Can Tom Commit - Chapter Two
Liz left Tom's and headed home. She soaked in her bathtub until she looked like a prune. She felt the stress of the day melting off her. Tom called that night from his cell phone. He was backstage in the lounge area. He had about 20 minutes to spare before Tokio Hotel was due to be on stage. Tom was pumped up and ready for the show, but he felt and sounded a little sick. Liz wished him luck and promised to talk to him later.
It was almost a week later before she was finally able to talk to him again. They'd spent days playing phone tag and she had memorized his voice mail my heart. She was expecting to hear his voice mail again when Tom answered on the third ring. "Tom here."
"Hey you! How are you? I've been listening to your voice mail all week!" Liz smiled happily.
"I'm good. I've just been really busy. You?" He asked slowly. He didn't recognize her voice. He held the phone a little ways from his head so the hair stylist could tighten his braids.
"I've been out looking for a second job. That's such a pain. I'm so sick of filling out applications." Liz sat on her couch and went through the stack of mail she'd retrieved from the mailbox the day before. Most of it was junk mail and a few magazines.
"Oh! Yeah. I wouldn't know about that. I've never had to fill out an application." Tom said realizing who she was. "Have you had any luck?"
"Possibly. I have two interviews set up." She shrugged and opened a Visa Gold application thing. "That's about it."
"You know, if you need anything you can let me know."
"I know and thank you, but I'd rather pay them. It's an independence thing." Liz saw the $50.00 annual fee on the Visa application and tossed the it into the junk pile.
"Do you have any plans for the night?"
"It's nearly 2 in the morning here. I think I'm just gonna sit here and read the magazines that I just got in the mail. I'm going to go out to dinner with Hannah and Phillip tomorrow night. We might go to a movie or something as well, but I'm not sure." She said as she opened a plain white envelope with her name and address written across it in blue.
"Where are you going for dinner?" Tom closed his eyes as the stylist pulled a little too hard on his braids.
"I'm not sure. I think Hannah said something about-" She stopped mid-sentence and stared at the paper in her hands. "Hold up." She said quickly. She looked inside the envelope, but it was empty. All that was sent was a wad of money wrapped in dark purple paper. She counted quickly. There was $1,000. There was no signature or return address inside or outside the envelope. Just a simple scribble across the purple paper that said "I hope this helps."
"Liz? You still there?" Tom asked a second later.
"What the hell is this?" Liz asked.
"What is what?"
"Tom, I told you I was okay."
"What are you talking about?" He asked genuinely confused.
"I told you I didn't need your help with money."
"I know you did. Why?" He waved the hair stylist away for a second and pressed the phone against his ear. He could hear Liz was upset over something and wanted to focus his attention on her.
"I got the money you sent." She didn't know why she was so upset. She figured maybe it was her pride. She wanted to be able to make it on her own. She enjoyed having her independence. She didn't need her rich boyfriend to save the day.
"What money?"
"The cash you sent. $1,000." She frowned and examined the handwriting.
"I can honestly say that I haven't the foggiest notion what you mean." Tom motioned for the stylist to finish with his braids. "I didn't send you any money."
"Tom, I'm serious. Knock it off." Liz sighed and put the cash back in the envelope.
"Liz, I really didn't send you money." He said defensively as the stylist pulled on his hair again.
"Tom, I don't have time for jokes. Just fess up." Liz stood up and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
"Liz, I swear to you, I don't know what money you're talking about. Someone seriously gave you a thousand dollars?"
"Yeah, someone." She said rolling her eyes.
"That's cool and all but it wasn't me who sent it." He nodded into the mirror as the stylist motioned that she was finished.
"Then who sent it?" She asked.
"I dunno." Tom mumbled and slid his feet into the Vans. "I wish they'd send some money my way though. I haven't seen real cash in months."
"I'm not going to take this money." Liz put her hand on her hip and spoke toward her refrigerator.
"Liz, if you need the money just take it. Someone obviously knew you needed it."
"And by someone you mean you." She frowned and walked across the kitchen with a glass of water and sat at the table.
"Liz, for Christ's sake! I didn't send you any money!" Tom said. "And besides, even if I did why are you so fucking upset? If you need it, use it!"
"I don't need it." She huffed.
"Then save it for when you do need it."
"Tom!" She whined.
"Liz!" He copied her.
"I'm just gonna send this back to you." She said a second later.
Tom sighed. "By all means, send it to me! I'll gladly use an extra $1,000." They sat in silence for a couple minutes before Tom asked, "So where'd you say you were going to dinner tomorrow?"
"I don't know yet." Liz said quickly.
"But you said Hannah said something about-" Tom prompted her.
"Hannah said something about Asian food. She's Korean. We may go to Tokyo Peking or that new Korean place that just opened."
"That sounds fun." He got up and left the lobby. He headed through the maze of halls backstage to a quiet little corner.
"I guess so." Liz shrugged. Her mind was a whir of thought. She didn't necessarily need the money, but it would help her out a bit. She could definitely use a few hundred dollars to make a dent in her bills. "So what are you doing tonight?"
"We have a show here in about 3 hours." He glanced at his watch, it was a little after 4 California time. "I'm not sure what we're doing after that. Bill said something about going out dancing. We're in LA so we can't not go out, you know?" He laughed.
"How long will you be there?"
"We have shows tonight and tomorrow night."
"And then New York to wrap it up?"
"No, we're not going to New York for another couple weeks." Tom played with the cuffs on his jacket.
