𝘖𝘏 𝘈𝘕𝘈 - 𝘛𝘖𝘔𝘔𝘠𝘐𝘕𝘕𝘐𝘛

twenty-five.

"what's your name?"
"tommy."
"how old are you?"
"sixteen, and then some."
"why are you here?"
"i- uh, i don't know."

the road trip to the residential center went smoother than he thought it would've. given that he slept for over half of it, tommy found himself internally celebrating the fact that he didn't freak out as much as he had when wilbur broke the news that he'd be going. ushered through a relatively slow admission process, he tried his best to explain to the staff members as to why his parents referred him to their facility, unfortunately being left with a plethora of 'um's and 'i don't know's. it didn't help in the slightest when they responded to his lackluster replies with a simple scribble of a pen over paper and uncomfortable silence.

so now he sat, in an awkward little waiting room with abrasively cold air conditioning, for a nurse to come and lead him to the unit he'd be staying in for the remainder of his stay. his bones rattled as he tried to warm himself up by hugging his shoulders, feet sitting against his seat as his chin tiredly rested atop his head. as time gradually passed by, he thought to himself - figured it'd be best to daydream than stare at a white wall for the rest of his sitting. it didn't seem up for much conversation, anyways.

he missed tubbo and wilbur. he wished he could call them - to ask how they're doing and to tell them he's feeling just a tad shitty when they reciprocate his question. he could only hold on until he'd be able to see them again. maybe he wouldn't put on a faux personality and groan in annoyance when either of them moved in to embrace him. maybe he'd be the one to deliver the hug first, to say he missed them like hell and that he was beyond euphoric to see them. the thought made him chuckle, which soon turned into a shiver as he held himself tighter.

his head whirled as the door opened with a gentle click, revealing a polite-looking man standing at its entrance. he held a clipboard that contained a packet of papers on it, pen disregarded in the pocket of his shirt scrubs.

"tommy? it's time to go, i'll take you to the kid's unit now."

he stood up - knees slightly wobbly due to a tingly wave of pins and needles attacking his legs - and attempted to follow the man without possibly making a fool of his walking. he couldn't remember how long he'd sat in that position; it felt like forever ago when they deposited him in the empty room.

"for the record, i'm not a kid, i'm a huge and massive man," tommy explained as they walked throughout the center, earning a snicker that enveloped into a chuckle from the nurse.

"is that so? did we get the paperwork wrong? i briefly remember hearing that we did need your parents' approval for you to come here."

"no, no, you're mistaken. must've been another patient."

"ah, i see," the man hummed, the two of them comfortably turning silent afterward. tommy eventually let out a laugh as they proceeded to the unit; he might've gotten away with it if they hadn't seen his paperwork, seeing as he was rather tall for his age.

"alrrright, this is where you'll be staying," the nurse explained as they arrived at the unit, opening the door for tommy to enter. he murmured a quick 'thanks' after walking in, eyes glancing across the large room to examine his surroundings. he was in the day area, as he remembered the staff he spoke to liked to call it. there was a nurse's station to the right, a couple of couches and a television hooked to the wall on the left, and a short hallway filled with rooms straight ahead. it was simple but still managed to tense his nerves.

the day area was empty aside from a couple of notebooks and crayons sat at the seats and armrests of chairs - it seemed to add some sort of personality to the otherwise dull environment. he was unconsciously relieved to see none of the other patients were out, wasn't sure on how to alter his personality to talk to people just yet. the blond wondered how far he'd get in a place like this with his usual overbearingly obnoxious mouth.

"thomas?" one of the nurses called from his left. he glanced towards her as the man who brought him took his leave with a short wave, which he returned, beginning to approach the small station.

"uh, it's tommy," he corrected, "i know it says thomas, but i go by tommy."

she smiled sweetly and nodded, pen jotting down a mental reminder before another wave of 'how'd you get here's and 'tell me about yourself's surfaced, paperwork quickly being filled out as tommy explained all that he could to his best comprehension. again, not that much.

fifteen minutes passed until the questionnaire finished and tommy really hoped he wouldn't have to go through another one. it tired him out to have to repeat the same robotic replies, he felt like a broken record with how many times he had to duplicate responses. 

much to his luck, he was afterward being shown to his room as the lady explained the basic rules and how things worked around 'these parks,' as she liked to put it. his brain spaced out more and more at her words. it was all starting to get a bit much for him.

"-and this is your room," she smiled, door opening to reveal a boy sitting on the bed, fingers picking at each other. his head picked at the sound of the nurse speaking and, upon realizing tommy was there, offered a short and awkward wave. he gave one in turn, just as clumsy.

"i'll let you settle in and take a nap if you'd like, group is in forty. glad to have you here, tommy!" she smiled, turning to close the door behind her. he watched her leave, jumping slightly at the impact of the door until his eyes wandered around the room. small, somewhat empty - aside from two drawers for clothes, he presumed - and the faintest scent of lemon freshener. what should've felt homely only left the blond anxious and upset, hopelessly wishing he could've gone home already. oh, what he would do to be able to call tubbo and wilbur right about now.