Chapter Text
Tubbo had never been in the woods.
That’s a lie. He has been in the woods, but not the woods behind his house. His parents have always said “don’t go in the woods, especially at night.” He never understood why. Until he had gone a few paces in during the day. He didn’t like it. It was eerie and quiet and a little foggy so he couldn’t see far out. He ran back to the safety of the house.
And then he met Tommy.
Tommy came wearing a white shirt with red sleeves, denim jeans, and white sneakers. His dirty blond hair was unbrushed, and his bright blue eyes were sparkling with excitement. Tubbo’s parents had welcomed Tommy in, and once they had left, Tommy immediately turned to Tubbo.
“Let’s go in the forest,” he said, his eyes shining.
“Wha-? No! No no no! We’re not going in there,” Tubbo immediately rounded back.
“Awwww c’mon. Whyyyyyy,” Tommy whined.
“I……it’s dangerous. My parents say I can’t go in there. Ever,” Tubbo added.
“You ruin the fuuuun,” Tommy whined, accepting defeat.
The two boys had had their fun. They played inside, they played outside, and got incredibly dirty while digging a giant hole in the backyard because why not.
Once Tommy had gone and the door was closed, Tubbo’s parents sat him down at the table, insisting they needed to talk.
“Tubbo,” his mom began. “We’re going to go away for a little while. You’ll be all by yourself. You’re 16, so you should be able to take of yourself.”
“Where are you going?” Tubbo asked.
His parents looked at each other. His dad responded. “We’re going…to the mountains. To hike. We won’t be gone too long, maybe a couple of weeks.”
Tubbo mulled this over in his head. “Okay! I can do that,” he said, a smile on his face.
His parents left the next morning. And he waited. And waited. And waited. One week went by. Two weeks went by. Three weeks went by. They still hadn’t come back. Tubbo invited Tommy over. Tommy starting living with Tubbo. A year passed, and Tubbo was 17 now.
The two were sitting at Tubbo’s dining room table, eating dinner. It was dark outside, and the forest was pitch black.
“What do you think happened to my parents?” Tubbo asked as he played with his food.
Tommy stopped, his fork halfway to his mouth. He put the chunk of potatoes in his mouth and chewed.
“They probably died,” he said with his mouth full.
“That is not what I was expecting to hear,” Tubbo laughed.
Tommy laughed. “What else was I supposed to say? ‘Oh Tubbo, your parents just went off into the mountains and kept missing their plane back.’” Tommy chuckled.
“I don’t think they flew there, I think they drove. The car’s gone,” Tubbo said, attempting to eat a little bit of his potato. His stomach refused.
Something was not right, and it wasn’t making him feel good.
“Okay, Mr. I-Pay-Attention-Because-I-Am-Observant,” Tommy said with a chuckle. “Are you not gonna eat?”
“Stomach’s not happy,” Tubbo said, finally pushing his plate away from himself. He’ll eat later if he’s hungry.
“Tubboooooooo, you need to eeeeeeat. You’ll regret it later when we go in the forest if you don’t,” Tommy said.
“Tommy, we’re not going in that forest,” Tubbo said, his head whipping to look at Tommy.
“Okay, okay. It was just a suggestion,” Tommy mumbled. He ate some more of his potatoes.
Tubbo sighed and rested his head on his arms. “What if that’s what happened to my parents?”
“What, they went into the woods and didn’t come out?” Tommy asked.
“Yeah. Like not these woods, but a forest on the mountain,” Tubbo said.
“I mean, it’s possible. Loads of people go into woods and die in there,” Tommy said.
“Yeah, I know. But, when they told me they were leaving, they sounded like they were hiding something. Like they weren’t telling me everything,” Tubbo said, sitting up and dragging his plate closer to himself.
“Maybe,” Tommy said, watching as Tubbo shoveled almost all of his potatoes in his mouth. “You’re gonna get sick.”
“What?” Tubbo asked, his mouth full of potato. He noticed. “Oh! I was not aware I did that…”
“Okay, bee boy,” Tommy said.
Tubbo finished what was in his mouth before looking out at the forest again. There were two glowing purple eyes staring back at him from the edge.
“What the fuck?!” Tubbo screamed.
Tommy jumped. “What? What is it?” Tommy looked out at the forest and saw nothing.
“There were…eyes,” Tubbo stammered.
Tommy looked out of the window. “I….don’t see anything. Are you sure you saw that?”
“Yes! There were eyes, Tommy! Eyes!” Tubbo said, standing up.
“Okay, okay, calm down, calm down. We can check it out in the morning,” Tommy said, waving his hands down.
Tubbo flopped down into his seat. “Fine.”
“Okay. Now eat,” Tommy said, pushing Tubbo’s plate closer to him.
“M’not hungry,” Tubbo mumbled.
“I will force feed you,” Tommy said, sounding dead serious.
Tubbo locked eyes with Tommy. “Do it if you can catch me.” Tubbo and Tommy both stood up. They stared at each for a little before Tubbo dashed away.
“Get back here, bitch!” Tommy said with no malice in his voice.
Tubbo ran around the house with Tommy chasing him. Tubbo eventually slowed enough for Tommy to tackle him. They fell to the ground laughing, the creepy apparition pushed to the side and momentarily forgotten. They laid on the floor for a while, catching their breathe. Tommy’s eyes suddenly widened and he slapped his hand against his forehead in a facepalm.
“We have school tomorrow,” he said with a groan.
Tubbo frowned. “Oh yeah we do… Well in the case we should probably get up.” He sat up.
“I don’t wanna get up, the floor is nice,” Tommy whined.
Tubbo sighed and stood up. “I won’t make my cookies tomorrow if you don’t.”
Tommy instantly stood up. Tubbo laughed and walked back over to the table. He picked up his plate and looked at it. Tommy walked over and looked at the plate too.
“You should finish that,” Tommy said.
Tubbo sighed. “I know.” His stomach growled a little bit. Tubbo grabbed his fork and finished off his potatoes. “Do you want the rest?” he asked Tommy.
Tommy shook his head and grabbed his own plate. “I’m alright. Just throw it away.”
“I’m not gonna throw it away. I’ll wrap it up,” Tubbo said.
Tommy rolled his eyes and put his plate in the sink. “Okay. I’m gonna go shower now. Yell if you need anything!”
“I will!” Tubbo semi-shouted at Tommy’s retreating back.
Tubbo finished wrapping the plate in aluminum foil and stuck it in the fridge. He closed the door with a little bit more force than he intended and sighed. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. It felt like he was being watched again. Tubbo whipped his head in the direction of the woods and stared right out. The eyes were back, and they looked closer. Tubbo glared at the eyes, and after a couple of blinks, they disappeared. Tubbo smiled and put his hands on his hips.
“That’s right, bitch. I’m the bigger person,” he said.
He turned out the lights and went into the master bedroom, which happened to be right next to the bathroom that Tommy was in. He flopped down onto the huge bed and sighed. He rubbed his face and closed his eyes. He drifted off into sleep.
Tommy turned off the bathroom lights and stepped out, clean and dressed. He saw Tubbo passed out on their bed and chuckled quietly.
“Sleepy bee,” he whispered to himself. He went around to Tubbo and hoisted him properly onto the bed. He threw the blankets on top of him. Tubbo scooted into the warmth of the blankets with a small smile on his face. Tommy smiled and turned off the light on Tubbo’s side. He walked around the bed and climbed in. He turned off his light and closed his eyes.
Tubbo inched closer to Tommy’s warmth, still asleep. Tommy smiled softly and fell asleep.