"I don't know," Tommy had said. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, but he did know. He did know and Wilbur must know too, because what was the only thing that had changed before Tommy ran? The man. The man had come and Tommy had vanished.
Wilbur was staring at Tommy, who's eyes were squeezed shut in terror. Wilbur himself could virtually feel the terror that was echoing out of the boy, overfilling. He saw the tensed muscles, the squeezed eyes, the pain, and he didn't know what to do.
"Tommy?" Wilbur asked again, not knowing what else to say, and Tommy ever so slowly opened his eyes, confused at the lack of a blow. Wilbur stared at him, confusion and worry and kindness showing in his eyes. Tommy stared back, matching the confusion, why was Wilbur looking at him like that? Like he cared? He didn't care. He couldn't care. He didn't know Tommy. So, How? How could he care?
No. Tommy knew better then to pay attention to any care in the others eyes. He couldn't trust it. Not if he wanted to beat the system. And he did. More than anything, Tommy wanted to win this stupid cruel unending game. He didn't hope for a better life, didn't even hope for the win, he just knew he needed to. That need was the only reason Tommy was still here. So, no. Tommy would not risk the loss by trusting Wilbur. He couldn't.
He stared at the taller man, who was looking back down at him with concern. Tommy didn't know what to say, but he did know he didn't like the look Wilbur was giving him. It was unnatural, dangerous in its own cruel way.
"Wilbur?" Came a new voice. Tommy flinched, the fear doubling. More people. More danger. More danger. More danger. So much fucking danger. Tommy wanted to scream, but he couldn't, even if his voice wasn't worn out and lost, he knew better than to try. Not now that he had some access to the rest of his brain. Not now that he wasn't running entirely on pain and fear. No. He wouldn't scream. He would, however, run if he got the chance, but Wilbur was still gripping his arms tightly.
Tommy had squeezed his eyes closed again, and didn't recognise the owner of the voice. He wondered if it was the man. It probably was. Was this where he would die? He didn't want to. He couldn't.
"Techno, go get Ranboo, then stay with Sally," Wilbur hissed over his shoulder, his tone gentle and apologetic, but urgent. There was a moment of silence, and then footsteps dashing away from them.
"Tommy, can you look at me please?" Wilbur asked, and Tommy did as he was told. Wilbur stared at him for a few seconds, before speaking hesitantly, his voice filled with pain, "Was it Techno? The scars?"
Tommy just stared at him, not knowing how Wilbur would react if he said yes, or if he lied. Techno. That was the name Wilbur had just mentioned, connecting it to the scars. Techno. That was the name Wilbur had told to go away. Techno. That was the man. The man of death.
"You can be honest Tommy, it's ok if it was. I was scared the first time I saw him too."
Tommy stared fearfully at Wilbur, not sure if this was a trap. He was waiting for the moment Wilbur's eyes would go cold and cruel and he would laugh, and the beating would start. He was waiting for the abuse and the hurt and the pain. He was waiting for the mask to slip and for Wilbur to become the monster Tommy knew so well. As a child, Tommy, had named that monster, thinking that surely it was a creature that overtook good people, but Tommy knew better then that now. He knew it wasn't a monster. He knew that those people simply weren't good people.
Tommy hoped he was a good person, but he didn't know. What he did know was that you could never trust anyone, because they all had that monster lurking inside them, and that was just them. That cruelty was just them. The people themselves are the monsters and Tommy knew that. Everyone was one. No one could be trusted.
He trusted Puffy though- Puffy was an exception. Puffy was different.
"When I first saw him, I thought he was going to attack me. I thought he was going to knock me out, or steal a knife and stab me. I remember standing stock still, waiting for my dad to step in and protect me, but he didn't. He simply welcomed Techno in, scars and all. Slowly I learnt to trust him, realised the scars weren't his fault. He has hurt people in the past, but he didn't want to, I promise you that. He only did what he was forced to do, and now he will never hurt another person. He won't hurt you Tommy. I promise."
Tommy saw the truth in the words, saw that Wilbur had once been afraid, and that he was no longer, but Wilbur was foolish. Wilbur had said he had waited for his father to protect him, that meant he was as foolish as they came. Parents did not protect. Parents attacked. Parents hurt. Parents watched as you died and told you off for crying. Wilbur was insane to think otherwise.
"Do you trust me Tommy?" Wilbur asks, and Tommy knows better then to be honest, so he nods his head, unable to force the pathetic lie out through his lips. He did not trust Wilbur, and that is why he had to say he did. Wilbur smiled ever so slightly and continued, "Then trust me when I say that Techno will not hurt you."
Tommy just nodded, not agreeing with the words, but not fighting them either. It was easier not to fight them. Fighting lead to pain. Tommy was not good at fighting. He was not strong, was not skilled. He could run and that was about it. So, he learnt how to avoid the fights, how to appease people as best he could. He let them hurt him, and he did not fight back, because he was smarter then that. He wasn't so dumb as to fight back. That just made the pain worse. So, he agreed with what he was told, even if he was lying. He grew to be good at lying. It was the only way to survive.
