5. Sometimes you can love somebody with all of your heart and at the same time not want them back - because you're worth more than that.

"W-What? H-How did you figure that out?" Your eyes widened in shock as you tried to get out the question.

"So I am right?" Harrison didn't know if he was completely wrong about the disliking you seemed to have taken to Jo, but you had just confirmed that he was spot on.

"I mean, y-yeah.. yeah you're right —," You said as buried your face in your hand, a bit embarrassed about Harrison finding out like that, "and before you kick me out of the house for not telling Tom immediately, I'm sorry. I-I just didn't know how and — and then I had a small breakdown and I didn't know if Tom would believe me and -"

"I'm going to stop you right there." Harrison said as he shook his head, "I understand. It sucks that he doesn't know already, but no one is blaming you."

"I am! Tom's been super nice to me and here I am talking about how his girlfriend is cheating on him with my ex-boyfriend while he has no clue about it." You groaned, "I feel like a terrible person, but I don't know how to tell him. He loves her! I had weeks of preparation for the truth to hit me, I can't just go: 'Hey Tom, did you know your girlfriend is a cheating bitch? Oh and do you know how I know? Because she's the girl from Byron's work.' — I can't do that, can I?"

"That's exactly wh-"

"W-What?" Both of your heads shot up to see Tom standing at his now open bedroom door.

"Shit." Harrison mumbled as you were still struggling to find the right words to say to the brunette.

"Are you really that desperate to get me and Jo to break up?" The boy asked as his eyes found Harrison's.

"Mate -"

"She wouldn't cheat on me." Tom said, almost as if he was trying to convince himself more than the two of you, "It's been a year and a half. Harrison's never liked her, how do I know it's true?"

Both of you knew he wasn't trying to offend Harrison or imply that Harrison was lying about Jo cheating just so Tom would break up with her. He was confused. He didn't have any preparation for this talk. He was thrown into the deep end.

"It's true, Tom. I've seen them." You spoke up carefully. You didn't know Tom well enough to know how his reaction would be. You didn't know if he was going to be angry at you or if he was just not going to believe you.

"It can't be true. She wouldn't do that to me. Our relationship is going great." Tom shrugged, "You must be wrong." He said as he said down next to you as if nothing had happened.

"Tom, we need to talk about this." Harrison said, his eyes focused on his friend.

"There's nothing to talk about. You're wrong. And you need to stop lying about my relationship."

"She's not lying tho, is she? You know it Tom. Deep inside, you know it. This is why you're putting up your stupid defense mechanism right now. This is why you're trying your best to stay in denial."

"I don't fucking know it! I don't fucking know her. All I know is that her boy- exboyfriend is a cheating scumbag, which doesn't make Jo one as well. Yeah, I'm sorry you've been cheated on, but that doesn't mean you can go around destroying other relationships. Why didn't you tell me yesterday? Or three hours ago? Exactly, because it isn't true." Tom said as he got up from his seat on the couch again, "It is not true, and you two better stay out of my relationship from now on."

"Tom —" you said as you shot up from your seat as well, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I didn't know how to do it. And I know I just dropped this bomb on you without any evidence, but I am not lying."

"Whatever. Maybe you should leave."

"I'm sorry, I will. It's better to know, believe me. She doesn't deserve you." You tried to smile at him but he stayed cold. He didn't believe a word the two of you told him, but you couldn't blame him. You had been in denial for weeks because it meant that your life was still the same and nothing would change for you.

"Who are you to talk about her not deserving me?"

"Tom! For fucks sake," Harrison groaned as he got up as well, putting a hand on Tom's shoulder, "Josephine is cheating on you with Byron and that's the truth. Believe it or don't, but you know it's true and (Y/N) is not to blame for any of it."

"You two fucking deserve each other." Tom spat as he removed his friend's hand from his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for being the one to tell you, Tom." A sad smile was displayed on you face as you looked at Harrison who looked more annoyed with his best mate than anything else, "Harrison knows where to find me if you ever want to talk to me about it."

Tom shook his head as he walk towards his bedroom before closing the door again.

