Not a Fan (Wilbur Soot)

Moving Forward

The door closed behind her, the echo of her voice still ringing in Wilbur's ears. The silence of his apartment no longer felt negative, her aura still lingering in the air. Calmness fell over him, a sense of hope rising in his chest. 

This was progress. They were moving in the right direction. They were moving forward, together.

Finally. 

Wilbur stepped over to his rack full of clean dishes, beginning to put them back in the cupboards. He wasn't sure if he was smiling from staring at the mug she had used or because of the melody in his head. A melody of green clouds only she could see dance around the room. 

Green. 

It had been his favorite color for practically his entire life. One of those things you decide with no rhyme or reason as a child, yet despite growing older and essentially everything about you changing, that one small fact remains the same. 

Wilbur was reserved with coming up with any lyrics in front of Rori while she showed him chords. The laughter from Tommy and Toby still engrained into his mind from the last time he tried to write lyrics about her. He would need time, patience, and several meetings with his bandmates if he were to try again. 

The chores were soon completed, Wilbur's daily phone call to Tommy to update him on the progress he and Rori made was finished, and the day pressing onward. Wilbur sat at his computer desk, all too aware he had neglected to put forth any presence on social media in a bit. He hadn't streamed since the weekend, and that wasn't even on his own channel. 

Wilbur pulled out his phone, opening it to Niki's contact. He started a FaceTime call, fidgeting with his hair in the screen's reflection while he waited for her to answer. 

"Wil!" Niki's voice emitted from his phone's speakers. 

"Niki!" Wilbur responded with the same enthusiasm. The tone seemed to even shock Niki. Normally when Wilbur went days without talking to his friends, the first conversation usually wasn't so, happy? 

Happy. Yes. Wilbur felt completely, utterly, totally happy. 

"You alright?" Niki asked casually. Wilbur could tell she was just lounging in her living room, her cat sleeping by her side on the couch.

"Yeah, I was calling to see if you wanted to stream with me soon. We could talk on discord or you could come over?" Wilbur answered with a smile. He always enjoyed streaming more when he was with friends. He wanted to ask Rori if she would be interested in streaming with him sometime, but she already had to work her own job today, she would probably be too tired to do his job with him. 

"I can come by, I've been meaning to check up on Rori anyway. She hasn't answered my texts since she said she was sick. Have you been checking up on her like I asked?" Niki asked. 

"Oh she's not sick anymore, she's fine. Wait, she really hasn't talked to you in a few days?" Wilbur questioned. He had already relayed every interaction he and Rori had to Tommy- had Rori not told Niki about them? About stargazing and the pub? About the kiss? About staying the night together? Nothing? 

"Well, that's good to hear. My soup must still work its magic! And no, why? Did something happen?" Niki didn't seem too concerned, she was already up and walking around her apartment to get ready for her trip into the city. 

"I-I don't know." Wilbur stuttered, questioning the entire situation. Surely Rori had a reason for not telling Niki yet, Wilbur didn't want to break the news to her before Rori got the chance. There were a fair amount of complicating factors, Niki being one of them. 

"Uh, okay? Well, I'm just going to change and I'll be over in about half an hour. Does that work for you?" Niki asked with a slightly confused smile. Wilbur appreciated that she knew better than to push him once he got flustered like this.