It Was Enchanting To Meet You. || DNF

58. Breaking point.

The group had been walking for some time now, going down different paths and trails, making numerous twists and turns that made their minds hazy. They had put a great amount of distance between them and their combined camp, and they had questioned whether or not they should turn around and go back to them, or if to keep going. And the answer was to always keep going, because they had made it so far that they couldn't risk losing their sense of direction.

They had managed just fine over the course of the past few days on their own; having the apples and pears from The Mysterious Tree and occasionally finding water in small craters of the flooring of the ravine.

Tubbo and Wilbur were still having..difficulties, with one another, and the tension that continuously built in the atmosphere among them was thick and almost unbearable; it was so noticeable that Ranboo and Niki began finding it hard to ignore. The tense silence was cut like a knife through hard butter when Ranboo cleared his throat, startling the trio before they gave him his full attention, their interests peaking. "How long are we gonna be walking for again?" The split coloured haired boy asked, and even though the question was intentionally directed to Wilbur, he still felt like asking it out in the open rather than in private; he was desperate for some type of conversation to get going at this point.

Wilbur hummed under his breath, fixing his glasses, which one of the lenses had a crack in them now, as he acknowledged the question, not too sure himself.
Within a few moments he was shrugging, retorting with, "I don't know, Ranboo. After we find anything else valuable, I guess. We need to get back the camp eventually." The words tumbled out of the brit's mouth bittersweetly, and Ranboo couldn't help but wonder what had made the brunette so sour and careless, besides the fact that he currently wasn't on the best terms with Tubbo.

"I agree with Wilbur. The camp must be wondering what they should do, and I'm sure they're becoming restless faster than we may anticipate," Niki piped in, a bow clutched tightly in her hand for protection. Tubbo nodded in agreement, and just then, they rounded a corner of a large cave; the insides were dark and the only light was at the other end of the tunnel. As the three taller began walking towards the entrance, Wilbur was halted by the tug of his sleeve; Tubbo had pulled him back to refrain him from walking, and this luckily caught the attention of the two hunters.

"What?" Niki questioned, causing Tubbo to let out a humorous laugh, but it was laced with something neither of them could quite place..something, cruel? "Are you lot just made up of a bunch of idiots?" The shorter brit theoretically asked, receiving a furrowed eyebrow from Wilbur as a response. "What do you mean?" The brunette questioned, only causing the boy to scoff once more. "You guys are so fucking dumb. Is it not obvious that the tunnel is filled with those spiders?" The shortest of them all said, sounding as though he was spitting vemon. And even though Wilbur had forced himself to get used to the cold behavior the British boy had towards him over the course of the last few hours, this was just his breaking point.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Toby?" Wilbur asked, harshly tugging his hand away from the smaller, his face scrunched up in confusion as his eyes lit with fire. The name calling caught all three of them off guard; Wilbur had never once in his life used Tubbo's real name. Not many people did or had for that matter, but the taller brunette's patience was beginning to wary thin, and he wasn't sure just how much of Tubbo's new found of attitude he could take. "What's my problem? What's your problem, Wilbur?" Tubbo instantly shot back, his blood boiling beneath the two layers of skin. "I don't have a problem, Tubbo. Just-- why-- why are you acting like this?" The Head Hunter asked, his tone of voice lowering slightly, however, Tubbo's tone remained the same; defensive, irritated and anxious.

"I'm not acting like anything. What I wanna know is why you act the way that you do," the boy stated, taking a large step back from the taller, looking him up in the eyes through sweaty skin and hair that stuck to his forehead. With no words spoken, Wilbur knew exactly what Tubbo was referring to, and from the looks of it, Ranboo and Niki knew as well, because they all treated Tubbo the same.

They all looked at him as if he wasn't independent.

"Tubbo, look-- it's a bit more complicated than you think it is," Niki intervened, only causing Tubbo's gaze to snap towards her. "What part of it is complicated, huh!? It's just the truth!" Tubbo said, his body trembling with rage. The pinkette winced at the tone Tubbo used on her; hating the brunette being mad, more-or-less at her. "That's enough, Toby. Do not yell at Niki, alright? She didn't do anything," the glasses eyed boy immediately stood up for his friend, only causing the shorter to scoff under his breath. "You people," the brunette breathed out, the anger in his voice audible enough for anyone to notice.

Tubbo swiftly turned around on his heel, pocketing his hands in the safety of his trousers as he began to inch away from the trio. "Hey, Tubbo! Where are you going?!" Tubbo heard Ranboo yell from in the distance, and he responded with, "Away from all of you!" As he felt tears pricking at his eyes. Breathing out shakily, he wiped the droplets that threatened to spill over, internally scolding himself for being so soft and sensitive; having a problem for crying over the dumbest things ever since he was just a young boy.

However, far from behind him, Wilbur unsubconsciously took a step forward, ready to chase after the smaller boy and apologize, ready to convince him to not leave. But he was stopped by a strong pink haired girl who just shook her head in his direction, quietly muttering, "Don't. Let him be." With the few simple words, Wilbur still, somehow, felt his nerves spike, his stomach twisting uncomfortably as he responded with, "I can't let him leave, Niki. What if he gets lost, or hurt?!" Wilbur said, but immediately trailed off as he realized what he was doing, and it was the exact same reason why Tubbo had even left in the first place.

~

Short chapter cus I'm really sick<3
Ily guys, tysm for 1.13k reads💗💗.