nods and “yep”s. When they started talking about Giovanna’s life after Tom moved, he couldn’t bear it any longer. He stood up and excused himself as politely as he could (“I’ve had a really stressing day today. I need a bit of rest. Let’s talk more tomorrow, yeah?” he said, much to Giovanna’s disappointment, but she accepted all the same).
He dragged his feet up the stairs, keeping his hand on the banister for support in case he passed out and fell backwards, breaking his neck and his spine. Right now, that doesn’t sound all that bad… Once he reached the landing, his gaze immediately fell on the guest room, for it was the only room upstairs that had light. It was wide open (he had to squint slightly to avoid irritating his eyes), and moving closer, he could see that Giovanna had already unpacked; her sleeping gown was already laid out on the bed and her pink suitcase was propped against the side of the bed. He sighed deeply and ambled over to his room, locking the door behind him.
He undressed as slowly as he could and discarded his clothes in the middle of the room absentmindedly. He slumped face-down on his bed and reached a hand for Little Johnny, which was sitting against the headboard between two pillows. He slid over to place his head on one of them, hugged the bear tightly, and began to cry.
What am I going to tell him? ‘Hey, Danny, have you met my girlfriend?’ So stupid… So fucking stupid… Should have called her sooner… What am I supposed to do now? Just tell her we’re done and ask her to go back to Harrow? Just like that? No, I don’t think so… Hopefully, this is just a dream, and when I wake up tomorrow, she’s not going to be there…
Then, without realizing it, he had cried himself to sleep.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Danny approaches the door, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a knitted beanie in the other, sporting a wide smile. He knocks twice and steps back to wait, expecting Tom to answer immediately. The door opens and his smile falters slightly at the sight of Giovanna appearing before him. She stares at him rather sternly, like he’d done something wrong, and crosses her arms over her chest.
‘Who are you?’ she asks, leaning her shoulder on the doorframe. Danny composes himself and answers politely.
‘I’m Tom’s friend, Danny. These are for him.’ He presents the gifts with a beaming smile, but quickly retracts his hands when Giovanna wrinkles her nose in disgust. She reaches a hand to grab the bouquet and tears it to pieces, laughing at Danny’s newfound desolation, tears forming in his blue eyes as he stares in disbelief. A claw snatches the beanie from his trembling hands, and his eyes widen in horror as Giovanna stomps on it on the ground with intensity, her hair flying with each hit. Danny is crying now, and he kneels on the ground to salvage the remainder of the beanie he labored on for a week, hugging it as close to his chest as he possibly could in hopes that it would somehow fix it.
‘Why’d you do that?’ he asks, his voice cracking as he chokes on his tears. Giovanna severely shoots him a sneer and positions her hand on the door to close it.
‘I’m his girlfriend. And you are nothing.’ She slams the door shut, her laughs perfectly audible on the other side, and Danny lays broken on the sidewalk, sobbing as hard as his lungs could muster…
Tom’s eyes opened in a flash. He quickly sat bolt upright, wiping a bead of cold sweat from his cheek, which seemed a bit odd since it was freezing cold. I have to convince Danny never to go to my house until Giovanna leaves…
He jumped lightly off the bed, landing cat-like on the floor as to not make a sound, and unlocked his door as quietly as he could. He opened it just enough for him to slip through, and closed it back slowly, wincing in fear that the click had woken Giovanna up.
He trotted downstairs, skipping steps along the way, and made for the door. Closing it behind him, he stepped onto the sidewalk and ran barefoot all the way to Danny’s house, ignoring the cold shooting through his body with every step. It was extremely dark outside, the lamplights having stopped working, but nonetheless, he easily found his way to Danny’s.
“Danny!” he whispered as he banged his fists on the door when he arrived, for he didn’t want to wake the whole neighborhood up by yelling. Soon, he was rapping on the door, not taking no for an answer, ultimately adding his foot to the cause. It finally opened after a few minutes of relentless banging, and a groggy Danny came into view, scratching his head, his eyes partially open. Tom let himself in, grabbing Danny by the hand, and closed the door to keep the cold outside.
He sat Danny down on the sofa much like Giovanna did earlier and knelt before him, his hands closed around Danny’s and resting them on his knees. Danny didn’t seem the least aware of what was happening, and he only yawned and blinked uncoordinatedly.
“Wha’ happah?” asked Danny in mid-yawn, and Tom didn’t hesitate to answer at once.
“Danny, you can’t go to my place for the rest of the break,” Tom replied, seriousness coating every word. The statement seemed to have finally woken Danny up, and he looked at Tom with curiosity and worry.
“Why not?” remarked Danny, yanking Tom to his feet, and he did the same a second later. Oh, my god, I never thought of the reason! Tom desperately tried to formulate a plausible excuse in his head, his eyes never leaving Danny’s. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What am I going to say!
