Not Feeling Well (Eddsworld - Tomatt)

A Hidden Face

"Hey Matt, can you stay here and take care of Tom for me?" Edd asked, standing in front of Matt, who was sitting down on the couch by the television.

Matt turned his attention away from the TV and towards Edd. "Yeah, sure," he replied. He paused and thought to himself for a moment. "What's up with him today, anyway? Is he sick or something?"

Edd shrugged. "I'm not sure. He's been acting really strange today. He's refused to leave his room. He won't tell me why. He said he needed space or something." He sighed. "Anyways, I have to run a few errands, and I won't be back until later tonight. Can you just check on him every once in a while to see if he's okay?"

"No problem."

"Cool, thanks!" Edd said before walking out the door and leaving Matt alone in the house, surrounded by nothing but the noise from the television.

Around half an hour later, Matt decided to check on Tom. He walked up to the door of his room and knocked quietly. Tom groaned. Matt knocked a bit louder. "What is it?" he mumbled.

"Tom, it's Matt. I'm just checking up on you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded in a sort of muffled voice. He paused for a moment and waited for Matt to walk away, but Matt stood still. "Y-you can leave now..."

"Are you sure? You don't sound well. Is....is there anything I can do for you?" Matt didn't know what what he was doing, but he felt a strange sudden worry for Tom. Matt wasn't sure if Tom was really okay, and he wanted to help with whatever was troubling him.

"N-no, I'm fine."

Matt still didn't back down. "Look, if there's something wrong, you can tell me–"

"Please go away, M-Matt." Matt hesitated for a moment but left, looking back at the door longingly. What was he doing? He didn't know. But he knew that Tom wasn't "fine", like he said he was. Matt wanted to help, but he didn't want to barge in or bother Tom about it. Whatever. It probably wasn't any of his business anyway.

An hour later, Matt began to feel even more concerned for him. He wanted to not think about Tom and just leave him alone, but he couldn't. He had noticed that Tom had been acting the way he was a lot lately; there were days when he isolated himself from the others and he always seemed stressed and overtired for some reason. Matt was unsure whether or not to check on him again, just to see if he was okay. After a bit of self-debate, he eventually decided to leave Tom alone. It was what he wanted, after all.

Fifteen minutes later, Matt just couldn't take it anymore. Even though he was trying to focus on the TV, on anything, all he could think about was Tom. Why had he been acting the way he was? Why was he isolating himself, and trying to keep Edd and Matt away from him?

And why did Matt care so much?

Then he felt it. Something that had been building deep inside of him for years and years and had only made its presence known now. An emotion he had felt for so long, yet one that he had only just realized was there. It was what made his heart pound every time he thought about Tom, and what made him blush and smile every time he looked at him. It was what made him worry so much that Tom was isolating himself and what made him want to help Tom more than anything. It was love.

For years, Tom and Matt hadn't had a close relationship, especially after the incident with the bears and the guns when they were younger. However, Matt hadn't wanted any of what had happened then. That haunting, regret-filled memory had caused him to have recurring nightmares. It made him lose sleep at night. And for the longest time, Matt just wanted to spend more time with Tom, but Tom had never given him a second chance. Matt had very often felt a yearning to be around Tom, though he wasn't fully sure why he felt this way. But now, it was perfectly clear. Matt loved Tom. And he was worried about him. Whatever was going on with Tom, Matt wanted to help. He had to tell Tom that he wanted to help. He had to tell Tom how he really felt.