Under a Willow Tree

This was it. Tom was going to do the one thing that he should have done ages ago. Georgia was more than ecstatic with his newfound decision, but Dan, on the other hand, was not pleased.

"Are you sure you still want to go through with all this?" Dan asked Tom, worriedly, as Tom straightened his tie in front of his reflection from his tinted car window. The night was fresh and both young men looked extremely dashing in their black tie attire.

"Of course," Tom muttered, puffing out the smoke from his cigarette, and then doing the final dusting off of his black suit. "Well?"

"You look... like a heart breaker." Dan said, frowning.

"Oh, piss off, Dan, if that's all you care about." Tom walked around Dan, who stood in his way. "You date her for nearly a year and you'll find out how badly I want to get her off."

"But just think about it," Dan pursued him. "Why did you stay with her for nearly a year if all that time you wanted to break up with her? Huh? Think about it!"

"Easy. Because I haven't met Willow, yet. She's opened my eyes." Tom replied, not stopping his stride towards the entrance of a luscious mansion where the muffled chatter of guests and music played.

"Oh, for fuck's sake. Don't kid yourself. You love Jade and that's that. What happened to all those wonderful moments you shared with her? Remember that time you sprained your ankle from football? Who drove you to work each day? Who stayed with you, cooking for you, washing your clothes, keeping house?" Dan was turning a bit red, trying his best to keep Tom from breaking up with Jade. He was frustrated, alright. Tom was one of his best mates on set and he, himself, had gone rather close to Jade, fully supporting her relationship with Tom. He seemed quite convinced that Jade was the perfect girl for his best friend. It was a nuisance to see Tom leave her for the producer's great-niece. It was just like watching a bad marriage enfold.

Tom stopped abruptly in his steps, turning swiftly around to face Dan. "Jade has been very wonderful, I admit. But sometimes she can be a bit of a... bitch."

"Don't say that. You should know that your best years that ever happened in your life, all happened with her. And besides, what if Willow rejects you, like what she did with Rupert?"

Tom gaped at Dan. The whole time he's been planning his break up with Jade, he really never even thought about what Willow would say, or do. If he did break up with Jade, he could end up lonely and utterly humiliated.

"Ha. Gotcha." Dan spoke, popping the bubble of Tom's thoughts. "Thought you could get away with this easily, did you, Tom? Willow's a brilliant girl, she just isn't always available."

Tom shook his head, obstinately. "So what? I'm breaking up with Jade tonight, even if it kills me. Because I'd rather die than go through another day of - "

Something caught Tom's eye from behind Dan. A black sedan pulled up, and from inside emerged a tall, slender, olive-toned woman with a fabulous cocktail dress. Her dark hair cascaded in long, luxurious curls down her back. Her satin dress glimmered against the lights from inside the mansion. She strutted elegantly towards Tom, beaming. Her lips were painted luscious red and her doe eyes brightened, emphasizing her blue gems.

"Tom!" She waved, enthusiastically.

"Oh, God, she's gorgeous." Tom said under his breath, as Dan turned around to follow his gaze.

"Well, look who's finally come along to the party." Dan shot a look at Tom, and then turned back to the beautiful woman, coming up to her to hug her. "Jade, nice to see you this evening. You look incredible."

"Thanks, Dan. You don't look too bad yourself." Jade gushed, keeping her eyes locked with Tom.

"J - Jade. You're... You're so..." Tom couldn't speak. His well composed thoughts were now in a pathetic, jumbled mess in his mind. Jade went over to him and gave him a light kiss.

"Funny how you came right now," Dan smirked. "We were just talking about you."

"Oh?" Jade looked at Tom curiously.

"Yeah, apparently, Tom wanted to tell you something." Dan went on, smiling mockingly.

"What is it?" Jade inquired Tom.

"What's what?" Tom suddenly woke up from his fixation on Jade's glamour.

"What did you want to tell me?" Jade looked up at him so innocently, it made his insides feel weak. He couldn't hurt her. Not then... And probably not ever. What if Dan was right? He was just probably drunk last night. He didn't need to end his relationship with Jade. She was gorgeous beyond comparison and so what if she was bitch? People can change. Just stick a Holy Bible up her butt, and she'd be baking cookies for the homeless in no time.

