jubilee line . . . wilbur soot

ii.

the next day you found yourself aimlessly wandering around brighton. a small cafe at the corner of a street made your interests soar, and you walked in. the warm air encapsulated you as you took your coat off, walking towards the front of the cafe and ordering. you sat down with your food and drink and awkwardly watched as a man walked towards you, a polite smile on his face.

"hello, uh, i saw you over here and you were alone... are you waiting for someone?" he asks.

"no."

the man sat down opposite you, taking a drink from his cup. you watched him, a small smile on your face as you tried to seem polite. you hoped someone you knew would enter the cafe soon, saving you from speaking to this stranger.

"so, uh, what's your name?" he asks.

"y/n."

"nice to meet you. noah," he says, holding his hand out for you to shake.

he began speaking to you, telling you about himself. you had to admit, nothing he spoke about interested you. you both had completely different interests. your mind wandered to wilbur; you both had similar interests and whenever the two of you spoke, the conversation wouldn't stop after two minutes.

why can't he just bore me to death? you thought to yourself, listening to him ramble on about how much he enjoyed travelling. you would rather stay inside, watching whatever caught your interest.

"what about you?" he asks, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"sorry?"

"what do you like to do?"

you were silent for a moment, taking a breath before answering.

"editing."

"oh."

you both took a sip of your drinks, awkward silence taking over the two of you as you realised you were the complete opposite. now you were sat in a cafe with a complete stranger. they say opposites attract, but in this situation, that wasn't the case.

"uh... i'm sorry, i have to go," you say, putting your coat on and looking at him.

"oh, should we do this again?" he asks.

"no, thank you."

you watched as his face dropped and a pang of guilt hitting you as he looked genuinely disappointed. he nodded and you left the cafe, going to your office. you opened the door, jumping slightly when you saw someone sitting in your seat.

"what're you doing here?" you ask, making him turn around. "how did you even get in?"

"i mean... i don't think you locked the door."

"oh."

you sat down beside wilbur, starting to talk to him about the man at the cafe. you began waving your hands around wildly to emphasise certain words. wilbur just watched, a small smile on his face as you rambled on about the encounter.

"and- and i distinctly remember thinking to myself, 'why can't he just bore me to death?'. he was the complete opposite of me."

an idea seemed to strike wilbur as he sat up in the seat, an even bigger smile on his face. he walked into his office, coming back with a guitar.

"what are you-"

"correct me if i'm wrong, but you said you remembered saying you wanted him to bore you to death. and, uh, here's the song."

you watched in confusion as he began playing the guitar, opening his mouth to say the lyrics. a small smile formed on your face as you realised that the song was genuinely how you felt in the cafe, and you were sort of glad you told him you didn't want to see him.

he never had cool stories,
he doesn't make your heart beat
he used to love his mystery
but now, he's just exhausting
another day spent just laying in his room
the stench of incense
and some undelivered food

you watched as wilbur concentrated on the guitar, and he got to the second verse. you had a sudden thought as he began singing, making your eyes widen.

and she thought
"what if he thinks i'm the one?
and i'll be forced to rot away
with him and his obsessions
for trivial things
like the amount of fucking love hearts i finish a text message with"

you knew why he didn't interest you. you knew why you declined his offer to see him again. you knew why you wished he would bore you to death. because you knew that you didn't need nor want him.

you needed wilbur. and, unknown to you, he needed you too.