"But you're going to be in New York for a week right?"
"Yeah. We have all kinds of TV stuff to do. A ton of interviews and a signing at the Virgin Megastore."
"Cool." Liz sighed and played with the ice in her glass. "Will you be able to come home before then?"
"I seriously doubt it. We're supposed to get a day off next week, but I don't think that's gonna happen." Tom yawned and rolled his shoulders.
"Oh. Okay."
"You wanna come see us perform?"
"If I could go to the states, it'd be to see you, not a show. But I can't either way."
"No time off?"
"Among other things." Liz sighed and thought of the afternoons she would spend job hunting instead of seeing with her boyfriend.
"I wish you could. I miss you." Tom said softly. "As soon as this tour is over you've got me for a full week."
"Why only a week?"
"We're finally going to Japan. For two whole weeks!" He said excitedly.
"Are you kidding me?" She felt tears spring up in her eyes. How did other couples do this all the time? Tom had been gone for nearly three months. Yes, he'd come home for a week, but then he was off again for a few more weeks. It was insane.
"I wish I was kidding. I'm excited about going to Japan though."
"What about after Japan?"
"After Japan I will be all yours. I can be the perfect boyfriend you didn't think I could be." He smiled.
"Okay." She said quietly. "I'm gonna head to bed. I have to put in some more applications tomorrow."
"Okay." Tom nodded.
"Have a good show tonight. Call me later."
"I will." Tom smiled. "Have a g'night."
"I'll try." She smiled and hung up the phone. She showered and put on her pajamas and crawled into her bed.
Tokio Hotel put on an awesome show that night. The guys were on an adrenaline high after the performance. Georg and Gustav had arranged to meet up with some of their LA friends and go out. Tom didn't have a problem with that.
They all went out to a club after the show. They stayed until nearly 3 in the morning when the club closed. "I'm so ready for bed." Bill said as they stood around behind the club next to the two taxis that were waiting for them.
"C'mon Bill, we're going to Liquid Fusion." Tom said with just a hint of whining. He casually draped his arm over the tall blonde, Lyla, and said, "Come with us! We're going to eat breakfast till the sun comes up."
"No thanks." Bill waved and stepped up to the door of the first taxi. One of the bodyguards got into the taxi and waited for Bill. Before Bill got inside he asked the others, "Anyone else coming back to the hotel with me?"
"No way! I'm not done yet." Gustav laughed and slid into the second taxi followed by two more girls.
Tom whispered something softly into Lyla's ear that made her giggle. He smiled and said, "Make room for Tom!" He climbed into the taxi beside the others.
"Hey! Where am I supposed to sit?" Lyla pouted with her hands on her hips.
"There's room." Gustav shouted from inside.
"C'mon." Tom said as he patted his lap. Lyla giggled again and sat on Tom's lap.
"I'll ride up front." Georg said. He opened the front door to the cab and sat beside the driver. "I'm Georg." He shook the driver's hand and said, "And they're all crazy back there." Everyone in the back laughed and Tom shut the door and rolled down the window.
"Hey, Tom?" Bill asked holding the door to the first taxi open.
"Hey, Bill!" Tom shouted.
"What about Liz?" Bill asked quietly.
"There's no more room in this car. Liz will have to find another taxi." Tom brushed Lyla's hair off his face and waved out the window as the taxi pulled away from the curb.
"Liz?" The bodyguard waiting inside the taxi asked Bill.
"Tom's girlfriend."
"They're still going out?"
"He hasn't said anything, but I thought they were." Bill shrugged.
"Remember we are talking about Tom here. The perpetually single and always ready for a good time with a beautiful girl kind of guy." The bodyguard laughed.
Bill frowned as he closed his eyes as he rested his head against the window using his jacket as a pillow.
Over the next couple weeks Liz and Tom seemed to miss one another's calls more often than not. "Hi, Tom. It's Liz again." She sighed into the phone. "I was just calling to say hi and that I miss you. I haven't talked to you in what seems like forever." Liz sighed again. "Anyways, I hope you're having a good time. I'll talk to you later. I miss you." She hung up and tossed her phone on the opposite end of the couch from where she sat. Liz flipped on the television and was surfing the channels while she pouted. Her friends were all back at school and she had no one to go out with. Of course, she could always call Matt, but that would be a huge no-no. She couldn't do that. She would rather sit at home and have a pity party by herself.
"Ugh! I'm seriously going nuts." She leaned over to the other end of the couch and picked up the phone. She tried to reach someone at the hotel.
She tried Tom's room but there was no answer. She racked her brain trying to remember the last names of Georg and Gustav. She could only remember Tom and Bill's last names, so she called the hotel again and asked for Bill Kaulitz. After two rings, the man who answered cleared his throat and said, "Hallo?"
"Hi. This is Liz." Liz smiled glad to have reached someone.
"Hey, Liz! How are you?" He asked.
"Same old boring nonsense that happens every day. Is this Bill?"
"It is." He smiled and laid the book he was reading on the table beside him.
"Do you ever go out with the other guys?" Liz laughed and sat back on her couch as she flipped the television off.
"Yeah, I usually do. I wasn't in the mood tonight. I just felt like lying in bed with a good book." He smiled and leaned against his back against the headboard of the bed. He kicked his feet up on the bed and studied his toes.
"That sounds awfully relaxing."
"Yeah, it is. Plus I'm the good guy of the group. I stay out of trouble." He laughed.
