[9/26/21]

haha what can I say I'm bad at writing romance o-o it's cafe time

-

The morning in Brighton was cloudy and rainy, just like the rest of England, but that how Y/n liked it anyway.

She had just moved into her apartment a few days ago. It was sad to leave Tommy and his family again, but she was excited to finally be living in the seaside city.

The streets are already busy, despite it only being 8 AM on a weekday. Y/n makes the executive decision to stop and get coffee and breakfast at a cute looking corner cafe. It's just as bustling as the sidewalk outside had been. Y/n apologizes a few times when she bumps into people, although they don't really seem to care; they were too focused on their own daily routine.

She gets in line and stares at the menu for a while, quickly becoming lost in her own thoughts. She almost doesn't realize when she's made it to the front counter.

"What can I get you ma'am?" The barista asks her, sounding slightly strained from the obvious rush of customers.

"I'll have a [insert preferred drink] and [insert pastry or something idk]," Y/n tells her politely.

"Okay. That will be £8," She replies.

Before Y/n can get the money out, someone steps up beside her and passes the money to the barista.

"I've got it, and one vanilla cappuccino please,"

"O-Oh you didn't have to do that," Y/n tells the man, slightly surprised.

"It's no trouble," He replies to her with a warm smile. He was pretty cute actually, also very tall. His hair was brown and wavy, it covers his vision just slightly but not enough to impart his vision. He also has on a pair of round glasses.

"Let me pay you back," She insists.

"You can pay my back by giving me your number," He chuckles before adding quickly. "I'm sorry that came out weirder than I thought,"

"It's fine!" Y/n assures him. "Um- do you want to sit down with me?"

"Oh! I would love to,"

They get their orders and manage to find a table to sit down at.

"My name's Wilbur, by the way," Wilbur introduces himself. At the sound of his name, Y/n feels a strange sense of familiarity from him all of a sudden.

"My name is Y/n, it's nice to meet you," She reaches over the table slightly to offer her hand. He shakes it, his large hand warm. "So...do you- uh- come here often?"

"Not usually," He says with an amused grin. "But my friends keep telling me to go out more, so I decided to take their advice. What about you?"

"I just moved here a couple of days ago, so I decided to walk around and explore a bit," Y/n explains after a sip of coffee.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but you do sound American," Wilbur remarks. "Not that it's a bad thing of course. I don't mean to sound rude or anyth-"

She laughs at his awkwardness. "It's alright, Wilbur, really,"

He relaxes a little and laughs as well.

-

Y/n spins around in her swivel chair later that night as she talks in a Discord call with Tommy.

"Y/n can I come visit for a weekend?" Tommy asks her. "I want to make a vlog, and I need a place to stay,"

"How are you even going to get down here?" She questions.

"Mum has a meeting down here, she can drop me off. Dad's going to pick me up Sunday night," He says eagerly. "And if that doesn't work then I can always just take the train,"

Y/n thinks for a moment. "I can set up a cot or a futon or something in my office for you, or you can sleep on the couch but you're sort of tall for it..."

"Is that a yes?!"

"Yes, Tommy. It's a yes," Y/n tells him. "But you better be well behaved-"

"I'm 17, Y/n, I'm a big man now," He huffs before adding in a nicer tone. "Oh! And you can meet some of my friends while I'm there, they live in Brighton. I'm meeting up with them for the vlog,"

"I don't want to meet your streamer friends if they're as weird as you," She jokes lightly.

"Please? It's gonna be fun I promise," Tommy pleads.

"Fine, I'll go," Y/n laughs. "Do you want me to be your camerawoman?"

"Really?"

"Yes, "really". The internet isn't ready for my gorgeous face yet," She jokes. "So I'll vlog you and your friends. Plus I'm a film student, I know how to make it look good,"

"Are you saying my current vlogs are bad?"

Y/n doesn't reply.

"Wow, you're an amazing friend," Tommy says sarcastically.

"I'll see you on Friday, Tommy,"

"Yeah yeah. I'll see you later woman,"

"Tell Motherinnit to send cookies,"

"Only if I get some,"

"We'll see," Y/n smiles softly to herself. "Bye Toms,"

"Bye,"

After he hangs up, she does another spin in her chair before glancing at her phone.

> Wilbur: hey are you free this weekend?

Y/n frowns a little, knowing that she did in fact have plans with Tommy.

> Y/n: sorry my friend is making me hang out with his other friends :( I can't this weekend

> Wilbur: aw I was gonna ask if you wanted to come hang out with me and a few of my friends

> Y/n: maybe we can hang out next week? if you're free for lunch at some point

> Wilbur: sounds good, I'll let you know :D

> Y/n: okie dokie :D

Y/n smiles again at the conversation. Something about Wilbur made her happy, even though she had just met him. It made her feel a little less lonely in Brighton.

> Y/n: I'm going to bed

> Y/n: I'll send you a really cringey meme tomorrow morning

> Wilbur: I look forward to it

She laughs a little before turning her phone off. Y/n goes through her nightly routine; shower, brush teeth, put on a comfy oversized sweater that made her feel like she had a partner when she really didn't- make sure Bug's litter box was clean, take a melatonin to help her sleep, and then finally, go to bed.

Her cat hops up onto the pillow beside hers, curling up contentedly after circling the cozy surface a few times. As the silence sets into Y/n's ears, she can hear him purring. faintly.

"Goodnight nimrod," She laughs drowsily while closing her eyes. "Don't wake me up at 5 AM for food again..."

Within a few minutes, she drifts off to sleep.

-

Friday comes quickly. Tommy shows up and takes over her office as his temporary bedroom. The following day they take an uber to the mall, since Y/n didn't have an English driver's license yet, to meet up with his streamer friends.

"Are you gonna tell me about your friends?" She asks as they step out of the uber.

"Well Phil's gonna be there, we call him old be he's really only 33 or something," Tommy begins. "His wife Kristin is coming too to apparently help "babysit" us...George is kind of awkward but he's also cool. And then there's Wilbur-"

"Wilbur"? Huh, what a coincidence

"Wilbur's the only person I know who's taller than me. He's an ass sometimes, but he's also like my older brother,"

"Are all of your friends adults, Tommy?"

"Mother and father have talked to them all before, and dad's met them," Tommy assures her. "I've known them all for a while, they're trustworthy,"

Y/n nods.

He then takes a small video camera out of his pocket and adds. "Can we start the vlog?"

Y/n takes the camera from him and starts recording.

"Okay it's rolling,"

After flashing a thumbs up, they begin walking into the mall.

"Tommy where are we going?" Y/n asks him to kick off the intro.

"We're going to meet the boys at the mall," He replies confidently.

"I'm just kidding, it's not rolling," She lies with a smirk, making him stop walking.

"Really?"

"No, keep going,"

After a bit of banter between them on video, they arrive at the center of the mall.

"Where are they?" Y/n asks, referring to his friends.

"They should be here," Tommy says while glancing at his phone. But as he does, someone call to them from nearby.

"Tommy!"

Y/n looks over and sees a group of people looking at them, one of them waves in their direction. She turns the camera in their direction.

"Guys!" Tommy runs over to them, a wide smile on his face.

Y/n follows him, but is more focused on the tall brown-haired man she had just locked eyes with.

"Wilbur?"

Wilbur smiles a little. "Y/n?"

-

sotd (song of the day):

Affluenza - Conan Gray