Wanderlust

They spent a day engaging in meaningless conversation. Tom learned a little bit more with every second that they passed together. Ashlyn was studying to be a special education teacher, an honorable goal. And one that spoke loads about her character. She was patient to no end, obviously. Having a sister that was disabled obviously helped out quite a bit in that department. He admired her for being so altruistic in just about all aspects of her life. She had given up a lot to help her family and her town.

But he had to guess that, in taking care of everyone else; she had ultimately forgot what it was to do something for herself. He could tell she was nervous being out of cell phone range, but at the same time she was thrilled to have a little bit of time to herself. It was obvious that she didn’t get much of it. Tom could definitely relate on that front. He couldn’t remember the last time, before his trip, that he had a moment to himself. The consistent trail of paparazzi, managers and fans had hindered his ability to just be himself. Like Ashlyn, he had a constant façade that he put on. But on the other hand, his was not in the same altruistic mode that hers was. His was simply for his own gain, as to not let anyone too close to him.

And now, here he was. With a girl that he had every intention of telling her everything. She was a breath of fresh air for him. Ashlyn was someone that he could see himself just being normal with. Someone he could just be himself. Not Draco Malfoy or the Tom Felton that the entire world thought that they knew. He was going to be the Tom Felton that he knew had existed ten years before. And maybe, just maybe, Ashlyn would be there no matter what. Unlike the last girl that he had decided was good enough for him to get involved with.

“Are you that worried about cell service?” Tom asked, snacking on a cookie that Ashlyn had made the night before in her spare time, which happened to be at midnight when everyone else was asleep.

“It’s just…I rarely go anywhere by myself that’s not to do with my family. It’s weird,” She said honestly, checking her phone once again.

“Every now and then we all need a little bit of time to ourselves,” Tom said with a slight shrug as he reached for a bottle of water. He relaxed and laid back on the blanket that they had spread out to save them from the itchy grass and the bugs that the woods brought with them.

“Yeah. But it’s hard with Mandy around. Someone always has to be around to help her in case she needs it, ya know? She has these big dreams of being able to get out and live on her own, but it’s just impossible. She needs help doing simple everyday tasks. And it’s not only her that it sucks for. It sucks for my parents as well, because they’ll always be the ones that have to take care of her. One day, I’ll escape Wells and see the world. But for now, my family needs me,” She said, trying very hard not to make eye contact with Tom. She had a feeling that he could see right through her.

“I wouldn’t ever pretend to know what you and your family goes through, Ash,” Tom told her honestly. He was taken with how honest and beautiful the girl in front of him was. But it was blatantly obvious that she had some ghosts and skeletons that got to her on a daily basis.

“Can I ask you a question?” Tom asked, sipping on the Aquafina bottle as he looked at her, her eyes finally meeting his.

“Sure, shoot,” She said. There was nothing that Tom could ask her that would faze her, really. Well, there were a couple things but she had a slight hope that he wouldn’t ask her about it. She would tell him eventually, she had a feeling. And she didn’t know if now was the time.

“What happened to Mandy to put her in the wheelchair? She obviously hasn’t always been in it,” Tom said and Ashlyn’s hopes immediately drained to nothing as did the color in her face, which Tom immediately noticed, “If you don’t wanna talk about it I understand. I was just wondering.”

“It was a horrible accident a few years ago,” She said softly, twisting the plastic water bottle in her hands into a mangled mess of noise and destruction.

“Alright. It’s obviously getting to you to tell me. I want to be there, though, Ashlyn. Someday I will be,” He said softly, setting a hand on her knee and squeezing it softly, getting her to look up at him with an awkward smile.

“You have to have a girlfriend or something,” Ashlyn said, showing a crooked smile as the mood lightened a little bit, “No boy that’s as perfect as you are could possibly be single. Besides, you’re a freaking movie star.” Tom laughed at the fact that Ashlyn couldn’t keep any thoughts to herself. But it was obviously also her roundabout way of asking if he was single.

“My girlfriend broke up with my sorry behind right before HP finished up. Turns out she was more into the fact that dating the enemy of Harry Potter than she was dating regular old Tom Felton,” He said with a shrug, “And, babe, I’m far from perfect.” Ashlyn shrugged.

“You’ve yet to show me something horrible about you,” She said, fiddling with her phone all over again. He couldn’t help himself when he reached over and grabbed it from her, tossing it next to him making it out of her reach. She glared for a minute and tried to get it back by jumping over top of him, but he grabbed her and pulled her down to rest on top of him.

His mind immediately jumped to a cliché and he was disgusted with himself. At the moment, a cliché was just not good enough for Ashlyn in his mind. But the truth was that she fit on top of his body like a glove. It was like she was made for him.

For Ashlyn, it was like time had come to a complete halt as she lay on top of Tom’s tall, lanky body. He was perfect. She was sure that she would pass out just from being as close as she was to him earlier. And now her body fit perfectly to his. Her head coming up to just under his chin, in a position that was easy enough for her to fit her hands into his, if she had the nerve to actually go through with it.

Tom had long since decided that he wasn’t leaving this little trip without at least trying to get a kiss from her. But he didn’t really want to plan it, either. He was into a much more spontaneous kind of thing now. Whereas his past girlfriend was much more about having everything planned out to an exact science and would freak out if even the tiniest detail changed about a night out or just a plain old date, he had a feeling that Ashlyn was one of those girls who just went sort of went with it.

So as he had decided that now was the most opportune time, Ashlyn had obviously gotten the same idea. And he was thrilled on the inside. He wanted to know exactly what it felt like to kiss a girl that fit as perfectly as Ashlyn seemed to.

And a split moment in time convinced Tom that he had walked into a cliché story that wasn’t anywhere near his real life. He thought that he had left the world of fantasy behind at the end of shooting for Harry Potter. The shrill ringtone of Ashlyn’s phone brought them out of a trancelike state as she scrambled to grab it and answer it, distancing herself from him as he sighed under his breath.

That definitely hadn’t worked out as he had planned, but he couldn’t say that he was surprised that it had happened. Obviously the fantasy effects of his life hadn’t stopped with HP.