#38 Restraint, prompt for productivity100
TITLE: Fame and flash
AUTHOR: whaddyasay
POSTING OPTION: #4
PAIRING/POV: Tom/Kristen
PROMPT: #78 Restraint
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Didn't his friends at deserve some semblance of privacy?
WARNINGS: None.
DISCLAIMER: These are real people and this story is a work of fiction. Don't own anything.
It's so... meh. Writing muse struggle. :(
***
Tom was never an angry man. He hated feeling anger, or just the general feeling of resentment against another person and he’d always prided himself as a rational being but Tom was never an one to lash out and be angry.
He also wasn’t physically protective because he liked to think his friends were independent enough to protect themselves. But it might also come from the fact that most of his friends were male.
However, that didn’t mean he didn’t feel anger, nor was he not protective. Because tonight, when he stepped out of the club with his best friend’s girlfriend by his side, Tom felt like a different man.
***
“You really can’t go tonight?” Kristen asked, nudging Rob’s shoulder as they waited for his car inside the restaurant they just had dinner in. “This is going to be Bobby’s last gig in L.A.”
“Yeah, I know. I wish I could go,” Rob murmured back, pressing a kiss to her hair. “You and Tommy have fun tonight though.”
Tom smirked, poking Kristen’s side playfully. “Yeah Kristen, we’ll have fun tonight.”
Kristen rolled her eyes and swatted at him before looking up at her boyfriend. “You do realize he’s going to get me drunk?”
“I don’t mind,” Rob laughed, staring pointedly at Tom. “But I might just have to call Tom ever hour just so I know he didn’t leave you in the club.”
“Fuck no, Patty! You bloody aren’t going to call me tonight. It’s not like I’m going to be fucking plastered anyway.”
Rob and Kristen stared at him in disbelief.
“Did I just hear you say you weren’t going to drink?” Shannon asked, popping out of nowhere followed by Andrew. Tom jumped, scowling at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. “Who are you and what did you fucking do to our Tommy Sturridge?”
“I’m drinking, not getting plastered,” Tom clarified. “There’s a difference.”
“Oh, of course,” Rob snorted, jumping when his phone vibrated in his pocket. “Sorry. I’ve got to go.”
Kristen smiled as he leaned down to kiss her quickly, promising her he’d see her as soon as the show ends. He hugged Shannon and Andrew quickly before turning to Tom, bumping their fists together.
“You guys be careful tonight?” Rob said, looking at his best friend. Tom smiled, rolling his eyes but nodding at him. “Call me if you need anything?”
“Go jump on trains and haul some shit, Patty.”
***
Kristen laughed at some lame ass joke Andrew was telling her and Shannon rolled her eyes in annoyance, obviously hearing it for the hundredth time. Tom was practically lounging around lazily in the booth Bobby had reserved for them, the booze and the snacks scattered all over the table in front of them.
“So,” Tom startled when Kristen nudged his leg, her eyebrow raised in question. “How you holding up without the heavy drinking part?”
He grunted, rolling his eyes. “I can survive, thank you very much.”
Kristen grinned, picking up a bottle of beer and raising it up to him. Tom picked his up as well and toasted to her before downing the fizzy liquid.
“Hey,” she smiled at him again, turning her body to face him. “Thanks for coming with me tonight. I really just wanted to see Bobby’s gig tonight since I probably won’t see him for a while.”
Tom smirked. “Yeah well I wanted to see him play tonight since I’m joining you in that ‘won’t see him for a while’ thing you’re going.”
“Yeah,” Kristen rolled her eyes, laughing at him. “You are so fucking excited for that shit, aren’t you? I hate that you kept it from me!”
“It was a bit of a touch and go. You know how it was,” he said and she nodded briefly before Andrew stood up, shaking crumbs off his pants. “Hey, are you leaving?”
“Yeah, we should head out,” Andrew mumbled softly, hugging Kristen when she got up. “I’ve got something to do early tomorrow.”
Kristen hugged Shannon as well before picking up her jacket. Tom got up and gave his goodbyes to his friends.
