***
Sophie's POV
***
I get out of the shower and check my phone for any tweets.
As much as Twitter is detrimental for my mental health (as Wilbur puts it), I continue to enjoy replies, trolls and the memes I find on there everyday. I also love to see the fanart of creators Wilbur streams with.
I keep my towel wrapped around me as I exit the bathroom, letting the door shut by itself. I walk to my room and roll my eyes when I hear Will laugh from his room. I think he's streaming, but I'm not sure.
I shut my bedroom door behind me and sigh, looking towards my closet. Do I have the energy to get clothes on? No. Do I live with my older brother? Yes.
I grab some sweats, a sports bra and some socks. I change quick and proceed to lay on my bed, replacing Twitter with TikTok.
***
After an hour or two, I start to get hungry.
I know I should be doing college work instead of scrolling through TikTok, but I'm lazy and unmotivated at the moment. Besides, I only go three times a week. I can afford another day of doing nothing before the stress enters my headspace.
I roll off my bed and walk out into the carpeted hallway. The sun has started to set and the darkness starts to fold into the sky, leaving streaks of clouds behind. It looks cold and I can feel rain coming on at some point.
I jog downstairs and try my best not to slip on the polished wooden stairs with my socked feet. I enter the kitchen and hope to find some ramen noodles or something.
I open the cupboards and fridge, finding nothing but cereal, butter, chili powder and bell peppers. Will's been too busy with uni this week to bother with a food shop or streaming. Sometimes I think Will works too hard.
I'll offer to do the shop tomorrow just to help out.
I grab an apple from the fruit bowl on the kitchen table and walk upstairs to Wilbur's room. I knock three times before entering, Will's voice sounding permission.
"Here's the troll, chat. She's alive"
I suddenly realize Will's streaming and smile, laughing internally at the insult.
"Okay, well this troll is hungry. There's nothing in the kitchen"
Will laughs and runs a hand through his floppy hair, adjusting his glasses as chat runs down the screen, the speed so quick I can't read anything.
"My bad," Will says, looking back at me. "I'll go tomorrow and get some stuff"
I sit on the floor and continue to take bites out of the apple in my hand. Will goes back to talking to chat, resuming a conversation about the Dream SMP.
"Get a chair, you weirdo," Will smiles, shaking his head at me on the floor. "Chat, she's sitting on the floor"
I roll my eyes but stand up and drag the spare office chair to the desk. Chat goes quick again when they see me and I see questions like, "What's it like living with Will?", "When are you streaming again?", "Are you dating Tommy?", "How does it feel to have a hot brother?"
I cringe at the last question and roll my eyes slightly. Chat is relentless sometimes.
"Should we get a takeaway tonight?" Will asks, pulling his phone out. "I think we should get some chicken or something"
"I'm down," I reply.
I look back at chat and see the questions keep going. I ignore them with ease like Will always tells me to.
Take your shirt off
I wrinkle my nose at the message and thankfully, it gets deleted by a moderator.
"Choose what you want," Will says, handing me his phone.
I take his phone as he looks towards chat once more, picking up his guitar from under his chair.
"Who wants a song?"
***
Will finishes his stream ten minutes later and then logs off his PC. He turns to me and sighs, running his hand through his hair.
"Sorry for being so absent today. How's your day been?"
I shrug. "I did some work at college today and the came back, had a shower and looked through TikTok. I had a very productive day"
"I bet," Will smiles, shaking his head. "Dinner will be here in about forty-five minutes. I have to work on a couple more essays for uni, but after that, I promise we can watch a movie and hang out, yeah?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it," I reply, giving him a hug from behind.
***
An hour later, the food has arrived and Wilbur and I are watching something random on the TV.
I only have a couple slices of pizza and lie upsidedown on the sofa afterwards, liking to watch TV from different angles. It's fun, but Will thinks its weird.
"You'll be sick," Will says, his eyebrow raised.
"At least I'm having fun"
Will smiles and nods. It's the first genuine smile of his I've seen all week and I think he's glad that I'm starting to be a little happier.
I wish Will would look a little happier sometimes. I get it's stressful though when you stream, go to uni, have to pay bills, and have to look after your younger sibling. I know I wouldn't be able to.
"Will?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you ever think you work too much?"
Will's eyes soften a little and he gives me a small smile. He doesn't look as stressed anymore.
"I think I work as much as I want to," Will replies. "You know I take breaks and go to therapy when I need to"
"Eh, I know," I shrug. "Sometimes, I just worry about you"
"Aww, Soph," Will chuckles, shaking his head. "I don't need you to worry about me. I'm the one who's supposed to worry about you"
"I don't like that"
"Deal with it," Will smiles.
A light silence falls over us as we sit there, looking at the TV screen. Will doesn't seem as concentrated on it and neither do I.
I think our minds are somewhere else now.
"Seriously though," Will says, breaking the newfound silence. "Don't worry about me, okay?"
"Okay"
Wilbur nods, finally satisfied. He starts clearing the table and I stand up to help.
I stack the dishwasher while Wilbur throws out the takeaway boxes and vacuums the crumbs off the floor. When I'm finished wiping down the counters, Will shuts off the lights and we make sure the front door is locked before walking upstairs.
"Have you got college tomorrow?" Will frowns softly, his hair flopping over his eyes as he walks to his room.
"Not tomorrow," I reply. "I've got it Wednesday and Thursday and then Friday I have free"
"I've got uni," Will says, checking his watch. "I'll be back around four in the afternoon or something like that. I should be back before dinner, but if you'd like, you can invite Tommy around so you don't get too bored. I know you enjoy your own company, but it might be nice to see him again"
I nod. "Sure, yeah"
"Okay. Goodnight, Soph," Will says, giving me a hug. "Love you"
"Love you too, Will"
I go into my bedroom and shut the door behind me. A second later, I hear Will's bedroom door shut and smile. Although simple, tonight was fun. I always forget how much I miss spending time with Will.
I brush my teeth, brush my hair and clean the eyeliner from my eyelids. I get into bed and pull open my laptop. Netflix seems tempting, but when I get a Twitch notification on my phone, I switch over to Tommy's stream.
Tommy and I have been talking. Not as much as we used to, but we still talk.
After mum's funeral, everything was a bit awkward and sad. I didn't want to see anyone for weeks and I kind of broke down relationships with everyone excep Phil, Wilbur and Niki.
Niki came over quite a bit to look after Wilbur and I even though he protested we were fine and well. Niki's a kind soul though, and she stayed for a few days. She cleaned, cooked and helped me with homework, taking time to also talk to me about everything that's happened in the last few months. I love Niki.
Phil also came over with his wife, Kristin. They took us for a walk on the pier and tried their best to cheer me up. It didn't work, but I appreciate them trying. I was a bit of a sad bitch and still kind of am.
I lie down in bed and turn off my bedside table light, letting Tommy's stream light up the dark corners of my bedroom. I turn on my side, slip my hands under my head and let my eyes focus on Tommy's minecraft stream.
Damn, I need to stream soon again.
As my eyelids fall shut to the soothing beating of my heart, I start to wonder how I feel so full and hollow at the same time. Lately, it feels like someone flipped a switch in me, making me sad. I don't know how to fix it and probably never will.
***