Unscripted Love • A Tom Hardy fanfic

Chapter 18

The day before Christmas Eve, Tom made an appearance at the English National Ballet. It was important for him to show that he was back in London. He loved all sorts of arts even if ballet wasn't the most exciting. However, it was typical British tradition to see the Nutcracker performed every year. He wished Fiona was there to see it; next year, he thought.

Everywhere Tom went was publicity nowadays. This was no different. The press stopped to photograph him with the program in front of a Christmas tree.

"Tom?" Said a small voice from his left. He turned, recognizing it belonged to his most recent ex. They broke up in August before he left for LA. He hadn't answered her calls or seen her, obviously in the last 4 months.

"Charlotte, hi," Tom smiled sweetly. They didn't end on bad terms and before they dated, they worked together on quite a few projects. They had a lot of friends in common.

She shrugged, "You have been avoiding me."

"No, not me," he laughed. Obviously he was.

"You decided to stay in L.A. for a while, yeah?" She asked, taking a step back for a small crowd to walk between them. They were in the middle of the hall, having their reunion.

"Yeah," he said slowly. He didn't want to bring up Fiona, if he could help it.

"Well I'm glad you're back," she squeezed his arm gently.

"I did miss the cooler weather actually," he lifted his arm from her grasp and scratched the back of his head. He then tucked it into his pants pocket subtly trying to keep out of reach.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Charlotte smiled up at him. "I could use a coffee. Ballet is so peaceful that I almost fell asleep."

"I know what you mean," he laughed.

"So, yeah? There's that Starbucks right around the corner that's still open," Tom and her had a few coffee dates there after work.

"Sure," he smiled with a nod. He held the door for her as they exited out the side toward an alley that led through to the next street. "Are you working on anything at the moment?"

"Not really, I have a few gigs lined up but they're just minor roles. You know how it is," Charlotte's accent was soft and musical.

Tom knew all too well about waiting for the next gig to come in. He heard about a movie that had already cast his idol, Gary Oldman. He was looking into getting an audition for that when they opened up casting. He was, however, patient. He knew with the release of Inception things should hopefully get a little busier.

Tom walked in the dirty slushy snow with Charlotte by his side. There was a time when she was all he wanted. He wondered if one day this would be him and Fiona, no longer together but getting coffee as friends. He hoped not. He got on well with Charlotte, maybe he was in love. With Fiona, he thought, he was for sure in love. They were a 2 piece puzzle, fitting together perfectly.

"I have a girlfriend," Tom blurted out of nowhere.

"Yeah?" Charlotte was disappointed to hear Tom had moved on. Did she expect it? Yes. But it was still hard to hear. "Is she from London too?"

"No, I met her in L.A. but she's from New York," the two got to the commercialized coffee shop. Tom opened the door again, he was always a gentleman.

"Oh. Well that's the ultimate long distance, isn't it," Charlotte felt a pang of anger. They had broken up because he was going to be traveling more, but yet he chose someone in another country.

"I'm actually just here for the holiday," he said and waited for Charlotte to order her coffee with a touch of cream. He then continued, "I'm moving there with her for the time being."