Chapter Text
The night of November 8th, 2020, when he received a damning call could be considered the worst of his life. The day everything changed, especially Tommy himself. He was only relaxing after a long among us stream, coming back to reality after putting on his persona for so long. Voice worn from yelling at everyone and thing. Ego bruised from being the butt of the jokes, despite the knowledge that no one really meant anything they said. His best friend and practically his big brother, Wilbur, had not been heard from for a couple of days, despite Tommy’s attempts to invite him to participate in streams. It had been okay though, he figured Wilbur had gotten into a bad headspace and decided to mostly leave him alone, until the older man was well enough to reach out again. No one else had heard from him either, but there was relatively little concern aside from hope he would feel better soon and come back online.
{On discord}
PHILZA: I know you miss him mate, but he will come back soon, he always does.
[19:23]
TOMMY: I’m just worried considering his last messages to everyone...
[19:24]
PHILZA: It’s just a sure sign that he isn’t feeling good right now. Trust me if anything happened, we would know about it by now
[19:24]
---
WILBUR: I love you Tommy
[3:53]
TOMMY: Wilbur you mean the world to me, and I love you too. You have no idea how much you’ve changed my life, being the older brother, I never had and introducing me to so many great things. Seeing our careers growing together makes me very happy and I hope we continue to grow as creators together for years to come.
[11:02]
But no declaration of friendship could be known to Wilbur.
He had gone missing.
Wilbur had disappeared for too many days; his loved ones had decided. There was enough concern, considering Wilbur’s mental health history and more than a few trips to the emergency room. Those who lived close by went over to see if Wilbur was at home. No car, no Wilbur. Every personal possession had been left in the house, aside from his car keys. And every container of medication. Soon the police were called, and a missing persons report put into the system. There could only be hope, by those who knew him online, that they could see Wilbur again soon.
“We’re just like brothers you know, that’s what they all say!” Tommy had exclaimed happily while the two were streaming Minecraft together.
“Don’t say that… I’ll cry.”
Truthfully, Tommy was never the same after that phone call, at first being mocked by his friends and community for doing worse than everyone else, mourning more than those who were closer and more loved by Wilbur. Soon, this mocking turned into regret and concern, after they had heard the news that Tommy was beginning to spend nights in the hospital, refusing to take his medication and care for his own body. As everyone realised there was little that they could do to help him, Tommy’s friends began to drop away, leaving him with almost nothing. They were tired of being exposed to his worst self.
“Nikki, you’re just not getting it. He will come back! He wouldn’t want you to give up on him.”
“Tommy, it’s been an entire year. Where would he have gone? What would he have done? He left all his money, ID and devices in his house. You need to let go!”
“Never! Everyone has left me; I can’t lose him too.”
Nikki would become part of that everyone when she hugged his shaking body and felt the prominent bones in his back, realising she was better than this mess.
Everyone did wonder what happened to Wilbur, soon agreeing that he likely took his own life considering all the circumstances. The police started to look for a body after a week had passed, much to Tommy’s fury. In the ‘Find Wilbur’ discord group chat, that Tommy had been revoked permission to speak in, conversation got sparser as everyone eventually moved on with their lives. Only a yearly reunification on the anniversary of his presumed death did everyone pay their respects.
Tommy could never bring himself to leave it, even when Wilbur’s ‘death’ was plastered everywhere, or when users forgot Tommy was in the chat and talked about him negatively. He had spent his day believing he was mutually best friends with Wilbur forever, going through the horrors of life together and strong. Everyone else made it so it didn’t really feel like that. His old friends reassured themselves that it was Tommy’s way of coping in the wake of his mental illness springing back up to the surface, in believing that Wilbur never liked him much anyway. Tommy unpicked every old stream and video of Wilbur to find the evidence, an act of self-hate to present himself as idiotic as everyone believed.
“Wilbur never hated you; it was all part of the bit – the older brother annoyed at his little brother’s antics. You always love taking part in the bit.”
“But everyone who knew him better than we did thinks he does hate me. Would it be so bad anyway? It’s clear that I can’t function on my own anymore. If he hates me, it’s easier to move on and be normal. Get all my friends back… Get my life back.”
“Maybe a change in the environment will also help? I know Phil would certainly take you in and look after you like you were his own. His new baby would certainly benefit from an older brother figure.”
“I’m sure knowing Wilbur and I weren’t that close would be more beneficial. I was only sixteen and met him once, pissed him off every time the cameras rolled. He was probably just being nice to me because he had to.”
“Whatever will get you better, I just want my best friend back. It’s been nearly three years already and your body can’t take much of this anymore.”
No matter what anyone said, Tommy’s feelings for Wilbur still went beyond close friendship or brotherhood.