[feb 14 - cavetown]
ABOUT A YEAR LATER:
third person's point of view
"dear, could you check the mailbox outside and see if someone sent me something?" y/n's mother requests her eldest son, who was stuck inside his room for quite some time.
the boy let out a sigh as he hopped off his bed and grabbed his jacket. "okay mum," he replied. lately, all he was ever thinking about was his sister, who had been very busy with her career and academics that she ends up either responding messages late or nothing at all.
the last message y/n sent to his brother was when he mentioned something about robbie. the boy knew that his sister was trying to stay away from robbie for almost a year now, but he liked to share a couple of updates sometimes because even though y/n didn't open up as much, he knew deep down that she's already missing him.
after the boy got out of the house, he wears his unused shoes that was sitting outside for quite a while then rushed towards the mailbox as the mailman drove away.
opening the box, he takes out a number of letters and read them one by one, expecting that most of these would probably be for their parents.
surprisingly, as he flicked through the letters, one of them made the boy pause as he read through its details.
FROM: Y/N L/N
TO: ROBIN SKINNER
...the floral small green envelope read. turning it around, he also noticed that there was a little note with y/n's handwriting.
(sib, don't you dare open this letter. i forgot robin's address so i'm asking you if you could give this to him?)
this made the boy immediately run back in and give the letters to his mum except the one from y/n. running back into his room, he puts the love letter down on his desk then grabbed his phone to message robin.
bugs chungus:
robbieeeeee
...
i hab news
can we meet up?
where are you rn
unfortunately, robin hasn't responded yet which made y/n's brother somewhat annoyed.
he knew they were probably busy since lately, robin has been working on new music for his upcoming ep. which led the boy to think of how he could give this letter to him, he didn't know how to send one nor does he know exactly where robin lives since he recently moved into a new flat.
the two used to talk almost everyday by asking how their day was, or sometimes just by sending memes at each other. he even motivated robbie to make a tiktok account just for laughs and send whatever's on his for you page.
and so, he started to think of how to send it to him. he could just take a peek at the letter and send its details to robin via text message, but he thought that that would ruin the vibe of what y/n was possibly trying to aim.
until he glances at the calendar placed next to his door. "13th of february." the boy reads, which lit a lightbulb on his head. "it's a bit risky, but i guess there's no problem with taking a little of it sometimes right?" he thought to himself.
he quickly placed the letter inside his schoolbag then texted y/n with shaky hands.
bugs chungus:
y/n what the fuck
...
is this letter that you send me
...
y/n:
hehe
umm
yeah so uhh that happened
bugs chungus:
wdym 🤨
y/n:
what it's just a friendly letter for robbie
bugs chungus:
bitch i thought you got over him?
y/n:
I DID!!!
...
i just haven't been talking to him das all
my phone broke and i lost his number a few months ago
bugs chungus:
or why not just message them through the internet like a normal person would do
y/n:
i deleted my social media apps remember
...
bc of ykno,,, twitter
idk man, it just feels draining using socmeds nowadays
bugs chungus:
socmeds?
y/n:
social media
that's like,, the shorter term for that
bugs chungus:
lmao wtf socmeds sounds like it could be a new type of subject you'd learn in school
y/n:
LMAO IKR
...
but like anygays
if it's ok with u, can u like send the letter to him.
wait a minute, did you open it or-
bugs chungus:
nope lol
but i thought abt it
so maybe i will 👀
...
jk ofc i wont
y/n:
thank you
anyways im gonna go back to sleep
bugs chungus:
going back to sleep?
or continue talking to paul 😏
y/n:
sHH 💀💀💀
and so, his quest to find robbie had begun.
since he wasn't so busy, he went out cycling around the neighbourhood using his sister's old bicycle. he tried to get to robin's old house and ask one of their neighbours if a robin was visiting the skinners' residence, but alas, the neighbours shook their heads no, leaving the boy slightly disappointed.
so instead, he bought himself some ice cream and sat on the park. he didn't want to go home yet since he had stacks of homework to answer that were due tomorrow. he just didn't want to do them yet since he was pretty unmotivated.
as he ate his ice cream on the bench, the boy watched kids running around the place laughing while the grownups were hosting picnics. he thought to himself: man, i remember when y/n would often visit the park and sit under one of those trees. she and i would grab a cup of coffee and stay out here whenever she gets to be the one who takes me home.
deep in thought, he suddenly got an idea and immediately took his phone out of his pocket, dialing his cousin's number. "hey, are you free tomorrow afternoon? i have a small favour..."
