Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

‘The most important thing for a young man is to establish a credit…reputation, character.’ - John D. Rockefeller.

A rather dry observance but it was one that Techno related to none the less. To an extent at least. He wasn’t blind to the way society interacted with individuals based on reputation far before character even came into the mix.

A handy tool if you knew how to use it.

Molding ones reputation wasn’t exactly easy as generally it wasn’t the person themselves creating it. Sure, personal action and effort can help, but only for a portion of it. No, from what Techno had witnessed himself a persons reputation was far faster carved out by word of mouth of those around them. For better or for worse.

Techno started at the age of fifteen, carving out what reputation he thought would serve him best. It had been…awkward to start with. But…all it took was a single story. Poorly worded and slapped together with an obvious stumbling hand of a freshmen. Still, being told to others just as naïve, if not slightly more gullible, it had roughly the desired effect.

Now, after two years Techno felt he had truly mastered the craft he so carefully created. He barely had to think about what he wanted to add to the rumor mill. Nor wonder what person he had to slip word to for it to spread just right. Don’t get him wrong, it was still nerve wracking. But he had a confidence in this system of his. He would only need it for one more year anyway.

One more year after this one, and he’d be free.

He had plenty of rumors and ideas for more that would keep the student body at a distance from himself. Besides, it wasn’t like anyone like chomping at the bit to try their luck socializing with the ‘Blood God’. It wasn’t a title he created, but he adopted it all the same. If anything it was just proof his rumor mill was running strong and as intended.

Techno let out a contented sigh as he strolled down the hall towards class. He kept his face a schooled stoic as he pretended not to notice the group of students ahead of him shuffle quickly out of his way once they noticed him. He carefully kept the smirk from his face as he watched an older student lean towards an obvious freshmen and whisper. Watching the said freshmen's eyes grew wide and they stepped back an extra step.

As he entered his classroom he couldn’t help the calming feeling of knowing that no one, not a single person in this room, was going to try to talk to him. All he had to worry about was being called on by the teacher, and he was far more confident in his ability to give answers than to socialize.

Xx--xx

Tommy was running late to class, cussing rather loudly as he stumbled through the halls. He’d woken late and had to run to school after missing the bus. He thankfully didn’t live far, but it was still a pain. Especially since he knew the chances of him getting into the building without issue even if he had been on time were slim.

He was right of course.

Try as he might to dart through the large wooden doors Tommy just hadn’t been fast enough. Not to get around Jared. The prick.

It had been a light tussle at least, Tommy’s bag and books getting more of a toss around this time. It had still taken him a few minutes to gather up the scattered items before trying to hoof it down the hall.

With the grace and subtilty of a popped shaving cream balloon Tommy burst into the door of his first period class several minutes past its start. Papers flung from his hands as he failed to keep hold on them with how hard he’d bashed into the to door to enter.

Needless to say once the laughter of the room died down Tommy had been given yet another tardy slip along with one for being disruptive. He’d been sent directly to the principle to plead his case for not getting a detention or worse. Which he failed to do so early in the morning and after a rough start without breakfast. He didn’t mind detentions at least. He was actually sort of used to them by now and his parents rarely asked why he was late home.

Tommy wasn’t a bad kid. He knew that. He could be trouble at times, sure. He’d be the first to admit he could be a chaotic little shit. But, overall he wasn’t a bad person. Unfortunately, you didn’t need to be a bad person to catch unwanted attention.

On the plus side though, he was getting a lot faster.

He just needed to survive four more years of this. Less, if the upperclassmen harassing him actually graduated. Tommy had never before wished for his enemies to have flawless grades, but he’d hang that on every shooting star from now until he graduated himself.

It wasn’t like school was all bad though. He did have a few friends. Tubbo and Ranboo, who he had known since middle school. Despite being so close they hadn’t been given the label of ‘weird kid’ like Tommy had been though, and he was grateful for that. Even more so when, despite that label, the two continued to stay at his side.

Four more years of having the best of friends in the world at his back? Four more years of keeping the ‘weird kid’ title off their heads? Tommy was sure he could do that.

Xx--xx

Wilbur let out a sigh as he listened to yet another rumor about his brother be told just one table over from them. While hearing that the student body low key thought his brother drank blood and that was the reason he had pink hair was…kind of funny, it kind of bothered him too. He’d been listening to these rumors dance around since they were freshmen. They were only getting weirder too.

There was, of course, the urge to turn around and ask the speaker if they were really that dumb to believe in such an obvious lie. However, as usual Wilbur held his tongue. Not because he wanted to, but because he’d been asked. He didn’t really understand it, but, for some reason Techno found these rumors to be ‘oh so funny’ and ‘I just want to see where they can end up’.

It worried Wilbur though. While some of the rumors were, admittedly, humorous, they were also damaging. Wil wasn’t sure if his sibling perhaps didn’t see that or if he really just, didn’t care. With Techno it really could go either way. The fact that people avoided his brother for it made Wil wonder if he was enjoying that free side effect.

Wilbur knew his brother wasn’t exactly…social, but having ones social life obliterated was different than just…not wanting to talk to people. Still, he respected his brother’s wishes well enough. It wasn’t like the other didn’t socialize at all it just…generally happened with his family or with the few friends Wilbur occasion brought home.

If the people Wilbur brought home happened to be ones he thought Techno would get along with specifically, well, that was for him to know.

For all the rumors going around about his brother Wilbur couldn’t help but be confused about how he, his literal twin, suffered none of the same. In fact, there were times where…rather the opposite happened.

Wilbur had a love for music that he’d only considered getting involved in when they were freshmen. By the time they were Sophomores Wilbur had been asked to join the school band twice, theater three times and even a personal band once. He’d been overwhelmed with excitement at each offer, if not a bit confused. Still, he wasn’t going to look those opportunities in the mouth.

He wasn’t the most skilled, but he practiced hard enough to receive praises all the same. By junior year he was considered one of the more skilled in the theater group and had, admittedly, started planning to make his own band. His friends, who he had made with a relative ease, were made for quality and not quantity which showed.

With his safety circle of friends he could safely vent his frustrations about the rumors regarding his brother. Those that had met Techno falling into agreement with Wilbur on the absurdity of it. Still, the elder twin seemed more than content with the situation so the most the group could do was talk and theorize on it.

It was just one more year after this one.

One more year, and Techno would be free of whoever it was that had decided to target him. One more year of watching the school flee his brother in an unjustified fear. One more year, and Wilbur wouldn’t have to stalk the halls hoping to find the bastard ‘by happenstance’ with more than a few ideas on how to ‘set them straight’ on the matter.

Though, Wilbur considered that he might miss the hunt.

Chapter Text

‘Many a man’s reputation would not would not know his character if they met on the street.’ - Elbert Hubbard
X-

“Are you sure, Tommy? We can wait if you want. Club only just got out and your detention lasts, what, fifteen more minutes?” Tubbo asked as he finished washing his hands in the sink.

“Yes, Tubbo, I’m sure. You could be home in that time and its not like it’s the first I’ve walked home alone.” Tommy answered as he leaned against the bathroom wall beside the door.

Tommy had managed to get the teacher, rather well acquainted with him at this point, to allow him to go to the bathroom despite it being past the midway point. Usually a no go since students would use the opening to leave early. Tommy couldn’t help the slight pride at knowing the teacher, his prison guard, trusted him enough to bend the rule.

“Its not the walking alone part that we’re worried about, Tommy. Its that its going to be dark out.” Ranboo cut in, holding Tubbo’s bag for him as he stared at Tommy with some clear worry, “You do realize we’ve lost an hour and it gets darker earlier now, right?”

“Yes, Ranboo. I’m aware.” Tommy replied with an exaggerated eye roll, “I’m not a child. I can walk in the mild darkness by myself.”

Both Tubbo and Ranboo looked at each other with clear doubt in their eyes which Tommy took slight offense to. He made this known by giving a loud indignant scoff and standing from the wall and flipping the pair off.

“Oh piss off. I can handle it. I’m a big man. I’ve been walking home in the dark since middle school.” Tommy said with a firm frown on his face.

“We know. We’ve been walking it with you.” Tubbo commented as he took his bag back from the taller teen.

“We’ve also had to hold your hand when you heard-”

“Aaaah! Ranboo, We Don’t Need To Talk About That!” Tommy shouted and raised his hands up in a rapid ‘quiet’ motion.

It made the other two boys grin knowing they’d made their point.

“Look, I know you’re all ‘worried’ and everything-” Tommy started again before either of the two could speak up, using far exaggerated air quotes on the word ‘worried’ for good measure, “But I can assure you, I’ll be fine. In fifteen minutes you’ll both be at your homes and I’ll be on my way to mine. Either way, by nine we can be in call like usual.”

“You wont start the game up without us?” Ranboo questioned with an amused raised brow.

Tommy let out a mock gasp of insult as a hand rose to his chest.

“Ranboo, I would- I would never. How could you even claim that I would do such a thing? Do you think I’ve no class? No honor? Big man innit is nothing but the epitomy of proper social and gaming protocol in regards the ridiculous claim you have just-”

“You logged in an hour ahead of us last week to start diamond hunting first.” Tubbo pointed out and cutting Tommy’s growing tirade off.

“Well, Big T, you see, about that-”

“And you started that horror game early two days ago to try to learn where the jumpscares were ahead of us.” Ranboo added, “You had to call us because it scared you so bad you thought you were going to have a panic attack.”

Tommy stared at the pair now, mouth gaping open like he was struggling to find more words but was failing to do so.

“W-well- It wasn’t-”

“Just admit it, Tommy. Given the opportunity to, you would do it again.” Tubbo smirked, triumphant and amused at his friend.

Tommy stammered for another moment before a smile plastered itself across his face like it held a promise.

“Yeah, your right.” He admitted shamelessly.

“So.” Ranboo started as he adjusted the strap of his own bag on his shoulder, “You want us to wait for you? We really can. We could just sit in the cafeteria or library and do our homework while we wait.”

Tommy was shaking his head before Ranboo was even finished.

“No, that’s okay. I appreciate the offer, though, really. But I’ll be fine. I can beat fifteen minutes easy and then leg it back home.” Tommy insisted despite the slight anxiety walking home alone in the dark brought him.

“If your sure, boss man. Just know you can call us if you need to.” Tubbo assured, looking no more happy about the decision made than Tommy felt.

“If I need to I will, Tubs. I promise.” Tommy nodded with his trademark smile.

As Tommy turned to leave the bathroom and head back to his detention both Tubbo and Ranboo shared a less than happy look. They knew when Tommy was faking a smile. They just wished he didn’t feel he needed to with them.

Xx--xx

With a long stretch Techno let out a yawn he’d been holding in for the past hour easily. Not that he had need to hold it in, but he didn’t want to deal with the tiredness that would set in after it as his brain told him it was time for sleep. He wasn’t even all that tired at the moment, but a yawn, of course, was quick to ruin that feeling.

Though, with the walk home and the slight chill in the air Techno was sure he’d wake back up before even reaching his porch. Normally his father would insist on picking him up once dark fell, especially if Wilbur wasn’t with him, but today was different. The man had driven up to surprise their mother with a date while she was traveling for work the next town over.

It was their mother’s birthday after all.

The twins had been left to mind themselves for the next day or so, which both were more than pleased with. Considering that their father had threatened them with never being home alone again until they were in their twenties after Wilbur had set the kitchen on fire trying to make pizza one time. Personally Techno thought they did really well at problem solving that with dousing it with baking soda since Wilbur couldn’t get the extinguisher off the wall fast enough.

Now, Techno would never, no, absolutely never, say his brother was terrible in emergency situations. Not on his life would he ever say that…out loud.

In regards to things like a fire or a blackout, Wilbur was best with a chaperone. However, Techno could well, and would well, admit that when the trouble was people related, his twin was hands down the person he wanted at his side. Even when freaking out Wilbur had a way with just…dealing with people that had Techno honestly scratching his head on.

But, that was far off the topic and it was far too late into the evening for Techno to be spacing out on the doorsteps to the school.

Yep, that yawn had just about put his brain into sleep mode. Full on with wandering thoughts and blank staring into space. Luckily there wasn’t anyone left at the school at this hour. It was one of the reasons why he enjoyed using the math labs so late. No students would be around to bother him as no one went near the math labs after hours and by the time he was done it was generally abandoned by all but the cleaning staff.

So, with that being the case, why was there a scrawny freshmen standing at the top step of the front stairs staring into the darkness?

It honestly wasn’t Techno’s problem. It wasn’t. Whatever the kid was up to was his own business. Techno just wanted to go home, get whatever food Wilbur had ordered for dinner and head to his room. He didn’t want to notice the way the kids shoulders were shaking in the night air. He didn’t want to notice the way he fidgeted in place as he looked around at the dark where the faulty streetlamps were failing to brighten. Techno really didn’t want to notice the way the kid was hugging onto his backpack as if it were a life line that-

“You waiting on someone?”

Techno was shocked to hear the words leave his mouth, but it was too late. The kid had heard him, had jumped nearly a foot in the air in fact, and was looking back at him. The kid, guessed right as a freshmen, looked spooked to all hell. His blue eyes were wide with shock and more than a bit of fear as he stared at Techno. A look that…seemed to calm as the other took in Tech’s appearance. It was…not the reaction Techno usually got but, whatever.

The boy opened his mouth to speak but seemed to get stuck on a stammer before swallowing quickly and trying again.

“N-no. I, uh. I’m just…enjoying the…night?”

It was a weak attempt at best and had Techno sighing both internally and out as he dug into his pockets with one hand.

“Well, its not going to get any brighter out the more you…’enjoy’ it.” Techno said with an obvious lack of belief in the other’s words.

The boy’s face flushed red at that as he drooped his head, his blond fluffy bangs obscuring his eyes. It didn’t keep Techno from being able to see his embarrassment, but that didn’t seem to matter.

“Catch.” Techno stated, hardly giving the other time to react as he threw the item from his pocket.

With a slight fumble the boy managed to get a hold of it before it hit the ground. The kid stared at it dumbfounded for a moment before Techno decided to speak for a fourth time.

“Click the back to turn it on.” He directed before starting down the steps himself.

The kid was once more swift in trying to do as he was told, a blue beam of light alerting Techno that he’d figured it out. Good for the kid. He wasn’t a complete idiot.

“Th-thank you! I didn’t get your name!” The boy called out from behind, still on the top step.

This time though, Techno didn’t respond. He gave a noncommittal wave at best without looking back as he made his way towards his own home. All that calmness he’d felt from his solo study time was now ruined by the ball of stress that rested in his chest. It…admittedly wasn’t the worse he’d felt it, but…it was still unpleasant.

Techno totally didn’t turn to look to where the beam of light was headed off to. He wasn’t, of course, checking to see that the kid was actually leaving the school. Why would he? Techno didn’t care if some random freshmen managed to get home or not.

According to the rumors Techno kidnapped and ate people he ran into after nightfall.

Xx--xx

It had been several days since Tommy had been give the hand sized flashlight to walk home with. Something that, admittedly, he’d had to use a few more times that week as well. He still hadn’t run into the person who had given it to him though. He was starting to worry that he’d not be able to return it actually.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know who it was that this point. After all, with a description of ‘long pink hair’ there was already a small pool of who that could be. In fact, it was whole whopping pool of two, and the person Tommy had dealt with certainly wasn’t Niki. He’d met her once while trying out for theater.

He’d only needed to ask around for barely five minutes before he was swamped with a worlds worth of knowledge on the student in question.

‘Oh, that sounds like Techno. Long pink hair and fangs he can only hide by not speaking or opening his mouth in public.’

‘Did you notice if they had red eyes? Cus that would totally be Techno. It’s because he drinks blood.’

‘No, that’s why his hair is pink. Did you get it confused?’

‘Idiots, his eyes are red because he sacrifices small animals to demons for better vision.’

‘Are you serious? I thought it was to get better grades without studying.’

‘I thought he sacrificed small children for his grades and animals for his eyes?’

‘Stop mixing them all together. If he was killing so many things the police would be after him by now’

‘Where do you think all the ‘transferred out’ students went? We had like, four this year already and Techno topped his grades in both lit and math.’

‘Okay, but if that were true there would be reports.’

‘Not if he pays off the cops. I heard his family is loaded and he uses his money to get away with, like, so many things.’

‘He doesn’t always kill them. I heard he sent someone to the hospital last year just so he could steal their blood without anyone noticing. The kid was so scared he promised not to tell a soul and just, moved away.’

To say it had been less than helpful was…well, far too obvious a statement to make.

Still, he at least got a name out of all that. Techno. Techno Craft. To be honest it almost sounded familiar to Tommy but he couldn’t place it. For now at least.

So, with a name and…rough understanding that he was…’dangerous’? Tommy tried to make a plan on how to find the guy. Staying after school, regardless of intention to stay behind or not, hadn’t helped. So now, Tommy would have to go about it the old fashion way.

Asking around and hoping no one decided to toss him into another locker while they gossiped about the guy.

Xx--xx

“Techno, are you going to be staying late again?” Wilbur asked as he peeked his head into the almost empty math lab.

There, third row back, was his brother. Papers out and waiting as he raised a hand up in a ‘wait a moment’ gesture while he finished scribbling something down. Wil took the moment to step into the room, the door barely closing when the other finally looked up.

“Not too late, but yea. I want to get ahead on this since there’s like, three major projects coming up. I don’t want to have all this other work to do on the side. Like some people.” Techno answered with a slight smirk as he stared pointedly at his brother.

Wilbur snickered as he rolled his eyes.

“Well, luckily some people aren’t trying for straight ‘A’s in everything.”

“You could at least try for a gentle ‘B’.”

“Dick. I’ll have you know I managed to pull up to a B+ in math this semester.” Wilbur laughed out as he reached his brother’s table and tossed one of his own papers back at him.

“Is that a new record high?” Techno teased as he attempted to catch the paper, undeterred by the attempted distraction.

“Hey, I’ve ‘A’s before!”

“I’m talking since grade school, Wil.”

“You little-” Wilbur started before he moved to slide around the desk to attack his brother fully.

Techno was faster and held up his advanced statistics book like it was some kind of protective totem. It seemed to work as Wilbur pulled back with a dramatic flair, clutching his heart.

“Ah! My only weakness! The concepts of probability in case controlled testing environments!” Wil cried out as he not so carefully landed across a desk behind him.

Techno rolled his eyes with a short laugh.

“Hardly your ‘only’ weakness is it?” He asked with a grin.

Wilbur raised his head to return the look before sitting back up.

“How long you think you’ll be?” He asked, smile still on his face as he made himself comfortable.

“Dunno. If I wasn’t distracted, I’d guess maybe an hour, hour and a half?”

Wil had raised his hands up in surrender at the obvious jab, laughing as he slid off the desk now.

“Well, I know when I’m not wanted… Unless, I am wanted?” Wilbur looked at his brother with his best attempt at ‘puppy eyes’ which had Techno tempted to rolls his own once more.

“You’re wanted, Wil. Just not here.”

Another gasp from Wilbur as he pulled the most offended look he could manage.

“Techno, you keep saying things like that and I will cry.”

“No you wont. You haven’t cried on command properly once yet.”

“I can start now.” Wilbur replied as he crossed his arms.

Techno wasn’t…technically wrong. Wilbur had tricks to crying when he needed to, but, to just do so on an open mental command? He was still working on that. So what if for now he needed to secretly pinch himself or think of sad kittens and puppies for a minute to get the tears going. He never failed a performance yet. Well, not since freshmen year…and that one blunder in his sophomore one. But, those were beside the point.

“Just head on home Wilbur, I’ll see you there.” Techno was already waving him off as he used his other hand to readjust what Wil had touched.

“You sure? Dadza will worry.” Wil asked with a slight frown.

“Dadza always worries.” Techno tossed back with a light chuckle, “I’ll be home soon. Just as soon as I finish this.”

Wilbur sighed as he crossed his arms, smile dropping.

“He’s worried your overworking it you know….making up for a lack of social-”

“Wilbur, stop.” Techno sighed himself now, this time with exasperation, as he looked to his brother, “I know you, mom and dad are worried, but I’m fine. Really. This is literally just about my grades.”

Wilbur didn’t feel in any way convinced, but he’d had this talk with his brother before. From the tone being used he already knew he wasn’t going to gain ground on it right now. Besides, it was best not to fight while still in school.

“Okay, fine. I’ll head home. But if dad insists on coming to pick you up again I’m not going to stop him.” Wilbur confirmed before it was even brought up.

“You never do.” Techno replied in a ‘yea, I sort of figured that’ tone.

Wilbur lingered for a minute or so longer before turning for the door. Techno wasn’t going to say more while here and honestly, Wilbur didn’t know what else to say. They’d argued this point a thousand times. Without anything new to add to the verbal ring there was no point in rehashing the same concerns over and over to someone who just…failed to see the point.

He wasn’t going to stop trying, of course not. But Wilbur really needed to try to find a new angle. He needed something…different.

Xx--xx

Tommy was at a loss. He couldn’t find anything, or rather, anyone willing or able to tell him where this ‘Techno’ guy was. If anything he just received more warnings to keep his distance. Tommy didn’t really get what the problem was.

Okay so, the number and…type or rumors going around were perhaps a bit concerning. But, Tommy had had his own share of rumors go around before. He knew not to take everything at face value. Which he was surprised few people here seemed to be doing considering how many of those rumors seemed to be blood related.

Even with that though, Tommy knew better. Or, at least he knew different. After all, one of the rumors he’d been warned about was that Techno was the kind of person who only helped others for a price. And that price could range from a few dollars to…okay so the top price had been a soul, but more realistically it had been liked to like, a car or something. Though one person had stated that Techno had once offered to take notes for someone in exchange for their hand. Which, disconcertingly had three witnesses apparently.

But, if that were true then why had Tommy been given the flashlight? Without being charged, ransomed, or extorted. Hell, he hadn’t even been told a name. Tommy had to figure that out himself. This person, whoever it was, didn’t seem the type to charge someone for help. If anything….well, if anything Tommy thought he just sounded…shy.

Really, Tommy could relate to that.

But, relate or not that wasn’t helping Tommy to find the person he was after. Sure, he could try to hand the thing over to the office and have them page the guy down to get it, but it wasn’t just about returning it to the other. No. Tommy wanted to hand it back. He wanted to thank him properly. He just…he wanted to properly meet the person that so many people were adamant on calling a demon or devil just for some pink hair and red eyes.

Just because he was a little bit different.

Tommy nearly stumbled over his own feet as he halted sharply. He’d heard something. A voice. It was a deep voice and part of him froze thinking that it might be Jared and his friends returning to the school to mess around. They’d done it before. They’d found Tommy before too.

It hadn’t been a fun time.

Holding his breath Tommy dared to inch his way to the wall where he heard the sound from. If he was careful enough and it was Jared, then he could find a place to duck down until the other passed. If it wasn’t Jared then…great. Tommy wouldn’t need to hide at all.

The feeling of relief that filled Tommy at seeing decidedly not Jared was truly immense. He didn’t feel like he could handle a third go around today. But, better than all that, he did recognize the person it was. After all, there were only two pink haired students in the school. Once more, this was certainly not Niki.

Off near the shrubs that lead away along the sidewalk from the school, knelt none other than Techno. The guy was actually a bit bigger than Tommy had first realized, being able to better make him out in the daylight. Or what was left of it.

Techno was on one knee and currently…seemed to be talking baby talk to the bush. Tommy hesitated to walk up, unsure if he’d be…interrupting something. Rumors or no, no one wanted to be snuck up on while doing something like that.

Though, it was just as he was having that thought that Tommy heard a second sound. This one much smaller and far more high pitched. He recognized it by the second time round. A meow. Or a mewl more like. It was clearly from a smaller cat.

As Tommy watched, now feeling too awkward to approach after having stared for so long, as Techno carefully shushed the creature. His hands had been fussing in the bush and now pulled free a small speckled looking kitten. The poor thing was crying out in distress even as Techno cooed and rocked it, reaching into his bag with his free hand. After a moment or so Techno pulled out a small baggy and tugged it open with his teeth. Offering whatever food was inside to the little thing.

Tommy couldn’t even help the dropping of his jaw, even if only slight, as he watched the presumably ‘lethal and savage animal sacrificing monster’ feed and sooth a tiny fur baby before setting it back down and leaving a small helping of said snack for it on the ground. As Techno stepped away from the kitten Tommy was further left in aw of the fact that the mother cat just…just strolled out of the bush. It gave its child a small licking before looking at Techno with a decidedly lacking sense of hostility.

“Looks like she got away from you today, huh, ‘Mo-mo?’” Techno stated, talking to the cat.

Said cat just stared at him back before going back to grooming her kitten.

It was…some sort of surreal.

It didn’t last long though.

Tommy’s heart almost leapt out of his chest as a car horn honked not to far from where he was standing. Instinctively he dropped to his knees behind the bush, his heart racing. Peeking out to see who it was Tommy watched as a somewhat old looking car rolled up to Techno. Inside there was a blond haired man with what Tommy could only assume was some kind of green and white hat.

He couldn’t hear from this distance and with his heart pounding in his ears, but he could see the man was smiling warmly at Techno. The pinkett in question rolling his eyes in turn before offering a soft sort of smile back before climbing into the empty passenger seat. The two seemed to chat for a moment before taking off.

Tommy watched them leave and stared for an extra minute after they were gone. No one was going to believe this. Even if Tubbo and Ranboo had believed him about the flashlight-

He…he had entirely forgotten he needed return the flashlight. It was still in his pocket.

Xx--xx--xx

“I’m telling you guys, that man is as soft as they come.” Tommy insisted the next day as he sat beside Tubbo and Ranboo just outside the schools front doors, “I mean, he was baby talking to a kitten for fucks sake!”

“Allegedly.” Tubbo stated as he ate his bagel looking entirely unimpressed.

“No, but like, really he was. Why would I make that up?” Tommy insisted with some manner of stress.

“He’s got a point Tubbo. If he wanted to start a rumor about the guy it’d be a lot easier to get one like, ’I saw him stealing candy from a baby’ or something to stick.” Ranboo said, doing what was probably the worst impression of Tommy that he’d done yet.

It made Tommy cringe and he knew that dumb shit was enjoying the sight of his pain. He always did. Though…he at least appreciated the half back up.

“Just because it would stick easier doesn’t mean Tommy would go that road. I mean, this is Tommy we’re talking about. If he could get someone to believe that the schools Antichrist was secretly Mary Poppins he’d do it.” Tubbo pointed out.

“Firstly, ouch.” Tommy huffed as he crossed his arms, “And secondly…damn you have a point.”

Tubbo laughed at that as Ranboo let out a wheeze, clapping his hand on Tommy’s arms.

“You- you are- you are the- the worst advocate for yourself.” Ranboo stated between bursts of laughter.

“Screw you both. I’m not lying!” Tommy insisted as he slapped Ranboo’s hand away.

“Okay, so, if you’re telling the truth, prove it.” Tubbo challenged with a grin once he got himself back under control.

“Prov- How am I supposed to do that?!” Tommy asked with a flail of his own arms.

“Dunno, Boss man. Seems like a you problem if I’m honest.” Tubbo informed him with a shit eating grin.

“Well, its going to be your problem soon you short shitter. When I get that proof, whatever it is, you’re going to have to give me a full fucking apology.” Tommy stated firmly as he pointed into Tubbo’s face, earning a swat from the other.

“If-” Ranboo started before having to take in a fresh breath to make sure he’d not start laughing again, “If you need proof, why not just go ask his brother?”

Tommy stopped dead still as he looked to Ranboo with pure shock and confusion on his face.

“I’m sorry, his what?”

“His…brother? Did…did you not know he had one?” Ranboo questioned with a raised brow.

“I- w-well, the rumors never mentioned one!” Tommy defended quickly as Tubbo was already starting to laugh again.

“Y-you- Did you not think to ask about anything other than the rumors?” Tubbo asked as he snorted into his hand at the sheer thought of the obvious gap in Tommy’s ‘investigation.

“It-it’s just not something that came up! You’d think if the man was as bad as they say then his brother would, I dunno, but just as?” Tommy once more tried to defend even as his face heated up with embarrassment.

Okay so…maybe he’d tunnel visioned a bit. But, he really really hadn’t heard a thing about the guy having a brother. Or, any family relation if he was honest.

“Dude, you tried out for theater, how did you not know though?” Ranboo had gone on, snapping Tommy back to the moment.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Tommy questioned as his brow furrowed even deeper.

“Dude, the Junior that ran the auditions for the singers? You know Wilbur Craft.” Ranboo emphasized with a wide grin that showed even under his mask.

Tommy opened his mouth to speak before snapping it shut again. Was...was that the dudes name? Was it really? He’d met the guy during the auditions, same as with Niki. He’d even had a word or two with him sense for stage directions. How did he not know his name? His full fucking name?

More over, how could the two of them be related? Techno was treated as the actual Antichrist of the school. With actual chants apparently being made to ward him off. Wilbur? That man lived to be in the spot like. He was loud when surrounded by people, he seemed to live and thrive on the spotlight from just what Tommy had seen in practice and the auditions alone.

“How the hell is that dramatic fuck related to Techno?” Tommy blurted out before he could stop himself.

That had both Tubbo and Ranboo going once more, wheezing and falling over each other and decidedly not giving Tommy his answer.

Xx--xx

Tommy stood off to the side of the stage fidgeting in place as he watched the practice going on. It wasn’t a day for his set to be rehearsed and so technically he wasn’t due to be there. But, he wasn’t exactly here for show work.

He’d waited all of school anxiously in order to get into the theater at the end of the day. He’d considered trying to locate the other through the day, but, considering what his search for Techno had gotten him he opted to just wait. After all, he knew without a doubt that Wilbur would be here. At least for one hour every day the theater kids were given use of the stage area to practice with. Mostly to get the freshmen up to par before performance season came around.

Just as Tommy knew he’d be, Wilbur was present. He rarely missed a practice, but Tommy half suspected that it was to hang out with his friends half the time. Not that Tommy cared. He just needed an opening to speak to the other. Preferable when it didn’t look like he was actively assessing someone's set.

“Ok, stop. Stop. Before you fall.” Wilbur called out, making Tommy look up at the stage to the person being spoken to.

It was a somewhat short blond girl who was currently wearing a gown from costumes. She’d been doing some rendition of…something. Tommy wasn’t paying much attention if he was honest. But even he could see the dress was an easy size too large for her.

“Did they not find anything smaller?” Wilbur asked with actual genuine worry if his expression was anything to go by.

The girl shook her head in place of a verbal reply, looking flustered from having been interrupted.

“Well, we can’t have you perform in that. It’ll be far too easy to trip in. Go find Eret and ask if they can help stitch it up.” Wilbur directed, pointing off to where the costumes were handled, “We’ll run your lines again once that’s finished. If we have to wait until tomorrow then fine. I’d rather be safe about this, yeah?”

The girl nodded awkwardly before lifting the large skirt and heading off to where she’d been told. Tommy felt for her, really. He’d been in a similar spot once. Nothing is more embarrassing than having your line practice cut like that. Its not usually intentional, but that didn’t make the feeling go away.

But, that was beside the point. This was the perfect opening. Tommy just….he just…need to walk up. Yeah. He just, needed to walk up to the top theater musician and then…ask if his brother is really the Antichrist of the school, but than also a secret ‘kitten-smitten softie’.

Tommy debated briefly if this was really worth getting proof.

It wasn’t about proof though. Not for him. No. He was…he was doing this for Techno. To find out who he really was and to prove what he knew to be true as…being true. He’d seen Techno was kind. That man didn’t deserve the slander he was receiving.

“Um…excuse me.”

Tommy felt as every muscle in his body tense up as the tall brunette turned to face him. A smile was quick to grace the older boys face as he seemed to recognize him.

“Hello, Tommy. Do you have a set today?” Wilbur asked as he quickly looked down to a paper, presumably one used to help him keep track of the practices.

“I-uh, no. Not today.” Tommy stammered as he felt his mouth go dry.

He hadn’t had this sort of issue talking to the other before. Though, before now the most they talked about was ‘does this role work for you?’ or ‘If I say the line this way, does it still work?’ and things like that. It really was much harder to manage a conversation when he knew where he needed it to go.

“Did you need help with something? Is it about the role? If your having second thoughts there’s still time to-”

“No! N-no, its nothing like that. The role is fine. It’s, um..Its sort of, unrelated to acting?” Tommy tried to curve gently.

Wilbur tilted his head at this, his face showing one of almost amused concern.

“Ok…ay?”

“Its…well…do you have a brother?” Tommy started with.

Easy enough if not a bit embarrassing to admit to the mans face that he had no idea. It certainly seemed to have startled the other as well. The amused look on Wilbur’s face fell into something more akin to legitimate concern. These was something else there as well, but Tommy couldn’t place it.

“I do. A twin brother. My Older.” He replied with a nod, a slight waver to his voice as he seemed to be bracing for whatever Tommy was going to say next.

“Twin? Like, actual twin?”

Wilbur nodded, not seemingly amused anymore by Tommy’s blatant surprise.

“W-well, is it, uh..is it true that-” Tommy couldn’t seem to find how he wanted to word his question, and each false start seemed to be putting Wilbur more on edge.

