Chapter Text
[RING RING]
...
[RING RING]
the noise of the telephone interrupts the otherwise calming silence the night offers
[RING RING]
Tommy tosses around in bed, subconsciously trying to block out the annoying noise.
[RING RING]
the phone however can not care.and, much to his dismay, it'll go on and on until someone stops it.
[RING RING]
'someone' who according to Tommy should be the idiot calling him in the middle of the night, this shouldn't be his problem.
[RING RING]
"AUGH" he complains, tired at last of the incessant ringing. Pulling aside the sheets with exaggerated force Tommy sits on the bed rubbing his eyes and starts patting the bed looking for the phone that still wouldn't shut up
[RING RING]
whoever was calling him was pretty resilient — and stupid he might add,normally people would just give up after a minute or two of waiting, they must have something really important to say,or again, they might just be stupid.
Tommy finally feels the charger cable between the sheets and follows it until he finds the phone, without looking at it he pulls the cable out.
[RING RING]
the sound , now made clearer after Tommy pulled the covers off it, made his head ache. the brightness of the screen didn't help either. he almost cut the call immediately until he bothered to read the contact name.
'wilbur soot'
[RING RING]
what the hell could Wilbur even want at this hour? with him much less?
With the sheets still covering his legs, Tommy answers the call, now more confused than angry.
"Hello? Wilbur?" he asked, not expecting the sudden burst of pure noise that came out of the speaker in that second
“jesus cristh!” he shrieked
the static from the phone seemed more prominent than usual, Tommy could hear a voice through the noise but making out what it was saying was another story.
"Hello?" he tried again, through the static he could faintly hear his name being called
"tommy? hello tommy is it working now?" the static, though still lingering in the background, clears up enough for Wilbur to be understood
"yeah man i couldn't hear you before" tommy groaned rubbing his eyes
"oh yeah I'm sorry about that, say tommy how's it going! I'm sorry for calling in the middle of the night but i had to ask you a favor"
"I'm fine i was sleeping-" tommy interrupts himself with a yawn "does it have to be right now?"
"yeah sorry man but i need you to stay awake tonight"
….
oh he had to be fucking with him
"w...why would I ever do that?" tommy frowned
"please man! i might need you for a recording later just don't sleep" Wilbur pleaded through the phone much to Tommy's ever growing confusing, he narrows his eyes and considers it before finally giving in
"uh.. ok i won't"
it was a flimsy excuse at best and a flat out lie at worse,but wilbur seemed so adamant that there was no way he could win if this ever turned into an argument, atleast not while this sleepy
"thank you so much tommy!" Wilbur cheered "I'm gonna go back to working on some stuff now, I'll leave you alone"
before tommy could respond Wilbur chimes in again "remember not to sleep!" before hanging up abruptly
Tommy's left looking down at the phone on his hand dumbfounded.
"what does he even need me for" he huffed.
______
he lays back down in bed,the call couldn't have lasted more than two minutes but Wilbur's words echoe on the back on his mind.
his eyes are closed, he's relaxed, he's not thinking about anything, he should he sleeping by all means. but every time his mind starts to drift off he's reminded of his call with Wilbur and, willingly or not, he's woken up again and again.
hours pass like this until tommy can see the sun peaking behind the horizon and his room is flooded with light, only then he gets up from his bed. looking out the window he can see the pink and orange tones illuminating the sky starting to fade into the usual blue, the birds are starting to sing and people where already going out for work.
and Wilbur never called.
he spent the whole night waiting and Wilbur never fucking called
the lack of sleep was catching up to him it seemed, he felt himself lose balance as he made his way to the kitchen
"AGH" he protests, bringing his hands up to his head to attempt calm his headache "WHY DID I EVEN LISTEN TO HIM!" he yelled, angrily kicking an empty cardboard box that stood on his way
he eventually calms himself, slowing down and really thinking about the question he had just asked.
"why did i do that"
it comes out quieter this time.he himself not being sure of the answer
_______
"and then he never called! can you fucking believe it?"
pacing around your apartment and ranting about your problems to a friend helps a lot. tommy at least found it helpful,tubbo's a good listener after all,even if he's clearly doing something of his own while on call.
"seems pretty fucked up, i would have just ignored him though to be honest" tubbo remarks, tipping away at his keyboard on whatever project he's working on
"i know! at first i was just gonna go back to sleep and maybe leave the phone right next to my ear for if he did call me"
"but?"
"but!" tommy stomps the ground and turns around for emphasis,even if tubbo isn't there to see him, its the theatrics that matter here "i just couldn't go back to sleep after that!"
"that sucks"
"i know! now I'm all sleepy and shit tubs it sucks!" maybe he'd take a nap later but right now he needed to call Wilbur now, he'd leave tubbo alone to finish his work.
once he had said goodbye to his friend Tommy dramatically slumped on a kitchen stool mentally preparing to tell Wilbur to go fuck himself. he already had his finger hovering over the call button when the phone rang.
almost as if he had read his mind. Wilbur soot was calling him. his surprise was quickly overwritten by the anger from before though.
