#also dont worry tom aint gon fall for bellers

[sweetnestor]

12 Days | Chapter 5.2

Two guys that lowkey hate each other are forced to walk in each other’s shoes in order to learn a lesson.

***in collaboration with @themarkiplierexperience

lmao soz its not actually x reader we’re just desperate for attention haaaa

previous

After a few slices of pizza, Tom was brought back to LA. The sun was already going down, an indication at how long he was gone, and probably how much trouble he'd get into once he was around friends again. He had been bracing himself as he walked up to Bella’s front door, for she had told him to meet her there. He had to come up with a damn good apology in about ten seconds.

Tom quickly stopped himself from knocking; Just before dropping him off, Ethan had showed him which keys were which. Obviously, the only pink key in the set was the one to Bella’s house. This couple seemed to really be into symbolism and the like. Tom shook his head at the thought as he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

To his surprise, he heard music blaring inside the premises. It was a song he recognized (Kiwi by Harry Styles), but it still threw him off guard. Tom took a slow step inside and closed the door behind him, confused. As he stepped further inside, he saw his lovely girlfriend jumping around the living room, her curled pink hair bouncing everywhere. She was with two other people, who were also jumping and head banging rhythmically. One was a guy with dark green hair and a manly beard and the other was a shorter girl with short, dark brown hair. The three of them turned when Tom walked into the living room, and they all cheered.

“C’mon, let's dance!” Bella said, holding her hands out as she continued doing just that.

“What?” he asked, laughing in disbelief.

“Dancing it out!” replied the guy with green hair. Sean, was it? Or, Jack, as he recalled Ethan telling him.

Tom shrugged and started moving to the beat of the upbeat pop song. He wasn't sure why this was happening, or if it happened regularly. Needless to say, this was not what he was expecting when he walked into this apartment.

After the song ended, proper greetings were in order. Sean came over and gave Tom a hug like he hadn't seen him in a long time. Then, Signe (“see-nuh” - he finally got the right pronunciation!) did the same. He had no idea how long these guys had been friends with Ethan. This whole switch thing was going to be a ‘figure it out as you go’ type of thing, wasn't it?

“I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner,” he began as he sat on the couch. “I had a meeting and a shoot I completely forgot about, and it took ages.”

“Hey, it's fine. Happens to all of us,” Sean told him. “We're spending the night here, anyway, so you can't avoid us forever!”

“You're stuck with us!” Signe jokingly added.

“Lit,” Tom replied with minor hesitation. Was that a thing Ethan would say? It felt like it.

“Anyway,” Bella spoke up, “me and Signe are gonna film a video right now, so…”

“I'll look after little E-tan,” Sean finished for her with a small laugh.

Tom did catch the small moment of tension. Bella was still upset about the previous day, and probably over the fact that her boyfriend basically ignored her all day. Of course she wouldn't want to be in the same room as him.

The two ladies stood and went into a room, probably Bella’s. They were making a video, were they? For YouTube, right? Did they all make videos in their own homes? Did they not have an office space like Mark? Tom had a lot to learn, and he didn't know how long he had.

“And then there were two,” he commented once he was alone with the Irish guy.

He chuckled. “Really, though, how are you? Heard you had a hard time the other day.”

Here we go again. This didn't feel any different to the interviews where Tom was asked the same damn questions over and over. He couldn't help the reluctance in his tone.

“I've had some anxiety lately, I'm fine, I took some time off work. It's nothing.”

“But you're taking time off work,” Sean repeated. “That doesn't seem like you.”

You’ve not the slightest clue, mate.

Tom shrugged, his stomach turning. This guy seemed to be seeing right through him. How long would it be until figured it out? “Yeah, I know. It's just… I think I'm overworking myself. I mean, I did crash and go mental for a bit. Definite sign I should slow down.”

Sean only nodded, watching him. “Yeah, it's always good to do that. You gotta take care of yourself, too. And just know, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here.”

