FicWad

Part 7
Amy’s POV- ‘You’re not some baby boy. Why are you acting so surprised?’
It’s Sunday and me and Tom have decided to take a trip over to the shopping centre to celebrate him finishing his exams. I still have one RS exam left on Wednesday but I have time to revise for that so I don’t mind coming out for the day today. I could hardly say no to him after spending the whole day with all the boys and Charli yesterday. They’d wanted me to invite Tom around to hang with us all today in an attempt to prove I could have both of them. I knew Tom a lot better than they did however and leapt at his offer of going to see a movie as the perfect excuse.
So now I’m stood at the ticket booth buying my ticket to the Transformers film whilst Tom gets his. If he was Frank I wouldn’t be buying my ticket of course… but no. Today is about me and Tom. It’s me proving to myself that I’ve made the right choice here and that I don’t need Frank anymore.
We go inside and I get myself some pop-corn and a blue Frozen Fanta. Then we make out way to the screen to wait quarter of an hour for the film to begin. We get seats and I leave my drink and pop-corn with Tom as I nip back outside to use the toilets.
I’m stood at the sink avoiding my reflection and washing my hands. I dry them at the surprisingly decent hand drier and make my way back to the screen. Just as the door comes into view something else enters my field of vision. 4 people; Mikey, Charli, Bob and Frank. I pray they’re here to see another film as I creep along so as not to draw attention to myself. Unfortunately they turn into screen 9, the screen where Tom is sat waiting for me, and I am forced to follow them in.
They take seats lower down than me and I studiously ignore them as I walk past. Of all the films, all the screens, all the times they had to be here. It’s hard to believe it’s simply a coincidence. No, call me big headed, but I know this has to be about Frank. He knew what film I was seeing and could easily have read my texts to Tom as we arranged times. I’m so pissed off. The whole point of today is to forget Frank. Now he’s ruined that as well as everything else.
“What’s up?” Tom asks me as I take my seat.
“Have you seen who’s down there?”
“You mean Bob and that? I thought things were easier between you guys now?”
“Well yeah…”
“So what’s the problem?”
“Well… I just… I don’t know.” I couldn’t really tell him that this date was my desperate attempt to forget Frank as I was falling for him once again.
“Forget about them then.” He leans in to kiss me but I ignore his advances and he kisses me on the cheek instead. Frank is looking straight at me, dim cinema light reflecting in his eyes. I wonder what he sees when he looks at me now.
“Amy?”
“Yeah?”
“We can leave if you want?”
“No. It’s fine. It’s not like we have to acknowledge them.” I give him a shaky smile, lean my head on his shoulder and take a sip of my blue slush. A crowd of 12 year olds pile in and sit right in front of Bob and all that. Queue annoying commentary of everything, pop-corn throwing and squeals from the kids and annoyed exasperated moans off the guys and Charli. Eventually they give up and move. 2 rows behind me and Tom.
“At least you can’t see them anymore.” Tom says kindly as I wish my seat to swallow me whole.
“Yeah…” We sit in silence and I continuously ignore his attempts to kiss me. Instead I eaves drop on Bob and Frank while Tom hums along to the cr*ppy cinema music.
“How was I supposed to know they’d be in this exact film?” Frank is asking heatedly.
“I don’t know, but you pushed really hard for us to get to this showing.” Bob replies.
“So?”
“And you could have easily read her texts yesterday.”
“Yeah well if you’d heard the rumours about Tom that I have you’d follow him too.”
“What rumours?” Bob say quickly, I hope to God Tom isn’t listening in too.
“Nothing.”
“Frank! Tell me. You can’t say that much and then say ‘nothing’. She’s my fucking sister.”
“Tell him Frank.” Charli joins in.
“Yeah Frank.” Mikey adds but doesn’t sound like he actually knows what he’s talking about.
“For fucks sake! Ok apparently he’s going to split up with her soon to get with some bird he met on the internet. Happy I told you know? Are your lives now complete?” Frank whispers not quite quietly enough.
“So why’d you need to stalk her?” Charli asks. I nearly laugh but I don’t want to draw Tom’s attention to their conversation.
“I’m not! I just wanted to look out for her.”
“Quit the crap Frank.” Bob says. Bluntness obviously runs in the family.
“What?”
“You wanted to follow her here in the hopes that if he split up with her you’d be close at hand to ride in and clear up the mess and walk away her Prince Charming.”
“Is he really going to leave her?” Charli asks when Frank ignores Bob’s predictions.
“It’s just a rumour, but the guy who told me knew Tom pretty well.”
“Poor Amy.”
They lapse into silence and I look at Tom as if to see if he’d changed at all since I’d gained this new information. I’m surprisingly (or not) unbothered by the news of our impending separation. It would make it easier for me to hang out with Bob and Gerard and that again.
“Do you love me?” The words spill off my tongue as the lights dim and the adverts start rolling.
“Of course I do.” He replies but he sounds defensive.
“Do you still want to be with me?”
“What is this Amy?” He asks angrily.
“Would you still want to be with me if I told you I’ve completely made up with Frank now and I spent the whole day with him and the others yesterday instead of with my Mum like I told you?”
“You what?” He asks loudly.
“You heard.” I reply quietly. Willing him to keep his voice low.
“I think we need to talk about this later.” He says as if he’s my Dad. Well a Dad. Mine couldn’t give two shits.
“Why? They’re my friends Tom.”
“Who fuck you about.”
“Me and Frank have fewer arguments than me and you do and the others don’t do anything wrong.”
“He also makes bets about you.” He retorts focussing on Frank and discarding the other 5 people I’d also been with yesterday.
“And you make plans about me.” I reply. Thankful of the ammunition Frank had unwittingly given me.
“What are you talking about?” He asks me but he sounds nervous and surprised by my knowledge.
“Well apparently you’ve been planning to dump me. For some girl on the internet no less.” The trailers are running now and I’m almost drowned out by laughter from the rest of the cinema.
“And who told you this, Frank?” When I don’t reply he takes it as a yes. “Fine well why don’t you go fuck off with him then?”
“Tom is it true?”
“No.” He replies but he’s lying, I can tell.
The film comes on and I watch it eagerly. Escaping from my life for a while is a welcome relief. When the credits roll I follow Tom out of the cinema and to HMV. When we’re inside he turns to me and says, “Ok it’s half true. I met someone on the internet. I kind of like her but I’m not leaving you.”
“Oh well that’s Ok then!” I reply sarcastically. “I think we should go back now. I need to revise.”
“Amy…”
“Just don’t Tom. Go home and talk to your little cyber friend. Maybe I’ll invite Frank around for a chat.”
“Amy…”
“Don’t!” I shout at him. We’re on the escalators now on the way out of the shop. I power walk all the way to the ferry with him hurrying along behind me.
“Answer me honestly Amy, if Frank asked you out now what would you say?” I hesitate because I’d been asking myself the same thing and still hadn’t got an answer. “I don’t know.” I reply truthfully.
“So what I’m doing is no worse than what you’re doing.” He concludes as we step onto the ferry.
“How on earth did you decide that?” I ask, taking a seat inside as it has started raining outside.
“We can work this out though can’t we?”
“I guess so.” I reply. Not because I particularly want us to but because we could if that’s the path we choose to take.
“Can I have a hug?” He asks. I give in and snuggle up to him. My anger melts away as his hands hold me close.
“I love you Tom.” I say, for once with an ounce of honesty. He smiles down at me, aware as I am that it’s the first time I’ve said it first.
“I love you too.”