Forget-Me-Not (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

(20) Lost It All

Nina didn't sleep very well that night. She kept waking up, her eyes wide, her mind replaying the events that had just occurred within her nightmare. The worries that she'd had earlier had seemingly taken on a physical form, haunting her dreams and depriving her of a decent nights sleep.

That, and the fact that she could hear Benedict snoring next door.

Eventually at five in the morning she gave up and made herself a good cup of tea whilst flicking on the radio channel on the little television in the corner and turning the volume right down. She gathered her stuff together, ready so that when she left later she wouldn't be running around, losing things and getting flustered.

Her hand automatically went into her dressing gown pocket to get her phone out, before she realised where it probably was. Ah well. At least that meant she couldn't answer the phone to Kyle and that was a good thing...right? Kyle was probably fuming but there wasn't much Nina could currently do about it. That phone was her everything relationship-wise at the moment.

Finally Nina deemed it an acceptable time for her to be getting ready and she gathered some clothes up. Her white shirt tucked neatly into her black skinny jeans - which she managed to fit over her bandage- with her black flats and her black leather jacket along with her ever trusty handbag and her sunglasses perched atop her head. She had with her another bag of her own makeup equipment and general essentials.

As she listened closely she heard Tom moving around on the other side of her room, and as she glanced over at her open wardrobe she sighed as she realised she still had is jacket. At least there'd be a window of opportunity soon...probably. She figured she may as well wait until after filming so he didn't have to carry it around all day.

Eventually she heard Tom humming outside of her room and she peered out through the keyhole, watching him disappear off down the corridor. It wouldn't hurt avoiding any awkward contact with him just for the early morning...would it?

Nina gathered up all of her things and as she exited her room she formed quite a spectacular crash into Benedict. "Haven't we been here before?" He laughed. "I'm sure you've fallen into me before...Nina?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's me..." She blushed and gathered herself together. "Breakfast time, must dash!"

And with that she was off down the corridor, forgetting that she hadn't applied any makeup at all yet and her hair was still untamed. But in that moment, nothing was more important than getting a good English breakfast.

*****

All through her breakfast, Nina was checking both her bags and all her pockets on the off-chance that her phone had fallen anywhere but it was no use. She'd just have to scour the car as soon as she got into it later.

Nina sat on her own in the corner of the room with a good view of all the other tables until something - or rather, someone - blocked her view. That someone had her distinctive red hair tied up into a messy ponytail, showing off all of the piercings that she had all the way up her ear.

"Mind if I sit, hon?" Annie asked politely, resting her hands on the chair opposite Nina. She nodded and Annie gratefully took the seat, Nina's eyes still scanning the room. "Looking for anyone in particular?"

"Well..." Nina hesitated. Should she tell Annie what happened between her and Tom the other night? She hadn't known Annie for very long but she already felt like someone that Nina could trust. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"I promise, hon, now what's bothering you?"

"Well, you know I escorted a slightly tipsy Thomas William back home the other night..."

"Mm hmm..."

"And you know how he's generally touchy-feely and likes to hug people a lot?"

"Yeah..." Annie was involuntarily leaning forward, waiting for Nina to spill the beans.

"Well, he, er...tried to-" Nina shut herself up as the one and only subject of her story was standing behind Annie, a small smile on his face. "Oh, hey Tom..."

"Hello, darling." Tom replied softly, leaning casually on Annie's chair. "Pardon the intrusion but I think you lost something, Nina..." Something small and metallic suddenly came flying towards Nina's face and she caught it just in time. It was her phone; Tom must have picked it up at some point. "Guessing you might want that."

"Yes, yes, I do..." She trailed off, making awkward eye contact with him. "Thank you, Tom, you're a lifesaver."

"Well, I am good with bandages..." He flashed Nina a cheeky wink and disappeared off, his long legs carrying him away before Nina could say 'dartmoor'.

"Good with bandages? Nina, what is he on about?" Annie hissed across the table.

"We went jogging and my knees decided to get up close and personal with the floor."

"You went jogging?"

"Yes, that's what friends do, isn't it? Go out and enjoy...er, fun activities?"

"And then get invited out for dinner afterwards? Gosh, Nina, it's obvious..." Annie sighed. "I'm ordering breakfast. I hope you like full English!" And with that she sauntered off, almost disappearing as fast as Tom had despite her legs being much shorter than Tom's.

*****

The section of the small village where they were filming was absolutely stunning and Nina soon envied her parents for living in an area like this. Nina had the pleasure of meeting Jeremy Irvine, who she found out was also fresh from the theatre, and also the actor who played his father, Peter Mullan. Eventually Nina was called upon to ready Tom for set, and she bit down on her lip, not wanting to say anything stupid.

"I'm still sorry for the other night, you know." Tom said pointedly.

"I guessed as much." Nina muttered, carrying on with her work.

"So are you accepting my apology, then, or not?"

"I suppose I am." Nina sighed, stopping for a moment and studying Tom's rather handsome face.

"Look, whatever I did was quite stupid and I don't want it to make things awkward between us, ok? I don't want to lose our friendship over some ridiculous, subconscious decision of mine. And could you please stop staring at me and just give me a hug? I need to know you're ok."

"I'm fine."

"No, fine isn't good enough." Tom held Nina at arms length, scrutinising her face. "I want to know you're happy. I want to know that you're happy with who you were, who you are, and who you will be. I want to know that doing what you're doing makes you happy, and that the people you love make you happy." His eyes captivated Nina as he finished off his short speech. "Tell me, Nina, are you truly 'fine'?"

[A/N] cause i'm not fine at all! *sheds tear* i feel like this isn't one of my best chapters! but i will hopefully be making it up to you soon with a plot twist! ooh! please do keep voting and stay tuned...
yours truly :) x