Chapter Text
Tommy was a ghost.
Well, not literally, but it felt like it sometimes. Sure he could interact with objects and people, but it was never permanent. Nothing was permanent in Tommy’s world, it was like as soon as he left a room it was as if he was never there.
This is because in Tommy’s world, no one remembers him.
This strange phenomenon that he now calls his life started at the age of 10. At first, people forgetting him was barely noticeable. His mother not coming to pick him up from school because it slipped her mind? That happens to people all the time, which is why when it started happening often his family didn’t think much of it. Then, as time progressed, these instances became more common, more severe. Until eventually, they couldn’t remember his name, no one could.
By the time he was 11, it was like his existence was permanently forgotten. When he would come to his house, he would not be allowed inside. In his parents' eyes, they had no son, and Tommy was alone.
Although, with how things had been going for him, he had seen this coming for a while now. And so, with a heavy heart the child set off towards the city in hopes to find someone who would remember him.
——————
Tommy wakes up to a polite knocking at the door. He wishes for at least 5 more minutes of sleep but this annoying built-in alarm comes with his curse, in the form of his neighbors.
He squints his eyes open and looks across his one-room apartment as the morning light shines through the blinds. The place looks like a tornado, but it's not like anyone will remember seeing it anyways. Maybe one day he will clean it, but for now he is content with his personal mess.
The knocking gets louder.
“I’m coming!” Tommy yells as he jumps out of bed with newfound energy. He makes his way over to the door, careful not to trip over his messy space.
He opens the door and is met with the familiar faces of his neighbors, Tubbo and Ranboo, the first of which is halfway through another knock at the door and the latter holding a plate of what looks like burnt spaghetti.
“Hi! We noticed that this room has someone living in it now, and we wanted to make you something as a welcome gift of sorts,” Ranboo says sheepishly like Tommy hasn’t heard it a hundred times.
But Tommy has heard it a hundred times, because every morning without fail his stupid, obnoxious neighbors knock at the door at fucking 8am to give him inedible food.
At first, he thought the gesture was sweet, until he tried the terrible cooking for himself and was almost positive it was poison. Seriously, how can someone make something that inedible without trying to kill him? These neighbors either are crazy or terrible at cooking, probably both. Scratch that, Tommy thinks, definitely both.
Alas, after a few seconds of Tommy’s blank stare, Tubbo takes this as his queue to speak, “We had some extra after dinner last night and thought it could help get you situated into moving here. I’m Tubbo, and this is my roommate Ranboo, we live right next door to you down the hall.” He pauses for a second before continuing after he is met with silence from Tommy. “Um, what's your name?”
“Tommy,” he replies. He honestly doesn’t have the energy to say much else, but he forces himself to continue. “Wow, thank you very much this is such a surprise.” His tone is monotone and flat, almost like a robot speaking a rehearsed dialog.
“We had no idea someone our age was moving in here, but if you ever want someone to show you around the city, you know where to find us.” Ranboo continues, his voice way too cheery for Tommy’s current mood.
Maybe if you wanted to be friendly you wouldn’t wake me up at 8am every morning, Tommy thinks. He knows this city like the back of his hand. After all, he has lived here for almost 6 years.
“Yeah, and if you like video games or just want to hang out, we have a lot of cool stuff in our apartment. You’re welcome to come whenever.” Tubbo finishes Ranboo’s thought, and Tommy wonders if they rehearsed this, because they say almost the exact same thing every morning.
The interaction is finished like normal, with Tommy taking the plate of god knows what, thanking his neighbors, and after he sees them leave, immediately throwing it in the trash. He feels a little sorry to waste so much food on a daily basis, but even when he’s tried to refuse it Tubbo and Ranboo don’t take no for an answer.
Thankful that part of his morning routine is finally over, he quickly gets ready and heads to the subway station. The tall buildings around him seemingly reach into the skies, like they are destined for beyond but just fall short. The beauty of it is one of the best things about living in the city, the way the light shines on the glossy windows painting the city in different hues of fiery colors depending on the time of day. Perhaps this is why Tommy appreciates the city even if no one remembers him. With the bustling crowds and paved streets there is still something to do, and with his curse that's all Tommy can ask for.
He wished he could explain this to someone, talk about the minute details that can make life more grand. If only he could have a meaningful conversation with someone, one that would be worth remembering. Maybe then he would be remembered as something, anything at all. These thoughts are dangerous, Tommy knows this. He learned at an early age that hope is dangerous to have when all you are is a ghost. All hope leads to is 6 years of disappointment and loneliness. Childhood fantasies are something he should have abandoned long ago, and he thought he had. After all, Tommy knows only fools dream of the impossible.
He is brought out of his thoughts as he arrives at the station. He has to hurry if he does not want to miss his train. Tommy dreams of the pastries waiting for him at Niki’s Cafe, just a train ride away. He needs to get there right as it opens otherwise there may be a line, or worse, cold pastries.
