Something to Cool Could Happen: A Tom Holland Love Story

10: Pretend

The sun was starting to set and their fingers were starting to wrinkle, both signs to call it a day. They wrapped themselves in towels and dabbed themselves dry before loading up. While Jacob and Haz finished up folding the blanket across the grass, Tom gazed at Penelope: she was leaning on the hood next to him, her curls half wet and half dry, springing up in spirals. The beach towel hung loosely on her shoulders, and he decided she looked too angelic not to tell her.

"Hey, I know I didn't say anything earlier, but you look really nice today."

"Oh. Thank you." She blushed. Maybe Jacob was right, she thought. She started to swoon; his smile was enough to knock anyone out. She studied him briefly, taking in the features that she had never noticed. His freckles shown through under the dim light of the dusk, the fine creases around his eyes lingered even after his smiled relaxed. Every detail seemed to work together in harmony, like the tiny specs in a Seurat painting. "You look amazing."

"Are my muscles better than Harrison's?"

"Hm, let me think about it."

"Wow. I'm wounded."

"I wasn't even talking about you muscles—"

"Oh, so you like my face?" He did his best smolder, making her giggle.

"Calm down, Flynn Ryder."

"What that was my sexy face—and Haz was the one hit by your frying pan."

"Oh I hate to burst your bubble—but I hit him with the door." She wheezed at the memory.

"Awww, that is disappointing."

"I know right!"

"Don't worry I'm sure the opportunity will come again. He deserves a quick whack every now and then." He mimicked a golf swing, aiming right at Haz who was now walking up with Jacob. They headed home, and once they got there they realized how much the day took out of them. They all decided to turn in early after eating a little something and taking turns showering. However, Tom had other plans.

"Goodnight guys!" Penelope yelled up the stairs.

"Hey, Penelope."

"Yeah, Tom?"

"Wanna watch a movie? Just us?"

She blushed. She was tired, but she couldn't say no to him. "Sure. You pick."

She got some blankets and made the couch comfortable. Tom was going through the shelf of DVDs, felling nostalgic. It had been a while since he chose a movie this way, being so used to streaming. His eyes widened as he saw ran his fingers across copies the original Spider-Man trilogy, their cases still had a Blockbuster sticker on the spine. "Did you buy these from Blockbuster?"

He held them up to her, and she smiled fondly. "They were the first 'real' superhero movies I ever watched. My dad rented and watched them with me when I was little. And yeah, bought a lot of stuff from Blockbuster when they closed."

"I love how old fashioned you are. With all the tapes and fucking Blockbuster DVDs—"

"It was my favorite place! My dad took me almost everyday when I was kid. It was a simpler time."

"You can say that again—oh man."

"What?"

"I just found the greatest movie ever made." He turned around, a cheesy smile plastered on his face as he held up Spider-Man: Homecoming.

"Don't tell me that's what we're watching."

"Uh, it's a classic." He said opening it up and twirling the disc around.

"Haven't you watched it a billion times by now?"

"It never gets old!" He paused, smiling at the DVD in his hands. He rubbed his thumb over the picture of the case. "And it's amazing to me—when I made this I didn't know you at all, but now I do and you had it in your house all this time—you went out and bought it. And now I'm here. It's surreal." He looked up and saw her just smiling at him. "What?"

"You just...light up when you talk about it. It's incredible to watch. And it comes across that much more because you're...well, here in front of me."

"Thank you. But we're the same. You're so passionate and you're so talented—"

"We're not the same, Tom. You've made it."

"Well then let's pretend. We're actors, aren't we?" Tom kisses the case before putting it back on the shelf and quickly poked through a couple more titles before deciding on Atlantis: The Lost Empire. He popped it in and pressed play, and then he joined her on the couch, cuddling her close.

"Who are we pretending to be?"

"How about...you can be the movie star and I'll be the ordinary girl."

"Ah, I love that cliche."

"Me too."

***

Tom awoke to the movie credits rolling. He moaned, rubbing his face. His shoulder ached, but he didn't care because Penelope was laying on it, sound asleep. He checked the time: 12:48. He yawned, laying his head on hers for a moment, Harrison's words echoing in his mind. Grudgingly, he took Penelope in his arms and carried her to her bedroom. He laid her down, carefully tucking her in. He was glad he didn't wake her, for he would have never left her side if she was awake. He dragged himself down the hall and fell onto the bed. He tossed and turned before finally drifting off to sleep, still wondering if he could let her go when all was set and done.