PICK UP THE PEICES — tanner x reader
IMPLIED DEATH AND ABANDONMENT
As y/n pulled the pudding out of the oven she smiled ,, she always had dinner with tanners family on a sunday after he moved away to live with his friends in texas.
She wasn't mad at tanner for moving away to pursue his career further, more mad at him for neglecting to tell her,, she found out when she saw him lug a suitcase into his car and then he told her.
Tanner and y/n were always close as kids they were in the same class all through grade school,, and on the same track team through highschool,, y/n always took pride in taking the now viral photo of tanner crouched on the track.
People in his community knew who she was,, she was one of tanner's twitch mods and always very active but as tanner moved away they lost contact and she slowly stopped modding as frequently as she did.
She was in his streams sure but, she only was active as a mod when tanner asked things such as “ban them” etc,, it’d been almost a year since tanner moved away y/n still living in her childhood home alone now.
As she walked down the pavement toward tanner’s old house she fought back the tears that begged to spill as she fiddled with the container that housed the sticky toffee pudding. Tonight was roast night, it being a sunday and all.
Curling her knuckles and rapping her fist against the door she stepped back smiling as tanner's mother opened the door.
“Heya sweets come in” tanner’s mother smiled, taking the cake tin from y/n and walking to the kitchen to place it on the counter. Tanner's dad came running into the hallway smiling, his arms outstretched.
“There she is!! How are ya champ?” he asked, giving her a knuckle dig on the head as they both walked to the living room where some random sit-com played sitting down on the leather couch.
“I’m alright same as always nothin’s really changed” y/n answered as they both sunk into the plush leather y/n heard tanner’s mom run upstairs and open a door she knew all too well,, tanner’s room.
“That's good eh?” Tanner's dad smiled, hooking an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into a hug,, y/n had always been like family to them all ever since grade school.
“Y/N!” Tanner's mother called through the house, y/n stood up nodding and holding a single finger up to tanner’s dad as she raced up the stairs, memorizing which ones creaked and which ones didn’t.
“Hm? What's up ma?” she asked eventually reaching the top of the stairs,, there cradled in her arms was a verdant OTK sweater a piece of paper lay atop it addressed to y/n.
“I think he may have forgotten to give it to you before he left” she frowned, handing it to y/n who slipped it on over the tank top she was wearing previously. As tanner’s mother shimmied past her, y/n took a step into tanner’s room.
The scent of his strong cologne still lingered in the air as it engulfed her body, tears pricked her eyes seeing the room after almost a year where they’d hang out and play god knows what on steam ‘till stupid hours in the morning.
She took a seat on the now bare mattress that once lay sprinkled with meme pillows and mangled sheets flopping back her hair spread across the foam she spread out her arms like a half snow angel almost,, it hurt to see the room so bare now but he moved and he’s gone.
TIME SKIP TO AFTER THEY’VE EATEN.
Hoodie now around y/n’s waist she walked out the door waving goodbye and trekking back over too her own home opening the door and almost slamming it behind her ,, sadness or anger seemed to envelop her now she couldn’t put her finger on it but she knew she needed to talk to tanner one way or another.
Sprinting up her stairs and darting to her room she basically flew to her chair booting up her PC and opening discord,, she remembered and event was being hosted by Isaac soon ,, and they had to queue in the stage she sat there as she got dragged up most likely by isaac noticing her.
“Hey y/n!” isaac chimed as she now had speaking permissions, quickly unmuting she answered back gently “heya isaac”.
“Are you gonna mod the stage for tonight??” he asked as she was a mod in the group fart,, you thought on it for a second before agreeing as an all too familiar man joined.
“HEY ISAAC-” tanner screamed into his mic as you grimaced at the sound,, “always the loudest entrances huh tanner?” you chimed leaning back in your chair, the OTK sweater now firmly on your shoulders.
“Hey y/n..” tanner muttered gently. You could tell he didn’t expect to see you there at all,, I mean you weren’t usually active,, suddenly a dm popped up to the side of your screen,, deciding to answer it on your phone you sighed.
It was from tanner,, no surprise there,, must’ve just remembered your existence.
“Hi?” you answered back determined not to show any emotion for the man you once cared about so much,, the man you have a crush on.
“Didn’t think you used discord much anymore.” he replied
“I do, just not active on the servers we’re in together.” you typed quickly.
“Ohh.” he replied before typing again
“Also sorry for not texting you alot..been busy”
“And erm thanks for taking care of mom and pops”
“Yannow havin dinner with them and all that”
“Ma gave me the sweater you left for me by the way.”
He started to type again before stopping.
“Oh- she did? :monkaS:” he eventually said
“Yeah, was she not supposed to? :bullshoot:”
“Noo it’s not that its just i meant to give it you before i left and i may have forgotten :shutupisaac:”
“Yeah? like you forgot to tell me you were moving and waited until the day you went to texas to tell me and left me there on the sidewalk?? :1pc: :1pc:”
“Yeah thought so, :clappedpepe:”
“I'm sorry I did that.. I really didn’t mean to, but I just couldn’t find the right time to tell you I was leaving so soon.”
“ you left me ,, with no prior knowledge that you were going to,, you left me to pick up the pieces of what we had left,, i loved you tanner and i still do. But i dont think I'm ready to forgive and forget what you did to me.”
They were finally reuniting after what seemed like an eternity. However, things weren't quite as they had been in the past. Tanner had left without giving y/n any prior notice or explanation, leaving her to pick up the pieces. There was tangible rage bubbling beneath the surface. The silence they held was deafening the why tanner stared at their dm’s like he wanted her to forgive him but he knew she wouldn't as quickly as he wanted her too.