Chapter Text
"Tommy!"
Yep. That's Tubbo. One of our protagonist's best friends. If you ask others around the Dream High School about Tubbo, he'd be described as a chaotic person.
That piece of information is, of course, correct. He almost burnt down the science lab once and broke someone's leg in a fight. He may seem nice at first, but don't let that innocent look fool you.
"Tubbo, don't run, you'll fall."
And that's Ranboo. He's a tall motherfucker whose hair looks like an oreo. He may look like a cool guy but in reality, he's a socially awkward person who still can't ask for extra ketchup in a McDonald's order.
He usually makes dad jokes and bad puns that somehow manages to make others laugh at them.
"Hey bitches." And lastly, our protagonist, Tommy. He's what people call, a gremlin that somehow crawled his way down from hell. That is half-true, there are those rare moments where you could catch him acting kind to people he's close with.
But don't bring that up in front of him, he'll definitely start swearing at you that it doesn't even sound like the English language anymore. "Oh, look at you! You're reading a book!" Tubbo teased, pointing at the book Tommy was holding. Tommy's cheeks slightly redden out of embarrassment. "Are you insulting me?!" He asked before closing the book and covering the title.
"I mean, you? Reading a book?.. That's rare." Ranboo butted in and shrugged. "This book's protagonist just has the most pog main character. He's like me." Tommy smirked and put his hands on his hips, trying to look cool after saying that.
"So the MC is a guy with anger issues?" The short brunette wore a shit-eating grin.
"No! He's handsome, strong, brave and amazing just like the great TommyInnit!" Tommy said, making hand motions while doing so. Tubbo and Ranboo looked at each other and communicated with their expressions before turning back to Tommy.
"Don't look at me like that!" The blonde shouted at his two friends. "So, bossman, what made you read that book?" Tubbo asked with an innocent smile that Tommy does not trust at all.
"Uh. Women." Tommy blurted and his two friends just stared at Tommy with a confused look before bursting into a laughing fit. "Uh huh, laugh all you want. I'm gonna go home now,-" He quickly closes his locker which is located right beside him, "- and we can have a quick voice chat on Sunday as usual." He finished and waved goodbye before running away, the book being in his arms.
When he got home, he immediately went to his room and locked the door, throwing his bag onto his bed and sitting on the floor with the book in front of him. He traced his fingers across the hard cover of the book, revealing the title.
'Nightmare' was the name. It was short and simple, and sounded like a basic horror movie name. But Ranboo was right. Tommy is not the type to read books or novels, like- at all. He could barely read the school textbook without falling asleep but this book is different.
It was a book that was written by his grandfather who he had never met before in his life. His parents never said anything about his grandfather aside from the fact he died when Tommy was at a young age.
When he died, he passed letters to almost everyone in his family, including Tommy. Tommy never bothered to read the letter and left it in his box filled with old school books for years until his 16th birthday.
He came home with his box open and the books contained inside was everywhere, messing up his room's floor. During the clean up, Tommy found the letter again and decided to give it a read.
And so, he did. He tore the letter's envelope and brought out the piece of paper along with a small key and began to read the letter.
'Dear Tommy. I know I haven't really spent that much time with you. Your grandpa here has been too busy with his work, I'm sorry. You are my only grandson, and I couldn't make time to make memories with you. That's why, I'm here to say, the thing I've been working on has been finished. It's a book. It's called Nightmare. I know, the title sounds boring for you, young man but trust me, the content lives up to its title.
You can find it near my mansion, which will be passed down to your aunt. It's located behind the place which is a small forest. Don't worry, there are no wild animals that will hurt you. And it's not that big for someone to get lost in.
I've buried it in a small chest and the key should be in the envelope too. The chest can be found near a tree that has no leaves at all. It's the only tree that does not have any leaves.'
Tommy finished reading it and flipped the paper to check if there was any other note. None. He scoffed, his grandfather was too busy writing a book that he probably wouldn't read and left him a stupid letter that didn't even say 'I love you' or 'Goodbye'?
He bit his lip and looked at the key that seemed to shine in his slightly dimmed room. He grabbed it and threw his phone, flashlight, some cash and a small shovel that he kept from middle school into his bag and wore his jacket before running out of the house to catch a taxi to the mansion.
His parents were out so he could probably find the book first and see what his grandfather wrote for him. The taxi ride lasted around 15 minutes due to there not being many cars around the neighborhood the mansion is located at.
When he rang the bell beside the large gate that secures the mansion, a woman came to the gate and had a surprised look on her face.
"Tommy?"
"Hey Aunt Puffy." Tommy awkwardly stood outside and gave his aunt a small wave. She quickly opened the gate and crushed him with a bear hug. "Aw! The last time I saw you, you were at my shoulders! Now you've grown so tall!" Puffy laughed and let go of her nephew, patting his shoulder.
"You should've told me you were gonna visit! Where's your parents?" Puffy asked, looking behind Tommy only to see nothing. "I came alone, and I have something to find behind the mansion. Grandpa asked me to in his letter." He showed her the letter and she raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't he give this out years ago? And why would you look for it now?.. At night?" His aunt asked, crossing her arms. Tommy only rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously.
"Do you want me to help you? I can ask the butlers to find it." Puffy offered but Tommy quickly disagreed and insisted on finding it alone. After some begging for permission, Puffy finally let him.
Tommy let out a shaky sigh as he stepped into the small forest. He brought out his flashlight and began searching for the tree his grandfather mentioned in the letter.
He couldn't believe he was fucking doing this at 9pm. The place was creepy but he's a big man already, he wouldn't be scared of such an environment. Also, his grandfather lied. The forest wasn't fucking small. At night, there's no light source, making it easy for someone to get lost. It's kind of Tommy's fault for trying to find it at night but what's life without taking risks?
He followed a small trail and reminded himself not to look back, having flashbacks of a horror game.
"Oh shit. The tree looks fucking horrifying." He muttered to himself when he found the tree and looked near it, finding a small wooden sign which didn't say anything. He shrugged and started digging before the shovel hit something hard.
The book was awfully.. Plain. It was dark green and the title was white. He let the torchlight light up the book as he opened it, not knowing it was going to make his normal life turn upside down.