KEEP A PLACE FOR ME // Wilbur Soot X Reader

16

Two weeks passed by quickly enough, and soon enough it was the night of the show. You had kept in mind the conversation about your work habits with Maddy and Jazzy and taken more breaks when you could, but forcing yourself to step back wasn't quite working as it should.

Another reason you had been looking forward to tonight - it would be a real opportunity to actually unwind. 

As soon as you had gotten home from the office, Jazzy had all but dragged you into the bathroom, sitting you down on the edge of the bathtub and pulling out her makeup kit.

"Close eyes." She said, brandishing an eyeshadow pallet. 

"Jazz, I haven't even gotten changed yet, it's just going to get smudged when I'm changing-"

"That's the point." Jazzy said, brushing some dark shadow across your eyelids. "We're going for a grungy-indie type look tonight, so the more smudged, the better."

You just sighed, letting her work her magic with a smile.

When she was done, you opened your eyes, coming face to face with yourself in the mirror. You turned your head, getting the full effect of the makeup. You hadn't though that this type of thing would look that good on you, but there was something about it that caught the eye... you looked like you were going to a concert. Which, in a way you were - it was a small venue, but a concert nonetheless.

"Go change!" Jazzy said, guiding you out of the bathroom. "We have to go soon, hurry hurry!"

You ducked into your room to find three outfits laid out on your bed. "Wait, who-?"

"Just put one on! I like the second one the best but I gave you options!" Jazzy called from the bathroom. 

You smiled, looking over the clothes she had picked. You knew exactly what she was doing, of course, you had seen her try to play matchmaker with her sister before. You would humor her for now - there was a childish sort of fun to it that you had been missing, and it would make her smile.

You ended up going with the second outfit, not bothering to be careful that you didn't smudge your makeup.

Maddy and Jazzy were waiting by the door, dressed in their own concert attire, Maddy flipping the car keys in her hand as Jazzy scrolled through her phone. You stopped in front of them, grinning as you gave a twirl. "What do we think?"

Jazzy applauded excitedly. "Stunning. Gorgeous. I'm so glad you went with the second one-"

"You look great, mate." Maddy said. "Now lets go, I don't want to miss anything."

The ride to this venue was a tad longer than the ride to the pub the first time you had gone to see Wilbur play, but you didn't mind. It was fun to sing along to his album in the car with your friends as you watched the sun slip over the horizon, knowing that all you had to do for the next few hours was enjoy yourself.

The parking lot was relatively full when Maddy pulled into a space, and you were happy to see it - hopefully there would be a good amount of people at this show and Wilbur would get some new fans and followers. His music was genuinely good, and he deserved more recognition for it you thought. 

Jazzy was the first one out of the car, tickets clutched in hand. She passed one to you and another to her sister before linking arms with the both of you and marching towards the door excitedly. "I'm so excited." She giggled. "This is going to be so fun."

Inside, the venue turned out to be the result of what a hybrid between an auditorium and a pub would be. There was a stage and seats, but there were also tables scattered around the edges and a bar near the back. It was a little odd, but the place was nice enough. It looked to hold around 150 people and was reaching capacity when you walked in, handing your ticket to the woman at the door. 

"Front middle." She said, pointing you in the direction of the stage as she read your ticket.

You followed Maddy and Jazzy to your seats, directly in front of the stage. Jazzy insisted you take the seat in the direct center, so you sat down, looking up at the stage. The same acoustic guitar from the first time you had seen him play was there, leaned up against a stool. This time though, there was a microphone as well. You could already tell it was too short. 

Jazzy, to your right, was swinging her legs back and forth happily. "Do you think he'll notice that you're here?"

You laughed. "Jazz, you literally sat me directly in front of where he's going to be, he would be blind if he didn't see me-"

"Shhh!" Jazzy hushed you as the lights dimmed, and a strip of LED's turned on onstage, shedding a warm watermelon toned color over the stage. 

"Hello everyone." 

Wilbur took his place in the center of the stage, sitting down on the stool and propping one leg up so that he could balance his guitar on his thigh. As you'd expected it took him a minute to get the microphone to the right height, but once he did, he settled in clearing his throat and addressing the audience again. 

"Um. Hello." He said, eyes scanning over the back few rows. "My name's Wilbur Soot..."

His eyes flicked down to you, connecting with your gaze for a split second. From where you were sitting, you were close enough to get a glimpse of the honey brown that had you under it's spell, and the small quirk in the corner of his mouth as a smile played on his lips. You found yourself smiling as well, your heart buzzing happily in your chest.

Wilbur ducked his head for a moment, smiling at his lap before he flipped back up and brushed his hair away. "Sorry, uh, my name's Wilbur Soot and I'm going to be playing a few songs from my album Your City Gave Me Asthma."