I Still Do

Chapter 8

(They Don't Know About Us By One Direction)

Wilbur's Pov

I was beyond nervous. I always am, now. My hands shook as I walked through the doors. I've been putting this off, but now I feel like it's finally time.

Everyone was sat on the floor, or in chairs of Phil and Kristins flat. I was the last one to show up, of course. After yesterday I cried all night, and I didn't go home still almost 4am.

"You look like shit." Tommy laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Selina hit him over the head with a pillow as I sat down on the couch next to Skylar. She gave me a soft smile and nodded her head.

Phil and Skylar were the only people that knew what I was going to do. And they supported me, and still are through this entire thing.

"So- I have something to tell you all." I spoke rather quickly, hoping that they wouldn't understand what I was saying.

Of course, they did. They all got quiet and looked at me. Ranboo studied me, Skylar sadly smiled, Kristin did the same, Phil looked like he was about to cry, Tommy looked confused, Selina looked nervous, Nora was quiet, Tubbo held a smile on his face, Jack was playing with the rings on Zana's fingers, and Zana was laying on Jack while paying attention.

"What's wrong?" Ranboo broke the ice, seeing that I was visibly upset.

"Shall I start from the beginning?" I asked and they all nodded their heads.

I then told the story. All over again. I explained it to my friends, I watched them break, and I broke too. But having them with me made me feel a lot better. I didn't know why I wanted to tell them so badly, but I did. I explained to them who Daytona was, and how much my life changed once she ran into it.

Skylar held my hand and kept giving me a comforting shoulder to turn to and cry on. Telling them made life seem much easier than it has been. They now knew things that they would have to avoid, they now knew how I acted with certain things, and they now knew, my- our story.

By the end of telling our story, everyone was in tears. Seemingly now that they know how quickly life can be ripped right from your hands.

I liked the fact that nobody knew about us, but I liked the fact that people knew about her. People that didn't know her, didn't live at the same time, didn't breathe the same air, didn't dance to the same songs, walk the same, talk the same, drive the same, they all cared about her, and they didn't even need to know her.

By the end of the story, a lot of them were feeling very sorry. Especially Tubbo because of the diploma thing, but I brushed it off. He had no idea, there's no way I'm not going to hold something like that against him.

"I didn't think I would have the courage to actually tell you guys, but here I am. And I don't regret a thing."

Skylar buried her head into Ranboo's chest and started crying just as hard as she did when I first told her the story a couple months ago.

I loved her, I loved Daytona Jareds so much, that she changed my friends lives. She changed all of their lives in a matter of seconds, minutes, hours. They were brought to the surface to realize that, things can change. They can change quickly, and they can be horrible changes.

"You didn't deserve that. Any of that." Tubbo spoke, sadness lacing his voice.

"Nobody fucking deserves that!" Tommy shouted, Selina grabbing his arm and making him calm down.

"That's fucking- that's fucking horrible, Wilbur! You- you lived through that? How did you get through that-"

"I still haven't gotten through it. Even after seven years, she still has the same hold on my heart as she did long ago."

"And I thought my relationship had trouble." Zana mumbled, I laughed at her.

"Thank you for opening up to us, and trusting us enough with this. I know it must've been difficult, and I'm so proud of you for this. You've made it so far, Wilbur. Though you didn't deserve that, it happened and you cannot change the past. You've come so far, and now you've got to keep fighting even if it's rocky." Nora said with a sad smile on her face.

"I don't deserve you guys." I sobbed out.

Nora got up and sat on the couch next to me, and hugged me. Selina then joined, as did Skylar, then everyone else started throwing themselves into me.

I believed myself that I said that I don't deserve them. They have gotten me through everything, and hadn't even noticed. They stuck by my side, even on my darkest days. And they didn't know.

"She sounds like she would've been an amazing person. Though her and Skylar would have caused too much chaos together." Ranboo laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

We all followed his laughter, and he smiled. He was right. She would've caused chaos with any of the friends that I have now. She caused chaos with Phil the first time they met!

"We would have too!" Skylar agreed, and I nodded.

"She would've loved you all."

"And we would have loved her too." Tommy said in a serious tone.

I didn't expect it from him, I would've expected him to be the one trying to lighten the mood. But it actually made me feel better knowing that it affected it. So Tommy wouldn't take things so lightly anymore.

He needed to hear this, and learn.

He's been through his fair share of problems, all of us have.

Phil and Kristin lived in different countries, Selina got cheated on and they live in different countries, Tommy started overthinking more than he should, Zana got cheated on, Jack watched her break apart, Nora's father is a deadbeat, Tubbo had to sit there and watch Nora go through that because he couldn't do anything, Skylar was abused by her biological parents and her father hid secrets from her, and Ranboo had heard her story a million times and it never got easier for him to hear.

I didn't even mention the people that weren't here.

Harley was taken away from Sapnap, and Sapnap had to watch her get pulled away, Dream stayed closeted because he was scared of how people would react, George did as well, Belle couldn't even leave her house without someone with her, Techno barley took care of himself before she came along.

We are all a group of people that have been put through way too much. And we still choose to stand together and fight.

It didn't matter what life threw at us, we were each other's people to bounce back on.

So as I sit here surrounded by my friends, I finally feel okay again.

I finally feel a purpose again, and I finally feel free.

1189 Words