xxPUDDxx - thanks *breathes deep*
FLOYNTERxxx - it just doesn't want Tom to think that he can do any good by comforting him :/
321 Dannys POV
I bit my lip viciously as I looked between Tom and Dougie, trying to decide where I was needed more. Dougie was obviously really upset still, only having calmed down an hour ago from this mornings shock. He had told us that he couldn't help but now think about what Toms arm looked like, he was worried that it looked worse than mine, that we could be triggered again and we would end up dying because of blood loss. But, that wasn't going to happen, we were getting better, and thats all that mattered. I wanted to stay and keep him calm, but Tom looked so lonely in his corner, he hadn't even said a word yet, and didn't look like he was going to any time soon either. The poor guy looked so alone, like he was trapped in a glass bubble separating him from the rest of us, or he had been chained to the floor. But, Dougie needed help at the moment too, and he was almost crying...maybe Tom would be okay for a while longer...or would he think he wasn't loved anymore? With the rumours about our relationship flying around, I didn't want to give him any reason to actually believe that. What did I do?! I didn't want to upset either of them further, where did I go?
Luckily, Tom managed to answer my problem, as I was looking at Dougie, he managed to get up and again, silently try to sneak out of the room. I was the only one who realised he was going past us, trying hard to not touch any of us, and make sure we didn't notice him, though I still did. So I followed him as he quickly ducked his way into the dining room, going to open the back door. "hey, where are you going? You can't just go out without telling us where you're going, or even saying hi, or giving me a morning hug." I made the poor guy wince so visibly, I almost winced too. "sorry, y-you were busy." Tom whispered, tears almost visible in his voice. "well, you could have still come over and said hi, we wouldn't have gotten annoyed. Actually, it could have helped Dougie a little." I went over to him, hugging the skinny blonde, making his back lean against my chest. Maybe I could get Tom back to where everyone else was, and maybe just having him there would help Dougie feel better, he was so scared Tom would break down, or I would. He was so scared that we were going to slip and we wouldn't survive. Maybe just seeing that we were still alive would help, or maybe a hug would, or something. I hated seeing Dougie so upset, but I hated Tom being upset even more. I just hoped I could cheer at least one of them up a little.
"I-I'll remember that next time." Tom used the same tone of voice again, chewing on his sleeve. It was like he wanted to say more, but he couldn't, like he couldn't allow himself to say any more than he was. "good, now where were you going?" I asked, slowly turning him round to face me. "outside, to find Marvin." Tom answered, just as Marvin came in from the corridor, meowing quite loudly. "well he's there, so how about we get away from the door?" I pulled us a little away from the door, paranoid about our close proximity to it, scared over what Toms mind was actually telling him to do outside.
We fell into quiet, standing awkwardly, our fingers twisted together, Tom chewing on his other sleeve. He still looked so upset, it broke my heart to see how close to crying Tom looked, the tears hanging in his eyes, ready to drop at any second. "are you alright? Do you want to talk about it?" I had to ask, not able to take looking at Toms tears without wanting to at least question what was wrong. "I'm fine. I'm just tired." Tom whimpered around his sleeve. "well, want to go back to bed again? Cause we have a few more hours until we have to go to our interview. So we have time." I suggested, pulling Toms hand away from his mouth. "no, no, its fine." Tom shook his head, I knew he was lying about being tired, that something else was wrong, but I didn't want to push him. Maybe he was just worried about what everyone was going to say today, about him, and his previous eating disorders, and about us, if we were arguing, falling apart. "you sure Tommy? I know todays gunna be tough, cause of whats now being said, but, we'll make it through, together. And you can talk to me, at any point, you know that, right?" I gently pushed back Toms fringe, gently kissing his hair. "yeah, yeah I know." Tom nodded, rubbing his arm, biting his lip, shaking hair back again. Now why didn't I believe that?
322 Harrys POV
"okay now Doug?" I whispered gently, rubbing his arm. "yeah, yeah, I'm better." Dougie nodded, leaning on me, looking like he wanted to be sick. "going to be okay today?" I asked, leaning him against me. "yeah, I'll be fine. Just, give me a minute to breathe." Dougie heaved, fisting my shirt, nuzzling into my chest. "yeah, alright. Come here." I kissed his hair, tracing my fingers over his tattooed arm, "anything I can do?" I continued, using a calming soft tone, trying to give Dougie a sense of comfort again.
"give me a hug...a band hug." Dougie answered, pushing himself into me, his hand slipping under my shirt, tracing my muscles because it calmed him. "alright, I'll see what I can do. Come with me." I started to stand up. "don't let me go." Dougie whimpered, pulling me down again. "I won't, don't worry, I'll pick you up." I picked him up, carrying the little blonde out of the front room to find Tom and Danny. We found them in the dining room, hugging closely for once. Well, Danny was holding Tom close, Tom had his arms crossed across his chest, leaning a little on Dannys shoulder, just gently resting it on top.
"you'll be alright Tommy, I'll be with you, we all will. I love you and I won't let you be hurt." Danny whispered, stroking Toms hair. Tom made a small noise of half asked agreement, shrugging. "please believe me Tommy, I'll be with you, I won't let them try to break us apart...hey guys." Danny sighed, noticing us in the room too. "hey, er, Dougie wants a group hug." I put Dougie on the floor, keeping a good hold on him, just in case his legs decided to give out again. "if you wouldn't mind, its just...bad morning, you know? I just want a hug." Dougie whispered, pressing himself into my back, looking like an awkward child. It still surprised me that he still was an awkward teenager at heart, even around us, knowing full well that Dougie and cuddles were never refused by any of us...apart from Tom at the moment, normally he would be hugging him as soon as the question was asked, but now, not so much.
"alright, group hug coming up." Danny pulled Tom over and wrapped his impossibly long arms around the lot of us. Dougie managed to put his arms around me and Danny, and I managed to just about have my arm around Dougie and Danny, just about reaching Toms side too. But Tom himself kept his arms crossed, just standing in our huddle, looking even more awkward than Dougie, and that was a very mean feat. But, we managed to stand together for a while, until Dougie felt safe enough again, and his legs stopped shaking, and he generally looked like he wasn't going to pass out at any second any more. We only broke apart because the door bell rang, signalling Tommys arrival to pick us up for our latest interviews. I was dreading this, because Tom was so easily influenced, he generally believed what most people told him right now, I didn't want the press to keep on telling him he was fat or anything like that, I didn't want that implanted in his brain. It would only make him worse, we were lucky that Tom was actually eating right now, I didn't want to risk him falling back to where we were a few years ago, when he really didn't eat, at all. All I could do was hope that the press wouldn't be too hard on him, or focus on this whole 'Tom has an eating disorder' thing, or focus on the rumours about Tom and Dannys relationship, yes, they had off nights, but they loved each other, and they couldn't have that ripped apart just because of Fletch creating rumours about them.