Tommy continued to stare at Wilbur, who kept attempting to pry words out from the shaking, but silent boy. Wilbur didn't ask questions that required more then a nod or a shake of Tommy's head, and he didn't tell him to speak. Tommy didn't know why Wilbur wasn't screaming at him, and he didn't know why he wasn't instantly doing what he knew Wilbur wanted.
Tommy was scared. That was all he was. He didn't know what else to feel, and the terror echoed insistently in his mind.
"Tommy?" A new voice called after Tommy didn't know how long. Ranboo's voice. Tommy didn't know if he trusted Ranboo either, or rather he knew that he didn't- he couldn't. He felt arms wrap gently around him, and Wilbur's arms slipped, letting Ranboo hold him. Tommy tried to pull away as he felt the grip loosen, but Ranboo held him tightly, comforting him and capturing him in one hold.
"Tommy, what happened? Are you ok?" Ranboo asked, and Tommy heard the crack in Ranboo's voice. Tommy felt the fear in his voice and he wondered what Ranboo was so scared of. He wondered if it was Techno, or Wilbur, or Tommy himself. He didn't know and he didn't understand. He just wanted to be safe, or as safe as he could ever be. He wanted to be back to his usual routine of sitting alone, working alone, living alone, not quite dying, alone. Alone, alone, alone. He wanted the safety that came with being alone.
"Do you want me to call your parents?" Wilbur asks, and Tommy is shaking his head frantically, remembering Dream's words. He couldn't let anyone disturb Dream. He needed to get back to school before the next class started. He tried to pull away, but Ranboo held onto him, fearing Tommy would run.
"Need to go! Need to go! School. School!" Tommy panicked, still trying to pull away. He needed to get back. He needed to be in class. He couldn't let Dream find out he had ran. This morning had been a warning. A second would not be.
"Tommy it's ok-" Wilbur started, but Tommy frantically shook his head, finally pulling free of Ranboo's grasp, pushing the boy away from him. Ranboo fell, letting out a small, surprised cry as hit the ground hard.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit! I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't mean to! Please don't hurt me!" Tommy panicked, backing away from the two frantically, his panicked eyes flicking between them, waiting for the eventual lunge that would come as they attacked.
"It's fine Tommy. I'm not going to hurt you," Ranboo promised, now on his feet again and dusting his hands off on his pants.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Tommy repeated again and again, backing away from them, his eyes still frantically flicking between the two threats. This was bad. This was so fucking bad. He had hurt Ranboo. He had hurt Ranboo and now they were going to kill him.
"It's fine Tommy, I promise," Ranboo insisted, but Tommy didn't trust the words one bit. He continued backing away from them, but now his eyes darted around, looking for some indication of which way the school was. He needed to get back before Dream found out. He needed to be back there right now, but he didn't know this area. He didn't know the way back and he didn't know if Wilbur or Ranboo would take him back or kill him first.
"Tommy, let's go back to school, yeah? We'll go back to school and you'll be ok. I promise you'll be ok," Wilbur begged, and Tommy wanted to turn on him, to scream that Wilbur didn't understand, but Tommy wasn't that dumb. He couldn't do that. He needed to get out of here, and he needed Wilbur to take him back. He needed to get back. Dream was stronger then Wilbur, he'd have to risk trusting Wilbur to avoid Dream. There was a high chance that it would result in them both trying to kill him, but Tommy had to try. He nodded. And Wilbur smiled ever so slightly, and started walking towards a street, "It's this way."
Tommy looked between Wilbur and Ranboo frantically, before dashing after Wilbur. He heard Ranboo's footsteps behind him, and he stared at Wilbur, following a meter behind him. He saw Wilbur check over his shoulder to see if Tommy was following, and he saw Wilbur's smile. It looked genuine, but looks were so often deceiving.
As they walked Tommy kept frantically checking over his shoulder to see if Ranboo was planning to attack him. Ranboo clearly saw the looks, his face appeared to be filled with hurt, but Tommy didn't trust that for a second. He did at least notice Ranboo was keeping his distance, walking a meter or so behind Tommy. That at least was good. Tommy might just survive this. He had to try. For Tubbo. He had to survive. He would survive. He might hurt. He might hurt so fucking bad, but he wouldn't die. He wouldn't. He wouldn't. He wouldn't. He fucking prayed he wouldn't. He didn't hope. He refused to hope. Hope is what killed Tubbo, or really, the sudden loss of hope. Tommy knew if he hoped, he would lose it, and then he would fail Tubbo as he found his own grave. He couldn't do that.
Words: 2000
A/N: one of my newer friends (he joined my group when his crashed, along with about 5 others) straight up asked me why I'm wearing a Ranboo mask today- like I wear a Ranboo mask all the time, (my sister made it for me) and I'm one of the only ppl at my school who wears a mask at all, but I am the sort of person no one would guess is a gamer who spends their time writing about grown men who play block game XD Anyways, I just shrugged awkwardly, AND HE ASKED ME AGAIN! I'm panicking cuz there's no way I'm telling him that I'm a dsmp fan, cuz I do not want that to come into my school life (I'd cry if they found this) so I was exceedingly grateful when one of my friends asked another one if they could buy a not dead praying mantis of them XD anyways, that was my day lol, how was urs?