It was something a lot of people said, but hearing it from this particular guy felt reassuring. It felt genuine, and Tom could only tell because he hadn't heard or felt something like that in a very long time. For the first time since the switch, he actually felt somewhat comfortable, and that's what made him say his next sentence.

“Ever since D23...” he began, and then he paused. How was he going to go about this without sounding insane? “I haven't really felt like myself.”

“How so?” Sean asked.

I literally switched bodies with your friend, but you would think I was mental if I said that.

“I… I don’t know. It’s probably nothing,” he said, waving it off.

“Maybe you’re burning yourself out?” Sean suggested. “I know that after a while of doing this, you get pretty exhausted.”

Was he talking about YouTube? Surely, it couldn’t be that hard. Tom was going to try his hand at it tomorrow, and he wasn’t all that worried. How hard could it possibly be?

“Yeah, it's probably that,” Tom said, now wanting to get away from this subject.

Thankfully, Sean did change topics, but it was still an awkward, uncomfortable one.

“Are things okay with you and Baller?”

Tom wanted to laugh at that nickname, but the mood still felt a little serious. He looked at Sean, who was watching him carefully. Almost like he was waiting for Tom to lash out or snap in some way. Again, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was always like this, or if it was just because of the switch.

“Uh…” he trailed off. “What did she say to you?”

“Nothing, she was just a little off when you showed up,” Sean said. “Maybe I’m reading too far into it. I think I’m quick to worry when it comes to Bella.”

Sounds like an ex-boyfriend. Or someone who had way too many feelings for someone else’s girlfriend. Upon his Wikipedia search, Tom learned that Bella and Sean (she prefers to call him Jack) were very close and there was plenty of speculation regarding their relationship. Maybe that was something he should have asked Ethan about before being dropped off.

“I don’t mean to overstep,” Sean continued, seeing the look on Tom’s face. “You know, you’re my friend and she’s my friend… I just wanna know if you guys are okay.”

Are they close enough to the point where Ethan can talk about something like the knife incident? Best to keep that to himself.

“We’re fine,” Tom finally answered. “Thank you, but everything’s fine with me and my girlfriend.”

Sean took the hint.

~

“You're dirty, disgusting But I can't get enough of your loving Boy I hate you, really hate you My momma said I shouldn't date you…”

The high, distinct voice was coming from the bathroom in Bella’s room, where the girl was currently showering. It was well after midnight, Sean and Signe had already gone to bed in the spare room, so the remaining couple followed suit. Tom was nervous about this, to say the least. He would have gone back Ethan’s apartment, but he didn't have a ride there, much less directions to get there.

He had been in the middle of typing out a message to Ethan asking for those directions, until he got distracted by Bella’s singing voice. He had never heard anything like it before, it was so captivating and pretty. He looked at the bathroom door, which was open just a crack, and he couldn't help but smile at the singing.

It moved him, he felt a million things at once. Just when he thought this woman couldn't get any better. She was beautiful, she was motivated and passionate. She was kinky as hell, a little weird, absolutely hilarious. She was also a fucking amazing singer. Very different from the quiet, anxious girl that interviewed Tom only a few days ago.

“You sweet talk me again, yo I don't wanna be friends, no Why am I such a fool When it comes to you A, B, C, D, E-E-E, F, U”

Once that song ended, Tom lost focus on what he had been doing before. He looked down at the phone in his hand, skimmed the text, and then deleted it. Maybe instead of just straight out asking for things, Tom would give Ethan something like a daily report. He was supposed to learn things on his own, right?

“Dude your girlfriend is really fucking talented,” he typed out. “And I'm gonna try to apologize to her about yesterday, I'll let you know how that goes.” Sent. “Oh and I don't know how to get back to your apartment.” Sent again. “Sean and Signe are really cool btw. Ok goodnight.”

Tom put the phone down just as he heard the shower turn off. All he could do was hope that Bella wouldn't try anything like she did the day before. He didn't want to have to reject her twice in a row. Besides, she had barely spoken to him since he arrived, and he really needed to fix that.