Tommy picks up with the intention of screaming as soon as he is given the chance but Wilbur beats him to it
"hello tommy" he speaks with that soft tone that Tommy's come to know, stil,l this wasn't about to stop him from yelling regardless
"YOU SON OF A BITCH I WAS JUST ABOUT TO CALL YOU" he held the phone extra close to his mouth for extra loudness
Wilburs laugh left the amusement showing clearly on his voice even though the static
"good morning tommy" his cheery tone heavily contrasting Tommy's dramatic anger
"don't 'good morning' me you fucking bastard!" he could practically hear Wilbur rolling his eyes "you left me to stare at the ceiling for hours for no reason!"
"oh Tommy im sorry about that!" he didn't sound sorry at all but tommy let him continue "i feel asleep mid-work and never called you"
tommy huffed "you should be sorry! i had work to do today and now I'm gonna be exhausted all day!" Wilbur hummed and tommy could imagine him tilting his head before he spoke
"you should relax tommy, go to the couch and nap for a bit"
he was planning on doing that anyways, prick.
still Tommy's suddenly too tired to argue
"i suppose you're right" he says before jumping off the stool and stretching his arms towards the ceiling, the faint sound of distant windchimes made it's way to his ears but he ignored then as he layed down on the couch, he had almost forgotten about the phone until Wilbur spoke up again
"you really are tired aren't you? I'm sorry for keeping you up" another giggle escaped him "thank you for staying up for me though"
"hmm whatever..." Wilbur was right, he was tired,his mind had even started to get hazy in the middle of the call.how hadn't he realized how bad it was before was beyond him.
tommy stared at the ceiling for less than a minute before he was completely out. Wilbur had hanged up before that but he can't exactly pinpoint when, he doubts he even said goodbye-
or maybe he didn't hear him…
not like it matters,he's got some sleep to catch up on
____________________
After that argument Wilbur started calling him frequently, in addition to the discord calls Tommy was used to, Wilbur seemed to favor just calling him on his cell phone lately. the calls had almost becomed part of his daily routine as much as Wilbur liked to deny it every time they met in person.
almost as if he knew that Tommy was thinking about the Wilbur calls him on his cell phone and Tommy doesn't waste time answering.
"hi will!" Wilbur's voice takes a while to work its way past the initial static of the call. His phone had been 'malfunctioning lately' Will had explained a few days ago, so he already knew what to expect.
"hello tommy?" he can finally hear
"Will hi! how's it going big man?"
"I'm good, I'm good but how 'bout you king?
they both fall comfortably into their little routine and jump from topic to topic for almost half an hour. from the new song Wilbur was writing to how tommy was considering getting a dog, even touching on gossip and other silly drama they had seen on twitter that day nothing was really off Limits,it was a nice break from a boring day of just subtitling
"now tommy.." wilbur interrupted him while talking about the new video of him that he was editing "You haven't been editing all day with no breaks haven't you?" he teased, clearly knowing the answer already
"w-what? me? noooo Wilbur y'know I'm the healthiest guy there is"
"tommy..." Wilbur's voice takes a serious tone for a moment "you've got to take breaks man it's not a joke"
tommy sighs, he knows it's true but it's hard to regulate his screen time when he so easily let's himself be taken over by the repetitive workflow that is subtitling.
"come on tommy, how 'bout you go stand outside for a bit" suggested Wilbur in an attempt to lighten up the mood
"outside?" Tommy asks, looking out the window he can see how the wind lifts tree leaves into the sky and drags any paper that had the misfortune of being left on the sidewalk. "it looks kinda cold out i don't know man"
opening the window he can smell the distinctive humid smell in the air that always predates a storm
"looks like it's gonna rain too.." he adds
Wilbur sighs from the other end of the call almost as if he's disappointed "it's probably going to start raining in an hour minimum" he argues "so you better go out now and stay for about 20... maybe half an hour breathing in the fresh air"
tommy groans in annoyance but gives in without much pushback much to his own surprise
"fine fine, I'll go breathe in the nasty city air are you happy?" Tommy gets up from his desk and starts looking under his bed for his shoes when Wilbur replies with an overly cheery tone "very! take care man I've got some stuff to do so I'll call you tomorrow! byeeee"
Wilbur ended the call before tommy could say goodbye back.
it was abrupt but Tommy could see it coming anyway. lately it wasn't uncommon for wilbur to cut off their conversations with the excuse of his 'work'. not like it really matters, tommy has better things to do than wonder what projects wilbur is working on right now. like for example going to stand in the parking lot for 30 minutes.
Already on the stairs, any doubt he had had dissipated more and more with each step he took down. His back had already begun to hurt from sitting so much in his chair, maybe Wilbur was right at the end of it..
