Chapter 7: This undefined connection

Every word you say, I think I should write down

Don't want to forget come daylight

- Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk

"Hi."

"Hi."

I was waiting on the front steps with Jayna, after we had both helped Lou pack things up and load them into his van.

Tom and Harrison had found us in the midst of all of this, and I'd told Tom that I should be ready in another half an hour. Sure enough, both of them appeared to meet us right on the dot.

Tom had greeted us, and I had returned the greeting, a little breathlessly. I convinced myself it was just from the cold of the night that surrounded us.

"All right, you crazy kids. Have fun," Jayna said as she fished her car keys out from her bag. "I'm off."

"I'm going to go too," Harrison announced while checking his phone. "My Uber ride is here."

"Get home safely," I told Jayna, then turned to Harrison. "Enjoy your date."

"Sure. See you girls around," Harrison said.

"Haz, are you sure you don't want to get Jayna's number before she goes?" Tom asked his friend innocently.

"Who says I haven't already done that?" Harrison smirked.

Jayna laughed. "See you, Harrison. Bye, Tom."

After one last round of saying goodbye, Tom and I started walking down the street. He had put on a black cap and changed out of his formal clothes for something more casual – a black leather jacket, black shirt and black jeans. He could not be more discreet looking, which I suppose came with the territory of being who he was.

I, on the other hand, was still dressed in my waitress outfit, with a denim jacket thrown over. Far from ideal, but then again, it was never in my plans to be out and about in New York City tonight, strolling side by side with Tom Holland.

"I think we'll make it just in time for the 11.50PM show," Tom said as he checked his watch.

"Great." I felt my phone buzz, and opened up the onscreen notification to see a message from Jayna.

[Jayna:] Are you guys holding hands?

I typed back quickly.

[Me:] Don't be childish. And no texting while driving!

I resumed my focus on Tom. "Do you think we'll have time to get popcorn?" I wondered.

"Yeah, I think so." Tom glanced at me. "You're a popcorn person?"

"As much as the Pope is Christian," I affirmed. "Are you?"

Tom laughed. "I'm not the biggest fan, but I wouldn't say no if you passed me the tub."

"I'll think about it. I might just finish up the whole thing myself."

"Cruel. Absolutely cruel. And I was about to offer to share my giant-sized milkshake."

"Hang on. What flavor?"

"Well, I guess you'll never find out now."

"You're absolutely cruel, Trev."

At some point during our conversation, the rest of the world had melted away. I mean, I wasn't totally unaware of the sidewalk we were on, and the people and bright lights of the shops we passed. But there was a soft, blurry quality about it all. It felt like I was only tuned in to the sound of Tom's voice, the gentle chuckles that accompanied a lot of his sentences. Was it really a case of being starstruck? Or was it something else? I didn't dare to think.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the movie theater. Like Tom had said, it boasted of this glorious old world charm. I was sold. This cinema could be screening episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and I'd still be watching till the end, mesmerized.

Tom insisted that the movie was his treat, which I reluctantly agreed to. I didn't see the need, since he wanted to make up for something that was not his fault at all. And it wasn't a date. I was perfectly happy to pay for my own ticket.

But I had realized that Tom could be persistent when he wanted to, so that was that. In return, I offered to pay at the concession stand.

We grabbed our popcorn and drinks – Tom did order a large vanilla milkshake, while I settled for Coke – then did a brisk walk to hall number 3 to make sure we didn't miss the start of the movie.

As we settled into our seats, I was suddenly hyper aware of how close we would be for the next two hours or so.

Not that it was a problem, no.

I took a handful of popcorn then offered the tub to Tom.

"Oh wow, thanks," he whispered.

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see. "Just eat," I whispered back.

After passing the popcorn tub back and forth between us several times, Tom decided to take matters – or rather, the popcorn – into his own hands.

Leaning in, he whispered to me, "Allow me."

He proceeded to position the tub so that it's halfway between the both of us, and I could reach for the popcorn anytime I wanted. How sweet was that?

Trevor McGeek, you sure do make it hard for a girl to act nonchalant around you, I couldn't help thinking in the dark movie hall, as Brad Pitt drawled on the screen before us.

But it didn't matter. This nearness of him, this unexpected midnight movie outing, this moment, however nice it was… It was all fleeting. Before I knew it, it'd be over. The curtains would be drawn and we'd part ways soon enough.

So I cast aside all thoughts on this and paid full attention to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. As it turned out, it was a pretty enjoyable movie.

"I think it was a solid 8 out of 10," Tom declared as we exited the movie hall later.