"I'm so sure." Liz laughed.
"But yeah, they've all gone out again." Bill sighed and adjusted the pillow behind his back.
"For being so busy you guys sure do go out a lot." Liz said thoughtfully.
"The other guys thrive off of no sleep. I need at least 9 or 10 hours or I'm really cranky. I haven't gotten that much lately so I'm making up for it."
"I thought Tom loves his sleep."
"Oh yeah. He likes to sleep, but he likes to go out just as much." Bill laughed. "Actually, he usually turns in pretty early. He may actually be in his room."
"But the others?"
"Georg and Gustav will come in sometime before the sun comes up."
"Wow. I'd be a walking zombie."
"Me too!" Bill smiled and stood up from the bed. He ran his hands over his head and adjusted his boxers. "I'll let Tom know you called when I see him tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks." Liz nodded.
"I could shove a note under his door, but he'd probably just stumble over it and not even see it."
"No, that's all right." Liz sighed.
"Are things okay with you guys?"
"Me and Tom?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah. Other than the fact that I never see him and barely ever talk to him."
"I know how rough that can be." Bill said softly. "How is your job hunt going?"
"It's shit. I hate trying to find a job. Especially finding one where the hours are flexible enough for me to work two jobs, you know?"
"Yeah." Bill nodded and sat at the little table in his room. "I hope things get better for you."
"Me too." Liz smiled. "I'll let you get back to your book. I just needed to hear someone's voice."
Bill chuckled. "It was nice talking to you again, Liz."
"Thanks. You too, Bill." She hung up and sighed. She had to think of something to occupy her time. She flipped the television back on and saw a marathon of Bones playing on TBS. After a few episodes of watching the sexual frustration between Booth and Bones, Liz turned the television off and headed to the fridge to and pulled out a yogurt as an idea struck her. She knew exactly what she was going to do about Tom.
She phoned Bill again to arrange it. She knew he'd have some connections. "Yeah, we can get you tickets and everything." Bill smiled and flopped down on his bed. "Have you told Tom yet? Does he know?"
"No, it's a surprise. I haven't seen him since you guys got that last weekend off like a kazillion years ago. We both were kind of grumpy the whole time he was here, so I wanna make up for it." She shrugged. "So don't tell him. Don't tell anyone."
"Okay." Bill said softly, thinking about how Tom had been acting lately.
"So you can get everything hooked up for me?" Liz felt a few butterflies in her stomach.
"Absolutely! I'll even come get you at the airport myself." Bill grinned.
"You don't have to do that."
"I know, but I want to." He couldn't stop smiling.
"Okay. As soon as I get my tickets I'll call you and let you know what time my plane comes in."
"I'll be there." There was a knock at Bill's hotel room door. He stood to see who it was.
Liz smiled. "Thanks so much, Bill. You rock."
"I know." He laughed as Tom and Georg walked in. "Call me when you find out everything."
"Who's that?" Tom asked as he sat down on a little chair in the corner of Bill's room.
"It's Mom." Bill said quickly. "Hey mom! Have fun at the market! Love you!"
"Mom?" Liz laughed. "Okay, Billy-Poo. Mommy will get lots of fruits and veggies so you can grow up to be a big, strong, healthy boy!"
"That's Mom?" Tom asked as he stood and grabbed for the phone.
"Sorry you have to go, Mom. I love you too. Bye." He said quickly and then hung up, turned his phone off and threw it onto the bed. He looked at Tom sheepishly.
"What is she supposed to find out and call you about?" Tom asked suspiciously.
"Oh, um, she's going to come and see one of our last shows. So she needs to let me know when she can come. See us. And stuff."
"Oh, okay." Tom nodded. "Cool." He and Georg headed to their rooms to get some sleep.
"Yeah." Bill said softly pulling a string on his sleeve. "Yeah, cool."
Liz laughed after she hung up the phone. She grabbed her laptop and sat on the couch looking at the different prices for plane tickets. After an hour she found a flight that wasn't priced too outrageously high. It would get her to New York a mere 3 hours before the show started that night and she would leave the next day at 2. She clicked the mouse on the Buy button and entered her credit card information.
The next morning Liz called Bill's room at the hotel, "I just wanted to give you my flight information." She left him the basics and thanked him again before hanging up. "Call me and let me know how got the info."
Tom and the guys were getting ready for a meet and greet. Before they were seated at the table they were informed they would be doing a promo after the meet and greet involving them being in close proximity to a group of fans.
"How are the fans being chosen?" Gustav asked.
"Oh! Do we get to choose?!" Tom asked getting excited.
"Probably." Bill shrugged.
"We can tell them which girls we want? It's like going to a sexy buffet." Tom laughed.
"I don't know about you but I'm going right for the desserts." Gustav laughed. Bill watched as Tom cruised the room flirting with all the female reporters who were featuring Tokio Hotel on the local news channels.
"Hey, Georg." Bill said quietly, pulling Georg aside.
"Hey, Bill." Georg replied.
"I talked to Liz the other day. She made it sound like she and Tom were still like dating."
"Tom doesn't date. Everyone knows this." Georg reminded him.
"Remember he was seeing that girl Liz?"
"No. I don't remember." He shrugged
"Well, she's under the impression that they're still together."
"If they ever were together." Georg pointed out.
"No, Tom said they were. You remember she picked him up from the airport that time." Bill pointed at Tom. "But then look at him." Tom had his arm around a young reporter's waist with his hand resting on her hip.
