DO I WANNA KNOW? II wilbur soot

XXV.

two weeks later

"i'm so nervous," i said for what seemed like the millionth time that day, as i was tying my shoelaces.

"you really don't have to be," will replied, probably tired of my anxiety.

"i want to make a good first impression." i straightened up from where i was leaning on the back of the couch as i was putting my shoes on.

"of course you will," he reassured me from his spot on the couch. i smiled at him as he turned so he could look at me properly. he had to look up but not too much; i was barely taller than him when he was sat down. i leaned down and gave him a quick peck on his hair, before walking towards the dining table where my cardigan rested on the back of a chair.

"ready?" will asked when he got up from the couch and made his way to the door.

"yep," i said, grabbing my backpack with all my work necessities in it. "bye pebble," i said to the kitten that was now circling around my shoes. will opened the door and gestured for me to exit, which i did. i made my way to my car, will following suit. i unlocked it, carefully put the backpack in the backseat and got in the driver's seat.

----

"you're late," said tommy once he saw will walk towards the group. i already recognized everyone, since they followed me on instagram, but i was about to meet them personally for the first time.

"i'm literally not."

"hi, tiana!" tommy said directly to me, ignoring his previous argument with will. "nice to finally meet you."

"hello! likewise." i smiled before my eyes caught sight of the other people awaiting us.

"i'll introduce you to the guys, come on." he waved me over.

"wait for me," will said, following us. "you'll scare her." i stifled a laugh at that but allowed myself to feel the comfort of him walking next to me. we made it to where the truck for the recording was parked, next to which stood the rest of the group: phil, charlie and ranboo, along with elodie, who was also going to record.

"guys, this is tiana, she'll record as well today," said tommy to the group who turned their attention from what they were previously doing to us.

"hi," i said, smiling at them. they all greeted me warmly, which i was glad about.

they told me a bit about the video i would record and i instantly knew it would be hilarious. especially based on their other videos on the sorry channel, i was sure i would be stifling laughs behind the camera. i went to grab my things while everybody put their costumes on before we started filming. the whole process was fun and, as i had predicted, i was resisting the urge to laugh with everything they said. all their different senses of humour combined in a video about selling hot dogs -but calling them burgers- was genuinely hilarious.

"are you editing this?" i asked will as i was turning my camera off. he hummed affirmatively while getting rid of his costume. "sick. can you get rid of background laughing?" he giggled.

"yeah, don't worry, we laugh a lot."

"obviously. your improv is insane." he raised his eyebrows.

"thank you." he grinned at me, which i mirrored.

"should we get food?" tommy suggested once he had the hot dog costume off.

"please no, i had too many hot dogs," will said, to which i giggled.

"you got that dog in you?" charlie joked, referencing his previous bit, making us all laugh.

"coffee?" i suggested instead, once we were done laughing, and everyone agreed. we walked to a nearby café, since not everyone had come by car. the café wasn't too busy so we didn't have trouble finding a table.

"wait, fill me in on how you met," elodie said to me and will once the waitress had taken our orders.

"oh, i was lovejoy's photographer on their recent tour," i explained shortly.

"about time will found a woman," tommy said, nudging will's shoulder with his own.

"please, stop talking," will told him, looking him in the eyes. "help," he whispered, turning to us.

"you dug yourself into that hole," ranboo said, shrugging. i stifled yet another laugh that day, when tommy was saved by the waitress bringing us water.

----

"you should film for our next video too, tiana," phil said as we were all exchanging goodbyes, back at the place where we recorded. my face lit up at that. i was glad i had made such a good impression that they wanted to hang out again.

"if you need me i definitely will!" i said, smiling. i said my last goodbyes, before walking back to my car with will. "your friends are so fun. i might just steal them from you," i told him as i was unlocking the car.

"hey, no stealing my friends," he said with a giggle. "they really liked you, too," he continued. "see? you were nervous for no reason."

"tell that to my brain," i replied, now in the driver's seat. will reached over and knocked his fist gently on my head. "no way, you got rid of my overthinking," i joked, starting the car.

"what can i say." he shrugged, making me chuckle. "it's generally normal to overthink," he continued. "i just want you to know that my friends will never say or do anything negative about you." i smiled, not turning my gaze away from the road.

"thank you for saying that, william."

"of course, sweetheart." he briefly placed a hand on my thigh reassuringly, before removing it, so i could drive comfortably.