Meant to be (a wilbur soot fan fic)

Chapter 1- the stranger

Author's note: Hi, this is my first time writing a fan fic! Shares, comments and votes are greatly appreciated:)

TW: mention of depression.

  Sitting on the beige couch, I watched as droplets of rain flowed down my window slowly.

  They kept me company as I sat alone in the living room of my small apartment.

   I lived alone in London, away from my parents and my friends.

  I moved here a while ago, to study music in the Royal Academy of Music.

  Although it was my dream and I was incredibly excited, it got lonely and depressing faster than I expected.

  Suddenly the phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. Mother the screen read. I happily picked up the phone, excited to hear her voice.

"Hi honey" she mumbled. I moved towards the window where the signal was better.
"Hi mom" I replied.
"How are things going there?" she asked.

  I felt bad knowing that I had to lie to her. I was out of antidepressants and had no motivation to go get more. I had quit therapy and things just seemed to be getting worse.

  "I'm okay, just a bit tired from uni" I replied. I looked out the window trying to avoid the guilt that was taking over me.

  "Maybe you should take a break and do something else" she suggested.

  I looked over at my violin case that was sat in the corner of my room. I hadn't opened it in a while as I had no motivation to do so.

  As my mom went on, talking to me about her day, I noticed my neighbor outside. She was a lovely old lady that also lived alone. She held her umbrella with one hand and planted a flower with the other.

  That's when I got the idea. I could buy a flower and plant it in my gray plastic pot that was sitting empty on my kitchen counter.

  Once my mom hang up the phone, I took my coat, my keys and left the house. The umbrella that was lost somewhere in the house was broken, so looking for it would be pointless.

  As I walked down the street, I realized that I had no clue about gardening. I had no one to help me out, so I had to figure things out myself. And so, I decided to get a book first. A book that would answer any of my gardening questions and would help me learn a thing or two.

  Luckliy for me, there was a tiny bookstore at the end of my street. I used to go there a lot when I first moved here, but slowly stopped as my interest in books got lost.

  I opened the big wooden door and heard the classic bell ring, alerting the cashier that someone was here.

"Hello there! How can I help you?" the friendly lady asked me once she saw me.

  For a few seconds I panicked, as I wasn't the best at social interactions, and hadn't spoken to anyone face to face in a while.

"Do you have any books about gardening?" I stuttered, embarassed. The lady on the other hand, didn't even seem to notice my stutter.

  "First floor on your right" she instructed me.
I did as she said, and found myself in a corridor full of colorful books and a small table with flowers in the middle.

  As I scanned my surroundings, I noticed a young man standing at the end of the hallway.

  He was tall, slim, with fluffy brown hair and circular glasses.

  Once again, afraid of social interactions, I stopped looking his way and started looking at all the books in front of me.

  I traced the spines of the books with my fingers as I read the titles slowly. I was very focused on reading the names of each book since they were sideways and therefore harder to read.

  I was so focused that I didn't notice the man coming my way, until our hands bumped as he held the same book I did.

  "Oh I'm so sorry!"  he said, turning my way to look at me. He seemed even taller now that he was right in front of me.

  Now that he was closer I was able to notice more about him.

  Like his pretty brown eyes that hid behind his glasses, and his perfect white teeth that formed a smile.

  I had heard about the term contagious smile many times in my life, but never knew it was real up until this moment.

  "You can have the book, I don't need it that much anyways!" he giggled

  "Uhh, are you sure?" I asked. I was now able to feel my cheeks turn red, but hoped it was not noticable to him.

  "Yes! No worries dear"  he replied.

  There was now no doubt that he couldn't notice how red my face had turned, so I quickly turned around and went to the cashier.

  As soon as I paid for the book, I ran home since it was raining a lot more than before.

  The moment I got home, I took off my coat and lied down on my couch, hugging the book tightly in my arms.

  As much as I wanted to open the book and absorb every information in it, my mind was already occupied with another thought.

  The thought of him.

His smile.

  For the first time in months, someone had made me smile, genuinely.

  That someone was a stranger.

  I had to see him again.

  I wanted to feel that true burst of excitement again, even if it was only for one more time.

  But I couldn't.

  Because all he was...

  was a stranger.