string bean | wilbur soot

37

"Fuck! This is strong-" Cooper laughed, setting his cup of whatever he had gotten down. He was pretty high (as usual), and a little drunk. Not a great combination.

"See? Point proved: You're a dumbass," I said, taking a sip of the drink Wilbur had left here. He left me with Cooper and Noah so he could go catch up with some friends. That was fine, obviously. I loved my friends almost as much as him.

I was supposed to be helping Ted look for a girl he had met during the Lunch Club booth, but I could do that later.

"Noah, you're single. Correct?" I asked.

He tilted his head to look at me. "What're you planning?"

"I have someone I want you to meet."

"If it's Charlie, I'm saying no."

Cooper snorted, almost spitting his drink out. "Nah, she's ditching Wilbur and letting you have him."

I punched Cooper playfully. "Shut up, that's mean," I shook my head. "Uh, but no. My roommate, actually. I think the two of you would get along."

Noah nodded slowly. He looked completely uninterested, but I was gonna set him up with Elena anyway. "Alright. Maybe."

-

"What's so good about Wilbur?"

"What?" I asked, looking up at Cooper.

The moonlight bounced off of his sandy blonde hair as he stood there, his hands in his pockets. We had gone outside for some fresh air. He shrugged. "I'm just asking why you like him so much."

"Cooper, you're high. I'm not talking about this right now-"

"I'm not even high anymore!"

I sighed. "Fine. You wanna know why I like Wilbur?"

"Yes, please."

"He's sweet. He's talented. He's cute. He cares about me. He's funny. He-"

"Okay, and I'm the exact same from what you're saying right now."

"I- What?"

"You always tell me how sweet and talented I am- And I care about you more than anything! And I'm not that bad looking," Cooper shouted.

I looked down. "What're you trying to say, Coop?"

"I don't think you should date Wil. It's just- the distance between you two is a lot and I don't want you to get hurt-"

"I'm not worried about the distance. We've been doing fine and we make it work."

"Jesus Christ, I'm just gonna say it- I like you, Vee!"

"No, I know that."

"I mean I love you, Vee. I have for a long time!"

"...What?"

I looked at Cooper, who now avoided eye contact with me and stayed quiet. I crossed my arms, standing in silence and confusion. I looked over at the tree behind Cooper, trying to process what had just happened.

I opened my mouth to speak again, but before I knew it, Cooper held onto my cheeks and quickly placed his lips against mine. I didn't kiss him back- I was shocked. I couldn't even process what was going on. I just stood there. It didn't truly process in my head until I heard the British accent I knew far too well saying:

"What the fuck?"