Every Moment ── TOM HOLLAND²

27. "trials"

Fear.

It was a powerful thing. It had the ability to change the way a person thinks, forcing them to believe something that was simply a figment of their imagination. For instance, if you see a spider in a room, and then it disappears, any little feeling on your body will automatically register as the spider. You'll immediately smack your skin thinking the creature is perched upon you when in reality it was a figment of your imagination; your fear simply toying with you.

Sitting in her bedroom, the sound of her brother's obnoxiously loud music serving as background music, Mia Lancaster discovered something. Her biggest fear? Loneliness.

For as long as she could remember, Mia felt the need to have a connection with someone. It was exactly why she remained friends with Luna after her silly crush faded; she feared being alone, and the girl offered her constant company.

And when Anthony was torn away from her, her biggest fear was no longer a figment of her imagination, but a reality. A harsh reality. She came face to face with her biggest fear, not even able to lift her fist before she lost the fight.

It didn't take long for Mia to end up in Luna's apartment, shocked to see the girl not cooped up in her bedroom, but instead watching a tv show in her living room. Much like Mia, Luna had decided to stop moping, or at least attempt to. She posted an instagram for the first time in two weeks earlier, and even if the comments were disabled, it was a step forward.

Luna was surprised to see Mia as well. The brunette cleaned herself up nicely, her hair was straightened, her dark circles were fading, and she wore something other than sweats. "You look pretty," Luna smiled slightly at her friend, her gaze flickering back to the screen as Phoebe began singing Smelly Cat.

"You look... not like shit," Mia decided, earning a playful glare from Luna.

"Hey, you started the moping process before me. I haven't gotten to my transformation moment just yet," Luna mumbled as she lowered the volume, gesturing for Mia to sit beside her.

Mia sat beside the girl, the smell of peppermint filling her nostrils. She glanced around the apartment, admiring the decor. Luna had always been the one to adore Christmas the most, meaning her house was always the best decorated. However, this time she outdid herself, and it didn't take a genius to realize it was because the girl needed a distraction.

"I saw my dad the other day," Luna broke the silence, Mia tearing her eyes away from the colorful paper elfs hung above the doorway. A ghost of a smile appeared on Luna's lips as she remembered the hours she spent with the man she thought she despised. "He's not all that bad."

"What got you to do it?" Mia asked softly, genuinely curious. For as long as she could remember, Mia tried to push Luna towards patching up her relationship with her father, but they never got anywhere. It only resulted in a screaming match before Mia gave up, deciding that Luna could easily make the decision to speak to him herself.

"I opened his birthday card," She mumbled, her fingers wrapping around her mug for warmth. "Well, Tom opened it. It was the last one he was going to send me, but he left his number." Luna looked around the living room, remembering the empty filling in her chest when she first did it. "I did all this as a... distraction. But it didn't help. So I called him." She shrugged, and Mia watched intently for any body language that'd give away how the girl was feeling. "We had dinner, and talked. He told me why he left, and why he never came back. I didn't like his explanation, but I can't change the past, only move on from it..."

Mia frowned at her words, sensing a double meaning to the last sentence. Luna was staring at the contents of her mug, feeling the shift of atmosphere as the two girls knew she wasn't speaking of her father anymore.

"You should call him," Mia rested her hand on Luna's shoulder, making the girl tense up.

"Did you ever call Harrison?" Luna retorted, not raising her head to see the grimace on Mia's face, but she felt the girl flinch. "Sorry-"

"I messed up my own relationship Luna," Mia cut her off, withdrawing her hand, resting it on her lap. "I let my fear control me and became the crazy girlfriend I never wanted to be." Her and Harrison weren't too different. It was Mia who was too different. Too different from the girl she was at the start of their relationship. She understood that now. "I don't blame him for breaking up with me," She sighed, and Luna frowned at her words.

She was prepared to reach over and offer comfort to her friend, but Mia shook her head. "You and Tom aren't like us," She began, and Luna's eyes saddened. "I know what you're feeling Luna. Because I know you're scared of being alone too, that's what made us best friends. We needed each other. But Tom isn't Daniel, or Tani, or Josh, or anyone else you can think of." Luna looked away at the mention of her past relationships, her fingers tapping on the side of her mug.

Getting no response, Mia took this as her cue to continue. "Because they're the past, they were test trials leading up to this, okay? You and Tom don't deserve this, you need each other like you and I do."

She wanted to believe her. And a part of her did because she knew she needed Tom, she's been knew that. But the thing was she wasn't sure he needed her like she did him. "It's too late Mia," Luna muttered, glaring down at the cold tea in her mug. "I messed things up by acting on instinct. I wouldn't forgive me, so why would he?"

With that, Luna stood up, and walked to the kitchen to make herself more tea. Mia watched her with pursed lips before sighing, pulling out her phone without a second thought.

mia
hey, are you free?

harrison
yeah, why?

u asked for a double update
therefore u get a double update