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Sophie's POV
***
Brighton's starting to feel a lot more like home now that I actually know some people. I've insisted over and over again that my current room is fine, but Wilbur wants to make me my own room instead of staying in one of the guest rooms. It's sweet, but I really am fine where I am. Wilbur's been the best at making me feel at home overall. He's taken me out to the beach and the local cafe and the Royal Pavilion too.
Tonight, Niki is coming over for pizza, movies and drinks. It's Thursday and Wilbur hasn't had much work to do recently, so he thought a movie night would be ideal.
Since it's only Niki coming over, I keep my face free of any makeup and throw my freshly washed hair into a bun. Niki is the sweetest person to ever live, so I never feel insecure being around her without any makeup on or looking rubbish.
I get into my pyjamas and brush my teeth before going downstairs.
***
I walk downstairs and see Wilbur setting up the TV. I don't know what movie we're watching, neither do I care. Spending time with Wilbur and Niki is what matters most.
"Hey," I smile, joining Will on the sofa.
"Hey," Will smiles back, putting the TV remote on the coffee table.
"What time is Niki coming?"
"Should be around nine-thirty," Will replies, checking his watch. "In an hour"
I nod and let my fingers snag some popcorn from the bowl in front of me on the coffee table. Cookies and a bowl of sweets sit to the left, ready to be consumed later.
"Get your hand out of there," Will says, hitting me over the head with a sofa pillow. "Come help me set some plates and napkins out"
***
At nine-thirty, the coffee table is set and the doorbell rings, announcing Niki's arrival.
"I'll get it!" I shout, jumping off the sofa.
I jog over to the front door and pull it open. Niki stands there with a perfect smile and the cutest pink bunny pyjamas.
"Niki!" I smile, throwing my arms around her.
"Hey, Sophie!"
Niki giggles and hugs me back. Her perfume smells amazing and her hair smells like peaches. God, I love this woman.
I let Niki in and shut the door. Tonight, the temperature seems to be lower than normal. I do love snow, though, so I am definitely not complaining.
"Hiya!" Will smiles, giving Niki a big hug.
The height difference between the two is cute and funny. Niki and I are almost the same height, so I can't talk shit. Even if I wanted to.
"Niki, what would you like to drink?" Will asks.
"Could I have a Vodka lemonade?"
"You sure can," Will chuckles. "I'm going to have one too"
Will disappears into the kitchen to make the drinks and I sit with Niki on the living room sofa. The pizza should be here soon.
"So, how are you?" I ask, getting comfortable in the corner of the sofa.
Niki smiles and nods, hugging a pillow to her chest. "Everything is great. Streaming has been amazing and Uni has also been okay. How about you? You're starting college next week, right?"
"Don't remind me," I shudder, thinking about being the new kid. "I don't want to think about being the new girl and papers and homework and annoying teachers and school food-"
"Damn," Niki laughs. "Is it really that bad?"
"She's being dramatic," Wilbur says, rolling his eyes as he walks in with the drinks. "She'll be fine. Ignore her"
Niki laughs and I cross my arms, fixing him with a raised eyebrow. He's fucking old. Will probably doesn't remember high school.
Will hands Niki her glass of Vodka lemonade and chucks me a can of coke he must've gotten me from the fridge. He sits down and grabs the remote.
"Shall we start?"
***
I wake quietly when I feel someone shaking my shoulder. I crack an eye open and see Wilbur looking down at me.
I sit up and yawn. The living room lights are off and Niki is gone.
"What time is it?" I mumble, rubbing my eyes.
"One in the morning," Will whispers, offering me his hand. "Niki's already asleep. I suggest you do the same"
I stand up and give Will a hug. He hugs me back before letting me go upstairs to bed.
***
I wake up again at ten and push away the want to sleep in.
I get out of bed and get dressed for the day. I also force myself to put on some makeup to look somewhat decent.
I drag a brush through my hair and then walk downstairs where I hear Will and Niki's voices. They seem to be laughing about something.
"Morning," I yawn, entering the kitchen.
Niki's sipping coffee at the kitchen table while Wilbur's cooking eggs, toast and sausage. He seems to be pan frying tomatoes too. I shudder. I hate tomatoes.
"Good morning!" Niki smiles, giving me a small wave.
"Get a plate," Will says, nodding towards the cabinet. "Food's almost ready"
***
Niki, Wilbur and I eat breakfast and talk about last night. Will and Niki eat the tomatoes and wave them at me, making me gag.
"God, you are really dramatic," Will chuckles, shaking his head.
"Meh, meh, meh," I mock, sticking my tongue out at him.
He rolls his eyes as I grin. It's like we're kids again.
***
After breakfast, Will announces we're meeting Phil, Kristen, Tommy and Tubbo for lunch on the beach.
"We'll leave at one," Will says, adjusting his glasses.
***
At eleven, I get in the shower and wash myself thoroughly. My face is already half done, but since we're going out, I apply lashes and lipstick to finish the look.
I keep my outfit as it is and decide to watch YouTube for the rest of the time remaining.
