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Ever since they were little, everyone has had trouble telling them apart. It even took their own brother, Punz, a couple of months after they were born to find a distinct difference from the two of them and that was their noses. It seemed like nitpicking but it was the only way to tell at the time. Purpled’s nose was slightly rounder than Tommy’s and lighter to the rest of his face. Tommy’s nose was a bit pointer than his brother’s with a hue of red just at the tip of it.
That worked for a bit, until the weather got cold and they both had red hues on their nose. Then it was practically a guessing game until they got their own personalities and could cuss Punz out until he got their name right. That was when the easy days came in, he went to work and the boys went to school and everything was okay.
Purpled, though he was quiet and sometimes unnoticeable, he had Tommy to balance him out since he was loud and impulsive. Purpled barely got in trouble but when he did his partner in crime was always Tommy and most of the time it was his twin’s idea. It was rarely ever where Purpled was the culprit and mastermind of an issue and Tommy was dragged along with him.
This just so happened to be one of those times.
“Tommy I need you to do something for me,” Purpled demanded as he barged in his room. Tommy was sitting on his bed struggling to do his English homework. He’s never seen Purpled so frayed, the tips of his hair sticking up on end as he paced his room in silence.
“Well are you gonna stand there and watch me struggle with Shakespeare or are you gonna say what you need help with?”
“You can’t tell Punz,” Purpled says seriously.
“I wasn’t thinking about it, now can you talk,” Tommy says huffing, moving his notebooks out of the way for Purpled to sit down on the bed. The moment the space was free Purpled dived in the spot and sighed dramatically.
“I’ve got a math test I’m about to flunk.”
“Okay well it’s math so I don’t know what you want me to do about that,” Tommy shrugs. Purpled looks about him with a deadpan stare, there was something Tommy wasn’t getting and he was about to get hit with something.
“I need help,” Purpled says as a forceful hint. He then gives it a moment or two and when Tommy’ face still holds the stare of a blank goldfish he takes one of the stray pencils on his bed and flings it at his forehead.
“Ouch what the fuck man,” Tommy winced, grabbing the red mark that was left right in the center of his head.
“I need to do a switch for tomorrow’s math test 5th period, to get me out of that test–”
“I can’t, I have a class 5th period,” he sighs with faux pity. “Looks like golden boy Purpled is gonna fail this test and get knocked off his high horse of good academics. Big man Tommy is about come up in the world–”
“Okay fine I declare pulling rank, I’m the oldest and I just need to sit in for 10 minutes while I think of something better than you taking my math test,” Purpled says running a hand through his hair. Tommy scowled at Purpled with no other choice than to listen to them since he did in fact call the pulling rank order.
‘Pulling rank’ was something the twins made up when they were younger. There was no doubt that when Tommy was younger he didn’t listen to anyone. He enjoyed running into the street and giving Punz a heart attack which eventually led to the investment in child leashes. In order to not make Tommy look like he was a rabid child, Purpled turned it into a game. If they did that then Tommy would be more inclined to listen.
Punz was squad leader, Purpled was his second in command and Tommy was their soldier. He was able to do whatever he wanted but when someone called the order pulling rank Tommy had to fall in line and they’d go on a mission. The game worked until Tommy grew out of it. That still didn’t mean that Tommy wouldn’t listen if the order was called. It just depended on the importance of the situation, and this just so happened to be highly important, to Purpled at least.
“You’re only older by like 2 minutes so you didn’t need to say that part,” Tommy muttered before giving Purpled his full attention. “Just tell me the class number and the teacher I’ll get it done for you.”
“It’s a 2 minutes that makes all the difference; now I just need you to go to room 225, Mr. Manifold’s classroom and be there for when they take attendance. I don’t want you to stall him because he’ll know the difference in our voices, I will think of something and you won’t even have to hold a number 2 pencil,” Purpled says smirking, the previous worry gone knowing his twin had his back. Tommy gives his own mischievous smile, as they continue to talk loosely about their plans for tomorrow.
Sure Tommy would often spark up the problems and the trouble but it was Purpled who made it happen. Punz may think it’s Tommy that always gets in trouble but as someone who’s also been dragged into Purpled’s schemes, he was better at not getting caught. It was a skill issue that Tommy recognized fully, but would he say anything? No, he isn’t the type of man to hate on his brother's success. He was very humble and kind for that reason.
The twins continued to talk out a loose plan for tomorrow. The only thing they had to worry about was Punz recognizing them as they left for school which was something Tommy had covered. Tomorrow would go flawlessly, he would make sure of it.
Purpled and Tommy ended up sleeping in the same room. Purpled rolled over onto the floor and Tommy absentmindedly ended up tossing his blanket on the floor for him to sleep on. When the two woke up the next morning they were shaken awake by Punz who had a look of worry and stress on his face.