So, that went well.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think he would react that way." Harrison said as his eyes found yours.

"It's fine, Harrison. I feel like I would not have believed him if he came to me to tell me. J-Just be here for him once the realisation hits okay?" You knew the feeling of everything becoming true, you had been Tom just yesterday, but you had visual evidence. He just had your word, no proof, "I should go. Thank you for getting my mind off things for a bit."

"You can still stay if you want to, y'know?" Harrison smiled apologetically.

"It's fine, I should probably head home anyway before Will destroys my front door or something like that." You chuckled.

"Alright, feel free to text or call, you know, if you need someone that's completely on your side of things."

"Thanks for listening to my problems." You laughed as you made your way to the front door, "Please check on Tom in a bit."

"I'll handle things with Tom. Don't worry about it, just get home safe." Harrison smiled as he pulled you into a bone crushing hug, "Just so you know, Byron's not worth it and you deserve better."

"I know. Thanks Harrison. I'll see you around, I guess?" You smiled as Harrison nodded and opened the front door for you.

Making your way to the Tube station, you thought about what had just happened. You thought about Tom and how he must currently feel. You had just dropped this massive bomb on him without any warning. You had interfered with his relationship without really knowing him - but was it really that bad if it meant that he knew about his cheating girlfriend?

You knew you could've handled the situation a lot better, but there really is not a manual on how to break the news to someone when it comes to cheating. You were glad that Tom finally knew, you just wished that you had gotten the chance to do it a bit less harsh and maybe a bit more thoughtful than that.

Arriving at your place, you let out a groan as you recognised the person that was currently playing on their phone on your doorsteps.

"Thought I told you I wasn't home?" You mumbled as you walked past him to unlock your front door.

"Thought you were lying." Will shrugged as he got up and followed you inside before sitting down on your couch.

"Clearly I wasn't, do you want something to drink?" You rolled your eyes as you made your way over to your kitchen to grab yourself a glass of water.

"What were you thinking?" Will spoke up, making you turn around again to raise your eyebrow at him.

"Excuse me?"

"I thought you guys were happy with each other?"

"Yeah, well that makes two of us then." You scoffed as you turned back around and walked the final steps to your fridge.

"Wait-" Will appeared in the doorframe, looking more confused than ever, making you assume Byron went with his Harrison story and not with the real story, "What do you mean?"

"He told you I cheated on him, didn't he?"

"Yeah?"

"I assume he said it was Harrison?" You couldn't help but let out a laugh.

This stupid fuck really thought he was going to get away with telling your friends a fake story about your breakup. If you didn't want to ever see him again, you would've probably marched over to his place and smashed his head against a wall.

"I'm confused." Will said as he followed you back outside where you both settled down on the couch.

"Do you want the story that's true or do you want the story that won't make you question the friendship with one of your mates?"

"(Y/N), we've been friends forever. I need the truth."

"He cheated on me."

"What?"

"Yeah, pretty sure he's been cheating on me for weeks or even months now. I've known for a while, well, not known, but I knew something was off and yesterday I just snapped and decided to check for myself if he was leaving work alone or not — guess I had it coming, but yeah, I guess that's the truth." You sent Will a weak smile, "I didn't cheat on him. Harrison is a friend and Byron is a lying asshole."

"I-I don't understand. Why? Like? Why would he do that? And why would he tell me a fake story? That's just not - not like him, I guess."

"He tried to turn this on me this morning when I asked him to come over. He was going on about how he was third wheeling yesterday and about how he doesn't know what we're doing when we're studying." You let you face drop into your hands, "This is so fucking stupid. He told me he still loves me and that I am the one not fighting for this relationship!"

"You think you'll ever forgive him? Maybe you were just going through a rough patch?" Will asked as your head shot up to look at who you thought was your closest friend.

"A rough patch? Are you fucking kidding me right now?" You scoffed as your eyes shot daggers at the boy next to you, "If you came here to convince me to take the cheating asshole back, then you know where the door is."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah? You didn't?" A tear escaped your eye but this time it wasn't because of Byron, it was because you realized you weren't as certain as before about having your childhood friend on your side, "Do you even believe me? Or did Byron convince you well enough that I cheated on him?"

