closer ➸ tom holland

xliii. real life

Annabel's head pounded like she'd been hit with a mallet. She scrubbed her head with the heel of her palm, blinking dazedly as she adjusted the light streaming in through the blinds. God, what time was it?

The sheets wrapped around her legs were not her own. The sound of cars was a weirdly grounding ambience to wake up to, and she could hear someone moving around in another room. She was still wearing the clothes she arrived in last night, albeit the high heels, thank god.

She startled when the bedroom door opened, and Nick shouldered his way in with a cup of coffee in each hand. He had a serious case of bedhead, and dark bags under his eyes, but he smiled at her earnestly and sat on the other side of the bed.

"Hi," he set the cups down on the bedside table, "how are you feeling?"

"Confused." Annabel murmured, rubbing her eyes. "Very confused."

Nick nodded, "yeah, I can imagine. You remember much from last night? Like at all?"

Honestly, no. She could recall getting to the club, the first five or so drinks, and dancing with Amme and Nicola. After that... it was a little hazy.

"I've not seen you that wasted since Nicola's 19th birthday." Annabel cringed at the memory; that had been bad. She'd woken up with a hundred bruises, lost all her earrings and a streak of pink in her hair. "It was funny until you threw up on one of the bar staff and we nearly got kicked out."

"No, no, no," she groaned, hanging her head.

Nick passed her one of the coffee cups. "It's fine, I managed to convince them not to ban you," he tried to smother a smirk, "the other bar staff found it kinda funny. Anyway, after that we knew it was definitely time to call it a night. Nicola and Amme were too drunk to look after you and take you home, so I called you a cab and brought you back to mine."

Annabel's brow furrowed as she let that all sink in.

"I slept on the couch." Nick slipped in, interpreting her expression as something else.

"No, that's fine, I trust you. Thank you." she sighed and sipped on the coffee, feeling a comforting kind of warmth at being looked after so well by her friends. She felt grateful, and relieved that she hadn't done anything too stupid or reckless. "Could I borrow a shirt? And some trousers? This dress isn't exactly comfy to wake up in."

"Of course, Annie. Be right back."

When he'd left the room, Annabel jumped at the sound of his phone getting a text, and was abruptly reminded of the existence of her own phone.

Her phone – where was it?

Annabelle scrambles about, despite the thumping in her head when she made sudden movements, searching for it in a panic.

It lay on the floor below the bed, with a huge crack across the screen.

The phone read 2PM, and below it were an overwhelming amount of texts in a variety of different tones.

amme:
please let me know when you're
awake! hope the hangover isn't
too bad. also i wouldn't check any
gossipy media outlets:/ people
can be so shady for no reason
[delivered: 3:12am]

nicola:
BBABY I LOVE YUU SO MUCJ
I MISS U EHERED YOU GO
[delivered: 1:37am]

THE GHUY AT THE HBAR IS
HITTING ON ME!!! EW HELDP
[delivered: 1:59am]

IN CAB TO HOME
[delivered: 2:35am]

TECXT ME WHEN U WAKE
[delivered: 2:47am]

jesus fuck i want to die
[delivered: 8:52am]

tom 🌹:
annie?
annie please answer your phone
or please text or call me when you can
i just spoke to amme and she said you left
I hope you're okay
annabel please??
I've left so many calls
im kind of freaking out
[delivered: 1:38am]

annabel seriously
maybe i'm just overthinking this all
it's just that amme said you left with nick
you couldve called me? i couldve gotten you a cab
or picked you up
[delivered: 2:02am]

please just be home safe. i love you.
[delivered: 2:41am]

Now real panic settled in.

It kind of hurt; did Tom not trust her? Was he just worried? Her chest felt tight, her breathing hard and getting heavier. She didn't even know where to start with a response. Maybe it would be better to just call him, but the later she left it the more worried she felt.

Nick came back in with some clothes, but froze up when he read Annabel's face. He dumped the clothes on the bed and looped his arms around her in a tight hug, smelling of coffee and aftershave.

"You want me to drive you to see him?" he asked softly, tucking a loose strand of her messed up hair behind her ear.

Annabel nodded quickly and gave Nick a quick squeeze. It would be better to talk to Tom in person; she wanted to be wrapped up in his embrace, to explain her drunken mess of a night and relapse back into their normal routine. She loved him.

[ A/N: ]

LONG TIME NO SEE DONT SHOUT AT ME
HAPPY 2019 LMAO