Knock knock
I look up from my laptop screen and see Niki stood in the doorway of my room. She's in a beautiful strawberry dress and her eyeliner is on point as usual.
"Hey, Sophie," she smiles shyly, twirling around. "Thoughts on the dress? I wasn't sure"
"You look amazing!" I grin, looking down at my own outfit. "You look better than me, that's for sure"
"Aww, you look beautiful too, Sophie," Niki smiles, making me feel warm with comfort. "Cmon. I think Will is waiting"
I follow Niki downstairs and we see Will fixing his hair in the front hall mirror. He sees us and smiles, turning around.
"You girls look great. Shall we go?"
I giggle at Wilbur's outfit. He's wearing a button up and his usual khaki museum like worker pants. He looks good, but he also looks like he's stepped right out of the cast of Hamilton.
"What's wrong with you?" Will asks, opening the front door for Niki.
"Nothing," I smile, following Niki out. "Just happy to see everyone"
***
Lunch is fun.
The adults talk together whilst Tubbo, Tommy and I talk about random shit. We talk about Minecraft, women, Tesco's meal deals and Tubbo's dinner last night. Apparently, Tubbo put fish in the microwave and it came out soggy.
After our argument of how to properly cook fish, the topic of school comes up and everyone gets involved. Phil talks through his experiences and Tubbo talks about dropping out of college. I look at Wilbur hopefully but he shakes his head at me, taking a sip of his beer.
"Don't get any ideas, my sweet Sophs"
I sigh and lean back against my chair. Life isn't fair.
"I'll show you around," Tommy grins, taking a chip from my plate. "The school is okay. The school grounds are pretty big and the canteen food is decent"
"That's nice," Will smiles, nudging me. "Tommyinnit's going to be your college buddy!"
"Oh, great!" I groan, mockingly being upset.
***
We get home around four after a brief walk on the beach. Niki goes to her guest room to have a nap whilst Will and I hang out in the living room.
Will grabs his guitar and tunes it as I lay back and scroll through Instagram. As Will finally gets the guitar sounding right, a sudden wave of fear passes over me.
"Will?"
"What?"
"I've been thinking about it and..." I sigh. "I don't think I'm ready to go to school on Monday"
Will looks up from his guitar and looks at me. I sigh and shut my eyes, avoiding his face. The fear is almost sickening when I think about stepping through the gates of a new school. I know Tommy's offered to show me around, but somehow, I'm still scared.
"Why's that?" Will asks after a long pause.
I shrug. "I just don't want to go....yet"
"Sophie, you'll be fine. You just need to be yourself and people will like you for who you are"
"It's not like that," I sigh, opening my eyes. "It's easy for you to make friends, Will. You're smart too. I'm different though. I'm not as lucky"
"Sophie, cmon. You're going on Monday and that's that. Tommy's already offered to show you around"
"I don't wanna go, though!" I mutter, rubbing my eyes.
I know I'm acting like a whiny little child, but the fear inside of me is too much. I really don't feel ready to go yet.
"Sophie," Wilbur laughs, shaking his head as he strums a few chords on his guitar. "Cmon, I'll sing you a little comfort song"
"Will, I'm not going. You said I didn't have to go unless I felt ready to"
"Sophie, you're being a bit dramatic now. Try to be reasonable-"
"Ugh, you don't get it!" I huff, sitting up and crossing my arms. "You keep calling me dramatic and invalidating my feelings. It's not fair!"
"Lower your voice," Will says softly. "Don't wake Niki"
I roll my eyes and stand up to go to my room. This conversation is annoying me and not helping at all. I'm upset for no reason and I can already feel the adrenaline in my blood making me more irritable.
"Sophie, sit down. Let's talk," Will sighs, putting his guitar down. "Are you okay?"
I shake my head no and laugh, lacking the humor.
"Just stop talking to me," I mutter.
Will frowns and stands up. His height is intimidating and he doesn't look very happy with me.
"Sophie, I get that you're scared and upset, but you need to be respectful when talking to me"
"Why?" I challenge.
"What do you mean why?" Will asks, fighting back a chuckle. "I'm your older brother. You have to respect me"
"Whatever," I sigh.
I start walking away until Wilbur's newfound voice stops me. He sounds firm and parent like.
"Sophie, do not walk away when I'm talking to you. Come back here"
"Make me," I smirk, leaning against the stair banister.
Will sighs and looks at me, shaking his head. He seems to be studying my face.
"What's happened?" Will asks, his tone soft again. "Did something happen?"
"Yeah, Will," I say, pushing back the urge to cry. "Mum died, I had to move out here, and now you're forcing me to go to school when I don't feel ready to do so!"
Will shakes his head and checks his watch. He looks back at me and takes a deep breath, shutting his eyes for a moment before opening them again.
"It's five o'clock now," Wilbur says calmly. "Why don't you go get some rest and we'll talk later, huh?"
"I don't want to talk to you!" I explode, anger coursing through my veins.
With that, I storm upstairs and into my room where I slam the door shut. I feel bad for Niki if she's listening, but I'm tired of Wilbur calling me dramatic and unreasonable for not wanting to go to a new school a few weeks after my mums death.
It's unfair.
***