𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, w.soot

TWELVE.

TWELVE ;
sky full of stars

real life !

When Evelyn finally arrived at her place of work, she fully expected to find Wilbur dressed in all black, preparing to pick the lock. She was happy to find that that was not the case. He was casually leaning against the wall, dressed comfortably for the weather, no suspicious tools in sight and a bright smile on his face when he spotted her walking towards him.

"Evening, Miss Hart."

She quickly waved before sticking her hand back in her pocket, hoping to expose them to the cold air as little as she could.

"I'm glad to see you aren't committing any crimes, Wil," she said, earning a smug grin in return.

"Of course not," he started. "I had to wait for my partner in crime to get here, of course! Now that you've arrived—,"

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at him, "I won't hesitate to walk back to my car and drive home, Wil. It's freezing out here, so it would not be too upsetting for me."

Wilbur pouted, "but you said you'd hang out with me."

"I also said I wouldn't break into anything with you," she countered. "So. You had somewhere you wanted to show me?"

"That's right," he muttered, before offering his arm. "Come on, m'lady. It's not too far of a walk."

"Good. I didn't wear my long distance shoes," she replied, linking her arm with his.

"Do you have shoes for every occasion?"

"Don't judge me for being prepared."

"I'm not! Just...it's just funny. That's all."

Evelyn only sighed and shuffled a bit closer, enjoying the fact that Wilbur seemed to run warm. He was like her own personal heater, and in the freezing temperatures she was glad to have him.

She wasn't, however, glad to see where they were headed. The beach wasn't necessarily a place she enjoyed, if she was honest. Grainy sand that managed to get literally everywhere and freezing murky water really didn't scream fun.

But it was pretty. And clearly special to Wilbur, so Evelyn decided she could suck it up and deal with it.

...As long as he didn't drag her in the ocean. She didn't trust being in a large body of water that she couldn't actually see into. It was always far too cloudy and the water wasn't very clear, anyways.

She supposed that her hatred of beaches might also have something to do with the fact that she can't swim, but that wasn't really important.
( it would be if she didn't tell Wilbur and he tossed her right into the very thing that fueled her nightmares ).

"Almost there," he said quietly, gently pulling her towards a set of stone stairs that brought you down to the actual beach. When they didn't go straight to the water, she felt instant relief.

After about ten more minutes of walking along the shore, they arrived at what she guessed was their destination.

"I've never seen this area before," she mumbled, looking around at the little cove like area, secluded from the main part of the beach.
"It's pretty."

"It's one of my favorite spots to come to," he admitted, pulling her down to sit in the sand beside him. "You can see the stars from here."

"Ah yes. Because they're not visible in any other part of England."

Wilbur scoffed and nudged her side, "look up. They're so much clearer here...you know, I wrote a lot of my music here. It's kind of my special place," he laughed quietly before continuing, "I have also gotten absolutely wasted here too many times to count."

Evelyn looked up, squinting at the tiny balls of light shining in the night sky. She was afraid to admit to Wilbur that stars never really held any meaning to her. Sure, they looked breathtaking up above, but they hadn't ever meant something to her.

She guessed that probably wasn't the case anymore, though. This place, his place, under the stars, surrounded by things she did not like, felt more special than she could possibly put into words.

"My parents used to take me stargazing here," he started. "Before they got divorced. We would come every friday night lay in the sand and look for the brightest star we could find. Whoever spotted it first got to name it, and they usually let me win," he chuckled softly as he scooted forward, making it easier for him stuff a jacket under his head and lay down. "I believe the last star I named was called Emmet."

"You named a star...Emmet?"

"I did," he replied, sounding proud. "That's also what I named my first pet fish. We had to flush him literally three hours after I got him, but still."

"Lovely," she muttered, moving so that she could lay down next to him. "It's beautiful out here, Wil."

He smiled softly at her and reached over to squeeze her hand, "George told me you hate beaches, by the way."

"Normally, I do. But it's nice here...peaceful, even. I've only ever had bad experiences at the beach, but I'm enjoying my time here, if that's what you're wondering."

Wilbur scoffed lightly, "or are you just enjoying my marvelous company?"

"Can't it be a bit of both?"

"I suppose," he sighed, before quickly pointing up towards the sky full of sparkling stars. "Guess that means I get to name it...how about, Ew?"

Evelyn scrunched her nose up as she turned to look at him. "Ew? Are you joking, Wil? That's not even a name."

He frowned, "Evelyn and Wilbur. Ew. Don't shame me it's hard to come up with a name right on the spot."

"Wil, you didn't even come up with a name. Are you disgusted by the stars?"

"No. I love them."

She sighed heavily and threw an arm over her face, "I get to name the star next time."

He perked up at her words, "next time?"

Evelyn peeked at him from under her arm, "unless you don't want to hang out with me here anymore...?"

"No! No...I mean, I absolutely want to hang out with you here. I just wasn't sure you wanted to."

"Of course I want to. I haven't got to name a star yet, Wil."

He grinned and grabbed her hand, lightly squeezing it before moving it to rest on his chest. "You can name all the stars in the world, Evelyn Hart."