TordTom OneShots

Fantôme

Many people see snakes as an odd creature, something to fear. Maybe it's the fact that they can move so effortlessly without even having legs, or their weird little tongues that flick constantly, or even the small holes around their face that some have. The creatures leave many baffled and scared, even if some may be completely harmless.

Tom grew up with a pet snake at one point, he was around 5 years old when he first received it. His mother had given the snake to Tom as a birthday present. He only had it for about 8 years before his father had thrown the thing out, more than likely out into the wild to be eaten. It was devastating to Tom but he knew not to go against his father's words. Tom hadn't gotten another snake after that. Well, now Tom was 22; moved out of his parents' house, living with his friends, having his own job at a record store in the local mall, and his very own money he could use for whatever he'd wish.

A small pet store sat only a few stores down from the record store that Tom worked at. He'd seen some mice, guinea pigs, lizards, and a few other small animals through the windows as he passed by to leave after work everyday. There was never an urge to go in and look around but today was different. For some reason, Tom decided to just see what the store had to offer. His shift had ended anyway and he had nowhere to be.

Walking into the store itself was a bit overwhelming, the smell of animals, yet not terrible, was still sudden (A/N: pet stores have a weird smell, man). Tom took a second to breathe it all in and settle with the change of scenery. It wasn't very large, as I've said, but it seemed to be a lot bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside. It might have been the bright white walls that seemed to open it up more, but the place seemed bigger than he had expected. Not many people stood within it either, which helped the space feel emptier.

Nothing really interested Tom besides having an animal that could be secured in a cage of sorts, so that Ringo, Edd's cat, wouldn't be able to get to it. Surely she wouldn't do anything to another animal to harm it, but it was still a rather better idea just in case. So Tom headed for the amphibians that could be kept in glass cases rather than bared cages.

Seeing all the critters in cases made him feel somewhat sorry, knowing that most won't find homes. Though he continued looking as he felt that maybe he'd be able to change that outcome for a lucky little fellow. And a lucky little fellow he did find. A leucistic ball python, a bright white in color with small, beady black eyes. It was curled in the corner of it's enclosure, not asleep but noticeably scared. By the looks of it, part of it's tail was missing; whether it was from some sort of attack or birth defect, Tom didn't know.

"Hey little guy.." Tom greeted softly, even though he knew the snake wouldn't hear or even understand him in the slightest. "You're really pretty." He knelt closer to the glass to get a better look, tilting his head and smiling at the ball of snake who seemingly stared right back at him.

▶▶

"EEEWWWWWW!!!!" A certain ginger yelled, crouching behind Edd with a tight grip on his green sleeve. "That is a BEAST!"

Tom gasped and placed his hand over his chest in an exaggerated pose, "She's no beast! This is Fantôme." He stated, his French accent becoming noticeably strong in comparison to his normal speech.

"It's a GHOST!?!??!!" Matt screamed. Of course, Matt also knowing French, he understood that Fantôme meant 'Ghost'. But also not understanding that it was simply a name for the snake, not that she was literally a ghost. Classic Matt.

Edd laughed, "Her name is Phantom, Matt." Not having a French accent, Edd didn't pronounce it the way it was 'supposed' to sound. Not that anyone cared though, honestly. "It's not a ghost."

"And she's certainly nothing to 'EWWW' over either!" Tom stated, using air quotations to the best of his ability while holding the pet around his wrist. Fantôme curled around his left arm, resting her head in between his thumb and pointer finger while he rubbed small circles across her body. She seemed content. "See, she's a sweet little girl." Tom held her out more, motioning her towards Matt a little bit. It only drew him further away though, clinging onto Edd tighter in the process with nothing but pure fear in his wide, blue eyes.