"Yeah, so? He's acting like Tom."
"Yeah, but-"
"Bill, I put my arms around fans too. That doesn't mean I've broken up with my girlfriend."
"Yeah, I know."
"What's the big deal? If she's dating Tom she knows how he is."
"Yeah, I guess so." Bill nodded. He frowned as they were ushered out to the meet and greet. His ears were suddenly attacked by the squeals of the fans waiting for them. Bill looked over his shoulder at Tom. He seemed content. Bill sighed and plastered a smile across his face, but he couldn't stop thinking about Liz.
Less than a week later Liz stood in the aisle waiting to get off the plane in New York. It had been a long flight and she was really nervous. She smoothed her hands over her sweater and adjusted the backpack on her shoulder as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. The line ahead of her was moving exceptionally slow, which wasn't helping her nerves.
Her heart raced as she walked up the walkway to the crowded terminal. She wasn't sure who she was looking for exactly. Bill had said he would be there to pick her up, but she wasn't expecting him to just be standing out in the open. Especially, not with the scene that happened at the airport the last time she was around the guys.
She made her way through the crowd she spotted a familiar guy standing off to the side. She smiled and walked up. "Are you waiting for me?"
"Liz!" He said with a smile. He gave her a quick hug.
She laughed and hugged him back. "I'm glad you came!"
"I told you I would." He laughed pulling her in for another hug in the process. "Do you have luggage?"
"No, I managed to get all my stuff in here." She patted her backpack. "I'm only going to be here overnight."
"Well, let's go." He smiled and they headed out.
"I didn't expect you to really be here."
"Oh ye of little faith." He slowed his pace and walked beside her. "I'm a man of my word."
"I like that." She smiled as they walked outside to head toward the taxi line.
"Thanks." Bill laughed and stood at the curb to wait for a cab. When one finally stopped they climbed in and Bill had the driver take them to Madison Square Garden. "Have you seen our show yet?"
Liz tore her eyes away from the New York skyline. "No, I haven't. I looked up some of your stuff on YouTube though."
"Awesome, you'll have a great time then." Bill watched the city go flying by out the window. "So Tom still doesn't know you're coming?"
"No, not unless you said something."
"I didn't." He shook his head.
"Then he's going to be surprised."
"You can say that again." Bill mumbled under his breath as he concentrated on the frayed hem of his jacket.
When they arrived at the venue they exited the taxi and Bill took her around the back way to the backstage area, "Did you want to go see him now?"
"Sure! Absolutely!" Liz said looking around at the thousands of seats.
Bill laughed quietly, "I'm sure he's gonna be really surprised to see you."
"I don't want to interrupt anything. I hope he's not busy."
"Trust me, any distraction he can get is good at this point." Bill always seemed to be smiling, especially when it concerned Liz.
"Okay." Liz said. "Lead the way."
Bill led the way to the side of the stage and around to the back. There were several halls going in every direction. He took one to the right and walked down about halfway to what looked like a locker room. "Let me just make sure they're all dressed." Bill knocked on the door. "Are you guys decent?" Bill shouted through the door.
"For you, Billy boy? Always!" Gustav shouted as he flung the door open. "Why are you knocking?"
"Hi." Liz said.
"Because I brought a surprise." Bill said as he entered the room.
Gustav got a surprised look on his face and hugged Liz tight spinning her around, "Oh Bill! A real live girl?! Just for me?!"
"No, not for you. For Tom." Bill said as he reached into the little refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water, "Would you like one, Liz?"
"No, thank you." Liz said still in Gustav's arms.
"Tom always gets the girls! How come he gets this one too?" Gustav pouted, not letting go.
"Because this one is his girlfriend." Bill said quietly.
"Is Tom here?" Liz asked as Gustav let go and took a step back.
"He's, um, he went out to the bus to, um, do that thing he had to do." Georg said. He was such a bad liar.
"What?" Gustav asked. "What thing? I didn't hear him say anything about going to the bus or a thing."
"I don't know, maybe, I think he said something about forgetting his, um, iPod." Georg shrugged, trying to make it convincing.
"He told me that was going to go into the press box-" Gustav started but Georg quickly cut him off.
"So you're Liz?" Georg asked
"Yes." She smiled and stood where Gustav left her. "I'm nothing special."
"Anyone that can make Tom date them for longer than a couple of nights is definitely special." Gustav laughed.
"Then I supposed I'm special." She suddenly seemed uncomfortable.
"Do you want me to take you to find Tom?" Georg asked.
"Sure." Liz said as Georg started toward the door. "Come on. I'll give you the mini tour along the way." He held the door open for her as she stepped out, backpack in hand. "You're originally from Germany?"
"Yeah. Well, I was born in Spain but it just happened that my parents were there on vacation and I wanted to get in on the action." She explained.
"That's cool." He said. Liz noticed that he walked fast.
"Yeah." She smiled and tried to keep up.
"Have you been to New York before?"
"Once when I was 3 but I don't remember it." Liz explained as Georg led the way up a set of stairs.
"I love it here. I may actually get an apartment here one day." He nodded.
"That would be cool."
"Yeah. Germany is home but I'd like to have a house in LA and an apartment in New York."
"That would be nice." Liz asked.
"Yeah." He said as she smiled and followed him down another few walkways. They stopped in front of a door off to the left. "Here we go." Georg smiled and knocked on the door, "Hey, Tom, are you in here?" He pushed the door open and Liz followed him.