“Why the hell aren’t you two dressed for school? The bus comes in 10 minutes, get up and hurry,” Punz said with urgency. Purpled was dragged onto his feet first before Tommy was being shoved out of the door with him while stifling a yawn.
“No need to lose your mind, we just didn’t hear the alarm.” The response earned Tommy a smack upside the head and Purpled tried to muffle his laugh.
“Ouch.”
“You guys don’t need any more tardies on your records. If the school calls me up today to tell me something I already know, I’ll lose it. Get it yourselves ready for school, I’ve got to go. See ya,” Punz says, giving the boys two mock solutes, heading out of the door. The boys are barely able to return the sentiment before Punz is gone and half way in the car to pull off.
Purpled and Tommy could barely stop themselves from smirking before Punz could make it out of the driveway. Their plan was set in motion and it was already going smoothly. Without Punz around to take a mark on what they're wearing, they could afford to wear the same outfit without questions. Sure it would lead to an argument of who’s style they get to wear but they figured out an agreement. They would switch clothes, Tommy would dress up as Purpled and Purpled as Tommy and afterward they’d get to switch back.
The only thing they needed to account for was their face.
As they got older their facial features did grow more distinct but it was still possible to get them mixed up. This is where Tommy stepped in, even with their hair styled nearly the same they needed to cover one more factor before their plan could be set in motion for 5th period.
“Hey, you got the goods?” Tommy whispered, slightly out of breath. He needed to hurry and make the exchange before the bell rang. The last thing he needed was to get caught ‘skipping’ in the boys bathroom. Purpled would never forgive him if he ruined all their plans.
“P-Purpled? I thought I was meeting Tommy here, I–”
“It is me jackass, I’m just wearing his sweater now give me the masks,” Tommy snaps, twisting up his face in disgust. “Don’t you dare say I look like that bastard either, Boob boy.”
“B-but you’re identical, how would I not—Nevermind,” Ranboo sighs, digging in his pocket to hand Tommy the two masks he needed. “What do you need this for anyway?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“You’re not gonna get them dirty are you?”
“No, we’re just going to wear them. I’ll give it back at the end of the day,” Tommy says smiling before slipping on the mask. Now that the dip of his nose was covered and you could barely see his eyes, he looked like a carbon print of his brother.
“Oh okay. Are you sure nothings gonna happen Tommy? I don’t wanna get in trouble for–”
“Relax, I said it’ll be fine. I’ll leave the bathroom first then you go to whatever class you’ve got to head to. Alright?” Tommy said as he headed to the door. He waited for Ranboo to nod, before slid the sleeve of the purple hoodie over his hand, reached for the door knob and left. He’d be damned if he touched that thing with his bare hands.
Just as Tommy left the bathroom the warning bell for the start of classes rang. The hallways started to empty out immediately and right as he went to turn the corner someone grabbed onto his arm and pulled in the stairway.
“What the fuck–”
“Shut up and give me the mask,” Purpled said hurriedly, snatching the mask out of Tommy’s hand before he could have the chance to properly give it to him.
“What’s got your balls in a twist man, we’re literally scott free at this point. You can relax,” Tommy whispers as the two of them walk into the halfway as if nothing happened and Purpled leads him to his math class.
“Tubbo’s been on my tail all day questioning me on why I was dressed like you,” Purpled hissed.
“But how is that possible? How could he tell us apart?”
“I don’t know but watch out for him, he’s in my math class. We sit a person apart, he’ll definitely know it’s you if you talk to him.”
“Well fine then, I just won’t talk,” Tommy suggests and Purpled gives him a pointed look. “Or not, but I don’t see you coming up with a better idea.”
“I already have one, hurry and give me my sweater. We’ll swap again to throw him off, or at least for a little bit and no one will know we switched.” As Purpled explained the two of them were already set in action, trading off sweaters.
By the time the late bell rang Tommy was sat comfortably in his red hoodie, the 4th seat in the 3rd row. To the left of him was some kid he didn’t know and didn’t pay much attention to him. To the right of him was an empty seat and next to that was the seat Tubbo was supposed to sit in. He wasn’t in the class yet, which made Tommy’s job a lot easier.
The teacher, Mr. Manifold, was going over any last questions the students could have. Most of it was a bunch of nonsense to Tommy since this was an advanced calculus class and he was only in trig. The only thing he had to do was sit, say here when Purpled’s name was called and wait for his signal, whatever that signal may be. Purpled didn’t tell him that much, all he said was that he’d know when he heard it. It was cryptic and a little worrying but that wasn’t his job.