»»»
the school bell rings, y/n's brother waves his peers goodbye as he ran towards the exit. approaching the school's parking lot, he sees his cousin hannah waiting on her own car.
"well it's good to see you again, young man." she tilts her hat, standing up and closing the driver's door.
"sucks that our family reunions get cancelled numerous times," he shrugs.
"mum often forgets about it since you know, aging." hannah chuckles. "i got what you asked for, by the way." she holds a small container filled with chocolate-chip cookies.
"thanks, i'll eat this inside." he proceeds to open the car door then sit inside as the other did the same.
"where are we going anyway?" hannah questions as she starts her engine.
"i'm visiting a friend."
"does your mother know?"
"...no."
"oh for god's sake..." hannah lets out a sigh, rubbing her temples. "you sure you won't get into trouble with this?"
"of course, i thought about this thoroughly last night." the young boy replied. "besides, i'm on a mission so this is important. i told mum that i'll be home late because of a school project, we'll be fine i swear." he takes out the letter from his bag, showing it to hannah.
"you're not a spy, aren't you?"
"what? no! y/n sent a letter for someone she likes...or, 'used' to like." he quotes with his fingers, knowing that his sister is probably in denial.
"oh so you're playing cupid?"
"sure, you could say that."
"oh wow." hannah shakes her head. "uh anyways, where to?"
"to london!" the boy cheers as hannah leaves her parking spot then drove towards the street.
"but there are so many places in london, how could you ever find this guy?"
"robbie would send random selfies of himself with juno so i think i can tell where he lives. besides, my sister took me to his flat once." he shrugs as he opened the container filled with cookies, munching them as he looked through the window.
hannah glances at him for a moment then focused driving on the road. "careful with the crumbs, i just got this vacuumed yesterday." she reminds.
"yes ma'am." the boy salutes, biting on the cookie once more.
the ride was a bit longer than he expected since he just realized how heavy the traffic was on the way there. fortunately, they got to london at the right time.
"sorry, i forgot to turn on the radio. you must've gotten bored during the trip." hannah turns up the volume then sat back, waiting for the other vehicles to move.
as the radior announcer kept on talking, the boy started to doubt the things he was planning to do. shit... he mutters under his breath. what if i don't see robbie at all? i'd feel embarrassed for wasting hannah's time taking me here."
"playing now is "i want to be alone" by y/n l/n, this is bbc radio 1." the radio announcer says, causing him to snap back into reality.
"wait," he sits up.
"what?"
"that's y/n!"
"what? where?"
"on the radio, panini head!" the boy gestures at the screen, making her turn up the volume even louder. "they're playing her song on national radio!"
"holy smokes, that is them!" hannah gasps. "damn, your sister is really getting herself out there, huh?" the two chuckled as the traffic started to loosen up.
»»»
the two got down the car and started looking around a busy space, hoping to at least spot robbie. hannah stayed in the middle of a bookstore while y/n's brother didn't waste time and continued walking.
panting after minutes of trying to find robbie in the crowd, the little boy almost gave up and felt tired. though luckily enough, while he was resting near a plant, he heard familiar voices that were coming towards him.
as the boy peeked on the side, he realized he had hit the jackpot. he immediately brushes the dirt on his trousers then quickly approached the three men who just walked past him.
"robbie!" the boy runs towards them. "robbie, wait!" after a few more calls, robbie looked back and waited for him to come towards him.
"hey, what are you doing here?" robbie chuckles as taha and marco continued to walk away. "wait, i remember you...wait, what's your name again?"
"josh." y/n's brother respond. "i've been looking for you, you weren't responding to my texts."
"oh dear i'm so sorry, i was busy prepping up for the tour next month." he scratches his head. "anyways, what's wrong?"
"y/n," josh takes out the letter from his bag. "y/n made me come here and send this to you." robbie stood there in shock as the letter was handed to him. he looks at it and reads the message at the back.
"did you come here alone?" robbie asks, to which he shakes his head.
"my cousin's with me. if my mom found out that i'd visit here, she'd be fuming mad." josh chuckles nervously.
"come on, i'll take you guys up on my flat." robin and josh started to walk. "it's pretty chilly out today."
"true, true." josh sighs.