"Oh, hey Georg." Tom was staring out at the empty arena, he turned around when Georg cleared his throat. "Liz!" He jumped up and over the backs of the seats to where Liz and Georg stood near the back. "Oh my God! What are you doing here?" He laughed and pulled her in for a tight hug.
"I'll let you two be alone." Georg backed out of the door completely unnoticed by the other two.
"How did you get here?"
"I walked. It took a while and I'm tired." Liz laughed and took a step back. "I flew, of course!" Tom closed the gap she had created and kissed her for a long time. He definitely was making up for the past couple weeks.
"Wow, this is wicked! You came all the way up here just to see our show? Man, I'm so happy to see you." Tom couldn't stop smiling as he took her hand and lead her down to the seats. They sat side by side and held hands tightly.
"So are you surprised?"
"Hell yeah!" Tom laughed. "This is just going to be awesome." He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. "How long are you going to be here?"
"I have to leave tomorrow." Liz frowned. "I could only get these two days off, but you'll be coming home the day after I leave, right?"
"Yeah. We'll be in Germany for 9 days."
"Mmm. Good." Liz nodded and kissed him again.
"How did you get here without me knowing?" Tom asked a minute later.
"I took that money you sent and bought my plane ticket. Bill hooked me up with the concert stuff." She smiled.
"Awesome." Tom smiled. "I still didn't send you the money but it's cool. I'm glad you're here."
"If you didn't send the money, who did?" Liz asked. She didn't believe him for a second.
"No idea." He shrugged. "Bill was in on this, huh? That little shit."
Liz laughed. Tom said as he leaned over and slowly nibbled her ear lobe. Liz wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close.
"Wait. Before this goes any further, I wanna show you around." Tom stopped abruptly. "You said before you have no idea what I do or who my friends are. You've met my friends, so now let me show you what I do." He stood up and pulled her to her feet.
"Now?" She laughed.
"Yeah, c'mon." Tom headed for the door as Liz followed. Tom shut the door carefully behind them and wrapped his arm around Liz's waist. They headed down to the gut of the arena.
"This is an awesome view. I can't even imagine all these seats being filled." Liz stopped and leaned on the railing. "I can't imagine looking out and seeing all the fans either."
"You can't really see past the first maybe five rows unless they turn the house lights on." Tom shrugged and leaned beside her. "You wanna see an even more awesome view?" Tom asked with a devilish smile.
"Sure." Liz smiled before she leaned in to kiss him.
"Let's go." He took her hand and they walked down the concrete steps toward the floor.
Rina watched from the press box as Tom and Liz trotted down the steps less than 30 feet from where she stood. She sighed and adjusted her skirt as she looked around the press box for her bra. She found it and tucked it into her purse before leaving the room. "He has a lot of damn nerve to tell me to hide! And in the fucking closet of all places!" Rina frowned and stormed off toward the backstage area. Her heels made clicking sounds all the way down the corridor and her backstage pass swung from the cord around her neck.
Tom hoisted himself onto the stage and reached down to pull Liz up beside him. "Look at the view." Tom smiled proudly as he stared out at the empty seats.
"Whoa." Liz whispered. "I'd be so nervous I'd vomit. Seriously." She laughed and walked from one end of the stage to the other.
"Up that ramp there is where I usually stand. Georg has that ramp over there."
"What about this?" Liz looked at an egg-shaped piece of metal. "What does this do?"
"That rises out from the stage. It's how Bill and Gustav come out onto the stage. It's hard to explain. You'll have to wait and see." Tom smiled and took her hand to lead her up to the platform at the back of the stage. They stood up there and looked out over the entire stage.
"This is crazy."
Tom nodded. "But it looks amazing."
"I can't wait to see it." Liz smiled and looked out over the seats again. She saw a woman walking down the stairs beside the press box, heading toward the floor area. "Hey, who's that?"
"Who?" Tom followed her stare and blushed, "That's, um, Rina." Tom explained quickly. "She's a photographer for one of the local magazines or something."
"Oh, where you supposed to do a photo shoot with her?"
"What?"
"A photo shoot. Don't magazines do photos along with their articles? Gustav had said something about you being in the press box and she's coming from the press box so I just assumed." She smiled and started down the ramp to the stage.
"Oh, um, yeah. She and I had just finished up when you and Georg popped in." Tom said. "Let's go find the other guys?" He said as he quickly changed the subject.
"Okay." Liz said slowly. They left the stage and walked back through the maze of halls to a room where food and drinks were set up. There were quite a few reporters huddled together in small groups as well.
"Do you want something to eat? The guys should be here in a few minutes. I'm gonna go find them and let them know you're in here already."
She nodded and glanced around the room.
"I'll be right back." He quickly kissed her cheek before he took off out the door.
Liz helped herself to a drink then sat on a bench against the wall. She watched the people around her mingle and chat with each other.
"Hi! I'm Rina. I'm from Look Out magazine." A young looking woman said as she sat beside Liz.
"Hi. I'm Liz." She shook Rina's outstretched hand and smiled.
"I saw you on the stage with Tom a while ago. Are you guys friends?" She asked sweetly as she took a sip of her drink.
"You could say that." Liz said cautiously. She wasn't sure if Tom wanted to announce that he had a girlfriend. He should be okay with it, but this was his career and Liz didn't want to say anything out of line.
"He's a great guy. A major flirt though." Rina smiled.