He just, needed to spit it out. No matter how awkward it was. Tommy was a big man, he could do this.

“Is it true that Techno like, baby chatters to kittens after school?”

…

…

Wilbur burst into a laugh at was so full and light and genuinely tickled by what Tommy had said that Tommy himself couldn’t help but laugh along with him. The two kept going for what felt like ages before Wilbur managed to pull himself together. Tears in his eyes and beaming with joy Wilbur looked at Tommy as if he’d just given him something precious.

“Yes. Techno absolutely ‘baby chatters’ at kittens after school.”

Chapter Text

'There is no advertisement as powerful as a positive reputation traveling fast.' - Brian Koslow

X-

Wilbur hadn't felt so relieved in ages. With the way the freshman, Tommy, had been acting he'd been fully expecting one of the usual 'does your brother really sacrifice children on the full moon', or something about blood. Wilbur hated those ones, but Techno seemed to enjoy them the most.

What Wilbur hadn't expected, was to be asked about his brother talking to cats. To kittens specifically. It was a barely 'secret', mostly due to it never coming up really, that only Wilbur and a few of their better friends knew about. Only then because they'd witnessed it when Techno had plucked the tiny fur ball from the street on the way home one day.

For all of his older brother's attempts at seeming like some kind of cold-hearted robot or whatever he was going for, maybe a sociopath if the rumors were even remotely true, which they weren't. No, for all those efforts Techno was, at heart, an animal lover before all else it seemed. His brother tended to struggle to pass most animals without stopping to pet them, give them treats or some other sign of affection.

Though, Techno was careful to never show that side of himself when at or near school grounds…usually. There was a family of cats, strays, that lived just a few feet from the school directly on their way home. Techno kept treats in his bag specifically for them, feeding them any time the coast was clear.

Apparently he'd not been careful this time.

"Seriously? And he named them all?" Tommy asked, eyes opened in some sense of aw as Wilbur nodded his head with a wide grin.

"I thought for sure he would have picked something Greek or nerd sounding, but honestly they're all so cute~" Wilbur gushed as he brought up a hand, "It's Mama Mo-mo, then Cotton, Mitz, Lula, Toe-bean and Julia-Rebecca-Lillianne-Precious The Third."

Tommy sputtered at the last name, unable to stop himself from laughing. Wilbur was quick to join in, happy to be able to share the story with someone new.

"What the hell? How the hell does someone come up with a name like that?"

Wilbur shrugged but grinned wider as he started talking once more.

"I don't know, but he gets super pissed when I say it wrong." He shared, a hands coming up to give quick air quotes, "Apparently doing so 'insults her honor' as 'queen of the litter'. Honestly, if our dad would allow it I'm sure Techno would have adopted them all by now."

"Your dad wouldn't allow it?" Tommy asked as he wiped a tear from his eye as he regained his breath.

"Well, probably not. At least, not the whole litter." Wilbur replied with a new shrug, "I think its more him being afraid to ask though. Considering the last time he brought home strays dad made him take them to a shelter. To be fair, Tech really should have known that taking on three scruffy looking dogs at once was going to be a bit much."

"Wait, so he just, brought them home?"

"Tried to wash them up in secret so he could hide them in his room. He'd already bought bags of food for them." Wil nodded once more, "But, like I said, it was a bit much all at once. So, they went to a shelter and Techno just sort of, cares for new strays on the street now."

"Why not take them to a shelter too?" Tommy asked as he tilted his head with a frown.

This one had Wilbur smirking a bit more sadly with a light sigh.

"Honestly, I think he just doesn't want to miss them."

The teen nodded as if it was something he understood and Wil appreciated that.

"So…if he's all snuggles and kindness why does the school think of him like the boogie man or something?" Tommy asked as he crossed his arms.

Wilbur's face fell at that and an annoyed scowl took over as he crossed his own arms. The demeanor change was highly noted by the freshmen as he seemed to tense up even if Wilbur's glaring gaze was focused on the seat ahead of him and not at Tommy himself.

"Because some prick out there thought it would be fun to target him our freshmen year and hasn't let up since." Wilbur said with an obvious hate in his tone.

"...And your brother just…lets it happen?"

"He says he thinks its 'funny', but-" Wilbur paused here.

He wasn't sure how much he wanted, or should, be telling the other to be honest. Generally Wilbur befriended people himself and gradually shared about his brother over the span of months once he trusted them. If they were found to be trustworthy that is. This freshman was someone still incredibly new to him. Not only to Wilbur, but to the situation with his brother as a whole. The kid was only just halfway through his first year in the school after all.

Though, it was true that said student, Tommy, had already stood out to him for his boisterous spirit. Both on stage and with his friends. The trio had been hard to miss, the three of them with their bubbling energy and animated interactions, though Tommy for sure had been the loudest of the three. While Wilbur hadn't really interacted with the kid much outside of the theater itself he'd still seen him around. From what Wilbur himself had witnessed, Tommy was a good kid.

Tommy had so far been eager to learn and participate in most activities in the theater, even if it was just as a helping hand to others. He'd never seen or heard the kid so much as badmouth someone outside of the banter with his friends. While Wilbur wasn't much of a 'soul read' kind of guy, he had to admit that this kid was just…adorably genuine.

Taking a breath Wilbur glanced at the blonde as he considered his words. The teen was staring at him, waiting eagerly as he fidgeted with his hands in his shirt. It…it wasn't the sort of eager that came from some gossip looking for fresh news, no. This was more…someone curious for facts, for truth. There were so many rumors about that the kid could just, listen in for and walk away assuming, like most others, that they knew who Techno was. Instead, he had sought Wilbur out and asked, genuinely asked, who Techno was.

"I think he just, doesn't know what to do about it. Or doesn't want to make it a hassle." Wilbur finally stated, his voice softer then before.

Outside of his parents and two of his more trusted friends, Wilbur had admitted this to no one. If he was honest even now he wasn't sure why he was telling it to Tommy. It…didn't feel wrong though.

Tommy stilled at his words and Wilbur momentarily worried if he should have said that at all. The boys hands had paused in their fussing with his shirt as his brow furrowed. The frown on his face dipped closer to a grimace for a moment before softening once more, eyes drawing back to Wil's own.

"Doesn't he have friends? People to help with that?"

It was Wilbur's turn to pause, his own frown deepening as he ran a hand through his hair as he gave an awkward shrug.

"He has me…and talks to some of my friends sometimes." Wil started to explain before deciding that was probably a line best not crossed, "He tends to focus on his studies more than anything. Like I said, he insists he finds it all funny. He's asked me a few times to stay out of it so, I just, tell him if I hear anything new."

Wil paused for a second before adding in quickly.

"At his request. Not sure why."

Tommy's brow furrowed again, this time Wilbur could see something brewing in his gaze. He couldn't tell what, but the other seemed to settle on something after a minute. He gave Wil a grin before nodding.

"I'll keep my ear out as well. If you want." He offered Wilbur, though the older could almost feel something else lingering in the words.

Still, it didn't seem malicious, rather the opposite. Wilbur offered up his own smile back as he nodded in acceptance.

"That would be nice actually. I have a few friends doing the same, but we're mostly all in the same grade. Would help to have fresh ears for it." Wil replied as he held out a hand for Tommy to shake.

The kid took it without hesitating, his grip firm and sure.

"So, about the like, really big rumors going around-" Tommy started to ask, a bit more confidence than how he started with.

"Which ones? Kidnappings, blood, sacrifices, mafia or cryptid?" Wilbur was quick to ask, grinning as the blond laughed at the category types.

The next thirty or so minutes was spent with Wilbur going through the pile of rumors Tommy had apparently collected over the last week. To the kids credit the younger teen had picked through the more ridiculous ones himself and only asked such ones to get the potential origins for. Wilbur did his best to explain based on what he and his own friends had discussed among themselves.

The kid that had been sent to the hospital? He'd fallen down the stairs just outside the library on a day Techno had been staying late to study. Techno had been the one to call the ambulance since it had been after school hours and most staff aside from the cleaning crew had gone home. The kid had moved away shortly after. Thus the rumor rooted in.

Yes, their family was well off, but they weren't 'rich'. Not like the mafia rumors tended to portray them as. Besides Techno saved all is money for 'nerd things' and animal treats. Hardly the stuff of nightmares or crime rings.

Speaking of, the closest his brother had even been to the police was the officer that managed the school crossings before and after school.

The red eyes? A genetic quirk that Wilbur shared, though his looked more brown unless the lighting was just right. Techno's was just more prominent. It was from their mother's side.

Drinking blood? Obviously false, but Techno and Wilbur himself were both a bit anemic and had sometimes required transfusions when they were younger. Neither he nor Techno had needed one in years though so he had no idea where that one came from.

Pink hair? Well, in Wilbur's best words, Techno just 'likes to be pretty'.

That one had Tommy bursting with laughter, which Wil was quick to join in on. The kid certainly had an air of liveliness about him that was contagious. But more then that, he was so boldly honest and genuinely curious. Wilbur hadn't wanted their conversation to end really. Even if he was a 'naïve little freshmen'.

He was a naïve little freshmen who could see his brother as a proper human.

As a good person.

Besides that the kid was freaking hilarious. He'd have to make sure to talk to Tommy outside of theater sometime. He was sure Techno would get a kick out of him too. Well, assuming he could find a way to get his brother to speak to the teen. Techno was socially awkward at the best of times. Put him in a room with younger kids? Even just a handful of years off was enough to make his elder brother tense and stutter.

Still though, Wilbur would find a way. They just had to get Techno to laugh. His brother was a sucker for good humor. If Wil could get the two together long enough for Tommy to get his brother to crack a smile that would be all he needed.

Xx-xx-xx-xX

The following day Tommy had gotten to school early, arriving before his bus would have even dropped him off. He wasn't there before the buildings doors opened, he wasn't a masochist or anything. But, he did get there early enough to slip into the cafeteria with the 'early arrival' students.

It was as good a place to start as any. It was also far earlier than Jared and his friends would be there meaning he could do what he needed to freely without fear of interruption.

He started off small. Asking first about certain rumors, Wilbur had told him about the day prior, and waiting for someone to take the bait. When the kids inevitably dug in, all too ready to tell 'the clueless freshman' Tommy was ready. He waited for them to finish before starting to ask them questions. Logic seeking questions with a few oddly specific 'theories' for good measure.

He had about half an hour to make the early bird students question more than they originally did. If he could pick up a few new rumors to bring back to Wilbur later? Then that would be a…well, not a 'plus' but, at least he'd be helping two people in one go.

Xx-xx

The start of the day had been…odd once arriving at school. He couldn't place why at first, but Techno was getting the feeling that he'd just walked into something…unnatural.

The way that one student had watched him walk down the hall instead of glancing away from him. The small group of sophomores that seemed to hesitate before splitting apart to let him pass. The way that the chattering in the air didn't…it didn't pause as he went by. If anything it just…got faster.

He didn't put out any new rumor recently so there shouldn't have been anything to burn though the mill with. Had someone else made one up for him? Because if so it had better be a good one at least. If it wasn't he was going to have to outclass it to show the fool how it was done.

Eh, he was sure Wilbur would come to him later in a huff about it.

…

He still didn't like how today was starting.

Xx-xx

Wilbur arrived at the school a few minutes later than Techno, as per usual. Techno generally left home earlier than him in order to 'get to school first' if their parents were to ask. Wil knew better though. It was easier to check in on and feed the cat family this way. If Techno accepted the rides offered by their father he'd have to walk back to where the cats were or risk not seeing them until later.

While Wilbur missed the rides in with his brother he at least respected the fact that it was because of animal care and not an attempt to avoid him. Though…there were days where he wondered.

With a shake of his head Wil put a smile on his face as he walked into the cafeteria where his friends were already all sat around their usual table. Even at this distance he could see them buzzing with news, good news by the looks of it. Niki was beaming and Jack had a grin on his face that could be seen across the room. Fundy was talking animatedly to Schlatt that even had him grinning with absolute amusement.

"Wilburrrrr!" Schlatt greeted loudly upon catching sight of the brunette drawing closer, an arm up in the air as further greeting.

"Schlatt." Wilbur nodded as a grin spread over his own face at the enthused welcome from the other, "You look in an actual good mood for this early in the morning. Discover a new flavor of Cheerios? Or perhaps did Honey Oh's go on sale?"

Instantly Schlatt's face fell into a deadly serious one as he stared at Wilbur, pointing at him after a quick beat.

"Don't even joke about that. Seriously. I wouldn't be here if they were on sale. I wouldn't even show up." He stated with such a firm tone that it was honestly debatable if he was doing a bit or not.

Regardless it had Wilbur cracking up, clapping his hands as he wavered on his feet from his sudden burst of laughter. A few nearby tables looked in his direction but it was brief. Wilbur didn't notice nor would he have cared either way.

"Have you heard yet, Wil?" Fundy asked before Schlatt had a chance to keep going.

Wilbur shook his head as he took the open spot between Fundy and Niki at the table, eyes on the red head as he was clearly eager to speak.

"Only just walked in. What did I miss already?" Wilbur asked with a slight chuckle.

"It's about Techno-" Fundy started, grin wide before being cut off by Schlatt.

"-Your brother gets more attention than the damn royal family and presidency combined. I'm surprised no ones started up a tabloid. They could make bank weekly on-"

"Shut up, Schlatt." Wil interrupted now with an internal eye roll as he focused back on Fundy, "What were you-"

"Hey, don't tell me to shut up. I have a good point. A brilliant point if I'm honest."

"A stupid one. I, however, have actual news so-" Fundy added in but was shortly cut off once more.

"Its not stupid, its great. I'm sure Techno would like it. Hell, he could probably find a way to profit off it if he wanted to. Or at least get a good read out of it. Like Sunday funnies but with a more personal touch." Schlatt went on before Wilbur leaned over enough to swat him on the arm.

"Shut." Wilbur directed before looking back once more at red headed boy beside him, "What's new about Techno this time?"

Fundy's grin from before returned, removing the slightly annoyed frown that had grown in its place.

"So, apparently…" He paused as if trying to create a dramatic effect.

"Did you forget your 'great news'?" Schlatt laughed out before earning a kick under the table from Niki.

Niki was smiling at Wilbur and Fundy both, obviously already knowing what the other was going to say. She was fidgeting and looked absolutely delighted so Wil at least knew it wasn't a bad rumor this time. Though, that did now make him more eager to hear what it was.

"Fundy, I swear to-" Wil started when the other continued his silence, hoping to make Wil squirm a bit he could only assume.

"Techno, the greatly feared 'Blood God' of Essempi Regional High, is apparently a secret 'heart of gold' good samaritan." Fundy stated as he crossed his arms smugly over his chest with something like pride.

Wilbur's brow wrinkled as he tried to process the words so early in the morning. It wasn't the fact of the words. He already knew his brother was a good person. It was more that…this had come from someone in the school. This was being said in the school.

"I mean, its not exactly riveting news compared to the usual 'I totally saw him eat a child' stuff, but its certainly something different." Schlatt stated at Wil's silence, "Heard it from one of those tables when we came in."

Schlatt was weakly waving towards the left of the room, but not clear enough for Wil to know which one out of the several over there. That didn't seem to either matter or register to Schlatt though as he kept talking.

"It was kind of a mud pit though. Most of them were more interested in figuring out how much the person saying it had been paid to. My bet was two hundred to start."

The smug shit eating grin Schlatt sent Wilbur's way was enough to cause the brunette to snort out a laugh before shoving his arm.

"Seriously though, its nice to hear someone is out there speaking good about Techno for a change." Niki spoke up brightly, "It was getting a bit concerning. Almost three years is a long time to have someone hate on you so much."

"Like something out of a villains origin story sort of grudge." Jack pipped in, "We're almost seniors and we still have no idea what happened as freshmen that started it."

"He didn't do anything. We spent most of that year together and I didn't see anything that would have warranted this." Wilbur stated for what might well have been the millionth time.

"I know, I know. You've said as much before. I'm just saying, something had to have happened. Either that or we are going to school with a psychopath that took a bad sort of liking to your brother. Which is less appealing to believe." Jack stated with a short laugh at the end.

"A 'psychopath' that just focuses on rumors? Not exactly the stuff of nightmares. That's more like, bored cheerleaders or politicians. I'd hardly be worried." Schlatt chuckled with his trademark grin on his face.

Before he could say more there were raised voices from across the cafeteria. Or, at least it echoed as far. At first it had been hard to notice over the general noise of the mostly filled room, but now Wilbur could hear clear as day three voices above the crowd. One of them he clearly recognized, which had him whipping his head around to find the source.

There, several tables down and near the end of the cafeteria, was Tommy. He was standing tall and puffing out his chest in what seemed like it might have been agitation. Before him stood a senior, Wil only recognized him from one of his classes, but he didn't know who it was in particular. Beside the guy was a shorter girl that looked like she might be trying out for either cheerleading or the next barbie movie. Hard toss up.

The three were in a yelling match and even from this distance Wilbur could see Tommy was growing more frustrated. His face was currently a blistering red as he talked animatedly with his hands, sharp jerky motions as opposed to the airy and rounded ones he used when talking with Wil the day before. Over the noise of the other kids Wilbur and his table couldn't hear what was being said aside from one shouted word every so often. However, as the three continued more kids around them quieted to listen in.

"- -isn't like- - - -don't even know-" Tommy snapped as the senior rolled his eyes.

"What would you even- - - -eman looking for attention."

"I Am Not You P- - - -Just insecure- - -echno is better than you are!"

Wilbur tensed up as he saw the older boy step towards Tommy with a measure of hostility, the blond flinching but managing to hold his ground. Red flags were going off in Wil's head and he had the sudden urge to get up and back Tommy even if he didn't know what he was on about. However, before he could even decide on an action there were two people standing at Tommy's back.

A short brown haired boy stood at Tommy's right, a firm stance despite being towered over by all present. He had a hand on Tommy's arm, but was glaring at the two other students. To Tommy's left a taller boy had stepped up, a tentative hand on Tommy's shoulder as he attempted to boldly stare at the two seniors as well. He was less intimidating than the shorter boy, but his height at least seemed to be deterrent enough.

Wilbur let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd taken in. Ranboo and Tubbo. Of course they'd be close by. Tommy generally kept them close from what he knew. With the three of them staring the seniors down the pair apparently opted out of further confrontation. That didn't stop Tommy from trying to press whatever matter they'd been fuming about, but thankfully his friends had the sense to pull him away.

He'd have to ask Tommy later what happened.

"Well, that was almost a show." Schlatt stated with a snicker, "That freshman is going to get himself flattened."

"Did he say 'Techno'? I couldn't catch much from them." Fundy asked with a furrowed brow as he looked back at the table.

"I think so, but, it was hard to hear." Niki nodded before she turned to look at Wilbur, "Weren't those the freshman that just joined theater?"

Wil nodded and gave a small smile as he pushed down his anxiety and confusion from just moments before.

"Yea, they all tried to try out all together before you split them up for singles." He reminded her with a chuckle at the end, "You wanted to try Ranboo, the tall one, on a lead role but he opted for supporting cast instead. They all did in the end."

"Right. Such a shame. It would have been great to have new faces lead into the first performed play for the year." Niki sighed lightly, "But I can understand why. I didn't try for a leading role myself until my second year in theater."

"That's fantastic, but what I wanna know is why some tiny drama noob is suddenly defending your brother." Schlatt cut in as he stared at Wil for an answer, "Doesn't Techno, like, actively avoid freshman or whatever?"

"He doesn't actively avoid them he just…opts out of their mainly used hallways." Wilbur tried to defend.

It was weak and his friends already knew better. Still, it was practically second nature for Wil to deny it despite the lack of necessity. Techno was hardly the only person who avoided freshmen, even from within his friend group. That didn't stop the words from spilling out when it came to his older brother.

If only he was allowed to do so with those outside his friend group too.

"Doesn't answer my question." Schlatt started off with before Fundy took the moment to cut him off this time.

"Why not go ask the kid yourself Schlatt? Pretty sure the kid will know more than any of us why he did it." The redhead stated with a small hand motion off to where said freshman had last been seen.

Wilbur held his tongue here despite knowing why Tommy actually thought well of his brother. It wasn't to keep it a secret from his friends, of course not. It was…well Wil wasn't entirely sure why if he were being honest. Something about how Fundy had phrased the comment to Schlatt had made something click in his brain.

He needed to talk to Tommy.

Xx-xX

"-and he fucking would have deserved it." Tommy finished off his rant with an angry huff.

Tubbo just rolled his eyes as they had been hearing this exact rant for almost half day at this point. Ever since he and Boo had to drag the other from what looked like a potential beat down.

"Tommy, that guy would have snapped you like a twig." Ranboo pointed out flatly as he stared the blond down.

Tommy let out an offended scoff as he finished shoving his books into his bag carelessly.

"Would not've. I'm a big enough man to take him on. He wasn't gunna be nothin-"

"We literally just finished English class, why are you talking worse than normal?" Ranboo cut him off, half hoping to derail the topic to something new, or at least different.

"Because I'm my own man. I don't need no class tellin me how to talk'n shit." Tommy replied with a cheeky grin.

If Tommy were to tell the truth it was really just because he was worked up. Though he was…he was pretty sure both Tubbo and Ranboo would know that. Though, he liked the opening the question gave him to sound badass and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to run with it.

"Some elderly old knob farting dust ain't going to be tellin' me how words're supposed't sound." He went on, this time getting a laugh out of his friends and causing him to grin wider.

"The way I speak may not be considered 'right' but its full of manly passion and right proper big balls energy."

"P-please stop, I-I-I can't- I can't- breath-" Ranboo wheezed, the 'big balls' line hitting right in his funny bone.

"Would you like me help with that with a bit of- a bit of the old 'mouth to mouth', Ranboo? Eh?" Tommy asked as he wiggled his brow in a teasingly suggestive manner, "Some reliable, CPR?"

If Ranboo could wheeze harder he would have. He was holding his middle and trying not to fall sideways into the desk he'd only just gotten out of. Tubbo was cackling beside the pair, giving Tommy a firm swat on the arm. It had Tommy jump back and rubbing at the string, but his smile never so much as flinched.

"Is that a 'maybe', Ranboo? Don't leave me hangin' here, I'm dying to know." Tommy went on, and probably would have continued if there wasn't a sudden knocking at door to the classroom they'd assumed had already emptied of students for the period.

Snapping his attention up to said door Tommy's expression briefly dropped into an anxious frown before the smile was pulled back up.

"Hey there, Mr. Major, Sir." Tommy greeted with an exaggerated salute to the older man, who just so happens to be their English teacher.

"Tommy, I've said before, just 'Scott' is fine." The man replied with a light chuckle and a shake of his head, "As much as I like seeing students enjoying time in my classroom, I'm going to have to ask you three to leave. Unless you want to be locked in during lunch break."

"Sorry, we were just leaving before Ranboo here started having trouble breathing." Tommy replied without missing a beat.

"Don't- don't say it like that." Ranboo tried to speak up while sucking greedily at the air he had only recently been able to take in again.

"Honestly, it was getting concerning. I thought we were going to have to resort to CPR, but, you know, consent and all-"

"Shut up, Tommy!" Tubbo snorted out as he gave the other another swat on the arm.

"That's great, but, perhaps consider the need for CPR outside the room." Mr. Scott prodded, motioning for the three to exit all with an amused smile on his face.

"Right away, Mr. Major, Sir." Tommy replied with yet another salute.

Their teacher let out a deeper sigh than before but didn't bother correcting him. Tommy took that as a victory. Of what? He wasn't sure, but he was going to take it all the same.

"Come on now, Ranboob. Before all the decent food options are gone." Tommy called as he headed for the door first.

Ranboo, with a bit of a steadying hand from Tubbo, followed after the blond. As their friend passed their teacher he gave the man yet another salute before popping out of the room fully and start a half jog (running was against the rules), towards the cafeteria. The three shared a look between each other before either shaking their head or rolling their eyes once more.

At least he seemed to have moved off of the topic of Techno and the rude upperclassmen from this morning.

X-X

Wilbur tapped his fingers anxiously against the table as he stared at the door of the cafeteria. He'd made sure to show up early to the lunch break to watch and wait, hoping to catch the surprisingly elusive freshman known as Tommy. For someone so loud often walking beside someone that towers over even the seniors, Wilbur had assumed finding the blond would have been easy.

It was decidedly not easy.

He'd gone the long way to most of his classes that day in order to walk the halls used by the freshmen most. He'd poked his head in on a few of the freshman teachers even in order to low-key check if the boy had somehow managed to get to class before being spotted.

No luck.

Even asking around had yielded little return for Wilbur's quest. Honestly, it almost reminded Wil of his brother during their own freshman year. The only other thing Wil could think of to find the younger was to stake out the cafeteria. At least, it was the calmer of his choices.

It was already almost fifteen minutes into break and the kid nor his friends were anywhere to be seen. Most of the better food options were taken, if not all of them.

Did Tommy perhaps bring his lunch?

Wilbur's brain stuttered to a pause at the thought. He'd…he'd not considered that. What if Tommy brought his lunch? What if all three of the boys did? It wouldn't be uncommon and he'd never paid mind to the three prior enough to know. If they brought their lunch they'd be free to eat it anywhere on school grounds too. Or just about.

Had he spent the entire beginning of the lunch break staring at the door for no reason? Was he going to need to run a lap or something around the school to try to find this kid again?

Shit.

Moments from Wilbur actually getting to his feet he froze as the doors to the cafeteria opened once more. Without thinking Wilbur held his breath, a rush of relief flowing through him the second he saw a splash of golden hair paired with a loud cackling laugh.

Late. Late, but still here. Wil wasn't going to have to take off at a sprint to case the school for him and hadn't, in fact, wasted the last fifteen minutes of his life staring at a door. He'd specifically not sat with his friends for this and now it felt a lot less pointless.

Getting up Wilbur started to make his way through the crowd of students milling about for various social interactions. He had to stop himself from calling out for or even rushing up to the three. They'd only just arrived after all. They needed to get their food.

Positioning himself at the end of the food line, but not overly obvious, Wil waited with less and less patience. He could hear Tommy's voice from a distance, as well as his friends who seemed torn with both laughing along or telling him to calm down.

When the three reached the end of the line and prepping to pay Wilbur inched closer, not wanting to waste a second once Tommy was free.

"-all I'm saying is I paid last time. Its up to you or Boo this time." Tubbo was saying as he gave Tommy's arm a pointed nudge.

Tommy was already looking at Ranboo, but the taller spoke first.

"Nuh uh, don't even think about it. I paid for you three times in a row last week and you never paid me back."

"Come on, Ranboob. Is the joy of my company with you not enough? Don't you love me?" Tommy tried to coax, but even Wil could see it wasn't as effective as the boy would have liked.

"Tommy, we both love you. We do. But fair is fair. Its your turn to pay." Tubbo cut in despite Ranboo looking like he might have had a few choice words of his own.

"But, guys, and hear me out, what if I…didn't? Like, this week and then I can make it up to you both next week?" Tommy offered, having to rush out the last sentence at the sour turning looks on his friends faces.

This was taking too long and time was ticking.

"Hey, uh, what if I paid for you lot?"

The trio turned to all face Wilbur at once with various looks of surprise. He tried to offer a friendly smile, but it didn't seem to ease them entirely.

"You…want to pay for us?" Tubbo asked first as he titled his head with some suspicion.

"I willing to, yeah." Wilbur replied, suddenly feeling the returning itch of anxiety at the awkwardness of the conversation.

He hadn't thought out how weird his offer would be, but with it now being questioned it was hard to ignore.

"You don't have to-" Ranboo started before Tommy cut in.

"We your charity case for the day or something? Feeding the poor freshmen?" Tommy teased as he offered Wilbur a cheeky grin.

"You could think of it as a bribe, or me paying for your time." Wilbur countered with the start of a laugh that cut short as he looked over the three, eyes landing on Tubbo.

Now, granted, it was both Ranboo and Tubbo giving him odd looks at the moment, but something about the shorter just seemed…more intense. Wil had seen similar looks given before, but usually towards his brother. He really wondered how Techno could stand it.

"Joking. I'm joking." Wil quickly stated under the pressure of the stares, "…sort of."

"Sort of?" Tubbo echoed before Tommy could.

"You want to pay for my time? I dunno, big dubs, I can be rather expensive." Tommy continued to tease, unaware of the changed air it seemed.

"I just want to talk to you for a bit. About, uh…about my brother?" Wilbur tried to explain, dropping his voice out of habit and he hated it.

This news garnered two reactions from the trio. Tommy perked up and looked far more excited than before. Ranboo and Tubbo, however, both seemed genuinely shocked, sharing a look between each other before looking to Tommy himself.

"Sure. I mean, buy me lunch and I'll sit wherever you want." The blond readily stated with a wide smile.

"For all of us. He means for all of us." Tubbo cut in as he looked back towards Wilbur, "Not a problem for you, right? Since you offered?"

Wil couldn't help but feel like it wasn't exactly a light question as he nodded in answer.

"Yeah, of course. Just, put them up and I'll pay." Wil motioned to the register and the staff member who was waiting there for them with a look of mild annoyance now.

Glancing behind the three Wil felt a slight burst of embarrassment as he reached even faster for his wallet. In the span of their minor conversation at least four other students had backed up and were waiting to pay.

x-x

"So, where to now, Mr. Moneybags?" Tommy asked as the four of them moved away from the register.

Wil chuckled at the name as he looked towards the table he'd been waiting at before, but found that in the time he'd been up it had been taken over.

"Probably somewhere quieter than this. To make it easier to talk." Wil replied without missing a beat.

"Lead the way." Tommy said chipperly before already biting into one of his fries.

Neither of them noticed the shared glance of Tubbo and Ranboo behind them.

Wilbur walked a bit fast as he tried to find a good place for them to sit. He didn't want the boys to miss out on eating or end up needing to scarf it down. He also didn't want to put them somewhere where talking about their…intended subject, would cause problems.

He hated having to take that last bit into account.

An outside table seemed best. There was a broken one on the edge of the seating area that was largely abandoned, baring only five seats instead of the usual eight. It was generally unused due to that and the actual table top being tilted. It would be perfect.

"Are we going to the 'drunk table'?" Tommy asked when they were about half to it.

"The what?" Wil questioned as he glanced back at the other.

"The 'drunk table'? The one that's all fucked up like its been hard drinking a bit too much for the past few years and fell down a flight of stairs?" Tommy described swiftly and in such a 'matter-of-fact' tone that it left Wilbur no chance at holding back his laughter.

Pitched and lilted Wil's laugh burst out sudden enough that it had him leaning over with a clap of his hands and holding his middle. He'd never heard the table called that before, but the description was so spot on that Wil definitely knew he was going to steal it.

Tommy looked absolutely pleased with himself.

"Y-yeah, we're going to the 'd-drunk table'." Wil got out between shorter chuckles.

"Sweet. I get first pick of seats!" Tommy called out before darting forwards, almost tripping over his own feet.

Tubbo was quick to take chase after him while Ranboo held back.

"Not going to run for it?" Wilbur questioned as he looked back, his breathing once more under control.

"Nah, there's five seats and four of us, I'll have a spot." Ranboo reasoned before shrugging, "Also, kind of tired of winning our races."

At this Ranboo took a slightly more elongated step to make his point. Wilbur understood it too. Being one of the taller friends in his own group he also was used to winning races about due to leg length alone. Though, Wil also happened to be quite fast in his own right as well, that wasn't the point Ranboo was going for. While Tommy wasn't as short as Tubbo, he was thin as rail. Wil doubted he had muscles enough to keep ahead of anyone.

By the time Wil and Ranboo reached the table Tommy and Tubbo were seated, Tommy being in a bit of a huff it seemed. Getting close enough to hear them only made Wil want to laugh again.

"-I even called getting first choice. Just because you cheated and got here first-"

"Just because I'm faster than you doesn't mean I cheated, Tommy." Tubbo laughed and gave the other a light shove, "Don't be such a sour sport."

"sour your sport-" Tommy mumbled before trying to snatch a fry from the others' tray.

"Oi! Hands off! You've got your own!" Tubbo shouted, now giving the other a much harder smack to the arm.

"Ooooouch!" Tommy exaggerated, "Ranboo! He hit me!"

"Okay?" Ranboo replied with disinterest as he took the seat to Tommy's free side.

This left Wilbur with either the seat beside Ranboo or the solo seat on the other side of the table, closer to Tubbo. He opted for the solo seat.

Once down though, Wilbur found himself in a situation of not knowing how to bring up what he needed to. He initially hadn't considered either Tubbo or Ranboo being present for the talk. While they seemed like good kids he…he didn't know them. It also didn't help that they seemed a bit…tense. At least, when they weren't actively bickering with Tommy.

As the three continued to tease and munch away on their lunch Wilbur sat and mentally ticked the wasted time away as he tried to think of some kind of opener.

"So…Tommy."

Yes, brilliant opener.

Tommy looked up, mid laugh from some jab or another from his friends. Wil could feel the other gazes on him as well but ignored it. He wasn't talking about something secret so…he shouldn't feel at all awkward about this.

"About this morning, what was-"

"You saw that? With that asshole?" Tommy cut him off, almost dropping his fry back to the plate as his playful expression turned somewhat surprised and then annoyed.

