Starlights ||Schlattbur||

34: Teenage Angst 2.0

Warnings: aftermath of S/H,

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Wilbur kept tapping his fingers on the wheel as they sped down the dark streets. The air held a thick tension, one of worry and defeatism. Schlatt was utterly silent, sitting in the passenger seat of his own car while Wilbur seized the wheel. His phone was connected to his Bluetooth and propped on the dashboard, and Wilbur kept communicating with Tommy.

"Are you gonna tell dad?" Tommy whispered into the phone. The question had been brought up quite a few times. Wilbur thinks that he'd connected the dots of what happened, so he'd been trying to keep his tranquility for his little brother while he races against a potential clock to help.

"As I said before, I don't plan to, but if it's a deep wound or life-threatening then I'll have to." That was the gist of what he'd said the other few times he'd answered the question. This time he added an extra layer of comfort. "If we do have to tell dad though, he won't be mad at you, I promise. He'll want to help, which I can admit may be overbearing at times, but he loves you."

"...Thanks Wilby..." Wilbur heard the static and shuffling grow a bit louder over the phone, indicating that Tommy was moving.

"Did you put pressure on the wound?" Wilbur questioned, trying to avoid Schlatt's gaze. He had barely explained what was happening, so Schlatt only got the context clues from Wilbur's side of the conversation. Schlatt must be concerned.

"Uhm, well, it's more like wounds, there are- one, two, three... six, seven... nine. There are nine of them, uhm- two of them are kind of bad- I mean- I think I'll be fine- I uh- dammit I'm sorry Wil, I'm so fucking sorry..."

"Hey, hey, it's alright, I'll be up there with you in less than two minutes."

"Okay, that's good. I think- I think I'm alright now- I'm sorry for worrying you, this is stupid and I'm stupid and-"

"No, no, no. Don't call yourself stupid. You made a mistake, it's alright, I'm gonna get off the phone now since my phone's almost dead and we're pulling into the driveway in just a second, alright? Just sit tight and I'll be there." Wilbur heard a quiet noise of confirmation and hung up the phone.

"I think... I think I put two-and-two together, but... did Tommy..." Schlatt trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. He gripped the T-shirt he had yet to pull on and made eye contact with Wilbur.

"Hurt himself? Yeah, I think so. But, I'll find a way to deal with it."

"It doesn't have to be just you," Schlatt offered.

"Well, it can't be Phil and Techno likely wouldn't react well after what occurred with Dream." Wilbur turned the wheel, directing the car into the driveway.

"I still never actually found out what happened."

"He uhm..." Wilbur sighed. Dream and Schlatt were friends too, and Schlatt wouldn't play someone's weaknesses against them. "We're pretty sure he tried to kill himself. He overdosed and there were a lot of self-inflicted injuries."

"Oh shit, man." Schlatt's eyes had turned into an expression of horror. "Oh dammit why didn't we notice sooner? The signs were so obvious at Sapnap's place- why-"

Wilbur put the gear in park and turned on one of the overhead lights. "You gotta calm down, Jay, what happened has already happened, but Dream is in good hands, he's alive for now, but we have to focus on Tommy. I- I'm not trying to dismiss what happened with Dream, but- you- no, we just need to breathe and be there for Toms," Wilbur gave Schlatt a small smile, unsure if he was trying to soothe the other or himself at this point.