I was here | A Ranboo-centric Fanfic [discontinued]

Chapter 3

Ranboo spent the weekend hiding out in his room by himself, occasionally emerging to get food. He still hadn't built up the courage to eat with everyone else yet and he still hadn't met everyone who lived in the house. Even more surprisingly, Phil hadn't forced him to spend time with him or anyone else, like some foster parents he'd had in the past. Ranboo wasn't quite sure what to think of it.

From the sound of it, the house was not only home to the people who lived there, but also their friends. Ranboo had lost count of the amount of people he had heard flitting around the house, shouting at video games and arguing over who got to sit where at the table... all these new voices... it didn't exactly make him want to emerge.

Running was seeming more and more appealing the more time he spent here.

Yes Phil was nice, as was Tubbo... but Ranboo was lonely, and he missed his cat.

He missed his cat and he missed his little doorstep that he had claimed as his own and he missed the city.

So Ranboo isolated himself all weekend, secretly planning a halfhearted escape and ignoring the fact that his heart wasn't fully in it, meaning it likely wouldn't be successful. He knew that from past experiences.

On Sunday evening, Phil came up to see him.

Ranboo heard footsteps outside of his room while he was sat on one of the wooden beams in the ceiling (don't ask, it was strangely comfortable up there and it was fun) practising with the charcoals that Phil had bought him. They were a difficult medium to work with (or at least in Ranboo's opinion) and so far he wasn't very good at it, his hands covered in black smudges and the cat he was trying to draw mediocre at best.

He knew it was Phil from how heavy the footsteps were and the fact that he was one of the only people who would bother to come see him considering the fact that Ranboo hadn't exactly been the epitome of friendly since arriving - the other kids probably hated him for being so reclusive.

To give Phil credit, when he had entered the room (only after Ranboo had said he could come in) he hadn't been surprised to see Ranboo hanging out in the rafters - like somehow this was a normal, everyday occurrence. He had merely smiled and asked Ranboo to come down so they could talk.

"How would you feel about starting high school?" Phil had asked, watching for Ranboo's reaction.

Ranboo felt many thing about starting high school again, none of which he was going to tell the man (unknowing that Phil could tell what he was feeling anyway).

"Err I guess it would be good." Ranboo had muttered, rubbing his charcoal covered hands together nervously.

"You'll most likely be a junior like Tubbo, Tommy and Purpled, so you'll know people before you arrive."

Ranboo frowned, "I thought Tubbo and Purpled are seventeen? How are they in the same year as Tommy?"

"They have birthday's at an odd time of year, plus Tubbo is dyslexic so he would have been kept back a year anyway. The Principle and his English teacher wouldn't be convinced otherwise." Phil seemed annoyed by that and Ranboo sensed some underlying frustrations with the pair about that particular topic.

"Oh." Ranboo replied. He guessed that made sense.

He already knew he would probably have to repeat a year after dropping out of school for a few months... you couldn't exactly attend school while living on the streets and hiding from the foster system. He had sort of been expecting to have to repeat sophomore year (which would suck), so Phil telling him he'd most likely be a junior didn't seem as awful as Phil had probably expected him to feel.