Chapter Text
Tommy stood on the edge of the bridge. It’s old rotting wood creaked under the weight he was putting onto it’s weak edges. A breeze harshly whipped his curls around, small strands poking him in eyes, causing his eyes to water. That’s why hot tears streamed down his face, definitely not because he was crying. And he definitely wasn’t crying because the weight of the situation he had gotten himself into had finally hit and a wave of fear was washing over him.
Was he really about to jump? As he stared at the muddy shallow water below him, he began to reminisce about his life and what had lead him here. Dreadful memories of the years of neglect and verbal abuse from his family fogged his mind. To Tommy it felt like now or never.
He sealed his eyes shut and allowed his last tears to empty. His grip on the splintery railing loosened and his heart beat began to still.
Thunk
The blunt sound of something heavy hitting the ground made Tommy jump back. His eyes darted around the bridge with fearful glances. He was in middle of the the dense forest behind his house. How the hell could anyone else be out here? He was the only one who knew about this bridge, or at least he assumed so.
“Tom- Uh- this is awkward.” A voice a few feet away from Tommy said with a light chuckle.
Tommy glanced to his side. A tall figure was hunched over, using their knees to prop themselves up. They struggled to catch their breath. Tommy watched in horror as the figure took slow deep breaths of the mildewy air of the late afternoon.
Eventually the figure popped up with an energy Tommy hadn’t recalled having since he was a naive kid. The quick action startled Tommy and he almost lost his grip.
“Oh hey uh- sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” The figure spoke in a raspy voice but their tone was laced with a warmth Tommy wanted to welcome.
“No your good.” Tommy said, as if he wasn’t about to jump off a bridge. His voice came out calm and monotone despite the desperate and quick pounding of his heart beat.
“So uh- you alright?” The figure awkwardly asked.
A dumbfounded expression crept onto Tommy’s face. He was standing on the edge of a bridge in the middle of nowhere, very obviously about to commit, and this random ass person just asked if he was alright? Tommy stared at them for a moment, half their face was covered by a mask so Tommy was unable to make out their expression. The dim afternoon sky of a chilly autumn day wasn’t much help either.
“Yeah I guess. I mean- I was kinda planning on jumping but you uh, kinda interrupted that.” Tommy said, his tone flat like he wasn’t telling a total stranger he was about to kill himself. He took a moment to marvel at how much of shell of his form self he had truly become.
“Oh um- uh I’m so sorry!” The figure’s eyes lit up as they began to genuinely apologize. For what? Tommy had no idea. “My bad, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll just be a minute and then I’ll be out of your hair and you can get back to that whole uh- um.. thing.”
The figure gave him a toothy grin but, Tommy couldn’t see it. He just watched with a stupid look on his face as the stranger’s eyes crinkled in to what Tommy assumed was a smile. They spun on the balls of their feet and bent down to lift something off the ground behind them.
The loud sound of crinkling plastic filled the now frigid night time air. Tommy watched as the stranger hoisted a large black body bag over their shoulder. They grunted as the heavy weight of the bag forced their figure to lean back. Tommy could only stare. The figure then trudged their way towards the railing of the bridge. They took heavy and slow steps as the bridge buckled and creaked under the weight.
They finally dropped the bag on the railing, using their arm to keep it propped up. They stole a glance at Tommy.
“You won’t tell anyone about this?” They turned their whole body towards Tommy. “Right?”
He didn’t know how to respond for a moment.
“I mean- I kinda plan on being dead so I don’t know who I’d tell. Unless you like… don’t want god finding out or something.” Tommy stated in a quite matter-a-fact way.
That’s why Tommy was confused when the figure let out an airy chuckle. For some reason the strangers laugh made him feel a warmth that the old hand-me-down jacket he adorned failed to do. He didn’t know why this complete stranger was making him feel so comfortable. He wanted to spill all his secrets and dreams and anything he could think to tell someone. It was weird.
“You’re gunna snitch on me to god??” The stranger asked through snickers.
They brought their hand, that was holding onto the body bag, up to wipe a tear away from their eye. Tommy didn’t think what he said was that funny. He watched as the body bag teetered back and forth on the railing for a moment before it swiftly fell into the murky water below.
“Well shit.” The figure murmured, disappointed.
Tommy’s heart began to race, it was beating so hard he was sure he was having a heart attack of some sort. Seeing the body bag fall made his nerves tingle and his mind run wild. He imagined the bag was him, he imaged what the impact must have felt like and the terror he would feel as air whipped him in the face. He slapped his palm over his mouth to keep himself from throwing up.
