𝚄𝚖𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚊 (𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛)

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷

          To be frank, I was never one for romance. I was always the one to stand in the corner at family gatherings, talk the least during group projects, and avoid any confrontation. This was, until the day, the fateful day on which I met the love of my life.
          It was just another one of those days, really. It didn't seem important, nothing exciting had happened, another day of school came and went as expected. Another day of note taking, people watching, eavesdropping, and pining over all of the fun things I could be doing if I wasn't at school. Drive in theaters, concerts, diners, roller skating, reading, talking to friends- there's a whole damn world out there; but alas, there I sat. Of course, the moment the bell rang I was up and out the door, eager to get home to see my pet cat, Delores. What a good cat she was, she really was, absolutely beautiful. Silky black fur, green eyes, pointy ears, all of the wonderful features of a cat. Ah, now I'm getting off track, back to the main story.
          I left the old school building, which loomed over the street in all of its concrete and brick horror, and began walking down the block, in the rain and fog, to the bus stop. Now, I lived very far out of the way from my school, far enough that I was usually the only one to take my bus route. This day, however, there was a strange boy there. I'd certainly seen him before, I thought he was good looking so I'd paid attention to him, but I'd never caught his name. He was tall, a little lanky but not too much so. He had this scruffy, dark brown hair that seemed a bit unkept, but you could tell he put a lot of effort into it. He always dressed nicely, at least to me. He was a fan of bright colored sweaters, greens, purples, and oranges were his go-to colors; usually with a white polo shirt underneath. Today he was wearing green, but I think purple suited him the most. Depending on the day he'd either wear jeans or khakis with the same, worn, brown belt- khakis for today. He always wore the same dress shoes, they were brown and he always kept them nice and shined. He was certainly attractive.
          As I got closer, I noticed his eyes- a striking silver color that I'd never seen before. I was enticed, to say the very least. I nearly forgot it was raining by the time I got to the bus stop, I was so focused on him. Because of this enticement, I was cautious not to get too close. He was holding a black umbrella, but I was going to test him. I wasn't about to ask him to stand under his umbrella, I would wait to see if he offered. This would surely be a good test to determine wether or not he was as gentlemanly as he appeared. It was only about 10 seconds before I heard him clear his throat and take a deep breath.
          "Miss, excuse me," he remarked confidently, "I would love nothing more than to offer you a spot beneath my umbrella." He gave me a cheeky smile.
          "Oh," I replied, "I would be honored to stand beneath the umbrella of such a gentleman as you." I giggled and slid closer to him, our shoulders nearly touching until he closed the gap between us, causing me to gasp.
           "Oh dear, I didn't mean to startle you I-"
           "No, no, it's fine!" I smiled up at him, "I appreciate it, I really do. Now," I shifted my weight back and forth, building up the courage to ask, "I must ask, what is this ever-so-kind gentleman's name?" We stood in silence for a second, both of us completely entranced by the rain falling, pitter-pattering on the tree leaves.
          "My name is William, William Afton."
          "And why haven't I seen you at this stop before, Mr. Afton? I'm usually all alone here, surely you don't take this bus." I looked at him with my puppy dog eyes and he cracked a smile.
          "Well, (y/n), I don't take this bus," he announced my name smoothly, causing me to gasp, "I've seen you around. You seem so lonely and, honestly, I think you're a lovely girl. I'd truly love to get to know you better- I'm sure it's strange that I already know you, but I assure you, my intentions are very, very good."
          I heard the familiar sound of tires driving through puddles of fresh rain and watched the yellow bus pull up to the cracked curbside, braking slowly. Its metal framed glass doors screeched open, and the driver beckoned me into the bus. I looked over at William, smiling contently as our shoulders touched. He reached into his pocket and grabbed a small, neatly folded piece of paper out. He handed it to me and I took it, our hands briefly touching.
          "It was lovely meeting you, (y/n), and don't worry about the umbrella, you need it more than I do." He handed me the black umbrella, putting both of his hands around mine.
          "Thank you, William. It was a pleasure meeting you, too." I looked him in his beautiful, silver eyes and smiled.
           He let go of my hands and nodded at me. I turned away, wondering what he'd written on the neatly folded paper, wondering what he had in store for me. I stepped up on the rusty stairs of the bus, folded up William's umbrella, greeted the bus driver, walked down the aisle of maroon, pleather seats, and sat down in the back of the bus. I cleared the fog off the window with my hand and looked out to see William walking away, down the wet sidewalk. I smiled at the thought of him holding my hand between his hands, handing me his umbrella so carefully. I thought I could fall in love with this man.
          As the bus began driving towards my house, I began to unfold the little white paper William gave me, and to my surprise it read,
          "(y/n), I think you're stunning. Call me?"
          Underneath his beautiful, scrawling cursive read his phone number, with a heart in place of the "0", which was the last digit of his number. I smiled and refolded the little paper before I leaned back in my seat. I knew I'd be calling him soon, and without even thinking, I drew little hearts in the foggy bus window all the way home.