He didn't have to worry about a thing unless Tubbo walked right through that door and sat down next to him. But he wouldn’t. So Tommy would be okay.
“Mr. Manifold, I’m sorry I’m late. I was talking in the hall,” Tubbo says as the door swings open and he runs through the door. His face was slightly flushed and he looked like he had just seen a ghost; Tommy avoided eye contact with him immediately.
He could do this, he had nothing to fear.
“Tubbo your honesty is disturbing, I'll have to give you a detention for that,” Mr. Manifold says, writing his name under the detention list. Tubbo doesn’t seem to pay him any attention. Instead he instantly felt Tubbo’s eyes lock on him as the other sat in the seat that was supposed to be empty.
“What are you doing here Tommy?” Tubbo whispered, his eyes peering into Tommy’s side profile.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Tommy says, trying to make his voice sound gruffier. His voice was notably higher with constant voice cracks compared to Purpled.
“I know it’s you Thomas, you just got a shiver like you always do when I call you Thomas. What are you doing here, what are you and Purpled planning?”
“Nothing, fuck off.”
“Why are you guys swapping with each other?”
“Tubbo, you’re gonna get us caught.”
“Before the test begins I’m going to take attendance, then when I hand out the tests keep them face down and–”
“Get you guys caught doing what? What are you guys doing? I will raise my hand and get called on, you will get in trouble,” Tubbo says deathly serious. From the corner of his eye Tommy can see Tubbo slowly raising his hand, causing his heart to spike.
“Tubbo, Purpled needs this test delayed so I guess I’m sitting in his place so he can get in a bit of extra studying before he fails. He’s gonna call me out in any minute so–”
“Purpled this is the 3rd time I’ve called you, if you don’t answer me I’ll mark you absent,” Mr. Manifold sighs, giving a bored look at Tommy and Tubbo.
“H-Here,” Tommy mutters, quickly raising his hand before turning back to Tubbo. He expected for the class chatter to rise back again or for the teacher to start to call names but it stayed quiet, all eyes on him.
“Why the fuck are they looking at me Tubbo?” Tommy whispers, aware that most of the class could probably hear him.
“Purpled usually tells a math joke after his name is called, you’ve got to make a joke,” Tubbo whispers back.
“I’m not doing that nerd shit.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“No chance. No way. Not. Gonna. Hap–”
The lights in the classroom shut off and the little red boxes in the corner of the room started to flash. There’s a little alarm bell that starts to ring in each classroom that tells them exactly what’s going on.
“I'm alright guys, it seems like there’s been an unscheduled fire drill. Everyone get a partner and exit out the stairway, I’ll find you outside and retake attendance,” Mr. Manifold says as the class hurries out of the classroom, Tommy and Tubbo being the first people out.
“You don’t think,” Tubbo says worriedly as they push through the crowd of confused teens and teachers to make it to the fire exit.
“He’s an idiot but he’s not that dumb,” Tommy hisses as they finally reach the fire exit. It was cold out, and dark clouds started to roll in as more people were able to make it out of the building. Tommy held a death grip on Tubbo’s coat as they weaved through everyone, looking for his brother.
“I-I saw him roaming the halls earlier, I tried to get him to come to class with me but–”
“Tubbo, don't do this shit now. We’ve just gotta find the Boob boy and Purpled, then we can get outta here,” Tommy sighs, slowly lowering the mask from his face. There was no point in wearing it now.
“We’re going to skip? But Purpled just rang the fire alarm when there was no fire, that’s a crime. Plus skipping school goes on our record, Tommy we’ll be labeled for life,” Tubbo says in horror as he’s yanked in one direction with no other choice but to follow Tommy through the masses.
“Shut up, you don’t want someone to over hear you. We don’t know if it was Purpled; I see him over there with Ranboo so when we get there we can ask him,” Tommy suggests as Purpled and Ranboo come clearer into view. Well actually Ranboo was always in view, they were the tallest person in school. It was pretty hard to miss him.
“Hey Tommy, glad you heard my warning,” Purpled smiled as the friend group huddled together. Now that they were together it was unspoken that they’d try to get to the edge of the crowd before making a run for it.
“Yeah the whole fucking school heard it jackass, are you out of your mind? Tubbo says you can go to jail for falsely pulling the fire alarm.” That’s when Purpled pauses and looks at him in confusion.
“But I didn’t ring the fire alarm.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I’ll tell you as we run,” Purpled says as he fixes the straps of his book bag on his shoulders before bolting off towards the gate that leads to the football field.
“Huh–” Ranboo squeaks but everyone else was already hightailing behind Purpled.
“Ranboo, haul ass! You’ll get caught!” Tubbo shouts and Ranboo is knocked out of his shock.
