Crimson Red-A TomTord Fanfic

Sunshine Lollipops

Chapter: 4

***********

Tom's POV

I feel weird so close to him, and I've never felt this way around a guy before. All of a sudden, it seems my senses have spiked and I'm noticing every movement that passes between us.

Tord holds me against his shoulder and I feel the contour of his arms around my torso, holding me almost protectively. I realise that my arms have made it a good distance around his body as well, and I quickly pull them back to my sides. His hand is on my head, the white linen bandage now soaked through with crimson blood and purple grime.

I look up at him, but he turns away and quickly lets go. 

"S...sorry," he stutters, backing away.

"What do you mean," I ask, and I feel my invisible pupils glaze over as I am transfixed by him. 

"Nothing..."

I can't stop looking at his eyes, burning underneath his hood, hot like the blood in my veins, which makes my pale cheeks most-likely rosey. 

I break the tension with a question: "Why has your hood been up this whole time? What are you hiding?"

By now, he's already moved to pick up the pieces of the empty glass vial from the ground, which I had not noticed had shattered all over the floor, and I can no longer see him, crouching behind the medical bed. I do, though, feel his tension, so I wait patiently for his answer, trying to tell myself to stop blushing so much.

His hooded head pops up from the floor, but he doesn't answer; he just gets up, broken glass pieces securely hidden in his palms. I watch him as he makes his way to the garbage pail, chucks in the glass, and resumes his position far away from me, on the other side of the bed.

We just stand there.

Like that.

For a few seconds.

"Funny how you were supposed to help me, and you just turned me into a monster again, huh?" I try to break the silence, my humor not getting past him.

He snorts. "Sorry about that, too."

Why is he being so nice. He keeps saying sorry, it gets me so mad, I think. "Stop saying sorry."

"Beklager," he says, giving a hint of a smile. I literally have no idea what that means, probably because it's something in Norwegian.

"You still haven't answered me...about the hood thing," I venture.

"It's nothing, I promise. I just like hoods, okay." His attitude startles me, but I make no move to let anything else escape my mouth.

"Hey, I should probably get going, sunshine lollipops," I say, and realise I've softened up, calling this traitor what I used to call him when he was my friend. No, wait: he's never been my friend. Never. Ever. 

But he catches the name, and I know by the way his brow furrows. 

"No...I mean, sure. I think you'd best come back tomorrow, though." 

"What, so now you're my doctor?"

He winks. "Yeah, kinda."

What was that wink? Why'd it make me feel all weird? What is he doing to me?

I leave without a sound, making my way to the door, through the doorway, and to safety...and Matt.

***********