“My cousin’s the one that’s visiting and she doesn’t take too kindly to strangers.” Being the first thing that came to his mind, he decided to go along with it, and when he saw Danny open his mouth to speak, he quickly added, “Y’see, she’s visiting from her asylum and she has this mental illness. Whenever she feels threatened, she freaks out. Usually after seeing someone for the first time.” Tom crossed his imaginary fingers in the hopes that it would work, and he bit his lip in anticipation of what Danny would say next.
“Alright,” Danny finally said, much to Tom’s intense relief, who let out a soft sigh. He pulled Danny into an exhilarated hug, and pressed his lips against his, all his worry flying out the window. Danny’s always kept his word. Always. I’ve nothing to worry about. Nothing at all…
They spent about half an hour on the sofa, and Tom had to break the kiss off when he felt he needed to go back home.
“D’you have to?” asked Danny, not wanting to let Tom go just yet. Tom smiled, nodded, and placed a kiss on his cheek before untangling his legs, which were intertwined with Danny’s. “Well, then let’s hang out later. I’ll come to your place at eight o’clock. Make sure you open the door.” Tom accepted this (at least I know when he’s coming), stood up, and walked over to the door, Danny right behind him, his hands holding Tom’s hips. They kissed one last time and Tom strolled outside the door, waving at Danny before he closed it shut.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
“Tom!”
He quickly shot his eyes open at the sound and found himself immediately staring at Giovanna’s upside-down face. He scrambled to sit up and rubbed his eyes, yawning widely. Giovanna jumped on the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, burying her face in the crook of his neck, making some of the hairs there stand on end.
“Come on, your mum says breakfast’s ready,” she said as she lifted her face up and relinquished her hold on him. He grudgingly got up after looking at the digital clock (it read 6:47) and followed Giovanna out the door and down the stairs. He sauntered into the dining room and helped himself to some of the sausages and omelet already prepared in his plate and downed a glass of cold water.
“Why don’t you show Gio around,” said Mrs. Fletcher rather suddenly that Tom choked on a piece of sausage, and he had to shower his throat with a glass-full of water.
“I can’t,” replied Tom a bit louder than necessary after setting his glass back on the table. “I’ve already made plans with Danny.”
“Who’s Danny?” Giovanna asked Tom, cutting a piece of bacon in half. Tom was about to answer when his mother responded first.
“Oh, one of Tom’s friends,” she said as she smeared butter all over her toast. “And Tom, is that any way to treat a guest? She’s your girlfriend for Christ’s sake. You and Danny can hang out anytime, but Gio here’s only got till the end of the break.” Tom couldn’t believe how difficult his mother was being, but after presenting her point, Tom felt he had no choice but to accept the proposal. “Oh, don’t worry, Tom. He’ll understand,” she added after seeing her son’s downcast expression. At that moment, something inside of him made him believe that his mother was suspecting something going on between him and Danny. Impossible. How could she know?”
Tom got ready a few minutes before Giovanna did, and he waited sulkily on the sofa, tracing his finger on the “DAnnY JOneS” scribbled sloppily on his scarf. Tom had never broken a promise to Danny before, and he didn’t want to start now. I’m really sorry, Danny. I’ll make it up to you somehow…
He heard Giovanna’s footsteps behind him a few minutes later and they proceeded to leave the house, waving goodbye to his mother (“Have fun!” she said happily) before disappearing from her view.
The weather outside wasn’t as cold as the night before, but it was still cold nonetheless, and Giovanna’s arms, apparently in an attempt to get warmer, were tangled around one of Tom’s. They walked along the sidewalk, careful to avoid the children making snow forts and ducking as well as they could when they found themselves in the middle of a snowball war.
Tom’s plan for the whole walk was to avoid Danny’s house at all costs, forcing them to take the longer route to the heart of the neighborhood. Giovanna seemed to enjoy herself along the way, pointing this way and that, asking Tom his favorite places to go to with enthusiasm. Tom wanted to avoid Memory Lane as well (that was his and Danny’s place), but the opportunity vanished when she spotted it on the other side of the road and begged Tom to go there.
Tom held the door open for her, the tinkling of the bell making some of the people turn their heads like all the other times, and she made for the table next to the window, which, coincidentally enough, his and Danny’s table. When they sat themselves, the waitress came and took their order, but before she left, she noticed something was different.
“Where’s the brunette, Danny?” she asked as she stuck her pen behind her ears.
“Not today, Martha,” said Tom, grabbing Giovanna’s hand, which was positioned opposite him on the table, and interlocked their fingers. “This here’s my girl, Gio.” Tom felt the need to parade her around as his girlfriend for a reason he perfectly well didn’t know. He just did. Martha smiled at Giovanna, who happily returned the gesture, and left them to ring their order up.
“So,” Giovanna started, reaching her free hand to her hair to brush it. “Tell me about this Danny fellow everyone’s talking about.” Tom didn’t even know where to begin. He knew quite well not to tell her about how he loves him with all his heart, and how Danny gives the best sex he’s ever had. No, he couldn’t tell her that. What he opted to tell her instead was everything starting from their first encounter.
