Oh, We Can Be Heroes

Chapter Eight

TW: VIOLENCE, SELF HARM (not a vivid description but heavily heavily implied), PANIC ATTACKS, DESCRIPTIONS OF DISSOCIATION/DEREALIZATION, FOUL LANGUAGE

Needless to say, dinner was a fiasco that night.

When Tommy and Phil met in his classroom, Tommy seemed normal. Quiet as normal. When Will walked in with Sally, he seemed honestly more comfortable when they walked in. When Techno walked in though, he immediately tensed. That response confused Phil, as earlier this morning he seemed to favor him over Will. But nonetheless, he didn't think about it and took his kids home (Sally had to work, so she wasn't over that day). When they got home, the boys went off as normal and Phil thought they would be able to have a peaceful dinner, that he had successfully put Tommy into their natural environment and he had not raised suspicion.

So, in a bout of triumph, he wanted to make a casserole. It was nice, he had put on the Smiths ( fuck morrisey, all the homies hate him ) and cooked. Wilbur was playing the piano, happy to have his sound back. Techno worked on the robot Schlatt had broken during lunch, and planned an apology for the boy for lunch the next day. And Tommy was seemingly playing with the dogs until he walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Phil?" The man looked to the boy he had already considered a son (it had only been five days, but he knew). "Where do you keep your knives? I want to cut up this apple." The father, not assuming the worst, pointed to the third drawer to the left of him. The second Tommy grabbed the knife, he felt the boy's power turn on.

Upstairs, Techno had just knocked over a cup of water he swore he took downstairs that morning. He grabbed the cup, and walked into the kitchen to grab some towels. He was met with a Phil who looked frozen, hands not moving in the sink where he was supposed to be doing the dishes. Instead, his dad was staring at Tommy, who held a knife and apple.

"Hey Toms. Can you grab me the hand towel right there? Also if you're looking for the cutting boards, they're to the right of Phil." Tommy nodded, putting the apple on the counter. Techno walked over to the towel, and grabbed it. The kitchen was tense.

"Techno, run." He stopped moving. Phil had turned off the water now, drying his hands. "Tommy's flashlight is getting really bright, and it has been since he grabbed that knife." Techno looked at Tommy, who just held, more gripped actually, the knife. Tommy at the second looked directly at Techno, and sighed.

"I'm sorry. I know you're not going to be mad and that I'm not going to let anything stop me, but I know this will still be a pain in the ass." Tommy took a step toward Techno, and the brother responded in a step back.

"Tommy, are you trying to stab me? That's not going to happen, you know." Techno stepped back again, but tripped on his untied shoelace and fell.

My luck is utter shit.

Tommy stood over him, the knife shaking. He was nervous, and every part of him radiated that this was a needed action. It confused Techno, because they were fine not even hours ago. Hell, Tommy sat next to him at lunch! He could've sat anywhere, but he decided to be by Techno.

"Tommy, I think you need to drop that knife. This is extremely out of character for you, and I have a suspicion this isn't you. Please, drop it." Phil slowly inched towards the boy. Wilbur had somehow made it into the kitchen, watching the interaction. Will had caused a cup to shatter, making Tommy flinch. How did the kid just flip completely?

I pissed Schlatt off at lunch, sonuvabitch- Before he could tell his dad, Tommy stabbed him in the stomach. "FUCK! Why the stomach? Anywhere else would've been great, man. Lots of muscles right here, and I think you punctured something." Tommy immediately backed away, realization clear on his face. Phil and Will ran over, helping Techno up and over to the couch.