Through Potions and Books it's still, you isn't it?

Chapter twelve

"You want to get food somewhere before going to the tower?" Phantom asked with a smile, something that still made Tommy shudder a little. Sure, it was meant to be easy and kind but all it reminded him of was the sharp smirk the hero had shot him during their meeting on the rooftops. He wouldn't say the hero had traumatised him, no, he was a big man and the facility had already taken over the part of his brain that was responsible for traumatic memories. There was simply no space for more, so naturally, he wasn't traumatised by Phantom indirectly throwing him into the river. Or the potion the hero had thrown at him. Or the after-effects of said potion.

He was just a little weary of the man, maybe even a little bit scared and who could blame him? Phantom had it out for his vigilante persona due to some personal vendetta or whatever, and Tommy had to remind himself more than once that he currently wasn't Theseus and in no immediate danger. Which, admittedly, wasn't true considering he was after him, but at least the hero posed no threat to him at that given point. He was supposed to protect him even and the hero's friendly attitude and chatting did quite a bit to calm his nerves a little.

During their walk to central it had quickly become clear that they wouldn't catch onto Tubbo anymore, which is why they had slowed their pace a little, Phantom had assured him that it'd be completely fine if they got to the tower a bit later than planned. "They can ping me," the hero had said with a shrug upon Tommy's questioning about his teammates' potential worry.

"We don't have to, of course," the brunette spoke again, taking in Tommy's silence, "there's a cafeteria we can get dinner from, though I'm not sure if they're still serving anything of the good stuff past seven."

"I'm not really familiar with the restaurants around here," Tommy said after pondering on his answer for a little. They had long since entered the central area of L'Manberg, a plethora of lit-up, expensive-looking shops and restaurants surrounding them as well as a rather uncomfortable amount of people. Phantom seemed hardly phased by them, but the young teen was a little unnerved. Large crowds were never something he overly liked to be in.

"Oh, I know plenty of good restaurants around here. You just have to tell me what you're feeling like having for dinner," the hero grinned at him, practically bouncing in his step as he eagerly waited for Tommy's response.

He hesitated, they hadn't ordered any food at the café in Logstedshire and it was well past six already and they'd likely not arrive at the tower before seven. And he did admittedly feel a little hungry, running from a crazy woman working for a man, who made the first years of your life hell, does that to you, he supposed. A low hum escaped his lips as he looked around, unconsciously stepping closer to the hero as a group of loudly chatting teenagers passed them, he didn't see how the brunette's face lit up and his posture changed. His eyes skimmed over the restaurant names and he hoped that one of them might sound less posh than the others and give him an idea of what he felt like having for dinner. Then he remembered something.

"What about the announcement?"

"What about it?"

"We're gonna miss it."

"Not if we decide on something fast," the hero had grinned again.

"Chinese?" He asked shyly after his eyes had caught the sign of a rather nice-looking restaurant.

Phantom beamed at him, babbling about how he had hoped for Tommy to choose Chinese since it was his favourite takeout and quickly pulled him to the establishment across the road.

"This is one of, if not, the best Chinese restaurant in central," the hero had said before quickly shoving the teen inside, the warm air immediately greeting his skin, "we actually order from here all the time."