"I just wanted to tell you," Tom smiled reassuringly at her. "How beautiful you are, and how much in love I am with you."

"Aww... How sweet!" Jade kissed him one more time and then clutched his hand, pulling him inside.

"Er... Jade." Tom didn't budge. "You go on. I need to talk to Dan about something, first."

"Alright." She nodded and then headed alone inside.

Tom hesitantly looked up at Dan, who was giving off his most condescending sneer ever. Oh, how badly had Dan wanted to tell Tom he told him so! Keeping his composure, he commented on the weather that night.

"Oh, cut the crap." Tom disrupted bitterly. "Just don't ever mention any of this to Jade. Ever."

"You've got me sworn in." Dan raised his hands in surrender, but spoke again. "What made you change your mind? Wait, don't tell me. Willow couldn't match up to that, right?"

"Yeah, I guess not." Tom mumbled angrily, walking towards the party. From behind, Dan couldn't help but let out all the ridiculous laughter he had inside of him.

"Jade really outdid herself." Dan commented. "Makes you think what you almost lost there, sport. See, this is why I didn't want you breaking up with her in the first place. I knew you couldn't handle - "

"Okay, Dan." Tom heaved an annoyed sigh. "I think I got it now."

"Just saying." Dan shrugged nonchalantly and joined the party inside with Tom.

Tom couldn't help but utter a "Wow" when he stepped inside. Immediately, he looked up and all around the vast mansion, trying to make out the value of such a place. The foyer was donned with a marble floor and a huge Swavorski crystal chandelier hung above. People were gracefully swishing around the party in expensive gowns and suits and holding glasses of champagne and wine. Tom had never been to such a gathering. Suddenly, he felt so intimidated, being in the presence of such high society. He looked over at Dan, who was also completely awed by the scene. It was such a long time since Tom last saw his grandfather's first cousin, but here he was. Attending his 75th birthday party.

"It's really sweet for your grandfather's cousin to invite us to his birthday party." Jade said, clutching Tom's arm lovingly. "I can't believe that I'm actually in the estate of Richard Felton."

"Yeah, lucky for you, Tom." Dan added. "You've got some royal blood in you."

Tom scanned around the room for any of his immediate family. Richard Felton, for those poor souls who don't know, is the great Queen's distant cousin. Though not a big deal to him, Tom always felt a tiny bit of pride when the subject of him being blood-related to the Duke of Berkshire rose up.

"Tom, love!" An elder woman wearing the most fabulous gown came up to Tom. "I'm very happy to see you've came."

"Aunt Gertie." Tom said, giving her a hug. "Thanks so much for having me. Honestly, I haven't had the chance to see Cousin Richard in quite a long time."

"Yes, well he sends his love. Actually, he sends his love to everyone in the family, and it's quite a big family we've got, now haven't we?" Aunt Gertie laughed out loud.

"I agree." Tom charmingly smiled.

"Well, darling," Aunt Gertie looked up at Jade and Dan who were standing right behind Tom. "Are you not going to introduce your friends?"

"Oh, yes. This is Dan, who's a really good friend of mine." Tom replied, gesturing to Dan.

Aunt Gertie smiled pleasantly at Dan. "Ah, so you're with Tom in those movies aren't you?"

"Yes ma'am, I am." Dan grinned back.

"You and Tom have been doing exceptionally well these past few years."

"Why, thank you." Dan replied courteously.

"And," Tom spoke up, placing his arm around Jade's hip, "this beautiful woman is my girlfriend, Jade."

"Girlfriend?" Aunt Gertie echoed, looking quite taken aback. "This is actually the first time Tom's ever brought a girl to meet his family. Sometimes I wonder why, I mean, it's not like we're a rowdy bunch."

"Tom just likes being 'exclusive'." Jade teased.

"It's a pleasure to meet you anyway. I better be off. There are a whole lot of guests to attend to. Nice to see all of you." Aunt Gertie bid them a goodbye and glided to a couple nearby.

"You've never told us you had an Aunt Gertie." Dan chortled, when she was out of earshot.

