Broken - TommyInnit Angst

Chapter Ten - Empathy

711 Words

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Oh shit.

They just saw you measuring your arm.

And now you are somehow even more screwed than before.

"H-hey N-Niki," Tommy said anxiously.

Tommy looked at the pair, who were both standing there awkwardly. Tommy saw Wilbur look like he was about to start crying. Niki whispered something to Wilbur, and he left the room. A few seconds later Tommy could hear the front door being opened, and then closed. Niki just stood there for a second, simply looking at the boy. She saw how thin he was, even underneath his long sleeved clothes. He was definately struggling.

"Uhh hey Tommy, can we talk?" Niki asked quietly, not wanting to scare the boy. She knew how it felt to be confronted about it, so she wanted to be as quiet and gentle with how she spoke to Tommy.

"Y-Yeah sure," Tommy said awkwardly, gesturing at the couch as pair sat down beside each other.

"So how are you Tommy?" Niki asked softly with a concerned look on her face.

"I'm fine thanks, you?" Tommy replied quickly, with the same response as always.

"I'm good Tommy, thank you for asking," Niki replied. She knew that this wasn't going to be easy.

The pair sat in silence for a few seconds before Tommy blurted out; "Niki why the heck are you at my house?"

Niki gently sighed, and decided to tell him the truth.

"Your friends are all worried about you, so I wanted to talk with you," she said quietly.

"But I'm fine! I swear I'm fine!" Tommy said, his voice rising. "Everyone thinks there's something wrong with me, even though there isn't! You all just need to stop worrying and mind your own business!" he yelled, tears forming in his eyes. He really just yelled at kind and caring Niki, even though she was only trying to help.

Wow you're a terrible person.

Even Niki won't want to be around you.

You're such a screw up.

"Tommy we all care about you! We want to help you! I know Wilbur and Tubbo have already said this, but we can see that you've changed and you're acting different! We want to help you, and we want to help figure out what's going on with you!" Niki said looking concerned. "Look Tommy, I know it isn't easy to admit it, but we know that something is going on. And if you don't want to tell us, we get that. But just know that it's natural for us all to be concerned about you. You're our friend!" Niki said furiously, but in a sweet way that made Tommy know that she really did care for him. He tried to ignore the voices in his head saying otherwise.

"Tommy, if you don't want to specifically admit what's going on, that's fine. But can you at least admit to me that something is going on? Niki asked the boy.

Tommy stayed silent.

"Look Tommy, I know it's hard to admit that something is happening. Something beyond your control. Believe me, I've been there. But please, can you just admit that something is going on in your life, causing you to act different and do different things?" Niki softly asked. "If you do tell me that something is going on, I won't press on and ask you what it is, unless you want to talk about it. Please Tommy, I care about you. We all do," she said patiently.

After a while of silence, she asked;"So Tommy is there something going on?" Niki held her breath, hoping that the boy was going to say something. Slowly, Tommy nodded, and the tears in his eyes spilled over. Niki quickly hugged the boy, rubbing his back gently.

"It's going to be okay," she whispered to Tommy. "We're all here for you."

After a few minutes, the pair let go of the hug and sat down beside each other, with Niki putting her arm around Tommy and the boy leaning on her shoulder. Tommy reached for the tv remote, and switched channels until he found the animal channel, where there was a documentary on about woodland animals. Tommy knew that Niki would like it.

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It might seem like this story is coming to an end, but believe me when I say it's not! The drama is only getting started!

Also, would you rather I do more short chapters, with an update 3-5 times a week, or do longer chapters but only update 1-2 a week?