You're Better Off Without Me (A Tommyinnit Adoption Au)

Chapter Fourteen: Missing

Ring... Ring... Ring... "Hey, Q?" "Tubbo! What's up man?" Tubbo gulped. "Have you talked to Tommy? His bike is gone, and he didn't tell me where he was going. He wasn't at lunch today, and Dream told me he and the others haven't seen him since first class today. I'm getting worried." Quackity frowned at his words. "Have you tried texting or calling him?" He asked. "Yeah, but calls won't go through and he hasn't read a single text since yesterday." Tubbo replied. "That is strange..." Quackity sighed, dread filling his heart. "I'll come down tomorrow. In the meantime, maybe talk to his foster family? Hopefully it isn't another one of those situations..." Tubbo sighed. "I don't think that family would do that. I'll speak with them anyway." Quackity nodded on the other end of the call. "Okay, keep me updated. I'll text the others and let them know about the situation. Don't worry Tubbo, we'll find him." Tubbo sighed as he flopped down on his bed. "I hope so. If something happened to him..." "Hang in there Tubbo. Try to get some rest tonight. If he isn't back by tomorrow, you can bet I'll be there helping you look." Quackity reassured the young brunette. "Thanks Q. I'll see you then." Tubbo sighed, his concern for his young blonde friend overflowing. "Please come back, Toms. I don't know what I would be without you." It was ironic, him saying those lines after he could so clearly remember his response to the blonde when he had said those exact words so long ago. "Who would I be without you Tubbo?" Tommy had asked. "You would be yourself!" His naive self had responded to the blonde. Now, with his best friend missing, he understood how wrong his past self had been. Without Tommy, he was lost.

Tubbo exited the house, deciding to pay the Minecraft's house a visit. When he arrived, he was surprised to see both Phil and Techno's car at the house. Usually, Phil didn't get off work until much later. He bravely walked up to the door, gathering his courage before knocking harshly on the door. It swung open to reveal Techno, and Tubbo gulped nervously. "Can I help you?" Techno asked, and Tubbo clenched his sweaty fists. "I was actually wondering if you had seen Tommy?" He questioned, and to his surprise, Techno's face softened into something resembling concern. "Why don't you step inside?" He offered, pulling the door open a little wider, and Tubbo took a deep breath before he walked in, immediately noting the somber mood. "What's happened to Tommy?" Tubbo asked, dread once again filling his heart. "Nothing, nothing... That we know of." Phil called from across the room. "What do you mean 'that you know of'?" Tubbo all but yelled. "What happened to my best friend?" Wilbur cleared his throat. "I upset him quite a bit, and he hasn't come home. His things are gone from his room." Tubbo turned his glare to Wilbur. "What did you say?" He demanded, and Wlbur cringed. "That he was an annoying child who ruined my life." He whispered. "What?" Tubbo's face was furious. "Do you not understand how much that can affect him? I have spent countless nights telling him he isn't useless, that he doesn't cause problems, that he isn't annoying, that his abusive foster parents weren't right. And you go and fuck it up with one sentence! I told him to trust you!" He exploded. Wilbur cringed again. "I didn't mean it. I was stupid and stopped taking my medication." He said quietly. "What the fuck does it matter now?" Tubbo was rightfully livid. "Do you have any idea what he has been through? He has been in the foster system for eleven years! He's never even had a chance to live a normal life. He has nightmares every night, and I don't even know what they're about. He has something he calls voices—" "Voices?" Techno interrupted. "Yeah, voices." Techno's eyes widened. "What do they say?" He asked. "He's mentioned them saying he's worthless and weak, and if I remember correctly, chanting for... Blood?" Techno looked around, now concerned. "We need to find him right now. If he has voices, he can't be left alone." "Tech, what do you mean?" Wilbur asked. "I mean those 'voices' will drive him insane, if they haven't already. And if they're chanting for blood, I'm worried about what he'll do to himself with no one to stop him. Tubbo, call up your friends. We need to find Tommy as quickly as possible." Phil looked up, surprised at his son's words. "Why do you know so much about these voices?" He asked. Techno hesitated. "Because I have voices too."

Wilbur couldn't believe it. In total, nine people had shown up in mere moments, with a tenth promising to come down tomorrow. The worst part, most of them were Wilbur's friends. "Hey guys." Tubbo greeted the group gloomily. By now, everyone knew what had happened, and were preparing for the worst. "Anyone mind telling me how you know Tommy?" Wilbur asked, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. "I'll be honest Wilbur, most of us met at the campfire." Wilbur sucked in a breath. "You don't still go there, do you?" Wilbur still remembered drinking and getting high at the campfire. He couldn't say he missed the campfires exactly, but he still remembered how much fun he had just messing around with his friends, despite the toll it took on his health. Phil and Techno didn't know what the campfire meant to him, but now it was one of his trigger words for a panic attack. He was clean for two years, and he thought his friends had quit with him. Dream sighed apologetically. "Sorry Wil. Been going since you left." Wilbur sighed. "I wish you wouldn't." Dream laughed a bit. "Well, Toms has been going since you left, and we all basically met him there." Wilbur's eyes narrowed. "You let a fourteen year old into the campfire?" Sapnap chuckled nervously. "At the time, he was twelve. But we couldn't deny him. He needed us, and we weren't going to tell him no. That would be hypocritical." Wilbur glared daggers at the man. "Listen Wil, I know you don't have the best experiences with that stuff, but Tommy was alone, and he needed someone. He happened to meet Sam and Foolish, helped stitch them up after a wreck, and ended up there. We all love the kid to death, and if we could have it our way, none of us would be there. But life's not fair, and with each abusive foster home the kid went to, he lost a little more of his spark. If a few nights at the campfire are enough to give him some joy, then so be it. I'm not going to tell him he can't go there if I'm not willing to quit myself." George said. Wilbur sighed. "This is my fault. He's been through so much and I went off on him because of my own stupid condition." Punz stood up, pulling Wilbur off to the side and giving him a hug. "Listen Wil, you didn't know, and it wasn't your fault. You didn't directly want to tell Tommy those things, your brain just did it automatically. I know you're going to do your best to make it up to him. But you have to stay strong, and you can't keep blaming yourself." Wilbur sighed. "You're right. But I know nothing about the kid. I have no idea where to look." Punz stood up, pulling Wilbur back towards Phil, Techno, and the others. "Well, let's go see if anyone has any ideas. And if they don't, we'll search every corner of the town. One way or another, we'll find him. And we'll bring him back home." Together, the two headed back to the group, ready to begin making a plan. By the end of the night, everyone was exhausted. This was their first night without Tommy, and it hit hard. They cried themselves to sleep.

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I started working on the ideas for another book I may or may not publish! I've just been working on it for fun, it just popped in my head one day and I wrote it out, but so far it's coming along great! I'll probably also start working on the sequel to Black and White soon, I've been storyboarding for a bit now, so hopefully I'll be able to get some of my ideas down on paper soon. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you all later, yeah? Bye! <3