Not a Fan (Wilbur Soot)

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"All the songs I've written were either about my band mates experiences or just made up ones. I've never actually written a song about someone I had feelings for. It's not my best- it might literally be my worst, but I just don't know how to write lyrics when I'm in the equation." Wilbur admitted, causing the car to fall silent.

"Shit man. You actually like this girl?" Tommy asked after a long pause. 

"You still don't know anything about her." Toby added. 

"I know stuff about her." Wilbur scoffed, sounding a bit offended. It was true he only had superficial knowledge about her, but that shouldn't invalidate his feelings. "I know she's American-" 

"What state is she from?" Tommy interjected. Wilbur tightened his grip on the steering wheel, pressing his lips into a thin line. 

"I'm not sure." Wilbur admitted. "I know she has synesthesia."

"So do all of Niki's viewers, she talked about it on stream." Toby chimed in from the back seat. Wilbur sighed, peeling one hand off the steering wheel and resting his head on it, turning onto the studio's road. 

"I know she's a good baker. That's something?" Wilbur offered, looking for reassurance more than proving his point. 

"That's not much-" Toby started. 

"You know what, as long as you're happy Wil. I've just never seen you like this." Tommy interrupted, placing a hand on Wilbur's shoulder. 

"You mean an even bigger mess than normal?" Wilbur scoffed, looking over to Tommy. His face was forcing a small smile, his eyes showing the concern he was trying to hide. Wilbur looked back to the road sitting up straight in his chair as Tommy's hand slid away. 

He hadn't considered that Tommy was usually the one who stuck by Wilbur's side during his lulls. He figured Tommy might already be preparing for Wilbur's inevitable low mood for weeks if the situation with Rori goes south. Placing such burdens on a seventeen year old wasn't something Wilbur was proud of. He knew that shutting Tommy out when things got hard would only worry him more, so he had stopped pushing him away. Wilbur hoped Rori wouldn't cause another downward spiral. 

Wilbur parked the car, 10:14am, grabbing an umbrella from the backseat and handing it to Tommy. 

"You two head inside, give them the scones as an apology. I'll be in in a minute." Wilbur gave Tommy a light smile and fluffed up his hair, trying to show that he didn't need to be worried. Both boys got out of the car, huddling together under the umbrella as they walked towards the studio. 

Now alone, Wilbur retrieved the lyric sheet from the dashboard. He read over the lyrics in silence, eventually huffing as he crumpled the piece of paper. He was partially disappointed in himself that he wasn't able to give Rori a piece of art in return to her painting. Their newly budding relationship was primarily based on reciprocation- bread pudding for cookies, dinners for paintings, and now scones for uncomfortable tension. 

He wanted to make it up to her, to prove that he's not just a wannabe musician. He wanted to show her that he was capable of taking her breath away too. 

Wilbur sighed, looking down to his phone before stepping out of the car. Niki had attempted to call him several times last night and that morning. He would call her when he got home, he was late enough as is. 

Wilbur jogged to the studio, pulling his jacket over his head. He was relieved to see the other members of Lovejoy enjoying some of the scones with Tommy and Toby, seeming to not mind the guests or their tardiness. 

"Sorry about the delay, you guys ready to start practicing?" Wilbur asked, pulling off his jacket and beanie. 

"You bet!" Mark answered, wiping the crumbs from his scone on his pants and stepping into the recording booth.