Time Never Stops

Chapter Six: How Could I Not Love You?

Sorry this is a little late! School is trying to stress me out! How are you guys liking the story thus far?

Warning! Implied Sexy Time Ahead!

Word Count: 3073

I take a step back, "You, what?" I whisper, looking at him with my eyebrows knitted together, my hands unclenching.

"I love you." He whispers, moving toward me, cupping my face. My lips quiver and I pull away from him, running my hands through my hair.

"No, no, no, you can't." I try and reason, my mind not being able to comprehend what he was saying.

"Why the hell can't I?!" He fumes, moving toward me again, catching my arm as I try to go up the stairs to hide.

"It's not fair!" I yell, a few tears falling down my face as I spin around to face him, yanking my arm from his grasp. "I have been pinning over you for years!" I place my hands on his chest to push him away, but he catches my wrists, holding me there. Frustrated tears begin to fall down my cheeks, "And here you are telling me that you love me. I'm just me, Tom."

"(Y/N)..." he breathes, he lets go of one of my wrists. They fall to my sides as his thumbs brush against my face to wipe the tears away.

"You shouldn't love me, Tom." A sob escapes my lips as I lift a hand to cover my mouth. "I don't fit in your world. The only reason we are still friends is because we don't know how not to be. How can you love me?" I whimper, my greatest fear about our relationship out in the open. In reality, I was terrified to lose him. Tom is my rock, my late night pick-me-up, my everything. Without him, what did I have?

"How could I not love you?" Tom whispers, cupping my face, not forcing me to look at him, "You're my best friend. You know when I need you, even if it's just leaving me voicemails to make my day better. You drop plans and make time to fly out when I am stressed. You talk me down when I am on edge and make me think rationally. You," he lets out a sigh brushing his thumbs under my eyes gently, "you are the one person I can rely on and can confine in and I would be so lost without you." Tom lets out a soft laugh, shaking his head. "And you don't fit? (Y/N), that is such a lie. You have always fit in my life, hell I can't remember a time you weren't in my life. My friends are your friends. My co-stars ask about you all the time, doesn't help that I talk about you all the time. My, no, our fans love you! Have you not seen all the fanart and edits that they make of us?"

We both let out a wet laugh, my hand finding its place on top of his on my face, finally meeting his eyes for a minute. "Those make the days that I miss you so much better, next to being able to actually talk to you, of course."

Tom smiles at me, "And, my family loves you. You sometime know more about them then I do. Hell, sometimes I think they love you more than me." He laughs, his hand that isn't covered in my own moves to my waist.

"Tom," I whisper, hand moving from on top of his hand to wrap around his wrist. "I- I."

"Say it," Tom breathes, his forehead pressing into mine. I can smell the alcohol on his breath, but his cologne overpowers my senses, and in the moment I can't focus on anything else except him surrounding me.

I let out a soft laugh, my nose brushing against his. "I love you, Tom." With that, my back is against the wall and his lips are pressing against mine. The kiss pouring all our unspoken emotions out into it. It's not like any kiss I have had. Some can be hot and passionate, soft and barely there, or the most awkward thing that any person can experience. Kissing Tom was like coming home for the first time in a long time. It was comforting, filled with love, and made me feel like letting go would never be an option again. My hands tangle into his hair, pulling him as close to me as I could while his hand on my waist tightens. A soft gasp leaves my mouth at the feeling and Tom takes the chance to deepen the kiss. The two of us stay like that for what feels like an eternity, but we have to eventually part for air. We pull away panting, his forehead pressed to mine with tired smiles grace our bruised lips.