Wilbur paused a moment before nodded his head in answer.

"Yeah, pretty sure most of the school saw that." Wil commented, his voice a bit softer even as he tried to keep the tone casual, "What was that all about? I thought I'd heard you saying something about Techno?"

Wil didn't entirely miss the glancing look from Ranboo, but he didn't care. Tommy was already answering, and rather heatedly, abandoning his food for the moment.

"That prick was running his mouth trying to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. Was going on and on about how Techno was- was more likely to fuckin'- to sack up a bunch of cats to drown them. Then of course that twatty bitch starts talkin' about how he would know 'cus that douchy grade-A dingleberry had been in all the same classes as Techno since their freshman year or some shit. And then-"

As Tommy went on Wilbur almost questioned his judgement in even asking at all. The topic still seemed to be hot on the others mind even so far into the day. He couldn't even take his eyes off of Tommy as the other gestured and emoted strongly along with his whole rambled ranted tale.

None the less Wilbur was taking mental notes where certain things seemed to stick out.

"-had the gall to try to threaten me, me, big man that I am, into agreeing that I was wrong. As if I'd just made it all up and he was 'supreme knowing of all things Techno'. Complete cunt is what he is. The pair of them. I would have throttled them both if he tried anything. I don't care whats between the legs, if you talk smack you earn one. And another thing-"

"Was Tommy telling the truth then? About the kittens or whatever?" Tubbo asked Wilbur in what the brunette assumed was an attempt to divert the conversation.

It at least seemed to snap Tommy from his fresh starting ramble as he looked sharply at the shorter.

"Of course I was tellin' the truth, Tubbo! I told you, why would I lie?" He huffed at the other with obvious frustration.

Wil nodded once as he briefly looked between the three of them. While Tommy looked heated both Tubbo and Ranboo looked anxious and…honestly a bit curious if not a bit exasperated at their friend.

"Depends on what he told you?" Wil started with, waiting for any of the three to answer even if he could well assumed what it would be.

"Wait, so, Techno seriously just, hangs after school so he can baby some kittens? It wasn't some freak fever dream from Tommy thinking too hard?" Ranboo asked next, earning a smack from Tommy that he barely registered.

"I mean, not solely for that reason." Wilbur chuckled, an easy smile settling on his face, "There is a family of cats nearby that he looks in on and feeds."

"See? There's your proof, you shitty fuck." Tommy stated bluntly to Tubbo as he crossed his arms pointedly, "Now, where is my fucking apology?"

Tubbo just rolled his eyes with extra drama before turning to face the other.

"I'm sorry." He started off with slowly, watching as Tommy's expression became more smug before grinning himself, "That you are a generally a lying bastard that we can't take at face value over half the time."

"Hey!" Tommy snapped, moving to give Tubbo a smack as well now.

Tubbo was faster though and managed to slap Tommy's hands away with more force than the blond was using. Tommy let out a yelp as he brought his hand back in and hugged it to his chest.

"Tubbo! Ow!." Tommy whined.

"Serves you right." Tubbo stated bluntly before going back to eating.

"So-" Ranboo started awkwardly, gaining Wilbur's attention off the other two.

"Yeah?"

"If, like, if Techno isn't-" Ranboo paused as if trying to find the words.

"If your brother isn't the actual anti-christ than why does the whole school think he is?" Tubbo cut in far more blunt than Ranboo was daring to be, "I mean, since being here I've not heard a bad word about many others, but your brothers' name gets dropped and several people and their dog have a story. That can't be just bad coincidence."

Wilbur shrugged awkwardly now. He didn't exactly want to get into it here, and with these three. With Tommy it had felt different, like the kid already connected to it somehow. But, Tubbo and Ranboo? They just felt…not right to tell. Not that they were bad people, certainly not. More like…they were less receptive to the idea than Tommy had ever been so far.

"Not sure. Someone with a grudge spreading things around?" Wilbur replied and hoped Tommy wouldn't start blurting out their last conversation.

Thankfully the blond seemed to get the idea that Wilbur didn't want to share and just sat quietly, returning to his food. Ranboo was going to speak again when the table was interrupted by the sound of a female voice nearby.

"Are there really cats near the school?" She asked, not seeming to care that she was interrupting.

She was sitting at a table nearby and, due to the less noisy space compared to inside, had clearly been listening in. Wil had no idea what to do, very much feeling like a deer in the headlights. However, Tommy didn't suffer the same.

"Yea, whole cat family. Got a mum and like, five kittens." Tommy answered without so much as a flinch, "Techno's named them all too."

At this the student looked at Tommy with a furrowed brow before looking to Wilbur as if to confirm. He nodded but held his tongue, torn with wanting to verify what Tommy was saying, but also with wanting to uphold his promise to his brother to not say anything at all.

"He brings them food and takes care of them after school too. I've seen it." Tommy went on, not seeming to notice Wil's growing unease, "He can't take them home, but he's going to need to find them a proper one before it gets cold. Wil says he's afraid to put them in a shelter cus he'll miss 'em."

Once more the girl looked to Wilbur to confirm, to which he could only nod his head and agree. She was turned now more to face them, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

"If, uh….If I were to, like…ask to have one- I mean, I've been wanting a cat and, well, if it needs a home-" The student stumbled along.

"If you got a warm home with good food for it I don't see why not. He was feeding them actual food so I don't think they're still nursing or anything." Tommy stated with a smile, encouraging her to go on.

"I'd just…have to ask…Techno?" She trailed off, doubt and fear both lingering in her voice.

She was looking at Wilbur once more, but this time Wil was smiling at her. This was an answer he could give without breaking his word to his brother.

"If you ask him about it and show you can take care of it, I'm sure he'll have no problem with it." He stated with a confidence touched with amusement, "I promise he wont bite."

The girl looked uneasy but Tommy just laughed aloud as if it were the greatest joke.

Chapter Text

It takes a career, a lifetime, to build up a reputation, and only one misstep for it all to crumble away - Aaron Rodgers
-X

Techno had no idea what was going on with his day. It was certainly not something he was expecting nor asked for. Nor did he think he had done something so horrid and cruel to warrant karma coming around on him this way.

“A-and, I even have toys ready and looked up all the safest foods to give them so-” The girl before him had her phone facing him with pictures to prove he claims.

Techno was stood outside the front of the school, with what appeared to be either a freshman or a short sophomore, pleading her case to…adopt a cat. A kitten. One of ’his’ kittens to be exact. And, oh, if Wilbur wasn’t standing to the girls’ left looking so fucking pleased with himself.

“That’s uh…great?” Techno tried for a response, really unsure of what to say.

The girl kept looking at him, staring at him with…with expectation.

It made his skin crawl.

“So…can I see them? And, take one home?” She asked when Techno failed to give further response.

“What? No-” Techno started, panic rising in his chest at the idea of bringing some stranger over to the kittens, his kittens.

Sure, getting them a good forever home would be great, but there was no way, no way he was showing anyone where they were-

“How about this.” Wilbur pipped in now, a friendly smile on his face as he took the girls attention smoothly, “We can take pictures of the kittens for you, Techno will show them to me at least. And then, I can show the pictures to you tomorrow to choose from. We’ll work out hand off details later, okay?”

Techno was torn with his feelings on Wilbur at the moment. He was pissed that his brother had told this person about the cats in the first place and thought it a good idea to bring said person to talk to him about taking one. But, at the same time he felt immense relief that his twin had taken over the talking when he did.

The girl looked between the two before offering a tentative smile and a nod.

“That would be great. Yeah.” She acknowledged meekly.

“Good. Well then Elisa-”

“Its ‘Alyssa’.” The girl corrected swiftly with a bit more of a strained expression now, a gentle annoyance.

“I’m sorry, of course, Alyssa. I’ll find you tomorrow then.” Wil stated as he gave a final smile of his own before giving a small gesture that the other was free to go.

She paused for a moment as if debating saying something, though in the end she just nodded for a third time and left. Techno was relieved, shoulders slumping as he and Wil were left alone once more.

…
…

“I’m so proud of you-”

“Shut up. What the hell was that, Wilbur?” Techno cut in sharply, his voice slightly pitched in his irritation, “If I’d known you were going to bring people over to me I’d have never agreed to have you walk with me today!”

Wilbur just grinned back at him and for a brief moment Techno wished at least some of his rumors were true so he could smack the other without feeling bad about it later.

“It wasn’t so bad. Besides, I didn’t bring her over. You saw her walk up yourself.” Wil stated with a smugness Techno well knew meant that he did have something to do with it….or at least knew about it.

“Your presence is too inviting.” Techno stated bluntly as he narrowed his eyes with annoyance.

“Aw, are you saying I’m irresistible to the public?” Wil questioned teasingly as he leaned in enough to bump shoulders with his brother.

It was a small gesture, well within his limits for physical contact of course. Wil was always careful of that even when he was being a ‘little shit’ as their father put it.

“Like flies to-”

“Don’t you even dare finish that sentence.” Wilbur cut him off this time with a pointed frown.

This got a smirk out of Techno though as he looked at his brother with a mirror of his former smugness.

“What’s wrong? I thought you liked my analogies.”

“I like your good ones. Not the ones that liken me to shit, or slugs or an ass-”

“Technically I was talking about a mule. You’re the one that called it an ass. Which was accurate regardless of who said it.” Techno replied with a casual yet overly satisfied tone as Wil was the one to let out an annoyed huff now.

“My point is, be nicer to me.”

“Why would I do that? So you can bring more people around?”

“Well, yes, but that’s beside the point I’m trying to make here.”

“No thank you, Wilbur. I’m fine as I am.” Techno was quick to shut down without even hearing the rest.

He doubted it would be anything new.

…

“...Don’t you want to know why she came up to you about a cat?” Wilbur asked after a few beats of silence.

Techno could hear the smirk in his brother’s voice and it once more made him take in a breath. He held it a moment as he looked skyward, asking for any sort of mercy from above for whatever it was Wilbur might have cooked up this time.

“Sure, Wilbur. I’ll bite. Why did she come up asking about cats, that only you know about.” Techno asked with a flat and pointedly disinterested tone as he stared his twin down.

He wasn’t expecting Wilbur to look so…giddy.

“For one, I’m not the only one who knows about the cats.” Wil lead with, his smile bright with his barely contained amusement, “ You have a secret admirer~”

Techno almost wheezed at the words.

“Heh?”

“Well, not so secret really. He’s actually quite loud about it. Isn’t that great?” Wil asked as he actually bounced in place a moment with a clap of his hands.

“Heh?!”

For the life of him Techno couldn’t gather a single word for a response, let alone consider sticking them together in a workable sentence. All he could do was stare at his brother as if he’d grown an extra head and a few dozen hands besides.

Wilbur, who had started to ramble about something while Techno’s brain stalled out, paused as he seemed to realize the other wasn’t following along anymore. Techno only stared at him, watching as the brunettes brow wrinkled a moment in concern before something appeared to click.

“Platonic. Techno. Platonic admirer.” Wil assured with a cautious hand on his brothers shoulder.

It…honestly helped. A lot. The red flags and alarm bells had lessened in his head down to a more orange-ish flag of warning.

“I wouldn’t hit you with something like that, Tech. Trust me.” Wil added, giving his shoulder a brief squeeze before letting go again.

The silence lingered a moment and then two as Wil continued to stare at him, a slight worry building.

…

“.…You can breath now Techno. You’re going to start turning colors.”

Techno did, in fact, let out the breath he’d accidentally been holding. As he did he pinned Wilbur with a decidedly unamused glare.

“That wasn’t funny, Wilbur.”

“I wasn’t trying to be. Not about that at least.” Wil promised with a note of mild guilt, “I promise there wont be a repeat of ‘Grade Eight Valentines’. I got you man.”

Techno took in a deep breath once more as he tried to settle out his rattled nerves. It was too early for this. They’d only just barely arrived at school and he was already stressed enough to potentially get a headache. Now, normally he wouldn’t consider himself to be easily triggered by things. He had a pretty leveled head and, aside from his anxiety, tended to take things with a grain of salt.

But the word ‘admirer’ unsettled him.

It was such a small word, but it brought very unwanted images and memories to mind. Like the feeling of strange lips pressing against his cheek as a card was pressed into his hand. A classmate smiling at him with expecting eyes while his own brain demanded he scratch at the offended area until it was raw or removed.

Techno had to physically shake his head out of the moment as he fought the shiver that wanted to travel his spine.

“...So, this fan of yours-” Wilbur started in again.

Wilbur apparently was assuming that because Techno hadn’t started to walk off into the school yet that he was still invested in the conversation from before. He really wasn’t….but the thought of having to walk through the halls where other bodies were currently bumping and sliding past each other was…worse than the idea of hearing his brother out. There was still roughly five minutes before the bell rang to usher the students towards class.

“-and he’s really kind of funny. I think you’d like him, even if he is a freshman.” Wilbur was saying as Techno tuned back in.

“A freshmen?”

“Yeah? Like I’d said…wait, were you not listening to me? To all that I just said?” Wil asked with mild indignation.

“Uh….no?” Techno admitted with a slight raise of his brow.

It wasn’t the first time he’d tuned the other out mid ramble and Techno highly doubted it was even close to being the last.

“Prick. I’m trying to tell you that you have someone in your corner speaking good about you.” Wil huffed as he gave Techno’s shoulder a shove this time, harder than the last few.

“Wait, what?” This got Techno’s attention a bit more and he looked directly at Wilbur, this time waiting for him to expand on the statement.

“Oh, now you’re interested?” Wil asked as he raised a brow to mirror his brother, his annoyance clear in his voice.

“Yes, Wil. Now I’m interested.” Techno confirmed, feeling like he had more riding on this than his mid terms.

“Well too bad. I already told you and you decided not to listen. That’s on you.” Wil concluded as he adjusted his bag on his shoulder and turned towards the school finally, “Guess you’ll have to find out about him yourself now.”

“Wil”

Wilbur patted his pockets as he started to walk.

“Wilbur.”

Wilbur looked forwards at the school without so much as hinting he heard his brother.

“Wilbur Sooting Craft.”

Wil blanched at hearing his full name, turning to look back at Techno now with bewilderment.

“Did you just ‘dad voice’ and ‘full name’ me?” He asked in a matching stunned tone, “At school even?”

…

“...Can I at least know the kids name?” Techno counter asked instead of answering.

Sure, it wasn’t his best move, but it got Wil’s attention so…wooorth iiit?? He was gong to say ‘yes’, but only because it was too late to choose another action.

Techno watched as a few emotions passed over his younger brother’s face before settling on something soft but amused.

“Tommy. His name is Tommy.”

Xx--xX

Tommy took a steadying breath as he shoved his books back into his bag. He’d worry about smoothing out the papers they were now crushing later, when he was handing them in. No problem. At least they were still there. He doesn’t think he’d get another extension from his history teacher if he’d ‘lost’ them again.

He couldn’t afford to begin failing this class so early in the year.

Taking in a deeper breath Tommy heaved his bag up and over his shoulder, letting out a small yelp as it crooked sideways. Slipping it back off Tommy let out a frustrated growl under his breath seeing the torn strap.

It wasn’t the worst bit of damage. He’d honestly ripped it more before by darting by too close to a door handle. Still, didn’t make it any less annoying. He’d have to pin that back up and attempt another sewing job.

Oh well, problems for future Tommy.

Present Tommy had to get a move on before he was late to class. Tubbo and Ranboo were probably already in the room waiting on him.

He’d be getting the shitty short legged chair at the table.

“Hey, kid!” A voice called from behind him making him jump.

“W-what? What now?” Tommy asked, a bit harsher than he’d intended to actually verbalize.

As he turned Tommy tensed up though he tried not to look it. The person approaching him looked to be an upperclassmen, either junior or senior, he wasn’t sure. What Tommy was sure about was the lettered jacket he wore. It was from…a sports team…Okay so Tommy didn’t recognize what it was for. But he knew a jock when he saw one.

…Even if he was smaller than most.

He was still taller than Tommy and even with the coat Tommy could see he was fairly well built. His sandy brown hair was mostly hidden by the hood of his jacket though still easily visible from the front. The other’s shockingly green eyes were locked on his and seemed to be waiting expectantly.

Tommy had to shake his head, eyes squinting with a slight wince of embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, what?”

The older boy raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t seem put off by the need to repeat himself. If anything he looked slightly confused.

“I asked if you were a freshmen.”

“O-oh, uh. Yes?” Tommy replied slowly, sounding more doubtful than he intended.

“Okay, well, is your name Tommy?”

Tommy didn’t like where this was going. He swallowed the tension in his throat and debated if he was going to be fast enough to outrun the dude if it came down to it. He could always ditch the bag if he needed to. Homework wasn’t worth…whatever this guy was potentially planning.

“Last time I checked, but I could be wrong. Weirder shits happened before.” Tommy answered nervously.

“I- wait, what?” The guy looked properly confused now and Tommy just couldn’t stop himself.

“I mean, yea. Once just last month I woke up called ‘big cums’. It lasted all day. Really weird, that. No one seems to recall it but that’s just as well. ‘Tommy’ works fine for me. Anyway, have you seen the time? I really should be going. See you around maybe? Or not. Okay, byyye!”

Tommy had rambled and inched backwards until he was just about at the corner of the hallway, darting behind the wall before the other guy could get another word in. He didn’t look back or hesitate or slow down. He took off running and hugging his bag to his chest. The second he heard footsteps he was fully prepared to drop it.

X-x

Dream remained firmly planted in place as he watched the scrawny freshmen hurtle himself around the corner of the hall. He could hear the rushed slap of footfalls that echoed after him.

Tommy.

Well, okay then.

Pulling out his phone Dream tapped into his most recent text conversation.

D: ‘blond, 6’ foot something, blue eyes, spiderman backpack’

Send

T: ‘Got a picture?’

D: ’got more money?’

T: ‘I can round it up to thirty’
T: ‘Provided its good quality and not a smeared drive by shot.’

D: ’thirty sounds good. i’ll have it next period.

T: ‘Next period?’
T: ‘You’re getting slow. Does your team know?’

D: ’i can push the cost to forty if you want.

T: ‘Nothing wrong with getting slow Dream.’
T: ‘Just, you know. Not for track kids.

D; ’forty bucks and a sprite at lunch.’

….

T: ‘That’s fair’

Dream rolled his eyes as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. He’d made easier money off Techno before, but this time the work was a bit more interesting. It made him wonder what the freshman had done to warrant getting hunted down.

Oh well.

He wasn’t paid to question it.

Xx--xX

“Tommy, are you okay?” Tubbo whispered across to the blond with mild concern evident in his voice.

Tommy had, despite sprinting as best he could, showed up late to class. He had just finished out his detention for his last tardy and now he was settled with a fresh one. He’d laughed it off at the start of class like usual, but had since placed his head down on the desk without lifting it since. It came as no surprised to Tommy that the other sounded worried.

“ ‘S fine. Just, tired, big man.” Tommy replied with a partial muffle from the table.

“You sure?” Ranboo asked from his other side.

Without lifting his head Tommy nodded. Sure it might be less than assuring, but he just…he didn’t have the energy right now. He wasn’t entirely lying when he said he was tired. Dealing with Jared and his friends, plus the new guy with green eyes and having to run to class? Tommy had neither slept or ate enough before coming in to deal with all that.

“Do you want to, like, lift your head up to see the project we’re doing or-” Ranboo trailed off, torn between asked more questions or leaving him be for now.

“Can’t I just, fail this one?” Tommy’s words were further muffled as he seemed to almost rub his face into the table top.

“If you fail then we fail so I’d rather you not.” Tubbo said with a slightly forced teased as he tried to get a reaction from his friend.

It at least had Tommy letting out a deep breath and sitting back up. He didn’t know what he looked like, but he didn’t miss the brief glances between his friends.

“What? Did it leave a red mark?” Tommy asked as he brought a hand up to rub at his forehead.

“Just, looking a bit pale, Boss man.” Tubbo offered for an answer.

Tommy just shook his head.

“I’m fine, Tubs. Just from the run.” He assured, and he was only lying the tiniest bit on this one, “Just need to grab a snack before next period and I’ll be fine.”

“You sure you’re not-” Tubbo began before being cut off by the clearing of a throat.

“If you could be so generous with your attention as to offer it up here, Mr. Underscore, Beloved and Innit, that would be just lovely.” The woman at the head of the room said in a sickeningly sweet voice that threatened all three of the boys with disciplinary action should they fail to comply.

“Yes Mrs. Whitford. Sorry.” Tubbo meekly apologized, Ranboo and Tommy both echoing the apology.

Tommy, despite hating the scolding, was still partially grateful for the interruption. With no further questions being sent his way he slowly, and carefully, placed his head back down on the desk.

X-X

Dream was waiting in the hallway by the time the bell marking the end of classes rung. He hadn’t seen where the Tommy kid had been off to so he only had his best guesses. He was staking out first floor while his friend Sapnap was keeping post on the second. George was scoping out the electives halls so that covered most of their grounds.

What can he say? He took earning his money seriously. Also, fuck Techno. He wasn’t getting slow.

’Sapnap’ has messaged the group
S: ‘Blond hair, red bag. Cant see much else. He’s headed to the stairwell.’

D: ’keep an eye on him. make sure its him. i’m not trying to snapshot every blond in school.’

S: ‘You sure? Could be some more easy money.’

D: ‘if i wanted easy money that way i’d just sell a bunch of pictures of YOU’
D: ‘not that there would be any buyers.’

’George’ has messaged the group
G: ‘What if I buy the pictures?’

S: ‘See? There are buyers.’

D: ‘pity purchases don’t count’
D: ‘besides, i wouldn’t sell them to George anyway.

G: ‘What?’
G: ‘Why not?’

D: ‘because I’d never sell you garbage’

G: ‘Aw’
G: ‘<3’

D: ‘:)’
D: ‘<3’

S: ‘Dude, I think this is your kid. He’s headed to the caf I think’

D: ‘i’m on it. keep your eyes on him’

S: ‘Yea, I figured.’

Dream turned on his heel and started to quickly side step around the shuffling freshman swarm. It was certainly easier to do after a few years on the track team. He could maneuver better, sure. But really, it was the jacket. People saw the lettered jerseys and almost instinctively stepped out of the way.

It took him less than three minutes to reach the cafeteria and spot Sapnap. He was eyeing a kid leaning over at a vending machine. Even from the distance Dream could tell it was the right person. Blond, scrawny and wearing a white shirt with red sleeves.

If the kid wanted to make a ‘please bully me’ sign he couldn’t create one any clearer than the one he wore naturally.

But that was none of Dream’s business. He just needed a clear photo.

“So, you going to just, go up and say ‘cheese’ or something?” Sapnap asked as Dream made it to his side.

“He’d probably bolt again.” Dream answered with a shake of his head and a small frown.

“Bolt? ‘Again’? Are you scaring the freshmen, Dream?” Sapnap snickered as he gave the other a quick shove to the arm.

“Shut up. He’s just jumpy.” Dream huffed as he shoved the other right back with more force than the other had used, “Go up to him and start talking. I’ll get in closer and snap a pic before he notices.”

“Do I get paid extra? For doing so much leg work?” Sapnap asked with a cheeky grin before Dream was shoving him off in Tommy’s direction.

“Shut up. Just get over there before he gets too far and a crowd moves in.”

Honestly, Sapnap could be such a prick sometimes. If they didn’t get the picture then their money would be almost halved. He could keep his shitty jokes and comments to himself until their payout was secured.

Dream watched carefully from a distance as Sapnap approached the freshmen, tapping him on the shoulder and almost causing the kid to choke on his coke.

Brilliant.

He couldn’t hear the conversation taking place, but he didn’t need to. Dream just needed to inch along the wall, get in range and snap a picture. He trusted his phones’ camera to not be shit, but he needed the kid to face him and hold long enough to keep from blurring.

Honestly he wished he’d thought of snapping a pic earlier when the kid had frozen up. It would have been so much easier. But instead here he was and here they were.

“-and you never know. You look like you could be pretty fast if you wanted to be. With a bit of practice you could-”

“Look, I appreciate the offer. But, I’m not really a ‘sports’ kinda guy.” Tommy declined as he took a step backwards from Sapnap.

“Maybe not now, but you might be surprised once you give it a shot. Track is sort of in a class of its own sports wise.” At this point Sapnap moved in and tried to lay a hand on the freshmen’s shoulder, probably to keep him from getting any closer to the main doors behind them.

However, Tommy didn’t seem to care for the action and dropped his shoulder under the touch. His bag slid off his back and down to his elbow before he caught it, stumbling back another step.

“L-look, just. I’m not interested in joining sports, or-or anything like that. Just, let me drink my coke and head to class, okay? Maybe look for new recruits by, like, waiting for try outs and getting people who actually give a shit about running in circles for fun.” Tommy snapped with some exasperation now.

Dream, with his phone raised, let out a whistle.

“Daamn, Sap. He really told you off, huh?”

Tommy’s eyes widened as his head snapped over to Dream, mouth slightly agape. Dream just grinned at him as he heard the soft mutter of ‘oh fuck’ under the younger kids breath.

Tommy took a step back and Sapnap moved closer to try to keep him from darting off. However, the movement only seemed to startle Tommy more and the kid swung his bag around, nailing Sapnap in the stomach with mild force as the blond let it go. He was already through the double doors by the time Sapnap stood back up with a slight wheeze and holding the red hero imprinted backpack.

Dream was wheezing as well, but for an entirely different reason. Holding his stomach and leaning on the wall he open mouth laughed at the scene he’d just witnessed. It was like those cat videos online where owners spooked them with cucumbers.

Sapnap stared him down with a flat look, not finding the humor in him getting smacked. Though, looking down at the bag in hand he couldn’t help but wonder at the reaction. It…wasn’t exactly typical.

“So…you think he got hazed or something?” He asked, not caring if Dream’s breathing was back to normal yet.

“Oh. Oh definitely.” Dream nodded with confidence, “And I think its going to happen again.”

As he said this he held up his phone to show off the image he managed to capture. There, on screen, was the blond with his lips parted mid mutter and eyes wide in shock. Like a deer in headlights.

He was so keeping that one.

Xx-xX

This day, Tommy was sure, couldn’t get much worse. He couldn’t even make it between classes without losing his bag in a fight or flight situation and also getting to next period late as he’d fled down a hall opposite to where he needed to be.

Oh, and apparently it was the Track team that was scoping him out.

Jared and his and band of dick shallots were enough of a hassle. Tommy didn’t think he’d be able to find the energy to avoid both them and the Track team. Not unless he started walking around the school to all his classes. That, he already knew, was time consuming.

Tommy grumbled internally as he watched the clock in the class room tick down. Without his bag he didn’t have the materials needed to participate in class. Unfortunately for Tommy his World Culture teacher didn’t take too kindly to that fact and had stuck him in the corner of the room so as ‘not to be a distraction’.

This was going to put him behind a lesson and he didn’t even share the class with Tubbo or Ranboo to help him make it up later. He didn’t really need World Culture in order to pass or graduate, did he?

Tommy huffed as he looked back to the clock, barely a minute past when he last checked.

Today couldn’t get any worse.

x-x

“You know, I only asked you to find the kid and snap a picture. I didn’t tell you to rob him.” Techno stated as he stared at the item in his hand, glancing back up at the other, “Though, if you want to spread that around that would be nice.”

“Pay for one job before we start another, okay? I’m not looking to collect ‘iou’s.” Dream chuckled as he waved his hand.

“Fair.” Techno nodded as he opened up the bag and took a peek inside.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but….this seemed about right. Textbooks slammed in over crushed papers that looked like homework and a partially torn schedule- wait

Techno reached into the bag swiftly and with surprising deftness tugged the half ripped paper free.

“Find something interesting?” Dream asked as he took note of the shift in demeanor.

“A schedule.” Techno stated calmly as he glanced over it, “No running around the school for me.”

“Damn. I should have looked through it and taken that out. Could have charged you more.” Dream commented with a smirk.

“You could have, but I doubt I’d have bought it. Could’ve guessed from the textbooks.” Techno stated before slipping the paper back where it belonged, “He’s got Whitford for History.”

Dream winced at the name as his brain recalled that painfully saccharine voice and its sugary hidden threats. Honestly, he’d prefer to just get snapped at or scolded. Anything but that shrill lilting that tried so hard to be disarming and yet unsettling all in one go.

He swore that woman either was or was trying to be a cryptid. She was pretty fucking good at it too.

“So, forty for all this, plus a sprite.” Techno stated aloud as he reached for his wallet.

Sure it was pricey, but he didn’t mind shelling out for good service. He had well enough saved that he could afford the splurge.

“Ten still your going rate for story telling?” Techno asked as he handed over the initial payment.

“More or less. What kind of story you want it to be?” Dream asked as he thumbed over the bills and counted them out, “I don’t exactly want to implicate myself after all.”

“Just say you heard me on my ‘mafia phone’ calling in for a robbery.” Techno chuckled at the imagery as he heaved Tommy’s bag onto his shoulder, “I’m getting a new coat next week so we can time it out to look like a ‘mugging coat’. Should be enough to keep the people busy.”

“And your brother.” Dream commented with a snort of his own, “I think he might start pulling his hair out soon.”

“Eh, he can pull of bald I’m sure.” Techno said with a small chuckle of his own.

His brother really did worry far more than he should.

“Ten if it sticks.” Dream stated, reciting the deal they’d both agreed upon prior.

“See you in a week.” Techno nodded as he headed out of the boys restroom.

It wasn’t the most original place to meet up, but it was better than trying to meet in the hallway. Techno didn’t linger on the thought of it. He had more important things to deal with.

By the time he reached the electives hallway the bell signaling break had already rung. The sea of bodies, many as they were, were careful to move around him with as much distance as the hall allowed. Techno took pride in that, though still made sure not to linger long in one spot.

With his height it was somewhat easy for Techno to pick out the tuft of blond in the crowd. The teen was leaning against the wall beside a doorway as he watched the swarm ahead of him without interest. Probably waiting for it to clear enough to pass through.

All the better for Techno.

With careful steps Techno approached the freshmen, keeping his posture up and his face stoic. He came to a stop beside the kid and he didn’t even seem to notice.

Well, uh…words then. Yes.

“So, Tommy.”

The teen jumped almost out of his skin, eyes landing on Techno wide and fearful. Just like last time. And just like last time that look faded steadily, only this time in recognition.

“I think you and I need to have a…’talk’.” Techno finished now that the kid was attentive.

With his words Techno slid Tommy’s bag off his shoulder and held it out by the strap. It was hard to make handing off spiderman intimidating, but he hoped it was working.

Xx--xX

Tommy couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Honestly, part of him wondered if he’d half dozed off while standing there.

Techno Craft.

In front of him.

Holding his backpack.

His stolen, ok, ‘abandoned’, backpack.

The guy just stood there, patiently waiting for him to react and all Tommy could do was gawk. Oh shit, he was gawking. His mouth was open and everything. Fuck.

“Th-thank you.” Tommy said dumbly as he reached for his bag, “Did-did you get this back from the Track jocks?”

Techno’s brow raised for all of a second before he opted to shrug instead.

“Something like that.” He replied as he glanced over at the crowd, “So, about that talk-”

“R-right. You did mention talking. Um, well-” Tommy stammered as he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say first or even how.

For all the talking about Techno he’d done with Wilbur it was something different to actually meet the guy. He’d even sought Tommy out! Maybe he’d heard about Tommy setting other kids straight about him. Or, perhaps Wilbur had mentioned him to Techno and he wanted to talk more about stopping the rumors?

..Maybe he wanted his flashlight back? Who knew?

“There’s a quiet spot under the stairs at the end of the hall.” Techno stated after Tommy seemed to have trailed off, “Don’t need any prying ears or anything.”

“Oh, okay. Sounds good.” Tommy nodded along eagerly.

No, he wasn’t star struck or anything. Techno was just a guy. A guy known to have top grades, potential connections to darker powers and was unwaveringly himself despite the slew of such rumors surrounding him.

So like…he was a bad ass.

Once Tommy had agreed Techno turned on his heel and started off for the far side of the hall. He didn’t give pause at all and Tommy watched with some aw as the sea of students parted to allow him through.

Fumbling with his bag Tommy rushed to catch up to him. He was a bit slow though and soon enough he was crushed between the bodies of his fellow freshmen. However, Techno seemed to have noticed his trouble because the man stopped and allowed him to catch up.

Once he was just barely in arms reach of the pinkette the mass of bodies once more parted, allowing Tommy to move more freely. Tommy tried not to, but also sort of tried to, see if Techno had been annoyed at the need to pause mid hall for him. The older teens face was hard to read, but, by his best guess Tommy would say he…wasn’t mad. At the very least he didn’t say anything as they started moving again.

This time Techno walked a bit slower, allowing Tommy to benefit from the peripheral clearing he created. As much as Tommy would have preferred to walking in the actual clearing made he wasn’t going to try to crowd Techno. Wilbur had mentioned before about the guy preferring his space. Tommy was just happy to not be crushed while trying to keep up.

It took them little time to reach where Techno wanted, dipping under the stairs where extra desks and such were kept. If any students saw them no one said a word or reacted.