“We’ll see you two soon?” Tom said, kissing Shannon’s cheek quickly. “I still want to make fun of Spiderman.”
“You’ll make fun of Spiderman when he gets back to London,” Shannon agreed, patting Tom’s cheek. “I don’t know if we’ll see each other before you two leave for Montreal. We’ll probably see Rob though.”
“I’m actually leaving in three days so…” Kristen shrugged. “I don’t know if we have time to meet up but we’ll have dinner. Or lunch. Whatever.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Andrew said, straightening his jacket. “See you.”
Tom and Kristen watched as Andrew and Shannon weaved their way through the half-drunk audience, finally reaching the exit. Kristen sighed, picking up her cigarettes and jacket.
“You wanna smoke?” She asked Tom, holding the box of Camels. “I’m surprised we survived the whole show without smoking.”
He laughed. “Alright,” he was about to make his way towards the doors when his phone chirped, his laugh quickly turning into a frown. “Paps got a couple pictures of Shannon and Andrew outside. I guess someone tipped them off about you being here.”
Kristen sighed. “Whatever. Maybe we should leave soon.”
“I guess we are.”
***
It took a lot of restraint from Tom not to look overly pissed off at the group of sweaty, noisy men standing outside the backdoor of the club. They barely managed it when they got spotted smoking outside by the dumpsters and Tom has had enough of it that he called up Sam and asked him if anybody could pick them up at the Troubadour. One of their friends offered and all they had to do was wait.
Kristen hid behind the shadows when they were inside, her face a mask of annoyance and frustration. Tom sighed.
“I’m going to call Rob,” he murmured quietly, looking at her. She nodded slightly, her eyes narrowed at the camera lens outside. Tom moved slightly and blocked her from view, bringing the phone close to his ear.
Rob was not going to be happy about this.
“Hey mate,” Tom greeted quietly when Rob picked up, the sound of photographers outside multiplying by the minute. “Did I interrupt anything?”
“No, I’m actually about to leave soon,” Rob answered tiredly. “I hear yelling.”
“Yeah, someone seemed to have tipped off these fuckers.”
“You two okay? Kristen okay?”
“We’re fine,” Tom assured him while Kristen stared off aimlessly beside him. “I’m going to bring her back to my hotel.”
Rob sighed but he hummed in agreement. “Thank you. I know you hate…”
“It’s fine Patty,” Tom cut him off, his head turning to look at the paps. “Look. We’ll see you soon? I need to see if our car’s here.”
“I’ll see you both soon.” And then the lines went dead.
***
There were more than ten of them and only two of them. It was much too much of an unfair advantage and the only thing Tom wanted to do was to get back to his hotel and get Kristen there and wait for Rob. If only getting into the car was easy.
It took roughly three bouncers and a lot of pushing and shoving before Tom managed to get Kristen inside the car and these men still managed to corner them every which way. One attempted to crawl over the hood in order to get more pictures and Tom wasn’t sure that was smart. Or legal. Or anything. Kristen was just curled up into a ball in the backseat, hoping that her jacket and her hair was enough to keep her hidden.
“Are you alright?” Tom asked once they’ve finally sped off from the club, his eyes cutting to the backseat. Kristen was already on her phone and she smiled at him.
“Rob says he’ll meet us back at the hotel,” she said, slipping the phone in her pocket. Tom nodded and they were soon outside the Four Seasons hotel, parked right out by the entrance. They both groaned when they caught sight of a couple paparazzi camped outside even before they got there.
“Damn motherfuckers,” he cursed and jumped quickly out of the cab and helped Kristen out, the two of them walking quickly towards the lobby. Tom felt bad that he couldn’t do anything more for her, but really, what else could he have done?
Kristen sighed when they finally got inside, slumping against the elevator walls. Tom mirrored her stance all the way to his floor, and up until they stumbled inside his room.
They were used to this, but it didn’t mean they liked it.
