Congrats on Never Existing

Just in My Head, Not in Control

Last Chapter:

Techno didn't stop, though. And for every step Tommy took, Techno took double that. He had caught up to him, but Tommy didn't run; he just stared up at the red eyes that bore down at him.

Oh, that's what was different. People don't have red eyes- Techno certainly doesn't.

Everything went black.

.........

"Tommy- wait up!" A voice called behind him, but Tommy pushed forward through the thick wood. Tubbo was shouting at him, so he should have slowed down to allow his friend to catch up, but he didn't want to. In fact, all he wanted to do was to get back to the house, wash his hands of the sticky coke that's been there the whole day, go back to his warm bed, and sleep. This time, hopefully, a dreamless one.

He doesn't understand why people want their dreams interpreted; his fucking suck.

"Tommy, what's wrong? C'mon, big man, slow down," Tubbo tried again, but it sounded like static in his ears. His head was spinning with dizzy dreariness, and he could hardly focus on where he was going. Tommy's body was on autopilot aside from his eyes frantically scanning the shadows. Tommy never found those black, beady eyes again. He didn't know whether to be paranoid or thankful.

He was hoping for the latter.

Tommy had broken through the tree-line, now surrounded by an open field, and on the other side held civilization. Suburban houses lined a roundabout, and Tommy only questioned for a second if he was technically in someone's yard. He hoped so. Then Tommy could brag about breaking into someone's home, even if he technically never went inside.

Walking on actual, physical pavement, surrounded by sleeping households, had grounded Tommy a little. At least enough to recognize distant shouts. He would otherwise ignore them- dismiss them for people searching for a lost dog, or maybe people making poor decisions they'd regret the next day. But, he couldn't ignore these voices- no, they were much too familiar.

"Tommy!" Oddly, it made Tommy feel better to know that he mattered to someone enough for them to look for him. He tried not to think too hard on the idea; it'd only end sour.

Tommy pressed forward, finding that he could just ignore the voices if he was tired enough. Wilbur could find him at home, asleep, tomorrow. Then Phil can yell at him for missing the first two periods of school, Techno will laugh and make fun of him for it, and Tubbo will walk with him to school. And everything will be okay.

Everything will be okay- it was a mantra he'd repeated to himself since who knows how long. One day it'll be true, and then he can laugh and prove everyone who doubted him wrong- including himself.

"Where were you?" A voice asked behind him, startling him. Technoblade, he distinctly realized, before pushing forward up the street. "Tommy?"

Why wasn't Tommy responding again? He tried to remember his reasoning before realizing there was none. Truth be told, even if he wanted to respond, he wasn't sure his voice would work.

"He hasn't said anything to me," Tubbo nervously explained, and a part of Tommy felt guilty for realizing he was making Tubbo upset. Another part of him couldn't find a reason to actually care.

"Wil! Phil! Found Tommy!" Techno hollered, which made Tommy flinch. It was too late at night to yell, especially Techno. It wasn't particularly unnatural, just off-putting.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a blond man and a brunet appeared over the hill Tommy was hiking up. Their faces wore some sort of relieved expression.