A Chance Encounter (Tom Holland AU) [1]

Twenty-Two

After her initiation, I loved spending as much time with Beth as I could. Currently, the two of us were sitting in my room before I had to leave to go teach. "Are you sure you're not allowed to tell me anything else about the movie?" She pouted, and I chuckled.

"I'm not allowed to tell you anything you don't already know." I teased gently as she rolled her eyes. "Besides, I'm not telling Ali anything either. It wouldn't be fair if I told you."

"But she was on set!"

"And everything she saw was like basic intro stuff. Trust me, she knows just as much as you do when it comes to the plot." I saw her give me the sad puppy eyes, and I shook my head. "Not gonna work."

"Fine. Can you at least tell me some of your experiences?" When I nodded, she grinned. "What is the Iron Man suit like in person?"

"It's pretty awesome." I smiled. "Hard to hug, though. It's so bulky."

"Why did you hug the suit?" She raised an eyebrow gently.

"I didn't hug the suit. I hugged Robert Downey Jr. while he was wearing the suit."

"YOU HUGGED ROBERT DOWNEY JR.?!" I chuckled at her excitement.

"A few times, yeah." She looked like she was gonna pass out.

"What does he hug like?"

"He's really strong, so it's really tight. It's really nice, actually." She seemed like she was living vicariously through my stories, and it was really sweet.

"Was it cool to have your own set trailer?"

"Actually, Zendaya and I shared one. It was a little weird if I was ever in it alone, really."

"Is she really one of the sweetest people ever?"

"Oh, absolutely. You're going to love her when you meet her during the press tour."

"Wait, what?" She raised an eyebrow, and I smiled.

"I'm inviting you and Ali to be my guests while we do press for the movie. Don't worry, it's over winter break, so you won't be missing school." The next thing I knew, she was hugging me tightly.

"Thank you." She whispered, and I hugged her back. "Now, can I ask you something that's not about the movie?"

"Of course, Beth. What's up?"

"Those red ballet shoes hanging on your wall. What are they from?" I smiled as she pointed to Tom's shoes that I had hung up on display.

"You've heard about Ali's accident last year, right?" She nodded gently, and I smiled. "Well, that was the night I filmed that one scene for the last Spider-Man movie."

"Which was magical, by the way." She grinned softly.

"Thanks, babe." I smiled softly. "Anyway, Tom had accidentally grabbed one of my pointe shoes when we left the studio. I was in a rush to get to the hospital, so I didn't notice it. While I was in the ER's waiting room to hear about her, Tom and I were talking about a bunch of different things so he could keep me from worrying too much."

"After just meeting you?"

"Yeah. As we were talking, I told him that I wanted to dye a pair of shoes red for a performance if I could figure out how. After Ali got out of the hospital, he told me he had found my shoe and that he'd send it to me, along with a little care package for Ali. When I opened it, I saw those at the bottom of the box."

"He did that?!"

"Yeah. He knew that I was still worried about Ali, so him giving me those was one less thing to worry about, according to him." I smiled at the memory. That was my first clue that Tom really was someone I wanted to be with.

"And you wonder why everyone loves you two so much. You two are the perfect couple, Gracie." She grinned, causing me to blush. With that, my phone began ringing.

"Speak of the devil," I chuckled, picking up the phone. I put a finger to my lips to shush Beth while I put Tom on speaker. "Hi, baby."

"Hello there, darling. How have you been today?" Beth's eyes were wide as she listened to the two of us.

"I've been good. I miss you." I smiled, leaning against the wall.

"I miss you too, darling. So does Tessa." I chuckled as I could hear Tessa barking in the background.

"Aww, tell her that I miss her too. She's a better cuddler than you are sometimes."

"Hey!" Tom whined, and I chuckled softly. I could see Beth smiling excitedly.

"Oh, you'll never guess who's with me right now." I smiled, and Beth's eyes widened.

"Ali?"

"Nope. It's our perfect little Beth."

"Oooh, put her on! I'm so excited to finally meet my honorary little!" I had told Tom so much about Beth that she was practically his little too. In fact, he's the one who started calling her his little too.

"H-hello there Mr. Holland." Beth's nervous energy was clear to see, both through her voice and actions.

"Beth, honey, please just call me Tom. Mr. Holland is my father." As usual, I could hear the smile in his voice.

"O-okay, Tom." She grinned, and I smiled back.

"Now, please tell me that Grace is taking good care of you. Nobody messes with my little and gets away with it." I rolled my eyes playfully as she giggled.

"No, she's the perfect big. And you are both the perfect couple. She told me the story of her red shoes, by the way, and it's adorable."

"Well thank you, love. Just wait until you get the chance to see them in action. They're beautiful, just like her." I blushed, knowing Tom wouldn't be able to see. But Beth was well ahead of that.

"The fact that you can make her blush even when you're both so in love with each other is actually incredible." I heard him chuckle as I rolled my eyes jokingly.

"Hey, what are you two lovely ladies doing tomorrow morning?"

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