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Tommy just wanted to have a good afternoon, okay? But apparently , Cohen thought he didn’t deserve nice things. So what if Tommy was starting to believe it was true?
Regardless, Tommy was having a pretty decent day. Sure, his bullies still belittled him, and he let them, but that was Tommy’s fault. If he was just less annoying, they wouldn’t do this to him. He tried to be less annoying, but it was hard to be someone you aren’t. Tommy didn’t like pretending.
The only thing Tommy hated more than pretending was lying to his family. He lies to them about his injuries. He’s sure they knew something was up, but they never pressed, and gave him time to come to them. He appreciated it, but he may have needed the extra push to get help. Maybe then it wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand.
Tommy was just playing on the playground, running over the bridge. It wasn’t very high. He was chasing after Tubbo, having been tagged by Ranboo and turning his attention on the bee-loving boy. Tommy didn’t see Cohen moving towards the bridge, and he didn’t anticipate getting pushed off . There were no railings. There was no one to grab him.
He fell, landing on his right knee, and he heard a pop . He couldn’t tell what made the sound, and figured it was fine.
He tried to get up, but burning hot pain flared up in his knee, bringing him crashing to the ground. He landed on his left knee this time, the playground foam not doing much to soften his fall. Thankfully, that knee was probably just bruised, but his other one? Tommy was just blocking out the pain, riding the high of the adrenaline keeping him from fully processing everything.
“Tommy!” Tubbo shouted, jumping off the playground to get to his best friend.
“I’m okay. I- It’s okay!” Tommy reassured hastily, but not making the mistake of moving again.
“I-I’m gonna be honest, boss man. That does not look good,” Tubbo said, sounding mildly disgusted. That did wonders to reassure Tommy that everything was totally okay.
“I’m gonna go get the supervisor, okay? Keep an eye on him,” Ranboo told Tubbo, running off to find the teacher supervisor. Tubbo stayed with Tommy, protecting him from prying eyes, or people who got too close.
The whispers go through the gaggle of children, some reaching Tommy’s ears, others just escaping him. None of them were worried about his well being.
Tommy, unfortunately, made eye contact with Cohen, and the look in his eyes promised pain for him if he told anyone what really happened.
Fortunately for Tommy, Tubbo saw this. Tubbo knew he was being bullied, and tried his best to keep him company. He could tell it was taking a toll on his bright and energetic friend, and was urging him to tell an adult. To tell his family. To tell the principal, his teacher, the councillor , just anyone. But Tommy refused to get help. He didn’t need the pity.
That turned out great, didn’t it? Tommy thought bitterly to himself.
Ranboo came running back to where Tommy and Tubbo were, a supervisor hot on his heels.
The supervisor was shouting, “Move, Move! Get out of the way!” The kids parted quickly, frightened at the serious tone the supervisor was using.
“Hey, kid. What’s your name?” The supervisor asked, a man with kind eyes and dirty blond hair.
“Tommy. My name is Tommy,” He answered, not able to say much more.
The supervisor’s eyebrows knit together, like he was deep in thought, before he spoke, “Your name seems familiar, what’s your last name?”
“Craft,” Tommy said with a smile, proud to be related to his family.
“Ah, I teach your older brothers,” the supervisor cleared up, “I’m Mr. Sam, by the way.”
“Mr. Sam sir? What do you want us to do?” Ranboo asked, looking to do something to help.
The bell had gone minutes ago, the other children reluctantly going back to class to start silent reading. There were only four kids outside: Tommy, obviously, Ranboo, Tubbo, and a boy that they hadn’t noticed.
“Hey, Mr. Sam? Should I go get Wilbur and Techno?” The blond boy suggested. Tommy wasn’t sure why he was still out here, but if he was going to get his brothers, he definitely didn’t mind.
Mr. Sam nodded, agreeing with the older student. “Sure. Actually, Dream, could you take them to the office? We’ll probably be inside by the time they get out here.”
“Yes, sir.” And then Dream ran off, going to the doors with Mr. Sam’s keys to unlock them.
“Okay, now let’s get you to the office,” Mr. Sam said, bending down to pick Tommy up. He carefully grabbed around his back and waist, trying not to touch the dislocated knee.
Tubbo and Ranboo were hovering close to Tommy and Mr. Sam, acting as seven year old bodyguards. They walked a bit ahead of Mr. Sam, and opened the door for the two of them.
Tommy hissed in pain, tears welling up in his eyes, but he refused to cry. He could deal with the bullying, but this was another level. Tubbo came up near the two, and held Tommy’s hand as they walked down the hallway to the office.
They made it through the office, and Tommy was sat in the infirmary, where Techno and Wilbur had been waiting. They stood up from where they were sitting on the bed, immediately noticing something wrong.
“What happened?” Wilbur demanded, his eyes softening when he made eye contact with Tommy.
“There was an… incident, we’ll call it,” Mr. Sam explained slowly. “I’ll let Tubbo and Ranboo explain it, since they were the ones that actually saw what happened.”
