hoodie strings; harry holland

Chapter nine

"what do you want?" I spat out, looking around the shoulder of the boy standing in front of me. 

"Woah no need too be rude Princess." Jackson smirked as he reached up to touch my cheek, but I smacked his hand away. I kept glancing around his shoulder hoping Tom would look over, or Harry or Sam and maybe they would notice how uncomfortable I was. But no one saw, and I was stuck frozen with fear listening to him. 

"Stop that." I said through my teeth as he reached up and played with my hair. Thankfully Tom saw and ran over to me. He put his arm around Jackson's shoulder squeezing it. I could tell this was Tom's way of hurting Jackson without making a huge scene, because Jackson's squinted his eyes in pain. 

"And what do you think you're doing mate?" A hint of anger rose in Tom's voice as he spoke to Jackson.  Even though no one else knew about what had happened inside, I'm sure everyone could feel the tension in the air when Tom and Jackson had walked up. When Jackson didn't answer right away, Tom took the opportunity to answer for him. "You're going up to your room and you're not coming out until Y/n is safely in her room, with me or with harry and Sam. And you're not going to bother her again or else."

"Or else what? What could you do to me?" Jackson asked you could hear the slight tinge of sass in his voice, but what I chose to hear louder was the pain. The pain Tom had put on his shoulder, and the pain he had given me in the short time we've known each other. 

Tom's fingertips turned white as he squeezed Jackson's shoulder harder and harder, to the point where I could see hints of blue and purple on his fingertips, and underneath them on the skin of Jackson's arm. "Now I don't want to make a big scene in front of everyone, mate,  but if you ever come near her again, I will do so much worse." Tom nodded towards Jackson's shoulder, and I almost started laughing when the color drained from his face, and his eyes widened to the point you would've thought he had just seen a ghost. 

Tom let go of his shoulder and as soon as he realized he was free he ran as fast as he could into the house and up to his room. 

"thank you. For being there, inside, and out here." I said looking at the ground shyly. I had just met the hollands and already Tom was treating me as if I was family. The way he treated Amelia, Maddie, and I made me think he would take a bullet for us in a heart beat, and us for him. I would do anything for this family. They had been nothing but nice to us, and now that Jackson was there, along with the sexual tension between Harry and I. I needed Tom to help me through it more than anything, and he was there, like we had known each other for years. 

"I wasn't kidding when I told him I would do so much worse. If he ever, and I mean EVER even looks at you the wrong way, I will kill him. I also wasn't kidding when I said you were like a sister to me, and I would never want anyone like him around my sister." Tom smiled, "So, you and Harry?"