I nodded my agreement. "I laughed so hard at the donut line."

Tom broke into laughter. "Yeah, that was great. This movie was exactly what I needed after a long day."

"Oh, what did you get up to?"

He lowered his eyes for a second then glanced back up at me. "I was in London before I flew over here. My uncle.. He's sick and we're all pretty worried. I actually missed my flight, and had to catch the next one. I almost didn't make it to the movie premiere tonight."

"I'm so sorry to hear about your uncle. I hope he'll be okay," I said softly, fighting the urge to give him a huge hug. I felt so bad for making him bring it up.

"Thanks."

I briefly checked the time on my phone – it was already past 2.30AM, wow.

Tom noticed and said, "It's late. Let's get you home. You must be tired."

"Oh, I'm fine. But you should definitely get back and get a good rest."

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to fall asleep.."

"Because you're worried about your uncle?"

"Yeah… Plus it's breakfast time in London." A slight smile returned to Tom's lips.

I smiled wryly. "Didn't you finish up an entire giant milkshake by yourself? And you stole half of my popcorn too."

"What? I knew you were having trouble eating everything on your own. I was just helping," Tom insisted.

"Mm, but now that you mention breakfast.. Pancakes and a good strong cup of coffee would be great right about now."

"No way. Nothing beats sausage and eggs with lots of milky tea."

"Tea?! I could never function without coffee in the morning."

Tom shrugged. "Tea is the British way and I stand by it through and through."

My attention was momentarily stolen by the sights and vibes of New York City at 3AM. Everywhere, neon lights were still buzzing, and yellow taxis were still honking as they whizzed by. But it was all a quieter kind of vibrancy, if that even made sense.

"The city's amazing at this hour, isn't it?" Tom mused, as if reading my mind.

The space between us had narrowed noticeably now, as if every line of conversation we exchanged was bringing us closer.

I had to remind myself to respond. "Yeah. It's like it's running on a more subdued energy level, trying to fight its bedtime."

"Right."

"Not unlike you, Trev."

The way Tom looked at me straight in the eye, still smiling, was almost unnerving. "How is it that it feels like you've known me for years, not just days?"

"Well, the Internet is really useful that way," I joked.

Tom laughed.

"Seriously though, aren't you worried I'm some crazed fan who's been stalking you all these while and you end up gagged and bound in my scary dusty basement?"

This time, Tom laughed extra hard. "No offense, Ali.. But nobody would ever believe you to be a psycho kidnapper."

"It's because I'm short, isn't it?" I sighed.

"No, I would never underestimate someone's criminal abilities based on their height. But yeah, with you, I just honestly can't say I've ever worried for my life."

"There goes one career option I need to strike out."

"What else were you considering in that list of careers?"

"A juggler, a hula hoop dancer, an ER doctor.. And perhaps a rodeo rider."

"Exactly what any normal person would aspire to be."

"Right?"

"I hope it works out for you – one of them, or all."

"I'm taking economics in college, so evidently I'm getting there."

"Economics? For real?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I didn't know what to study," I admitted. "I still don't know, actually."

"There must be something you're interested in."

I paused before saying, "I guess I wasn't fully kidding about wanting to become an ER doctor."

Tom grinned. "That sounds cool. Why ER in particular?"

"I guess it's because the job requires you to be so much more than just a medical practitioner – you have to act quickly and trust your instincts. It's such a difficult and taxing job, but really rewarding too. Helping those in the greatest time of need."

"I like that. But… Why aren't you studying medicine then?"

"It's a lot of money. Too much money."

"What about scholarships and other financial aids?"

"I guess.." I looked down. "I just don't know if I'm good enough."

"I'm sure you are." Tom's voice was filled with sincerity.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's not my place to push you or anything. But I think you should definitely give it a try."

"Hmm."

"Promise me you'll think about it?"

He sounded so earnest, I had to agree. "Okay, Trev. I promise."

"Good. Hey, it's really late now, so I'm going to call Hank to pick us up, okay?"

As Tom spoke on the phone, I checked my own phone. Jayna had sent me more than 10 messages. I scrolled down to the last one.

[Jayna:] Hello? Is everything okay? Have you and Tom fallen in love and eloped to Vegas or something?

Love? I didn't know about that. One thing was for sure though. I've never shared this much laughter and serious talking and honest emotions with someone – all in the same night.

This warm, yet heart-wrenching, undefined connection had gotten to me bad.

And the thought of saying goodbye to him soon was suddenly a lot harder to bear.