Not a Fan (Wilbur Soot)

New Normal

Aurora turned on the shower as soon as she entered the bathroom. The familiar teal streak of light accompanied the screech of the water sputtering out. As she found herself backing up to lean against the door frame, allowing the faucet time to warm up, she really took in all that had happened this evening.

The miscommunication that led to an impulsive trip to the beach, resulting in her two friends scouring Brighton in the middle of the night to find her. How their reunion was emotional in ways none of them were expecting.

Aurora slowly pushed herself away from the door, standing in front of her mirror. It was going to be hell, but she needed to at least attempt to brush some of the paint out of her hair before getting in the shower.

Her reflection showed her with frizzy hair, stuck up in all directions from dried paint and being held in a bun for so long. Aurora found herself feeling surprised that she wasn't embarrassed by her appearance, considering she was just with Wilbur.

If anything, thinking about the way he looked at her, while she looked like this, was enough to make the blood rush to her cheeks again. Wilbur had seen her in all her homebody glory and still thought she was beautiful.

He still wanted to run his fingers through her tangled hair. He still asked if he could kiss her, dried paint on her cheeks and all. He'd seen her at her worst and, well, definitely still far from her best- but a lot better than this, and none of it mattered to him.

Wilbur had said that Aurora reminded him of honey, and she was starting to realize that maybe he wasn't just referring to her appearance. Maybe Wilbur saw her, at her core, as honey.

He thought she was as sweet and delicate as spring's nectar.

Hearing the sound of her front door closing echo through the apartment was a small wake up call for her, pulling Aurora out of her thoughts. Wilbur would be back soon, she needed to hurry.

She gave up on brushing through her hair, praying that an excessive amount of conditioner would make it more manageable. She was in the middle of fighting through another clump of hair held together by paint when a few knocks sounded on the door.

"Wilbur?" She called out, freezing immediately.

"Yeah, it's me. Can I open the door?" He answered immediately, probably realizing how terrifying it is to hear a knock on the door when you're showering at 4am.

"Uh, yeah?" She called back, peeking her face out from behind the shower curtain once she heard the door open.

"Hi." Wilbur said with a small smile, as he looked around the bathroom door just as cautiously as she looked around the curtain.

"Hi." Aurora answered with a laugh. "I'll be out pretty soon, you don't have to wait for me if you're tired, you can head up to bed." She continued, stepping back under the shower's stream. She popped her head back out when she didn't hear the bathroom door close.

"Alright, I'll see you up there." Wilbur's smile remained, but suddenly his eyes seemed to be looking anywhere but at her.

"Anything else you wanted to say?" She asked, squinting her eyes at Wilbur. The way he was looking around the small room aimlessly reminded her of all the times he would get embarrassed by his own actions, easily becoming flustered.

"I, uh, I'll leave this here. You can wear it- if you want." Wilbur said quickly, pulling out a faded gray t-shirt, which looked like it might even be a bit big on him.

"If I want?" Aurora asked back, more so as a tease than a genuine inquiry.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Wilbur rolled his eyes, biting back a smile. He stepped into the bathroom, draping the shirt over the same rack her towel was on.