the night we met(wilbur soot)

5. and then i can tell myself

please answer me.

i'm sorry.

i didn't mean what i said.

artemis please.

leave me alone

i closed our messages and stared back up at the cracked ceiling. maybe i should forgive him. i shouldn't have gotten so upset over it in the first place, but for some reason the words were ringing in my ear over and over again. i've known the lad for four days, i should cut him some slack. my phone buzzed again and i looked at it ready to forgive him, but the text was from someone else.

can i come over, Dev is pissing me off.

it was Siobhan. we grew up together but slowly drifted apart as we grew older. we could go months without talking and pick everything back up as if nothing had happened. dev was her roommate that wasn't necessarily the nicest person. their lease isn't up for another few months so she's stuck with her for a bit longer.

yeah come over.

i sent back and got out of bed. might as well clean myself up. i took a quick shower and made myself comfortable in the living room, waiting for her arrival. thirty minutes had passed since our short lived conversation and the door swung open. i must've forgot to lock it last night.

"hey." she said exhausted. siobhan tossed a backpack on the ground.

"plan on staying a while?" i asked.

"please?" she pushed out her bottom lip.

"guest bed is all yours." i replied.

"thanks." she made her way into the kitchen.

"tea?"

"in the cupboard."

"why the fuck do you have peppermint tea?"

"a friend bought me it." i lied.

we hung out in the living room, me listening to her rant about dear old devin. she ordered dinner as compensation for me letting her stay here. night dawned upon us sooner than we expected, and eventually a soft humming and strumming was heard above us..and then the quiet sound of singing.

"what's that noise?" siobhan asked.

"my neighbor. he's a singer." i mumbled, looking back at my phone.

"it sounds like he's crying."

"yeah he does that sometimes."

i looked back at our texts and noticed a few new ones he had sent asking to talk and such.

if you didn't mean it, why did you say it?

i sent it quickly and almost a second later, the singing upstairs stopped. i sighed and looked back at my phone to see the bubble pop up indicating his typing.

i don't know. i did want to kiss you though. i'm sorry i made things weird.

fuck. he's making it worse.

"pay attention to the movie." siobhan took the phone from my hands.

"wait!" i grasped for it but she pulled back and started snooping.

"ooo what's this about?" she asked snickering slightly.

"neighbor." i said sighing.

"crying neighbor? is he crying over you?" she asked laughing.

"god i hope not. he's nice but we just had a real awkward moment last night." i groaned slamming my head into the pillow.

"he was the one you were drinking with? i got the drunk snaps babe." she laughed. "he's cute."

"yeah." i agreed, silenced by the pillow.

i heard the typing sound and looked up mortified.

"what are you doing?" i said trying to untangle myself from the blanket.

right as i got to her, she hit send and i snatched my phone out of her hands.

"dead lord.." i said as i read what she had put.

maybe you should have kissed me.

way to be subtle, siobhan.

"why did you send that!! he's gonna think badly of me." i threw the pillow at her.

"relax. i'm being your wingman." she said removing the pillow from her face.

"what if-" i was cut off rudely by my phone ringing.

"fuck!" i yelled dropping it.

"PICK IT UP!!" siobhan screamed.

i grabbed the phone and ran into my room locking the door so she wouldn't bug me. i hesitantly hit accept.

"hello?" i squeaked out.

"hi." he chuckled.

oh fuck his laugh.

"can i help you?" i asked innocently.

"i wish i kept my stupid mouth shut." he sighed.

"i wish you had too." i smiled slightly.

"i know we barely know each other, but i would like to get to know you more. i don't want to rush into a relationship with anyone right now, but i'd be happy to explore things if you would be interested too." he said all in one breath. singer lungs.

"oh god no i don't want to rush into anything either. i would love to get to know you better though." i laughed, hoping to lighten the mood.

"great. again i'm sorry about last night. i don't want to blame it completely on being intoxicated but i should have known that what i said was rude." he rambled on.

"no it's fine. i understand. i just get offended easily i think. i'm excited to explore this more though." i smiled knowing he couldn't see it.

"great. when can i see you again?" he asked eagerly.

"i work tomorrow, but maybe this weekend? maybe you can accompany me when i see my sister. if you want to get to know me, she's the best person to talk to." maybe this was too forward. maybe taking him to meet jia was too far.

"i'll pick you up at 11. wouldn't want you getting up early for me." his voice was so calming when it was soft and quiet.

"now you get it. goodbye wilbur." he responded with a simple goodbye and hung up.

i finally opened the door and siobhan tumbled in.

"thanks wingman." i smiled and gave her a nudge with my leg.

"anytime." she said holding up a thumbs up from the ground.