ℍ𝕖𝕣 𝕄𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕕𝕪 {𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕓𝕦𝕣 𝕊𝕠𝕠𝕥 𝕩 𝕆ℂ}

||ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕋𝕨𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕪-𝔽𝕠𝕦𝕣||

"I would've guessed hot considering where you live," He started pulling her towards the shore.

"It's not like I like living there," She chuckled.  Her childhood in San Diego sucked.  She was positive her hatred for the heat had to do something to do with it.  "I just can't imagine living anywhere else."

"I can understand that," He nodded.  "I hated living in London.  The pollution, the people, everything.  I just didn't know how to leave, but my friends helped me out a lot.  What do you hate about San Diego?"

"The fires and the earthquakes for starters," She let out a strained laugh.  "The heat...I don't know.  I guess living there is okay.  I just hated growing up there."

"It was rough?" He glanced over at her to make sure he wasn't crossing a boundary by asking.  She never spoke a lot about her childhood, he noticed.  Only little things when he asked like pets or friends.

"It sucked for me," She shrugged.  "It wasn't nearly as bad as other people's though.  Besides, it got better when I was able to drive and get a job." 

"You shouldn't say that," Wilbur nudged her.  "You shouldn't pretend like it's okay because it was better than others."

"I'm fine, so I don't see the need to make a big deal out of it," She kicked rocks out of her way as they walked along the shoreline.

"You wouldn't be making a big deal," He objected.  "You'd be talking about a situation that hurt you.  It doesn't matter if it was better or worse than someone else's.  It still affected you."

"Just drop it, Wilbur," She told him.  He let out a sigh but didn't reply. 

Alice didn't want to act like her childhood was some traumatic and scaring event.  She was lucky, her parents realized their mistakes and they got better.  It didn't even bother her.  It didn't.  It was a childhood, years ago.  It didn't matter.

She looked at her hand in Wilbur's.  He didn't have to try to make her better.  She was fine. 

Then why don't I want to talk about it?  Why don't I want him to know how I grew up if I'm fine?

"Are you a hot or cold person?" She asked quietly, trying to move past the awkward tension.

"Obviously, I'm a hot person," He smirked and pointed to himself. 

"You're an ass," She shook her head but smiled.

"Well you're here with me, so you must like it."

"Wilbur!"

"It's alright!  I'm an ass person too!"

"WILBUR!"

•

"I'll take your coat, m'lady," Wilbur held a hand and Alice passed her coat to him. 

The two walked around Brighton for about three hours.  Wilbur showed her his favorite stores and spots he used for his arg.  He took her to his old office and they made fun of it's stupid logo together.

It started snowing so they went back to Wilbur's home. 
(okay i know it basically never snows in Brighton but ITS FOR THE SAKE OF THE STORY)