"I've heard." Liz nodded and played with the ice in her cup. "He seems to have tamed himself a little bit lately though." Liz said hoping the reporter would agree.
"Ha! Yeah right!" Rina rolled her eyes. "He slowed down for like two month ago, but I think it was because he was sick. He's still the same old Tom." She laughed. Tom was not going to make her look like a fool. Not without paying the price.
"Really? I hadn't noticed." Liz said nervously.
"Don't say anything, but I just spent the last hour in the press box with him. Let me tell you, he hasn't changed one bit, if you know what I mean." She smiled and licked her lips as she stood up, "Anyway, it was nice to meet you Liz. I hope to see you around later today." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and Liz noticed a red bite mark just below her ear.
"Yeah. Thanks. You too." Liz said shakily.
Tom stood in the doorway and watched the conversation take place. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but by the look on Liz's face, he knew exactly what was said. Rina walked toward him with a smug grin on her face, "What did you say to her?" He asked as she stopped in front of him.
"Nothing really." She smiled sweetly. "Just that you're back to being the same old Tom." She bounced up on her toes and kissed him quickly on the lips. He turned his face away, but not fast enough. "Really, Tom, you should know better." Rina frowned, and playfully scolded him. "A girlfriend? You? Ha!."
Tom watched her leave through the door he had just come in. He closed his eyes and turned to face Liz. He was wondering what on earth he could possibly say to her.
He shouldn't have worried. She wasn't there.
As soon as Liz saw Tom walk in, she headed for the only other exit in the room. She shoved the doors open and stepped out into a hallway. She tried to control her tears as she ran down to the end of the hall and through another door. She had no idea where she was. She had a huge lump in her throat and there was an emptiness in her chest. She pushed her way through several more doors and hallways before ending up on the side of the stage. She realized she was opposite from where she and Tom and been standing earlier.
She took a few deep breaths and mentally tried to figure out how she was going to get out of there. She sat on the hard metal steps leading up to the stage and rested her head in her hands. Her mind was racing a mile a minute.
"Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there ..." She heard someone sing. Their voice became louder as they got closer to where Liz was sitting. She looked up quickly.
"With open arms and open eyes-" Bill stopped as he rounded the corner. "Hi." He smiled and waved.
Liz looked up and wiped her eyes before asking. "How do I get out of here?"
"Where are you trying to get?" He said as he walked over and sat down beside her.
"I don't care. Just not here." She sniffed and tried to compose herself.
"What happened?" Bill asked as he sat beside her.
"Nothing." She said as new tears formed in her eyes.
"You don't have to lie. Something happened. Now I know it's your life and it's really none of my business, but if it has to do with Tom I may be able to help."
"Possibly." Liz nodded and looked Bill in the eyes. "Maybe you can help. Did you know he spent this afternoon in the press box with Rina? Did you know he hasn't changed at all since we started dating? Did you know that he's lied to me about going out with other girls?"
"Hang on." Bill placed his hand on Liz's shoulder. "C'mon, let's go some place more private." He looked over at the crewmen adjusting the lights. He led her down a few halls to a small room in the back. She flopped down in one of the chairs and he pulled another chair around so they could face each other.
"First, I didn't know he spent the afternoon with Rina. Second, he has changed since you two started dating. He actually likes you a lot and he wants to make it work. The only problem is that, well, he's Tom."
"That's not an excuse."
"I know it's not an excuse. Yes, he messed up, but he has changed. Trust me."
Liz sighed.
"He visited you when he came home, right?"
"Well yeah, but-"
"But Tom has never done that before. Ever. He hasn't even had a friendly relationship with a girl longer than a month or two, let alone an actual boyfriend and girlfriend relationship."
"If he's going to screw around with every little reporter that comes around-" She said as she wiped her eyes.
"We don't know that Tom did screw around. I'm just playing Tom advocate here. Yeah, he fucked up."
"He also lied to me."
"If he lied, you have every reason to be hurt and angry and upset. There is no excuse for that. But before you leave, I think you should talk to him. At least give the guy a chance to defend himself."
"I can't." She shook her head. "I just wanna go home."
Bill paused for a second before pulling Liz into a big hug, "If you want to go home you I can help you get there, but please don't hate Tom for being who he is. He made an decent effort at being a good boyfriend, but if he can't do it, he can't do it. He may not be ready yet."
"No kidding." Liz sniffed. "Can I call a taxi from here?"
"You don't want to stay for the show?" Bill sat back in his chair, keeping steady eye contact with Liz.
"I'm sure." Liz nodded and stood up.
"Okay." He said after a moment pause, "I'll call a car for you."
"Thanks." She nodded and wiped her nose.
"What do you want me to tell Tom?"
"Nothing." Liz shook her head then thought about it for a second. She sighed and said, "No, tell him not to call me unless he can formulate a decent apology."
"I'll pass that along." Bill smiled and hugged her again.
"I'm sorry I'll miss the show." She said softly.
"Me too."
"I don't hate Tom." She whispered. "I'm just disappointed and very hurt."
"I know." Bill stroked her hair slowly.
She took a step back slowly and said, "Thanks, Bill."
"Anytime." He smiled brightly and reached for his cell. He called someone and arranged for a car to meet them around back. "Where are you headed?"
"The airport I guess." She shrugged.
He passed along the information to the person on the other end, then said, "It's ready when you are."
"Okay, let's go." Liz said. "Before I lose my nerve." She thought to herself. She took her backpack and stayed close to Bill as he led the way to the back door. He pushed the door open with his foot and held it open as she stepped out into the chilly New York air.
