Just Give In

Chapter 45:

Tubbo's P.O.V.

Who were the other two voices? I could clearly hear Puffy and Dream talking, but there were too others. One sounded younger than Puffy, yet older than Dream, while the last one sounded younger than me.

I turned towards Schlatt, but found that he was already rushing past me into the living room. The voices stopped, and I could here Schlatt whisper something, before there was some shuffling and I could faintly hear someone sniffling.

I furrowed my eyebrows, before peaking around the corner, making sure that they wouldn't see me immediately.

The living room only had one lamp on, making the walls have a shadow to them. Dream and Puffy were seated on a white sofa, facing towards the doorway I was looking through, although neither of them were looking towards me.

Puffy's hair was in a messy bun, white strands curled around her ears, framing her face. I could tell that she had been crying as her eyes had a red tint to them and I could see the tear tracks in the light. She was wearing a light blue, off the shoulder sweater and black leggings. I glanced over to Dream and saw that he didn't have his mask on, the scars on his face  becoming darker due to the lighting. He was wearing his favorite bright green hoodie and black shorts that reached below his knees. His blonde hair was rustled and messy in the light, and he had a watery smile pasted on his face.

I looked towards the two people who were embracing one another in the center of the room. I recognized the blue sweatshirt and messy deep brown hair, but I didn't recognize the other person. They had tanned skin, and their hair and back were covered with the skin of... a shark. A fucking shark's skin. I looked closer and I could see he was wearing a necklace that had shark teeth on it.  

The person themselves was wearing a sandy colored Henley shirt, with the first two buttons undone, showing more of the tanned, golden skin. They were wearing brown cargo pants as well, and they strangely enough didn't have shoes.

I watched as Schlatt and this new person continued to hug each other, whispering things to each other that I couldn't quite understand, even with my now adjusted hearing. A louder voice than the two of them echoed through the room, causing my attention to drift over to the person that was talking.

There was a small child, standing beside Puffy as they watched the two people hugged each other. They were holding the hand of a smaller child, and I could tell that they were siblings, and that they were the strange person's kids.

The taller one had pale skin, but it still had the golden shine that their parent had. They had bright, glowing green eyes, and really neat and short blonde hair. They were probably around the age of 7, and were holding Puffy's sleeve tightly, tugging their younger sibling behind them slightly.

The younger sibling was different that their older, but still looked like the parent. They had tanner skin, tanner than their parent, with deep green eyes, yet they still had a bright glow to them. Their hair reached down to their waist, and the roots were a dark brown, but it got lighter towards the tips, copying the blonde of their sibling. 

I was extremely confused as to who these new people were. Puffy and Dream hadn't had anyone over while I was here, but they would tell me stories off their friends and what they were like. But I don't remember them ever describing the new person in the room. 

The two people finally let go of each other, and I noticed that the stranger had a mix between the childrens' eyes. They shone brightly, but were darker than the older one, yet lighter than the younger one. I could see parts of their hair beneath the shark skin, and it was more of a darker blonde, borderline brown.

"It's been way to long, Uncle Schlatt" The strange person said. "It was really stupid of me to leave all those years ago.... I seriously regret it..." I froze, and shivers wracked through my entire body. Uncle Schlatt. This... this person.... was Puffy's child? But I thought that she only turned Dream?

I heard someone talking, but didn't really pay attention. I was too busy trapped inside my own wall of thoughts, theories and probabilities racing through my head. Yet something being said managed to pull me from my thoughts.

"Oh! I forgot, I managed to get Tubbo out of his room." Schlatt said. I peaked around the corner just in time to see Puffy and Dream both perk up at the mention of my name. They both looked astounded, yet excited at the same time.

"You did?!" Dream said, sitting on the edge of his seat. Schlatt nodded, a small smile playing on his face. Dream looked at Puffy, and I could tell that they both were very excited, but I could tell that the family of three were looking at them with curiosity and confusion.

"Who's Tubbo?" The oldest one asked, and the other three looked at them. Schlatt made an 'oh' face before getting up and walking towards where I was. I began to panic a little because I really did not want to meet these people. I began backing up, and turned around, but it was already too late. Schlatt had managed to grab my wrist before I could run off, and he spun me around, a look of concern on his face.

"Tubs, where are you going?" He asked quietly. I could tell that the other five people in the next room were trying to listen in, and I just shook my head, my eyes darting around the entire place. Please, please don't make me meet these people.

Schlatt sighed, before pulling me closer to him and picking me up, hugging me tightly as well. I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as he rubbed my back soothingly. I closed my eyes, and felt as he started to walk towards the whispering voices. I hugged him tighter and buried my face into his shoulder, begging him not to make me meet these people.

I heard two sets of feet start over to us, and I felt someone wrap their arms around me, taking me away from Schlatt. I peeked open my eyes and saw the curly mane of Puffy, to which I responded by hugging her neck and hiding my face in her hair. I listened as she rocked us back and forth, softly humming. 

"Tubs, there's someone here I want you to meet." She whispered in my ear, still rocking us back and forth. My antennaes lowered and a small whimper sounded in my throat, but I slowly nodded. Shyly picking up my head from her, I turned to see three sets of glowing emerald eyes on me. I gave a shy wave to them, and the eldest returned the wave, a smile spreading across his face.

"Well well well, you must be the little bee that has my mother wrapped around his finger. My name's Foolish, these are my kids, Foolish Jr. and Finley." Foolish said, extending his arm towards me while the other one lovingly patted each kid on their head. I held my hand out and shakily took his in it.

"I'm Tubbo, it's nice to meet you guys..." I said quietly, giving them all a small smile. The littlest one, Finley, giggled and smiled brightly back up at me, causing a larger grin to spread across my face. 

Puffy, noticing the interaction, set me down and the two little ones stepped closer to me. Closer to them now, I could see that Finley was holding onto a small, wooden figurine with bright green eyes and a small smile etched onto their face. 

"Hewwo! 'm Finlwe and dis is my brover, Foo foo. Dis is Mr. Emwowd!" She said, holding up the doll to let me see. Even though she was young and couldn't pronounce many of the words she said correctly, I could still tell what she was saying.

"Nice to meet you Finley and Mr. Emerald, I'm Tubbo." I said, crouching down a little to look the little girl in the eye. She giggled and let go over her brother's hand, stepping closer to me.

"Do you have any fwiends, Tubwo?" She asked shyling, clutching her doll close to her. A pang stabbed me through my heart, but I shoved it down and continued to smile towards the small child.

"I do. Two friends, actually. One of them is Tommy, but he's not here right now. He's with his own family. And my other friend is Charlie. Do you want me to go get him? Him and Mr. Emerald could play together." I said. She quickly nodded her head, and I got up. But before I could move, Finley grabbed my hand.

Now usually, when someone grabs my hand, I quickly yank it away.... but not this time. This time, I just held on tighter and began leading her to my room, the adults completely slipping my mind. 

Maybe this wasn't such a bad family after all.

1537 words

-Zia