Well, Tom wasn’t used to it as much as she was. Sure he’d been on the sidelines every time he was out with Rob, but it was different because it was always during a specified event and they had men surrounding them to help ease the problem. Tonight however, was a different matter. Both his friends hated having someone waiting out for them and Kristen insisted that she wanted to go out alone so they were all left to their own devices, desperately hoping that things would turn out okay.
Kristen leaned on the side of the window, peering behind the thick hotel curtains and sighing at the sight below. More paparazzi had gathered but hotel security were kicking them out of the place in droves until the photographers gave in and decided nobody was going to go in or out of the hotel anymore.
“I still hate them,” Tom said as he approached her, handing over an opened bottle of beer. “I don’t believe it’s highly necessary for someone to know about another person’s whereabouts all the time.”
Kristen smiled her thanks and went back to peering outside the window. “It’s business. Everything here is business.”
Tom shook his head, going back to the couch and watching his friend closely. Kristen followed him, plopping down on the opposite end.
He was angry and he was worried about her earlier. He was running through every worst possible scenario in his head and Tom thought there was a lot to worry about.
It wasn’t like he didn’t understand this game of fame they play. He just thinks it’s not fair to take somebody’s privacy away-but then, it’s probably because he’s a private kind of person. Didn’t his friends at least deserve that?
“Thanks for today Tom,” Kristen said quietly, her eyes focused on him. “Probably would’ve been a big fucking disaster if you weren’t there.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Did you think I’d leave you behind?”
She laughed, rolling her eyes at him. “No, and I didn’t say that. I know you wouldn’t leave me, otherwise Rob would kill you,” she paused, pursing her lips. “Though I don’t think he knows how to hit a person, but he’d probably learn.”
“Yeah he would,” Tom agreed, laughing. “You alright, though?”
Kristen smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
A quiet tap on the door startled them and Tom opened the door to an exhausted looking Rob.
“’Lo mate,” Rob mumbled, hugging Tom quickly. His eyes focused immediately on the girl sitting on the couch and Tom patted his shoulder, his eyebrow raised. “All good?”
“We’re good,” Tom assured, closing the door behind him. Kristen smiled when Rob came over, offering her a quick kiss. “Everything’s just fine.”
AUTHOR: whaddyasay
POSTING OPTION: #4
PAIRING/POV: Tom/Kristen
PROMPT: #78 Restraint
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Didn't his friends at deserve some semblance of privacy?
WARNINGS: None.
DISCLAIMER: These are real people and this story is a work of fiction. Don't own anything.
It's so... meh. Writing muse struggle. :(
***
Tom was never an angry man. He hated feeling anger, or just the general feeling of resentment against another person and he’d always prided himself as a rational being but Tom was never an one to lash out and be angry.
He also wasn’t physically protective because he liked to think his friends were independent enough to protect themselves. But it might also come from the fact that most of his friends were male.
However, that didn’t mean he didn’t feel anger, nor was he not protective. Because tonight, when he stepped out of the club with his best friend’s girlfriend by his side, Tom felt like a different man.
***
“You really can’t go tonight?” Kristen asked, nudging Rob’s shoulder as they waited for his car inside the restaurant they just had dinner in. “This is going to be Bobby’s last gig in L.A.”
“Yeah, I know. I wish I could go,” Rob murmured back, pressing a kiss to her hair. “You and Tommy have fun tonight though.”
Tom smirked, poking Kristen’s side playfully. “Yeah Kristen, we’ll have fun tonight.”
Kristen rolled her eyes and swatted at him before looking up at her boyfriend. “You do realize he’s going to get me drunk?”
“I don’t mind,” Rob laughed, staring pointedly at Tom. “But I might just have to call Tom ever hour just so I know he didn’t leave you in the club.”
“Fuck no, Patty! You bloody aren’t going to call me tonight. It’s not like I’m going to be fucking plastered anyway.”
Rob and Kristen stared at him in disbelief.
“Did I just hear you say you weren’t going to drink?” Shannon asked, popping out of nowhere followed by Andrew. Tom jumped, scowling at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. “Who are you and what did you fucking do to our Tommy Sturridge?”
“I’m drinking, not getting plastered,” Tom clarified. “There’s a difference.”
