Changing With The Tides (A TommyInnit Au)

Chapter Eleven: Freedom

It was time. Time to go out on the roof and warm up before Purpled showed up. They hadn't really agreed on a time for him to come, so as soon as the clock struck eleven and the rest of the house was quiet, and probably asleep, he snuck out the window and began warming up. The breeze was cool on his face, but not cold, and he enjoyed the sweet smell of the fresh fall air as his bow danced over the strings. With each note, a tranquility overtook every emotion he had felt, wiping away his anxiety and pain. Once again, everything was still, and after what he deemed a good warmup, he slipped his bow away.

Not sure what time it was, he clicked the green button on his bracelet, fully anticipating the greenish hologram. Unluckily for the boy who had snuck up beside Tommy, the hologram was not anticipated. "Ahh!" Purpled half whisper-yelled. "What the fuck is that?" Purpled yelled. Tommy turned to face him, his eyes wide and bright with fear. "Woah, woah, listen, it's okay if you don't want to tell me right now." "No, it's okay. I guess you just scared me." Tommy said, though he was obviously reluctant. "I guess it's just that no one knows about this." He turned to fully face Purpled. "You can't tell anyone. Okay?" Purpled nodded, not sure what he was agreeing to. "Purpled, meet Henry. Henry, meet Purpled." Tommy slid back to fully reveal the hologram. "Hello Purpled." Henry spoke, slightly robotically. "Um, hey?" Purpled said, unsure how to act. "Hold on." Tommy pushed the button again, and Henry disappeared back into the bracelet. "Tommy, what the fuck was that?" Purpled asked incredulously. "Maybe we talk somewhere more private." Tommy suggested, glancing around. "I don't like how easily you were able to sneak up on me." Purpled looked around, then reached out and grabbed Tommy's hand. Surprisingly, Tommy didn't flinch, and Purpled dragged him to the edge of the roof. "I know a place we can go, but you're going to have to trust me."

Tommy wasn't exactly sure why, but he craved adventure with a friend again. Plus, by now, Purpled knew almost all of his most well kept secrets, all because he had snuck up onto Tommy's roof. Surprising, but a good start to a long friendship, or so Tommy hoped. So when Purpled grabbed his arm, he felt himself willingly going with his friend, allowing Purpled to pull him to the edge of the roof. "Look," Purpled said, pointing to the brick wall below the edge of the roof. "We have to climb that." Tommy took one glance at it and immediately pressed the blue button on his bracelet. The heat sensors in his contacts lit up, turning Purpled an orangey red glow, and the grips on the wall were immediately highlighted in green. He watched as Purpled scrambled down the wall, promising to help Tommy down once he was safely on the ground. In only a few moments, Purpled made the last leap to the ground, completely unscathed. Unfortunately, this meant it was Tommy's turn to scale the wall, and he was a bit nervous. After all, he was sneaking out of his house at midnight with a quickly increasing chance to fall and break something from a very high point with someone he had just reunited with only three days prior. But something sparked inside of him, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Hope. It had been so long since he had been able to have an adventure like this, to have a friend who knew his secret, whether it be by accident or by Tommy's own accord. And it felt good to be mischievous without worrying about someone hurting him. So in that moment, Tommy took a deep breath, and swung his leg over the side of the roof, grabbed the first green handhold, and began to climb.

So far so good. Tommy had both legs over the edge now, placed into convenient toe-holds on the side of the building. His right hand held a hand-hold, his left on the top of the roof. He slowly moved his left hand down, doing his best to follow both the green path laid out before him and Purpled's instructions. It wasn't until he was about halfway down the wall that disaster struck. A part of the wall crumbled under his foot, and he was left dangling by his non-dominant hand, close to nine feet off the ground. "Tommy!" Purpled gasped, running closer in a panic. "Tommy, I need you to trust me. Jump. I promise I'll catch you." Purpled called up to him. Tommy looked down at Purpled, then back up at the wall. He wasn't nearly strong enough to hang there very long, and he couldn't see anywhere to position his weight. He also couldn't call for help, considering he wasn't supposed to be out here at all. So he was left with a choice. Trust Purpled with his life, something that was very hard for him to do, or hope and pray that he was strong enough to make the jump to the next available hand-hold. "Tommy, please!" Purpled pleaded. "I'm here for you Big Man. Trust me!" Tommy looked down at Purpled once more. Maybe changing was a good thing. Maybe it was time to put his trust in others again. And so, Tommy let go of the wall.

He was falling. Fast. The wind roared in his ears, and as he neared the ground, he found himself preparing for impact on the hard ground. Still, he didn't scream, something that had been cemented into his brain, that no matter what pain you might face, you never make a sound. And so, when he felt himself land in something soft, he was more confused than ever. Where was the pain? What happened? He opened his eyes, and was surprised to see Purpled looking down at him. "I told you Tommy. I've got you." Purpled said, but Tommy could see the hint of tears in the corners of the boy's eyes. "That was the scariest thing I've ever had to do." Purpled whispered. "Thank you for trusting me." Tommy just smiled. "Okay, let's go. We didn't risk all that for nothing." Tommy said, and Purpled reached for Tommy's hand again. "Let's go then. We don't have too much time to dawdle." Tommy nodded, and Purpled broke into a run, pulling Tommy behind him. "Come on! I have a really cool place to show you, and then we can talk!" Tommy just laughed as he ran alongside Purpled. Man did it feel good to finally be free again.

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Don't forget, a second chapter plus an A/N soon to come!