Since I Saw Vienna || TntDuo highschool AU

Part 9 (this is the last part probably lol)

Dream didn't talk to me after that. Not a word. He avoided me like the plague. I'll admit it, I was thankful. I couldn't care less what he said about me behind my back, it wasn't my problem anymore.

Wilbur told me I was "brave" for "standing up to him", but I kind of just told him to fuck off. Does that count? It's not like he was doing something that warranted me sticking up for myself. I don't think it counts. He never talked to me enough for me to "stand up to him", and I certainly didn't do enough to "stand up to him" either. Doesn't matter to me anymore.

About another week went by before Wilbur and I made plans to hang out again, and in that time I only seemed to fall deeper in love. All the little things I had noticed about him before seemed so adorable when he did. When he ran his fingers through the white patch in his hair and laughed awkwardly- god it was the cutest thing- I smile just thinking about it. Thinking about him. Fantasizing about when I'd see him next took up my free time.

God, I'm ranting- sorry. He's just- Wilbur, he makes me feel... seen, acknowledged. Like I'm not just a ghost moving through the thin air never to be perceived. He makes me feel like I exist. He makes me feel happy. I'll move on now I swear.

Wilbur had begged me to let him take me to an ice cream parlor he liked. Of course I said yes, I would've said yes no matter where he had asked me to go. Was that what he felt like on our first outing? Being there just for the sake of being in the company of someone you like? Probably not.

He picked me up from my house this time;his dad had told him he had to finish his homework first. Only natural, I suppose. But when he arrived I couldn't have been happier to see him. His soft smile and kind eyes were a comforting sight. The drive was brief, but not entirely silent this time.

We talked about our favorite ice cream flavors, his was chocolate. Basic bitch flavor, if you ask me. But I digress. When we got there, it was no surprise that he ordered chocolate. What I was surprised to see was that the place had a garden.

A whole ass garden, with all kinds of beautiful flowers. It was clearly just a small family run business, but they seemed to know Wilbur a regular, because they just let us wander the garden freely, as long as we agreed to not touch anything. We sat down on a bench surrounded on either side by bright green bushes. I was content eating ice cream and enjoying the scenery.

"So what'd ya think?" Wilbur asked excitedly.

"About the ice cream or the garden?"

"Both."

"The ice cream's pretty good. It's ice cream, kinda hard to make it taste bad." I chuckled quietly. "And the garden is gorgeous." Wilbur nodded.

"Isn't it? I could sit out here for hours. It's so calming." He turned to look at me. "It's even better with you here." God I'm a horrible mess when he says things like that. All I could do was laugh. He laughed along, but not because there was anything funny. "What? I'm serious!"

"I know! I know, I just-" the sentence stopped there. I couldn't manage another word. I didn't know how it was meant to end. For a moment, the only sound was the mismatch bird song from up in the trees. It was broken when Wilbur couldn't stand the distance anymore.

"It's been a while since we first met, hasn't it?"

"Since we first knew each other existed or since we first actually met?"

"The tutoring."

"Yeah, that was quite a bit ago." Remembering it made me laugh. "Can we even count that? I forgot your name."

"Well in your defense, I never told you."

I gasped and turned to face him.

"You bitch! That whole session you never told me?" I playfully pushed his arm and he laughed.

"It didn't even cross my mind!"

I shook my head in mock disappointment.

"I can't believe you."

"How long ago was that?"

"Not as long as we think it was, that's for sure."

"Like, what, a month or so?"

"Really?" I looked back ahead of myself. "Feels like longer." He shrugged.

"And yet I still haven't gotten to hear you play guitar."

"And maybe you never will, asshole."

"Well that'd be a waste wouldn't it?"

"How so?"

"To know you play but never get to hear it. So much mystery."

"I prefer it that way."

"A mystery man, are you?"

"Shrouded in darkness, I don't say a word. You'll never know anything about me."

He exhaled, almost a laugh, but not funny enough to warrant putting in the effort to actually laugh.

"It did feel like that for a while."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, the first time I saw you, you felt so far away. You were like a-well, you were a mystery!" A pause followed.

"...I still don't get it."

"Well I mean- goodness, how do I put this?" Wilbur rubbed his temples. "Alright, this is gonna sound weird-"

"You're already weird."

"Shut up and let me finish," He laughed. "But the first time I saw you was sophomore year. Well that was the first time I really looked at you. Like actually saw you, y'know?"

"Sophomore year?"

"y-yeah. But like, at that moment I realized that I wanted to be- uh- well I wanted to know you. Like not just looking from afar. But you felt so distant- I mean, I was some nerdy loser with his brother as his only friend and you were hanging out with Dream and I just- so I ended up just awkwardly staring every time I saw you."

"Dude. You just watched me? That's creepy as fuck." I joked. I'm sure I would've found it actually creepy before I knew him.

"I-I know. I'm sorry, I-I'm sorry." He nervously laughed, though it was pretty obvious he was upset.

"Dude, it's fine I don't care." I rushed to reassure him.

"Well I know I-I just- god, you were beautiful. You ARE beautiful. Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?" He turned to look at me. I couldn't do the same, less I melt into a puddle of goo on the spot.

"Real subtle." I was left too breathless to say anything else. He quietly chuckled. By now we both knew we had fallen, we were just too stubborn to admit it.

"Shut up." With Wilbur, it was never a game of will he, won't he. He wore his heart on his sleeve, at least to the people he trusted. But he was still just as much of a mess as me, even though he tried to hide it. He took a deep breath in before he said my name. "Quackity," the way his voice shook when he said it made me turn to look at him. "Can I- can I kiss you?"

My heart skipped a beat. I'd been waiting for this moment for so goddamn long. I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah," and without another word, he put his hand on my cheek and pressed his lips against mine. It was unprepared and messy, but god was it freeing. He was warm and like nothing I'd felt before. He was loving. The kiss was loving. And it was real and it was genuine and it was caring. And he was real and genuine and caring.

And god did he make it hard not to love him.