The Year We Had (MCYT AU)

20: Work Phone

Wilbur was in the most boring algebra class of his life when his phone went off.

And of course, every single head turned his way as his face flushed and he fumbled to grab it from his pocket, the teacher already pacing over to confiscate it. Wilbur's heart dropped as he fished it out of his pocket, dread seeping in as the device continued to ring. Of course. It had to be this number. All the others were muted when he was in school. He stood abruptly, making direct eye contact with the teacher. "I--I have to go, uh, sorry."

"Wilbur, get back here this--" She began, her most disapproving tone coming out as he rushed out the door and into the corridor. He made his way down the hallway as he answered the dreaded call, gulping as he prepared for the worst.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Wil." Phil said, his voice solemn.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Wilbur asked, trying his best to keep the shake from his voice as he stopped walking, standing still in the middle of the hallway. "Something has to be wrong. You only call from your work phone when its bad."

There was a beat of silence, and then his dad spoke again. "There's, uh, there's been some threats made. Threats that concern us."

Wilbur's heart dropped. "What do you mean?"

Phil cleared his throat, and Wil could picture him running a hand through his hair. "There's this, uh, group of dudes I took down a few months ago. Drugs, murder, you know, the usual stuff. Their leader in particular wasn't a fan, and he's just gotten out of prison. They put a tail on him, and sure enough he met up with some other shady fellows who brought up my name."

Wilbur closed his eyes, shaking his head and trying to think. This wasn't fair. He had a date with Sally on Friday. He'd planned out every detail meticulously. "Okay, well that's fine, right? They can just arrest him again."

"It's not as simple as that." Phil said gently.

"Why the fuck not?" Wilbur demanded, his voice raising slightly. He didn't want this. He was happy here. He liked it here. He had friends and a girlfriend and a life that he didn't want to leave. For the first time in such a long time he was actually happy. He didn't want it to be six schools in four years.

Phil let out a long, pained sigh. "Because they brought up Tommy's name too."

Wilbur's blood ran cold. The dread spiked in his chest, and he thought he might pass out. "Fuck." He needed to find Tommy, right fucking now. He needed to lock eyes on him and make sure that nobody had gotten to him. What class did he have again? English? Art? He couldn't remember.

"For now, we're just looking at it as a break. Like a family trip." Phil explained. "I'm going to head in as soon as I'm done here to get you, Techno and Tommy."

"People take trips all the time." Wilbur said numbly, his eyes glazing over on the wooden panels that lined the walls. He couldn't think properly, too stuck on the sheer possibility that Tommy might be in danger. A danger that he couldn't protect him from.

"That's right." Phil confirmed. "So we're going to come home tonight and then head out to a new house at an undisclosed location. Once we're all safe, they can look at taking this guy down, and we can get back to normal. Okay?"

Wilbur nodded, and it took him a moment to realise that Phil wouldn't be able to see him. "Okay." He croaked, taking a deep breath. "I'll, uh, I'll go get Tommy and Techno, tell them to pack anything important."

"I'll call the school as soon as I'm off the line with you." Phil agreed. "And Wil, as hard as it is, I need you to not tell your friends the details. You can tell them that something came up, that you have to take an impromptu trip and that you'll be back in a couple of weeks, but no details. Okay?"