"It's short for Gertrude. And besides, I never see her that often. She's just being nice." Tom shrugged. "Come on, let's go see what this party has to offer."

The three guests made their way to the vast ballroom where most of the guests were in. Everybody in the room seemed so beautiful. It felt as if each person attending in the party were perfectly... perfect. Not one strand of hair was astray, not one outfit had a spot, and not one person looked disheveled. They all looked like gods or goddesses. Even the chatter of all the guests felt like a melody. A small orchestra was playing lively music in one corner of the grand room, and a long table was set up with a whole array of exotic and domestic delicacies.

"Let's get ourselves a drink." Tom noted, pointing towards a bar across the room. Dan and Jade followed him, trying their hardest not to collide with any of the guests, as if they were expensive crystal statues. Reaching the bar, Tom indicated the bartender for three glasses of champagne. He passed one to both Dan and Jade who could not help but stare at the glass.

"The champagne sparkles!" Jade cried excitedly, causing the bar tender to snort. "I mean, it really does against the light!"

"All champagnes sparkle, dear." Tom answered gently.

"No, I know that. But this champagne sparkles much more. Like you can practically see a spectrum."

"Jade's right," Dan added, observing the glass intently. "You can see some color glimmer."

"I've never seen champagne like this." Jade said.

"That's because it's a different kind of champagne." The three looked up quickly to see who had spoken. In their midst, stood Georgia, trying to stifle back laughter. "Richard Felton has a special vineyard out in Greece."

"Georgia, nice to see you." Tom greeted, giving her a light hug.

"Nice to see you, too.." Georgia said, before her fells suddenly on Jade. "...with Jade. I thought you were going to - "

"Um, yeah about that." Tom cut her off, before Jade could suspect anything. "I'd like to speak to you alone."

Tom and Georgia drifted away from both Dan and Jade, who were tactfully trying to start a conversation about vineyards to not notice them.

"What is she still doing here?" Georgia whispered furiously. "I thought you were going to break it off with her! Why isn't she running out of here with tears messing up her make up and making herself look like a complete idiot as you go on and have a dance with Willow?"

"Because I realized why I'm still with her." Tom replied calmly. "And that's because she's still this beautiful person. Even if she could be a complete cow, I still think - Wait a minute. What did you mean about having a dance with Willow?"

"She's here! At the party!" Georgia said.

"You invited her?!"

"No, you dope. Her great-uncle, of course, knows Cousin Richard. She's here with her great-aunt and uncle." Georgia shifted her head to look for Willow. "Over there."

Tom turned around to see where Georgia was looking at.

Standing next to her great-aunt and uncle, listening to the Prime Minister recount a funny story, Tom saw her. She stood so gracefully, with her long, pale chiffon gown. She looked so tall; almost like those models Tom always saw in one of Jade's magazines. Her hair was pinned up with pale pink flowers that let off an appealing scent. Just like the flora in her hair, Willow bloomed.

"Beautiful isn't she?" Georgia asked Tom, who stood speechless staring at the most beautiful girl in the room full of gods and goddesses. The moment when he saw Jade step out of her car earlier meant nothing to what Tom was feeling now. All of the sudden, his heart beat sped up and his insides were twisting harder and harder and harder...

Willow glanced over at Tom, but quickly looked away when she saw that Tom was also looking at her.

"She's... She's alright." Tom managed to speak, after, with difficulty, trying to pry his eyes away from her.

"Whatever." Georgia rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go talk to her. Want to stop by and say hi?"

"No.. You go on. Just tell her I said hi." Tom replied, making his way back to Dan and Jade.

"Hey, darling." Jade greeted once Tom reached them.

"Let's go dance." Tom insisted, quickly pulling Jade to the dance floor.

"Dance? But I don't know how to dance."

"Don't worry, I can show you." Tom brought up one of his killer smiles, immediately causing Jade to submit to his wishes without any complaints.

"You two kids go along." Dan chimed in. "I'll go look for someone to talk to."

Jade and Tom trotted to the dance floor, where a few other glamorous couples had already began waltzing divinely across the floor. Dan stood near the bar, watching all of the people come and go, until a familiar face walked up to the bar to get a drink.