The 4 of them run across the parking lot just as the fire trucks roll in towards the school. There’s a teacher that calls out for them to stop but Purpled is already over the football field gate and Tommy isn’t short behind him. Ranboo helps push Tubbo over the gate while he himself struggles to maintain his balance as he jumps over. Behind them were two teachers and a security guard that were being swallowed by a crowd of teens that didn’t understand their urgency to move.
By the time the teachers got to the gate, the group was already halfway across the football field’s turf, with Purpled leading them. The goal was to get to the trees where they could hide out and catch the bus that was on the other side of the clearing.
“Purpled, why the hell are we running?” Tubbo asks as he struggles to keep up with his friends. It wasn’t that they were faster than him, they just had longer legs.
“I set a fire in the 3rd floor bathroom,” Purpled panted as they came to a brief stop. The gate in front of them was way taller than the first, which would require a bit more climbing before they could jump over.
“You did what?!” Ranboo says in horror.
“Punz is going to beat your ass,” Tommy tsks.
“No he won’t ‘cause he won’t find out. Now everyone hurry up and start climbing,” Purpled says as he takes off his bookbag and flings it over the gate and starts climbing. Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo follow his lead, tossing their book bags over to the other side. Tommy and Ranboo boost Tubbo towards the top of the gate before starting to climb up themselves.
When Purpled hits the floor he picks up his bag and starts running, leaving the others to catch up. Does he think he went a little too far when setting the flame in the bathroom? Sure, of course he does, the fire department was called. Will he stay to take responsibility for his actions? No, hell no, Punz will be called.
As the teens regroup they make it to the bus station a block away from school. Finally away from immediate danger they all semi-collapse on each other as they try to regain their breath. Even with his heart beating in his ears Tommy finds the strength to glare Purpled and snarl.
“You-You fucking bastard !” Tommy pants, weakly hitting Purpled’s chest. “Punz is going to kill us. You are going to get us killed! You’re gonna get me killed! You bastard!”
“You said that insult already,” Purpled coughs, fishing out 4 bottles of water from his book bag.
“You planned for this?” Tubbo says eyeing the bottle of water skeptically before taking it and nearly flinging the top off. Everyone else basically does the same and no one talks for a moment. When the color seems to have returned to their faces and the bus slowly rolls in to come pick them up, do they all stroll to the back of the bus and place their attention on Purpled.
“Well technically I didn’t plan it, I just tried to be aware of every variable. I was going to just pull the alarm and be done with it, no harm no foul–”
“That is still a crime,” Ranboo hisses.
“I know that, but no one would have gotten hurt. It was Tubbo who kept following me around everywhere and making me nervous. So I went to the 3rd floor bathroom, threw some papers in the sink and lit’em up,” Purpled says, fidgeting with the skin on the side of his nails. He just wanted to get out of a math test, not possibly set the entire school on fire.
“That was your solution? Arson?”
“They’re gonna think it was me,” Tommy groans, slapping a hand across his face as he sunk into his seat. Ranboo gave him a pitting pat on the back and he didn’t have the energy to shrug them off.
As Tubbo and Ranboo’s stop came the 4 of them said their goodbyes before going their separate ways. Purpled and Tommy’s stop was the next one after theirs but they didn’t feel like sitting down for too much longer. The bus’s tight space made them antsy, it was trapping compared to the day they just had.
“Well at least Punz won’t be home from work. We’ll have a bit of freedom before he throws a hammer at us,” Tommy jokes as they wound the corner to their house.
Purpled goes to say something but he chokes on his words as he sees Punz pacing back and forth on the steps.
“Fuck, I spoke to soon,” Tommy says, sounding on the verge of tears.
“What if we backed up slowly and–”
“Purpled! Tommy! Get your asses over here or I swear they’ll pull both of us away in handcuffs,” Punz growls out as boys try to slink away. It was too late and they were finally caught. It wouldn’t be a perfect day of schemes and misdoing if they didn’t end the day in handcuffs. They were also still a considerable distance away from Punz and the reach of his full anger.
Surely they could go down on this ship.
“I don’t like the looks on your faces, guys come here now. I am not playing around–”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking,” Tommy whispers as he raises his hands in front of him as if surrendering.
“I think I am,” Purpled whispers back as he smirks, raising his hands up as well to show he meant no harm.
“Meet you at the park?”
“See ya there.”
“Tommy, Purpled, if I have to take a step off this porch you’re dead.”
3… 2… 1…
“You’ve got to catch me first bitch-face!”
“In your fucking dreams Punz!”
Both Tommy and Purpled flip him off before sprinting in different directions. They hear an engine rev and Punz shout a few obscenities but they’re too far away to hear what he says. The wind was too fresh in their ears.