your city gave me asthma // Wilbur Soot

twelve

We had a successful, fun weekend trip, but of course, we have to go back to classes. Honestly, I like all of them. But art is my favorite. For this week, we're working on an acrylic painting of something we love and are inspired by. I chose to paint me and Claire, while Wilbur won't show me his painting. My guess is one of his favorite bands or maybe Matt, but I'll have to find out when he's done. Tomorrow is our last day to work on it, so I'm excited to see what he comes up with, even if he's not too talented in the painting department.

We sit in a cafe, one we usually go to together after class. Marie is skipping her last class and is apparently visiting with a 'surprise', so we grab our drinks and wait at our usual table. Yesterday before leaving Vienna, Wilbur fell when he was carrying too much stuff, and got a cut on his cheek. He had to replace his bandage with a Hello Kitty band aid, since none of us had anything else and didn't feel like going out and buying something. Of course, I can't resist taking a picture of him, sipping his latte with his band aid on his cheek, his fluffy hair falling right above his eyes.

"Lydia!" Wilbur suddenly exclaims, looking behind me. I turn and see Marie walking in, holding hands with her four year old sister that I haven't met yet.

"Oh, my gosh," I mutter with a smile as she approaches us. Marie sits with Lydia on her lap, who's giving me a watchful eye. "She is so adorable."

"Lydia, this is my friend, Skylar. Isn't she pretty?" Marie asks, pointing at me. "And you remember Wilbur, of course."

"Of course!" Lydia repeats, grinning at Wilbur. "I missed you. Marie, can I sit with him?"

"What's the magic word?" Marie asks her, running her fingers through her hair.

"Please?"

"Good," Marie says, lifting Lydia up as she stands from the table. She sets Lydia on Wilbur's knee, and he immediately wraps an arm around her to keep her balanced. "Want some chocolate milk or juice?"

Lydia excitedly slams her hands on the table, making our mugs shake. "Juice!"

"Alright, chill out." Marie says with a laugh before walking away.

Lydia leans up and whispers something in Wilbur's ear, making him grin. "Yes, Skylar is very pretty."

"I told you not to tell!" Lydia argues.

"I appreciate it," I tell her with a smile. "You're very pretty, too, you know."

"I know," She says, making us both laugh.

Marie comes back with her own drink and a smaller one for Lydia. She sits next to me and stirs a spoon in her cup. "I told my parents we would just be a few minutes, but I can bring her back to our place later tonight."

"Aw, boo." Wilbur says, pouting out his bottom lip at Lydia. "Did you notice my band aid?"

"Yeah, I like it."

"Well, Marie has some in her room. When you visit us again in a few hours, we can match."

"Sounds wonderful." Marie says, chugging the rest of her drink before standing and picking Lydia up off of Wilbur. "We'll see you lot later."

Wilbur and I wave them goodbye before they walk out, and I turn back to Wilbur with a grin. "She's precious,"

"She is." He says. "I remember when we all went over to Marie's house when she was born. I can't believe how much she's grown."

I nod, trying not to obsess too much over how sweet it is. It's attractive to most women when guys are good with kids, but I try to ignore it. It's much too early in our relationship to imagine a family with him.

"Oh, I forgot to show you." Wilbur grins, turning on his phone. "I might have done something last night. I might have made a channel on YouTube and uploaded a video, I dunno."

He slides his phone to me and I break into a smile, watching the video of him playing guitar. He looks absolutely insanely handsome, but acts a bit crazy. Fits the character for his song, though, about begging his ex wife to see his kids.

"Like I've said before, you're so weird." I tell him with a smile once the video ends. I pull out my phone and open YouTube, quickly finding his account and subscribing to it. There's only two so far, and three views on his video, but I know those numbers will reach the millions someday.

"You're the one dating me, so..."

"Yeah, I guess I'm the crazy one, then." I roll my eyes and finish my drink. "I'm ready to see your painting. Is it of Matt? Please tell me it's of Matt. That would be so funny. But also sweet."

Wilbur just shakes his head and stands up, picking up both of our empty mugs. "Not telling you until tomorrow."

"You hate me!" I tell him as he sets our mugs at the cleaning table for the waiters. He takes my hand as we step out.

"Quite the opposite, actually." Wilbur and I walk down the sidewalk, no idea where we're headed. "Do you mind grabbing cigs with me real quick?"

I look up at him and frown. It's obviously none of my business, but I hate when he smokes. It's gross and it's going to ruin his voice. "Why can't you just stick to drinking and weed? You don't need all three."

"If you tried it, you'd understand." Wilbur says, opening the door for me. "But don't try it, please."

I stand with Wilbur in the line, feeling awkward. The guy at the register seems chill, but I can't help but realize the guy behind me is awfully close to me. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I wish I didn't wear a skirt today. But then I realize I'm probably not paranoid as Wilbur slinks his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I feel relieved once we're out, Wilbur tucking the pack of cigarettes in his pocket.

"I didn't like that bloke behind you."

"Me neither," I say, but I smile. Eli was never protective over me. I mean, he would get in fights with guys who would grab my ass at parties, but he never got protective about the small things. It's simple and probably sounds stupid, but I like that Wilbur is.

He keeps his arm around me the whole walk back to school. I sit on his bed with him as he starts his homework, but groan when he pulls out his pack and a lighter.

"Come on, can you wait a bit?"

Wilbur just shrugs as he pulls one out and lights it. "I'm craving one. And I obviously don't want to do it in front of Lydia when we see her and Marie later. Plus, you smoke weed in front of me all the time."

"Yeah, but weed doesn't smell that bad."

Wil just shrugs again. "I promise you'll live, Skylar."

I suddenly feel irritated with him, especially as he brings the cigarette to his mouth and puffs out smoke. For some insane reason, the school doesn't mind if you smoke in your room, as long as you're over 18. I stand from his bed and grab my bag as I slip on my shoes.

"I'll see you later, then."

"Oh, come on, Sky," He whines. "Stay with me."

"Not when you're smoking right next to me in a stuffy room. I'll see you in a bit, kay?"

Wilbur scoffs and drops his hand on his paper. "Why are you pissed? It's not a big deal."

I look him up and down, not liking his sudden change in demeanor. "I'm not pissed, I just don't want to be in a cloud of smoke."

"Skylar, I can't just quit smoking because you don't like it."

"I don't remember telling you to quit." I say, rolling my eyes. "I'm just leaving the room."

I can tell he wants to argue more, but thankfully, he just gives up. "Alright. Can you at least kiss me goodbye?"

I smirk and roll my eyes once again. I don't want to with the nicotine on his breath, but I can't resist him. I step to him and give him a quick kiss before walking out and to my room. Marie is still out with Lydia, so it's nice to have a bit of alone time for the first time in forever.