primadonna girl || wilbur soot

Chapter Forty-Eight

[REAL LIFE]

Clara smooths Wilbur's collar, as the boy messes with his cuffs absent-mindedly.

"But what if they-"

"Stop it. They'll love you," she interrupts, smiling reassuringly.

Wilbur shakes his head, not believing her. "You're just saying that because you like me."

"Well there are reasons I like you, aren't there?" Clara stares at him until he meets her eyes. "It's gonna be perfect, alright?" When he doesn't say anything she repeats herself. "Alright?"

"Alright..." he says begrudgingly, going back to fiddling with his cuffs.

"Hey."

When he looks up at her again, she leans in, catching his lips easily with her own. Wilbur returns the kiss, relaxing in her arms. As she pulls away, he chases her mouth, not wanting to lose the comfort of being so impossibly close to her. While Wilbur's recovering from that moment of bliss, Clara smirks, buttoning his top button.

"Now come on, my mum hates tardiness." She takes his hand and he breathes deeply before following her inside, heart pounding.

The hostess looks at the pair expectantly, and Clara jumps into action, knowing that Wilbur is still too nervous to speak. "Reservation for Cameron?"

The lady nods her head. "Right this way please." She picks up four menus and heads off, Wilbur and Clara following closely behind. They weave through the restaurant until they arrive at a table with four chairs, none of them occupied yet. Even in his bout of panic, Wilbur is still chivalrous, pulling out Clara's chair for her. The two sit beside each other, and Wilbur sighs, Clara rubbing his shoulders for him.

"It's gonna be alright," she says, though clearly he still doesn't believe her.

The fateful moment arrives when she hears her mum's voice.

"Hi, sweetpea!" Cora calls arms outstretched.

Clara gets up to greet them, and Wilbur stands with her, lingering behind. Her mum brings her into a gentle hug; the woman is fairly short so Clara ends up stooping low in order to meet her.

"Ooohhh I missed you so much, sweetie." As Clara and her mum hug, Wilbur goes to meet Cam.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir, I'm Wilbur." Wilbur extends a hand to Cam, as the man peers skeptically at him.

Cam has adopted his 'boss' expression, eyes piercing into Wilbur's soul, and though Wilbur is a few inches taller he still cowers with fear. Slowly, Cam takes Wilbur's hand and shakes it firmly.

"Good handshake," Cam states professionally, watching Wilbur hawk-eyed.

"Thank you, sir," Wilbur says, gulping.

"Oh Cam stop it! Don't give the boy extra trouble." Clara's mum says, hitting her husband's arm lightly. She shoves Cam aside and puts down Wilbur's arm for him. "Put that away. C'mere!" She pulls him into a hug, catching him off guard, though he does return it fast. "Sorry for my husband's intensity."

"It's alright ma'am, I understand."

"No need to call me ma'am," Cora laughs. "Cora is just fine."

"Alright ma'am," Wilbur says cheekily.

"Okay okay, stop harassing him, can we sit down?" Clara scolds, taking Wilbur's hand as they sink into their seats.

Dressed in a power suit, Cam is channeling his old boss-man persona, lumberjack beard be damned. Clara's mum is dressed in a midi navy pencil dress, matching Cam's tie. Clara herself is adorned in a sage bodycon dress with a sweetheart neckline, just high enough for her mum to not complain, just low enough for Wilbur to murmur "fuck" under his breath when he saw her. Wilbur is in the classic 'Your New Boyfriend' music video outfit, white collared button-up, and black blazer, no tie included.