insomnia • jschlatt & wilbur soot

school.

"wilbur!"

the boy heard a resounding thud, and the deep voice of his best friend, and roommate, dave.

he rolled over under his covers, rubbing his eyes as he tried to blink away the sleepiness.

he sat up slowly, using his arm to push himself up against the bed frame, and looked his best friend in the eyes.

dave was already fully dressed, the early bird was always ready by the time wilbur woke up. 

in contrast, wilbur's brown curls were sticking out in every possible direction, his face still clearly half asleep, and his cheeks blushing red. 

"yes, oh mighty technoblade?" wilbur muttered, his eyes barely open.

"you're going to be late for school. it's your first day. don't wanna make a bad impression do you?" dave droned, staring down wilbur with his judgemental hazel eyes. 

"we'll only be late by your standards. you get up at like, 5 in the morning," wilbur complained, staring back at dave to match his glare, but he knew he'd never win against dave's impenetrable stare.

"fine, i'll get ready," groaned wilbur, swinging his legs over to the side of the bed and standing up, as dave shut the door rather harshly.

as he went through his usual routine, wilbur couldn't help but think that there was something missing, like there was some chunk in his memory which had disappeared, but he brushed it off as simply a dream.

after wilbur had thrown on his usual sweater and jeans, he sat at the dining table with dave, who was finishing up his honours classes homework that he'd procrastinated on. 

as wilbur was chewing the pancakes dave had prepared, he heard his friend speak up from across the table.

"so, did you sleep well last night?" 

dave knew about wilbur's problems, everything from the overwhelming emotions to the inability to hide them, and wilbur was thankful that he lived with someone who genuinely cared for him.

"yeah, i-"

suddenly wilbur recalled the night's events. staying up all night and going to the park, playing his guitar for the mysterious stranger, getting to know him as schlatt, and just hanging out till nearly 5 in the morning.

dave noticed wilbur's face flush with red, "okay, i don't really want to know what you did anym-"

"no, no! it wasn't anything like that!" wilbur exclaimed, his face flushing an even deeper shade of crimson.

"yeah, yeah. then what made you so embarrassed lover boy?" dave rolled his eyes.

"it was nothing dave, forget i said anything," wilbur replied, wanting the while situation to blow over.

soon enough, they went about their morning, arriving at school in dave's car.

dave walked alongside wilbur, showing him around the main hallway and towards the principal's office, where he abandoned the british boy to go hang out with some other guys.

wilbur's time at the principal's office was hardly an eventful one. it consisted of being welcomed to the school and being handed a timetable, along with a locker combination. it seemed that the school didn't have much of a welcoming committee.

when the bell finally rang, wilbur found himself stranded in the middle of an empty hallway, feeling lost and confused, and frankly, rather anxious.

the boy walked around the silent school, certainly late for class, his legs shaky and his palms sweaty. 

he glanced back at his timetable for the hundredth time, once again reassuring himself that he'd read the class number right.

english classroom A102. the words were etched into his mind, yet he still felt the need to read the paper over and over again.

"A123, A113, E140? how do they even number these?" the british boy muttered in frustration, briskly walking down the halls.

he could feel the sweat drip down his forehead, his mind nearly throbbing within his skull. although only a couple minutes had passed, the boy felt as if he had been walking for hours, the hallways growing longer and longer, and he was stuck in an endless loop.

thankfully, that loop was broken by a sudden feeling.

wilbur felt a hand on his shoulder, a warm yet firm grip. he spun around quickly, his mind still in its heightened state.

he was met with the kind face of an older man, who donned a rather formal suit and tie, with a much more casual pair of cargo shorts underneath.

"woah, calm down kid, it's alright. are you the new exchange student?" asked the man, to which wilbur simply kept his lips sealed and nodded his head.

the man brought his hand out for wilbur to shake, his voice filled with charisma and confidence.

"i'm mr accetturo, but most students call me pete, and i believe i'm your english teacher," he said as wilbur shook his hand.

"sorry i'm late mr accetturo, i got lost," wilbur muttered, his voice wavering.

mr accetturo patted wilbur on the back and walked down the hallway, wilbur following suit. 

"it's alright wilbur, honestly i'm shocked the school hasn't done anything to properly welcome you. plus, i'm late as well," mr accetturo chuckled.

the boy followed his teacher through the school, eventually arriving at the classroom. 

mr accetturo led the boy into the room, which was filled with the voices of rowdy teenagers, girls clumped together in their cliques and boys leaning against each others' desks.

"alright class, settle down," mr accetturo started, "this is our exchange student from england, wilbur soot."

the class quickly quietened down, nearly all the students taking an interest in this foreign boy, some audible chuckles and murmurs amongst them.

"go sit at that empty desk by the window," mr accetturo whispered, patting the boy on the back one last time before wilbur walked awkwardly through the rows of students, feeling the judgemental glances and curious eyes on his back.

he made his way to the desk, sitting down and plopping his stuff on it. he felt a tap on his shoulder and quickly turned around, ready to be faced by some sort of insensitive comment about being british.

instead, he was met with a delightfully familiar face.

"it's nice to see you again wilbur."