distant you // Wilbur Soot

nineteen

I find my seat in the VIP section, right next to Wilbur's mom. I smile at her as I sit down, still chugging from my water bottle.

"You were so amazing!" She exclaims, giving me a quick hug.

"Thank you!" I respond, leaning back against my chair and watching Wilbur's crew set the stage up for him.

We talk quietly as we wait for the show to start, chatting about my life growing up. Sooner than usual, the lights go out, and the crowd goes wild with cheers as his intro starts. Wilbur walks out with his guitar and a wide smile, the yelling somehow doubling.

"He's so handsome," I say, leaning over to Sue as we watch him.

"You two look good together." She grins.

Every once in awhile during his performance, he looks up at us and smiles. I'm not even sure if he can see my face, but he definitely knows where we are. I feel myself blush every time he looks our way, in love with the idea of having a musician boyfriend. He's so insanely beautiful that I can't help myself, snapping a picture of him and posting it on my Instagram story with a few heart emojis.

The show ends with Wilbur blowing a kiss to the crowd and running offstage. Sue and I stand up, able to avoid the fans as we walk to the green room.

"I might be too sweaty for a hug." He says, the second we walk in.

"I don't care!" Sue says, giving him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "My son is so talented."

"Thanks, mum." He grins and looks over at me, his smile growing. "Hey baby,"

I nearly melt into a puddle as he calls me that, adoring the way he says it. My ex called me baby, but he never said it so sweetly. "Hi Will,"

He steps over to me and places his hand on my cheek, giving me a quick kiss. "Anything you guys wanna do?"

"I'm exhausted," Sue tells us. "I'm heading home, but you two stay out and have fun. Can your driver take me home?"

"Yeah, of course." Wilbur tells her, giving her another hug before we tell her goodbye. He then turns to me and smirks. "I was hoping she'd leave. Let's go to a party."

"I don't have the best outfit for a celebrity party." I argue, suddenly feeling insecure. I'm wearing one of my normal, baggy outfits, and not a lot of makeup. "I'll look stupid. Everyone will be staring at me."

He grabs my hand and swings our arms. "Eve, I promise you, everyone will be staring at you for an entirely different reason."

I lick my lips and smile at his comment, but I remind myself, once again, that we're not actually dating. "What, is there something in my teeth?"

"Shut up," He laughs, walking us out, keeping hold of my hand. I have no idea where we are as he walks us down a few creepy alleys. He gave me a tour of London today, even though I could tell a lot of spots brought back bad memories for him. We eventually get to a gated community, Wilbur walking up and talking to the security to be let in. We then walk some more, eventually reaching a huge house, cars lined around the block, people spilling out the door, music heard from a mile away.

"Whose party is this?"

"No clue," Wilbur grins. "This DJ guy I don't know invited us, and since American parties suck, I figured we'd go."

"Alright," I mutter. Parties make me super anxious, but as long as I have weed and Wilbur sticks by my side, I'll be fine.

He wraps his arm around me, keeping my hip against his leg as we walk in. A bunch of people say hi to him as we pass, Wilbur just nodding at them in response. We reach the kitchen, one table filled with cups and different drinks, the other with a bunch of edibles.

"What do you want?" He yells down at me as he stands in front of the drinks, impossible to hear each other.

"I'd rather be high, but I guess whatever drink you have. I don't trust weed from strangers."

Wilbur reaches into the front pocket of his pants and hands me a joint. It's skinny and terribly rolled, but better than nothing. "I figured you'd say that."

It's stupid, but I like how he thought ahead for me. As he makes his drink, I grab a lighter by the fridge and light the sad joint, leaning against a wall with Wilbur as we drink and observe the party. We don't even talk as we get intoxicated, letting our minds get warped instead.

I finish the joint faster than I expected and toss the remains into an ash tray. I look up at Wilbur who tosses his cup aside once he finishes his third drink. "I'm bored,"

"What do you wanna do?" He asks, turning his body towards mine and tracing his finger down my outline.

"What is there to do? You're the one who said American parties are boring."

"Well, we can play some dumb games where you lick a stranger's dick."

"I'll pass."

"Then our other options are sitting around and talking, drinking, smoking, doing crack, making out, and fucking."

I reach my arms up and wrap them around his neck. "I guess we're making out."

"Alright with me." He grabs my hips and pulls them close as our lips act like magnets. He gently presses me up against the wall, but just for a few seconds until he pulls away, looking to the side.

"What?" I whisper, kissing his neck.

"I thought I heard something." He glances around, obviously freaked out.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I try to follow his gaze, not seeing anything suspicious. "What did you hear?"

I think we spot her at the same time. I feel Wilbur's shoulders completely slump beneath my arms, his body slightly tilting forward as if he's lost control. In person, we look even more alike. I could puke as I stare at her staring us, and my heart drops as Wilbur stares right back at her.

I should've fucking known.