"Could I have a Coke, instead, please?" Willow asked the bar tender, sheepishly.

"Yes, of course." The bartender smiled back sweetly, preparing her drink.

"This champagne is quite rare, and yet you pass it for a Coke you could get at the store?" Dan asked her, incredulously. He felt very uncomfortable standing alone, so he decided to just catch a conversation with Willow, even if he disapproved of her.

"I'd rather not drink alcohol at a time like this. Sometimes I can control myself, sometimes... I can't. So, I'd rather be on the safe side tonight." Willow explained, taking her Coke from the bartender then thanking him.

"Responsibility is a virtue, isn't it?" Dan asked.

"I guess it's a part of growing up." Willow shrugged, then suddenly flinched. It seemed so long ago since she last heard those exact words coming from Tom's mouth when they were both stuck inside his caravan. Even if it was nearly a month since it happened, the memory was quite vivid for Willow. She remembered how they got stuck, the conversations they had, and what Tom had said about Jade.

...she really knows how to hurt someone. It's odd, actually, that a girl like her could do so much damage. It's amazing, honestly...

Her eyes flickered towards Tom and Jade on the dance floor. They looked so happy, and the way Tom was looking at Jade was infallibly the look of infatuation. A twinge of jealousy streamed through Willow's veins.

"They're in love." Dan said, interrupting her thought. "Madly in love. You should have seen him last night. He'd gone crazy. At first I thought he was drunk, because he running around his flat like a madman and jumping on his couch shouting out loud how much he was in love with Jade."

Willow turned her attention away from Tom and Jade to look at Dan. "Really?"

"Yupp." Dan nodded, relishing the look on Willow's face. Her sweet smile faded into a little frown and her eyes bore a subtle sadness. "So there's no chance that anybody could possibly lure him away from Jade. If I weren't mistaken, she would be the girl he would propose to."

"Propose?" Willow's expression was full of shock.

"Yeah, I mean, he's always loved her, so why not? He always said that she was the first girl he's ever loved, and that he hope she'd be the only one." The lies just kept on streaming out of Dan like water from a waterfall. Willow, on the other hand, could not believe it. She was a smart girl, and out of everyone in her family, she was best at seeking out the liars.

"Is that so?" Willow challenged. "I guess she must have been incredibly perfect."

"Of course. Sure, Tom's complained about a few faults within Jade, but he still loves her. That's the thing about true love. Even if your partner pushes you to your limit, you still can't help but fall back in love with them."

That did it for Willow. Maybe he does love her. She thought. Maybe all those things he said about her were just because he was mad at her. I guess he never really hated her. I guess it was just Georgia who despised her.

"It was nice talking to you, Dan." Willow said abruptly. She couldn't handle talking to him anymore. She didn't want to listen to him talk about how Tom and Jade were just right and how her chances of getting - No. She just needed to think, and that ballroom wasn't the right atmosphere to think and get her head straightened out. Before Dan could reply, she scurried off, looking for some place to find solace. The foyer? No, there are people there. The restrooms? People like to talk in there a lot more than in the ballroom. No, there it was. Just what Willow needed. At the back of the ballroom stood two grand French doors that led out to a terrace. She dashed and dodged between merry couples and guests towards the doors. She needed air to think out what was going on.

Why is she feeling hurt?

It couldn't be because of her situation with Rupert. She hadn't even thought of him once that whole evening. Reaching outside, Willow panted heavily, as if she ran a marathon. It was like she was suffocated inside that great ballroom.

For god's sake, Willow, pull yourself together. She scolded herself, in her mind. What's your problem? Why do you want him so bad? You don't even know the guy. You live in a completely different world than he does! You're nothing compared to him.

Willow looked up, trying to calm herself. Boy, was that night beautiful. There was not a cloud nearby as the moon shone like a fluorescent bulb in a dark room. It seemed to shine over Willow, as if it were comforting her. The breeze blew softly, but it didn't feel cold. It felt like water, when you dove into a deep pool. It rushed along her skin the way the water rushed through. That night was -

"Beautiful." Willow quickly turned around to see who had spoken.

Her heart dropped.

To be continued...