the night we met(wilbur soot)

6. what the hell i'm supposed to do

we weren't rushing into anything, but for some reason my heart was pounding as i thought of the idea of jia disapproving of a boy that i might potentially like. every time i have ever dated someone she always tells me how she feels about them. never anything good.

"so why is it that you see your sister every week? it's no issue with me, i respect that you care about your family." wilbur asked on the bus ride.

"jia is disabled and growing up we missed out on a lot of time together so now i make up for it by trekking out here every so often. her health isn't the greatest either so i'm trying to spend as much time with her as possible, socially distanced of course." i explained, fidgeting with my unoccupied hands now.

wilbur must have noticed my nervousness, because he gently laid his hand over mine, gaining my full, undivided attention.

"i'm excited to meet her. socially distanced of course." he smiled and pulled his hand back to avoid any awkwardness.

i smiled slightly and thanked him for calming me down.

the rest of the ride was quiet as we listened to music through a shared pair of earbuds. eventually we arrived, and i knocked on the door, waiting patiently for Rita to answer it.

the old woman appeared in the doorway and smiled at me before frowning at wilbur.

"you brought a friend?" she eyed him.

"yes. this is wilbur, my neighbor, wilbur this is rita." i introduced the two. her frown dispersed and she let us in.

"she's upstairs." rita left to the kitchen.

we took off our shoes and headed up the stairs.

"jia, i'm here and i brought a friend." friend didn't sound right, but it was the only thing that came to mind.

"missy!" her excited voice called out as we opened the door.

"hi bug!" i smiled as i saw the look on her face.

"who's he?" she asked staring wilbur up and down.

"hello jia. i'm wilbur, a friend of your sisters." he smiled and gave her a kind wave.

"did you finally find a boyfriend?" she said blatantly.

"jia. no. he's just my friend." i laughed. the three of us hung out for a bit, before i got a call from siobhan, who was still crashing at my place.

"hold on i gotta take this." i said to the two and went outside the room.

"what's up?" i asked.

"hey i was just gonna ask what you wanted for dinner tonight? i'm in town right now. do i need to prep for two or three?" she asked. i stared back into the room and watched wilbur as he talked excitedly to my sister, who was listening with bright eyes.

"um three. i don't care what you get, if you wanna pick dinner up instead of making it that's fine too." i smiled as i watched her listen intently and then put in her input.

"ok that works. having a good date?" she asked, and i could hear the smirk behind the screen.

"not a date..but yes. whatever i'll see you later." we hung up and i went back into the room.

"jia tells me that you used to have an obsession with horses." wilbur said smirking at me.

"oh no we do not bring up my horse girl phase." i laughed.

the rest of the time was spent playing a board game and then we decided it was time to leave.

"i'll meet you downstairs." i told wilbur as he stood up to leave.

"okay. it was lovely meeting you Jia." he smiled at my sister.

"bye wilbur!" she said sadly.

once he had left i turned to my older sister.

"so what did you think of him?" i asked and her eyes lit up.

"he's so nice and handsome." she blushed.

"he is pretty handsome." i laughed.

"i think i like him, ji." i finally said.

"now you'll have a boy to kiss." she smirked.

"you dirty dog."

we left with our usual air hug and i joined wilbur downstairs, who was admiring family photos scattered across the wall.

"you say you don't talk about the horse girl phase, but the walls seem to." he smiled as he pointed at a picture of me riding a horse when i was 13.

"shut up, gold." i shoved his arm before bending down to put on my shoes, using his arm for support.

"do you wanna go to the office with me? i wanted to stream for a little bit." he asked.

"sure. i just don't really want the fans to make a big deal out of it, is my only issue. they tend to do that a lot." wilbur and i had streamed together in separate rooms and with more people, but i feared that they would make us hanging out a big deal, and i don't want fans deciding my feelings for me. i don't want them taking certain stuff and twisting it.

"right. i get that. maybe we'll do a you laugh you lose that way it won't be for very long." he suggested. i nodded in agreement and we headed to the office building.

the stream started and i anxiously watched chat fill up. i fidgeted slightly next to wilbur and he looked away from his screen towards me.

"are you okay?" he asked.

i couldn't speak, so i simply nodded my head as a response, and he smiled warily.

"okay."

after the stream, we walked home seeing as it wasn't too long of a walk back. chat really didn't care that we were hanging out and were surprisingly very respectful towards our friendship, with the exception of a few shippers.

"i had fun with you today." i smiled at him.

"i have fun with you everyday." he replied back.

"hm wish i could say the same." i teased him.

"ouch. cmon artemis, you and i both know you don't mean that." we were stopped waiting for a crosswalk light to indicate we could go.

"i will neither confirm or deny." i crossed my arms. he was now leaning down slightly, a mere few inches from my face.

"oh really." his lips were upturned in a smirk. a shiver grazed through my spine as he spoke.

"re-really." i stuttered. he noticed.

he leaned closer so his lips were just grazing my ear.

"you're so easy to fluster." he whispered in a sultry voice i had never heard before.

my breath caught in the back of my throat as he pulled away and erupted into a childish laughter.

"asshole." i mumbled as i walked across the street without him.

"artemis! wait up." he chased after me, falling into step with me once he caught up.

"you're so easy to tease. i know we both expressed that we don't want a relationship right now, but you're just so cute when you're flustered." he smirked once more.

"you're making me want a relationship now." i mumbled under my breath.

"what was that?" he asked as he tossed an arm around my shoulders.

"dinner at my place? siobhan might be cooking..but we might be ordering food instead." i warned him.

"absolutely." he smiled down at me.