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“Guys it’s almost midnight, I’m getting hungry,” Tommy said, collapsing onto one of the mattresses he’d put on the floor. His apartment was even messier than usual with four beds set up right in the middle of the room, but at least the mould was mostly gone, and the walls were barely damp at all. His three friends had spent the first ten minutes exploring and insulting his home, but Tommy hadn’t let them spend the whole night complaining about how dilapidated and uninhabitable his hard earned house was. He’d gotten controllers out and set up a game in no time, and he’d been enjoying the night immensely until his hunger had become too much.
“Yeah, I’m hungry too, let’s get something to eat,” Wilbur agreed, and paused the game before Phil or Techno died (which was seeming very likely). The four friends might have been streamers and YouTubers for a living, but that didn't make them good at video games. Someone was sure to be blamed when they died and a big argument wasn't unexpected. So far, they’d been wonderful, but it was only so long until chaos broke out.
“Let’s get pizza,” Tommy suggested, turning to his friends who all nodded in agreement. Wilbur got up from his chair and sat down on a mattress, Phil and Techno soon joining him and forming a circle. “I wonder if any shops will still be open though…” he murmured as he took out his phone to order. A quick google brought up heaps of pizza shops still open, so he declared that he was having ham and cheese and asked everyone what they wanted on it.
“I’ll have cheese, capsicum and mushroom,” Techno said in a low monotone voice. Tommy nodded and put it into his phone, but Wilbur gasped and objected vehemently.
“Mushroom! You can’t have mushroom on your pizza! That foul, villainous, detestable substance has no place on your marvellous pizza. It’s a disgrace!”
“Wilbur! How could you?” Tommy cried. “Mushroom is the greatest food ever!”
“No, it’s not! What are you talking about? It’s fungus, a grotty little thing not even worthy of the title food.”
“You’re a fungus, idiot! If you’re going to insult mushroom, then you don’t get any pizza.”
“Well I don’t want pizza from a shop that provides mushroom with it!”
“Alright, if you don’t want any pizza I’ll give you something else,” Tommy said and dived at Wilbur, aiming a fist at his mouth. Without a moment’s hesitation Wilbur leapt eagerly into the battle. The boys’ furious faces glowed in the room’s poor light and the mattresses creaked as the two boys closed the small gap. Their bodies slammed into each other hard but neither flinched. Tommy's fist hit Wilbur's jaw with a crunch and Wilbur's open palm slapped Tommy's cheek so hard that there was a mark visible as soon as he took his hand away.
Phil and Techno sat frozen as the two attacked each other, hands, feet, elbows and more flying in every direction. Tommy didn't hold back, every hit with fuelled with anger, and aggressive enough that his skinny arms successfully delivered painful blows. Wilbur on the other hand, after his first powerful slap, was mainly using his elbows and knees to gently shove the boy back. Unfortunately, his kindness only made Tommy more enraged, and with an angry growl Tommy brought both his hands up and smashed them into Wilbur's face as hard as possible.
The noise seemed to wake Phil from his frozen state, and he threw himself forwards. His movement unfroze Techno too and they lunged towards the two, grabbing one each and ripping them away from each other. Tommy clung to Wilbur as well as he could, but Phil easily pulled him away and towards the other side of the room.
“Tommy! Wilbur! It’s just mushroom. You don’t need to get so worked up,” Phil said sternly. Tommy gasped and stopped glaring at Wilbur to glare it Phil instead. He tried to tug his arm out of Phil's grip, failed, and started to cry. His face crumpled into a heartbroken frown and he buried his face in Phil’s shoulder. Phil patted him but didn’t speak, not sure what to say that wouldn’t make him more upset. After a moment, his sobs quieted and Techno let go of Wilbur after giving him a warning glare.
“Just mushroom? It’s not just mushroom! How could you say that?” Tommy said, his voice squeaking and choking from the force of his emotion. His face crumpled into a heartbroken frown and he buried his face in Phil’s shoulder. Phil patted him but didn’t speak, not sure what to say that wouldn’t make him upset again.
Techno let go of Wilbur, who sat down grumpily. He walked over to Phil and sat down too, clearing his throat ready to talk. “Tommy, Wilbur, everyone has different tastes and likes and that’s okay. People can have different views.”
“Not in my house,” Tommy interrupted sulkily, making Phil give a short laugh which he quickly stopped. Techno looked over with an annoyed expression, but Tommy could see the smile in his eyes, even if he was better at controlling his amusement than Phil.
Seeing Techno’s expression, Phil continued the lecture. “It’s not your house, you’re only renting it. I’m hungry, so can you stop behaving like little baby rival brothers and order some pizza?”
“It’s true, we are like brothers and I am hungry,” Tommy said, picking up his phone and smiling at Wilbur. He was already regretting attacking him, even if it was for a very good reason. Mushrooms deserved only the best.