Trigger warning: mention of abuse, description of dead bodies, mention of vomit
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Dream walked up to Techno. He looked a bit worried. He tapped Techno's arm. Techno glanced at him, sipping his coffee.
"Have you seen Ranboo yet today?"
"I haven't seen him yet now that you mention it. Something wrong? Something you need to talk to me about?" Dream frowned and glanced at the students who were in the room. They were working independently. Techno had been walking around the classroom, giving students anxiety when he looked down at their papers and pointing at a question if they had it wrong. It wasn't a test or quiz so he could careless if he gave them the answers. Techno was just about to sit at his desk when Dream walked in. "Dream?" Techno waved his hand in front of the other's face. Dream flinched and looked at him again.
"Do you think you can ask someone to cover for me? I have to go check on something."
"I don't know if anyone's available since it's second period." Techno shrugged. "I can call Sam... Do you not have a class right now?"
"No. It's my prep period but my last class was Ranboo's class. He's never absent or late so I'm just a bit worried... If something happened to him, I might need to be late for my next few periods or take off for the day."
"Are you sure it's not because he's your half brother?" The class turned their head towards them.
"Techno!" Techno shrugged, sipping his coffee once more.
"Ranboo's your half brother?"
"That half and half freak?" The rest of the class started to mumbled to each other. Dream sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Techno put his coffee down harshly, earning a loud thump on his desk. The class shut up and looked at their teacher.
"You will not speak of this outside of this classroom. If I hear any of you say anything about it, I'll have you suspended. Am I clear?" The class mumbled a yes sir and continued their work. Techno looked at Dream. "Go to the kid's house. Just be back before your next class. I have my prep period after this one so I can go over if you can't find him in time." Dream nodded.
"Thank you." Dream quickly exited the room. The class all turned to look at Techno.
"So is it true? Mr. WasTaken is Ranboo's half brother?" A girl asked.
"Yeah. I found out about two years ago." Techno leaned against his desk.
"So Ranboo's last name is WasTaken?"
"No. That's Dream's mother's name. Ranboo is Dream's father's son so he has his father's last name."
"Why's he a half brother?"
"I can't answer that one." Techno picked his coffee back up.
"Why's Mr. WasTaken's last name his mom's? Shouldn't it be his dad's too?" Techno sighed, sipping his coffee once more.
"Enough. Get back to work. If you don't, you can finish it in detention."
Dream unlocked Ranboo's front door, opening it slowly. He walked in and closed it behind him. He set his keys down next to Ranboo's. He glanced down at the backpack near the door before glancing at the pepper spray that was on the small table near their keys.
"Ranboo? It's Dream. Where are you?" Dream took off his shoes, setting them next to Ranboo's. Dream walked into the living room before going into the bathroom that was connected to it. "Ranboo, where are you?" He muttered to himself. He left the living room area and went to the kitchen. A cabinet was left open. Dream walked over and looked inside the cabinet. It was just a few cans and some packages of soup. Dream closed the cabinet and exited the kitchen. He glanced in the dining room before heading upstairs. He checked the bathroom first. There was a bit of throw up on the toilet seat. Dream sighed and went to Ranboo's bedroom. He opened the door slowly. Ranboo was curled in a ball on his bed in the corner of the room. He was facing the wall. Dream walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Ranboo turned his head slightly to look at him.
"What?"
"You alright?" Ranboo shifted slightly, turning his head away again. Dream looked down at the floor. "Ya know... First time I found out about you, I was upset. I found out my dad was with another woman and betrayed my mom."
"What do you want? Why are you telling me about your daddy issues? I have my own to deal with."
"I'm your brother, like it or not. I'm here for you..." Dream looked at Ranboo. "Why didn't you come to school? I know you're not feeling good but that's never stopped you before." Ranboo curled into a tighter ball.
"Fundy was here yesterday... after school. He asked to stay over. I asked why and he brought up that I don't have any family so it didn't matter if he stayed over or not. I yelled at him. I..." Ranboo hiccuped, starting to cry. "I may not remember my mom most of the time and most of my life with her as a kid but I remember her and Dad's lifeless bodies and the abuse I took from Dad whenever he was home. Mom's head was turned towards me as she died. Her eyes were so glassy. Her face was stained with tears and blood. She was reaching for me when she died. She may have been a slut Dad picked up off the street but... She didn't deserve something so cruel. She was so loving and caring. She took care of me when Dad was out living his double life."
"I know-"
"No, you don't." Ranboo sat up. "Your parents weren't killed right in front of you and you weren't on death's doorstep when you had to crawl across the room to get to the house phone to call 911 when you were only a 13 year old, who was playing a game of chess with his mother when your door was busted open by people you don't even know. You weren't there. You never saw his body. You never saw her's. You hated me until a year ago. You don't understand anything. You're just some dumb teacher at a school and the only relative I have that wanted to taken in a hooker's child." He stood up, stumbling a bit. He held his stomach in pain. "I only threw up because the image of my mom's mangled body appeared in a dream I had last night. So excuse me if I don't keep up my perfect attendance." Ranboo went to the bathroom and turned the shower on. Dream got up and walked out of the bedroom. The two were quiet for a bit.
"I'll have Techno come by soon. I know you see him as more of a brother than you see me. He offered anyways so..."
"Your class is starting in fifteen minutes. You should get going."
"Yeah... I'll see you tomorrow at school right?" Ranboo nodded slowly and closed the bathroom door. Dream nodded to himself and went downstairs.
Techno opened Ranboo's front door with the key Dream had given him. He closed the door and set the key down. He glanced down at the shoes near the door before hesitantly taking his own off. He glanced into each room before heading upstairs. Ranboo opened his bedroom door as Techno got to the top of the steps. Techno stopped.
"Hey." He said softly. Ranboo shifted slightly, looking down at his hands.
"Hey..."
"Have you eaten today?" Techno asked, walking over. Ranboo slowly shook his head, pulling at his sleeves.
"I tried to about half an hour before Dream came but I couldn't... My stomach hurt too much..." Techno nodded.
"How about I take you out to go eat somewhere? You shouldn't stay in the house all day."
"Don't you have to get back to school to teach?" Techno scoffed.
"Please. You're skipping school so why can't I?" Ranboo looked up at him with a 'are you serious right now' face. "I took off for the rest of the day. Sam said I could. He got a sub for the rest of my classes. You're stuck with me because Dream is forcing me to stay with you until dinner time, which he said he was gonna bring over fried chicken and some mashed potatoes. He told me to tell you." Ranboo nodded, looking back down at his hands. He started to pick at his long sleeved shirt quietly. Techno waited patiently for him to say something again, which took a few long, awkward seconds. He watched him play with his sleeves anxiously.
"Then... Can we go to... um... the next town over? I used to live over there. I need to visit somewhere. I haven't visited in almost two months." Techno nodded.
"Yeah, sure. We can just get something to eat through the drive thru somewhere-"
"No. There's a restaurant I used to go to all the time. Can we eat there?" Techno paused before shrugging.
"Sure..?" Ranboo nodded.
"Thank you. Let me get my hoodie." Ranboo went back into his room. Techno hummed and started making his way back downstairs.