‘Fuck this.’ He thought.
Tommy scrambled to get back to the other side of the railing, his long legs getting scratched by loose splinters as he did so. He crashed down on the bridge and his knees began to throb, but he didn’t care. He was just happy to be back on solid ground. He jumped when a finger poke his cheek. His breathing was so labored and loud that he didn’t even hear the stranger approach him.
“Oh god- sorry for uh, scaring you again.” The stranger mumbled. “I gotta get better at not doing that.”
This time the stranger was close enough for Tommy to really get a good look at them this time. They had long light brown hair that was wet and matted with blood strung through it. Their eyes were dark but held a strange warmth that confused Tommy to no end. And lastly, their black mask was damp with moisture from their heavy breathing and, who could have guessed, more blood.
Normally, Tommy would have freaked out. Terror filling his every nerve at the sight of a probable murderer. But he had just almost just jumped off a bridge so he was obviously not in the right state of mind. That doubled with the oddly calming banter they and Tommy exchanged made them all the less threatening.
“Need a hand?”
Tommy snapped out of his thoughts and felt embarrassed for staring for so long.
“Y-yeah.” He muttered under his shaky breath.
The stranger held out their hand to Tommy, their eyes crinkling again. Tommy took it, less hesitant then he would expected from himself. The stranger helped pull him off the ground and helped him to stabilize once he was up right. Tommy took his hand back and stared at the ground. He felt the air in his lungs become thick and he struggled to breath or say anything.
“I’m Ranboo.”
Tommy looked up.
“What?”
The stranger looked at him in earnest. Was that actually their name?
“That’s a weird name.” Tommy said bluntly.
The stranger just allowed another chuckle to slip through the cracks of their terrifying outside appearance.
“It’s not my real name, just a nickname. Plus I wouldn’t tell you my real name since you did just see my get rid of a body.” They snickered again. “Plus you seem pretty alive to me, so you could snitch on me if you really wanted.”
Tommy shot up.
“I-I won’t! I promise. Like- seriously man.” Tommy waved his arms in-front of his face, as if that would convince Ranboo of his sincerity more. It felt like an all too familiar situation. “Wait.. are you a man?”
Tommy stopped.
“Shit that was mean to say. Fuck, my bad dude. O-or not dude!” Tommy let out a drafted sigh and shut himself up. He didn’t know why he felt the burning need to gender a murderer right.
But yet again the stranger, now known as Ranboo (whatever the hell that meant), just hunched over and bellowed out their first full laugh. Tommy perked up at the sound of making someone so genuinely laugh. When was the last time he had done that?
“Sorry for laughing but, this situation is just a little ridiculous, I think you can tell that. But uh- I’m fine with anything. Just not being called like- a girl.” He said straightening himself off and brushing some dust off his jacket.
Tommy mentally noted this. He didn’t really understand why he found it so important to remember but, by god was he going to.
“What about you?” The question snapped Tommy out of his thoughts.
“Huh?” He said a bit confused. Then a light bulb struck. “I’m just a regular ol’ man. A classic guy, a big man if you will.”
Ranboo’s eyes crinkled, signaling to Tommy that he was once again smiling at what Tommy said. It was dangerously addicting to make someone this happy. Knowing he was making someone crack a smile or a low laugh at his words made his stomach tingle and his nerves shake. He wished he could feel like this all the time. It felt like a drug. He wondered if Ranboo felt the same, or if he had friends and a loving family to do that for them.
“Good to know.” Ranboo said through a wide grin Tommy couldn’t see.
“It’s Tommy.”
Ranboo’s eyes widen in surprise a bit. This guy really didn’t care, he really just told Ranboo his real name like they weren’t currently covered in blood and dirt.
“Well, nice meeting you Tommy but, I don’t wanna stay here too much longer. The whole ‘getting rid of a body’ thing, y’know?” Ranboo said, using their hand to gesture towards the edge of the bridge.
“Oh uh- yeah! Makes sense.” Tommy said as his gaze drifted back to the ground.
Ranboo gave Tommy a small wave and began to walk away. A feeling deep in Tommy’s gut told him to do something- anything! He couldn’t just lose the first person to make him feel this comfortable and understood in his life (even if they were- again- covered in blood).
“T-thanks!” Tommy shouted. Possibly the loudest he had spoke in years.
Ranboo’s head whipped back around. His stormy eyes boring holes into Tommy’s hunched figure.
“For what?”
Tommy let out a weak chuckle and raised his head. The two’s eyes meeting. A frigid breeze sent pricks up Tommy’s spine as the sky grew another shade darker.
“For saving my life.”