"well, someone's in a good mood." matt commented as tom waltzed into the room with a lazy smile the next morning.

"i had a good dream." he simply shrugged, starting to make breakfast.

"pff, whatever. work starts in 25 and edd's taking a day off." matt informed.

"yeah." tom nodded. he put a slice of bread in the toaster and sat on the counter to wait for it.

"...do you ever wonder where tord is now?"

the question caught tom by surprise; so much so that he visibly stiffened. "um.. no, not... not really."

matt gave him a sideways glance. "oh. sometimes i like to think he's burning in hell alongside all those other assholes." he said casually after taking a bite of french toast.

tom gulped and hopped off the counter to start to spread jelly on his toast. "i don't like to think about him." he half-lied.

"i get it."

"mhm."

~timeskip~

tom scrubbed at a stubborn spot on a plate, eyebrows furrowed as he put all his strength into trying to remove it. when it chipped off he sighed in relief and washed off the soap, eyes lidded tiredly. there was only another fifteen minutes until work finally ended.

"tom, wanna hear a joke?" ell looked over her shoulder from her place at the stove.

"um.. not really," tom looked at her as well and smiled at her fake pout. "go ahead."

"what do you call a pig that does karate?"

"ell, i-"

"pork chop!" ell broke off into laughter and tom just disappointedly shook his head.

"you're worse than your brother, i swear." he scoffed.

"am not-"

"tommm!" matt burst into the kitchen and immediately wrapped tom in a bear hug, squeezing him tightly. "guesswhatguesswhat!"

caught by surprise, tom wheezed out a breath. "wh- what?" he choked out.

"leave the poor kid alone." ell rolled her eyes and flipped a pancake.

"edd and i set a date for the wedding~!" matt exclaimed, putting tom down and hopping around the kitchen.

tom instantly smiled at the good news. "that's awesome, matt!"

"aren't you supposed to be working? when did you guys decide?" ell questioned.

matt flushed embarrassedly and giggled. "right now, over text. there's only one person out there anyway, so it's fine!"

"when is it?" tom asked, drying his hands off on a towel before bringing the tub over to the shelves.

"it's next month on the 25th!" the ginger grinned and did a small twirl, making ell cringe. "it's not gonna be like any traditional wedding, either. there'll be no 'best man' or any of that bullcrap."

"how is that-?" ell began.

"shhh! we want a simple wedding, then an awesome party! there'll be rainbows, champagne, a buffet, a dj, a huge dance floor- everything!"

tom smiled at the thought. despite hating any event that included leaving the house, he was happy for matt and wanted to be there in any way possible for him. even if it meant going to a party where he only knew three people. standing in the corner alone was more than fine if it was for matt's sake.

"it sounds super fun, matt." tom commented kindly.

"i know!!" matt squealed.

ell snickered at his reaction. "i'll only go for the buffet." she teased, beginning to place the food on a plate and hold it out for matt.

"some friends i have." matt replied with the same playful tone, taking the plate and leaving.

"i'm happy for them." tom smiled softly.

"me too." ell agreed with a content sigh.

he glanced up at the clock on the wall and realized his shift was over. "aw, hell yeah! i'm outta here."

"i am, too!" she grinned.

tom hung up his apron and stretched his arms after he put on his backpack. he glanced around in confusion and patted his back pockets. "my phone?" he frowned.

"oh, you left it here." ell pointed to it on the counter. she picked it up and glanced at the screen, clicking on the power button and getting ready to make fun of whatever screensaver tom had.

"hey, don't-!" tom began.

ell's eyes widened as she stared at the screen in a completely shocked expression. her gaze slowly made its way to a confused tom.

he tilted his head. "what's wrong...?"

she turned the screen to show tom. there was a notification from, of course, tord. the text read, 'hey, lets hang out?'

in that exact moment tom felt his heart drop to his stomach. heat rushed to his face in shame and fear, unable to form a coherent sentence.

silence hung heavy in the air.

"why?" ell eventually asked, eyes narrowing. "after everything, you still-"

tom rushed to her and slapped a panicky hand over her mouth. he snatched the phone from her hand and shoved it in his back pocket.

"please. don't say anything. matt doesn't know and i want to keep it that way," tom whispered frantically. "i'm begging you."

ell wrenched his hand off her face and glared at him harshly. "i wouldn't've told him anyway. but just.. why?"

"he's changed, i swear. i'm not completely trusting in him yet, but ell, i swear he has changed."

she sighed in frustration and picked up her purse. "old habits die hard, tom. remember that." ell muttered before she brushed past him and left.

tom could only helplessly watch her go.

damn this chapter is REALLY shitty, i'm sorry. it's more of a filler tbh. i'm kinda stressed about finals but hopefully when i get my new laptop i'll write more!!