Techno let out a breath as they reached it, moving to sit on the top of one of the many aforementioned desks. Tommy shuffled awkwardly in place a second or so before walking to another one and placing his bag down on it. He left one desk between them, for the space.

“So…I hear you’re a ‘fan’.” Techno started with, his voice calm with an almost lingering quality.

Tommy couldn’t help the feeling the comment was more than what it sounded like. He couldn’t place as to why, nor did he know what he would do if he did. So he nodded.

“I mean, I guess you could say that.” He verbalized as well as he fidgeted in place, “A fan is just, someone in your corner, right?”

“Technically a ‘fan’ is a fanatic, which in turn is a person with extreme or enthused zeal and low critical thinking on their chosen idol.” Techno replied with a drawn out ‘matter-of-fact’ tone.

“...What’s ‘zeal’?” Tommy couldn’t help but question as he tied to follow along.

“What’s ‘zeal’?” Techno echoed back with slight confusion, “You’re a freshman. How do you not know that word? That’s like, second grade vocab.”

Tommy could feel face heat up at the call out but managed to put on an amused smile instead.

“Who needs second grade vocab, eh? I was too cool for that and they jumped me right up to third. Didn’t need testing or anything. I was just too smart for them.” He rambled and watched, waiting to see the other crack a smile.

Wilbur would have laughed.

…

Techno didn’t laugh.

“Oh, so is that why you look like a sixth grader still?” Techno questioned now without the barest hint of a smirk or anything.

“I’m not a fuckin sixth grader!” Tommy snapped out of instinct, “Just because I don’t know one stupid fuckin word doesn’t mean-”

“Okay, okay, I get it. No need to shout.” Techno cut him off as he covered his ears, “This place echos enough without voice raising.”

Tommy stopped his rant before it started, but he still felt heated.

“So, what did you want to talk about then?” Tommy lead this time, low key half thinking about the lunch he was missing for this.

“Well, for starters I hear you been talking about me.”

“Everyone talks about you.”

“Yes, but you’re talking something different.” Techno pointed out as he lowered his arms to cross over his chest now.

“Of course I am. I know what they’re saying isn’t true.” Tommy said with more confidence than anything he’d said so far, “You’re a good person, I’ve seen it. Its not fair that you get ragged on so hard for no good fucking reason.”

Techno’s brow knit in an uncomfortable confusion as he stared at Tommy.

“I mean, really, did you know there are students out there that call you the ‘anti-christ’? Seriously. I mean, my mate Tubbo is one of them, but I doubt he means it. But, others do, you know? And that’s wrong.” Tommy continued, hands arching and waving as if to help get his words out.

“There are people that think just because you look a little different or act a little different that you’re some kind of supernatural…thing, or at least sacrifice to them. Your brother even said-”

“My brother? Did Wilbur ask you to say all this?” Techno asked, his expression hardening slightly and causing Tommy to hesitate.

“What? No. No, I talked to him only after I’d asked around. But, he’s worried you know? Because you wont defend yourself or let him do it.” Tommy replied as he felt once more a burn of determination in him, “So, that’s why I’m going to do it.”

This caused Techno too actually look startled, though after a beat he was quick to bury the look.

“You don’t need to do that. Its fine.”

“Its not fine and it most certainly is a ‘need’.” Tommy argued back as he puffed out his chest, “I don’t know who is doing this or why, but I’m going to stop them.”

“Really, Tommy, don’t. You don’t know me and have no reason to do this.” Techno insisted, his calm voice sounding a bit more tensed than before.

“You don’t need to worry about it. I’ve got it covered and its no fuss.”

“Tommy, no. Just leave it. Its not hurting anyone and I don’t mind. See? Its just funny. Ha ha funny- Tommy where are you going?”

Tommy turned back to Techno as he had started to walk off while the other was mid denial. He had already made up his mind and Techno wasn’t going to talk him out of it. He wasn’t going to be convinced to let it all slide like Wilbur had been forced to. Tommy wasn’t going to sit back and let Techno suffer at the hands of some prick just because man didn’t want to raise a stink over it.

“I told you, Big T. I’ve got you covered. Before the end of the year I’m going to have the whole school eating their nasty fucking words and seeing how nice you really are. That’s a Big Man Innit Promise!” Tommy replied with a bright and excited grin.

Techno could only stare at him, mouth slightly open like he wanted to protest more. Tommy turned before he got a chance to.

“Don’t you worry about a thing, Techno. Tommy Kraken Innit is on it.”

Tommy dipped back into the hallway and jogged off towards the cafeteria. His friends were waiting for him by now no doubt. He needed a battle plan made to keep the promise he’d just now made. Before this it was just a desire to help out. But now? Now he’d promised the man himself.

Tommy wasn’t going to let Techno down.

Xx--xXx--xX

It was just one freshman.

That’s what Techno had told himself as he watched Tommy rush off down the hall that day. Shouting promises behind him as he bounded out of sight.

Just one freshman, how much could he do?

The answer should have been ‘little’ or ‘not much’ or even ‘nothing’. The answer should decidedly not have been ‘oh yeah, a years worth of rumors unraveled in a week’.

Techno fidgeted in place outside of the freshmen in questions History class. He’d tried to ignore the kid and his efforts, sending Dream out to spread the latest rumor. Totally not a panic response of course. What he hadn’t been expecting was to hear that instead of spreading rumors Dream was questioned on where he’d heard it first.

Dream had never been questioned on it before and apparently bungled his answer. Techno found himself with an extra ten in his pocket that seemed to weigh more than it should.

He didn’t know what the kid was doing, but it needed to stop. An actual singular week and Techno had lost a years worth of effort. What's more, a lot of that groundwork is what made making new rumors easy. With that gone Techno had to think of new ways to set things off without blowing up the rest of his carefully built system.

He needed to talk to Tommy.

The bell rang and Techno waited outside the door. The hall was soon filled with moving bodies, some of them closer than Techno would have liked. While the freshmen still seemed to fear him enough to keep back the distance was…lessening.

When Tommy came into view Techno had to fight the urge to grab him by the arm or something to drag him off.

“Tommy.” Techno said loud enough to get the blonds attention.

The kid jumped and whirled around to face him, within seconds a beaming smile on his face.

“Technoooo!” Tommy called back as he ran the last few steps up to him.

Tommy looked so damn happy to see Techno that he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. It was like, being greeted by someone elses dog without a treat to offer it. Or, no, that wasn’t right. Techno didn’t want to treat the kid, he wanted to scold him. He wanted to chase him off and get him to stop this stupid self given mission of fixing something that wasn’t broken.

“Its been ages since we last chatted, eh? Far too long if you ask me.” Tommy started with, peppy and energetic on a level Techno just…did not understand, “Have you, perhaps, noticed anything new lately? A little- a little something something going around?”

Oh, Techno had noticed alright.

“About that. I think we need another chat.” Techno stated in as firm a tone as he dared.

“Fine by me. Oh, do you want to come sit with us? We can all chat together. Oh, this is Ranboo and Tubbo by the way. My best friends.” Tommy introduced briefly as he motioned to the two other freshmen waiting behind him, “Wilbur and us all sit at the ‘drunk table’ so there’s for sure a spot for you. I’m sure he’d love it too. And-”

“I don’t eat with other people.” Techno cut off quickly, glancing at the two other boys awkwardly.

He didn’t want to meet more people. He just wanted to get Tommy to stop what he was doing. That’s all.

“Listen, I just need a few minutes with you, then you can go to lunch with your friends.” Techno tried but Tommy didn’t seem to be taking the hint.

“Oh come, no need to be nervous about it. Sure we might be freshmen, but what is schooling about if not learning to mix with all ages? You know, platonically.”

Techno narrowed his eyes at the word. Briefly he wondered if it had come from Wilbur or not. Over the last week his brother refused to go into detail about anything going on. Instead Wil insisted Techno ‘find out’ on his own. Stubborn bastard.

“How about this, you come talk to me for like…three minutes and I’ll…walk you to the cafeteria.”

It was a lame reward, but what else was he-

“Seriously!?” Tommy practically sputtered before looking back at his friends, “I’ll be back in three minutes or you can head off without me.”

“What?” “Tommy, wait-” Both Ranboo and Tubbo tried to protest but Tommy was already out of the room and more or less standing at Techno’s side.

Well…that worked? Great?

Techno didn’t bother sparing the other two a look, half hoping they’d get the hint that this was between him and Tommy. If he had to spell it out to them then that would be a hassle and he really didn’t want to add that to his day.

This time instead of ducking under stairs Techno merely popped the two of them into a recently emptied room. They had a few minutes before the teachers would come around to lock them for lunch break.

“So, Big T. What’s on your mind today?” Tommy asked ever so happily as Techno shut the door quickly behind them.

When he turned he must have had a rough look on his face because Tommy faltered, a frown melting over his smile.

“Look, whatever it is you’re doing, you need to stop.” Techno started with, earning an eye roll, an eye roll from the other.

If it were Wilbur, fine. They were brothers and it was expected. But Tommy? Some mangy looking freshmen with the build of a scarecrow and voice like crinkled wrapping paper?

Rude.

“Techno, I told you. Its all fine. I mean, yea, its not exactly been easy. But hey, we’re still making progress!” Tommy stated with renewed pride.

“I’ve noticed, trust me. But I never asked you to do this and would really rather you didn’t. Like, at all. I still don’t even know why you’d want to.” Techno breathed out in frustration.

“ ‘Why’? Because you deserve better than sour rumors and lies being spread about you? For starters.” Tommy replied with a small huff as he crossed his arms, “I don’t know what’s so hard to understand about. You say its all funny to you but I don’t think it is. And if it is then, well, sorry but that says a lot more about you than it does the person spread it all.”

Techno took in a deep breath and rubbed at his temples as Tommy continued to ramble.

“Though I guess it’s a shared tell because the both of you let it go on so long. Them with the not letting up and you with the whole, letting it happen. Yea, three years is a long time, but its never too late to change things up. And this time, you have help. Well, help you haven’t chased off.” Tommy went on without seemingly noticing Techno's returned and flat stare.

This kid, despite his flimsy appearance, apparently had lungs for days with how long he was rambling for. Techno couldn’t even tell if he’d stopped for a breath yet.

“Tommy-”

“And so you know, I’m really hard to get rid of. You can ask my friends about it. You can’t bribe me off cus I know I’m right-”

“So if you were wrong you’d stop?” Techno cut in, tone sharp just trying to overtake Tommy’s waterfall of words.

It seemed to startle Tommy to hear and he just stared back at him.

“What?”

“If you were proven to be wrong, or like, at least doubted, would you stop?” Techno asked, trying to quickly form a plan in his head.

“Proven wrong? Techno, I already know you’re a good person-”

“Answer me. If you were proven wrong, would you stop?”

“...Probably?”

“Yes or no.”

“.…yeees?” Tommy didn’t seem all that sure of his answer, but Techno was going to take it for what it was.

“Okay. Okay good.” Techno nodded, his thoughts moving rapidly as the conversation seemed to die out.

…

“So…Its been about four minutes…Are you going to-” Tommy started with a gesture to the door, something in his voice sounding hopeful.

Techno let out a heavy breath and a slow nod.

“I keep my promises. I’ll…walk you to lunch.” He confirmed, turning to now open the door.

He wasn’t entirely surprised to see Tommy’s two friends outside. However, he did startle back as the taller one had been leaned in close to the door as if hoping to be able to peek inside…or he was just listening wrong. Either way it almost forced a yelp out of him. The only thing saving his dignity there was the fact that his jaw had clenched shut too quickly.

“Uh…to lunch then?” The lanky teen questioned nervously.

Techno took in a steadying breath before leading into the hall.

x-x

As the day progressed Techno cursed himself a bit more for any act of kindness he committed that had lead him here. He was only supposed to lead the three, and even then it was only supposed to be Tommy, to the cafeteria. That was it.

Of course that wasn’t ‘it’ though.

The walk itself was fill with endless chatter from Tommy and his friends, though mostly Tommy. Techno tuned them out for the most part, a skill he’d perfected growing up with Wilbur and his bouts of over excitement or obsession. Though, even then Techno couldn’t help but notice the glances Tommy gave around them every so often. Probably enjoying the fact that people could see they were clearly walking together and not just him trailing behind like last time. Whatever.

It all really started to go sideways as soon as they got near to the cafeteria doors. The three had gone off for their food and Techno had been approached by another freshman, the one who had taken Toe Bean from him. She had come up to him once before during the week too and, just like last time, insisted on showing him pictures of Toe Bean in his new home. He looked to be enjoying himself, and Techno had to admit the small thinning spot of fur on his back looked better already.

That didn’t mean he liked being approached so easily for it. Especially with a crowd around him.

By the time the girl was done Tommy and his friends were back and somehow, somehow, he’d been convinced to bring them to their table as well. When they reached it Techno was hard pressed to leave. As Tommy had mentioned before, Wilbur was there and waiting for the trio. When he’d caught sight of Techno with them Wil’s face had lit up so much that Techno knew then and there he was spending lunch with the toddler trio with him.

Techno kept most of his attention and conversation towards his brother as much as he could, though Wilbur seemed to have other plans. Again and again he roped the other three in one way or another, though at least the taller and shorter one seemed to find the situation to be just as weird.

The shorter one, Tuba? Whatever, his name was, he seemed to be on edge more than the other two. Techno at least could take comfort that, even if he was joking along with the table, he didn’t seem to have any plans to warm up to them. The other one, Rambo, looked anxious and kept his eyes on Tommy or Tuba at any time, rarely looking up at either him or Wilbur.

When lunch was over and the trio bolted up in order to dump their trash and rush to class. Wilbur and Techno both, though, were far slower and were thus the last to even think of standing up in the first place.

“So, what do you think of them?” Wilbur asked as if he’d just presented something great.

“I think they’re loud freshmen.” Techno replied flatly as he took his brother’s tray in hand with his own.

“Ok, but really, Tech. Aren’t they funny?” Wilbur tried to coax further reply, “I know Tommy’s been talking a lot more about you lately. You probably just made his week.”

“Speaking of-” Techno dropped off as he finished dumping the trays, stacking them together as he looked to his brother, “Have you been tellin’ stuff about me being like, this ‘great’ person? He talks like I’m some kind of- of-”

“Like you’re his ‘hero’?” Wilbur supplied with a smirk.

Techno glared at him with a frown.

“What have you been telling him?”

At this Wilbur put his hands up in surrender.

“I haven’t been feeding him any information. As per the deal. I just, answer questions from time to time. If he idolizes you that’s from what he’s dug up on his own.” Wil answered with an amused smile.

“Well, stop it. I don’t need some ankle-biter freshmen trying to- to defend me from something I don’t need defending from.” Techno huffed.

Wilbur sighed, his smile dropping into an annoyed frown now.

“You do, actually, need defending. Since you wont let me or any of our friends do it we’re just, not going to stop him from doing so.” Wil stated with an almost dismissive air at the end.

“Please, Wil? Just, ask him to stop. He wont listen to me when I tell him.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so bothered by this. If you don’t want him to do it then, I dunno, stop him yourself.” Wilbur snapped in frustration.

Techno opened his mouth to argue further but stopped short. That…that wasn’t the worst idea. It wasn’t the best one, but…at the least it could prove effective.

Chapter Text

‘At ev’ry word a reputation dies.’ Alexander Pope
-X

It took a few days, but Techno finally had a rough idea of what he was going to do. He wasn’t exactly thrilled by it, but he was willing to go through with it. It was only long enough to get the younger teen to stop. To get Tommy to back off and become another face in the crowd once more. He didn’t need the other to fear him so long as he just kept his mouth shut.

Though, the idea of Tommy keeping any kind of quiet felt like a pipe dream in and of itself. The kid had a voice that carried.

“-and then Wilbur just sort of confirmed it by like, not confirming it. Which was actually pretty helpful so your whole ‘don’t say a word’ deal you have with him totally backfired there by the way-”

Yea, it carried.

Carried and droned on and on and-hell, it was just as bad as Wilbur. Worse even. At least Wilbur’s voice could be soothing. Tommy’s was grating. It cracked and rasped at times that just, didn’t feel like it was all from his age. Like, he was just made to be as loud as possible.

“Tommy, it is, like-” Techno sighed as he glanced at clock on the wall they were passing, “Eight in the morning. Why are you…‘you’?”

It wasn’t what he was going to ask, but honestly he felt justified in it. Tommy had not stopped talking since Techno had met him at the gates. Or, he had, but it was barely for fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes where Techno was the one talking, explaining a new deal.

Techno would allow Tommy to exist in the space near him, in school only, so that Tommy could see for himself how bad Techno was and how wrong Tommy was for ‘defending’ him. Techno was sure a few well placed ‘events’ would be enough. However, instead of the unease he had been hoping to start off with he was met with…this.

Tommy’s eyes had lit up and he bounced, bounced on his feet with a giddy joy that just- just, read so much like Wilbur. A beaming smile and a babbling of words that included ‘thank you’s and an absurd amount of ‘this is so poggers’ that Techno almost wanted to retract the idea and start making a new one.

And now they were just barely entering the school together and Tommy had decided that his first order of business was to talk Techno’s ear off about how he had recently unraveled yet another rumor that had started going around at the end of last week.

One that Techno had been particularly proud of when he’d made it.

“Probably because I was born ‘me’ and not someone else?” Tommy offered as his reply to Techno’s previous ‘question’.

Honestly…it was a good reply. Annoying, but witty.

“Well, maybe don’t be.” Techno stated flatly.

“Don’t be ‘me’?” Tommy asked with a raised brow and a hint of amusement.

“Yes. Don’t be ‘you’. Just, anything but ‘you’ would be nice right now.”

Tommy seemed to falter beside him and for the barest of seconds Techno wondered if that might have been too far. Which he totally didn’t care about, but…good to gauge…and all.

“Sorry to break it to you, Techno, but I’m sort of stuck being ‘me’. The market is fresh out of ‘others’ to be right now.”

And just like that Tommy was back with a smirk on his face like he’d said the most clever comeback of his life.

So, not the limit yet.

Noted.

“Besides, even if it wasn’t, I’m broke.” Tommy went on, his smirk growing into a grin.

“I would literally pay for you.” Techno stated in a deadpan without missing a beat.

Tommy let out a sudden belted laugh that, in Techno’s opinion, was far too big compared to the comment he made. Perhaps it could have been worth, like, a chuckle. A mild chuckle like the ones Wilbur gave when he was amused but tired. Which, for being eight in the freaking morning would be perfectly normal.

What did Tommy eat or drink at home that he came into school like this? Whatever it was, the kid needed to take himself down from the twelve range into more of a four at least. If this was how it was going to be then Techno was going to have to start making himself a second cup of coffee in the morning.

It was hard enough to get a first without his father being worried about caffeine intake.

“So, how are we starting the day?” Tommy asked suddenly, bringing Techno back into focus on him.

“What?”

“Well, what do you do when you first get to school? Show me a ‘day in the life of Techno’.” Tommy explained, the excited smile on his face bright as ever.

Techno just frowned at him.

“That is not what this is, so no. Besides, didn’t you just get here? Aren’t you going to drop your things off at your locker or whatever?”

This was about Tommy, not Techno. The first and most obvious thing to do was to follow Tommy around in a…what did he call it? A ‘day in the life’ or whatever? Either way, he needed to see what Tommy was generally up to or doing so he could counter the kid better later. Knowing where his locker was was a good start.

“Oh, uh…no.” Tommy replied with a slight hesitation as he adjusted his bag on his shoulder, “I don’t actually use my locker.”

Techno couldn’t help but furrow his brow at the other with a mild confusion.

“Ever?”

Tommy just looked at him and shrugged, his lips pulling into a line as his cheeks puff up before he blew out a short breath.

“Its a waste of time. Mine is rather precious you know.”

“Tommy, your bag was like, thirty some odd pounds when I held it last. You mean you just, carry all that all the time?” Techno asked with actual bewilderment.

“...yyesss?” Tommy answered awkwardly, the smile fading from his face and being replaced with a more unsure expression.

“You’re a twig, how do you not snap under that?” Techno went on as he absently ran numbers in his head as he looked Tommy up and down once more.

The kid was leaning to the side heavily, which was…pretty usual when he had his bag on his person. His arms were covered by the long white sleeve undershirt he currently had on under his usual red and white short sleeved one. He wore it so often it was probably his favorite or something, even if it was a childish sort of style.

Even with the sleeves, and with Tommy rubbing his arms, Techno could see how thin he was. Hell, he was actually thinner than Wilbur had been at that age and Techno hadn’t thought that was possible. Yet, here he was.

No matter where Techno looked there didn’t seem to be muscle or body fat enough. He’d be worried about the kid being malnourished, but he’d seen Tommy eat. High metabolism was a bitch and Tommy should probably consider eating a better diet or something….not that he cared. This was just about a bag after all.

Now, Techno had found it a bit odd that day when he’d noted the amount of texts all crushed together in the bag, though he hadn’t really spared it a full thought at the time. It hadn’t really been his problem to consider.

It had felt heavy though, even to him.

“Can you stop staring please?” Tommy asked awkwardly, bringing Techno out of his mind once more.

Tommy’s cheeks were now a fair shade of red as he seemed to be hugging the strap of his bag to his chest.

“I’m serious.” Techno stated with a frown, though he moved his gaze elsewhere as well, “That’s like, almost double what you should be carrying on the regular.”

“What?” Tommy asked sounding steadily more and more confused.

“You’re only supposed to carry up to a certain percent of your body weight regularly. Its bad for your back and muscles otherwise and can seriously stunt your growth.” Techno explained with a level of exasperation, flashbacks of ranting at Wilbur well into their first year coming to mind, “You’re like, what, one-twenty pounds soaking wet?”

Tommy huffed beside him, face growing redder as he tried to scowl through his embarrassment.

“I’m not ’one-twenty’. I’m a big man thank you very much and I can carry thirty pounds easy enough.” Tommy defended himself, though his voice was a lot lower than it had been previously.

“You can’t.” Techno stated bluntly in turn, “Where is your locker?”

Tommy let out an annoyed grunt as he rolled his eyes and adjusted the bag on his shoulder.

“I don’t need to go to my locker, Techno. I’m fine. I carry it like this every day. Its not a problem.”

“I’m not risking you snapping something while following me aroun-” Techno stopped short with his words as two very conflicting thoughts jumped into his head.

One being that, if Tommy did break something while with him it would be a great new platform for a rumor. The second thought being ‘holy fuck that was dark, do NOT break the kid’.

It was barely a breath of silence between them as Techno stunned himself with said thoughts before Tommy spoke up.

“I wouldn’t let anyone blame you.” He assured, though his voice was still on the quiet side.

Uh..okay, that was less reassuring to Techno for three reasons now. One, because that would be a great rumor if Tommy let it stand. Two, because twice now Techno seemed to consider it and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

Just because he was rumored to be a monster didn’t make him one…right?

And then third, Tommy had been so fast to offer his assurance and…he’d sounded so entirely genuine about it too. Techno had no idea what to do with that either.

The silence from Techno as he considered this seemed to read to Tommy as something else because before Techno even thought of how to continue Tommy was letting out a huffed breath of defeat.

“Fine. I’ll go…put some of this away.” Tommy relented, sounding far more defeated than the situation called for.

Techno was going to take it while it came easily.

“Good. Lead the way.” He nodded as he adjusted his own bag now, his grip having gone lax at some point.

“What about your books?” Tommy asked with a mild annoyance in his voice at his loss.

“I already dropped off what I needed to when I got here.” Techno replied easily with a shrug.

Tommy just let out another huff beside him but left it at that.

Xx…xX

Tommy had been excited at first, thrilled even.

Techno?

The Techno?

Walking around with Tommy?

That was going to be the coolest thing ever!

He was going to learn so much about the guy! He was going to have first hand accounts and, and people would see them together and realize he wasn’t scary or anything! The person doing this all would see they failed and Wilbur wouldn’t have to worry about his brother anymore and Tubbo and Ranboo would see they were wrong too! It was all going to be so much easier this way!

…

So why, instead of doing any learning about Techno, was Tommy instead trying to recall and find where his locker was? He hadn’t used it since his third week into the year and…honestly he had no desire to see it again.

The last time...

Surely it wouldn’t be as bad as last time.

…

He hoped.

From his shoulder Tommy could almost feel the growing annoyance from Techno as they paced slowly down one of the freshmen halls. Tommy knew this was the right hall at least, but…honestly without the bad smell wafting from his locker he was having trouble locating where his was among all the similar looking doors.

He was honestly surprised the smell wasn’t still lingering.

Oh shit, was he even going to remember the code for the lock?

“Weren’t kidding when you said you never used it, huh?” Techno muttered, though it sounded like it was mostly supposed to be to himself.

Tommy’s stomach tightened a bit more with anxiety at his words.

How bad was this looking right now? He hoped not too bad. He didn’t want Techno to see how much of a mess he was without seeing how helpful he could be first. He didn’t want to risk scaring Techno off.

Sure, Tommy was less than popular and…sort of on his way to becoming a full blown pariah, but there was still something he could do. He could be helpful. Wilbur and the other drama students seemed to find him funny enough, and he had Tubbo and Ranboo for support. That…that kept him from being a complete loser at least.

He just…he wanted a bit of time before Techno started looking at him like…like that. Like all the other students did. It wasn’t that big of an ask, right?

“Have you considered checking on your schedule?” Techno asked dryly with a small huff, “You know, that paper they gave you that has your locker info at the top?”

“Oh, uh…I, sort of don’t have that anymore.” Tommy admitted weakly.

“What do you mean ‘don’t have it’? It was literally in your bag, what, a week ago?” Techno practically snapped back with.

All Tommy could do was shrug and plaster on a large smile.

“A lot can happen in a week you know? A lot of things go missing in less, in fact.” Tommy replied with with a awkward sort of laugh.

A week was a long time for a lot to happen, absolutely.

It was also a long time for a lot of the…same type of things to happen.

The strap of Tommy’s bag had been resewn so many times recently it was getting to be less bag and more just plain substituted material. At least if his sewing was getting better he could maybe be less bothered about it but…honestly his stitches would make Frankenstein’s monster cringe. He could barely bring himself to look at them, already hating the feel of them under his fingers.

Though, at least that was repairable. What wasn’t repairable was the pile of his papers being soaked in some shitty ass sports drink while Jared prattled on about how weak Tommy was. As if any freshman would be able to take on four members of the wrestling team.

“How did you know it was in my bag anyway?” Tommy asked, diverting the conversation as he stared at Techno with a raised brow.

Techno hesitated a few seconds as he looked at Tommy with an expression that was almost a wince, but not quite.

“How else was I supposed to find you to return the bag?” Techno asked back, though as soon as the words left his mouth he looked conflicted.

Tommy stared at him a second before a smile broke over his face. Wilbur was right, Techno was just…an awkward sort of ‘teddy bear’.

…

Okay so, Tommy wouldn’t have used ‘teddy bear’ personally, but Wilbur was his brother so he would know if the comparison was accurate. Regardless, Techno was still clearly a good person.

Sure, currently the other had a look on his face like he was kicking himself, but, that was probably just out of embarrassment. Tommy could relate. But, only on a logical level of course because Tommy has never done anything embarrassing ever. He’s only done things he’s entirely meant to do…

And if he kept telling himself that he might just one day believe it.

“So, you don’t know your locker, you probably don’t know the code anyway and the one and only paper you have to tell you this stuff, you lost? I’ve got that about right?” Techno asked with entirely no humor in his voice.

“...Yes.” Tommy answered bluntly despite feeling entirely not embarrassed the in slightest because there was no reason for him to feel such a thing for what was an entirely mundane and normal set of unfortunate circumstances in his life right now.

“How long are you plannin’ to live like this?” Techno asked, though he didn’t give Tommy much time to respond, “How long as it been missing? Do you even know that much?”

Ok, harsh.

“A few days. Like, four or five?”

“Four or five? So, the whole week then?” Techno asked flatly and looking entirely unimpressed.

“It hasn’t been that hard. Share most classes with Tubbo or Ranboo so I’ve only gone to the wrong class a few times.” Tommy stated with a defensive shrug as he tried to explain himself.

“You don’t even know your classes yet? How long does it take you to memorize like, seven classes that barely rotate per week?”

Rude.

“Oi, dickhead, not everyone can be ‘number one’ top student with the brain of a shit ass computer. Some of us need reminders for the more boring shit like which room to report to for sitting in and having our brain melted out by some half paid, monotone, broken dreamed bastard that’s been chewed up and spat out a few times over and decided to make that everyone elses fucking problem.” Tommy snapped out, panting a bit as he hadn’t stopped for a breath.

Techno was looking at him with some kind of expression that Tommy wasn’t sure what to do with. He wasn’t sure what it meant for one, but also he was too heated to think of how to react other than to glare at the other.

“...Have you considered going to the office and askin’ for a replacement?” Techno asked instead of responding to the glare.

Instantly Tommy’s look dropped and he could feel his face flushing instead with an embarrassment he couldn’t deny. He could call it a few things if he really wanted to, but really, what was the point? It was such a simple solution and Tommy just…hadn’t thought of it. Hadn’t considered it. For a week.

Techno stopped walking by now and Tommy had absently copied him. The pit in Tommy’s stomach grew as he watched annoyance and frustration flash over Techno’s face briefly. Tommy couldn’t help but feel guilty knowing it was his own incompetence that was weighing the other down right now.

How was he going to prove to Techno he could handle this ‘rumor’ problem if he couldn’t even handle replacing a schedule and finding his primes forsaken locker?

“I’ll take care of it. Today.” Tommy blurted out before he could stop himself.

Not that he would have.

He was going to take care of this and prove himself to Techno.

Prove that he was, in fact, capable and trustworthy.

He was going to do this. For Techno.

X-x…x-X

By the time lunch came around Techno was left truly wondering how this freshmen managed to do so much damage to his reputation in so short a time. The kid was a hot mess for starters, enough so that even his bag was falling apart. Techno had actually witnessed the strap on the left side come loose when the blond adjusted it on his way into his first class.

He’d considered that maybe Tommy was from a lower income family than he’d first guessed, but he had nothing solid to base that on. Kid could just be clumsy for all he knew and damaged it. It wouldn’t surprise Techno at all if that proved to be the case.

Considering how much Tommy talked and rambled on he surprisingly mentioned little to nothing about his own life. At least in regards to his home life specifically which made it harder to gauge, but that was more background than Techno really needed.

Instead Techno was now aware that Tommy enjoyed theater, much like Wilbur, and was a major Hamilton fan, also like Wilbur. It was no wonder the two got on so well really. Tommy was also a big fan of anime and video games, playing often with his two best friends, Rambo and Turbo. Whatever they were called. Techno also learned they’d known each other since before high-school, which, honestly explained a lot.

Whenever he saw the trio together they seemed to get on really well despite Tommy’s rather obnoxious antics. More then that, they even fed into that energy themselves to some degree. Honestly Techno was thankful that the two hadn’t yet tried to join him and Tommy’s traveling like they had that one day. He wasn’t sure, but he assumed Tommy had asked them not to.

He could only assume this because the shorter one had low key glared at Techno when he came to pick Tommy up from outside their second period class earlier.

For a short freshmen the kid had a glare that was…unsettling.

Regardless the boy kept his distance, as did the taller one. Though, they both looked properly concerned as Tommy left with him.

Funny thing that the two closest to Tommy still seemed to fear Techno to a degree. As if the blond were far better at convincing random students over his own ‘best friends’ that Techno was a ‘good person’.

Techno wasn’t going to complain of course, it worked in his favor after all.

To a degree anyway.

Once lunch period came around the two were at Tommy’s side like magnets, loud annoying little magnets.

Although, arguably much more annoyingly, like it had that first time he lead the three to the cafeteria, it seemed being among the trio gave other students the idea that he was now ‘approachable’.

Not only was Toe Beans’ new owner, Alyssa, giving him fresh updates once more, which would have been fine, but she’d brought a friend who had asked about getting a kitten themselves. Techno was not exactly prepared for the ambush and Wilbur wasn’t with him this time to defer to. It took some awkward flat statements before Alyssa suggested they work it out like she’d gotten hers and that they would ask Wilbur for the pictures if he still had them. Techno could only think to nod until they walked away.

…

He’d have to start standing further off from the boys when they walked into the lunchroom. He couldn’t keep having this happen. People might get the wrong idea otherwise.

Xx_3_xX

Despite the strange and somewhat awkward start of that first day Tommy had still been jittery with lingering excitement at being able to shadow Techno. Though, if he was honest it felt more like Techno just, escorting him places. Still cool but…well, it did have that sort of weird feeling of being babysat more than anything.

It wasn’t that Techno did anything in particular to make him feel that way it just…settled on his shoulders whenever he seemed to note the other looking at him. As if he was grading Tommy on something he’d never studied for.

That first day had given him those vibes more than any since. Though, if Techno really was judging him he was keeping the results to himself. For now at least. For instance Tommy’s bag strap had broken twice more since that day but Techno had not once brought it up. Not even when Tommy had finally opted to replace the fabric with something a bit thicker.

The repair was more noticeable now and yet the other didn’t so much as bat an eye at it. Tommy was grateful as at least he could continue to pretend it didn’t happen.
And Tommy was more than willing to pretend.