“Oh, of course,” Rob snorted, jumping when his phone vibrated in his pocket. “Sorry. I’ve got to go.”
Kristen smiled as he leaned down to kiss her quickly, promising her he’d see her as soon as the show ends. He hugged Shannon and Andrew quickly before turning to Tom, bumping their fists together.
“You guys be careful tonight?” Rob said, looking at his best friend. Tom smiled, rolling his eyes but nodding at him. “Call me if you need anything?”
“Go jump on trains and haul some shit, Patty.”
***
Kristen laughed at some lame ass joke Andrew was telling her and Shannon rolled her eyes in annoyance, obviously hearing it for the hundredth time. Tom was practically lounging around lazily in the booth Bobby had reserved for them, the booze and the snacks scattered all over the table in front of them.
“So,” Tom startled when Kristen nudged his leg, her eyebrow raised in question. “How you holding up without the heavy drinking part?”
He grunted, rolling his eyes. “I can survive, thank you very much.”
Kristen grinned, picking up a bottle of beer and raising it up to him. Tom picked his up as well and toasted to her before downing the fizzy liquid.
“Hey,” she smiled at him again, turning her body to face him. “Thanks for coming with me tonight. I really just wanted to see Bobby’s gig tonight since I probably won’t see him for a while.”
Tom smirked. “Yeah well I wanted to see him play tonight since I’m joining you in that ‘won’t see him for a while’ thing you’re going.”
“Yeah,” Kristen rolled her eyes, laughing at him. “You are so fucking excited for that shit, aren’t you? I hate that you kept it from me!”
“It was a bit of a touch and go. You know how it was,” he said and she nodded briefly before Andrew stood up, shaking crumbs off his pants. “Hey, are you leaving?”
“Yeah, we should head out,” Andrew mumbled softly, hugging Kristen when she got up. “I’ve got something to do early tomorrow.”
Kristen hugged Shannon as well before picking up her jacket. Tom got up and gave his goodbyes to his friends.
“We’ll see you two soon?” Tom said, kissing Shannon’s cheek quickly. “I still want to make fun of Spiderman.”
“You’ll make fun of Spiderman when he gets back to London,” Shannon agreed, patting Tom’s cheek. “I don’t know if we’ll see each other before you two leave for Montreal. We’ll probably see Rob though.”
“I’m actually leaving in three days so…” Kristen shrugged. “I don’t know if we have time to meet up but we’ll have dinner. Or lunch. Whatever.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Andrew said, straightening his jacket. “See you.”
Tom and Kristen watched as Andrew and Shannon weaved their way through the half-drunk audience, finally reaching the exit. Kristen sighed, picking up her cigarettes and jacket.
“You wanna smoke?” She asked Tom, holding the box of Camels. “I’m surprised we survived the whole show without smoking.”
He laughed. “Alright,” he was about to make his way towards the doors when his phone chirped, his laugh quickly turning into a frown. “Paps got a couple pictures of Shannon and Andrew outside. I guess someone tipped them off about you being here.”
Kristen sighed. “Whatever. Maybe we should leave soon.”
“I guess we are.”
***
It took a lot of restraint from Tom not to look overly pissed off at the group of sweaty, noisy men standing outside the backdoor of the club. They barely managed it when they got spotted smoking outside by the dumpsters and Tom has had enough of it that he called up Sam and asked him if anybody could pick them up at the Troubadour. One of their friends offered and all they had to do was wait.
Kristen hid behind the shadows when they were inside, her face a mask of annoyance and frustration. Tom sighed.
“I’m going to call Rob,” he murmured quietly, looking at her. She nodded slightly, her eyes narrowed at the camera lens outside. Tom moved slightly and blocked her from view, bringing the phone close to his ear.
Rob was not going to be happy about this.
“Hey mate,” Tom greeted quietly when Rob picked up, the sound of photographers outside multiplying by the minute. “Did I interrupt anything?”
“No, I’m actually about to leave soon,” Rob answered tiredly. “I hear yelling.”
“Yeah, someone seemed to have tipped off these fuckers.”
