The Quiet of a Melancholic Moon

Unknowing

It was supposed to be the closing ceremony. Everyone who passed the program would be awarded with a certificate that proclaimed they were ready to emerge into hero society. The Angels would be passing out the certificates while giving speeches about how great that years class was. There would probably be doting parents or interested heroes in the crowd taking note of potential sidekicks. There was probably going to be some food, maybe they would play a song or two. It was meant to be a celebration, after all. They had designed a party that only a select few could attend. There was even a chance XD or a high ranking hero had shown up. It was the place to be.

Tommy wasn't there. He had taken his certificate and left for his room. Tommy ignored the items left behind on the bunk beneath Deo's. If Tommy was an angrier man, he might have taken a lighter to the blanket. Instead, Tommy felt a pang of emptiness follow him around when he looked at the pillows left behind. Tommy went past that area to pack up his own stuff. If it wasn't clear, Tommy was purposefully not going to the celebration. Tommy would return home to Dream as soon as possible.

The door behind Tommy opened. Someone with heavy footsteps that smelled of burnt honey and cinnamon strolled into the room. Tommy didn't turn around as that person strode up behind Tommy. The blonde continued throwing various belongings into his backpack. The person began talking. "You can't do this. You can't push us all away. You can't push me away."

"No one informed me that I needed your permission to do things. Oh, great Deo, may I breathe oxygen, if only for a moment?" Tommy snapped angrily. He wanted to glare at Deo, but he would settle for the shirts he was folding into neat squares that could he stashed away into his backpack easily. Tommy might have been handling his clothes roughly, but he was pissed off at someone he couldn't yell at. Tommy needed an outlet somewhere. "Or, maybe, I don't need anyone's permission, and you need to get the hell out of my Prime damned business."

"This is my business. This is about how you treat me. How you will continue to treat me in the same way as you have for the past few weeks. Nothing has changed between us," Deo demanded. His voice could he described as tight. He was trying so hard not to let his voice crack that he got the opposite extreme. Tommy would have made fun of Deo under any other circumstances. In the one they currently inhabited, though? Tommy couldn't bring himself do anything more than feel bitter and upset. Tommy wasn't even sure if he was angry. Was he trying to he angry? Or did he feel rage, deep down in his heart? Tommy couldn't tell what it was that he felt. All he knew is that if was there and strong.

"Everything has changed all around us. Luke isn't becoming a hero. He switched to animation or some shit. Bitzel has decided to take a job as far away from here as he could get. You decided to train to be an Angel! And how can we forget our dear friend, Wisp? The man, the myth, the legend who abandoned us... for what? Power? Money? Infamy?" Tommy stomped his foot as a way to released the frustration. Since the moment Tommy had woken up from the chemical Wisp dropped, everything around him had become different. The Angels were busy trying to figure out procedures for what happens when a kid goes rogue. The former 'Business Bay' had switched up their plans for the future. Tommy was the one that remained consistent in wanting to follow Dream, but he was the first one (after Wisp) to quit the Business Bay. They were supposed to be a hero group once they finished this camp. That ambition had shattered like the glass that held Wisp's incapacitating gas.

"That doesn't mean we've stopped being friends. What... Wisp did has made us reevaluate what we want from the future. You have no right to undermine the decisions we made, Tommy," Deo said. Tommy turned around on his heel with his backpack straps pulled across his shoulders. He stared down Deo was eyes similar to the ones he wore on the first day. All the progress Tommy had made about opening up and making new friends had been washed away with one betrayal.

It wasn't like it was insignificant. The Syndicate was notorious for its operations. It was responsible for sponsoring some of the most powerful villains in history. They had a high body count, theft rate, and the amount of breaking and entering was astronomical. The Syndicate didn't know any rules. They went wherever, whenever, with or to meet whoever they wanted. One did not refuse the Syndicate easily. Repercussions were worse than death for those who did. Wisp had willingly gone with that group. He potentially gave vital information about Tommy, Deo, Luke, Bitzel, and Eret that would endanger them all. Wisp didn't just betray their trust, he betrayed their heath and lives.

"You can't fucking say that, Deo. You're undermining my choice. I've also reevaluated what I want in life. That doesn't include Business Bay. Not as allies or friends. Take your kumbaya shit and shove it up the ass of someone who cares," Tommy snapped with an almost feral glint in his eyes as he scowled at Deo. Tommy walked past Deo towards the door. Before he could leave, he heard some shuffling around.

"I'll stay here as long as I need to, Tommy. You may not trust me, but I trust you. You may not like me, but I like you. I am still your friend, like it or not. I hope you can realize how wrong you are about friendship before it's too late for you," Deo said with his eyes locked with Tommy. The blonde was almost sad that he would never be able to see those amber orbs again. No matter how ugly Deo's face was, Tommy couldn't imagine ridiculing those Mystic Eyes of Brutality.

"This betrayal must have shaken you up if you're spouting philosophy. I'm almost convinced that someone has body swapped with Deo because you aren't saying the stuff Deo would say. Oh, well, I guess you never really know anybody," Tommy said with a fake smile and dark eyes. He slammed the door shut behind him. Tommy walked away from his former room while leaving Deo to stand in silence.

——

"Hey, bud, I heard what happened, are you-" Dream started as he heard his apartment door open. He walked over to the mudroom area that the door opened up to. Tommy stood there with a red nose from being outside while his fingers played with the elastic of his backpack strap. When Tommy saw Dream, he threw his backpack down while bounding over. Before Dream could finish his sentence, Tommy launched himself into Dream's arms. "Whoa, buddy, don't hurt yourself."

To Dream's utter surprise, he felt Tommy crying against his shoulder. Tommy was the kid who didn't cry at training, movies, or when he was in major pain. Tommy would scream sometimes, but Dream had never seen Tommy cry. Dream was scared that Tommy had brain damage as a kid that limited his emotional responses. Dream would have been okay if that was the case. (All the parenting blogs and books made sure to instill the idea that one must love their child, no exceptions. Parenting was close enough to having a sidekick so the same logic must apply, Dream figured.) If Tommy was crying over the incident, that meant it was bad.

"It's going to be alright." I promise you it will be.