Marvels Best ↯ Tom Holland

76 ↴ IRL + Flashback

"Are you sure about this, Ri?" Briar asked, tugging her lip between her teeth as she stared at the house through her windscreen. The front of the house was quiet, but she could hear the faint thudding music and could see people in the windows. "You never go to parties."

Rion shrugged. "This one is different."

"How?" Briar pressed, turning to face her younger brother. "If Mum and Dad find out..."

"They won't! I promised to do your washing for a whole month." Rion whined, throwing his head back against the seat. "And it's different because I actually got invited to this one, and not as an awkward plus one."

Briar frowned minutely. It was no secret that her brother struggled to make friends; it wasn't that he didn't want them, it was just hard for him when people refused to look past his sexuality. As barbaric as it was, there were still homophobic people. "Who's throwing this party?"

"Bailey, from my grade?" Rion answered like Briar was supposed to know who that was.

Briar sighed. "Whatever. Just get out and have a good time. Be safe, please. I'll be at Aiden's, call me if you need anything! I expect hourly texts!"

Rion rolled his eyes as he grabbed his backpack and opened the car door. "Yes, Mum," he muttered as he climbed out and shut the car door. Briar rolled her eyes playfully, but stay parked on the curb until Rion had gone inside. She took a deep breath, and then pulled away.

She had just graduated high school herself, and knew firsthand how ruthless school kids could be about almost anything — especially sexualities. However, Briar trusted Rion and he trusted this so-called Bailey kid, so she'd have to take a leap of faith.

ϟ

Tom had an idea of where Briar's story was headed, but kept quiet because he could tell how painful it was for her to get through. Her eyes were lowered, her brows pulled into a frown and she kept stumbling over her words. Tom wanted her to stop, so as to stop her pain, but he knew that she needed to tell him this, for her own good. So he let her continue.

"I didn't check my phone for a while after, and when I did... I had all of these missed calls and text messages from him. They were frantic, horrible to read. Then, I found a voicemail from him." Briar swallowed back a sob. "I still have nightmares about it. His voice... he was so scared — scared for his life, Tom. He was sixteen."

Briar fell apart at the seams, bursting into tears and burying her face into her hands. Tom pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and tucking her under his chin. His heart was beating painfully, and he was on the verge of tears himself. Briar didn't need to finish her story, Tom could piece it together. That was why Briar didn't date; she was still guilty, even after all of this time, because her attention had been occupied by her boyfriend and she had missed Rion's calls.

"If I had just answered my phone..." Briar whispered, and Tom shook his head fervently.

"No, you can't think like that. It's not healthy. It's not your fault. What happened to Rion was horrible, and I'm so, so sorry it happened to you of all people. You're an amazing person, Briar, and I don't want to see you tearing yourself apart for something that you're not guilty of. I'm not going to say I get how you feel, because I don't, but one thing I'm certain of is that Rion would be so proud of you. Look at how far you've come. You did that for him; helping others and devoting your life to them." Tom didn't know where he was going, but Briar had stopped crying and was listening intently. He was certain she could hear his heart beating rapidly. He was about to take a massive shot. "But, and let me know if I'm overstepping, I think that Rion would also want you to be happy. He wouldn't want you to shut yourself out to others. If he was anything like you, and I'm sure he was, he would want you to be the best form of yourself. I know I do. I care about you, Briar, a lot. I want you to be happy."

"I want to be happy too, Tom," Briar pulled back and began fiddling with her fingers. "And I'm happiest when I'm around you, happier than I've been in a long time."

Tom couldn't believe it. Had he heard that right? He cupped Briar's chin in one hand and moved so that they were eye level once again. He was grinning, ear to ear. "I never thought I'd hear you say that."