And so, for the last three days he did.

He pretended nothing was wrong and that everything was going according to plan. He pretended that his growing awkwardness wasn’t sitting and growing in his gut with each passing look of disappointment.

The last few days weren’t useless though. Not entirely. Tommy had already learned a few new things about Techno, though some were just confirmations of things Wilbur had said.

Firstly, Techno wasn’t exactly what Tommy would call a ‘talker’. At least, not like Wilbur was. Wilbur, who could keep up with Tommy even on his more chatty days. No, Techno was more of a listener it seemed. Not that the guy was afraid to comment freely when he felt like it. It was just, usually only in short bursts. For instance, if Tommy said something incorrectly or fumbled on a step or grabbing something. A small dry quip would follow easily as if they went hand in hand.

Tommy didn’t mind it exactly. He’d heard worse and, honestly Techno was kind of funny. It was honestly a shame the other kept such good one liners to himself. Seemed like a crime to Tommy. He could only imagine what Techno was like at a full banter.

Aside from being funny Techno was smart too.

Tommy knew this already of course, what with Techno being top of his grade or just about. But, there was a difference between ‘top student’ smarts and the ‘let me calculate your weight and your bag on sight’ kind of smart like he’d seen on their first day together. The kind intelligence that you could see in someones eyes as they watched the world but said nothing of what they learned. The kind that couldn’t help but outplay life at its own game without even trying.

Tommy had discovered it purely accidentally just that morning. He had been absently complaining of the pop quiz the day prior in history that most of his class seemed to have failed, earning them all extra homework. Tommy hadn’t even expected Techno to be listening since it was ‘too early’ as he usually said to anything taking place before first period.

‘Did you think to check the side panels in your textbook?’ Techno had asked with a yawn but engaging all the same much to Tommy’s surprise.

It turned out that the teacher Tommy had was known to give quizzes solely based on side panel information on the chapters being studied. Techno had even taken the moment to show Tommy proof when he showed obvious doubt.

Armed with this knowledge Tommy and his friends were never going to fail another of those damned tests. Though when Tommy boldly claimed this to Techno the other had only snorted, rolled his eyes and yawned.

Tommy opted to believe it was from being actually ‘too early’ for the other and nothing else.

“-Oi, Prick, are you even listening to me?” Tubbo’s voice cut into Tommy’s head, paired with a firm shove to his shoulder.

“How captivating is that pasta?” Ranboo asked from Tubbo’s other side.

Tommy snapped his eyes between both of his friends and away from the food options he’d been staring at for…some amount of time. He wasn’t really sure when he zoned out, but it had apparently been long enough for a small queue to form behind him and said friends.

Ranboo was raising a brow at Tommy with a concerned squint and all Tommy could do in turn was offer what he could of an amused and awkward laugh. He grabbed at a random portioned styrofoam bowl of noodles that happened to be closest to his hand. It was unfortunately one without sauce on it but it was too late now. It was on his tray and he was shuffling down the line before any more annoyed glares could be sent his way.

“Sorry, Tubso.” Tommy apologized, crooking his smile just a bit to try and keep from frowning, “Must have zoned out.”

“You think?” Tubbo asked with a huff as he reached for two bowls of pasta himself, “If we weren’t better friends I might be offended.”

“Does that mean you aren’t mad then?” Tommy asked as he picked out a few snack items as well.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t mad. I just know where you live in order to deal with that later.” Tubbo fired back with easily.

Tommy paused to look at his friend, judging his seriousness. However Tubbo just pushed him along with an entirely stoic face.

“Don’t keep holding up the line. I’m hungry.” Tubbo directed as he continued to force Tommy forwards.

Tubbo was probably Tommy’s closest friend. Not that he wasn’t close to Ranboo, but Tubbo had always seemed to understand him on a level not even Tommy could put name to. He was a good person who genuinely cared about others, especially his friends. Even if he could be…overprotective at times.

That didn’t stop him from shoving Tommy around though when he was apparently ‘taking his sweet time’. Tommy wouldn’t change him for the world.

“I didn’t mean to zone out, Tubbo. You don’t need to-” Tommy started, but Tubbo cut him off with a firmer shove this time.

“I’ll worry about my needs and you worry about yours.” Tubbo said with slight warning as the two kept moving onward.

Ranboo didn’t say anything as he himself took his time behind them. Tommy could just barely make out the taller boy picking out the ‘perfect’ bowl of pasta before Tubbo had him turning to face forwards once more.

“I’d like to eat sometime today, Tommy.” The shorter boy warned once more as he nabbed a snack or two from the counter Tommy had moments ago been blocking from him.

“Well, you could ask kindly.” Tommy tried to tease, putting a grin on his face.

When Tubbo shot a flat look back at him Tommy only smiled wider. He could see the corner of Tubbo’s mouth twitch as he tried to maintain his glower.

“Kindly move it before I pike your head and punt your body into the nearest bin.” Tubbo replied with, his expression starting to break into a smirk at the imagery he’d just created.

“Tubbo, please don’t pike anyone. I don’t have bail money and its Tommy’s turn to pay.” Ranboo finally commented as he reached them once more.

Even with his mask Tommy could see the crinkle of the other’s eyes as he smiled away at them. It was only in a glance as he was currently still filling his own tray but that was all Tommy needed to see.

Ranboo was Tommy’s second closest friend and the perfect balance for their trio. His level of chaos matched theirs, but he had a ‘voice of reason’ about him that seemed to get most teachers and adults to trust him. Heck, it even worked to calm Tubbo and Tommy down when needed.

Like Tubbo, Ranboo was a source of comfort and security for Tommy even if he never said it aloud. Though unlike Tubbo, Ranboo’s own brand of protectiveness felt more like an open door as opposed to a hostage situation.

“Tommy” Tubbo huffed once more, pushing the other along, “Seriously, you spend first half of the day either wired or biting your nails and then space out in the lunch line.”

Tommy opened his mouth to comment but fell short as Tubbo pinned him with a stern look. The pause he gave felt more like he was daring Tommy to argue.

It wasn’t like Tommy hadn’t spaced in line before, but three days in a row was…notable.

“Can you really not see how this is a bad idea? Still?” Tubbo questioned as he directed the both of them towards the register now.

Tommy sighed inwardly as the conversation went from teasing to something more serious, as it usually did during their lunch period. One of the few times now where Techno wasn’t present.

Both Tubbo and Ranboo had made their concerns known the moment Tommy had explained to them the arrangement he and Techno now had. He knew the two were going to be uneasy about it, but he did what he could to assure them things would be fine. Not only that but it was honestly the best development. Tommy needed to learn about Techno in order to defend him properly after all.

Ranboo had at least been understanding and accepted Tommy’s goal. Tubbo though…well, even now he continued to ask and pry into Tommy’s reasoning. Though, more than anything he wanted to know what Tommy thought Techno’s rumor issue was even his problem to solve.

Even with the disproven rumors Tommy and Wilbur and gone over and confirmed false Tubbo held fast to his mistrust of the other. He hated to say it, but Tommy understood why though. Not that it hurt his heart any less as Tubbo continued to doubt and fight against his efforts.

Tommy knew though, all he had to do was show Tubbo proof. Full on proof that Techno was a good person and then his best friend would come around. He just needed to get to that point.

Until then Tubbo would remain on the defensive.

Which was fair.

Tommy wouldn’t hold it against him, not ever. It was both endearing and annoying and just so perfectly his friend. Though, it would be a lie to say Tommy didn’t find relief in the fact that Ranboo was the ‘give them a chance’ type by comparison. It not only gave Tommy more breathing space, but as the ‘voice of reason’ between them it meant Ranboo was able to keep Tubbo from trying to give Techno a shovel talk in the meantime.

Though Tommy admittedly was curious of how that would go down.

Best to keep the peace in the end though.

“I know you want to help him, for whatever reason, but I really don’t think this is the way to do it.” Tubbo was going on with his ‘I am angrily concerned for you’ frown settled on his face.

“Oh come on Tubbo. This is the perfect way to do it.” Tommy insisted with a bit of a sigh as he grabbed drinks for the three of them.

A glance at Tubbo as he handed one over told Tommy he fully didn’t agree.

“Really though!” Tommy pressed on anyway despite knowing words wouldn’t be enough, “I get to learn about Techno close up and people will see us together. When I fail to get eaten in a week they might realize how stupid some of those rumors are and actually talk to the guy himself.”

“Even if he isn’t a cannibal it doesn’t mean he isn’t bad news, Tommy. There has to be a reason so many rumors exist in the first place.” Tubbo countered with, wholly unmoved as Tommy predicted.

“And what better way to find out why than to be at the guys side to, you know, find out?”

“Literally any other way that doesn’t put you in harms way if he does actually turn on you.” Tubbo stated bluntly as his concerned frown upgraded into a firm scowl.

“You’re just being overprotective, Big T. I’ll be fine.” Tommy insisted once more as he reached into his pocket to pay for the three of them.

The first time in almost a month he’d been able to do so.

“I think it might be a good idea to give him a chance, Tubbo.” Ranboo added from behind the pair, “Wilbur’s said a dozen times that his brother wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“I trust Wilbur about as far as I can throw him.” Tubbo muttered as the trio picked up their now paid for trays.

“I mean, you probably could. Like, throw him I mean.” Ranboo stated in an almost perfect deadpan tone.

“Out a window preferably.” Tubbo replied with a smirk.

“Always nice to hear my friends getting along. “ Tommy stated with a contented sigh as he started to walk over to where Techno was waiting to lead them out to their now usual table.

He made sure to give a big smile even though Techno had yet to smile back.

X-x…x-X

“Could you walk any slower?” Techno asked in a huffed breath as he glance back at Tommy.

It was just passing into fourth period and the blond was lagging behind him enough to slow their progress. It was going to make him late to class himself if the other didn’t pick it up.

“S-sorry.” Tommy stammered a moment as he jogged a step or two in order to be almost side by side with Techno.

Tommy generally kept himself from being entirely shoulder to shoulder with him, which he preferred greatly. However, Techno couldn’t help the brief bubbles of curiosity over why since he was pretty sure he’d never said anything aloud about it to the kid. He wasn’t going to question it now either, but he still felt that prickle of a question when the other came up just short.

“Got stuck in my head a moment. Sorry.” Tommy apologized again before flashing an awkward smile.

Techno didn’t comment further on it, ignoring the smile altogether and instead pressing them faster through the hall.

“I don’t want to be late because of you. Next time you fall behind I’m leaving you there.” Techno warned, and he mostly meant it too.

He could just about see Tommy’s eyes widen a moment before he was nodding, another stupid smile plastering on his face.

“Of course big man. Shouldn’t end up late because of me.” Tommy assured as picked up a touch more speed, “Though, I could just walk myself to class too you know. You don’t have to. We could just, meet up between them or something instead.”

Tempting.

It was so tempting.

Unfortunately it wasn’t something Techno could allow. If he did then Tommy could and probably would use that time to talk to other students. The very thing Techno was here to stop. So far his presence with Tommy had been a deterrent enough to others to make it almost worth the last few days of the kids near constant company.

Hell, the first day almost no one would engage in any form of conversation with Tommy due to his being there. Instead of being dejected or asking Techno to stand further off though the kid had just…comforted him. Assured him it would just ‘take some getting used to’ for the other students.

Techno honestly hadn’t had anything to say to that and he still didn’t. It was…almost like it was too wholesome for him to wrap his mind around. That automatic concern, as if it were a natural part of the other. He expected it from his brother sure, but not this…random kid.

It had honestly sapped his enjoyment out of chasing the other students away in the end.

Since then in the few days that followed there had been a couple of brave souls captured by Tommy during their walks. The conversations were always short and often clearly disappointing to Tommy, but he never stopped trying. Techno would almost admire the tenacity were it not directly destroying his hard work.

“Its fine, I don’t mind.” Techno lied smoothly, keeping his eyes locked ahead of him, “Just keep up.”

“Will do, Big T.” Tommy replied readily.

Techno could practically hear the smile in his voice, though it sounded a bit off as well. He wasn’t sure why but he didn’t exactly care enough to ask. As long as the kid kept pace then whatever was distracting him was a non-issue.

And he would have continued thinking that if Tommy hadn’t suddenly lurched forward at him. He felt the kids hands wrap around his arm tightly causing him to freeze up sharply. Techno stopped dead in his tracks as he stared down at the blond whose eyes were wide but looking behind them.

Techno tried to spy what Tommy was looking at, but amid the sea of people he couldn’t make anything out that might be the cause. He could feel the shiver in the teens hands though which sparked a flicker of concern despite his attempted indifference.

In the next breath Tommy seemed to realize what he’d done though because he retracted his hands instantly. The pale look on his face was only barely able to dust with a shade of red as he tried to stutter out an apology.

“I-I didn’t mean to- it-it was an accident. I wont do it again.” The teen stuttered quickly in promise with a strained voice.

At this point Techno realized that most likely Wilbur had probably mentioned something to Tommy about touch and to avoid it. He was grateful as much as he was embarrassed at the thought, though mostly the former. It meant he wouldn’t have to have the awkward conversation about boundaries himself, which he was never good at. It also meant that with Tommy already keeping distance and Techno not being interested in initiating closeness on his own he’d not have to worry about breaking any of Tommy’s boundaries either.

Win win on that front at least.

Though, that still didn’t explain the sudden burst of fear-

“Its…okay.” Techno tried to assure, pushing down his last thought quickly.

He could still feel the slight itch on his skin despite the fabric that had been between him and Tommy’s hands and tried to focus on that. The discomfort of it was enough to overtake the brief nagging of new questions in his mind as he got them moving once more, arms tucked closer to his body.

“Just, be more aware.” Techno added, mostly to end any conversation before it could start.

“R-right. I will be.” Tommy promised once more, this time his tone seemed weighed by an apology he was now unable to give.

Techno sighed inwardly at the awkwardness that newly rested between them. It was quiet for once but he couldn’t even enjoy it. Tommy was fidgeting beside him and despite his best efforts to further ignore the freshman he couldn’t help but take notice. Especially as the other kept glancing behind them as if he were expecting to be jumped or something.

Techno couldn’t then help but subtly check behind them as well when they reached a corner, but once more there was nothing of note that he pick out as a threat. Just, a swath of students weaving their way to class.

Bumping and shuffling between each other like a colony of ants.

It made the itch at Techno’s arm worse, slowly spreading through his body at the thought of being caught in that.

Eyes forward once more Techno tried to hurry them along. The sooner they reached Tommy’s next class the sooner he could ditch him. The sooner he could go scrub at his arm in the bathroom without anyone seeing him.

Xx…xX

Tommy felt horrible.

Sure, he hadn’t meant to grab onto the guy, but he had. He had latched onto Techno’s arm like a life line causing them to pause in the middle of the hallway.

Wilbur had warned him that Techno wasn’t exactly comfortable with physical contact. Had told Tommy that, outside of family Techno avoided it entirely in fact. He hadn’t gone into detail about it and Tommy hadn’t asked due to not wanting to pry. But he had been warned.

Not four days into their new arrangement and he’d already managed to mess that up. He hadn’t even been able to properly apologize earlier. Techno had been quick to shut down the opening to do so and Tommy hadn’t been bold enough to go against that obvious sign to drop it. He couldn’t even explain why he’d done it, not that it would really matter. It was just-

Tommy bit his lip as he tugged on the hem of his sleeve, staring as the fabric with a furrowed gaze. He wasn’t listening to the lecture his teacher was giving but nor was he able to focus on the note war his friends seemed to be having beside him. Instead he merely replayed those few moments in the hall over and over again.

He didn’t want to make Techno uncomfortable again by bringing it up just to apologize, but he didn’t want to just shove it under a carpet or something either. How did one make up for this kind of mistake? Or would it just be better to let this one go? Would letting it go be the same as what Techno did with the rumors?

Tommy had no idea and he didn’t even know who to talk to about it. If he brought it up to Tubbo and Ranboo it would just become another back and forth on Tommy being near Techno at all. Wilbur would be best but Tommy didn’t know where to find him outside of lunch or drama practice. Perhaps…he could ask Techno where to find his brother?

Tommy winced as he bit down hard on his cheek and gave his head a shake. He would just…he would let this one go. Like Techno wanted. The only real way he could see to make up for it was just, doing what Techno asked and do better about it.

X-x…x-X

“-and there’s just no way he could even think of killing an animal for any sort of sacrifice. I mean, just look at the man. Does this look like the face of a killer to you?”

Tommy was motioning to Techno with a hand as he talked, his blue eyes glancing over the few students he managed to actually catch in conversation. Techno, for his part, made sure to keep his face as stoic as ever, with perhaps a bit more dry glaring than was needed. The students, just a few random freshmen it seemed, looked entirely uneasy and possibly ready to bolt.

Since fourth period Tommy had been particularly adamant about getting someones, anyones, attention it seemed. To the point where even Techno hadn’t been able to spook them away on approach. The kid was determined on a level Techno didn’t understand and could do nothing about aside from watch. Watch and listen. Which, arguably was sort of his goal over interference.

However, Techno didn’t stop himself from narrowing his eyes at the tallest student as their gazes passed each other at Tommy’s instruction. It was all it took and just like that the group was being nudged along despite Tommy trying to get them to stay. Words stuttering out of his mouth as he struggled to hook them a second time.

A swell of pride filled Techno’s chest and he fought to keep the smirk from showing. Especially when Tommy turned around with a slightly annoyed huff of his own.

“I don’t know what’s going on today. I swear its not normally like this.” Tommy tried to assure him, just as he had the last few days.

“Perhaps its an off day.” Techno commented, too amused to just sit in silence for this one.

“Well, I don’t care if its an ‘off day’ or not. Someone is going to listen to me.” Tommy stated with that oddly firm determination in his tone.

“Its almost the end of the day already Tommy. Wouldn’t hurt to just, give it a rest.” Techno suggested lightly with a raised brow.

Tommy looked at him with a somewhat heated annoyance as he adjusted his bag strap with agitation. It had about the same energy as Wilbur’s pout as he crossed his arms disapprovingly.

“Absolutely not, big man. If I have to fuckin, climb on someone like a backpack I will.” Tommy stated with one extra dramatic huff before starting off down the hall himself towards his final class.

Techno turned to follow but looked away as he felt the corner of his mouth start to curl in a smirk. It didn’t matter what Tommy did, not in the slightest. So long as Techno was around no one would be willing to listen, or at least not for long. Once Techno heard all the arguing points Tommy used he could counter them too.

And Tommy-

Oh, Tommy was oh-so unaware.

If he were any more out of the loop he would lose actual orbit to the planet.

Techno couldn’t stop himself from prodding at that.

“You could just, stop. Make things easier.” Techno commented once more, once he figured he could keep the amusement out of his voice.

Tommy turned to face him again and Techno swore something almost like insult rested on his face.

“Listen here, Big Man Innit never gives up. Especially on a promise.” Tommy assured him yet again as he animatedly smacked his chest for good measure.

It caused him to cough a little and Techno just stared him down trying not to snicker. Tommy tried to maintain eye contact though it, wincing as he struggled to keep some ounce of composure.

It would be too easy make a comment here and Techno wasn’t one for the low hanging fruit…sometimes…unless it was funny.

“Even if the person you made the promise to asks you to? Multiple times?” Techno asked instead, ignoring the fact that Tommy wasn’t exactly capable of speaking at the moment, “ ‘Broken promises’ are only broken if the person its made to holds the other accountable. I’m literally telling you to let it go.”

“And I’m literally telling you ‘no’.” Tommy replied shortly once his breath returned, “I’m going to fix this rumor thing even if I end up chewing my tongue out in the process.”

“Can we just, skip to that last part?” Techno replied without missing a beat.

“What?” Tommy’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“You chewing your tongue out. I bet the silence would be especially golden.” Techno stated in his most nonchalant tone.

Tommy stared at him, his brow furrowing as a few things seemed to pass over his face. However, Techno wasn’t exactly looking him head on so he couldn’t read what they were exactly. None of them stuck around long anyway as the blond pulled a fresh smile on his face.

“Good thing I don’t like gold. Too gaudy for me. Silver is better.” Tommy said with an almost decided tone.

“Silver? The underachieving metal? You would prefer it.” Techno huffed with an eye roll.

“Oi, silver achieves just fine.” Tommy snapped as he shuffled to be walking almost beside Techno, as usual.

“Are you kidding? Silver isn’t even on the honors list for metals.” Techno snorted out in turn.

“Well, maybe silver doesn’t want to be on the shitty honors list. Have you thought about that?” The blond snapped once more, “It’s a perfectly achieving metal doing what it wants and being entirely bad ass about it. Instead of being an entire show off for no reason and hoping to get by on its looks.”

“Silver’s just mad because it can’t get by on its looks.” Techno supplied, not realizing he’d let out more than just a snickered laugh at the indignant gasp Tommy let out.

So similar to Wilbur when they bickered.

“Silver could kick golds ass in looks any day. Superior. And its not nearly as dense as gold meaning its smarter. Doesn’t need to be in honors to be better.” Tommy pointed out almost smugly.

Techno had to pause here as he side eyed Tommy.

Was….was that an actual reference, or had Tommy just…guessed it? The kid was right and it sort of threw Techno off. The freshmen hadn’t known what the word ‘zeal’ meant, but knew the density difference between gold and silver?

Techno’s silence seemed to translate to him giving in as Tommy was now looking at him with pride.

“See? Can’t even argue with that now can you?”

“ I mean, I could.” Techno stated as he gave a small shrug, “I was just surprised is all.”

“By my amazing intellect and arguing ability?” Tommy asked with an exaggerated twisting of his head as he tried to dramatically waft his hair around.

“By the first smart thing you’ve said since we met.” Techno answered easily, continuing to walk even as Tommy came to a full stop.

He could hear the breath that squeaked out of the blond and had to fight the urge to look back. To see the expression the other wore after so perfect a burn. But he didn’t. Techno held strong and simply kept his stride even.

It took him a few seconds, however, to realize he was smirking in victory.

He was quick to wipe the look off his face and glare at the student that had been staring at him. He really had to be more careful.

Xx…xX

Tommy winced as he bit down on his lower lip yet again. It was more than a bit tender now from having been nipped at all day. Well, for the last couple days really. It hadn’t even been a full four yet and he was already wondering if Techno’s proposed ‘team up’ was a bad idea after all.

So far he hadn’t been able to get the results he wanted and he feared seeing all the failures might be putting Techno off. Dampening his mood instead of giving him the morale boost Tommy had hoped to provide.

It felt like he was ramming against a brick wall more than anything. No matter what he tried to do or say in order to help the older teen none of the other students would hear him out. They were engaging with him even less than when he first started, which he hadn’t thought possible until this week. It made him feel more like a fool than ever since it was happening in front of the guy too. Techno had first row seats to his floundering efforts and Tommy had no cover to hid behind to say it wasn’t his fault.

If Techno didn’t believe Tommy was capable of helping him before then this certainly wasn’t a good way to prove otherwise.

…perhaps Techno had a point…

Tommy wasn’t a skilled speaker like Wilbur was. He wasn’t able to gain the unwavering attention of a crowd, picking out just the right words to entice and sway his audience.

He wasn’t exactly the smartest when it came to arguments either, despite having so many of them. He wasn’t as articulate as he should be, that was for sure. He didn’t have Tubbo’s facts or Ranboo’s directing logic that always tended to tilt victory in their favors.

Tommy just…

Tommy just generally talked long enough until people gave in. Until they decided that listening to him just enough to hear him out was a faster way to get rid of him than waiting for him to leave on his own.

He was…fine with that.

It was a method that worked for him so…it was fine. It ‘suited’ him even. He thought. Being ‘loud’ and ‘overbearing’ so as not to be ignored…that could be a skill too.

Techno had likened him once already to the story of beating a dead horse. Only stating that, in the end the horse would move just to shut Tommy up.

It had stung but, well….didn’t that mean Tommy still won in the end?

Techno had only rolled his eyes at Tommy and walked off, but he chose to take it as a win all the same.

…

But that had been said almost two periods ago now and it was still sticking in Tommy’s head like fresh news.

As of now there was only a few minutes left of the last period for the day and Tommy could find no sense of focus in his mind and had nothing to show for what efforts he could manage. Not just for the class, which he’d zoned out for, but for the day itself and his efforts to help the other.

Techno had only gotten to see him acting a mess for the last few days almost consistently, dropping the ball at every conceivable moment since they started walking together. From knowing the basics of his locker to getting even one person to just…talk. The only thing Tommy had managed to do was actually pay for his friends lunches for a change.

It… wasn’t a good look.

Closing his eyes Tommy took a steadying breath as he locked a hand in his hair. He was, despite his best efforts, starting to freak out a bit. At least at the start he could have said he just, wasn’t prepared for it. Of course, he had figured well enough that it was going to be different with the guy actually with him, he wasn’t stupid. He just… hadn’t assumed it would be that bad.

Sure, some distancing issues were expected since Techno was more or less avoided by the student body, but Tommy sure wasn’t. At least, not in the same sense. He could still get close enough to people to spark a conversation, usually, regardless of how long it lasted. Since Techno joined him it was a…shorter grace period. He’d tried to talk faster, or to throw his hook lines out sooner but…

The whole ‘its just one off day’ had turned into ‘two days isn’t the worst’ and then shakily into ‘Its just growing pains’. For all the phrases and cliches there were they all generally stopped at three. Anything four or more was…

Tommy huffed and scrubbed at his face briefly, trying not to call attention to himself and his mild personal tantrum. Not that the teacher was paying him much mind anyway. Tommy wasn’t sure if he were grateful or not that this was one of the teachers that seemed to dislike him. Enough so that, unless Tommy was causing a notable disturbance he was more or less left to his own devices.

Or, more unhelpfully today, to his own thoughts.

He just…needed to do better. To find a way. He needed to account for the unease the rumors caused in people currently, true or not.

He also needed to get his general act together. He couldn’t look any more like an idiot in front of the guy.

No more bag falling apart. No more not knowing where his locker was or the combo for it. No more tripping over untied shoe laces. Which had been embarrassing enough without his bag tumbling all the way down the staircase like it had.

He still wasn’t sure he’d collected all the papers after they burst out of it at the bottom. He really should make sure its properly closed more often.

He needed Techno to take him seriously.

He needed to be better.

For Techno.

As the bell rang Tommy jumped, almost tossing his textbook away from himself with a strangled suppressed yelp. He only just barely kept from making a scene before he started to rapidly shove his things into his bag.

Techno had mentioned having history last which meant his classroom wouldn’t be too far. If Tommy was fast enough he could meet Techno in the hall or near said classroom instead of waiting to be picked up at his own…like a child.

It would be a step in the right direction.

Anything to show Techno he wasn’t some lost child in the ‘scary big kids school’. That he could handle, at the very least, navigating the hall system like the actual teenager he was.

With a bit more rush than normal Tommy gathered his few things and slung his bag over his shoulder with gusto. Not having been able to actually drop any books off at his locker earlier on this particular day Tommy instantly stumbled at the momentum and weight as it pulled him off balance. He had to grab his desk to right himself but he managed it.

He had almost forgotten how heavy the books were all together and it had only been a few days.

Shaking the thought Tommy was out of the classroom door only a minute or so later with only a bit of shoving. The stream of students around him all eager to leave the school and meet up with friends and such was enough to almost get him pinned the second he was out of the room. Hugging along the wall outside the door by instinct was the only thing that really saved him from that fate. Though it wasn’t by much as it was, essentially the same result.

Even with his large and rather heavy bag Tommy himself was far too small to be effective in carving his way anywhere once the current of bodies got moving. Whatever edge his height used to afford him in his middle school was lost here as others were either taller or just bulkier, rendering his singular biological ‘hall hack’ useless.

But he was determined.

…

He was crunched between a few bodies before he knew it, but he kept pushing on. He tried not to shove unless his actual breathing became an issue though. No need to turn the place into a meat grinder like Techno had huffed about a few times.

After what felt like forever Tommy gasped for breath as he broke through a wall of people and into a small gap of freedom.

He wasn’t where he’d wanted to be, but he was at least a portion of the way down the hall.

After walking with Techno the last few days Tommy was shamed to say he’d practically forgotten why it was he tended to wait beside his classrooms for the main rush to die down. Or to cling to Tubbo and Ranboo as they shuffled along.

This high-school was far more crowded than his old middle school and traversing the halls was, in fact, death defying at times. Enough so that Tommy and Tubbo had both written wills at the beginning of the year, leaving Ranboo to hold them and enforce them should ‘the worst’ happen.

Looking around Tommy tried to spot an opening he could exploit. Something small was fine, he just needed to dip through to the next junction. The halls were bigger and the congestion wasn’t nearly as bad once away from the actual classrooms.

Now, normally he would, and logically he should, just stay put for the next two or so minutes until the other students finished passing through. However, ‘Determined Tommy’ was more of a ‘think with your heart’ and ‘act in the moment’ kind of guy, and right now his heart wanted to push through the masses. It wanted him to reach Techno by surprise. He wanted to show the other he didn’t need to be taxied around the school, to rely on that extra space the bad rumors had created.

As helpful as it was for traveling it didn’t sit right with Tommy. He didn’t want Techno to think he was low key using him for any such benefits either.

Shaking the thought from his head Tommy tried to assure himself that Techno wouldn’t think that of him. If he did then Techno wouldn’t even bother being around Tommy in the first place, right? Besides, this was hardly the time or place to think about it anyway. He was on a time limit and if he didn’t get a move on then Techno was going to find him first making his whole effort pointless.

With a nod Tommy took in a final steadying breath and dared to step back into the flow of students.

Within moments he was lost in the throng of moving bodies. The weight of his bag keeping him from being able to duck and weave like he needed to. It also kept setting him back when it was bumped or tugged by others trying to get by.

One tug in particular finally had Tommy letting out a little shout of surprise as it jerked him back sharply causing him to fully stumble. He turned, ready to sass whoever it was like a precursor to the reckoning when he stopped cold.

“Hey there, Tommy.” Jared greeted with an overly friendly tone that practically dripped with its obvious falseness, his hand still stretched out and gripping the handle of Tommy’s bag, “We missed you.”

Tommy couldn’t help the slight gaping of his mouth as he tensed up, eyes locked onto the matching fake smile the other wore. It took him a extra moment to realize that two of Jared’s friends, the ones usually hanging around him, were now on either side of himself. Sure, it kept the other students from bumping into him now, but honestly he’d rather be rag-dolled by said other students than be caught by Jared and his idiots.

“You’ve got time for a little talk, right?” Jared asked, his voice rich with his painfully fake concern.

Tommy wasn’t going to be meeting Techno.

X-x…x-X

Techno sighed heavily as he reached Tommy’s classroom. By now it was empty of all but the barest of stragglers. Usually Tommy was waiting outside the door for the halls to clear, which had been surprisingly helpful for Techno. However, for whatever reason the blond was missing this time.

Perhaps the kid was actually one of those ‘running home at the sound of the bell’ students. Though Techno could never be so lucky. He knew well enough that Tommy lingered after the final bell. Usually in wait for his two other friends as they walked together apparently.

Which is why he knew now that Tommy missing from beside the door was, in fact, a problem.

With a sigh he steeled himself to do a walk around of the place until he found the kid, or proof of him having gone home for the day with the other two. Which meant Techno most likely wouldn’t be getting to his after hours study time in the math labs. Unless he found Tommy quickly and forced the kid to head home.

That would honestly be a perfect outcome.

Getting Tommy away from any students that might listen, where harm could be done to Techno’s reputation further, was his top priority. Once that was seen to then, and only then, could Techno go back to having his relaxing solo time.

It wasn’t like he couldn’t do his work it at home in his own room. It was just…easier to work in the math lab.

Taking another rather annoyed breath Techno turned and headed back down the hall he’d just come from. With the presumed goal of leaving the school in mind there were only so many directions Tommy could have gone in.

Xx…xX

Tommy fought to keep his shoulders from shaking as Jared and his friends led him down an already emptied hallway. Electives was always the first place to clear out.

Probably because elective courses had actual limited capacity unlike regular classrooms where kids were stuffed in like sardines regardless of seating issues.

Tommy wished he’d had an elective class last today.

“You know, Tommy, I thought we were making progress with you. Making a- a real connection. An understanding of sorts, you know?” Jared asked suddenly, drawing Tommy’s immediate attention to him.

The teen was easily a head taller than Tommy and was just as easily twice his size in mass. Being a cringe stereotypical jock who was part of the two top ranked sports teams in the school gave him that advantage. It was like he’d watched some ‘coming of age’ teen movie, saw the sports kids in it and just said ‘yes’ to making it his entire persona.

And his two friends weren’t much better.

Currently said other two were trailing behind as Jared still had Tommy held by the top strap of his bag, tugging him by the front strap as well, like it was a harness. The pair were just shy of being at Tommy’s back, following like a rear guard or something. They’d started doing that when Tommy had bolted on them repeatedly when the three first started to corner him, or tried to.

If anything at least Tommy could say they were capable of learning, even if it failed to be on how to be a decent person.

Tommy wanted to scoff at the thought but Jared looked back at him, apparently waiting for him to add to the ‘conversation’. However, Tommy didn’t know what he was supposed to say. ‘Sorry I’d been missing you?’, ‘wont happen again?’ or perhaps ‘my apologies on skipping the beat downs. I’ll be sure to meet up to hand off my lunch money special just for you’?

