Misguided [Tom Holland AU]

two

After Skylar showed me the basics of working at a cafe, it was already 6 o'clock. I thanked Skylar for the help, and she responded with a hug. She seemed like a very bubbly person, and I appreciated that. We actually exchanged numbers so we could get together outside of work. I had officially made my first friend in London.

"I'll see you both tomorrow!" I called out before heading out the door and onto the street. It had been a long day, and I was more than ready for a drink. I walked down the sidewalk, looking around for a bar I could go to and relax for a little bit before heading home.

I eventually found one that was across the street and a few buildings down from the cafe. The sky was getting darker, so the lit-up sign definitely made it stand out more.

I walked into the building, noticing that it was not very crowded. Probably because it was a Tuesday night, and people had work the next morning. I walked over to the bar and sat down on one of the stools beside a young man.

"Could I have vodka with soda please?" I asked the bartender politely, and he responded by smiling and nodding. I watched as he turned around to grab the bottles and pour me a drink.

"You're from America?" I heard a voice next to me, which caused me to turn and look at the young man who spoke. I cleared my throat a bit and nodded, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, New York actually." I responded, thanking the bartender when he gave me a drink. The young man raised his eyebrows as I sipped the drink, chuckling softly.

"Oh. Sorry if I sounded creepy, I was just curious because of your accent." He said, nodding a bit as he took a sip of his drink. I laughed lightly and shook my head, biting my bottom lip gently.

"No, it's okay, I understand. I'm Lacey.. and you are?" I asked, looking up at him. He was very attractive, might I add. Light brown hair and dark brown eyes, with a killer smile.

"I'm Tom. So, why did you come to London, Lacey?" He asked, taking another swig of his beer. I shrugged slightly and stirred my drink with my straw.

"Um.. just to get away, I guess." I said, glancing up at him. He furrowed his eyebrows a bit, looking at me. Please don't ask anything else..

"Did something happen?" He asked softly, and I could see him bite his bottom lip.

"I mean... yeah." I spoke quietly, sighing a bit as I glanced up at him. He frowned softly, watching as I took a long swig of my drink.

"Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen. I won't judge you for whatever it is, I promise." He said, smiling softly at me. He did seem like a nice guy, and I should probably talk to someone about it considering I have been shutting everyone out lately. I sighed and looked up at him.

"Well, I was dating this one guy, and I really liked him. I mean, I had fallen for him completely." I started, looking down at my drink. "Things were going great, and I was really happy with him. But, one night I found out he had been cheating on me for two months with my best friend." I spoke quietly, looking up at Tom. "He tried to tell me it was a mistake, and that he wanted to try again. I almost forgave him." I continued, laughing lightly at my stupidity. "But my best friend... She didn't even say sorry. It was like she was glad I was hurt. She didn't care. I just needed to get away from it all, you know? Not to mention, she told all of my other friends that I was the one cheating on him, so I lost everyone I cared about." I finished, sighing softly as I ran a hand through my hair.

"I'm so sorry, darling. You didn't deserve any of that." Tom said, looking at me with a sympathetic face. I shook my head quickly, smiling lightly up at him.

"No, it's fine. It's been a couple of weeks, and I'm gonna start fresh here." I responded, biting my lip gently as he nodded a bit.

"Well, I am glad you came here to get away from it all." He said, smiling down at me. I smiled back, my cheeks heating up again.

"We've talked enough about me, but what about you? Tell me about yourself, Tom." I said, taking another sip of my drink.

"Well, I'm 22 and I'm a writer. I have a dog named Tessa, and she is my favorite thing ever." He said, chuckling softly. I smiled widely at his pureness. "Um.. I'm a horrible singer, so never let me do karaoke. I like to watch movies and... yeah. That's about it." He finished, smiling down at me.

"I love dogs so much. I wish I had one, but I'd never be able to have that responsibility." I said, giggling a bit as he laughed lightly.

"Ah, I see. Well, you are always welcome to come over and visit Tessa. She would love you, I'm sure." He said, biting his bottom lip slightly. I blushed lightly and nodded a bit.

"That would be great." I said, finishing off my drink. Tom noticed this and called the bartender over.

"Can you get her another drink? On me." He said, sending a wink my way. This caused me to grin widely and shake my head.

"You did not have to do that, Tom." I said, watching as the bartender made me another drink. He shrugged a bit and smiled at me.

"I wanted to. Give you a nice welcome to London." He said, chuckling a bit as he sipped on his own drink.

"Well, thank you." I said, sipping the drink once I got it.

For the next few hours, we drank and talked. I learned a lot about Tom, and he learned a lot about me. I trusted him, and I didn't know why. I probably shouldn't have, seeing as I just met him, but it was too hard not to. I guess it was just his vibe or something that made it easier.

When it had gotten pretty late, Tom sighed a bit and grabbed his phone.

"I can walk you home, yeah?" He offered, standing up and sliding his jacket over his shoulders. I nodded and smiled a bit, standing up as well and grabbing my phone.

"Yeah, that would be great." I said, biting my lip as he led me out of the bar and onto the street. We walked in silence, which was okay because it was only about a three minute walk.

Once we reached my apartment, I looked over at him, stopping.

"Well, this is it." I spoke up, looking up at him. He was a good couple inches taller than me.

"It's nice, I like it... um, maybe I could get your number? I mean, I only live a couple blocks over.." he started to ramble, scratching the back of his neck. I giggled softly and shook my head, holding out my hand.

"Here, I'll put it in your phone." I said, smiling softly up at him. This caused him to grin and hand me his phone. I put my number in as a new contact and then handed it back to him.

"Alright, well, thanks for walking me home." I said, leaning up to kiss his cheek gently. "Goodnight, Tom." I spoke quietly before heading up the steps and going inside my house. I shut the door behind me and leaned against it for a few seconds.

I had already met a friend and a new guy. So far, I loved London.