Tom told her about how Danny was more than eager to help him find his classes, how they hung out after school that very same day, how he helped Danny with his injuries after being “beat up” in the bathroom, how they spent their time in the theaters, how Danny gave him the scarf he was currently wearing around his neck… He said all of these things with a fiery passion in his eyes, and he admitted to himself, he had gotten a bit carried away with the details. But Giovanna didn’t seem to mind. She just sat there eating her ham sandwich, laughing at the more funny parts of Tom’s story.
They left the café shortly after Tom had finished his hot chocolate and walked around some more. It took them most of the day to completely cover the whole neighborhood, spending most of their time in the mall.
In there, they bought each other all sorts of things-purses, shirts, key chains, little trinkets that Tom thought had absolutely no function in the world-and took a few pictures in the photo booth. Feeling slightly tired, they decided to sit on one of the benches, and after seeing some couples making out, Giovanna wanted them to do it as well. Tom felt his heart constrict at the request, but he complied nonetheless. He tried his best to make the kiss as believable as he could, and hoped that they long interval between his leaving and her visiting was long enough that she wouldn’t notice the difference. To his relief, she didn’t, and they left for home a bit past eight o’clock.
They walked home in the night, holding each other hand in hand, the light of the streetlamps creating silly-looking shadows behind them, which Giovanna seemed to enjoy. Along the way, they decided to engage in a snowball fight. Tom pelted snowball after snowball at Giovanna, who couldn’t manage to create even one, but she finally got her revenge when Tom slipped on a patch of black ice and fell on his bottom.
They approached the door to Tom’s house completely entranced in laughter, and Tom fumbled his keys for a while before finally opening the door. He was surprised to find his mother sitting on the sofa, her arms crossed over her chest, her leg crossed over the other, her eyes looking at Tom with an unreadable expression.
“What’s up?” Tom asked, his smile fading quickly. Mrs. Fletcher stood up and walked closer to them.
“Didn’t you ever tell Danny about Gio?” she asked, eyeing her son in curiosity. Tom felt his heart drop and his eyes widen. I’ve completely forgotten that Danny was coming over earlier!
“Why would you say that?” Tom said as innocently as he could, for he felt his mother was definitely up to something.
“Well, he came over about an hour after you left,” she started, keeping all of her attention focused on Tom’s eyes. Oh, no. I see where this is going… “He asked for you. I told him you took Giovanna around the neighborhood. Then he said the oddest thing.” Tom could only imagine what Danny might have said, and the pause in her explanation made Tom’s heart race.
“What’d he say?” asked Tom, feeling hotter by the second, feeling a bead of sweat running down his cheek in defiance of the cold temperature all around them.
“He asked me if Giovanna was your cousin from the asylum,” his mother continued, a slight puzzlement in her voice. “Wherever did he get the idea from, I don’t know. I told him that she was your girlfriend, and you won’t believe how confused the boy looked. Then he left looking all sad.” Tom felt Giovanna’s hand slide away from his and found himself rounded on by both females.
“You’ve never told him about me?” asked Giovanna incredulously, her arms crossed over her chest in the same manner as his mother had. Tom scrambled his brain for quick answers to blurt out.
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Tom said almost defensively. “It slipped my mind is all. I’ve forgotten to tell him about dad, too.” This didn’t seem to satisfy Giovanna, but he spoke no further about the matter. Instead, he said, “And he was sad because I’ve promised him we would hang out today! It’s your fault, to be quite honest.” Mrs. Fletcher looked like she had just been slapped across the face, and she turned away from Tom, making her way to the kitchen. Tom felt slightly guilty for going off on his own mother, but in his heart he felt it was her fault. Everything’s her fault! None of this would’ve happened if she hadn’t lied to me in the first place! Now, Danny’s going to hate me for standing him up and for the fact that I’ve never told him about Giovanna! Fucking hell! What am I supposed to do now?
Halfway along the way, Mrs. Fletcher stopped and turned back to the two.
“Gio, dear, can you help me in the kitchen? Tom needs to have a talk with Danny,” she said, motioning for Giovanna to come over to her. Giovanna looked at Tom one last time, disappointment in her face (“We’ll talk about this later when you come back,” she whispered to him) before walking toward his mother.
Tom swiveled around on the spot when the two disappeared from his view, and he made his way out the door, thinking in his head anything that could possibly even begin to explain to Danny about the whole situation.
He’s going to hate me, I know it. The moment I knock on his door, he’ll push me away and never see me again. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle living without him. I love him too much…
He trudged along the snowed sidewalk, eyes stinging as he tried to hold back his tears. One or two managed to escape his barricade, and he quickly wiped them off with his hand. Before long, he found himself sobbing softly, and he stopped walking when he reached the door to Danny’s house, anticipating the horrible altercation that would undoubtedly follow, his heart racing fast, his stomach lurching, his heart aching with every beat.