the boy who could speak to the wind {tomtord}

seven

i'm laying on tom's bed, staring up at the plastic glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling. he's whispering to cloud at his desk, smiling. i haven't told him about my friends' 'invitation' yet.

"hey... tom?" i sit up, lips pursed. he looks over at me, face all innocent-looking. the thought makes me blush and i roll my eyes. "uh, so, i... my friends sort of found out about you? and, um, they want to meet you. today, actually."

he stares at me for a few more seconds, then looks at cloud. she's started cleaning her feathers. he looks at me again and smiles. "okay."

"really?" my eyes widen. "thank you." i laugh when he gives a thumbs up. "they can be a bit mean sometimes, but... i'll try to protect you."

"thank you." tom murmurs softly, gently running his fingertips over cloud's feathers.

i bite my lip, gaze falling onto his outfit. he's wearing black leggings and a pastel pink t-shirt. my heart drops a bit when i realize my friends would almost instantly bombard him with homophobic slurs if he wore that to meet them.

"tom?" i speak up again, hesitantly.

"mhm?" he responds, placing cloud back in her cage before shutting the small silver door.

"i don't mean to sound rude, but, i think you should change clothes. for your own good." i hunch my shoulders in embarrassment.

he looks at me. "is it cold? you're right, i don't enjoy the cold too much." he nods and pulls on a galaxy print hoodie. well, it's better than before. i take out my phone and text the group chat that we'll be there soon.

"ready to go?" i ask, standing up and stretching my arms.

tom nods and messes with the sleeves that reach over his fingertips. "yes. tord? i'm nervous."

"you'll be okay." i give him a reassuring smile. "if anything happens, i'll be right by your side."

he smiles at me and the faintest hint of a blush dusts his cheeks. "thank you."

"of course, tom. oh, and... don't mention you're gay."

~timeskip~

tom and i near the picnic bench where all my friends are sitting. even ell is there which makes it all a thousand times worse.

"so. this must be the kid you're- holy fuck, what is that?" yanov's eyes grows wide and i instantly know he's talking about tom's eyes (well, lack of).

surprisingly, tom keeps a calm demeanor. "my name is tom." he says and everyone stares at him, speechless. at least yuu is trying his best to look polite but his pale face says otherwise.

i clear my throat and glare at the group. "don't be dicks. anyway, that's yanov, yuu, paul, edd, and.. ell." i introduce all of them.

"you've been ditching us for him?" paul crosses his arms. i watch tom nervously as he begins to look a little bit bothered.

"he's a nice guy," i retort. "he's rich, too."

"my parents are college professors." tom adds. edd 'tsks' and rolls his eyes.

ell hops off the table and stands closer to me, reaching for my hand. i quickly shove it in my pocket and look at her, hearing yanov and paul attack tom with stupid questions. they haven't said anything too bad yet, but i'm prepared.

"hey." i nod at her.

"hi," ell smiles shyly. "how've you been?"

"um- fine. you?" this is awkward.

"i'm good." she giggles and glances away for a second. "i was wondering if you wanted to come over for another movie tonight?"

i open my mouth but nothing comes out as i search for an excuse. eventually, "i kind of promised pat i'd hang out with him tonight."

"oh." she frowns. "that's alright. i just had a lot of fun last time."

"i'm sure you-"

i'm stopped as i hear paul rudely ask, "so are you a failed lab experiment?"

i whip around to glare at him. "what's your fucking deal?" i challenge. tom shrinks backwards and paul's eyes widen.

"chill out," paul laughs. "i'm just wondering, man."

"paul's right, though..." edd mumbles. yuu and ell stay completely silent as the tension in the air grows thicker.

"honestly." yanov shrugs and nods.

i look at tom, and he's basically at the point of tears. he's probably not used to so much attention at once. fuck, this was a horrible idea.

"i'm really sorry." i place a hand on his shoulder but he jerks away from me and suddenly starts running back the way we came, disappearing behind a corner.

yanov, paul, and edd explode into laughter behind me. ell joins in, giggling. yuu stays quiet. i'm about to run after him but i hear yanov say, "damn, ditching us again, fag?"

i'm torn between guilt for tom and guilt for leaving my friends behind once again. i don't know what to do and it feels like everything's spiraling down, crashing onto me at once. fuck. fuck, fuck. the thoughts accelerate in my head and i can't breathe. faintly, i hear someone ask if i'm alright- was it ell? no, who cares. i hurt tom badly when i never meant to and holy mother of fuck, maybe i really am gay.

it's too much to handle at once. this was a disaster for both me and tom. i'm so sorry, tom, so sorry.

i run towards the road and narrowly dodge a honking car. my friends scream behind me. by some miracle i safely make it across the street and to my apartment building. i run upstairs faster than i ever have before and barge into my apartment.

"tord? jesus christ, are you okay?" pat rushes over to me.

i shake my head and bite down hard on my lip. the metallic taste of blood explodes in my mouth and suddenly, everything goes black.