"why did your sister send this to you when she could've just send it straight to mine?" robin questions while he was still staring at the small green letter.
"she said she forgot what your address was." josh shrugs, placing his hands on the pockets of his trousers. "i'm assuming it's because y/n's so focused on her academics that all she ever thinks about are her schoolworks."
after josh calls hannah, robin took the two of them in his flat. "by the way, you can make yourself a cup of tea if you'd like. the teabags' somewhere in the kitchen."
"thanks," hannah walks into the kitchen while robin and josh got inside his bedroom. the boy sits on robbie's bed without hesitation, curious to see what y/n has written about robbie.
"when did you receive this?" robin asks as he closed the door.
"just yesterday." said josh. "i was supposed to visit you yesterday but i wasn't really sure where you were."
robin reads the message on the letter once more before flipping the envelope open. "have you opened this?"
"unfortunately, no." josh shakes his head. "i was asked not to, but i thought about it."
"so you don't know what the letter says at all?"
"negative, sire. y/n likes to keep secrets sometimes so i just let her." the boy replies.
robin sits next to him then reads the first message out loud. "from y/n l/n, to robin skinner..." he then takes out the content that was inside the envelope then unfolds the paper.
instead of reading it aloud, robin fell silent as he continued reading y/n's letter.
"dearest robin,
valentines day is coming up so i've decided to write you a letter for it because why not?
by the way, i hope you are doing very well with whatever you've been doing and just remember that i'm always proud of you and here to support you no matter what.
i apologise for not telling you that i'd leave the day after we last met, i wasn't in the right headspace at the time and was overwhelmed by the plans i had to push through.
happy valentines day, robin. i love you and miss you. here's a polaroid of us when we both toured years ago :)
best regards,
y/n"
robin pulled out the photo of him and y/n from the letter. the photo was taken while the both of them were backstage for their concert.
this left robin stunned as his lips formed into a smile while looking at the photo, which made josh feel slightly worried for how he was feeling.
"are you alright?" he tries to look at robbie's face in concern. josh didn't want to break his heart whenever he mentions his sister, y/n (same goes to y/n when it comes to robin). but sometimes, he could not stand about how these two 'idiots' couldn't figure out if one of them likes each other back when it is clear to him that both of them are in love with each other.
"what? oh, i'm okay. i'm alright." he sniffles. "just a cold." robin chuckles as he wiped off his nose with a tissue paper.
while the two were talking, hannah was in the living room with taha and marco which made her feel starstrucked.
"so...hannah, right?" marco starts, to which she nods her head vigorously with excitement. "you're related to y/n?"
"yeah." she places her mug down the coffee table. "back then, i would talk to her about robbie. huge fan, by the way." hannah giggles.
"who are you with?" taha asks.
"y/n's brother." she responds. "he said he had to send this green letter from y/n to him and–"
"y/n sent a letter to robbie?" taha's eyes widened. "why didn't she just...text him instead?"
"i don't know man, y/n has always been a confusing person to me." hannah shakes her head and chuckle.
as marco was about to approach robbie's door, the door was suddenly opened by robin themself. "you alright?"
"yeah i just, i have to get some water to drink." robin goes to the kitchen to fetch themself a glass of water.
josh stands outside robbie's room, waiting patiently for him to return.
"did something happen?" marco asks the little boy.
"he said it was just allergies." josh shrugs, but he knew that he probably had to process it for a moment so he wanted to give him some personal space.
»»»
months have passed and it was touring season again for robin. the band is back with a new guitarist while austin takes over as the bassist.
though it wasn't the same for robin to be on stage without y/n by his side, they still enjoyed jamming a couple of his songs to all of their fans nonetheless.
josh would continue sending robin tiktoks and memes whenever he's on his free time. he makes sure that he gives them those cute animal videos he sees on his for you page.
currently, robin was on the road trying to focus on other things first since he had also been going through pretty rough weeks. but then of course, this feeling will pass soon.
he takes his pencil from the table then continues writing on his notebook, attempting to finish another verse for a song he's been working on.
"gmt minus eight and i'm staying up late with your face in my head like a drone
if i don't want anyone, then why do i feel so alone? i'll reach out if you don't...
'cause i can't get your name past my lips like a slur
and i think i'm in love with the idea of her
lie in the morning aurora,
what time is it in california?"
×××××××××
hah see what i did there
made: 01/09/22 , 9:25 pm