PART ONE
Tom walked down the sidewalk, staring at the brown leaves that had already fallen in the early autumn. He kicked at the leaves, letting the leaves feel his frustration, because no one else could.
"Tom!" a voice called from behind him.
Tom glanced over his shoulder and saw Lisa, his mother's best friend's daughter, running after him, her thigh length spring dress flowing around her. Tom turned back to the sidewalk and the unfortunate leaves that happened to be in his path. He listened to Lisa's approaching feet, then heard her slow before she reached his side.
For a minute or so, he walked on, trying to ignore the simultaneous tapping of the feet beonging to the girl behind him.
But Tom couldn't ignore her for long. "What?" he asked, regretting how shard his voice sounded, even as it came out of his mouth.
For a second, Lisa didn't answer, but let Tom seep a little in his guilt about the tone he used to talk to her. Tom knew that Lisa didn't mean any harm, and he also knew that if he could talk to anyone about his feelings it was Lisa.
"What's wrong?" the girl finally asked.
"Nothing," Tom answered, trying to sound genuine.
Of course Lisa didn't believe him. She never did. So instead of repeating her question, she waited, watching Tom walk slowly down the sidewalk in front of her. She had had a crush on him since they were little; when their moms would meet once a week to talk, bringing their kids with them. But she'd never admit that to Tom. This was a guy that had a specific type of girl in mind. And his type of girl wasn't Lisa.
Lisa was the girl next door. She wasn't plain-looking, but she certainly wasn't the supermodel tom could easily snag whenever he wanted.
Lisa had settled with herself that Tom would never love her.
But she couldn't help but hope.
"It's just…" Tom started, "I can't believe this would happen."
"It was bound to happen," Lisa answered simply, still walking behind her friend. "You had to know that."
She heard Tom sigh, the sound carried to her on the wind. "But why do we have to take a year long break?" Tom asked. "Why couldn't the break just be a few months? At the very least?"
"Because this is an adjustment," Lisa answered quietly, watching Tom's movements in the waning sunlight. She didn't want to make him mad. "It takes time to adjust."
Tom scoffed. "It doesn't take a year!" he cried. "I'm already used to the idea!"
"No you aren't!" Lisa laughed, which was cut short when Tom spun around to face her. She hadn't realized she was getting closer to him, so when he turned around, he was right in front of her, looking down at her. She had taken her heels of earlier, and Tom was easily a foot taller than her. This might of intimidated her if she hadn't been so used to the height of the Kaulitz twins. What made her stop laughing was his proximity. She had to bend her neck upwards to see Tom's face.
"What makes you think I'm not?" Tom demanded.
Lisa swallowed. She had annoyed him. "You're angry," Lisa said quietly. "You obviously don't like this situation."
Tom looked down at Lisa, listening to her answer. She was right; Tom wasn't happy. He wanted to work; to tour; to hang out with his brother.
But he couldn't.
At least not for a while.
Tom didn't answer. He realized that his tome and attitude had scared Lisa. Her expression was still strong, holding her composure, but her eyes gave her true feelings away. She was scared of him.
Tom took a step back and sighed. "What am I supposed to do, then?" he asked of the girl.
Lisa smiled, the expression in her eyes no longer scared, but happy. "Be happy for your brother," Lisa answered, bouncing from foot to foot.
Tom couldn't help but smile. She was cute. Always had been. But what girl wanted to date the boy who had knocked over her Barbie playsets when she was younger?
"Bill's getting married," Lisa continued. "He's not dead."
Tom sighed again and shoved his hands into his tuxedo pants. "He's not going to want to hang out with me," Tom said. "He has Jen now."
Lisa smacked Tom on the arm. "You know that's not true!" she cried, pointing a finger at Tom. "You KNOW that's not true! You're just looking for an excuse to mope around! Jen has never got in the way of you and Bill, and she's made it damned clear that she never intends to! In fact, I recall you telling me you thought Jen was good for Bill! You're just upset that YOU can't go on tour for a year! And really, that just means you're upset you can't sleep with a different girl every freaking night!"
"That's not true!" Tom yelled, annoyed. This time, Lisa didn't care. It was the longest speech she had ever given to Tom, and she was spinning in her own emotions. "I do not want to tour just because I can get girls!" Tom continued. "In fact, I believe that I told you, along with the fact that I thought Jen was good for Bill, that I wasn't like that anymore!"
Both of them stood there for a second, both breathing hard. They stood there, staring at each other, both of them marveling at their feelings for the other, but both too scared to act.
After a while, Tom swallows his thoughts and said, "We should probably get back to the reception before we're missed."
Lisa smiled and said, "Well, before you're missed. I doubt anyone's realized I left."
"I would have noticed," Tom said with a small smile. "Come on." He took her arm and began directing back towards the twins' house, where the backyard wedding reception was still in full swing.
As the two of them approached, Bill turned to Lisa's mom and said, "I give it a month before those two start dating."
"Ten bucks says six weeks," Lisa's mom replied.
"You're on," Bill hissed, turning back to his new wife.