Bus Money

Chapter 1 - Jersey Caramels and Light Polution

Tommy was feeling thin. Not actually thin, although he was starting to look kind of underweight. No, he was feeling thin in an "empty" kind of way. The kind of empty feeling he gets when he hasn't had a smoke in a while. He didnt have an addiction, he would tell himself, at least not yet. But it's been a shitty day and a cigarette would help allot right now.

Phil had given him thirty bucks, sending him out to get milk and some snacks for tonight, Ranboo and Tubbo had come along for the walk.

"I could use a smoke." Tommy didn't need to say much else.

"You want me to get you a pack?" Ranboo asks, the two not looking at each other as they walk down the sidewalk with tubbo between them.

Tommy didnt say anything back, just nodded.

"Money's enough for maybe a pack of Marlboro and a three letre, but that means you two are gonna have to get the snacks somewhere else." His voice comes out kind of muffled by his facemask. He was wearing a white one right now.

Tommy knew what that meant. They were gonna have to steal, which was fine of course, even if it was just for shitty smokes. They'd been shoplifting for years, theyd gotten rather good at it too. The thing is Ranboo was normally their guy for that.

Guess that means that Tommy is getting practice today.

But Ranboo was right, they couldn't rob the same place that ranboo was buying smokes from while underage.

"Oo lets get the snacks from there!" Tubbo chimes in, pointing to an easy corner store across the street.

Tommy agrees and the two split off from Ranboo. They cross the street and Tubbo heads in first. Tommy waits a while to make sure they don't look like theyre together before going in himself.

Tubbo is already deep in conversation with the cashier, asking directions to a place that just does not exist, and Tommy gets right to it.

He remember's what Ranboo told him about searching for camera blind spots and stealing from there. Anoyingly the only snacks in the blind spot were packs of assorted dehydrated fruits.

Phil would not appreciate that.

Tommy decided that the next best thing is just to take whatever snacks from wherever and then go back to the blind spot to sneak them into his backpack.

It went pretty smoothly, the store attendant was none the wiser, trying like hell to convince Tubbo that there was no conservatorium in their small town.

In the end Tommy managed to smuggle enough snacks that Phil wouldnt notice anything off. He slung his slightly heavier backpack over his shoulders and walked straight out the sliding glass doors.

Tubbo didnt follow for another minute or two just in case, and soon after Ranboo was walking up to them with a huge jug of milk.

"Here," Ranboo said, pulling the Marlboros from his pocket and tossing them to Tommy.

"Cheers."

The three of them started walking back as Tommy lit a cigarette. He put it in his mouth and inhaled the smoke. He could feel himself relax almost instantly, and that kinda scared him, but thats something to think about later. He was unwinding right now. He was having a smoke.

Tubbo, again between Tommy and Ranboo, pulled Tommy's backpack off of him and started searching through it to see what snacks he'd gotten.

Tommy hears Tubbo gasp in excitement and looks down to see he's discovered the Jersey Caramels.