Love has a rule. There is only a certain amount of hearts one can carry in their own hands without causing any damage to any of them. And that number is one.
When Lara Dias meets her idol, little did she know that when she went home that day, she al...
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Lara's POV:
When I saw Tom answer me, my heart nearly collapsed with so much relief. After I got home and saw that there still was no answer from him, and opening social media to find that paparazzi had taken photos of Shawn and me, I was close to having a mental breakdown. What if Tom interpreted all of this wrong? What if he thinks I chose Shawn? And so he never wants to hear me out?
As I read his response, I was so relieved that Z could see it on my face. "He answered?" She asks.
I nod and look up, a smile on my face. "Yes. Turns out he forgot his phone at home."
Z chuckles at that. "That is such a Tom thing to do, I'm not even surprised."
Luckily, Tom is in LA too. Although it's not that late and I wouldn't mind, I imagine he doesn't want to meet up today, and I tell him so. My heart slams so hard against my chest as I watch the three dots which show he is typing, and then comes to a nervous stop as I read his message.
He wants to meet tonight.
"I guess... The time is now." I announce to Z, still in disbelief.
"I'm assuming you won't be returning then?"
It takes me some good moments to realize the insinuation and piece it together with the smirk on her lips. I get a pillow from the couch and sloppily throw it at her, she easily dodges it and laughs. "I'm being serious!"
"Mhm," I mutter, eyes narrowed at her. My phone buzzes in my hand, and I realize I hadn't sent him confirmation. I send it, and turn back to Z. "But for real, I can't know. What if he moved on already. He has that right. How can I expect of him that he waited all this time? A whole ass month?"
"You forget that he has waited so much more than that. Years and years. A month is nothing for him in comparison."
The statement makes my stomach turmoil with hope and guilt at the same time. So much time and pain could have been spared if only I realized the obvious about both of us.
"Don't beat yourself over that, Lara," Zendaya says, guessing what was on my mind. "It's in the past. And I promise you that Tom also took a dang long time to admit it to himself too. He loves you too much, and admitting it would require a risk of losing you as a friend, which is way worse than not having you return his feelings."
Her words have so much power, I swallow any words I had ready to leave. I have no doubts about his commitment to our friendship, as well of his feelings that he admitted that night at my premiere. But it still was so overwhelming to hear it like that. "Did... Did he ever say that to you?" I muster.
She shakes her head. "No, but he showed it. Before we had even finished filming Homecoming, I had figured it out. He's... very in love with you, Lara, trust me."
***
The elevator was not working, so I took the stairs. By the time I arrive at the door, I am breathless from the climb, and now even more because of nerves. More than I felt when "Shatter Me" came out. More than I felt when I was so young, facing the rehearsal building of Billy Elliot. More than I felt when Tom approached me, and I was scared that he'd be mean. Yet he was doing right the opposite. He was encouraging me. He became my best friend. How it all started.