"I'm sorry to see you go but it was nice having you here." Bill smiled and opened the car door for her.
"Thank you, Bill. Have a good show."
"Thanks." He gave her a quick hug before she slid into the seat and sighed.
Tom walked out the back door in time to see Bill hug Liz and shut the car door. By the time Tom made it over to Bill, the car was halfway across the parking lot. "Was that Liz?" He asked, breathlessly.
Bill nodded.
"Where's she going?"
"Home." Bill shrugged. "Well, to the airport and then home."
"What the fuck is wrong with you? You let her go?"
"Tom." Bill squinted at Tom as the sun came out from behind the clouds. "She's angry and she's hurt and she's disappointed in you. What did you expect her to do?"
"I didn't expect you to put her in a fucking car to the airport." Tom said angrily.
"She wanted to leave." Bill shrugged and headed back into the arena. "Because of you and Rina."
"But nothing happened between me and Rina." Tom said as he followed Bill.
"You don't have to plead your case to me, Tom. I don't care who you fuck around with." Bill turned suddenly to face Tom. "What I do care about is that if you're going to try to play the part of the good boyfriend, you can't do that shit anymore. If you're not ready to be a good boyfriend yet, don't even try. You're fucking with Liz's head and that's just not cool."
"Me being a player never pissed you off before." Tom said as he pushed past Bill and stormed into the backstage area.
"It's doesn't piss me off now either. That's who you are. I know that and I'm okay with that but usually when you have a good time, no one gets hurt. This time someone got hurt."
"I fucked up, Bill! What do you want me to say?!" Tom shouted.
"What do I want you to say? I don't want you to say anything. You don't owe me anything." Bill shrugged. "You do owe Liz an apology though."
"She's not gonna talk to me now."
"She may not, but you still owe her an apology." Bill said as he turned and left Tom standing alone near the exit.
Liz sat at the airport with her backpack in her lap waiting for her flight. She had another 2 hours before her flight was due to leave, but even sitting in the hard plastic chair alone at the airport was much better than being at the concert. She had run through the whole course of emotions; angry, sadness, hurt, guilt and stupidity. Now she couldn't get the thought out of her head that Tom had made a mistake. He was human after all.
The other side of her head kept saying, "Yes but that doesn't make it right." She sighed in frustration. She really liked Tom and she wanted it to work with him, but trusting Tom was already hard enough without even considering the recent events. Liz mentally kicked herself. "I shouldn't have tried to change him. He was great the way he was." She couldn't forget the look on his face when he walked into the room. He looked like a kid who'd just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar just minutes before dinner. Absolute guilt.
By the time Liz arrived back at her apartment, she was mentally and physically exhausted. She had a wicked case of jet lag because she had spent the entire flight having imaginary conversations with Tom in her mind instead of getting some sleep. In some of the conversations she would tell him what a jerk he had been and leave him cold. In others, she would accept his heartfelt apology and they'd live happily ever after. And then there was the thought, what if he never called?
Liz saw the light flashing on her answering machine. She thought twice before hitting play. "Hey Liz. It's Jill. I know you said you were going to New York tonight, you lucky bitch, but give me a call when you get back. I have Tuesday off and I wanna go see that new horror movie. Bye." Liz smiled and made a mental note to call Jill first thing in the morning.
"Hi, this message is for Liz Schultz. This is Kari-Ann from Dr. Hudgin's dental office. You're due for a cleaning-" Liz pressed skip and moved on to the next message.
"Liz, it's Tom. Please hear me out. Please just listen. I know I really don't deserve the right to ask you to listen, but if you've gotten this far please just hear me out." He paused and took a deep breath. "I have this horrible feeling in my stomach. I think I've just messed up possibly the best thing that's even happened to me." His voice was soft, so unlike Tom. "I'm not going to try to explain things. I know that there's nothing I can say that will change things." She heard him sneeze before he continued, "Sorry, I had to sneeze. But I suppose you heard that. Never mind. Anyway, Liz I'm really very sorry. I am. I'm so sorry." He whispered. "Tom, come on. We've got like 7 minutes!" Someone in the background shouted. "Just a second! I'm coming!" Tom answered back before continuing with the message for Liz. "I really would like to see you when I get back into Germany. If you don't want to, I guess I just have to accept that, but please think about it. Please" He sighed loudly. "Bye." He hung up. Liz stared at the machine with tears in her eyes.
She dropped her backpack on the floor and kicked her shoes off on the way to her bedroom. All she wanted was to sleep for at least 12 hours.
Ten hours would have to do. Liz was awakened by an insistent knocking at her door. She rolled herself out of bed and pulled her robe around her before shuffling out to the living room. She rubbed her eyes and looked through the peephole. Her heart stopped as Tom came into focus. There he was, standing on her porch.
She took a step back and for a split second thought about just letting him knock. She almost didn't answer, but before she knew it her hand reached out and unlocked the door. She pulled the door open.
They stared at each other for a full minute of silence before Liz took a step back and let him into her apartment. "Liz, I-"
She cut him off, "Don't, Tom." She sighed and shut the door behind him. "Let's go in and sit down."
She walked past Tom and sat on her soft couch. Tom sat on the opposite end and sighed softly. "I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow?"
"I left last night. Right after the show."
His red eyes were proof he hadn't slept at all.