"I don't fucking know, (Y/N)! I don't know what's going on. First Byron texts me telling me that you broke up with him, then we talk and he tells me you cheated on him with Harrison last night after you didn't want to go home with him and then I come over here and you're not home and when you do arrive, you tell me he's been the one cheating?" Will said, "I don't know what to fucking believe, because the two of you are my best friends and I can't just pick a damn side."

"I never asked you to pick a side, Will. I asked you if you wanted the truth or not, I gave you the truth. I don't have a reason to lie." You felt a lump form in your throat, "I love him, and believe me when I say that I have been preparing myself for this heartbreak for quite some time now, so don't even fucking think about asking me to forgive him."

"Where were you today?"

"You still don't believe me, do you?" You scoffed, "15 years of friendship, and you still don't believe me. Fucking fantastic."

"I do believe you, it's just—"

"You trust him more." You shook your head at how absurd this situation was, "You know, I was scared about telling you. I was scared to talk to you about it because I thought you would blame yourself for introducing us. I thought you would beat yourself up for somehow being the one who brought him into our friends group. Is it really that bad that I thought I had at least you on my side? That I would still have you to talk to even if my relationship was ending? I couldn't talk to Steph, because I knew she would tell you which is why I needed someone who wasn't involved. Yes, I was with Harrison for the past hours and believe me or not - probably not, at this point - I didn't cheat on Byron. You know, I broke up with my boyfriend today, told another guy that his girlfriend was cheating on him, had him tell me to leave the house and calling me a liar and yet - you're the one who's hurt me the most."

"(Y/N)-"

"I get that he's your friend, Will, but it won't change the fact that he cheated on me and that you're calling me a liar, that you trust his word more than mine, that you chose a side without anyone asking you to." You said as you got up from your spot, "I want you to leave, maybe go to your best mate since you're literally friendship goals."

"You can't be serious." Will said, getting up from the spot on his couch nonetheless.

"I am." You said walking to your front door with Will following close behind, "Don't think about coming back, bet Byron's going to be really happy about being able to spend all the time in the world with you - and if you find the time, tell him to tell Josephine I said 'Hi', oh hey, maybe she can replace me! Bet Steph and Elise will be happy to welcome her after he broke up with his cheating bitch of girlfriend!" You smiled as you opened the door for the boy.

"(Y/N), I-I'm sor-"

"Yeah, you will be. Bye Will." You scoffed as you closed the door in front of his confused face.

You let yourself fall into bed after a quick shower. Had it really just been a little over 24 hours since you found out about Byron? Was it only just this morning that you had broken up? Had it really just been a few hours since Tom found out about Jo? Pulling out your phone you texted Harrison to see what Tom's been up to, but he had told you that he didn't want to speak to anyone and that he still wasn't so sure about Jo cheating on him.

Four days passed, with you not hearing anything from Will or any of your other friends really. The only person you were talking to was Harrison. He was currently the one keeping you sane. Spending time alone meant that you had plenty of time to think, and plenty of time to think meant that you had plenty of time to blame yourself for everything that had happened.

You knew you deserved better than Byron, there was no doubt in your mind about that, but you thought about how you could have handled the Will and especially the Tom situation a lot better.

Harrison had told you that Tom was still seeing Jo and that he was fully in denial about her. The two boys were fine and talking to each other like before, but Harrison was trying his best to get Tom to confront his girlfriend about it.

Between studying for exams and watching stupid rom-coms, you had found the time to tell Harrison about what had happened with Will, which made him call Will a dickhead about ten times.

You were alright, though. You knew you still loved Byron, of course you did, it hadn't even been a week since your breakup, but you were healing and you were going to be fine without him because there was no way you were going to forgive him or hell, give the relationship another chance.

Just as you got up from your couch to grab yourself a cup of Ben & Jerry's, your heard your doorbell go off.

Opening the front door, you were more than just surprised to see the familiar face of no other than Tom Holland again - and this time, he was the one with the tears dripping down his cheeks.