Tommy walks casually past the ticket booth, (why pay when they will all forget him in a few seconds anyways?) and sits down on a bench as he waits for his train. He looks around at the gray subway, the walls and floors are stained with an ugly color and the whole place is dull. It's empty aside from a few people down the way a bit. Okay, maybe he got there a little too early and was stressed for nothing, but he’s better off 15 minutes early than missing out on Niki’s Cafe opening.
As Tommy lounges on the cold, metal bench a stranger sits next to him. The stranger looks worn down, almost as if he hadn’t slept. He has curly brown hair covered by a red beanie that also looks like it's seen better days. If Tommy had to guess, he looked like he had been out partying and was just heading home. Tommy then glances at the guitar case on his back and assumes maybe he was playing out somewhere.
Regardless, Tommy has no interest in talking to the stranger but his plans are cut short when the other man suddenly speaks to him.
“You see those people there?” He asks as Tommy jumps upon being addressed. The stranger points to a couple a little ways down the station, a man is talking on the phone and a woman is grabbing onto his hand, as if begging him not to leave. Tommy guesses they are a fighting couple but isn’t quite sure.
The stranger continues by saying, “the man there received a phone call from his boss, maybe it's a kids birthday or something but the wife is begging him not to go. Look at how robotic he is,” Tommy squints and sees the man barely give his wife a glance as he speaks on the phone, “now what would be so important that he disregards his life for a phone call?”
Looking a bit closer, the woman looks distraught, with tears in her eyes as she says something that Tommy can’t make out. He feels like he is invading a personal moment and promptly looks away.
“I think it's none of my business,” Tommy replies, but after a second he adds, “and that you’re a massive prick.”
The stranger laughs, he doesn’t even seem bothered that Tommy just insulted him. It almost makes Tommy want to laugh too, if it wasn’t for how weird this scenario was.
“Maybe I am,” the musician replies after he finishes laughing. “But leave room for a bit of curiosity in your life, yeah? It's the small, minute details that make this city worth living in. The beauty of the city is fine, sure, but it's curiosity that gets you places here.”
The thought makes Tommy pause for a moment. The stranger does have a point, and he looks a bit closer at the couple. He notices that the woman had begun to walk away, now angry instead of distressed like before. The man seems to show more emotion once she has left, with a heavy sigh he moves his head into his hands and hangs up the call.
“Now look at that,” the stranger interrupts Tommy’s thoughts, “I wonder why he was acting so big and tough in front of his wife. Seems like there’s a lot more beneath the surface, we just had to look a little closer.”
“Maybe,” Tommy surprises himself as he speaks, “He was just as upset about having to leave as she was, but didn’t want to make things worse by showing her.” Suddenly a thought makes him angry, “But why would he act like the bad guy! Its obvious that the boss man is fucking up the relationship, not the husband.”
“I guess he just accepted his fate and didn’t make an attempt to fix things,” the stranger replied, “He thought there was no way out of his position, that any effort to fix the problem would make it worse, and he would end up hurt.”
The thought lingers in the air as the two watch the business man walk out of their eyesight.
“Anyways, that's just a theory,” the stranger’s voice cuts through the silence. “For all we know the dude could be a massive dick for no reason, you know?”
He takes a second to look at Tommy, as if he just realized he is talking to a kid. He asks, “What’s someone like you doing taking an early train, shouldn't you be at school or something?”
“Oh you know,” Tommy jokes, “I’ve got to catch the early train so I have enough time to visit all my lovely wives.”
The train chose at this moment to come into the station, the screeching of the breaks left a faint ringing in Tommy’s ears. As the ringing clears, he hears the chatter of people as they emerge. Tommy gets up and realizes the stranger is staying behind, likely waiting for the next train.
“I’ll see you around,” the stranger pauses as if waiting for a name.
“Tommy,” Tommy replies, as if the stranger will remember his name later. He forgets that telling the stranger his name is pointless, but Tommy is so invested in the moment he doesn't seem to care.
“Well, Tommy, tell Niki that Wilbur says hello when you get to her cafe,” Tommy is confused how Wilbur knew he goes to the cafe every morning, as he had not said so. He’s honestly creeped out by this guy.
Wilbur explains with a simple, “I saw you there a few mornings ago and assumed that's where you were going, not a stalker.”
“Okay creep, I’ll let Niki know there was a scary man named Wilbur following me around the station.” Tommy chuckles at the expression Wilbur makes after hearing that.
“Go catch your train, you prick.” Wilbur says, as Tommy runs and hops inside the train just before the doors shut. He waves goodbye at Wilbur through the window, the train quickly speeding away, leaving the man out of sight.
Honestly, if he was anyone else he would have called the cops, what sort of creepy man approaches teenagers they saw in a cafe once to talk about some arguing couple? The cops wouldn’t remember he called anyways, nor would Wilbur remember talking to him.
Wait.
Wilbur said he saw Tommy in the cafe a few days ago. But that's impossible, no one in his life had remembered Tommy since he was 11.
Tommy tries to steady his breath at the realization. Maybe Wilbur remembered the wrong person, someone who vaguely looked like him. Tommy knew how improbable that was, but it's more impossible for Wilbur to remember him. But if Wilbur does remember him, he first needed to find him again to make sure.