The Call's on You

"What's up? How did it go?" Anna asked Joel as soon as she saw him walking towards her to the spot where his car was parked. 

She could hear how fast he was breathing even though he was still a bit far from her and he also had beads of sweat all over his face.

Joel nodded. "Dude was really fast but I was able to catch up." He smirked before adding "Thanks to my long legs" He didn't forget to praise himself.

Anna rolled her eyes before asking "So what did you do?"

"Took his camera and deleted the pictures. Unfortunately, I didn't handle it properly so it landed on the ground. But I gave him my number to call me so I'll have it replaced for him later today." He explained. 

"That's good. Tom should be proud of you." Anna said with a smile as she moved over to open his passenger seat door. 

"Tom doesn't care about me at the moment you know he only cares about— wait, where are you going?" He paused as he was about opening his car door to ask her when he noticed she was trying to open the other side. 

"I came with my my father and you know I can't hang around here when you and Tom are not around. So you could just drop me off at home." 

Joel nodded in understanding before getting inside the car and once they were both settled, he drove off.

"Do you think Tom went to the hospital? He must have been really hurt" Joel asked her with creased brows with his gaze fixed on the road.

"He really deserved it."

"Don't say that. He doesn't deserve that. See the way he landed on the ground?" He frowned. 

"I told him to be careful. He refused to listen to me. I really like what Germany did to him and would want her to do so over and over and over and over again." 

"Why are you so against him? Tom is our friend. We're supposed to support him no matter what. That's what bros do." Joel asked with an even deeper frown as he tried to concentrate on the road. 

"Firstly, I'm not a bro. Secondly, I'm not against Tom. I love him and want the best for him and you know that what he's trying to do doesn't make sense one bit." She retorted. 

"He likes her. How does that not make any sense?" He turned to look at her for a second before turning to the road again.

"She is his bodyguard and she has a boyfriend. Plus this is a very crucial time for his family and he needs to be very careful. I don't know how best to explain this for you to understand what I mean."

"I know what you mean Anna. But we should be happy that Tom finally likes someone and I envy him I tell you the truth. We should show support. It's not like he ordered his heart to like her, it just happened. As his friends, we should help him. Do you think it doesn't drive him crazy that a girl like Germany keeps troubling his mind?" He didn't know why it sounded funny but he began to laugh and Anna joined him. 

When the laughter died down, he added in a pleading voice. 

"Let's just help him out. Please?" 

Anna sighed deeply and looked out her side of the window. 

"This is crazy" She muttered before turning to look at him again. She could not believe she was about to do this.

"So what do you want me to do?" She asked in resignation.

Joel smiled when he realised she had finally relented. It was always difficult to convince Anna to join their train. She was always a really hard nut to crack.

"Firstly, we need to go over to Tom's place and scold Germany for doing that to Tom. Then, we'll drag him to the hospital. But right now, you should call him to confirm where he is. I can swear he's not on his way to the hospital."

"I think so too" She added before fetching her phone from her purse. 

Joel turned to look at her and a bright smile lit up his face. 

"Did I mention you look really pretty today?" He asked her before adding a wink.

"Oh please don't try to flirt with me. I have a boyfriend" She added amusedly, making them both laugh.

                   *************

The sound of a ringing phone saved them all from the awkward silence inside the car. 

Amanda was busy glaring at Tom. Tom on the other hand was staring blankly as he had no idea what he was doing.

While Lisa remained quiet as she drove. She had already told him she was fine so she didn't see any reason to explain further to him that she was not hungry.

There was a loud sigh from Amanda's part before she reminded Tom that his phone was ringing. 

He checked the phone to see it was Anna calling and took the call immediately while sitting up. 

"Are you okay? Gone to the hospital yet?" Anna didn't waste time to ask immediately the call connected. 

"I am okay. There's no need for the hospital." He answered in a low voice. 

"Are you on your way home? We're coming." She informed him.

He didn't need anyone to tell him the 'We' she was referring to was herself and Joel. 

Maybe he did need their presence now so he agreed for them to come over before ending the call.

"Amanda. I have visitors so I have to hurry home. Should we drop you off at your place first or there's somewhere else you'd like us to drop you at?" He asked her politely. 

He knew she was pissed. From her facial expression and body gestures, it was plain obvious. 

Maybe he was crazy after all. He had a goddess like Amanda beside him yet he was concerning himself with his bodyguard. 

"I owe you dinner." He quickly added to appease her.

He had to make things work now between them. That way, he would quickly stop bothering himself with Germany's affairs.

When Amanda heard him mention 'dinner', she forced out a smile. 

"You owe me two dinners now right?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes." He smiled also and finally felt a bit relaxed. 

"Good. Then the call's on me." She shifted closer and planted a kiss on his cheek. 

His eyes unconsciously darted towards the front seat.

Lisa kept driving and it was as if she did not care about whatever was going on behind her. 

"The call's on you." He agreed to Amanda's statement with his gaze still on Lisa.