A/N: I do not own any of the characters or major references in this story. If I did, Tom and Summer would have ended up together in the first place. There will be more than one chapter to this.
(500) Days Later
(500)
Tom Hanson let out an exasperated sigh as he finished putting away the last of his things in his new apartment. It had been a slow transition, but here he was. After taking a shower and slipping on a cardigan and black pants, Tom decided to explore the new city that he was calling his home.
Tom shivered as he stepped out into the cold, snowy streets of New York. He had grown up a state away in New Jersey, but he had lived in Los Angeles for the past six years or so. Tom never thought that he would move back East, but life had a way of throwing a curveball. The disastrous relationship, well…fling, with Summer Finn had sent Tom's life into a spiraling world of hell. For a while, he thought that he had moved on from her. He quit his job at the greeting card company and found a nice job in architecture. He had even met a woman named Autumn at a job interview. Things were going great for a while. He was designing well and had a steady relationship with Autumn. He didn't see Summer but once after their meeting in the park. However, this didn't bother Tom. It just meant that he could successfully move on and be with Autumn. That's how things were for about a year and a few months. That's when everything changed.
(455)
"What do you mean, Tom?" Autumn asked as she was getting ready for work. She had been staying at Tom's for about three months now. Tom sighed as he stared out of the window. "Autumn…I can't help it. My job is relocating me to New York City. They need a new lead designer for their New York branch. This job is my big break. I'll be making a lot more money. I will be closer to my family. It is going to be good for me…for us!" Tom exclaimed. Autumn then turned to him. "Tom, you may think it will be good for us, but it won't. Tom, I love you with all of my heart. However, I cannot leave Los Angeles. My family is here. I have a great job. I have friends. I'm sorry, Tom. You have a good job as well. We live find on our expenses right now. There is no need for you to leave here," Autumn pouted. Tom looked into her big brown eyes for a moment before frowning. All it once, it hit him. He was about to become the person that he had been trying to not become. "Autumn. I completely understand what you mean. I don't want to pull you away from your family and friends and your job. However, I have to do what is best for my life. Autumn, I'm taking the New York job. I do love you; don't get me wrong or anything. I still want to be friends. By this point, tears were streaming down her tanned face. She reached out her hand and slapped Tom as hard as she could. And just like that, another woman was gone from Tom's life.
(500)
Tom walked around the snowy Times Square for a while before he found his way a few streets down to The Gershwin. He was finally excited that he could be a regular patron to the theatre now that he lived in The Big Apple. So, in order to celebrate, he decided that he would go and see Wicked. Tom gave his ticket to the attendant in the lobby before heading up the stairs to the balcony. Tom decided to stop at the bar and get a drink before he took his seat. As he took his glass and turned away, he noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye in the line. "Can't be," he mumbled and laughed to himself as he got to his seat.
After the show was over, Tom wasn't ready to head back to his apartment. He stepped back onto the street. He was about to head to the bar, but he realized that he didn't want to get completely wasted and not remember his first night in New York. Instead, he remembered that there was a Starbucks near his apartment complex. Hell, it really didn't matter. There was a Starbucks on every corner of the city. Tom decided that he would just go to the one closest to his house. He knew that he would probably have a problem navigating the subway system late at night because some of the trains didn't run. After walking about seven blocks, Tom eventually arrived at the Starbucks. He went in and ordered his coffee and took a seat in the corner. He took a sip before looking around. His head was trying to process everything that had happened in the past month. Maybe he didn't just come to New York for just his job…
(217)
Tom bolted up with a jump. Usually the sun would wake him up, but not this time. He looked over at the clock. "4:30 in the morning….what the hell…" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. A moment later, he heard the noise that woke him up. Somebody was knocking on the door. He thought for a moment, wondering who it could be. Autumn was out of town on a business trip. Slowly, Tom got out of bead and put on a pair of gym shorts and a white shirt before heading to the door. What he found was a surprise. "H…h…ey…T…o…m," said Summer. Long lines of tears streamed down her pale face from her blue eyes. Her raven hair was messy and she looked disheveled. "Come in Summer," Tom said. After she sat down, he made her a cup of her favorite tea. "Now, what happened? What are you doing here?" Tom asked. He was worried. He had a good thing with Autumn. He may not had been over Summer all the way yet, but he was getting close. And he knew that he was about to start falling for Autumn. "I…I'm sorry…T…om," she said. She took a deep breath and composed herself. "Last week…I came home from work and found Jared in bed with another woman…" Summer then cut off and started crying again. Tom frowned and reached over to place a hand on her shoulder. "Tom…Jared and I are getting a divorce…I was wrong. I said that I had changed my mind about love. I was wrong. People will hurt you." Tom frowned. "Summer…c'mon. You don't actually believe that do you. So what. The guy is an ass. You haven't even been together a year. Summer, you are a beautiful woman. Some man. The right man is going to come along and make everything better. You are a great woman…" Tom said, sighing. Summer looked up at Tom. And all at once, it happened. Summer was on top of Tom. Both of them were tearing each other's clothes off. "I've missed you, Tom," Summer said softly as she began to kiss Tom on the mouth. He could taste the salt from the tears mixed with alcohol and chai tea, but he didn't care. He missed Summer and he was still in love with her. For now, Autumn was just a thought in his mind. Summer pulled away for a moment to look down at Tom. She then leaned down again and kissed Tom again. He parted his lips and let her explore his mouth for a while. Around four o'clock, Summer and Tom had become one again for just a few moments in time. After this, all tom could do was make out her figure in the dark.
(500)
So maybe his job was the main thing that drove him away from Los Angeles, but he also knew that the guilt was eating him alive. He was still in love with Summer Finn, and he was to much of a coward to tell Autumn what had happened. That's why he moved away. He was running. He ran as far as he could to the East in order to escape her. He knew that she could never find him here. Maybe he could finally move on. Tom was crying gently, and that's when he knew he should go. He threw his coffee cup away. Right as he placed his hand on the door handle, he heard something. "Tom?!" a familiar voice rung out. And just like that, (500) days later, old ghosts were back for a new haunt.