A C T O R S || OS

53. Tom Holland | Creepy Dan

By : dlwritings | Tumblr 

pairing - Tom x reader
word count - 1,477
warnings - language, coworker is creepy

summary - You have a coworker who harasses you at work, but you've never told Tom about him. When he sees the treatment you receive first hand, he's not okay with it.

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You deserved better than the job you were at. That much you knew. Sure, everyone needed to pay their dues and work some kind of customer service job, but not one like this. Not at a restaurant where the bartenders drank on the job and the chefs ate off the plates they were about to serve. You hated everything about the job, but it paid, and you were desperate. A lot of your coworkers caused problems for you, but there was one who was the worst of the worst.

You called him Creepy Dan.

Creepy Dan was a grown man who had a tendency to strike up perverted conversations with you. There was the time you were taking a break on the steps to the basement of the restaurant and he came and sat beside you to tell you about the erotic novel he was writing. Or the time he commented on the leggings you wore -that you promptly never wore again. Or one of the numerous times he put his hand on the small of your back as he walked by you. Or or or. The stories went on.

And it wasn't fair. You shouldn't have that many stories. In a perfect world, you wouldn't even have one story. But this was not a perfect world.

You had complained to the boss a few times before, but it never got you anywhere. Creepy Dan had been working there for years -you only a few months. Plus, who would believe a young girl over an adult man? You were the girl who cried wolf, right? When you talked to your boss, you tried not to sound too dramatic. So, instead of saying, "He tells me about his erotic novels," you said, "He tells me things about his life that I'm not comfortable with." To that, your boss said, "That's just Dan! He's just making conversation." When you said, "I'm not comfortable with the way he touches me," he came back with, "Has he harmed you physically or sexually?" Well, you couldn't exactly say yes, so your boss didn't exactly see a problem.

Creepy Dan was a chef -one of the ones who drank just as much as the bartenders and always sent a plate out with a few less fries than should be there. Most nights, you didn't have much interaction with him. He usually stayed back in the kitchen, and you could hide out at the hostess station or make rounds on the restaurant floor.

But not today. Today, Creepy Dan decided to leave the kitchen cave. You weren't sure if he was genuinely chatting with customers to get reviews on his food or just wanted to stay as close to you as appeared socially acceptable. He constantly made his way over to whatever table you were at and put his arm around you, resting that hand on your back (that you had grown uncomfortably familiar with), and sometimes even letting his fingers squeeze your hip.

You hated it.

On the upside, Tom came by. Tom was your boyfriend, and he, Harrison, Harry, and Tuwaine would visit you from time to time. While he knew you didn't like your job, he didn't know why. You didn't like to talk about it, mostly because you were embarrassed. Instead, you just complained to him about rotten customers and subpar pay.

The days he came by were usually busy, but today it wasn't. You got to go over to where he and the boys were sitting and chat with them for a while. Everything was good -you were all laughing about something Tuwaine said- until Creepy Dan walked over, his hand finding that familiar spot on your back. "I hope you're not laughing at the food over here," he said with a smile.

Tom noticed you immediately tense up, and his eyebrows furrowed.

"These are some of my friends," you said to Creepy Dan. You were painfully aware of his hand still on your body, and you wanted to move out of his touch, but you knew that would just cause him to make some comment about it. Still, when his fingers started moving across your back, you couldn't help but flinch. Creepy Dan frowned, and you knew you hit a nerve.

Tom didn't like this. Not in a possessive no-one-can-touch-my-girl way, but in a this-man-is-creeping-(Y/N)-out-and-that's-not-okay way. "Friends?" he laughed. "I think we're a bit more than that babe." He stood up from his seat and reached a hand out to Creepy Dan. "I'm Tom. Her boyfriend."

Sure, Creepy Dan had at least 15 years on Tom, but that didn't intimidate your boyfriend. Creepy Dan shook his hand, then chuckled and put his arm over your shoulders.

"Here I thought you had the hots for me," he said, stroking your cheek with the back of his hand.

"Uh, mate," Tom said, his voice level, "why don't you take your hands off my girlfriend, yeah?"

"(Y/N) can speak for herself," he said, then looked down at you. "Can't you?" You swallowed nervously, your mind reeling with what happened the last time you spoke for yourself to the boss. You got nothing, pissed Creepy Dan off, and essentially egged him on into harassing you even more.

You made eye contact with Tom, and your boyfriend's eyes narrowed. He gently took your hand and pulled you away from Creepy Dan, then stood in front of you a tad protectively. Creepy Dan's jaw clenched, and he rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said. "Her loss." He started to walk away, but not before mumbling, "Stupid bitch can't do anything right anyway."

You saw the anger in Tom's eyes, but you held his arm before he could do anything rash. Did you want to see Tom punch this grown man in the face? Of course you did. But you also didn't want Tom to fight it out for you. That'd get you fired, and it'd feel like Creepy Dan still won.

Still, you couldn't hold back the tears that came as soon as Creepy Dan was gone. Tom pulled you in for a hug, and you squeezed your eyes shut so you wouldn't have to look at the other boys. "Why didn't you tell me that's why you didn't like it here?" he asked, wiping the tears from your cheeks.

You shrugged. "'S stupid."

"It's not," he said with a shake of his head. "That man should be fired."

"I know," you whispered. "And I've tried. I've gone to my boss, but he just won't listen."

"Maybe he needs some customer complaints," Harrison piped up. "Because I'd be happy to go to your boss and tell him that his chef ruined my meal by harassing my waitress."

You smiled as the other boys agreed, and Tom's hand found his way to the small of your back, comforting the spot that seemed to burn every time Creepy Dan touched it. "Thank you boys," you said. Tom kissed your cheek, and you turned with your head held high to keep working.

Because that's what you would do: keep working, and keep speaking up. It was hard, and it was uncomfortable, but it was important. And you knew you weren't alone -that you had support. Because your friends weren't the only customers who saw the interaction with Creepy Dan.

One of your tables left a note with their tip: We're talking to your manager about the chef. That was so wrong. Stay strong girl!

It brightened up your evening and definitely made your shift go by faster. Even though the rest of the boys left, Tom stayed around so he could drive you home. The ride home was silent, save for the sound of the radio humming in the background. When you got inside, Tom swiftly gave you a kiss on the cheek. "How about I run us a bath, mm?" he asked.

"Really?" you said. Tom didn't exactly love taking baths together. Sure, he loved the intimacy and being close to you and relaxing, but he didn't like getting pruney, and if it didn't lead to sex, he got bored with it.

"Yeah," he said softly, tucking some hair behind your ear. "I thought we could relax a bit. Drink some wine. Just-" He smiled. "Just be together."

You gave him a small smile. "We don't have to," you said. "I know you don't always like taking baths together."

"Darling," he said, "'M gonna take care of you tonight, okay?" You felt tears come to your eyes and nodded.

"Thank you, Tommy," you said. He nodded and placed a kiss to your lips.

Yes, work was stressful and less than pleasant, but you didn't have to take it home with you. Tonight, you'd let Tom take care of you. Creepy Dan was at work, but Tom was here. And he always would be.

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