Chapter 3

Trigger warning: Mention of self-harm and suicide. If this is a problem, contact me and I will try and write a separate chapter for you.

Turning to see what was happening I couldn't believe it; sitting in the chair beside my bed was Tom, it was his hand that rested on my shoulder. I lay still for a few seconds reassuring myself that I was awake, that this was what was real.

Tom POV

'Sorry darling; I didn't mean to wake you, are you okay?' Now she was awake the vulnerability was slowly leaving her features, a mask of confidence and the fire of youth slipping in place, the drying tears the only sign of her previous distress. I slowly withdrew my hand from her shoulder; the comfort seeming inappropriate and unneeded now.

'I- I'm okay thanks, better now I know that you're safe. I'm sorry; your day must have been ruined.' Her hands fumbled with the edge of the sheet, nerves crumbling her confident air.

'You have no need to apologise; I think perhaps my day would have been somewhat worse without your actions.' I took her hand in mine, clutching her fingers, 'I don't think I could possibly say this enough but thank you, thank you so much for saving me, I owe you my life.' I raised her hand to my lips, kissing it before gently setting it back on the bed.

OC POV

My hand tingled from the touch of his lips, the warmth speeding through my veins to my heart. A shy smile spread across my face at his words and it seemed that now was perhaps the best time to say what I had always dreamed of saying.

'Tom, there is no-one I would rather have saved; you owe me nothing, if anything I remain in your debt. Since I first saw you in Thor my life has been changed and I have been able to make decisions I would not otherwise have done, because of the inspiration I gain from you.' Biting my lip I looked down, fidgeting my hands on my lap, debating whether to carry on, this was very personal to me and I wasn't sure he would want to know but I felt the need to explain myself. His rich voice interrupted my thoughts.

'It's okay, take your time, you don't have to tell me.' I looked back up to see him smiling reassuringly, his sea green eyes holding his sincerity.

'No, Tom, I want to I just…' Breaking off I looked at my hands again. I sensed movement next to me as Tom gently laid his hand on mine, stopping my fretting. Looking up again I gathered my emotions and began my story.

'I was twelve when I first started self-harming, I don't remember why; there wasn't ever really one reason. I couldn't speak to anyone; I didn't feel comfortable burdening them with my problems so I kept it bottled up, I had learned not to trust 'friends'. Then someone told my school who told my mum and she hated me for it, still does.' I paused, collecting myself for the next, and hardest, part. 'A few years later and I had had enough, people, school, home, nothing really meant anything to me and I tried to kill myself. It wasn't ever really going to happen, I messed around a bit but the worse that happened was being ill at school. No-one knew unless they worked it out. I don't really know what made me stop but I did, just carried on with life as if nothing had happened. I would occasionally get my blade out again but not the same as before. This continued until 2013, the year when I watched Thor and became fascinated by the God of Mischief and the actor who portrayed him so well.' I stopped again, looking up at Tom. 'Thank you, Tom, for giving me the motivation to stop, it isn't a part of my life that I regret but I am glad that I have moved on now.'

Tom POV

I felt tears prick my eyes as the young girl in front of me poured out her life's deepest secrets, why should someone so young have gone through so much turbulence in their life, and how could this be such a regular problem? I'm an optimist so I could never understand how someone could feel so lost that they needed to end it all, now it made more sense, though I could never do it myself. Rising from the chair I perched on the edge of the bed and leant forward, embracing her and kissed her temple. She tentatively raised her arms and hugged me back gently, her chin settling on my shoulder.

'Thank you for telling me this, it's an honour to be able to help people in this way, and for you to be honest with me.' I slowly withdrew from the hug, running my hands across and down her arms to keep the contact. Wetting my lips I hesitated, not wanting to upset her.

'Would it be okay, and you can say no, I don't mind, if I could see your scars?' I felt rude asking and instantly wanted to apologise but my fears were allayed when a small smile broke onto her face and she turned her wrists over in my hands, revealing the thin white lines. Clasping her arm gently I ran my thumb over the inside of her wrists before dipping my head to kiss each line gently. Pulling back up, I held her gaze and smiled softly.

'Please promise me you won't do this again.' I had to say it, although she had already said she'd stopped.

'I promise, Tom, I haven't since last January and I won't ever again.' She smiled, her hand clutching onto my forearm. I pulled her to me again, being careful of her stitches, and encompassed her in another hug.

We sat like this for a while, both enjoying the peace of the moment. Eventually I felt her breathing begin to even out and looked down to see her eyes slipping closed. Deciding it would be best for her I gently woke her up, encouraging her to lie back against her pillows. Reaching to the side I grabbed my earlier purchase and presented him to her.

'Sorry Zoe, I will leave now to let you get some rest, but Benny here will look after you.' I gave the teddy to her and she instantly snuggled him into her arms, her eyes drooping again as she whispered a thank you. I gathered my jacket from the back of my chair, checking the pockets before fastening it, ready to leave. I bent down once more to kiss her forehead before leaving the room with a promise to return tomorrow. Glancing back as I shut the door I saw her cuddling the teddy into her in her sleep.

A/N: In light of the recent events at the Donmar Warehouse I would just like to make it clear that I wish no harm upon Tom or any of his associates. This story has been written for the enjoyment of me, the writer, and the readers.