Tommy's walk was staggered and quick. His feet were doing a mixture of being dragged and stumbling forward. The senior moved at much a speed Tommy was finding hard to keep up with, especially in the contorted position he was forced into from Phil grabbing his hood.

"Please! Look I'm sorry! I'm sorry; I really am, now let me go!" Tommy became desperate, slowly working himself up into a state of panic.

The seniors grip loosened slightly. Phil's eyes flashed shimmer of remorse? Pity? Sorrow? It disappeared before you could tell, but he moved his hand away from Tommy's hood and towards the trembling boy's hand. He held Tommy's hand.

"Tommy please just co-operate. I don't want to do this the hard way, or quite frankly any way, but you've given me no choice. You've proven that you're immature and a liar. You ran with the first chance you were given. How am I supposed to take care of you when you keep disappearing? You're a literal child."

"A) Bullshit. B) So are you." Tommy was quick to retaliate, but he didn't try to yank his hand away like he normally would.

"Hey! I've given you plenty of chances you little greml-" Phil stopped. He remembered what happened last time he called Tommy that. Phil sighed. "Look- I don't care what sappy excuses you have this time. I don't want to hear it."

Tommy was on the verge of tears, but he couldn't show Phil that. He couldn't show Phil that he was right. That Tommy was indeed a stupid child. A useless, stupid, helpless, incapable, weak, feeble, nuance of a-

No. Tommy might be all of the above, but there was no way he was letting Phil know that. "If you were such a good behavioural tutor, you would have 'fixed me' already!"

In all honesty, Tommy was hoping, against all odds, that Phil, or anyone, would correct the phrase. Did Tommy really need 'fixing'? Was he really that bad?

Tommy was slammed into a wall. What? He looked up to see an angry Phil pinning him against the bricks.

"Maybe if you weren't such a terrible kid, I would have fixed you already."

What?

They... They were right. They were all right. Everyone was right. Dad... Tubbo... Wilbur... Ranboo... all the kids from his old schools... all the kids from this school... everyone. Techno must be wrong. Everyone else saw Tommy as the monster he truly was.

Tommy's hand subconsciously moved towards the small locket around his neck. The locket engraved with one simple sentence.

'Maybe the world's monsters are only monsters because the world forced them to be that way.'

Tommy was too deep in thought, he didn't notice Phil open the nearby locker.

He didn't notice him take out an object that looked suspiciously like a lead.

He didn't notice Phil advance towards him.

And he definitely didn't notice him strap the harness to him.

Click.