Authors Note: For a little context the events of the story are based around the time Tommy was streaming just after the final battle with Jschlatt and Techno's betrayal, so this is all before the whole exile thing happened in their rp. (Also there is no shipping in this, just close friendships)
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When it was almost 7pm and Tommy was yet to come home from school, his parents' concern had doubled ten-fold. They prayed the mischievous boy had just gone to a friends house or been kept behind by a teacher and forgotten to tell them; but after several phone calls their hopes were rapidly dwindling. He had been kept back slightly with a teacher about something he was stuck on, but afterwards he had left and headed straight home. His friend Eryn was the last to see him; catching him on the way out when Eryn was heading to his football club. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, but now he was missing and it made everyone sick with fear.
The police were called shortly after once he was reported missing, and eventually began investigating. Tommy's parents had then accompanied them as they searched his route to school and the surrounding area.
"Here! I've got something." The assertive voice of a policeman called as he crouched over the pavement, shining his torch around. One other police officer briskly came over as a third stayed with Tom's parents trying to give them reassurance.
"It's blood. Quite faint now, we're lucky it didn't rain." The policeman said without looking up. "Hopefully we can get some samples from this."
The officer beside him nodded and looked around more closely.
"I can't see any other obvious signs of a struggle or tire marks, but this could be a start." She said, glancing around their surroundings. Beyond the alleyway was a secluded area of houses and a more extensive network of lanes that branched out into bigger roads.
"We will start a deeper investigation of this and the surrounding area, and we'll also check any CCTV near in the hopes of finding more evidence. With this having the high probability of a kidnapping we will act as fast as we can to find where he is and who took him, but this will take some time." The other policeman explained, addressing Tom's parents. "I suggest you head home and get some rest as we continue, we will be in close contract if we find anything else."
The female officer turned to approach them and gave them a comforting smile.
"I promise we will do everything in our power to find your son and bring him home safe, ok?"
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(The next evening)
Tubbo was in the middle of a stream on the Dream SMP, it had been a chill stream so far with him just reading chat as he worked on some builds. He was now in a vc with Fundy who was streaming too, and they had been laughing non stop as they messed around, planning a few pranks to play on others in the server. He hadn't heard anything from Tommy today, it wasn't anything too odd but then again, he and Tommy would almost always talk constantly. He had messaged him on discord a few times if he was still up for Bedwars, but hadn't gotten a response. For now he hadn't thought much of it though, figuring he would be on at some point eventually, and he was busy doing stuff with Fundy anyway.
As the stream continued on for an hour or so, those thoughts were forgotten as he worked on other projects within the smp and spoke with other members who joined the call briefly. He leaned back in his chair chuckling at a silly remark from Fundy, but then glanced to his door and lifted his headphones off one ear.
"Hold on guys, I think my parents are calling me. Fundy! Entertain the chat for me" Tubbo yelled as he left his room.
Tubbo hurriedly came downstairs to see what they wanted "What is it?" He questioned, as he peeked into the living room. His relaxed smile gradually became slack as he registered their grave expressions; they looked at him in a gentle way as though they were nervous to tell him something and it unsettled him, making his stomach tighten.
"Wait...what happened?" He continued, a slight edge to his voice as he felt something was off.
"Toby, I'm sure it will be ok, but you need to listen calmly." His mum began, as she gestured for him to come over.
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Tommy was missing. Missing. Yesterday evening someone had taken him....They kidnapped him, and he hadn't realised anything. He had been playing games and laughing like any other day while Tommy was in danger, and scared, and hurt...or...or worse. What if he was already-
"Toby! It's alright, take deep breaths, it's going to be ok. I'm sure they will find him." His mum's voice snapped him out of his increasingly panicked thoughts. He suddenly realised how much he was shaking, and his vision was blurred with the tears that filled them. His mum continued to talk with one arm wrapping him closer to her. "The blood they found was his...But they caught a suspicious van with a hidden license plate down the road near the scene on CCTV. They're trying to track it right now and the police are working very hard to get to him as soon as possible. I know they can find him " She explained softly.
Tubbo wiped away his tears and took a few deeper breaths. "I-I know...I'm j-just scared. How could this have happened, I just- I don't know what if he's already so far away, what if I actually don't see him again."
"You will. I know your worried, we all are, but for now you've got to try your best to stay strong until they get him home safe. I'm going to give you a little time alone but let me know whenever you need me." His mum said more confidently, before giving a ruffle of his hair and more persistent reassurances it was going to be alright. Tubbo gave a light smile and murmured a thanks as she left into another room.
