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140 Dougies POV
I was so angry with Fletch right now, he was acting like Tom had completely messed up. Like he hadn't even played or sung, or spoke! And now he was picking holes in what Tom had done, so what he mumbled a little?! Isn't a guy allowed to be nervous?! Maybe a little constructive advice once Tom had calmed down a little maybe, but not shunning him like this! Fletch was only going to make things worse, which wasn't on, not after how well Tom had performed. He had been note perfect, on guitar and on his singing, he may not have realised it, but he did an amazing job, better than anyone expected.
"I still think you were all a little quiet, be more vocal next time, okay? Normal voices, not mumbles. We're not teenagers anymore." Fletch growled, glaring out of the window, Tommy was staying right out of it and just driving. "nerves make us mumble, now leave us alone. Tom did great today, and thats all that matters." I glared, putting my hand on Toms shoulder, feeling how shaky it was. And bony, I shuddered. "yeah, Fletch don't be so harsh, today has been a good day. More than we could have ever hoped for, so don't take the p*ss out of our nerves." Danny backed me up, keeping protective arms around Toms shivery body, almost blocking him with his own.
Luckily, we pulled up to the house then, climbing out and pushing Tom to the back of us, guarding him from any more harsh unnecessary words from Fletch. He didn't say anything, didn't even get out the car. Tommy did though, he got out and handed us any leftover bags we hadn't picked up, smiling kindly. "you did a good job today boys. Ignore Fletch, I don't know whats up with him but its best to ignore it. I'm proud of you anyway, and Richard and Darren are too." He whispered, giving us all a fatherly hug before getting back in and driving off. I felt a little sorry for him, he had to drive back and drop Fletch off somewhere.
"right, inside, before Fletch decides to come back." Harry almost ordered, gently pushing me forward until I moved with him. We all made our way into Toms bare house again, falling in almost synchronisation onto the sofa, huddling up together right away. I curled up into Harrys arms, snuggling into his strong chest, practically making him hold me close. I got a kiss to my head and the whispered words of 'it'll be alright, don't worry, I've got you' in return, which relaxed me a bit. Never before had I been so thankful to have a husband like Harry, who always made sure I was okay, and told me and made me believe that he would make sure that I was okay.
141 Dannys POV
I moved on the sofa so I was sat with my legs on either side of Toms sides. He was sat on the floor, curled up inside himself again, not even able to watch the cartoon I had put on for him. "hey, Tommy look up! I put on Phineas and Ferb on! Look, you love this!" I encouraged, gently shaking his bony shoulder, trying to lift his head up. Tom was having none of it, staying in his curled up little ball of sadness, not even looking up to see one of his favourite cartoons.
"Tom, did you just hear what they said? They said Ferb Fletcher! Tom they said Ferb Fletcher!" I leant down closer to his ear, running a hand through his hair. I still got nothing, so I slid from the sofa, sitting behind Tom instead, wrapping my arms around his whole body, using my right to stroke his tensed leg, just in case the bandage around my arm felt noticeable. "right, come on baby, whats wrong? You never usually resist Phineas and Ferb, did Fletchs words really get you that down? Cause just remember, he is a right a*sehole, he has no idea what he is on about." I sighed, tracing patterns on his skinny jeans.
"Fletch was being such an a*se today, he was talking a whole load of sh*t. Tommy was more on the mark today. Listen to Tommy not Fletch." Dougie joined in, pulling himself and Harry off the sofa so they were next to us. "exactly, Fletch at the moment is being a right tw*t, so its best to ignore him until he calms down. He's probably just stressed, he has got a lot on his mind right now so he's taking it out on us." Harry agreed, letting Dougie wriggle until he was comfy again. "see? Please believe us Tom, Fletch is just being moody. He'll mellow out soon enough, until then, don't listen to a single word he says. Listen to Tommy, he knows what he's on about!"I was still talking gently, placing careful kisses over Toms neck and shoulders, hoping it would relax him a little like it used to.
I had no joy of cheering Tom up for the rest of the day, he barely even moved, basically carried on sitting there, curled in a ball of his own misery. "okay, its bed time Tom, do you want us all to stay round tonight? Cause we can if you want, we'll all stay round." I asked, finally getting a reaction. Tom shook his head at my question, but didn't look up from his knees. "alright then, we'll I'm staying round anyway, just in case. Now lets get you off to bed, its been a long day." I sighed, I wasn't about to leave Tom on his own and repeat history. I had learnt my lesson, when Tom was sad, don't leave him on his own, he comes up with stupid ideas and runs away.
Harry and Dougie said good night to us both and went home as I carefully managed to pull Tom upwards, so he was standing up right, on admittedly wobbly legs. I slowly led us through the house until we got to Toms room, sitting him down on the bed, he couldn't even look up at me.
