Something to Cool Could Happen: A Tom Holland Love Story

12: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibilty

Haz ventured down into the kitchen, excited to prepare a large breakfast. He hummed to himself, greasing a large pan to fry up some eggs and bacon for the group. He popped some bread in the toaster and began to blissfully make-believe he was a master chef. The bacon started to sizzle and pop, much to his delight. After counting out how many eggs he knew he and the boys would eat, he realized he didn't know how Penelope likes her eggs. He couldn't just guess: imagine giving scrambles to a sunny side up type of girl. It was unheard of for a chef as distinguished as he! He turned the stove way down, almost completely off, and headed to the den where he knew she'd be. With Tom. But it was just ballet after all, wasn't it? Boy was he wrong today. He wasn't even in the doorway when he saw the very thing he had been trying so hard to prevent. He stopped breathing a moment as his chest clenched, anger spreading rampantly through his entire being. It seemed like he watched them kiss for hours, solemnly standing there in the hall like a iron statue, burning up until he couldn't feel and couldn't move. It was then he accepted his fate: she was tainted now, having been claimed first by his closest friend who, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't blame. He had given her up the moment he lied about his feelings to Tom. Jacob had been right all along. The way he went about it made his plan work in reverse: Tom didn't step back for him. He, although he thought otherwise, had stepped back for Tom. But he wasn't going to anymore.

"What's going on?" Haz said in a dark tone, leaning against the doorframe.

Tom's eyes might as well have popped out of his head. His face flushed. "Hey, Haz—"

"Don't 'hey Haz' me, Tom, we fucking talked about this—"

"I know, but it's not for you to decide, mate." Tom said, standing to up to face him. His stomach was in knots, but he didn't dare show it.

"Oh, so I'm guessing you told her, huh?" Haz said, pushing himself off the doorframe, circling Tom like a shark. Tom opened his mouth to speak but any words he tried to form got stuck, choking him into a painful silence.

"What are you talking about?" Penelope piped up, hating the way they were interacting. It was like watching a snake wrap around its prey, stinging it with a powerful, toxic venom until it was paralyzed.

"I'll show you—" Haz replied coldly, going over to her.

"Don't you dare." Tom snarled, still barely audible. Haz wasn't phased, as he was already looking through his phone as he plopped down on the floor next to Penelope.

"Haz you left the stove on—" Jacob came running in, but stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Tom, tears streaming down his face. "What's going on?"

Tom shook his head, unable to speak. Jacob went towards Haz and Penelope, gasping as soon as he saw. Penelope was holding Haz's phone scrolling through all too familiar ugly comments.

"Haz—"

"She needed to know."

"That's not your place—"

"Well someone had to show her what she was getting herself into."

The endless amount of hateful words struck Penelope like a ton of bricks. The words weren't meant for her, but she could feel how much power they held. Her heart felt like it was imploding, and the pressure made her shake from the inside out.

"Who's Olivia?" She stammered, her eyes now fearful. She was no stranger to the internet, but she had never before seen something so breathtakingly horrid.

"Tell her, Tom." Harrison said sternly.

Tom held his head low. He couldn't bear to look her in the face. "She's my ex. And I guess you see why it didn't work out." After getting out those words he looked up, his face drained of color. He felt sick.

"Oh." That was all Penelope could mutter. What else could she say? What could anyone say? Tom ran out, and a single tear glided down her cheek. She got up to go after him, but Harrison grabbed her arm.

"Look, he's my best mate and a great guy, but it would be a mistake! You'd be throwing your career away!"

"Haz! This has gone too far!" Jacob said, freeing Penelope from Harrison's grip. She threw herself into his arms for comfort. She began to cry into his shoulder as Harrison still stood his ground.

"I'm just trying to—"

"I know, but this isn't right." He turned away from him, his arms still around Penelope as she sobbed. "Come on, let's get some air."

He lead her outside and they sat on the porch. She laid her head on his shoulder. "I didn't know how bad it was—how can people do that? They just..." She trailed off, the tears taking over.

"It gets crazy. And it all happens so fast—I would say to not let it change things—"

"But it does."

"You have no idea how much I hate that Haz has a point. It's a terrible point, but it's a real point."

"I need to go back in." She said, wiping her face.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I need to talk to them." They hugged, and went back inside only to see the boys in the middle of a heated argument.

"You had no right to show her any of that!" Tom wailed, red in the face.

"She. Needed. To. Know!"

"Oh, is that why you did it? Not because it has anything to do with you and how you lied to me?"

"Of course not!"

"No, cut the bullshit! Why?? You get every girl, Haz, every single one—"

"Oh don't act like you don't have tons of them at you beck and call! And I'm the one they check out when you're through with them!"

"Not before Spider-Man! Before that it was always you! 'Oh yeah your friend Harrison, he's so hot mind giving him a hint?' They only like me now because I'm Spider-Man! If I wasn't Spider-Man I'd be nothing!" Tom shoved him, being the first to get physical.

"Guys! Stop!" Penelope shouted, finding her way in between them. They stood quiet, their eyes blazing with words left unsaid. She looked at Harrison, his face full of guilt despite everything. "Why did you show me all of that?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I care about you—and I know that makes it seem bad, but I promise it's because I don't want you to have to go through that shit. And if you date him—you're so talented and if you date him you won't have a future in the business. You'd forever be the girl that Tom Holland's fans cancelled because she made them jealous. You're so much fucking more than that."

She tried her best to keep herself together as she looked towards Tom. He was teary-eyed and a mess. It took so much for her to not just give into him. "Tom, I didn't like just because you were Spider-Man, but if you're nothing without him, what's left for me to love?"

"What?" Tom whimpered.

"Did you even try to stick up for her? She was your girlfriend—" She knew she was hurting him, but she needed to know.

"I didn't know how."

"You're really telling me you did nothing? You knew this was happening and you just 'didn't know how' to do anything about it?" She couldn't believe he would just let his fans rip that poor girl to shreds.

Tom put his head in his hands. "No, I didn't stop it—I was scared—"

"So if that were me, you'd do nothing." She said, choking back tears.

Tom was speechless. "I—I don't know."

"You said as Peter Parker that—that if you have the power—but you don't do anything—then—then the bad things happen because of you." Tom was slowing breaking. She was using his own movie against him, and doing a very good job. "You have the platform! You could have spoken up or done something! You use it for so much good already—I don't get it—"

"Penelope I love—"

"No, Tom, if you're nothing without Spider-Man, then you can't love me. And you don't deserve to be him." She bolted to her room, Haz following her, but not before seeing his best friend surrender completely to his tears, absolutely crushed. And it was his fault.