His footsteps echo off the walls of the narrow stairs, the building was clearly designed around the elevator, leaving the stairs as afterthought clearly added to meet safety protocols. As uncomfortable as they are, Tommy enjoys taking them instead of the elevator, not only does he not have to wait in the lobby like a fool for it to come down, but it also serves him as exercise (or so he likes to believe).
random thoughts of that same caliber bounced around his head until he hits the ground floor. with a quick twist of the keys he opens the door and is immediately greeted by the cold harsh wind he saw earlier now seeming much more real than before.
before he could turn back though the same melodic sound of windchimes he'd heard a few nights ago drew him further into the cold air.while tommy hadn't piezed together yet to wich one of his neighbors they belonged to he figures it must be driving them crazy in this weather.
Tommy stands almost smack in the middle of the parking lot, looking up he can see the clouds darken and swirl around each other, occasionally colliding and lighting up the sky with lightning only to later shatter his ears with mighty thunder that sounded as if the sky it was going to fall on him. As strange as it may seem to Tommy, this does not bother him at all, the almost chaotic environment seems to turn around him as if he were in the eye of a hurricane.
in a short time tommy stops noticing the cold or how strong the wind is getting or even the drops that begin to fall on his hair, the sound of the wind sweeping against the trees mixes in his ears with the bells ringing making him feel almost as he you were underwater.
little and nothing goes through his head at the moment, hypnotized by the dancing of the leaves in the wind tommy spends the first 15 of the designated 30 Minutes standing motionless on the pavement.
It's only when what was once a light drizzle turns into a storm that Tommy realizes how wet his clothes are, even so he doesn't move, somehow knowing that he still has 2 minutes left until he reaches 30.
.
.
.
There were only about 56 seconds left when Tommy heard something that was neither the wind nor the chimes.
"HEY KID!" The voice of one of his neighbors calls him, he doesn't know much about her but he swears that he crossed paths with her on the stairs from time to time.
still Tommy doesn't bother to look at her, too occupied staring at his own shoes to care.
"KID!" she shouts again from the buildings entrance "WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE?"
this time tommy quietly replies.
"i'm having a break"
"WHAT?" oh she couldn't hear him, the wind had grown even louder than he thought and while he wasn't in the mood to shout he figured there's no other way.
"IM HAVING A BREAK" he responds again, now much louder. the woman seemed visibly confused at that
"ON THE RAIN?" she had a good point, not that they where arguing anyways.
"YEAH" he states drily like it's the most normal thing ever.
mid conversation, somewhere in his mind the imaginary alarm he had set goes off, finally marking the end of his 30 minute break.
almost mechanically he made his way back to the buildings entrance where his neighbor stood worriedly looking over to where he was.
only then realizes that not only where his sneakers completely soaked but his socks as well, making him feel like he was walking in a swamp.
Once he found himself inside the lobby Tommy seemed to come back to reality, the noise of both the wind and the bells was drowned out by the doors, allowing him to hear his neighbor well for the first time that afternoon.
"what where you doing out there? you're gonna get sick" she comments
Tommy has no excuse really, he has no need to lie to the poor girl either,much less when she looks so worried for him even if she doesn't even know his name.
"i was taking a break from work" he explains "and then it started raining" it wasn't the most logical course of action looking back his neighbor seemed to agree judging by the look on her face.
while she did not seem convinced, the girl let him go without further questions, although not without first accompanying him to his door.
"You look like you're going to pass out kid come on, let's take the elevator this time" she tells him, practically dragging him towards the elevator.
"are you alright?" she asks him once the elevator doors had closed, coincidentally they seemed to live on the same floor so there was no need to make any additional stops "You don't have a cough or anything?"
"uhmm no I'm fine thanks" he replies, and oddly enough Tommy was telling the truth, his only problem right now where his wet socks and how cold it was, even so he doubts that he will get sick.
this time it's tommys turn to ask a question
"what's your name sorry? I'm tom by the way" he figures he might as well know her name after all of that.
she smiles at him, maybe realizing that he was slowly recovering from that dizzy feeling that overwhelmed him no less than 5 minutes ago, or maybe he was overthinking things too much.
"I'm Rebecca nice to meet you, i think we've seen each other on the stairs a few times haven't we?"
Tommy nods. Now he remembers, the two of them were the only ones who used the stairs. At least up to the 5th floor. he recalls bumping into her on his way down or up all the way back when he has just moved there.
the elevator dinged announcing the floor they where now in and once the doors opened they both went to their own apartments after a quick farewell.
Without wasting much time, Tommy enters his house. all the lights and his computer were still on just as Tommy had left them in his haste. He almost made his way to his desk to get back to work before remembering that he was completely drenched, opting instead to grab clean clothes from his closet to change into.
already in the bathroom Tommy thinks clearly for the first time in the 40 minutes that had already passed since wilbur cut off the call.
"that was pretty fucking stupid of me" he mutters to himself
he takes off his hoodie and pants, leaving them in the bathtub for the time being.
he felt less 'relaxed and refreshed' as Wilbur had promised and more like his brain had been put through a washing machine but it's fine, he had a video to edit now.