“guess not.” Tommy muttered instead, not realizing it wasn’t entirely under his breath.

“What was that?” Jared asked, his false smile now dropped into a flat frown.

Tommy tensed further and swallowed.

“N-nothing. I was just-”

“Pretty sure he was sassing off.” One of the other guys, Kyle if Tommy remembered right, stated with a condescending tone, “Spends the week sniffing at that Techno kids ankles and he gets all bold on us.”

Jared laughed at that, pulling Tommy just a few steps further. Just enough so they would be out of sight to anyone walking by unless you went fully into the electives hallway.

Tommy was not a fan of being so out of sight.

“I-” Tommy started, breaking off as he was suddenly let go of, “It wasn’t like that, I just-”

“Just thought you’d try to get a bodyguard?” Jared asked with a scoff before dipping into full sarcasm, “I’m hurt you’d even think of something like that.”

“He’s not a ‘bodyguard’, he’s a fr-” Tommy hesitated here, unsure if he should so readily call Techno his friend.

It would be great, but he doubted Techno would be comfortable with it. At least, not so quickly. Best to not put that on the other’s shoulders.

“He’s an acquaintance. A good one.” Tommy quickly supplied, but that didn’t seem to help his case any.

“An ‘acquaintance’? What are you from the ‘olden days’?” The other friend of Jared’s, Derald or Daffle or something stupid with a ‘D’, asked with a snorted laugh.

“ ‘olden days’?” Tommy questioned with a sudden squint of confusion as his brow knit, “That’s…that’s a common word.”

“That old people say.” The teen insisted, dashing Tommy’s hopes of him graduating out.

“Its a universally used word. I can’t- do you two at least know that?” Tommy asked looking over at Jared and ‘most likely’ Kyle.

His fear was momentarily stunned from him in the face of his confusion. It returned, however, when D-whatever his name was, retaliated by smacking him hard in the arm. Tommy let out a hiss, but refrained from screaming out. Jared hated when he did that and given his current situation he really didn’t want to piss the other off….further.

“Such a smart little ass aren’t you?” Jared said as he took a step forwards, pulling Tommy in by the straps he still held.

Tommy instinctively tried to take one back, pinning himself closer to the wall. They wouldn’t dare to fully beat on him inside the school itself. Usually. However, the guy had proven to Tommy before that there was plenty of other things to be done that could hurt just as badly.

“If he were really smart he’d hand over the money he bailed from paying this week.” D-whatever stated as well.

Jared snapped his fingers as he pointed to his friend, smile growing on his face as he looked back to Tommy.

“Now there is an idea. Might be enough to make us forget about you ditching us all this time.” Jared added for good measure, letting go of Tommy’s bag only to give him a semi-rough slap on his shoulders.

Tommy swallowed hard.

He’d spent it.

It was his and he rightfully should have been able to use it to pay for him and his friends like they used to, before coming to this school. However, there was dread in him now at having to tell the three stooges here that. They had laid claim to Tommy’s money a little over a month into the year, when they’d found out he always came in with actual cash and not the student pay card.

He regretted that his parents had opted out of that option, trusting him with actual money. If they had been just doubtful enough he might have avoided this. But here he was.

“W-well, uh, about that-”

“Don’t lie and say you don’t have any money. You remember what happened the last time you lied to us about that?” ‘Most Likely Kyle’ warned.

“It-its not a lie. I don’t have anything. Not on me. You can look through my bag if you don’t’ believe me.” Tommy tried to explained, moving to slide his bag off his shoulder.

If it got all this over quickly he didn’t care if they dumped it out in search.

“So, what you’re saying is, not only did you ditch us this entire week, but you spent all that money too?” Jared asked, his expression melting into a more soured sneer, “That’s two strikes. What are you going to do to avoid a third?”

It was an open question and Tommy hated it. He was pretty sure the rules Jared and his friends made up for him were entirely created on the spot. Not once had Tommy guessed right to avoid the third strike yet. He didn’t assume this time would be any different.

“...i can bring in something tomorrow?” Tommy offered weakly.

“Would that be before or after you go to hide behind Techno again?” D-whatever asked with a snicker, “If he’s paying that guy off then clearly he’s been holding out on us, don’t you think?”

Jared tilted his head as he looked between his friend and Tommy. Tommy felt the pit of his stomach drop at the look that came over the other’s face.

“Huh. Darren brings up a good point-”

It was a simple statement but Tommy shivered internally at it. But, that might have been because Jared had taken his hands back now and had, like a bad stereotype, started to crack his knuckles.

“Its not a good point. It’s a terrible one, in fact.” Tommy blurted out before he could think to stop himself.

It earned him a shove that had him stumbling into the wall once more. However, Tommy was quick to push himself off of it, enough to stand on his own to make his case.

“N-no, really. Its not like that. Like, the rumors of him being bribed into that sort of thing? Not true. And even if they were? I’d never be able to afford it.” Tommy tried to reason quickly, though he stumbled over his words, “D-do you think he’d protect me at just the price of some lunch money?”

At least the three seemed to be paused long enough to listen. Tommy just needed to find a way to use that to escape.

X-x…x-X

Techno sighed as he turned down a more empty hallway. Even with people actively moving out of his way it was still tiring to try to move through the halls while so many tried to leave all at once. He needed a breather and to rethink his ‘walk around until you find Tommy’ plan. He’d considered messaging his brother about it, but the last thing he needed right now was for Wilbur to get involved.

Wilbur and Tommy got on far too well as it was. Honestly Techno feared for the day his brother brought the other home or something. Wil had already started to talk to their parents about Tommy and the pair looked curious enough. With Tommy being the equivalent to an energetic puppy it wouldn’t take much for both their father and mother to become attached.

Which would mean many more visits and more of his home life to be learned by the little chatterbox than Techno was or, ever would be, comfortable with.

So no, Techno had to find Tommy himself, and somehow make the kid to want to maintain their respective distances in the long run. Keep it to the school at the very least. Something made stupidly harder thanks to Wil’s rather vocal attachment to the younger boy.

He wasn’t going to sabotage Wilbur’s friendship with the brat, even if it would be the easier option. Techno would never do something like that that could hurt his brother. So, it as ‘no’ again. Techno just needed Tommy avoidant enough of him, that’d he’d not come around the house if, or when, Wilbur offered. Or at least would make the visits brief.

But, those were long term plans and Techno had a very ‘in the moment’ problem.

That being the fact he could see Tommy just down the hall from where he’d gone to take his breather. While finding the blond had been his plan, finding him with three upperclassmen was not. By the look of it Tommy was chattering quickly at them while the other three scowled.

If he moved fast enough perhaps he could ruin whatever good things Tommy had said about him while they had been apart.

Without waiting to take in much more Techno strolled over to the three, seeming to startle them once he was just about six feet away. Tommy hadn’t noticed him yet as he was facing said older teens and so Techno remained silent. If he could hear what the kid was saying he could refute it all the better.

“-not even the type to hurt people. So really the whole idea of him being some kind of ‘heartless brute’ makes no sense.” Tommy rapidly was rattling away, pausing only to draw in a breath.

Techno took the opening.

“Its true.” He stated plainly, causing the blond to jump a fair bit.

Tommy turned to stare at him with shock and fear which melted into recognition and some sort of hesitant relief. It was the opposite for the other three, who seemed to grow uneasy as they watched Techno now.

“I prefer a bit more finesse over dull brutality.” Techno carried on as Tommy still seemed stunned into silence, “After all, a bruise fades after a few days-”

Techno paused here only long enough to glance over the opposing trio, making distinct eye contact with the one who looked like the ringleader.

“But well planted fear can last a lifetime.”

The three other teens stared at him with a clear apprehension that, admittedly, Techno was enjoying a bit too much. Enough, even, to let slip a small smirk that perhaps ominously flashed a tooth or two.

“Th-that’s a joke. He’s joking.” Tommy stammered, trying to recover, though even Techno could tell it was a weak attempt at best.

“Ah, yes. Trauma. My favorite brand of humor.” Techno nodded, a swell of pride in his chest as the leader of the trio seemed to shuffle back a step.

It wasn’t even a lie either.

Dark humor was kind of his thing.

While Techno inwardly chuckled at that fact the ring leader seemed to fight the idea of saying something aloud. Looking Techno up and down in a way that caused a spike of discomfort to rocket up through his spine and kill the amusement he’d just been enjoying. Still, the guys’ discomfort was visible while Techno kept his own well tucked away. He had to remind himself that he was the feared one here. Being sized up was just…a part of that sometimes.

“He’s with you?” The guy asked with an annoyance in his voice he tried to shove down…poorly.

Techno couldn’t, or at least didn’t, hide the flicker of distaste that crossed his face for a moment. He gave a noncommittal shrug before he crossed his arms mildly.

“In a sense. And you three are holding him up, which is holding me up.” Techno stated bluntly.

Tommy, surprisingly, didn’t say anything from behind him.

When did Tommy get behind him?

“Fine then. We wont keep you waiting anymore.” The teen caved, though his tone was tensed as if giving in were the last thing he wanted to do, “We’ll talk more tomorrow, Tommy. Next time your free.”

Techno didn’t like the sound of that. The less talking time Tommy got the better. The less damage was done. He’d…he would have to keep a closer eye on Tommy and make sure he didn’t somehow manage to sneak away again.

This method was far more effort than he counted on.

Xx-0-----xXx--0----xXx---0---xXx----0--xX

‘Tomorrow’ for Tommy, thankfully, had stretched into ‘in a few days’ into ‘next week’ and then into an undefined ‘later’. Eventually, before Tommy even realized it, just about a month had passed.

A month.

A month of seemingly no progress despite Techno practically being glued to him. Tommy wanted to believe that latter part was because the other was warming up to him but…well. It was like lighting a fire in a stone hearth.

Stone, even warmed, remained stone.

Techno was still holding onto his stoic demeanor more often than not.

Tommy had gotten the teen to chat with him and even bicker on topics he seemed interested in on occasion. However, those tended to be short lived times and often were followed up by some sort of jab or remark on Tommy’s….anything really.

His hair being a rats nest more often than not, his voice was apparently ‘like choking on fish tank gravel’, which was just fucking rude.

His clothing was supposedly either ‘frumpy’ or ‘toddler like’ and even once Techno had called him ‘wardrobe blind’. Which Tommy knew came from Wilbur because the other teen said it in tease during rehearsals a few times.

Even his grades came under fire the few times Tommy had let slip on them, usually in rant.

Yes, Tommy knew he could and should try to ‘dress better’, but, he liked his style. It was comfy and, it was him. Even down to his ‘rats nest hair’. Was it mostly because brushing it could be a pain sometimes? Sure, but that wasn’t the point.

As for his voice…well…

God gave him this voice and if it wasn’t ‘pleasant’ then he was just going to make that everyone elses fucking problem.

What else was he going to do? Be silent?

Tommy didn’t take Techno’s words to heart for the most part.

Or tried not to.

After all, he knew Techno was just trying to dive him away. This was a man who had bribed his own brother into silence to ‘save him the trouble’. Tommy, who was more or less a stranger? Techno had outright even said he was going to ‘prove’ to Tommy that he wasn’t a good person. What better way to do that than to nitpick and tease?

It wouldn’t work though, because Tommy knew better.

…

Tommy just wished Techno wasn’t so good at it.

That didn’t, and wouldn’t, stop any of Tommy’s efforts though. He knew the other wasn’t made of ice as must as he tried to play off that he was. Tommy had caught Techno chuckling during their arguments a few times and even smirking after the fact.

It was small but it was progress in his eyes.

It wasn’t the only bit of progress either. Even if it wasn’t at the level he wanted it to be, there were, in fact, changes in the school itself regarding Techno. For example, people actually came up to Techno now. Though they tended to just be the people who got kittens from him.

It took barely a few weeks for all of the tiny walking fluff balls to get homes. Wilbur having to facilitate basically all of the process for each of them. All of said adopts had come with the rule that Techno got updates on how they were all doing, mother cat included, at least once a week. It was a timed term Tommy was sure Wilbur enforced more than Techno himself, but Tommy was also just as sure Techno appreciated it.

As stiff as Techno could be when getting those updates Tommy could tell he was relieved to be hearing how his fur babies were doing. New homes or not, they were Techno’s and Tommy could understand that.

Though, Tommy wasn’t sure why the older teen still insisted in being so aloof about them even now. Everyone who took one in knew they had been cared for by the pinkette after all. If it was to save some kind of face, well, there was nothing wrong with the guy loving kittens and caring about their continued well being. Perhaps it was to keep the rumor spreader from targeting this part of him somehow?

Whatever the reason, as stone faced as Techno tried to be Tommy could tell the updates at least helped to take some of the edge off. It was small, but on days where updates were given Techno almost seemed…calmer. Nicer, even.

…Kind of.

At the very least he wasn’t nearly as harsh with his words against Tommy.

It wasn’t just with Tommy himself either. The few brave souls that offered words to Techno were met with less scowling and sometimes even a bare word or a head nod of acknowledgment on those days. It was something Tommy had learned to never reference unless he wanted to spend the day watching Techno doing his best to glower at people.

Wilbur called it Techno’s ‘anti-puppy eyes’ when they were all together at lunch, though he didn’t explain further. The only thing Wil would say on the matter at all was that Techno, in public, might as well be allergic to all things associated with ‘affection’. Surprisingly enough Techno hadn’t argued the fact, aside from saying it went beyond ‘just in public’. Wilbur had only rolled his eyes in return.

It didn’t matter though. What did was that the school seemed to be softening its edges towards the pink haired teen.

On the good days at least.

However, it wasn’t always a ‘good day’, and it seemed the last three days were trying their best to be backslides.

A new rumor had come out.

Now, Tommy was usually pretty quick to jump on the new ones. Better to root them out before they added to the pile he was already dealing with. But…this one was a bit more difficult than the others. It had Wilbur biting at his nails as he’d informed Techno over lunch the day he’d heard it.

Apparently now Techno was some kind of bewitcher and had cursed his own brother into silence over what ‘evil acts’ he did outside of school. It was apparently why the other was unable to give any direct answers when asked about his twin. It was also why Wilbur had allegedly reached out to a third party to speak for him.

There were a few different theories out that included Tommy, a second curse and something about a familiar. But, Tommy didn’t even have time to dig into the offshoots right now. The main rumor was bad enough. Sure, it was just about as ridiculous as the ‘Techno is a vampire’ ones, but it seemed to be sticking fast. Some aspect of it catching the imagination and solidifying to some degree.

It didn’t help that Wilbur, because of the promise he made to his brother, really couldn’t answer anything directly. Not without lying and the brunette had made it clear he’d never say anything to validate any rumor or lie regarding Techno.

Which inadvertently was doing just that.

Tommy, despite his best efforts, was only met with failure at his every attempt to take this new beast on. Too many details were just…situational ‘proof’ that everyone around him seemed to just, eat up. Hell, Tommy himself had even been called out as Techno’s ‘new familiar’ by a few… well… particularly dumb students in Tommy’s most humble opinion. And that was the kindest thing he could say about them at this point.

Tommy knew he wasn’t the smartest, sure, but he liked to think he wasn’t the dumbest either. That point seemed to be proven more and more in this school the deeper he got into this rumor business. The things people seemed to be willing to believe with minimal or, more often than not, full lack of proper knowledge or research was…truly astounding.

Astounding…and so, so draining

He was tired of it all, and he wasn’t even taking into account whatever was going on between himself and the track team.

Tommy laid his head down on his arms at the table he was currently sitting at in the cafeteria. He was so far beyond ‘tired’ really. More like he was disgustingly exhausted as his night prior had been a long one in particular. He spent so much time looking up potential solutions online about the rumor thing that he didn’t get much sleep, let alone get any of his homework done. The dread in his stomach at the thought seemed to be holding hands with his fatigue firm enough to make him slightly nauseous.

A familiar hand soon enough found rest on his shoulder and Tommy didn’t have to question whose it was. Considering the size of the hand it had to belong to Ranboo. The other didn’t speak, but Tommy could feel the concern. Both he and Tubbo had been growing steadily more worried over the past few weeks, let alone the last three days. That hadn’t exactly improved for them seeing how Tommy had arrived that morning.

“Trouble sleeping again?” Tubbo asked as an opener, speaking just loud enough to be heard over the morning chatter.

Tommy didn’t raise his head as he nodded into his arms. Insomnia happened to be how Tommy’s brain opted to deal with extra stress normally so it was a fair enough question, opener or not. Tommy just…wasn’t informing them that part of it was also him staying up later in order to try to find ways to help Techno better. He didn’t think they would take that exactly well.

There was a slight silence before Ranboo’s hand gave an assuring squeeze.

“Have, uh, have you considered, like…telling your parents or…” The taller boy trailed off and Tommy just sighed heavily.

He didn’t want to think about the jab of guilt that nipped at him hearing the anxious worry in his friends voice.

“ s’fine, boo-boy. just, need a bit of a nap later. not a problem.” Tommy assured, or tried to.

It was, as he’d learned, hard to assure someone things were ‘fine’ when you couldn’t lift your head off a table. He’d still try, but it was a short lived hope each time.

“I’m pretty sure chronic lack of sleep is like, defined as a ‘problem’, Tommy.” Ranboo countered with and Tommy could just hear the frown on his face.

“High school is a problem. Lack of sleep is just a symptom.” Tommy mumbled into his arms in retaliation.

“If you don’t want to tell your parents could you at least tell us? You’ve been acting off all year and this- this isn’t healthy, Tommy.” Tubbo stated bluntly as he too reached out a hand to place on Tommy’s upper arm on the his other side.

Tommy twisted his head just enough to peek out at Tubbo, but eye contact was impossible. Even so his confusion, he was sure, was readable.

Were…were they talking about the same thing?

Tommy assumed it was just his tiredness that was in question, but now…now he wasn’t sure. ‘Off all year’? He’d only been doing this ‘de-rumoring’ work for barely over a month. What other thing had been ‘off’ that he wasn’t aware of? Enough that they’d want his parents involved as well?

“Its nothing serious. Just, having a ‘rough adjustment’ is all.” Tommy replied, hating the words as they fell from his mouth but not stopping them any less.

It was the best nondescript band-aid he could think to put over the situation. One he didn’t even realize he was in. Just, another thing on his plate he needed to keep track of. But, how was he going to be more ‘himself’, if he didn’t know what was ‘off’ with him to begin with? The only thing he could think of was to do with Jared and his friends but, Tommy was for sure certain he had kept that all well tucked away.

Aside from lacking money lately, but he was working on that.

Which was easier now that Jared and his goons hadn’t come too close to him since that day Techno had-

“Bullshit.” Tubbo called out instantly as he squeezed Tommy’s arm a bit harder and cutting off his thoughts, “We both know that something is going on, Tommy. We’ve known you for ages and this isn’t like you. You can tell us if something is wrong.”

“We’d…honestly like you to.” Ranboo added as he leaned in closer as well.

Tommy felt his chest ache at their words. He loved his friends, with all his heart. But this…this wasn’t something he could share with them. Whether it was in regards Jared or the rumor thing or- or, whatever else. It would become a weight on their shoulders that they didn’t need to carry.

Tommy could do it, he could. He just…needed time to learn how is all.

He just needed to find a balance.

Bracing himself Tommy sat up and pulled what he could for a smile on his face.

“You know I trust you both with my life. If something were going on, I’d tell you. That is a ‘Tommy Trusty Promise.’ “ He stated a bit louder with a dull laugh even to his own ears.

The words felt sour leaving his mouth and a rock seemed to settle instantly in his stomach for good measure. He hated to lie to his friends. He did. But, this was for their own good.

…

If he repeated that enough times he might actually believe it one day.

It was either for their own good, or he was a coward.

Xxb--dxX

Tubbo’s stomach twisted sharply with anger and heartache both as Tommy gave a brittle smile at them. It didn’t stretch far and never came close to reaching his dulled eyes. He’d seen Tommy tired before, restless over one thing or another and unable to sleep for days at a time.

This wasn’t the same kind of tired.

Ranboo and himself had already talked about potential trouble Tommy might be in. They weren’t stupid and they recognized enough of the signs. However, without Tommy confirming or telling them anything there was little they could do. They had been trying to poke and prod Tommy with things hoping he would let something slip but…well, it hadn’t exactly worked out for them.

That wasn’t even counting the last month.

Ever since Techno came along things had become…uncomfortably different. Tubbo still wasn’t sure what it was that made Tommy cling to the older teen even now. Or rather, especially now. For all of Tommy’s insisting that Techno was a ‘good person’ Tubbo himself had yet to see any sort of proof of that.

Sure the kitten thing had apparently been true, but all that proved was that Techno didn’t eat stray animals after all. That meant exactly nothing when other red flags presented themselves in those rumors stead.

Since the guy had come around Techno had managed to get Tommy practically isolated from them. The guy walked Tommy to and from classes starting from the moment he got to school until the moment he was off grounds. Tubbo and Ranboo were, despite being in a fair few of the same classes as Tommy, not invited on these walks.

They had tried, of course, but after a few weeks of attempts he and Ranboo had been forced to back off and watch from afar. All with assurances from Tommy that it was ‘totally okay’.

Wherever Tommy was Techno was there, breathing over his shoulder practically. The guy barely seemed to take his eyes off Tommy. Cutting him off when speaking to others and even snapping at him on occasion. Tubbo and Ranboo could only watch from their forced distance most of the time, but they could see the look that would pass over Tommy’s face.

Whatever was being said wasn’t good.

When asked, though, Tommy would dodge the topic into something else, like usual. Without proof or Tommy being willing to talk they couldn’t even report Techno to the office for bullying.

Their friend had lasted a month so far, but now was officially losing sleep. If Tommy wasn’t careful he was going to get sick.

Again.

If Tommy ended up sick then Tubbo was going to kick Techno’s ass, height and age difference be damned.

Tubbo had heard Techno took some kind of fighting class outside of school, but Tubbo was sure he could take him on regardless. After all, he himself took gymnastics and self defence courses outside school as well since he was six. What he lacked in height he had stacked in skill and a deceptively ‘innocent face’ as Ranboo put it once.

He also wasn’t afraid of hitting below the belt against someone who hurt his friends.

“Are you sure about that, Tommy?” Tubbo asked, hoping still that his friend might change his mind.

Hoping that Tommy would confide in them like he used to.

Instead Tommy twisted up his face as if Tubbo had asked something absurd. It was touched off with another painfully false smile as the blond tilted his head.

“of course I’m sure. big man innit has it covered.” Tommy replied, his voice already dipping lower again before he yawned loudly.

“And you’ll tell us, if- if that changes?” Ranboo likewise tried one more time.

Tubbo could see the glisten of concern in the other’s eyes and he understood it. Tommy, however, only let out another flat laugh as he tried once more to smile at them.

“The moment that changes, I know who to go to.” He nodded.

Tubbo had to swallow down his anger at being lied to. The ache in his chest at the thought that Tommy, for whatever reason, didn’t think he could go to them now when he so clearly needed help. Needed support and comfort. Tubbo fought hard to keep himself from taking his friend by the shoulders and shaking him until Tommy told them the truth.

When Tommy suddenly shook both his and Ranboo’s hands off him and stood up, facing the main door, Tubbo wished he had.

Because standing there, scanning the crowd like a warden, was Techno.

And Tommy, before even being seen, was already obediently rushing towards him.

Tubbo looked to Ranboo and they shared a silent tense moment. Whatever was going on between those two, it wasn’t healthy for Tommy.

Chapter Text

‘It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think like that, you’ll do things differently.’ - Warren Buffett
-X

Techno let out a heavy breath as he waited for Dream to finish counting out his money.

He had finished dropping Tommy off at his third period class about twenty something minutes ago and was enjoying his own free period as he usually did. In the back of the library where not even staff looked unless there was a lot of noise. Normally he’d be doing one project or another, but this time Dream had come to him after a considerably well done job.

Meaning now it was payday.

It wasn’t like Dream was counting because didn’t trust Techno to pay him in full. No, it was more just, the action itself being habit at this point. Generally Techno took this time to relax in minor celebration. Enjoy the moment as the distance between himself and the main student body was maintained without their conscious knowledge.

However, even with the success of the new rumor Techno found no relief. It had taken too long to craft and he still couldn’t fully mark off all the damage Tommy had done before he started running interfere first hand. However, that wasn’t really even the part that was sitting under his skin the most.

It hadn’t been intentional, more of a panic move, but…

Techno hadn’t wanted Wilbur to be drawn into this. If anything he’d rather have paid Dream to hype up one of his brothers coming performances or something.

It was just…

Tommy was using Wilbur’s lack of confirmations too much.

And too well, really. For someone who rested heavily at a ‘C’ grade level at his best it was….well, it was impressive.

Impressive and concerning and, infuriating.

The only thing Techno could think to do was to…give a reason for the answers. Something that would cast more doubt rather than doubt itself.

…

Techno was going to signal boost his brothers’ shows so hard for the rest of the year.

Guilt was…well, it wasn’t like he wasn’t familiar with it. What with lying to his brother and parents about the rumors for the last few years.

However, this was a bit heavier as it was casting his brother’s name in a less than flattering light for no other reason really as…Techno just, couldn’t seem to beat a freshmen at talking.

So, technically this was Tommy’s fault.

If the kid had just, backed off when he’d asked-

Techno took in a breath and looked at Dream. The blond was pocketing the cash now with a pleased sort of hum.

“Not a dollar out of place?” Techno asked as he absently recrossed his arms, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

“I never doubted you a second in paying me.” Dream replied with a cheeky grin, “I’m sure that has nothing to do with me being the main pillar of your rumor mill, of course.”

“Of course not. I totally respect you as an individual worthy of every cent.” Techno shot back with an added heavy drip of sarcasm.

“I thought you were out of the whole ‘mystical’ theme. Why the return of the ‘witch’ stuff?” Dream asked with a slight tilt of his head.

“You know why.” Techno huffed with a pointed frown at the other.

Dream smirked wider, flashing a few teeth as he nodded.

“So, how is little ol’ Tommy doing?” Dream questioned, “Every time I see him he’s, kind of jumpy. How bad are you scaring him?”

“Me? Scaring him?” Techno sputtered with a sharp rise in his annoyance, “I wish I were scaring him. At least he’d run away then and I could use that as rumor fodder!”

Dream snorted at that but Techno just pinned him with a sharper look. Dream didn’t seem to take offence to it and Techno didn’t really expect him to.

“The brat is more stubborn than Wilbur, I swear. I’ve tried everything aside from openly bullying the kid and he just, sticks around. I can’t even afford to let him go too far anyway because he just, talks to people. Like, walks up and just jumps into it like he breaths that sort of interaction.” Techno practically growled out as he waved a hand through the air.

“So…if you want him gone and need the bad press why not just, actually bully him?” Dream asked with a snorted laugh here.

Techno paused and looked at Dream with a furrowed brow and a glare. Dream, for his part, at least had the decency to raise his hands in instant surrender.

“Joke. It was a joke.” The other tried to assure.

“Good.” Techno bit out in a breath, “I can use the rumors, sure, but I’d rather it only be in rumor. Despite conditioned belief, I’m not actually a monster.”

“A little light bullying never hurt anyone.” Dream replied with a shrug this time.

“Words from a ‘part-time bully’?” Techno asked as he continued to watch the other.

Techno liked to think he knew Dream fairly well. They’d met ages ago outside of school, both being a part of the same fencing classes. They had generally kept their interactions in said class only, until Techno had recruited Dream’s help halfway through freshman year. They’d had many a talk since then, including insulting mockery of each other and darker humor than they usually showed in public.

Which is why at the mention of bullying the younger blond Techno had to pause to see if the other were honestly joking or not.

…It seemed a fifty-fifty if he were honest.

“Its only ‘part time’ if I’m paid. I think of it more like a hobby.” Dream replied with another grin that showed off a few teeth as he laughed.

“Planning on messing with him then?” Techno asked dryly, an odd tightening in his gut at his own question.

He wasn’t sure if it was concern or…hope. If Tommy were getting bullied then he’d have less time for rumor hunting, that was for sure. If it were Dream doing it then Techno could be assured it wouldn’t go too far either.

A sickening set of thoughts even for him and Techno hated that it was, to some degree, tempting to consider.

He might be getting a bit… more than desperate, but he wasn’t going to bully some kid for that. No one deserved to be bullied after all. If not taking that path meant his empire of lies was to fall? Well…he’d just be pissy about it.

“I don’t even need to. I just, walk up and smile at him and the kid bolts.” Dream snickered, “Pretty sure he almost climbed into your back pocket a few weeks ago.”

“That was because of you?” Techno asked with note of surprise in his voice, “He was shaking for like, five minutes after. Kid looked like he’d seen a ghost.”

“He’s been doing that since I took his picture for you.” Dream replied with another laugh as he dug for his phone, “The closer I get the more he jumps.”

As he spoke Dream was unlocking his phone and poking through it, turning it towards Techno to see. On screen was a startled looking Tommy, wide eyes like a deer. Just like the first image…but this one was newer.

“That’s…concerning to see you with.” Techno stated honestly as Dream proceeded to swipe a few times, revealing more of the same sort of images.

“Its a sort of experiment now. I want to see how close I can get. If he’ll scream or something.” Dream explained, “I wasn’t going to keep going but, just look at his face! I couldn’t not mess with him.”

Seeing the various images of Tommy’s stunned and alarmed face, Techno found he had a… mixed understanding.

He wanted to agree with Dream. It was funny after all. But…part of him felt…something else muddled in with the amusement.

He’d seen how Tommy would often glance around himself when he thought Techno wasn’t looking. He had assumed that Tommy was just, looking for new targets to talk to, or perhaps just, enjoying the space he was given being near Techno all this time.

Turns out the kid was just being stalked by Dream.

Good to know… maybe?

“You look worried.” Dream commented as Techno remained silent, “With the whole rant you just went on I’d have thought you’d be more amused. Unless you’re going soft for him.”

“I am not going soft for him. I wasn’t worried about him. I was worried if I had to consider calling some kind of intervention for you.” Techno quickly defended, “You said it yourself. You’re the main pillar for putting out new rumors. If you go down for something sketchy like this that’s going to hurt me in the long run.”

“Aw, I didn’t realize you cared so much about me.” Dream teased, laughing at the unamused look Techno sent his way.

“I literally met you by stabbing you.” Techno stated dryly.

“Doesn’t count as a ‘stabbing’ if the button was still on.” Dream snorted as he rolled his eyes, “It was like, an aggressive poking at best.”

“I can change that.”

Dream laughed instantly and Techno was left to stare blankly at him. He wanted to mean the threat enough to cause the other doubt. However, they both knew each other well enough by now to just…know better.

For all of Techno’s skill with the blade it was never with the intention of using against another person. Outside of competition at least. As intimidating as Techno wanted to be with it Dream just, understood that fact too much.

He wondered if it might work against Tommy though…

Maybe plan ‘J’ or something. Or was he past ‘J’? Was he on ‘L’? It didn’t matter. It would be some time before Techno considered a plan that involved his fencing gear.

He respected his sport and its gear too much to sully it for something like, intimidating a freshmen.

“So, what’s your next move? Or is your plan to just, keep him at your hip until you graduate?” Dream teased once more.

Techno let out an annoyed breath here as he stood fully and started to pace a few steps.

“I don’t know. Whatever I do I can’t have it be something that hurts Wilbur. Which makes this harder because he apparently really likes Tommy.” Techno huffed out, “He has like, a dozen friends. Why does he need more?!”

Dream snorted at that but said nothing.

“I’m half tempted to just, look into forcing him into being transferred out or something.” Techno stated as he ran a hand through his hair.

“He still wont take money to back off this?” Dream asked with another slight tilt of his head, “Isn’t he like, broke or something?”

“Seems to have money enough for lunch from what I’ve seen. He never even blinked at the bribe offers when I made them.” Techno answered as he started to pace once more, “I’ve tried being mean, but he just, shakes it off or turns it into a joke.”

Techno left it off there, remembering with a wince the few times that, even for him seemed to have gone too far. If he leaned any further into it he really would become a bully.

Honestly…Tommy’s resilience was impressive. If it wasn’t directly in opposition to Techno he’d be proud of the kid. Some of the pokes and prods he used had brought his own brother to tears before when they were younger. The fact Tommy just seemed to take them and have them all roll off his back…If Techno really was under fire from an outside source he’d honestly probably trust Tommy to handle it at this point.

But that wasn’t the case and Tommy, instead, was an obstacle in his way.

Xx_--_xX

Wilbur wasn’t having the greatest day. He wasn’t having the greatest week in fact. Not since that damned rumor came out.

Tommy had heard it first, but Wilbur had, unwittingly, been playing into it for…he wasn’t even sure how long. It could have been floating around for a while before reaching them. A lot of people had been asking about Techno lately, far more than usual. And directly to Wilbur himself instead of his friends or something.

He should have taken note of that.

Between helping all the kittens get homes and assuring people his brother wouldn’t eat them if they got close he’d just…

He’d assumed…

He’d hoped it was things getting better.

He’d stopped being careful.