Ranboo took up the story, since he saw what happened, and who did it. “Well, we were playing tag, like we always do, and then this kid pushed Tommy off the bridge while he was chasing Tubbo. Like, deliberately pushed.” He motioned his hands forward in a pushing gesture.
Tubbo continued from his point of view. “All I heard behind me was a thump, which was Tommy hitting the foam, but there was also a really loud pop. I stopped running immediately, and looked to the ground to see Tommy curled up, trying to stand. He stood up, but as soon as he put pressure on his busted knee he fell right over.”
During their telling of the story, Wilbur and Techno had moved to sit next to Tommy, holding his hands comfortingly, trying to console the boy near tears.
“Do either of you boys know who that kid was? The one who pushed Tommy?” Mr. Sam asked the people in the room.
Tubbo and Ranboo both shook their heads, but Tommy had gone suspiciously quiet. Tommy had refused to give names of who was bullying him, so all Tubbo knew was that it happened, and that the boy giving Tommy the Look was part of the problem. But he didn’t have names . Techno, ever the observant, noticed Tommy’s silence immediately.
“Tommy? You’ve gone quiet. Do you know who did that?” Techno pried gently.
Tommy was still silent, opting to stare at the floor. He had given up on trying to hide the tears, letting them flow freely down his face. The boy would not speak.
Mr. Sam came forward too, crouching down in front of the bed where the brothers were sitting.
He spoke in a soft voice, trying his best to be reassuring. “Tommy, we can’t help you if you don’t tell us what’s wrong.”
His voice wasn’t even above a whisper when he finally spoke. “They’ll get angry.” He didn’t elaborate, and he said it so quietly they almost missed it.
Wilbur immediately jumped on that admittance, and asked, “Who’ll get mad?”
“Here, Tommy,” Mr. Sam changed tactics, passing him a packet of sticky notes, along with a pencil. “Can you write the name of the boy who pushed you off the playground? And what grade, if you don’t know their last name?”
Tommy took the pencil and sticky notes, resting it on his lap. They were still waiting for the school nurse to get here, since she was busy helping a kid who was throwing up. He took the pencil in shaky hands, bending down to write a first name, and the class this person was in.
But Tommy didn’t stop there. He finished writing the name, then underlined it, continuing below the line. Everyone in the room seemed confused, but Tommy kept going until there were four more names on the sticky note.
“Tommy, why are there five names on that list?” Wilbur asked in his confusion, not seeing how five people could have pushed him off the playground at the same time.
“‘Cause they’re mean to me. And they’re friends with the guy who pushed me,” Tommy answered, a sob quickly following.
“Mean how, Tommy?” Mr. Sam pressed, before explaining, “This is important, Tommy. If they’re mean to you, we have to know.”
Tommy frowned, and said, “But I already tried telling Ms. Devol, and she told me that they weren’t.”
Wilbur was seething at this point, knowing that there was something that Tommy wasn’t telling him. He wasn’t mad at Tommy, he didn’t think he physically could , but he was mad at whoever made him think he couldn’t tell them what was wrong.
“Tommy, I promise to take your accusation seriously. If there is something going on, and it’s hurting you, you can tell me,” Mr. Sam promised him, sincerity and genuine concern in his eyes.
Tommy took a deep breath in, and let out a shaky exhale, psyching himself up to say his story. “So, there’s these boys that p-pick on me, and usually they- usually they don’t go this far. But I guess they were ex-extra mad today.”
“How long has this been going on, sunshine?” Wilbur asked, trying to hide his anger and sadness behind pet names and reassuring words. Techno, no doubt, felt the same.
“I don’t- I don’t know? It’s been a-a while,” Tommy said, trying his best to put a reassuring smile on his face, no matter how fake it felt, “At least since October.”
Tubbo spoke up for the first time in a while, voice sounding full of sorrow. “Tommy… it’s May.”
Wilbur hugged him the slightest bit closer, and the nurse chose that moment to enter the room, before Tommy could be questioned further.
“Hello, sorry that I’m late, I’m Nurse Puffy,” The nurse greeted, putting a bag full of medical supplies down on the floor next to Ranboo’s feet.
“H-Hello, Miss,” Tommy said in answer, trying his best to not sound nervous. He’s a big man! Big men don’t get nervous!
“How about we pop that knee back into place, bud?” She phrased it like a question, but Tommy knew that it would happen sooner rather than later.
“Okay. Is-Is it gonna hurt.” This time, Tommy couldn’t hide the fear in his voice. He felt two comforting sets of hands on his shoulders and lower back, and he silently thanked them.
“It probably will,” The nurse answered honestly, but continuing, “But! It will only hurt for a second, then it’ll kind of throb. I’ll wrap it up and give you a brace to use. You’ll need to use crutches for 6 weeks, unfortunately.”
Tommy was taking in none of this information, instead relying on Techno to remember all of it. Notice he didn’t mention Wilbur at all. Wilbur can’t remember for shit.
“Hey, Ranboo and Tubbo, you guys can go back to class. I’ll let your teacher know that you were late for a good reason. Don’t worry about it,” Mr. Sam told the two boys standing awkwardly in the room.