"Tom-"
"Liz-" They started at the same time. Liz nodded, and Tom continued, "I know there's nothing that I can say right now that can change anything." He paused and looked her in the eyes. "I never really thought I was boyfriend material. That wasn't anything I really wanted. At least not until you asked me to try it. Even then I wasn't sure, at first. But then I came home that first time and you met me at the airport. I just... I don't know. I've never had that before and it felt good. I didn't want that feeling to go away." He played with the zipper on his jacket, moving it up and down. "At the same time I felt stuck. Like, if I committed to you I felt like that was it and I just wasn't ready to let go. Maybe I should have said something. I should have. But I was selfish and didn't want to lose that feeling I had when I was with you."
"You can't have it both ways."
"I know." Tom nodded slowly. "But that would mean that someone has to win and someone has to lose. And someone gets hurt in the process."
"It's not a matter of winning or losing, Tom."
"I couldn't think of anything better." He smiled shyly. "Either the good boyfriend Tom wins or the player Tom wins. I can't think of another way to express it. I can't have it both ways and I know that."
She shook her head.
"Will you please give me another chance to try this? I promise you that I will do all I can to be exactly what you need?" Tom looked up and caught her eye.
"Maybe under different circumstances I would."
"Like how?"
"You're a world renowned ladies man." Liz smiled as tears sprang up in her eyes. "You have thousands of girls throwing themselves at you all the time. The temptation is just too much for you to control."
"You don't think I can do it?"
"I think you can. I just don't think you will." She said softly. "I'm not mad at you, Tom. I just can't think of a way we can make this work."
"I'm home now. Well, I'll be home after Japan. Then I'll be home for a couple months. We can spend that time building a strong foundation for our relationship.."
"You sound like Bill." Liz smiled.
"He's the one who coached me on what to say the whole way home."
"He came with you?"
"Yeah." Tom nodded. "Bill knew if I came by myself I'd just make a bigger ass out of myself. He helped me make sense of what I was trying to say." Tom smiled and rubbed his eyes again. "I'm just not sure that I'm really making any sense."
"You are." Liz nodded.
"Do you think we can try this over?" Tom asked a second later.
"Can we talk about it when you get back from Japan?"
"Yeah." Tom said softly. "Can we still be friends?"
"Of course, Tom." Liz stood up and walked over to his end of the couch. She pulled him to his feet and hugged him tightly. "We'll always be friends." She whispered as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I'm sorry I hurt you, Liz." He whispered back.
"I know you are." She nodded and squeezed him harder. "You look like you could use some sleep though."
"Yeah, I could." Tom sniffed and stepped back.
"Do you want to stay here?" She asked.
"No, I don't want to be in your way."
"No, it's okay. You can crash out for a couple hours. I'd feel better if you did."
"Okay." He nodded. He didn't take much convincing.
"We can talk more about things when you wake up." She placed her hand gently on his back and led him across the living room to the bedroom. Her rumpled bed sat waiting on the other end of the room. Tom sat on the edge of the bed and took his shoes off before lying down and inhaling her flowery scent.
"Thank you, Liz." Tom said softly before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Liz was more confused than before. She sat there beside Tom on the bed and watched him sleep for a couple minutes. It was hard to believe that this innocent, sweet looking, baby-faced man could cause her to second guess herself. She had decided before he even got there that there was no way she could go back to being Tom's girlfriend. It just wasn't meant to be. She would always be jealous of his flirtatious ways and she knew she'd never be able to cope with the media portraying him as a player all the time.
Him showing up on her doorstep was much more than she bargained for. How was she going to tell him she'd made up her mind? He'd poured his heart out to her and basically pleaded for another chance. Should she wait until he got back from Japan? Would that even make a difference? She couldn't back down this time. Tom would be a friend forever but she knew there couldn't be any more, not because she didn't care about him, it was just the opposite. It was because she cared about Tom so much that she had to let him find the one for him and not try to force it on him. She sighed and left the room, letting Tom sleep in peace.
Liz picked up the phone. She needed to talk to him. She needed a shoulder to cry on, a heart to listen and a smile to keep her in good spirits. She dialed his cell number slowly and waited patiently as it rang two times, then three times. Before the fourth ring could finish the phone was answered, "Hallo?"
"Hi." Liz sighed and began talking.
2 years later
Tom stood at the front of the church with butterflies in his stomach. His best friends were close by and the pews were filled with familiar faces. The organ music started as he followed turned his head to the doorway of the candlelit church. The heavy wood-carved doors were pushed open and Liz stood there perfectly still. Tom smiled slowly and stared in awe. She looked absolutely beautiful in her cream colored silk dress. The neck of her gown was cut high enough to be appropriate, but also low enough to be sexy. Across the bodice of her dress, there was a soft pink embroidered design that ran from her shoulder, down to her long full skirt. The train that fell behind her was touched with tiny beads that caught the candlelight and seemed to sparkle as she walked slowly down the aisle. She carried a small bouquet of pink and ivory roses that matched the tiny satin flowers in her hair.
Tom watched breathlessly as she marched down the aisle looking calmer than any one in the entire church. Georg nudged him gently in the ribs as Liz stopped not five feet from him. He glanced over his shoulder quickly. Georg patted his shoulder as Liz took Bill's hand. Bill squeezed her hand tightly and he kissed her on the cheek as he and Liz stepped up the two stairs to where the pastor waited to join them in holy matrimony. Today she would become Mrs. Bill Kaulitz. Today was the beginning of the rest of their lives.
But that's another story.