A few minutes passed with Tubbo quietly sitting in the living room slowly composing himself. Suddenly he let out a gasp, he'd completely forgotten about the stream. How much time had passed? He hoped the chat hadn't gone mad with worry. He grimaced at the thought of going back and coming up with some excuse for having to go. But at the same time he also wanted to seek some kind of distraction and had the urge to speak with his chat and friends. It was probably best to just end the stream as soon as he could, but he didn't want to risk people finding out either. He cleared up his face in the bathroom, although his eyes and cheeks were still quite red. He took a few more deep breaths and went back into his room, nervously approaching his desk and putting on his headphones.
"Hello?" Crap, his voice still sounded a lot shakier than he expected. He coughed and tried to get it back to normal. "I'm so sorry, how long was I gone?"
"Tubbo!" Fundy's loud voice came through his headset, "It's almost been 20 minutes where have you been?"
"Yeah, I'm really sorry Fundy, chat, my parents where um- asking for help with something and then I got distracted getting food." He winced, hoping his excuse wouldn't make anyone suspicious.
Fundy chuckled, "I'm glad your back, is everything good?"
Tubbo paused before replying "Y-yeah, it's all good." He felt a strong pang of guilt, realising that the news he had been given was really important. Tommy was a friend to many on the smp, and he knew he would have to tell others about it soon. He just was reluctant on saying it live now, knowing it would blow up in seconds and it was something he should tell them privately first. It just felt so painful to hear Fundy as his cheerful self while oblivious to what was happening. He wondered if anyone knew already, there was a high chance Wilbur did, maybe Phil too.
"Tubbo, I had to try and entertain both our chats at the same time, but uh that was no problem because I was so funny, yeah I was so funny wasn't I chat." Fundy laughed nervously. "The dirty crime boys are back! Now lets finish that last prank we had planned!"
"Yeah sure, lets do this!" Tubbo sighed, struggling to keep himself composed as he felt his hand trembling over his mouse. He had not calmed down. His brief façade of normality was rapidly crumbling and he wasn't sure how long he could keep back his emotions. His face felt like it was burning and his stomach was churning with anxiety. He glanced at his twitch chat flying by at crazy speeds, and then to his camera. It was the first time in a while where the realisation and pressure of the thousands of eyes watching him intently right now felt heavier than ever.
He and Fundy continued to talk for a little as they worked on completing their final prank, but Tubbo struggled to really engage properly in the conversation and felt distant. He would have ended stream when he first got back, but he felt bad doing so after being gone and wanted to at least make it up to the chat a bit. Luckily, no one seemed to notice, and he had managed to stay calm for now, it would only be a few more minutes and then he could finally end.
Eventually, they completed their prank of building a piston trap door at the entrance of Eret's castle. After apologising for being gone and explaining that he was feeling tired, he ended his stream, thankful for his supportive chat sending warm farewells. He also said goodbye to Fundy who was going to continue streaming for a little longer and left the vc. Tubbo let out another sigh of relief and thumped his head against his chair, covering his face with his hands. He felt exhausted.
In the quiet of his room, Tubbo stared up at his ceiling and rubbed his aching head. He had been fighting his thoughts since he came back to the stream, which were now back to screaming the same words. Tommy is gone. One of his closest friends, if not his best friend was suddenly missing. It just wouldn't sink in, it kept whirling and swarming in his head like an untamable storm. Images of Tommy came to his mind, of their time together when they met up, of his hysterical laugh and ridiculous jokes, their hours of discord calls together playing games or chatting excitedly about ideas for the dream smp or just random things.
When did his vision get blurry?
The hot tears slowly overflowed down his cheeks, his lip was trembling, then his shoulders, then his whole body as he began to violently sob.
Please. Please
I don't want to lose you.
Tubbo cried and cried until they became sharp, shaky breaths mixed with whimpers. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut as though wishing he could escape this reality. Somehow this was all just a cruel dream he would wake up from and any moment Tommy would be calling him and it would all be normal. He let out a louder yell and shook his hair, hating how he couldn't make his thoughts from imagining all the potential things that could be happening to his friend right now.
Please, please, please. Come home.
His table suddenly vibrated as his phone began buzzing and slightly moving across the table. He leaned forward, messily wiping his eyes, and still taking gasps of air between weak sobs. His phone screen was lit up to show someone was calling.
It was Wilbur.
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That's the end of this chapter, I hope you enjoyed :) Again this is my first fanfic so apologies if some characters seem inaccurate, hopefully I'll improve as I go. I've been writing this for quite a large amount of the day, and it's a bit slower and awkward for me since I have one arm in a sling. xD My cat doesn't make it any easier by walking/lying over my laptop or trying to sit on me too. But he's too adorable so gets away with it. I hope to get the next chapter out pretty soon, I do also have lots of school work, but I'll try my best to make the chapters regular.