Bleeding Red Haring

chapter 1: The Floor Is My True Love

The first time that Tom Watson dyed his hair he was nine years old. It was an alarmingly loud red, something that made the young boy absolutely ecstatic. It was something that no responsible adult would have allowed such a young kid to do, not only because of the bold color but for the fact that he himself did his own hair.

But, Tommy had no responsible adult that paid him any mind so when the young boy was grabbing his own groceries, clutching his father’s credit card in his pocket as if it would disappear if he let go, and he saw the hair dye that was most definitely not on the grocery list, the young boy just had to get it.

Tommy would also later learn to be grateful that he was naturally a blonde and didn’t have to bleach his hair the first time for if his hair had been any darker than the resulting pigment would have been much more butchered than it turned out to be.

That wasn’t the case though, so nine year old Tommy went to school with a curly floof of red on his head and a smile that never left his face the whole day there. That night on the other hand was a different story because as soon as the young boy got home, he unlocked the door to a shadowed house and dead silence.

Tommy Innit was the loud, energetic, and goofy kid with flaming red hair and shiny blue eyes that never failed to get the class's “Class Clown” award each year without fail.

Thomas Watson was the boy who bought his own groceries at nine years old, the boy who burned his hand at six when he had to cook for himself the first time and had to learn how to patch himself up, the boy who returned to the same empty house day after day.

Tommy hadn’t stopped dyeing his hair since he was nine years old and he was certain he would never stop. Here he was, seven years later and still sporting his iconic red hair. Those at school would tease him over it, the fact he had chosen one color on impulse as a child and then never let it go, and Tommy would laugh and agree but there was a much more genuine reason he could never bring himself to change the color.

That day that Tommy dyed his hair was the day he left Thomas Watson and became Tommy Innit.

So no, Tommy would never dye his hair another color other than his signature red.

…despite how determined his friends seemed to be for him to do otherwise.

“Tommmmy! You’ve had this color forever! It’s getting so boring!” Tubbo sighed

loudly, flopping onto Tommy and nearly making the boy fall out of his seat with a squawk.

“Tubbo, get your fat ass off me!” Tommy yelped, trying fruitlessly to push his best friend away and to the other side of the bench only for the somehow both much smaller and much stronger boy to gasp so dramatically that Tommy was surprised he didn’t choke.

“This is fat shaming! Thomas Innit, I am going to get you canceled! This is vile, I am so shocked, so disgusted! I am disgusted, I am revolted, I dedicated my entire life to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and this is the thanks I get!?”
“Slash, ref.” A new voice supplied helpfully from across the table, watching the entire interaction with a bemused smile.

Tommy’s head shot over and stared at Ranboo incredulously, eyes blown open wide as he gaped at him.

“Betrayal! You should be helping me, Ranboob!”

Ranboo rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat, seemingly more than content to stay in his spot. Tommy could at least recognize that antagonizing the split dyed boy probably wasn’t the smartest way to get him to help.

With a heavy sigh Tommy gave up, simply rolling over onto the floor and letting Tubbo screech as he landed on top of him.

“Give a guy some warning!”