Not a Fan (Wilbur Soot)

Cautious

The world felt like it was moving without Wilbur, like he was his own planet out of orbit. He'd seen what Rori was like after a rejection- a rejection specifically from him. He would never forget the way his heart dropped when he saw her carefully placed bandage taped around her thigh after the night he fumbled what should have been their first kiss. 

He didn't truly blame him himself- at least he tried not to. He understood that that wasn't how it worked. A person or situation doesn't force someone to harm themselves. He reminded himself of that over and over as he stared down at his phone, her unanswered request staring back. 

Would things have gone differently if he read her full message and made sure to answer? Instead of standing in her empty flat, would he be seated in the bar stool he claimed as his own? Would Rori be laughing next to him while tending to something on the stove that smelled as heavenly as she looked?

"-Wil! I said we need to get out of here. She's clearly not here and we shouldn't be in here when she isn't home." Niki urged, pulling on Wilbur's sleeve. He nearly forgot Niki was there, he was so wrapped up in his own mind. 

"Yeah, that'd be weird if she came home and we were in here." Wilbur tried to sound casual, to not spread his anxiety riddled thoughts onto Niki. With one slow step in front of the other, Wilbur followed as Niki lead them out of Rori's flat. 

Wilbur still trying to calm himself down, to lower his racing pulse, when Niki spoke as she closed the door to his place, pausing in taking off her shoes. 

"What time is it anyway?" She asked somewhat cautiously. Wilbur could recognize her hesitance- should she even bother taking off her shoes if it was late enough to justify going out to look for her? 

"It's just after midnight." Wilbur looked down to his phone. His phone's facial recognition unlocked, revealing his and Rori's string of messages. It almost felt like the universe either mocking him or giving him a sign. 

"The shops are closed by now, if she was at the store or something she would be back by now." Niki said more so to herself than to Wilbur, already turning to face the door again. 

"We should give her some more time. She's going through a lot right now, she could just need some space." Wilbur said regretfully, looking down to his feet. He was in such a hurry to follow Niki in Rori's flat, he hadn't even bothered to put on shoes earlier. 

"Wil, I don't-" 

"Just an hour. If she's not back by quarter after one, I'll go look for her. Why don't you head home? It's late." Wilbur offered. 

He didn't want to wait. He wanted to jump in his car the second he realized Rori wasn't home. Wilbur was actively suppressing his every instinct to search the entire city of Brighton to find her. Wilbur was shocked to find himself praying that Niki would accept the offer to leave now, giving him the opportunity to go look for her sooner.

Wilbur was conflicted though. He also needed to accept that maybe that wasn't his place. That maybe Rori didn't need or want him galivanting into her life constantly. Wilbur needed to learn to trust her. He was the one who said she wasn't held together by tape and glue. It would be hypocritical of him to say that to Niki but treat her as though he felt she was.

"I'm not leaving unless it's to go make sure she's alright." Niki said after a moment, slipping off her shoes. Wilbur nodded silently, his inner dialogue still running a muck, thinking of all the different situations Rori could have gotten herself into. 

Minutes moved like molasses as Niki and Wilbur sat on his sofa, primarily in silence. Niki occasionally tried to bring up a new topic but Wilbur found it impossible to talk about anything else.