:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

12

This was nothing but a gateway for Toby to start acting out recklessly. He would use this lighter and many others he'd collect or steal off of others, some of which being his dad. The man smoked occasionally, so he had to carry around lighters right?
It was only so long before Toby longed to bring them to school. This caused huge problems.
Toby got in trouble multiple times for being in possession of a potential weapon. He did start small controllable fires.
If anything, Toby knew how to handle a fire, he never did once let it get out of control. Other adults would take his lighters, some would ask if they could use it to light their own personal blunt.

The janitor was no stranger to this. He used Toby's odd hoard of lighters to his advantage and always asked to use one. The man would even sometimes ask Toby if he wanted to try a cigarette. Toby mostly always turned the offer down but eventually took in the suggestion.
Toby didn't like cigarettes, but he was a little curious, he had to admit.

Overall school life was a mixture between staying hidden from the kids, stalking the trees outside the windows, and now trying to avoid getting expelled for destruction of property.
It was one sheet of paper.
Can people not handle even the slightest bit of open flame?
The school would call home multiple times but no one ever answered. Toby would always warn them, saying that no one would pick up the phone, it seems like they haven't learned that by now.

One unlucky evening changed that though. Toby was caught completely vandalizing the bathroom. He left burn marks on the toilet seats and flushed all of the toilet paper. Some say he's being childish but he just felt the odd urge to cause chaos. He got that feeling a lot. Toby wouldn't admit he liked that feeling. Finally he didn't feel bound to a pole, being told what to do constantly.

With this discovery of such an element. He felt like a god.

His parents weren't very happy about what the school had mailed them. A disciplinary letter.
Connie knew her son was a little on the wild side but this seemed to anger her even.
As a result, his dad found out where all of his lighters had been going. He was annoyed and very frustrated. That day though he was more sober, surprisingly.
This still didn't keep him from being absolutely ruthless to the boy.
Raising his voice so loud Toby had to visibly cover his ears. They were ringing the whole time.

Toby was used to these violent lectures, but he was doing things he shouldn't. Even Lyra was disappointed, though she only watched from the staircase, arms crossed and a worried yet upset face.
Was Toby acting out like they all had claimed? He didn't think so, he thought he was just having fun, he saw it all as a game.
Even after that night when he spoke to that tall creature, it all felt like a dream, a fever dream.

Suddenly the yelling stopped, the tv was turned up and everyone fell quiet.

On the news, three missing boys appeared. The same ones that chased Toby into the forest, the same ones who hurt him.
They were missing? What could've happened. Toby's mind was so dazey he could barely think, even his vision fogged up. As confused as Toby seemed, he had this gut feeling he knew what happened. Was that creature behind this? What did he do? This was all of his fault.
Toby's shoulders dropped, his breath hitched. He could feel the burden of guilt wash over him.

The man looked over, noticing the timid figure of his son. "Don't tell me you have something to do with those missin' boys." The man furrowed his eyebrows.

Toby looked at the other in front of him. Part of him wanted to get defensive but the other part wanted to spill everything that happened that one night. He knew none of them would believe him.
Toby glanced over to Lyra who seemed in shock. Missing people in Denver were no joke, it was rare yet….not rare. It was just something about this particular case that set the unsettling atmosphere down to ground zero.

"No, wh-why would you assume that?"
Was all Toby could scatter out. Jacob swiped his fist across the kitchen table, slamming anything that was sitting on it into the wall. "You've been nothing but a fucking burden! All you do is cause trouble, and get in the fuckin' way!"

Toby flinched once more to the yelling, hearing as the man would continuously scream about the stuff Toby has done and blaming him for some random kids disappearances. Though it would 100% be his fault if he thought about it.

"I-it wasn't me! It was some demon!" Toby yelled back, balling his fists. "It asked me if i wanted th-them gone! They hurt me!"

Toby was slapped hard enough to knock him back into the wall. He took it but allowed himself to stay seated by the wall. He was preparing for more kicks and punches, following with more yelling.

Lyra had run upstairs, scared to absolute death. Toby was taking this all in mentally and physically.

"As if you even get hurt! Look at you! All pathetic and bleedin' but can't feel a thing, you're just a stupid ragdoll'!"
The man would yell louder, finally eventually being pulled back by his wife. "Honey! Calm down! Let's talk about this!"

Her arm was slammed off, earning a scared gasp from the women. "I did not raise a liar! Or a monster! Do you really think we should let him get away with this nonsense he is tellin' us! He's the reason those kids are missin'."

Toby  covered his ears, hearing them fight with a muffled over tone. He had started crying in anger, clawing at his head.

Toby took this time to scurry away and run upstairs while they weren't paying attention.
He ran into his room and propped a chair against the door.
He sat against it just in case, holding his ears. They were ringing from all of the screaming and constant force being kicked against them. He let the tears fall, angry, and sad.

Toby felt like he couldn't have anything nice, he didn't mean to admit his desires to that thing. He didn't think it was real. He thought that creature of his own imagination. It was the cause of his potential guilt. It was only a matter of time before his dad came back for round two.

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