“You two okay? Kristen okay?”
“We’re fine,” Tom assured him while Kristen stared off aimlessly beside him. “I’m going to bring her back to my hotel.”
Rob sighed but he hummed in agreement. “Thank you. I know you hate…”
“It’s fine Patty,” Tom cut him off, his head turning to look at the paps. “Look. We’ll see you soon? I need to see if our car’s here.”
“I’ll see you both soon.” And then the lines went dead.
***
There were more than ten of them and only two of them. It was much too much of an unfair advantage and the only thing Tom wanted to do was to get back to his hotel and get Kristen there and wait for Rob. If only getting into the car was easy.
It took roughly three bouncers and a lot of pushing and shoving before Tom managed to get Kristen inside the car and these men still managed to corner them every which way. One attempted to crawl over the hood in order to get more pictures and Tom wasn’t sure that was smart. Or legal. Or anything. Kristen was just curled up into a ball in the backseat, hoping that her jacket and her hair was enough to keep her hidden.
“Are you alright?” Tom asked once they’ve finally sped off from the club, his eyes cutting to the backseat. Kristen was already on her phone and she smiled at him.
“Rob says he’ll meet us back at the hotel,” she said, slipping the phone in her pocket. Tom nodded and they were soon outside the Four Seasons hotel, parked right out by the entrance. They both groaned when they caught sight of a couple paparazzi camped outside even before they got there.
“Damn motherfuckers,” he cursed and jumped quickly out of the cab and helped Kristen out, the two of them walking quickly towards the lobby. Tom felt bad that he couldn’t do anything more for her, but really, what else could he have done?
Kristen sighed when they finally got inside, slumping against the elevator walls. Tom mirrored her stance all the way to his floor, and up until they stumbled inside his room.
They were used to this, but it didn’t mean they liked it.
Well, Tom wasn’t used to it as much as she was. Sure he’d been on the sidelines every time he was out with Rob, but it was different because it was always during a specified event and they had men surrounding them to help ease the problem. Tonight however, was a different matter. Both his friends hated having someone waiting out for them and Kristen insisted that she wanted to go out alone so they were all left to their own devices, desperately hoping that things would turn out okay.
Kristen leaned on the side of the window, peering behind the thick hotel curtains and sighing at the sight below. More paparazzi had gathered but hotel security were kicking them out of the place in droves until the photographers gave in and decided nobody was going to go in or out of the hotel anymore.
“I still hate them,” Tom said as he approached her, handing over an opened bottle of beer. “I don’t believe it’s highly necessary for someone to know about another person’s whereabouts all the time.”
Kristen smiled her thanks and went back to peering outside the window. “It’s business. Everything here is business.”
Tom shook his head, going back to the couch and watching his friend closely. Kristen followed him, plopping down on the opposite end.
He was angry and he was worried about her earlier. He was running through every worst possible scenario in his head and Tom thought there was a lot to worry about.
It wasn’t like he didn’t understand this game of fame they play. He just thinks it’s not fair to take somebody’s privacy away-but then, it’s probably because he’s a private kind of person. Didn’t his friends at least deserve that?
“Thanks for today Tom,” Kristen said quietly, her eyes focused on him. “Probably would’ve been a big fucking disaster if you weren’t there.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Did you think I’d leave you behind?”
She laughed, rolling her eyes at him. “No, and I didn’t say that. I know you wouldn’t leave me, otherwise Rob would kill you,” she paused, pursing her lips. “Though I don’t think he knows how to hit a person, but he’d probably learn.”
“Yeah he would,” Tom agreed, laughing. “You alright, though?”
Kristen smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
A quiet tap on the door startled them and Tom opened the door to an exhausted looking Rob.
“’Lo mate,” Rob mumbled, hugging Tom quickly. His eyes focused immediately on the girl sitting on the couch and Tom patted his shoulder, his eyebrow raised. “All good?”
“We’re good,” Tom assured, closing the door behind him. Kristen smiled when Rob came over, offering her a quick kiss. “Everything’s just fine.”