He looked around her room, taking in whatever he could in the short amount of time he had. Sure, he had to learn just about everything there is to know about Bella Santiago, but he wasn’t observing just because he had to. He took in the keyboard, obviously connecting it to the singing he heard in the bathroom. He saw the alarming amount of makeup brushes on top of the bureau and the piles of clothes on the floor. He actually had to Google what the large pink, purple, and blue flag hanging above her bed meant.

What was most interesting to him though, were the professional lights and the camera stored in the corner of the room. Was that all Bella needed to make her videos? Tom was overwhelmed at the amount of gadgets Ethan had in his own home. Honestly, it made him a bit more nervous to make videos of his own.

Eventually, the girl opened the door and turned off the bathroom light. Tom was pleasantly surprised to see her wearing a navy blue Midtown High t-shirt and black booty shorts. Her black and pink hair was damp, and she was running a towel through the long locks. But Tom was focused on the shirt. Bella really was a fan, not just an interviewer who pretended to know everything about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Cool shirt,” he told her as he watched her approach the bed.

“I didn't know you were still here,” she replied, disregarding his words. “Thought you left.”

Here we go. Boyfriend time.

“Babe,” he started, sitting up on the mattress and looking directly at her. “Hey, I'm so sorry about yesterday. I'm so, so sorry. I don't know what happened…”

She didn't say anything at first. She busied herself by throwing the towel back into the bathroom and approaching the bed again. Then she returned the eye contact.

“Was it something I did? Brutal honesty.”

“No, of course not!”

“Ethan, come on!”

“I mean it!” He sat up on his knees, trying to get his point across. “You know I've been having a hard time lately. And I took it out on you at the literal worst time, and I'm so sorry.”

Bella looked down, picking at her fingernails. “What kind of a hard time?”

Tom tilted his head to the side. “I… you know. The panic attack.”

“Those last up to forty five minutes.”

“I'm not working right now, either,” he continued, knowing that work was a big thing for this guy. “I just haven't felt like… I don't feel like myself anymore.”

The pink haired girl now sat on the bed. “Do you wanna talk more about it?”

What else could he say? How could he not sound absolutely crazy?

“Maybe another time,” he said. “I just wanted to properly apologize for yesterday. I was out of line.”

“Okay,” Bella said, her tone changing to something more gentle and affectionate. She placed her hand on Tom’s. “Whenever you wanna talk, you know I'm here. If there's anyone who's going to understand the noise in your brain, it'll be me.”

Tom nodded, though he wasn't sure what she meant by noise. Did it have to do with the anxiety thing Ethan had mentioned?

He didn't really think about it that much because Bella leaned in to kiss him. Of course, he returned the gesture but quickly stopped at as he remembered the next point to bring up.

“By the way, is it okay if we… um…” he trailed off.

“What?” she asked as she sat up against the headboard.

Tom saw her shorts ride up, and for some reason he wasn't expecting to see pinkish scars going across her thighs. His heart nearly dropped at the sight, his mind threatening to go to the darkest place. However, he shook it off and continued his sentence.

“Can we… can we be… abstinent?” His voice went softer with every word, bracing himself for any backlash.

“How come?” Bella asked.

“Uh…”

“Oh!” she said in realization. “You're not feeling like yourself, not in the right mind. I get it. It's okay. We'll take as long as you need.”

Tom sighed in relief. That was so much easier than he expected. He smiled when Bella kissed him on the cheek.

“You're a really good girlfriend, you know that?” he told her as he took her hand.

“I just want you to be happy.”

Tom looked down at their intertwined fingers, mildly content. He couldn't help but think that Ethan was pretty lucky to have someone so understanding and empathetic. However, his mind went to the dark place when he saw the more pink scars on Bella’s wrist, eerily similar to the ones on her thighs. Clearly, he had missed a huge detail about this girl. He just wasn't sure if he was supposed to know about it, though.

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tag list: @marie-is-in-the-dark @beardedsteveslut

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