Since Tommy and his brother had started hanging around one another on the daily Wilbur had seen a fair number of changes. Not just in his brother, but in the school as well. It was slow, but, people didn’t whisper in fear when his twin walked by as much. They didn’t dodge out of his way or stare as if he were some kind of…monster.

Techno, even though he tended to get snappy, was opening up more. It had started with the kitten updates. He’d gone from just listening to correcting ‘choice mistakes’ in food or care, and eventually into asking specific questions if the answers weren’t readily provided. It was a big step for his brother and Wil had been so proud. Even if he wasn’t allowed to say it out loud.

Even if he did so at home to the point of Techno locking him out of his room.

It wasn’t all just the cats either. Wil had managed to catch it happen not once, but at least twice.

A classmate coming up to Techno and asking a question about some kind of math work Wilbur himself didn’t understand. His brother had taken a moment, glanced at the paper and…and answered. He’d given them the answer, even remarked briefly on where they went wrong.

And it happened twice.

That Wilbur knew of at least. Who knew, maybe it was more common then that when he wasn’t around. They didn’t exactly share many classes.

People were really starting to seek his brother out for help. They were-

Wilbur winced as he pulled his hand from his mouth sharply, looking down at the damage. He grimaced as he saw the state of his nails. He’d chewed them all almost down to absolute nubs over the last few days. He was trying not to but…he couldn’t help it. It was driving him crazy.

He could barely speak to people now, fearing they’d ask something about his brother. Something he couldn’t answer. He’d thought being forced to keep silent was hard before but…this was…so, so much worse.

Anything he did or didn’t say was under scrutiny. He’d tried asking Techno to let him off the hook. At least enough to defend against this one. Techno, that bastard, refused. He just, stared at Wilbur and told him it was ‘all okay’ and to ‘just go with it. I’ll be fun’.

Sometimes, most of the time, he really really worried about his brother.

And Tommy.

Poor Tommy.

Wilbur could see it on his face. This new rumor hit him hard and Wil wasn’t sure what part of it was worse. Tommy had told him before about how hard it was to get the other students to talk with him lately. But now, with the new rumor, anything he said was under just as much of a magnifying glass as Wilbur’s own words. Only instead of getting a pitying or sad smile in turn Tommy was accused of being…any number of things.

Wilbur had heard Tommy being referred to as a ‘paid off mouth piece’ before, to the kids face even. But Tommy had always shot back with something. Usually about how he was too broke to be being paid off.

But for this one…

What kind of retort could you give to being called a ‘thrall’ or a ‘hex-breath’?

Terms already so childish that any retort was doomed to be just as.

The second one didn’t even make sense as the rumor stated Wilbur was the cursed one, not Tommy. That didn’t seem to matter though as Tommy was basically run out of most conversations about it. The ‘proof’ they had was about as real as a unicorn, but they held onto it for all they were worth. Tommy tried his best, but came away each time with nothing but more insults or insinuations about his connection to either of the boys.

Wilbur felt horrible, which was an understatement.

It was his fault Tommy was involved with any of this. He should have just, politely declined the kids offer to help. Though, seeing his determination Wil doubted it would have taken but..He couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for Tommy’s current stress.

And he could see the boy was stressed.

He could hear it in how dry his laugh sounded, or how his smile seemed so fragile. It didn’t reach his eyes anymore and his jokes seemed forced. It almost hurt to hang out with him now, but he didn’t dare to back off. Tommy clearly needed more protection than what his brother was able to give despite being with him throughout the day.

Wil had tried asking Tubbo or Ranboo about it but neither boy offered much. With how protective they were he’d thought…maybe they would know how Wil might be able to help. If anything they seemed more snappish lately too.

So, here he was, left to his own devices and slowly chewing his nails off as he considered what he possibly could do to help both Tommy and Techno. He couldn’t risk speaking to many people, least they trap him with a question. But if he kept silent it only made things harder for the other two.

He could try to ask their parents…what would that help though? If anything it would just make their mother and father more worried about them. Perhaps, just Tommy’s parents? The kid was clearly struggling and that wasn’t healthy. Though, he wasn’t sure if that would be over the line. He wanted to help, not do something that would make the kid panic.

Wilbur took a deep breath and leaned back as far as his current chair would allow.

He hadn’t slept properly in days and he severely felt the need for coffee. Next period. He hadn’t done the homework for the class anyway. He could ditch out, hit up the coffee shop nearby and make it back in time for lunch.

Maybe with some caffeine in him he could think up a solution.

He doubted it..but he hoped just as much.

X-x-__-0-__-x-X

The next week that passed was like trudging though molasses. It inched by painfully slow and each second seemed to fall thick with a souring dread.

It reminded Techno almost exactly of his middle school graduation. Walking across the stage that seemed to stretch for an eternity. More eyes on him than he could count but agonizingly aware of each of them all the same.

It should have been easier. The rumor had stuck and had, for a short time, done its job. People avoided him again and he could rest easy in that.

Until he couldn’t.

Merely days after what should have been his victory things had snapped back to…to whatever state Tommy had created. The ‘normal’ where people looked at him, approached him, talked to him.

Techno wasn’t a fan.

At all.

He was barely even keeping track of Tommy anymore. The kid seemed distracted enough by the rumor still, which was fine and dandy. But Techno couldn’t even say how distracted.

No, instead Techno was counting steps and watching body language of those around them. Noting the closing gap between him and the other students in the hallway. Guessing and dreading who was coming up to him and who was just going passed.

His stomach was tied so tightly in knots that he could barely drink his coffee coming in anymore. This left him tired, uncomfortable and ready to snap at just about anyone that got too close.

“Did you get dressed in the dark this morning or are you just borrowing from the clown school donation bin?”

Tommy was always the nearest target.

Techno watched as the teens shoulders rose and fell with a heavy breath before those familiar blue eyes landed on him. Tommy had been mid tossing out of what looked like a paper cup when Techno had walked up. At a glance Tommy looked almost dead on like a racoon with the bags under his eyes. If it weren’t for the choice of toddler like attire Techno might have called him one.

What else could Techno say about the fire truck red shirt with a cartoon image on the front and back each? He didn’t recognized the show, but the character looked to be some kind of winged hero if the weapon in hand was anything to go by. A long white sleeve shirt rested under it though, surprisingly, it wasn’t topped with a coat despite the chill in the air. Were Techno not feeling so particularly prickly he might have questioned it considering Tommy usually seemed cold.

He didn’t though.

“It’s called, ‘having a style’. I realize that might be a new idea to you.” Tommy quipped back quickly despite looking half dead and ready to crawl back into the nearest bed.

“Its certainly ‘a’ style. ‘Bad’ is a style.” Techno confirmed as he started to head into the school, expecting Tommy to follow, like normal.

“your face is a bad style.”

Techno heard the mutter but he left it at that. He didn’t have the energy for a full on fight right now. Judging on how fast Tommy let it drop as well, neither did he. Good. At least they were both having a shit morning.

Xx--x--xX

It only really got worse from there. Techno dropped Tommy off at his class, the kid hadn’t even bothered trying to talk anyone on their way. Which would have been an upside…if it weren’t for the students that were instead coming up to speak to Techno instead.

It wasn’t kitten updates either. He didn’t mind those as much as they at least had a function. It was a simple script of greeting, talk about the cat and then a quick nod at the end signaling the end of the talk. Simple. Even he could manage that without his stomach dropping too much.

But these weren’t people talking about their kittens. These were…strangers. He didn’t know them aside from knowing he had roughly classes with some of them. All of them? It was possible. He didn’t bother learning his classmates since he expected them to keep to their own kind.

But no, instead of doing that they were coming up to him and…and asking him things. He could handle the ones that were in regards to schoolwork, or his brother. Those were easy answers to give to move them along and out of his hair. But…then there were the ones that…Techno thought perhaps were trying to be small talk?

It had been ages since he had to handle that sort of chatter himself so having to force out some sort of answer was hard. Hard enough that he feared that Tommy might step in if he didn’t supply something in time. Having Wilbur talk on his behalf was one thing.

Wilbur knew him.

Understood him.

Wilbur Techno trusted to have his back, but Tommy…

Tommy probably meant well. He just…he invited too many people into Techno’s bubble. It left him drained and irritable and Techno wanted none of it. He just wanted his- this tiny little freshman to mind his own and go back to his own bubble and leave Techno to his own life. Tommy had friends, two of them. Tubble and Ramble…close enough.

Point was, Tommy had people who wanted to be around him and vice versa. Techno had seen them out of the corner of his eye many a time, watching as Tommy and him walked or engaged with others. It was unnerving and he wished he could just, toss Tommy back at them and have the kid fall back into place. Everything could fall back into place. In to place and away from him.

Techno shook his head to clear it.

His lack of sleep was getting to him. He just hoped this wouldn’t effect his grades much. He didn’t need them perfect. He just…needed them good enough for the school of his choice.

One more year.

If Tommy didn’t mess that up for him.

Looking up and around himself Techno took in his own classroom. It was one of the larger rooms thankfully. It was fairly stacked with students, though not as bad as it could be considering it was an AP course. Not many people took AP history and Techno himself had tried his damnedest to opt out of it.

He failed and remained bitter about it to this day, but that was another problem entirely.

The professor was rattling on about their new project for the coming end of quarter and showing the syllabus that they would be graded from. The usual stuff. Techno was barely aware enough to glance over it himself…until the words ‘choose your group’ were spoken.

Those words sent a fresh cold down Techno’s spine and he looked to the front of the room. He stared at the teacher, who was going on about group balance and something or other about a ‘student contract’ per grouping-

Techno’s hands were shaking.

Maybe he could convince them to let him work solo. It had been so long since he’d done a group project. The last time had been when the fear towards him was strong and he was left to do his own work to the side. Handing it to his ‘group mates’ at the end to present.

This was the first one he’d be doing since that fear had faded.

Before he realized it the teacher had set the students to roam in order to find their groups. Far too quickly Techno looked around himself and found several eager, eager, looking people looking right at him as they stood just about at his desk.

The knot in his stomach seemed to twist further causing whatever was is in to churn. It sent a sharp sick feeling up his throat and, for a moment, he worried he might actually get ill.

One of the students from the practical ‘flock’ stepped closer to him, a somewhat uneasy smile on their face. Techno couldn’t focus enough to tell what it was from, far more concerned with settling his stomach at the moment.

He could vaguely hear the person greet him, probably with a name.

He had to remember how to breath evenly.

There were words.

And then a rippling in his gut.

A hand extended-

Oh.

Oh wait. No. This might actually still happen-

Techno stood quickly, startling the student back as well. Without a word nor the collecting of his things Techno shuffled from behind his desk, a hand raised to his mouth and bee-lined for the door. The teacher called after him but he ignored it as he pushed into the hallway and bolted for the nearest bathroom.

Xx-0-xX

Wilbur watched with an anxious knot in his stomach as his father’s car pulled away from the school. Techno was in the passenger seat and looking far paler than he’d seen the other in some time. Wil would have almost believed it was just from some flu or something were it not for the way Techno had been itching at his neck or tugging at his hair.

He couldn’t say it wasn’t the flu, but he knew his brother’s tells for certain.

He’d watched through all middle school as Techno forced himself to work through colds and the like before. He’d not be sent home ‘just for being a little sick’. Today though, Techno had practically thrown himself into the car all while just about carving nail marks into his neck.

Techno could lie all he wanted to until his face turned blue, but Wilbur could see. This new rumor was clearly having an effect on him no matter what he claimed. Wil just…had no idea what to do about it.

…

With a fresh wince Wilbur pulled a far too tender finger out of his mouth as he watched the last glint of his father’s car dip out of sight.

Xx--xX

Tommy didn’t know how he felt after hearing Techno had been sent home for the day. He hoped it wasn’t for anything too bad. The guy had…not looked good this morning. Tommy hadn’t exactly looked close at the other, it had been far too early for that. But…something about him had seemed…not okay.

Given the rumor, damn these fucking rumors, that he’d thrown up during first period Tommy felt a bit guilty at not having looked a bit harder when he’d had the chance. Its not like it was his fault or anything, he knew that. But…maybe he could have suggested the other see the nurse sooner or something.

Letting out a breath Tommy shook his head. It wasn’t something he could change now anyway. Maybe Techno could use the home time to not think about school for a few days. Tommy wished he could say he wasn’t at least the tiniest bit jealous on that. Not that he had time to feel jealous. He still had so many other things to focus on.

Namely the fact that he was being jerked out of the flow of students on their way to lunch. His startled cry was ignored by those around him as he felt hands gripping his shoulders to keep him on his feet while also dragging him backwards into a less clustered part of the hallway- oh…and…and right into a recently emptied classroom.

Well this wasn’t good.

Tommy had a guess and he dreaded getting the answer.

“Hey there, Tommy.” A far too familiar voice greeted with an ice cold sweetness as soon as he was through the door.

He was spun around by rough hands, Darren smugly smirking at him as Tommy was forced to face ahead at Jared. Tommy didn’t see Most-Likely-Kyle, but he didn’t doubt he wasn’t far. The three stooges were never too far from one another as far as he knew.

“Its been a long time.” Jared was saying as he stepped closer.

Tommy wanted to take a step back but his legs refused to move. It was barely a few hours since Techno was sent home and already they were on his back again.

“hey jared.” Tommy greeted, knowing that silence wouldn’t serve him well.

“Couldn’t help but hear your bodyguard got sent home.” Jared stated with a full grin on his face.

“I keep telling you, he’s not my bodyguard.” Tommy huffed with a scowl.

“Sure he’s not. He just chooses to hang out with a loser freshmen. He doesn’t even hang out with his brother that much. You trying to tell me Techno prefers you over him?” Jared said with a snorted laugh, “Dude, even I prefer Wilbur over you.”

Tommy continued to grimace, grinding his jaw just a bit as he waited to hear what insults the other had for Wilbur now. It was no secret that Jared and Wilbur didn’t…mesh well. Though, as far as Tommy could tell it was mostly from Jared’s side. Wilbur had never once spoken about Jared in any capacity, while Tommy was around at least.

It was entirely different with Jared. It wasn’t constant, sure. But the guy had a habit of picking Wilbur apart when he was feeling particularly testy. Or childish in Tommy’s opinion. And that was before Tommy even fully understood who this ‘Wilbur’ was. Now that he’d met him and had become pretty good friends with him he found it harder and harder to try to sit through this guys’ trash talking.

He wanted to snap at Jared more and more, defend Wilbur like he did Techno. But…this was Jared. Someone he well knew could hand his ass to him if it got physical. Not only that, but if Jared knew it bothered Tommy then he’d only start doing it more.

He just had to remind himself that it was because Wilbur was so much better than Jared. The guy was just insecure and the only coping ability he had was to tear down someone great.

“Do you want to know why?” Jared asked in that tone that told Tommy that his answer wouldn’t matter.

Didn’t stop him though.

“Not really.” Tommy replied with a short breath.

He was tired and hungry and just wanted this to be over with so he could try to go about the rest of his day.

“Its because Wilbur at least has a back bone. Some of the time.” Jared stated with an amused laugh at his own ‘barely there’ joke, “You? You’re just a limp noodle. Not even the good kind. You’re like, a shitty dollar store knock off of angel hair at best.”

Tommy had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. While it was one of Jared’s more ‘creative’ insults, it still wasn’t a good one.

“Is there something you needed or is this just just for shits and giggles today?” Tommy asked with a deflating sigh.

Jared raised an eyebrow at him but it was Darren that spoke first.

“Excuse me? Jar, are you hearing this?” He laughed incredulously as he gave Jared a shove to the shoulder, “Kid gets picked up by Techno for a few weeks and thinks he’s king shit. What, you got ‘busy schedule’ to keep or something?”

This had both Jared and Darren laughing and Tommy could only internally groan at what this would lead to. He didn’t want to just, give in, but at the same time Tommy lacked the energy to do anything more right now.

“Tell you what, Tommy. Since you’re so busy I’ll make this easy for you.” Jared said with a wide grin.

Tommy didn’t like that at all and it had his shoulders tensing up for the worst.

“We’ll let you go right now with just a warning, and you work on getting us the money you owe us. I’m thinking, a hundred and thirty sounds about right.”

Tommy spluttered and stumbled back a step as his eyes widened in shock.

“w-what?” He breathed out weakly.

“For all the time you’ve missed.” Jared replied with a larger grin, “Plus late fees. Its actually kind of generous of us to leave it there.”

“A Hundred And Thirty?!” Tommy repeated back with a growing dismay.

Jared only shrugged, smug look still in place while Darren let out another chortle of a laugh.

“Its your fault for putting it off so long.” Darren said as he reached out to grip at Tommy’s bag strap and giving it a firm shake, “Dodging us really wasn’t a smart move. So, now you pay a fee for it.”

Tommy could do nothing but stare at the two upperclassmen with a gaping mouth and a crushing feeling in his chest. How…how the hell was he supposed to pay that? He was a freshman for primes sake.

“You got three weeks to come up with it or…we’re going to have to get creative on how to clear your debt.” Jared warned, though he looked to be enjoying it a fair bit.

Tommy could only nod weakly in shock as he tried to think of ways he might ever see that much money at a single time. Aside from literally taking from his parents wallets there…wasn’t one.

A hand on his shoulder startled him just enough out of his daze to note Jared was turning him around to face the door once more.

“I think it might be helpful if we shared lunch together today, Tommy. Catch up on things other than just your money problems.” Jared was saying as Darren opened the door for them all to go through.

The pit of Tommy’s stomach dropped and as hungry as he had been minutes ago he didn’t think he’d be able to eat anything now if it tried. If anything he just wanted to throw up.

X- -X

Dream let out a sigh as he walked through the mostly empty halls by himself. Normally he’d be sitting down to eat with his friends, but he’d changed his plans today at the last minute. He’d heard about Techno being sent home earlier and had been chewing it over in his head since.

Techno wasn’t one to shake easily. Yea, he was socially awkward and had an aversion most types of contact, but he was also stubborn and determined. This was the same guy that showed up to fencing practice with a fever before so he wouldn’t lose his place in an upcoming tournament. If he was allowing himself to be sent home then something really had gotten under his skin.

Given how aloof Techno carried himself Dream couldn’t say if the other would consider them friends, but Dream certainly did.

Sure he’d tried to tell himself it was just for the money for a while now, but he wasn’t a fool. He knew what he felt when he heard Techno had gotten ill. It wasn’t exactly a new feeling if he was really honest, but that wasn’t relevant now. He considered Techno a friend and that was that.

As his friend Dream had decided to take on the role of monitoring Tommy for him while he was out. Just to be able to assure the other that the kid wasn’t ‘doing damage’ to his reputation. Which, honestly Dream didn’t see a problem with the kid doing. Dream wasn’t going to fight Techno on what he wanted spread around as that was his personal business, but he didn’t exactly like it. It wasn’t as fun as it used to be.

Again, though, that was currently irrelevant as he scanned the hall ahead of him for the familiar blonde curls he’d come to know at almost any distance. He wasn’t planning to get too close to him really. Just enough to see what he got up to and perhaps run mild interference if he saw fit.

He couldn’t help it. The idea of seeing how much Tommy jumped when Techno wasn’t beside him was….so so tempting. Perhaps a photo or two of it would make Techno laugh.

The idea of it was enough to have Dream chuckling to himself as he turned down the next hall. It was leading away from the cafeteria, but he’d already looked it over as well as outside. Tommy wasn’t there yet despite his friends already being seated. The only thing to do now to find him was to walk the next closest adjoining halls to see if he turned up.

He barely had to glance over the hall this time to spot the ever so familiar blonde locks he was so used to hunting. Only…

Who the hell was he with?

Dream paused a moment in his confusion as he watched two larger upperclassmen leading Tommy down the towards the opposing end of the hallway. One of them had their arm over Tommy’s shoulders while the other was just about at his back. He recognized the jerseys they were wearing but couldn’t place a name to profiles that filled them out.

Without waiting to take in more of the scene Dream moved quickly and quietly to catch up to them. He didn’t know why he was opting to sneak instead of shouting out to them as the idea of spooking Tommy wasn’t even on his mind anymore. He just…felt like he had to.

“--obably waiting for me so-” Tommy was saying before being cut off.

“It’ll be fine. It’s been a while since we really talked right? Its only fair we take the time now to catch up. I’m sure they can handle one lunch without you.” The teen at Tommy side, Jared if Dream recalled right, was saying.

“B-but-”

“Be rude to turn down the invite, Tommy.” Darren, the one at Tommy’s back added when the kid tried to protest again.

The ‘friendliness’ in their voices reminded Dream of that one history teacher. A sweetness that warned of something bitter just underneath. From the way Tommy’s voice seemed to tremble Dream could only assume he heard it too.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Dream asked once he was just about an arms length to them all.

The trio stopped dead as Jared and Darren both looked back at him with slight scowls on their faces. Tommy, however, looked mortified. His face was pale and he was clearly shaking from even just the bit of him Dream could see around the others.

“Dream, shouldn’t you be, like, somewhere else right now?” Darren asked flatly with a growing grimace.

Dream made sure to put on a particularly happy face as he answered.

“Was just on my way there, in fact. Just thought I’d stop over to say ‘hi’.” He vaguely supplied as he nodded towards Tommy, “Didn’t realize you were friends of Tommy’s. Don’t see you guys hanging out much.”

“We’re actually pretty good friends, aren’t we Tommy?” Jared asked as he didn’t break eye contact with Dream but gave Tommy’s shoulder a firm squeeze.

Tommy swallowed hard and it only added to the pile of flags Dream was collecting now. Instead of denying it in any form though Tommy just slowly nodded his head while still looking like a deer in headlights.

“s-sort of-” Tommy’s voice came out small and stuttered.

“Funny, we’re kind of friends too. I see him all the time, but you’re never with him.” Dream challenged lightly as he tried to make eye contact with Tommy.

He needed any sort of sign that the kid needed help, but the other only looked more freaked out as he kept his gaze anywhere but at the three of them.

“That right?” Jared asked back, his tone also growing into a challenge as he turned to face Dream head on.

He had removed his arm from around Tommy to do so, now blocking Dream’s line of sight to him.

“I don’t recall seeing you around him much either.” Darren stated now with snap.

“You must not be looking then. I’ve got pictures and everything.” Dream countered as he held up his phone.

He wasn’t going to show any such pictures of course, but he hoped the threat of it might be enough to make the two of them back down. He didn’t generally get on well with Darren and likewise his friends, but this level of hostility was something else.

He really didn’t like the fact it was apparently centering itself around Tommy either.

“Didn’t know you into taking friend pics, Tommy. I’m feeling kind of left out now-” Jared was started to say as he turned to talk to Tommy, though he cut short.

With a confused noise he turned around entirely and….Tommy was gone. Dream had literally seen him just seconds ago as Jared let him go and yet somehow the kid was already out of sight as the three of them peered down either ends of the hall.

Sapnap might have been right about Tommy having a future in track. The kid was fast.

“Huh, well, guess he had somewhere else to be too. I should probably head out then. Good luck with the whole ‘friend pics’ thing though.” Dream hastily waved off as he turned almost entirely on his heel.

He felt a very urgent need to find Tommy now. He needed to ask him if he was okay.

He couldn’t get the look of terror out of his mind when Tommy had turned to face him.

Xx…xX

Tommy panted heavily as he lay tucked under the windowsill he’d literally just crawled out of. He had only just barely gotten away from the three and he was considering the crushing of his hand in the process of him falling into freedom to be worth it.

Jared and his friends were one thing. But, what was it, ‘Dream’ Darren had called him? That was something different and he wasn’t even sure what it was yet. But, apparently the guy was like, stalking him?

He said he had pictures?

The the fuck?

Were the three of them friends or something? Was this going to be a new ‘fresh hell’ problem for him? Because Tommy didn’t think he could handle anything else being thrown his way this year. Honestly he already had enough stress that he could coast the rest of his high school career on it alone, and that wasn’t counting the actual schooling bit.

With a deep sigh Tommy tried to slow his heart down before he ended up passing out. So, traveling the halls wasn’t safe anymore. Not while Techno wasn’t here…

He’d have to just, go back to walking outside the school to each class then. Late slips were more manageable than whatever those guys probably had planned for him.

X-x--0--x-X

Despite much concern from his parents and brother Techno insisted on coming to school the following day. It was a delicate time of year and he couldn’t afford to miss out on the projects that were starting up in three of his classes. He wasn’t feeling entirely better, but he really didn’t have time to worry about that.

He didn’t have time to worry about a lot of things, but, unfortunately ‘things’ is what he had a lot of.

He didn’t even remember to pick Tommy up from the lunch room like usual. Instead Wilbur was at his side and walking him to class with their arms just barely touching. They hadn’t walked together like this since middle school and Techno had to fight the urge to take his brother’s hand in his just to suppress his growing anxiety. It had been his own choice to come back so soon, but that didn’t mean he was remotely ready for it.

Wilbur had tried his best to convince him to stay home of course, but once it was clear Techno had made up his mind he made them promise something instead. Wilbur was going to walk with Techno between classes so he could check up on him throughout the day. It would make him late to his classes, but Techno knew Wilbur didn’t care about that in the slightest.

It was a comfort really, knowing his brother cared so much for him to do that for him. But, it also hurt when he recalled just how much stress he was causing Wil in turn. Not just right now, but…for the last few years really. He hadn’t thought it was all that bad, but he could see the bite marks on Wilbur’s fingertips and the bags forming under his eyes.

A fresh twist of guilt coiled in his gut and Techno bumped their arms together briefly. Wilbur took hold of Techno’s wrist and gave it a comforting squeeze before letting go again. Keeping to Techno’s ‘low contact’ rule he’d set up for them while in school. It only made that twisting feeling sharper, but he didn’t reach out again despite his urge to.

“are you sure you’re okay?” Wilbur asked quietly as they came insight of the classroom door.

Techno could see Wil looking at him out of the corner of his eye and nodded shortly instead of looking over in turn. He didn’t want to risk looking his brother in the eye and sharing the extend of his current unease. Wilbur was far too good at reading him and he didn’t doubt for a second that Wil would call their father to take Techno home if he appeared especially shaky.

“Its fine, Wil. I can make it through the day.” Techno tried to assure.

The look Wilbur was giving him though was laden with doubt even with only a partial view of him.

“Seriously. Yesterday was just a- a fluke. Wont happen again.”

“If you keep pushing yourself too hard-”

“I wont. Wil-” Techno paused their walking and looked at his brother, meeting his worried gaze head on and dropping his voice softer with his next words, “i promise. it wont be like yesterday, and i’m not pushing myself too much. i’ll come to you if anything like that changes.”

Wilbur continued to stare at him with all his worry until forcing out a heavy breath of acceptance.

“okay. but- you better mean that. call me, text me, whatever you need, okay?”

“yea, yea, i know ‘mother hen’.” Techno tried to tease, his voice still on the softer side for the moment.

It didn’t get a laugh but Wil at least puffed out a slightly less tensed breath.

“prick.” He muttered as they walked the last few steps to the door.

“it is my main talent.” Techno chuckled before breaking off to enter the room.

“I’ll come meet you here after class, so wait for me, okay?” Wilbur asked as he carefully caught Techno by the elbow.

Techno nodded and let out a breath of a laugh.

“I’ll wait.”

Wilbur nodded and only then did he turn to leave for his own class. Techno watched him go a moment, feeling the pit of his stomach deepen the further away he got. Shoving the feeling down turned his attention to his own classroom and headed for his seat.

x-x

First period had gone mostly smooth. Aside from a few unwanted stares most people seemed content enough to keep their distance, which worked out for Techno perfectly if he was honest. Not even the teacher brought up his absence from the day before so he hadn’t needed to explain anything. A real bonus since this particular teacher was known for being a hard-ass about missed classes. Techno could only assume it was because he was up to date with every lesson so far.

He wasn’t going to question it further.

True to his word he waited for Wilbur after the bell rang. He received a few odd looks for this as well, but he did his best to ignore them. Wilbur was his brother and he had every right to walk with him between classes if that was what they wanted to do. People really needed to stop peeking at them like they were some kind of-of- exhibit or something.

Was it really so strange to see them together?

Techno shook his head and fought the urge to scratch at his neck; instead he tried to focus on what Wilbur was talking about. Something about the play they were rehearsing. A student had dropped out of an important role and something, something-

“-and Niki was thinking of trying to convince one of the freshmen to take it up again. She’s sort scarily set on it actually. But, if it comes down to it we might need to pop one of the older students into it instead since the deadline is coming up-” Wil continued to ramble.

It was soothing, actually; even if he didn’t follow any of it. Hearing Wilbur at his side was enough.

It almost distracted him from the ogling gazes of the other students.

When they reached Techno’s next class he was far more hesitant to enter. It was the class he’d run from the day prior. Not only was he coming back to those that saw him flee, but he also still had to deal with the whole ‘make your group’ thing.

Neither of those thoughts helped prepare him to enter the room.

As he paused at the door he chanced to look at Wilbur, who was staring at him in turn. Raising a brow Wil tilted his head slightly in a question. Techno could almost hear the words ‘do you want me to call dad’ as if they were spoken aloud between them. Before Wil could actually verbalize anything Techno was shaking his head and taking a breath.

“See you after class.” He assured Wilbur instead, before forcing himself forwards and through the door.

He could feel his brother’s eyes on his back and he dreaded the moment when they left him.

Looking around the room Techno took in the various placements for the students in their already chosen collectives. Most of them were the traditional four or five and so Techno tried to calculate who would be left. Having missed out yesterday he’d have to be planted into whatever space was left, usually this meant the scrap end students who refused to actively pair at all.

When Techno finally saw where his desk had ended up his lungs practically stuttered to a stop as his stomach dropped sharply.

Seven.

There were seven of them in a poorly made ‘circle’ and his desk was between two classmates he’d never even noted before. All the other groups were already made up and he could see the ‘student contract’ already sitting on most of their desks. Unlike the one on his own theirs were all filled in.

“Techno, please take your seat. Your group mates can fill you in on what your project theme is going to be.” The teacher directed as they nodded to his chair.

Techno fought the shiver that passed over him as he felt the eyes of his classmates land on him. He tied to look towards the door, but his brother was already gone.

“Mr. Craft, we’re waiting.”

Techno fought the returning urge to throw up.

X-x…0…x-X

Wilbur let out a deep breath as he wandered the halls of the school. He was supposed to be headed to class right now, but he was strongly considering just ditching it today. He wasn’t exactly feeling in focus and the last thing he wanted to do right now was suffer through maths.

Shuffling around a few murmuring students Wil felt a chill travel over his body. The thought of if they were talking about his brother or not was stronger today than usual. The whole day prior all anyone had been able to talk about, it seemed, was his brother fleeing class.

People had really taken the opening with both fists on this one. Wilbur had heard a few less than pleasant ‘reasons’ why and they all made him feel genuinely ill. His brother couldn’t feel under the weather without people assuming the worst or the absurd about him.

The idea of him being actually sick never seemed to cross anyones mind. There were various versions of ‘demon deal gone wrong’ or ‘he hadn’t drank enough blood the night before’. One of them even suggested a curse backfiring on Techno when he tried to hex a classmate for talking to him.

There were so, so many and he despised the fact that he couldn’t stop a single one. Even if he wanted to now, thanks to the one rumor calling him cursed as well-

Wilbur winced as he pulled his finger out of his mouth. He looked down at it with a frown.

He was bleeding.

“fuck” Wil muttered as he hastily tried to wipe it off on his pants, wincing again as he did so.

“You alright, Wilbur?” A familiar voice asked from his other side.

Wilbur couldn’t even muster a full smile as he turned to look at Tommy. His heart ached as he saw how tense the other looked. The bags under Tommy’s eyes were almost a match with his own.

“I’m fine, Toms. Just knicked a finger.” Wilbur said as he drew up closer to the younger teen, “How are you doing today? Feels like I haven’t seen you in a bit. You skipped your last rehearsal.”

Tommy fidgeted as he fell into step with Wilbur.

“I-I’m sorry. It just, it totally slipped my mind and by the time I remembered-” Tommy started to ramble and Wil instantly felt bad at hearing the honest guilt in his voice.

“Its fine, Tommy. Happens to all of us.” He tried to assure the other.

Tommy nodded solemnly and Wil wasn’t sure it entirely worked.

“Is Techno doing okay?” Tommy asked before Wil could say anything else, tired eyes met with with a shared concern in them, “I heard he was back, but I haven’t seen him.”

“Oh, well, he’s…he says he’s doing better. I’ve been walking him to class today, to be sure.” Wilbur explained as he ducked the two of them passed another muttering group of students, “I’m sorry if you were kept waiting. I didn’t even think to let you know.”

“Its fine. I don’t mind waiting or anything like that. I was just worried about him.” Tommy replied as he scratched absently at his elbow.

There was a familiar compulsion to pull the kids hands away with a warning about scratching himself, but he refrained. He wasn’t sure why but he convinced himself in the moment it was because Tommy had a shirt between his nails and his actual skin.

“Shouldn’t you be heading to class?” Wilbur asked, hoping to divert the conversation.

He didn’t think he could handle talking about his brother right now. Even if it was with Tommy.

“O-oh, uh…sort of…am?” Tommy offered weakly causing Wil to furrow a brow at him, “I’m sort of, going the long way round today.”