“Is Tommy gonna be okay?” Tommy loved his friends. He wondered how he got so lucky. He didn’t know why they chose him, but he’d be forever grateful.
“Yes, Tubbo, Tommy will be okay,” Nurse Puffy reassured the brown haired seven year old.
Tubbo and Ranboo left the room with a final farewell, telling him that they hope to see him soon. Tommy told them they’d have to come and visit him, and that he would miss them while he was gone, probably missing school for doctor appointments.
“Okay, I’m gonna set your knee now,” Nurse Puffy informed him, “Do you want a countdown?”
“Just-Just do it. I- It hurts so-,” He was cut off by Puffy popping his dislocated knee back into place, a pop sounding in the room. He let out a cry at the pain, but it was quickly reduced to a heavy, throbbing pain.
Wilbur was whispering sweet nothings into his ear, and Techno was playing with his mop of golden curls. Nurse Puffy went about wrapping an elastic bandage around his knee, and supporting areas, asking if it was too tight. Tommy said no, since he could still feel his lower leg.
Puffy stood up, and cheerily said, “Okay! You’re all good to go. I’d highly recommend going to your regular doctor, and maybe getting an x-ray. Just in case you fractured something. That could require surgery.”
Tommy’s eyes widened at the last word, but he opted to worry about what was happening right then.
“I should go home, shouldn’t I?” Tommy asked, already knowing the answer. If Phil knew already, he’d be very against him staying at school.
Puffy laughed, and agreed with him, telling Tommy that his dad was already contacted and nearly to the school.
“By the way, Tommy,” Mr. Sam added, while Wilbur had gone to get Tommy’s stuff from his locker, “I’ll be asking you about this whole bullying situation in more detail when you come back. If you want, you can write everything out, or you can get your dad too.”
“Okay, mister,” Tommy mumbled, curling into Techno further.
Techno briefly looked at his phone, before announcing, “Can I carry Tommy out to my dad’s car? He’s here now.”
Nurse Puffy gave him a nod, permission granted to carry his brother to the car. They opted to wait until Wilbur got back, backpack in hand.
“You guys ready to go?” Wilbur seemed more than ready to go, not looking eager to return to class.
Techno carefully picked Tommy up, making sure to be mindful of the bandaged knee.
Wilbur led Phil’s car, Techno following behind, with Tommy in his arms. The parking lot was nearly empty, since no kids could drive, and it was school hours. It wasn’t hard to find Phil’s car.
When they got there, Wilbur opened the passenger side door, moving the seat all the way back to give Tommy as much room as possible. Techno set Tommy down gently, putting the seat belt on for the child. Tommy’s eyes fluttered shut, opting to just keep them closed. He just wanted to sleep .
“You boys are staying here. You can come home and hang out with Tommy after school,” Phil scolded fondly, already knowing what Wilbur wanted to do.
Predictably, he whined, voicing his complaints about having to stay at school for the rest of the day. He didn’t complain further, reluctantly going back into the school, Techno walking beside him.
Phil turned to Tommy, asking, “Is it okay if I start driving, bud?”
“Mhm,” Tommy choked out, sounding on the verge of tears. Gods, he cried so much today. He’s an absolute mess.
Phil didn’t pry, hearing the tears in his answer, and opted to not push his son into telling him. He could wait until they got home. Then some people were gonna be in trouble. Big trouble.
Instead of going straight home, they went to the drug store to pick up a pair of crutches for Tommy, since it was on the way home, and they needed them for a while.
Once Phil finished paying, and made his way back to the car where Tommy was waiting, he put the crutches in the back of the car with Tommy’s stuff. They finished the short drive home, and Tommy tested out the height of his crutches, finding them accurate enough to walk on.
He managed to get the hang of it pretty quickly, following behind Phil to the front door. He slid his shoes off with his feet, unable to bend down far enough, and not able to bend his knee at all.
He made it over to the couch, flipping down onto it. He really didn’t want to have this conversation with his dad, but he knew it was inevitable.
Sure enough, Phil came and sat right next to him, pulling him into his father’s side. He held Tommy’s hand, trying to calm him, but Tommy still didn’t want to talk about it.
“Tommy,” Phil started, speaking slowly and gently, “Can you tell me what happened at school today, mate? I promise I won’t be mad. I just have to know what happened so I can fix it.”
The words seemed to be Tommy’s undoing. His face scrunched up, and he could feel the wet, cruel tears falling from his blue eyes. He hugged his dad closer, sobbing incoherently about how sorry he was, how he didn’t want to lie to him, and how much it hurt.
Phil was his rock in a storm, a steady presence the entire time he cried. He whispered reassurances and promises of keeping him safe into Tommy’s ears. Tommy had never felt safer, held in his dad’s arms, a huge weight lifted off his chest. He pulled himself into his dad’s lap, doing his best to get comfortable.
He fell asleep not a few minutes later, listening to the sound of his father’s heartbeat. A constant, reassuring
thump-thump-thump
of protection.