Anthology - A Collection of Fanfic One-Shots

Something Old, Something New

There were only two people who would ring me, today of all days. "Hey Tom."

"Hello, love. How are you?"

How was I? I'd purposely not been asking myself that question, reluctant to analyse what passed for feelings today. "I'm okay."

"Are you dressed at least?"

I looked down at myself; pyjama pants, baggy oversized Avengers sweatshirt, fluffy slippers. "Of course."

"Liar," Tom called me out. "You're in your cookie monster pyjama pants and a baggy sweatshirt." 

"Disney princes, actually, and you forgot my Hello Kitty slippers." He half groaned, half laughed. "Where are you?"

"Just about to leave the hotel."

I gave a grunt. "Many paps around?" My curiosity got the better of me.

"So I've been warned," he replied, "but there's incredibly tight security at the church, so I think they'll be able to keep it under the radar." I sighed, knowing Ben would have done all he could to keep this special day as private as he could make it. "He's happy, Jules, really happy."

"I know."

"What about you?"

"I'm happy he's happy," I hedged. It was Tom's turn to sigh and at the sound of it I shook myself and made an effort. "I mean it, Tom, I really am glad for him."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you." I was too; Tom had been my rock since Ben and I had split and today would be even more difficult without him here, but I'd told myself I just had to put my big girl panties on and deal. Lord knows he'd put up with enough angst from me already, holding my hair back on the nights my drowned sorrows had been vomited back up, plying me with clean, pressed handkerchiefs on the days I'd soaked his shirts with tears, and listening to me for hours all the times I'd poured out my heartache. Why the hell he had stuck around through all of that, I had no idea, but he'd been amazing and for a while not disappointing him was pretty much the only reason I dragged myself out of bed in the morning.

"You couldn't not be there." It seemed strange that I would miss him being gone for just one day when one or both of us were often away filming for three or four months at a time.

"What are you going to do with yourself today?"

"I haven't decided yet." Which wasn't quite a lie; I had entertained thoughts of wallowing in self-pity all day, I just hadn't fully committed to it.

"Don't stay shut up inside all day, Jules, get out in the fresh air." Sure, because wandering around London on Valentine's Day looking at all the loved-up couples is just what I need, I thought, before pulling myself up. Stop feeling so bloody sorry for yourself, for Chrissakes! Such a drama queen. "You could always go round to my flat," Tom offers.

"Why?"

"Change of scenery. There's food there, at least." He had a good point. Every time Tom came to my place he brought food with him and cooked for me. I rarely seemed to have anything in my pantry - I wasn't starving; I ate when I needed to, food just wasn't a priority. "And I'm sure I've still got one or two books you haven't read."

That was the one thing he and I had most in common; we were both voracious readers. Our flats were cluttered with bookshelves overflowing with novels old and new while piles of yet more books gathered dust beside armchairs, under coffee tables and all over nightstands. "I've just started reading 'The Girl who saved the King of Sweden," I told him now, knowing he'd be interested. "It's Jonas Jonasson's second novel." We had both loved 'The hundred-year-old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared'.