“The ‘long way round’?” Wil started to question.

Tommy looked like he was tensing even more but before Wil could go further they were stopped.

“Excuse me, aren’t you Techno’s brother?” A voice asked from the group that had cut off their path.

Wilbur felt dread flood his stomach as he laid eyes on the tall brown haired girl who had spoken up.

“Could you tell us why he was out of school yesterday?” She asked, bold as could be.

Wilbur considered strongly in telling her ‘no’ and moving on, but with the looming onlookers from her presumed clique ahead of them they didn’t have a proper exit.

“He got sick.” Wilbur stated bluntly, not bothering to mince words.

If he answered them quickly then maybe they would just, let them through without much hassle.

“Sick with what? He looked fine before.” Another voice spoke up but Wilbur didn’t catch from who.

“Yea, what did he have?”

“J-just a day bug, we think.” Wil stammered just a bit as he debated just turning around and going back the way they’d come.

“See? He can’t give a straight answer, I told you.” One of the taller guys in a jersey stated with a chuckle.

“Oi, fuck off, the lot of you. That was more of an answer then you fucking deserve. Its none of your fucking business anyway.” Tommy barked out suddenly from his side.

Instead of backing off in the slightest at Tommy’s words though the group only let a rippling laugh pass through them.

“No one asked you freshie.” The guy snorted out with a thick condescension in his voice.

“That’s the kid they paid off to speak for him.”

“Oh my gosh, they really do travel together!”

Another rippling laugh went through the mass and Wilbur felt his insides squirm.

“Back off him, he isn’t paid to talk for either of us.” Wilbur tried to shoot down but was met with an instant mocking of his words in a pitched voice.

“So you just hang with him cus he’s ‘fun’?” Someone teased and Tommy instantly was flipping off that general direction.

“Piss off. I’m loads more fun than any of your fuckers. Clear out before I start kicking you-”

“Tommy, lets just leave. This isn’t worth it.” Wilbur cut the blonde off as he felt his breath hitch a bit harder than normal.

It was like he was living out a bad after school special, but one where all the lines, cheesy or not, still hurt.

“Don’t go, we still have questions. Don’t you want to talk about your brother?” Someone called out and Wilbur couldn’t even tell who it was that had spoken.

“Maybe he was told not to now.”

“He’s been following Techno all day from what I heard. Maybe he’s more of a lapdog now.”

“Shut your fuckin mouths! You don’t know shit on what you’re talking about!” Tommy was shouting back at them and all Wilbur could do was try to keep them moving away.

The group was keeping up though and Tommy was fighting against him to get at them and he swore he could feel his lungs stuttering in his chest-

-

-

“-bur? Can you hear me?”

Someone was speaking to him and he was vaguely aware of hands on his shoulders but at the moment all he could focus on was the need to breathe.

“H-he was fine a moment ago-” A fearful voice stammered from nearby.

“He’s going to be fine, we just need to give him space.” Another voice spoke, deep and assertive but in a way that was calming instead of alarming.

“Can you copy my breathing, Wilbur? Just a little bit if you can.” The first voice was speaking again, soft and gentle as they took in a breath for him to mimic.

He tried, but it was still choppy at best.

There was another voice in the room but Wilbur couldn’t make out the words. Whoever it was must be standing further than the others.

His breath stuttered sharply again and Wil grew mildly aware of a pain in his wrist which caused him to wince. There might have been a sound with it but he wasn’t sure. Half a beat later there was a hand over the area, firm but not threatening.

“Hey, Wilbur, man, you gotta let go of your wrist.” The deep voice coaxed as they tried to carefully maneuver their fingers between Wilbur’s own, “Come on, you’re starting to draw blood.”

Without much fight Wilbur felt his hand pull free of his own wrist before the larger hand held onto it tightly.

“I got you, okay? Me and Niki are here for you.”

“We’re going to try breathing again, okay Wil?” The first voice, Niki, informed and Wilbur found himself able to nod.

It took a few tries but he started to get himself back into a working breathing pattern. Niki counting out his inhales and exhales while Schlatt kept a firm hold on his hand. He could feel a hand rubbing at his back as well and it helped to give him more of a center.

“Ok, his dad’s on his way. The nurse should be here soon too.” Fundy’s voice registered softly like he was trying to keep his voice down.

Wilbur felt a relief at hearing his father was coming, but it was quickly shot down by his next thought.

“I-I can’-” He tried to speak but Schlatt cut him off with a shush.

“Don’t talk. Just take a minute, man.”

Wilbur shook his head and fought the dizziness that came with it, relying on the hand on his back to keep him stable enough.

“can’t leave Techno-”

“Its okay, Wil.” Niki tried to sooth him now as she wiped at tears that were apparently marking his face, “We’ll be here for Techno, but you should go home for now.”

“Niki’s right. You almost passed out back there.” Schlatt agreed as he squeezed Wil’s hand, “Go home, get some rest. We’ll keep an eye on your brother.”

“I can’t-” Wilbur tried to explain once more, his voice breaking.

“Its not really a choice, Wil. Your dads already on his way down.” Fundy informed him, “But, hey, maybe he can convince Techno to come home with you too?”

Wilbur swallowed hard and he took in the words. After a few panted breaths he slowly allowed himself to nod his head.

Home.

Home sounded good.

He allowed himself to close his eyes and Niki directed him to lay his head on her shoulder. Hugged by two of his friends he worked to further steady his breathing.

He didn’t even notice Tommy standing in the back of the room, staring on as he scratched as his arm.

X-x-…-x-X

Techno waited outside his classroom for his brother for a long while. Far longer than he should have needed to. After about twelve minutes it became sickeningly clear that his brother wasn’t going to make it to him.

He wanted to wait it out. He wanted to hold until his brother arrived with whatever apology he could possibly have up his sleeve.

However, the students around him were giving him looks and the teacher in the room seemed to be giving him the stink eye from her desk. If he didn’t start moving now the he’d never make it to his next class in time.

With a stomach full of lead Techno forced himself to set foot into the hallway and start his trek alone. It was something he was usually used to, but today it felt almost ominous.

He was almost halfway to his class when someone called his name in the crowd. Normally he’d have just ignored it, but he recognized who it belonged to. One of Wilbur’s friends, one of the louder ones but he was usually pretty funny too.

“Hey there big guy, thought I’d missed you.” Schlatt greeted with his large almost trademark smile.

It looked just a bit forced but Techno tried to ignore that.

“You need something?” Techno asked as he started to walk forwards again.

“I’m, uh, walking you to class on Wil’s behalf.” Schlatt informed him, lowering his voice a fair amount.

Either of those things would have made Techno suspicious at the guy, but both of them was a sharp red flag he didn’t at all care for.

“What happened?” Techno asked bringing them to a dead halt without care for where they were.

Schlatt hesitated as he looked at Techno and then around them. Schlatt wasn’t really the secretive type and so Techno knew this was for his own benefit. As much as he wanted to feel grateful for the gesture it didn’t make him feel any better at the moment.

“Wil’s…he’s been sent home.” Schlatt began and already Techno felt far sicker than he had all day.

“What? Why? What happened?” Techno looked around for a place for them to talk, and spotted a small gap between a doorway and a set of lockers that was going to have to be good enough.

He directed them too it quickly and Schlatt didn’t drag his feet like he normally would have just to piss him off.

“What happened to Wilbur?” Techno asked again once they were tucked in the small space.

“I don’t know the whole thing, but me and Niki were on our way to class and found him having a panic attack in the hallway. That Tommy kid was with him but he wasn’t responding at all.” Schlatt relayed with a worried furrowing of his brow, “We tried to calm him down while Fundy called the nurse and your dad and…then he got sent home.”

Techno didn’t even know what to say to that. Mostly because his brain was practically buzzing at the words ‘having a panic attack’. Techno had been relying on Wil all day and didn’t even notice if he was reaching his limits or not. Wilbur was prone to having panic attacks to the point where Techno was sure he knew all his tells that lead up to one.

The only thing Techno could think of was…the nail biting. But, that was just something Wil tended to do when he was deep in thought too. Had…had Techno just assumed that or…had he ignored it?

“Hey, he’s going to be fine, Tech. You’re parents have him home now and he’s going to get some rest.” Schlatt tried to comfort.

Techno wanted to appreciate the effort, but right now? All he felt was sick, anxious and angry.

“You said Tommy was with him?” Techno asked, trying to keep his voice even.

“Uh, yea. Kid was trying to bring him around himself.” Schlatt nodded, “He was freaking out too though. Kept apologizing and saying something about ‘those fucking assholes’ but, uh, I didn’t exactly check back in on that.”

Techno felt his nails puncture into his palm a bit as he held them tight into fists.

Before more could be said or asked the bell marking the first warning to next class rang out. Techno was forced to table his thoughts for now, but he and Tommy were going to have to have another….talk.

X-x…x-X

Despite his best efforts Techno failed to find Tommy at all for the rest of the day. Granted he couldn’t fully hunt the kid down with all of Wilbur’s friends taking their presumed turns walking with him between classes. He wanted to appreciate them for their efforts, but it wasn’t the same as his brother being there. It also kept him from finding Tommy.

Not even looking around at lunch time had been fruitful. Tommy and his friends were just, out of sight. He would have assumed the kid had gone home or something, but a quick message to Dream said otherwise. Apparently he had managed to get eyes on Tommy a few times during the day, which would almost have been helpful except Dream himself expressed his frustrations at not being able to get close to him.

By the end of the day Techno was forced to leave with an early pickup from his father and a distinct lack of talking to the freshman menace. For the ride home all Techno could think about was that for Tommy’s sake Wilbur had better be okay.

X-x---0---x-X

Wilbur was not okay.

Even after calming down enough to be walked out of the school and being sent home Wilbur’s panic attack had lasted a while after, according to their parents. Long enough that they had taken him to the hospital when his breathing failed to properly stabilize. When his blood pressure and anxiety had remained uncomfortably high their doctor had actually prescribed a week off of school at a minimum. Something Wil had apparently tried to fight against as he didn’t want to ‘leave Techno alone’.

The fact that the first words out of Wilbur’s mouth the moment Techno had come home later that day had been an apology filled him with a bitter sour taste in his own.

Techno only wanted his brother to be okay and Wilbur, instead of resting, had been stewing over the fact he hadn’t been with him to walk the halls.

Techno hated that a selfish part of him wished Wil had been there too.

The first day Techno had taken off with Wilbur of course, refusing to go too far from him even while under their parents careful eye. It made talking about what happened hard as if one Craft parent wasn’t nearby the other certainly was.

Lovingly attentive, but awkwardly in the way too.

The fact that Wilbur clammed up whenever their parents got close, though, only indicated to Techno that it was related to their promise. Even now, in his condition, Wil was trying to keep his word and Techno could almost hate him for it.

Halfway through the second day of staying home the twins managed to get a bit of actual privacy and Wilbur tried his best to relay what he could of what happened. The swarm of students and their questions, lies and insults, Tommy shouting and then…being in a classroom with Niki, Schlatt and Fundy.

They hadn’t had a chance to delve much deeper as their mother had come in with lunch for the two, but Techno didn’t think he could stomach more despite wanting- needing to know.

This was all his fault.

His fault with that rumor.

The only one he had ever made that had, in any way, included his brother. It had been a hastily made thing and utterly ridiculous…but it had harmed his brother now. In a way he’d have never have thought and most certainly never have wanted.

The guilt of it was eating at him enough that he was barely able to even eat the meal their mother had made.

If he had never made up the stupid story in the first place this never would have happened. If he hadn’t worded it like that- if he hadn’t needed it-

…

If he hadn’t needed it.

Techno’s jaw clenched.

If he hadn’t needed it then Wilbur never would have been implicated. He wouldn’t have been dragged into it and things would have continued on like they had been.

For just one more year.

Until Tommy came along.

By the end of the second day Techno was determined to return to school the following morning.

Xx---xX

The two days Techno was out of school along with Wilbur had Tommy more worried than he had been in a long while. He hadn’t realized that in all this time he’d never gotten either of their numbers and so couldn’t even text to see if they were alright. Considering how Wilbur had looked the last he’d seen him-

He really really wished he’d gotten Wil’s number somehow.

It was too late now though and he didn’t have the luxury of time to lament that fact for more than brief moments through his day.

With both Craft siblings out after Wil’s episode the school was like a trash fire for rumors and Tommy had no idea how to handle this. Obviously as a single person he couldn’t hope to contain or stop it or even slow it down despite having been there in the middle of it. He knew that, he did, but… but the feeling of helplessness didn’t leave him despite this fact.

In fact, it was compounded by two other stressors as if the universe wanted to see just how much it could stack on top like a bad game of Jenga.

If it wasn’t Jared still hunting him down for his money then it was Dream with his stalking; he covered a concerning amount ground sometimes. It was almost enough to make Tommy break down to his friends about it, but he resisted. They were already worried about him and he didn’t want to cause them further stress least they end up like Wilbur and Techno.

He had already made the mistake of complaining to Tubbo about Dream once on the first day Techno was out. On the second he had accidentally almost toppled Ranboo over fleeing from Jared and Most-Likely-Kyle.

And he had thought dodging their questions was hard before.

It was to the point now where Tommy had even started to sit away from duo during class, which wasn’t being met well by said duo of course.

But Tommy refused to slip further. He refused to force his friends into his problems, even if they thought it was best for him.

He was a big man and he could certainly…he could…he could handle this.

He could handle it because he wasn’t a child.

He could, because they were relying on him.

Techno was relying on him.

Techno and Wilbur both.

He wouldn’t break his promise.

“Excuse me.” Tommy started as he stood before a familiar looking student.

Alyssa turned to face him with confusion at first before she seemed to recognize him.

“Uh, hi. Did you need something?”

“Well, I was more wondering if you had a moment to talk? About Techno and Wilbur.” Tommy began with as much chipperness as he could manage, “Since they are having a hard time and all I thought maybe, perhaps, those that knew them could do something nice for when they come back.”

Tommy’s heart thundered in his chest as he waited for an answer.

The following fluttering relief he felt when the girl turned to him with a smile almost caused it to stop entirely.

“What did you have in mind?”

X-x---x-X

It was day three of Wilbur’s absence and Techno stood before the school alone.

It wasn’t the usual ‘alone’ that he had grown accustomed to arriving in, because in the back of his head he knew Wilbur’ wouldn’t be arriving after him. Wilbur was home, recovering from what this school had done to him. What the gossiping students had done to him. What Techno had- What Tommy’s meddling had done to him.

Techno clenched his fist at his side as he stared at the front doors, his anger and nerves mixing like boiling oil in his stomach.

He hadn’t felt this way in a long time while on school grounds. Not since he was fresh out of middle school and standing in the large crowded halls of the entirely foreign building. It was easily twice the size of his middle school with practically three times the volume of students.

He had been terrified.

Not just due to the intimidating new atmosphere, though it was certainly a factor. No, what had scared him the most was that his brother, ever at his side, shared not a single class with him. Techno had been bumped into all honors courses while Wilbur hadn’t been.

It had been the first time in all their schooling that they would be fully separated during the day. Pulled apart for classes Techno hadn’t even agreed to be moved into.

He had been scared.

He had been furious.

And he had choked on every second of it aside from between classes when Wilbur never failed to find him.

…

Wilbur wasn’t here to find him this time though.

Wilbur wasn’t here because he was hurting.

All because some stupid freshmen didn’t know how to take ‘no’ for an answer.

Taking in a breath Techno stalked forwards into the school. For the first time though, he didn’t bother to note who did or didn’t get out of his way.

He had only one goal in mind and they were no part of it.

He…he could do this.

For Wilbur.

Xx…xX

Tommy grinned with a fair bit of pride as walked away from yet another successful talk with a few of Techno’s classmates. He had a decent sized list of names now of people who were willing to help him out.

It had started first with just the kids that had gotten the kittens from Techno and Wilbur and then gradually moved into actual classmates and club members. It wasn’t a super large group but it didn’t really need to be. Tommy’s little ‘surprise’ for the Craft brothers was simple.

A task force.

Of sorts.

People who had seen for themselves how Techno really was. Who could vouch against the malicious rumors and slow their spread. Tommy wasn’t able to do it alone, but with other people to back him up-

He took a breath and allowed himself a moment to enjoy the potential future peace.

All the researching he had been doing on Techno’s behalf had always come back around to the same thing. A network. A supporting network that could flag and choke out negative press and rumor as a collective.

Small, but Tommy knew it would mean a lot to Wilbur and Techno.

A little army just for them.

He had just needed to be brave enough to ask.

“Hey, Tommy.”

Tommy froze, the serenity of the moment broken with a shot of guilty and unease through his gut. He turned towards the speaker and tried to give a smile at Ranboo.

Tubbo wasn’t with him this time and Tommy was mixed with relief and further guilt.

“What’s up, boo-boy?” Tommy tried weakly to tease.

Ranboo didn’t offer even a smidgen of a smile as he sighed instead.

“I, uh, just wanted you to know that I saw Techno earlier. I know you’ve been, kind of waiting to see him again.” Ranboo stated with obvious hesitancy to his words.

“He’s back?” Tommy asked with genuine surprise, not having really expected him back so soon considering...

“I guess.” Ranboo nodded awkwardly, “Anyway, I’m, uh, going to head over to class now. Do you, want to walk together today?”

The question hung in the air and Tommy inwardly winced at it. This was a class the three of them shared and usually had walked to together. Yet, Tubbo wasn’t here and Ranboo had even felt the need to ask in the first place.

Tommy wanted to pull a smile on his face and accept. He wanted to show up to class with him and sit with the two of them like he used to.

“Sorry, Ran, but, I think I might skip it today.” Tommy replied sheepishly as he cast his eyes away, “I, sort of, lost the homework anyway and- and if Techno’s back then-”

“Alright.” Ranboo cut him off with a disappointed air to his voice.

Tommy was a bit surprised at the lack of protest, and just a bit hurt as well. Even if it was his own fault.

“Alright?”

“Yea. You got stuff to do.” Ranboo shrugged, though it seemed heavy on him, “Just-”

Tommy waited as Ranboo seemed to fight with his thoughts a moment.

“You know where to find us.” He muttered finally as he turned to walk away.

Tommy swallowed hard as he had to stop his hand from reaching out.

…

He would make it up to them.

Somehow.

X-x…x-X

Techno managed to get three halls deep into the school before his laser focus was disrupted. Several times he had been stopped and greeted. Not just with a wave or an awkward smile, which would have been weird enough, but with actual talking.

He recognized some- no. He recognized a fair few of the people that did it, though names still escaped him. There were questions about how he was feeling today or how Wilbur was doing and- and things.

Techno had no idea how to answer and had barely managed to stammer out a general ‘we’re fine’ before scooting past them. He couldn’t tell if they were mocking him or not and honestly it…it was making him feel even more unsettled by it.

He could only think of what Wilbur had said.

A swarm of students asking him questions. Questions he couldn’t answer. He couldn’t answer because- because of the rumor made to stop Tommy’s meddling.

Tommy forced his hand in this.

Forced him to implicate his brother so his words couldn’t do…anything.

Anything… against him…

The guilt in Techno’s chest tightened like a hand squeezing a stress ball and caused him to falter a step. He tried to take a steadying breath but it did little to alleviate the discomfort he felt.

He did this.
He made the rumor.
He paid to have it spread-

He heard someone say his name, but he tried to ignore it. He didn’t want to talk to anyone here. He didn’t want to hear their questions. He didn’t want to struggle with an answer he didn’t know how to give. Answers that were none of their business.

Reaching up to scratch at his neck Techno tried to focus on the feeling of his nails on his skin.

He needed to keep it together.

He needed to find Tommy-

“Techno? Hey man, you okay?”

Techno snapped his head towards the newest voice, recognizing it thankfully. Schlatt was approaching from behind a few students that were staring at him.

They were staring at him and all at once he was aware of how many eyes were in the hallway with him.

He’d stopped dead in the middle of the hallway at some point and now people were watching him. People were watching, like they had with Wilbur, and Wilbur’s friend was once more having to step up to help him.

“I-I’m fine.” Techno tried to answer, hating the stammered word that left him sounding so unsure.

“Come on, lets get you out of the hallway.” Schlatt started to direct but Techno shook his head at him.

“I don’t need your help.” Techno denied as he tried to press on in his original direction.

“Techno, don’t make me chase you down man.” Schlatt called after him.

“I’m not ‘making’ you do anything. Just don’t follow me.” Techno countered with as he ducked around a pair of students that looked like they might try to say something to him.

“Not really giving me a choice here.”

“I just told you a choice.”

“Look, Wilbur asked me to look for you. He’s worried-”

“-You can tell him I’m fine, just like I told him this morning.” Techno replied as he swallowed hard.

Wilbur had tried to get him to stay home again but-

Techno shook his head. He had something he needed to do, before things got worse.

“I’m not going to lie to him. You look like shit man.” Schlatt called after him.

“Not exactly a masterpiece yourself.” Techno countered with sharply.

He didn’t like the feeling of the other keeping at his back, especially not when the other students seemed to be so much closer to him than normal. It wasn’t the same as having Wilbur there, ready to step in without Techno needed to even hint his discomforts.

“Listen, just, come with me for like, five minutes. I can tell Wilbur we talked and then you can do you man.” Schlatt tried to compromise.

Techno veered away from another potential incoming student which inadvertently had him almost brushing past a few that were grouped near the wall he’d been trying to stick near. He quickly jerked away from them once he noticed, his shoulders tensing as he heard a few of them start to laugh.

Was it at him? He didn’t know, but it felt like it and that was enough.

He tried picking up his pace but he could hear Schlatt still keeping at his heels behind him.

“Please, Techno? I don’t wanna have to-”

“You don’t have to do anything!” Techno snapped as he rounded on the guy with a glare.

Schlatt seemed to blanch at the reaction, stopping dead in his tracks as he stared with widened eyes.

“Wilbur has my number, if he wants to talk to me he can.” Techno went on bluntly, his voice starting to shake, “I-I don’t need you breathing down my neck for- whatever reason!”

Schlatt took a step back as Techno gestured with a hand a bit wildly. His own hands were up in a form of surrender and Techno hoped this would be enough to scare him off. Techno tried to take in a deep breath to replace what was lost during the argument only for it to hitch in his throat.

He knew that feeling but tried to deny what it meant. He didn’t have time for that right now. Even as he clenched his hands to keep them from shaking and tried to control the slight heave of his chest, he knew. He knew there was no dodging it and he needed to duck out now or-

“Hey, are you okay?”

A voice to his left-

A hand on his shoulder-

Techno jerked away and spun around on the person.

He didn’t know them.

He didn’t know any of them and they were looking at him- staring- their hand was reaching for him-

He thinks he opened his mouth to speak but he isn’t sure what came out.

A hand was at his back-

He had to get out of there.

He had to get away from all the people and their eyes and their hands-

Techno bolted.

He could feel himself jostled with every person he shoved his way past and it only compelled him to move faster, tripping over his feet on occasion.

Though unsteady Techno allowed his feet to guide him as he tried to hold what was left of himself together. Having a public break down wasn’t exactly on his list of things he ever wanted to do and it honestly would fuck his reputation he was sure. He couldn’t let it take another hit, he-

Techno gasped for a breath as he tucked into the first shadowed area without students in it that he came across.

The underside of a stairwell.

He leaned against the wall and panted as quietly as he could. Between his panic and his running he was rather short on air at the moment. He didn’t want to break down fully, but wasn’t exactly sure how to pull himself together on short notice. Usually Wilbur would walk him though it-

Wilbur would.

But Wilbur wasn’t here.

He wasn’t here and Techno was alone with his heart thundering in his chest-

This is what Wilbur had felt. What Wil had gone through. Alone. Because of what he did. Because of what Techno had spread around about him. He put a target on his brother’s back just to keep it off of his own-

It-it wasn’t like that though!

That hadn’t been his intent!

He- he had just needed to- to…

He didn’t have a choice!

He needed to stop Tommy from using Wilbur!

From using Wilbur against him!

It wasn’t Techno’s fault, it was Tommy’s stupid meddling!

If Tommy had stopped, had walked away- If Tommy had just kept his stupid mouth shut-

Techno sucked in a heaving breath and tried to block out his thoughts with counting. His hands were shaking as he gripped the front of his shirt, clenching them to a beat he didn’t even know. Wilbur usually made a rhythm for him to follow, hand over his own.

Techno moved one of his hands to lay over the other, fingers curling over to mimic how Wilbur held it, tried to pretend the warmth was more than just his own.

He tried making a pattern, a rhythm like Wil’s to follow, but he had nothing. He wasn’t the musically inclined one and it felt more like Morse code done during an earthquake. The more he thought about it being wrong the more he focused on making it right.

A brief squeeze for short dots.

A long one for bars.

A tap of his finger to space.

Short dots

.... .. ... / ..-. .- ..- .-.. -

Bars.

.. - ... / .... .. ... / ..-. .- ..- .-.. -

A tap to space.

.. - ... / - --- -- -- -.-- .----. ... / ..-. .- ..- .-.. -

Techno repeated the tapped out phrase over and over until he realized the ringing in his ears was no longer there. His breathing, while still on the heavy side, wasn’t rapid or a struggle to maintain.

He tried flexing his fingers and rolling his shoulders to alleviate lingering tension, but it only did so much. He was over the main hurtle, but that did little to comfort him. However, he didn’t have it in him to be worried about it. Instead, where his concern should have been, there was a smoldering anger that seemed to warm with each weighty breath.

This.

Was all Tommy’s fault.

Xx…xX

With first period officially under way the halls were far easier to traverse, which only convinced Tommy he was right to skip it. Even if he still felt guilty for ditching his friends. He’d for sure make it up to them, but for now he had to focus on his new mission.

Finding Techno.

He’d already done a short peek into the class Techno should have been in from what he recalled the other mentioning given he himself should have been in history. However, the other’s seat had been empty of both bag and body. Or, at least the seat Tommy assumed would have been his. The class itself had been full aside from two desks with Techno no where to be seen.

As far as Tommy knew Techno wasn’t exactly one to skip classes. Even Wilbur had teased before that Techno was a poster child for attendance and the other hadn’t denied it. Instead he had just mocked Wilbur as being unskilled in that same field.

This left Tommy with two guesses. Either Techno had been there and already had opted to return home, or he wasn’t in school for classes. Perhaps picking up missed work for he and Wilbur while they were out? Or, something along those lines?

In anycase the best thing Tommy could think of to confirm any of this was to head to the office. Get a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if Techno was still in the building and go from there. The sooner he got that answer the better...which is how he soon found himself shivering in the single mobility elevator trying to recall the basics to breathing regular.

He disliked elevators normally, but this one he loathed. Despite its name it felt far smaller than it should be, and it shook in a way that made Tommy hastily debate if his families medical coverage was good enough to test fate like this.

By the time he reached the first floor he was pale and shaking like a leaf. He managed to shuffle a few steps down the hall before leaning against the courtyard window. He just, he needed a second to settle his anxiety back down and the sunlight on his face was currently key to that.

Ignoring the potentially dirty glass Tommy pressed his face against it. It wasn’t the same as being in the fresh air, but it would do for now. Perhaps once he got his answer from the office he’d take a moment to actually-

“ Tommy”

At the sound of his name being spoken so sharply behind him Tommy couldn’t help but jump a fair bit. Enough that his forehead thumped on the glass enough to make a dull noise. Spinning around he rubbed at the bumped spot as he tried to quickly clocked who it was that had called out to him.

He wanted to be relieved when he saw it was Techno, but his face.

Techno looked…unwell.

Firstly he looked proper pissed, and with him stalking towards Tommy the way he was it made Tommy feel a very particular sort of unease. It was almost entirely overtaking the worry over the paleness of the others face, the shake in shoulders and the sweat that sheened from his skin even at a distance. Techno looked both very ill and like he’d run a marathon despite that.

“T-Techno-” Tommy cut off, his words struggling to form at the moment in his confusion, “H-how- Are you okay?”

Tommy wasn’t sure what to say as the older teen continued to approach thunder towards him looking anything but friendly.

“I-I’ve been looking for you. Ranboo said-”

“Shut up.” Techno growled out as he drew close enough to tower over Tommy.

It wasn’t just the fact of Techno was taller and was stood close. The teen was poised and looming over Tommy, looking down at him with a sharp gaze that seemed to hold a searing anger Tommy had never seen on him before.

“t-techno?” Tommy squeaked out as he instinctively pressed back against the glass.

It scared him to maintain eye contact with the other like this, but he was far too scared to look away either.

“I Said ‘Shut Up’!” Techno shouted, bringing a hand forward to slam just beside his head.

The sound of Techno’s palm hitting the thick pane felt deafening in his ear as he flinched sharply. The action once more causing him to bump his head to the glass, though this time he wasn’t paying mind enough to know if it hurt or not.

All Tommy could focus on was the savage look on Techno’s face and the biting words that were already seeming to come from his mouth whether Tommy’s brain was ready for them or not.

“This is all Your fault. Everything!.” Techno was saying by the time Tommy could clock the words properly, “You just couldn’t leave it alone. Couldn’t leave ME alone. Me or Wilbur.”

Tommy’s chest felt tight as his fear kept his confusion well tucked away.

“We were just Fine before You showed up! Sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Where is wasn’t Wanted!”

At every gesture of Techno’s other hand or sharpened syllable Tommy flinched further back despite there being no where for him to go.

“You’re just-just some stupid freshmen brat! What did you think you were going to do?! Waltz in here with your gravelly prepubescent screeching and dumpsterfire toddler clothes and solve some mystery like you’re a master detective when you can barely pass a class to save your life?! Did you think that was going to make me like you?! I can’t Stand you!”

His stomach was well beyond knotted and he didn’t think even the earth swallowing him now could save him. Even with Techno pulling back enough to run a clenched hand through his hair didn’t make him feel less crowded.

Techno barely was taking the time to pull in a ragged breath as he seethed.

“I tolerated you at best because Wilbur liked you, but look where that got him! A trip to the hospital because some thickheaded loudmouth couldn’t just mind his fucking business! You just- The only thing you cause are more problems! What is the point of-”

Tommy wasn’t sure if the sudden silence was because Techno stopped yelling or from his hands having finally snapped up to cover his ears. His own breathes were coming in heavy and uneven and he was only aware of his tears by the salt that trickled past his lips. Lips that moved, but he had no idea what for.

Despite feeling like a stone in his chest Tommy could feel his heart thundering away as if trying to escape through his ribs without him.

When a hand seemed to touch at his shoulder Tommy flinched back hard. Instantly the contact was gone and instead Tommy was vaguely aware of the sound of shifting in front of him. When two hands tried to rest on his wrists Tommy panicked, his body moving once more on instinct more than anything.

Throwing his arms forward he wasn’t sure what he hit exactly and before he knew it he could feel himself bolting down the hallway as he stumbled over his own uncoordinated feet.

Part of him dreaded feeling a hand grab his shoulder any moment. To feel himself spun around and faced with the sneering look from Techno once more. To be flooded over with words so hot and bitter that Tommy felt he was boiling in his own skin.

He had no idea where he was going but he didn’t dare to stop to figure it out. He could think of only one place he wanted to be and he could only hope that his feet would lead him there.

XxR--BxX

Being the ‘balance’ between their friends had always been the running joke with Ranboo, Tubbo and Tommy. It was an over exaggeration of course, as were all their ‘roles’ in their group. But, sometimes it really ended up feeling too true for comfort.

Now was one of those times.

In the recent week Tommy seemed to have slipped even further from them and Tubbo with no sign of changing. At least, not for the better. Their attempted intervention hadn’t worked and instead seemed to push a wedge between Tommy and Tubbo. The lies from Tommy were almost harder to stomach than the silence, and both where like hot knives in Tubbo’s stomach.

As much as Ranboo wanted to try to sooth the other, to assure him things would turn out okay they…couldn’t. They couldn’t because Ranboo wasn’t sure it would be okay. Even the brief talk they had with Tommy right before class had been hard.

Tommy hadn’t looked well and he’d sounded even worse. Were it in their power Ranboo would have sent him to the nurse or something. Or home. Or at the very very least bring him to class with them so they could watch over him.

But, the moment the words ‘if Techno is back’ left the others mouth Ranboo knew it was a lost fight. A fight neither Tubbo or themselves had won yet since the older had come around. Even trying to keep an open mind for Tommy’s sake Ranboo couldn’t see this ending well. If Tommy would jus-

In the snap of an instant Ranboo was pulled from their thoughts and sitting bolt upright as the door to the classroom burst open as a body hurtled inside. A wailing sob filled the room as the person staggered through the startled mass of students. By the time Ranboo’s own stunned brain clocked it was Tommy the blond had already made it to their desk and was falling into Tubbo’s just as alarmed arms.

The teacher was calling something out but Ranboo couldn’t have cared less as they shoved themselves up form their seat and to the side of their two friends. Tommy didn’t seem capable of anything more than sobbing into Tubbo’s shirt as he clung on for what might have been dear life.

Tubbo, for his part, could only look at Ranboo over Tommy’s head with a panicked worry as he hugged their friend back just as fiercely. Ranboo was halfway through dialing up their mother’s number before the teacher even got close.