Chapter Text
‘What the fuck did you do this time?’ Niki held the needle between her teeth, pulling at the red thread as it weaved in and out of the cut in the boy’s arm.
‘Your mum.’
‘Shut up,’ she sighed, pulling the thread tight with an eye-watering tug.
‘Owwwwww,’ he clenched his jaw, hissing slightly at the sharp pain. His forearm radiated heat and the whole cut throbbed like it had its own heartbeat.
‘Quiet or I won’t put the salve on it.’ Niki snapped.
He stayed quiet.
The salve was Niki’s Gift, a cream that once put onto a wound could heal anything. As soon as the salve touched the boy’s arm, the red thread unravelled and the cut vanished, leaving only a thin white line.
‘What happened?’
‘None of your business.’
‘Thomas.’ Niki put her hands on her hips. He stared at her with innocent blue eyes.
Niki only used his full name when she was worried about him.
‘Niki Nihachu.’ he returned.
‘I know this transition is difficult for you…’ she began, and Tommy rolled his eyes.
At this point he could recite the words off by heart – the tender, “I’m here for you”, and “If you ever need anyone to talk to…”
The difference with Niki was Tommy knew she actually meant it, and for some reason it made him hate the speech even more.
‘Why do adults have to go on.’ He muttered, jumping off the table and grabbing his bag, interrupting Niki’s flow. His arm ached dully.
‘Because they care.’
‘And when did I ask for anyone’s help?’
‘When you applied for the scholarship.’
‘Shut up.’ Tommy deadpanned, having no energy to keep up with the conversation. Niki’s mouth pursed in victory.
‘Don’t use your Gift to hurt anyone.’
‘Why? There’s are plenty of people willing to use their’s.’
‘Thoma-’
‘See you! Thanks for the salve thingy!’
Tommy hurried across the muddy park, slipping over the top of the imposing cast-iron gates of the great school as it was after curfew and they were bolted already with thick rusted chains. Even though every student who attended Essempi School for the Gifted could probably take down most intruders without trying, safety kept the parents from issuing lawsuits. Or those that had parents.
The gravel crunched under his feet as he slipped from shadow to shadow, finding his dorm’s window eventually and shimmying up the drainpipe, hooking his feet on surfaces that poked out on the house – a well-practised activity – as he pulled himself higher. Pulling the window open as he finally reached it, he tumbled into the brightly light room before another patrol came around the corner.
Toby was on Tommy’s bed, playing solitaire.
‘Oi!’ Tommy yelled, and the loud noise after so long of quiet hurt his ears. He winced.
Toby raised an eyebrow. ‘Your cards are dented.’
‘Yeah well they weren’t before you picked them up. I swear everything that comes into contact with you gets dismembered.’
‘Only the heads of my enemies.’ He winked.
‘Eat sand, dickhead.’ Tommy sighed, collapsing on the floor. The lava lamps that decorated the room were the only light source and the radiator behind his back pulsed with heat. It was suddenly all very peaceful and Tommy leaned back.
‘How was school?’ he asked.
Toby raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re gonna fall through the window after being MIA for hours after punching a guy’s nose after he stabs you with a dinner knife and then leaping out of the window, to ask me how my day was?’
‘Wow okay rumours spread fast then.’
‘About as fast as the blood that ran down the guy’s face. After I punched him too.’
‘You punched him after I left?’
‘Hell yeah. The dude was being a jerk.’
Tommy grinned.
Toby grinned back.
‘But now we’re both in the shits.’
‘Mhm. If Blade asks what happened, I’m 100% blaming you.’
‘Oh, likewise.’
They lapsed into silence for a second.
‘What was he thinking?’ Toby whispered after a few seconds. He was staring at the lava lamp, refusing to make eye contact.
That you were stupid, that you were ugly, that you smelt, that he was going to massacre you the moment you stepped out of third period and wipe your name in your own blood on your locker door-
‘He was just being a jerk. It doesn’t matter now.’
‘Blade will ask.’
Because that was Tommy’s Gift.
Other people could fly, swim really fast, shoot electricity out of their hands, grow huge flowers, speak every language, talk to animals, see the past.
He’d give anything for those types of gifts, the ones that made people stare and gasp and grin.
Not scream and accuse and blame.
Basically, Tommy could read people’s thoughts.
It was thankfully a voluntary thing, that he could tap into when he was bored instead of everyone’s emotions swamping him all the time. But instead of looks of adoration, he got looks of fear and suspicion.
Because no-one wants their thoughts read without them knowing, right?
‘I know. And when he does, I’ll tell him.’
‘It was about me, wasn’t it.’ Toby sighed, flicking the glass of a lava lamp with his fingers so it made a dull clunk noise.
There was no point in lying. ‘Yeah.’
There was another short pause.
‘You should have hit him harder.’
Tommy smiled. ‘Note taken.’
‘How was Niki?’
‘How did you…’
He pointed to Tommy’s sleeve. Red thread clung to the fabric of his uniform and he brushed it off lightly.
‘She was okay. She called me Thomas again,’ Tommy wrinkled his nose in distaste.
‘How many names do you have?’
‘Erm… Thomas, Theseus …Icarus. In that order.’
‘Which is your actual name though?’
‘Tommy,’ he raised an eyebrow. ‘I gave up all those lives when I applied for a scholarship, remember? It’s Tommy, like it always should have been.’
‘Thomas is a shite name.’
‘So is Toby.’
‘Then call me Tubbo, how many times have I asked?’
‘Whatever Tubbo.’
‘Whatever Tommy.’
‘You know there’s a new boy coming into this room soon? I’ve seen them measuring our space sometimes to see whether they can squash an extra bed in.’
Tommy gazed around the small room. Shelves with Greek myths were stacked high over their heads and Gameboys, cards, comics, schoolbooks, lava lamps and thousands of other things were scattered around them in piles or shoved into corners.
‘Yeah, they’ll make room I expect.’
‘Another shithead to deal with.’
‘He might be nice?’
Tubbo gave him a look. ‘And when have we ever been lucky?’
Never. Thomas Theseus Icarus Shroud doesn’t get lucky.
‘Well there’s a first time for everything.’
‘I’m gonna go to bed.’
Tommy glanced at the alarm clock on the windowsill. It was midnight.
‘Yeah me too.’
It was fifteen minutes after lights out when Tommy heard Tubbo’s voice.
He’d been counting the minutes, surprised Tubbo had lasted that long. Some nights it was two-three minutes at most.
‘Hey bossman.’
He smiled silently. ‘Hey dickhead.’
‘I’m cold.’
‘Me too.’
Tubbo wriggled down from the top bunk, tired jade eyes reflecting from the muted lava lamps. Tommy moved over and Tubbo lay down silently, his bushel of brown hair drooping over Tommy’s pillow.
The alarm woke them together next morning.