A Step By Step Guide To Mortality

Confrontations and Potato Salad

A few days pass since the phone call from Tommy's Mother and Phil hates how he notices Tommy being more distant. It's only just begun, but he notices it already. Tommy comes over after school only a few times each week, he talks less to Phil in the hallways, it can only get worse from here. At this stage, Phil is only going to be seeing him at school.

There's not a doubt in Phil's mind that Tommy got told by his Mother to keep away from Techno and Wilbur.

Tonight, it's just him and Techno.

By Techno's insistence and threats of 'dying from boredom' from the lack of being able to go anywhere while he healed, they decided to cook dinner.

Lessons were going disastrously.

"I think..." Techno squints into the oven. "If my calculations are correct." Techno pulls open the oven and smoke billows out. "I have ruined dinner."

"Jesus!" Phil exclaims, rushing to open the window. It squeaks open and Phil uses his arm to cover his mouth and nose. "How do you manage to burn everything?"

Techno shrugs, taking his oven mitts off and grabbing a small cloth to wave around. "I'll be honest, I think it's a talent."

Phil waves a hand around, burying his face against his sleeve. "Well, at least we've got plenty of time to either try again or order takeout before Wilbur gets home. He texted saying he forgot his workbook at school and was going to be late. I'm not sure if he plans on doing work at school or coming straight home."

Techno squints, challengingly towards the oven. "One more try. I will conquer this oven."

It's been a few days since Tommy and Wilbur had that awkward discussion.

How was it described? Oh, quid pro quo. An eye for an eye. If Wilbur says anything to Phil about Tommy's situation, Tommy will tell Phil about Wilburs.

Right now, Tommy doesn't care. He wants to see Wilbur.

Tommy doesn't— he's not sure why sometimes these things set him off. It's not like every time someone is yelling he freaks out.

It's something specific that Tommy can't put his finger on and right now, he's not sure what he's doing.

When Tommy had froze up, his breathing coming fast and his mind on something else, the bullies left.

Blood drips down from his nose, dark red and slowing to a stop. It's nothing new to him, a bleeding nose is barely an injury. And that's pretty much all the bullies did, a punch to the face. A reminder he should shut up a bit more. He went down quickly, falling on his side and seeing as blood began to drip onto the school floor. They kicked him once, like a challenge to fight back, but Tommy froze.

He considers himself lucky they left him alone after he stopped reacting. Tommy became more of a shell than a target.

The school is empty, his bullies having waited until everyone was gone. The echo of their voices telling Tommy to meet them after school still ring in his head.

Tommy walks down the hall. Although, he doesn't really feel like it's him walking. Foot after foot, step after step. When Tommy doesn't feel like himself he usually runs away. He hides and takes refuge in isolation, usually it works. Once, when he ran off to the bathroom, Phil had made him come out. But he's managed to slip away unnoticed almost every other time.

His chest hurts at the thought, but Tommy misses Wilbur. He hates arguing, hates that Wilbur tried to force him into talking to Phil about something he didn't want to

But he misses Wilbur. His friend.

So his feet carry him to Wilbur's locker .

He hopes by some act of fate, Wilbur will still be at school.