It had been an hour or two since the guys had left. Tubbo was sitting in one of the several comfortable chairs, getting a headache as he tried to remember what exactly had happened. He felt like he was putting together a puzzle, not knowing what the picture was. The silence buzzed loudly in his head, refusing to halt. Tubbo started to hum in an attempt to drown the sound out but it wasn't working. Go away. Go away! His thoughts screamed. Yes, leave. You need to leave.

Before he was taken over by himself, the sound of footsteps and laughter coming up the stairs reached his ears. Tubbo was happy to hear something other than his thoughts.

The boys came into the room, and on seeing Tubbo's worried face, they immediately asked what was wrong. Tubbo didn't want to sound ridiculous or God forbid- clingy- so there was a short pause before he said anything.

"I thought you forgot me," he said. He looked at all their faces. Oh no, you screwed up.

"How could we forget you, Tubbo?" Wilbur said, walking over to him and pulling him into a hug. Tubbo hugged back, happy tears falling down his face.

~~~~~

Months passed by, every day they explored the town, not finding any others. They learned the art of freezing perishable foods and started up a little garden in the park to can fruits and vegetables (Techno visited the library with Tommy a lot and they found some pretty useful books). Tubbo especially enjoyed the garden, watching the bees float around from blossom to blossom. He was fascinated that they were the only insect (there were butterflies too, but he didn't bother paying attention to them) he had seen since The Tragedy. That's what they decided on calling the horrid day, it fits well.

It was the season for eating canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. Dream had gone out as a surprise the day before, trudging through the snow to a store, getting a box of hot chocolate. He wrapped his lime green scarf around his neck and pulled it up over his ears and mouth tighter, trying to get the cold to leave him alone. He had hidden the box of hot chocolate in his thick coat and then hid the package under his bed.

The apartment was usually cold now, they didn't want to use any electricity for heat, just in case that was something they needed to worry about. They had gone around turning any lights on in buildings off to save more electricity. They rarely had the lights on and used battery-run lanterns and flashlights when it was dark.

On one chilly morning, Tommy lay on the couch (they rotated where everyone slept every three days) covered in stacks blankets. Tubbo was on the ground next to the couch, also smothered in blankets. Techno, Wil, and Sapnap all slept in their rooms, hiding under their covers. Tubbo could've slept in one of the bedrooms, but he liked to be in a room with someone else.

Dream had woken up, ready to surprise them all with mugs of hot chocolate and a package of mini marshmallows. He prepared the mugs and when it was burning hot, he went to wake the others up. He started with Tommy and Tubbo, pulling the blankets off of Tommy first, then Tubbo. They both protested but quieted down when Dream told them to get their hot chocolate from the counter. The boys raced each other to the mugs. Tubbo got to them first but being the way he is, he let Tommy get the cup with the most of the beverage.

Dream smiled at the sight, then went to go wake the others.

He swung open the door to Wil's room and yelled loudly, scaring Wilbur to death as he threw the blankets off and jumped out of bed. Techno's door opened as he ran to the source of the noise.

"What's wrong? What happened?" He questioned Dream worriedly. Sapnap opened his door slowly, still incredibly tired, "Why did someone yell?"

Dream wheezed as he saw their reactions, struggling to catch his breath, "There's a surprise for you in the kitchen," he managed to say before breaking out into uncontrollable laughter again. Techno led the way into the kitchen, looking around cautiously. Tommy and Tubbo sat on the bar stools, watching the other guys shuffle out into the main room as they drank their drinks.

"Hot chocolate?" Dream asked, handing a cup to Techno. The pink-haired boy just looked at him for a second. Dream looked nervously at Wilbur who stepped in to grab the mug.

"Thank you," he said, grinning. Techno snatched a cup from the counter, giving Dream a dirty look, and turned to head back to his room. A knock at the door stopped him (They finally got another door to keep the heat in better). Everyone looked at each other, suddenly falling into silence.

Another knock.

Wilbur grabbed his bat by the door and Sap's racket, throwing it to the boy. Tommy grabbed a knife from off the counter, jumping onto the ground without a sound, and heading to the door. Techno grabbed a plate that was sitting nearby and turned the knob, ready to hit anyone who might be a threat. He stopped as he saw who stood in front of him.

Wisp.

At the sight of him, Techno's memory replenished, his mind flooding with memories. It happened to Dream and Sapnap as well. The moments and memories they all shared, the realization that they all knew each other, and the hope that they had lost came to them, making so many emotions well up inside them. They had always felt like there was a fog in their heads, but that fog had been lifted. Everything was clear.

"Wisp!" The three boys called out in unison. Another man was behind Wisp.

Philza.

Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo all looked at each other, also realizing that they had known each other. It felt extremely confusing, they had a million questions without even knowing what the questions were.

Wisp shared a light smile with Philza as he spoke just a simple sentence, "Hey guys, it's been a while."

And their world lit up.

~~~~~

This was the finale of "Don't Follow the Crowd." I hope you enjoyed reading it, I'm really glad you decided to read this, thank you so much <3 If the ending sounded a bit rushed, I'm sorry, I didn't want this to turn into a long story so I just cut it short.

I'm working on another story called "Among Us" right now, and yes, it's based on the game. If you haven't already, it might be good to watch some of Tommy and Wilbur's (Or just someone else who makes Among Us videos- like Disguised Toast) Among Us videos if you don't understand the game.

Thank you again for reading, the first chapter of the next story will be out sometime next week. The first chapter of the book "MCYT's But in Space" has been updated. Chapter two will be out Wednesday of next week so go look at that and maybe follow my friend who's writing it, SilentSemblance; she's a great writer.