"Guys! C'mon!" Wilbur called, gripping the strap of his guitar case. George leaned on the door frame next to him, watching the door to the hallway bust open, revealing Tommy and Tubbo with the widest grins on their faces, Niki following after them.

It was currently 5:00 PM, the day of Wilbur's gig at the bar.

Tommy wore his signature 'Club Sunday' shirt, rolled to his elbows with ripped jeans and black vans. Tubbo wore an oversized dark green hoodie, the hood resting on his head, with beige, high-waisted pants. Niki wore something a kin to Tubbo, however she bore a brown sweater over a white shirt, and a dark skirt that reached her knees.

Wilbur wore a light yellow sweater and a large jacket over his shoulders, patched with different patterns made over the years, some of which George had sewn himself.

George wore a light grey jacket over a white shirt and high waisted brown pants. They all looked their best.

"Ready to face the unknown?" Wilbur monologued, staring at each of them, hands inches away from the handle.

Tubbo and George nodded while Tommy yelled a 'get on with it!'. Wilbur rolled his eyes, grinned, opened the door and ran out leaving the others in the dust.

Tubbo ran straight after him, followed by Tommy, leaving George and Niki who laughed at them all acting like children. At last, they went down the stairs that led to their apartment and saw a van, bruised and battled, with an open cargo bed on the back.

George wasn't sure it even worked.

Nonetheless, he went in. After arguing with Tommy for shotgun, he got his way, and sat at the front, much to Tommy's exaggerated dismay.

The two boys sat on both sides of Niki, who sat in the middle, watching the road. Wilbur yapped on to George about music, who happily listened, staring out of the window.

The van started begrudgingly and soon they were on the road, in the mist of other normalities. Tommy caught sight of a lot of people, and asked Wilbur to open the window. He did so rather quickly, and the second it was fully open Tommy drew out his hand and waved at a passing stranger.

The stranger caught sight of him and waved back. Tommy cheered and Tubbo, who had been watching from the sidelines asked, "Can we play sweet or sour?"

"Sure." George shrugged.

"I've got a point already, that guy's waved back!" Tommy said, but the man had long since passed. Tubbo looked out of his window and opened it up with Wilbur's word, waving to a passing women and her kids. They all waved.

"Yes! Three points!"

"What?! I didn't see!"

"I can second that Toms." Niki cut in, and Tommy groaned, looking out of the window to find someone who would wave at him.

Tubbo peered out of the window and squinted. He waved to an old man crossing the street but the man didn't hear him. He lowered his arm, disappointed, and Tommy laughed from afar.

In the end, Tommy had 21 points and Tubbo had 19. Raising his arms in the air, Tommy cheered and Tubbo, being the good friend he was, cheered him on.

George smiled. They were good friends.

-

"Alright guys! I'll be on any minute now, so like- don't kill each-other, kay?" He flashed them his 'wilbur soot' grin and left, calling, "Hey Techno!" And with that, he was gone.

Tommy looked around, taking in all the dim colours and the sweaty smell of strange individuals. "Are we even allowed to be here?" Tubbo asked and they both looked expectantly up at George, who shrugged and looked to Niki for an answer.

"No Tubs, we have to kick you out!" She taunted and laughed when Tommy took a step back. "I'm joking, silly! Will said he made an exception or something."

"Oh." He shared a glance with Tubbo. Not a moment passed, and they were out of sight. George rolled his eyes and Niki glanced at him, a grin on the tip of her lips.

Not a lot of time passed, before Wilbur stepped on stage and began to set up. Eyes and drunk faces turned to look at him, watching as he tuned his guitar and set up his microphone, placing it on the stand. He gave a nod to a pink-haired man behind the counter, who gave him a thumbs up in turn.

Wilbur strummed his guitar and tested his voice.

It started out relatively well. His first song was one he wrote a long time ago, 'Since I saw Vienna'. The crowd whooped and cheered at the song, Tommy even yelled out his name at one point and the men at the bar began to chant it. He went through many songs, such as his 'Saline Solution' or 'Jubilee line', and the crowd enjoyed every waking moment of it.

It was only at 'La Jolla' that problems began to stir. George had left Niki alone for a second, just a tiny second, to grab a glass of water from the bar.

"What can I get ya?" He was greeted with a gruff, firm voice that belonged to a pink haired man, Technoblade, as Wilbur called him. If he was to be truthful, the voice scared him a little.

"Um, er- A water please." He fumbled on his words and the man turned around, handing him the water when he returned. He mumbled a thanks and looked back.

The sight he saw shocked him. An old drunk man danced next to an uncomfortable Niki, who talked sharply to him. At once he paused, and snapped his head at her, yells escaping his mouth, a hand in the air. George ran over to her when the man's hand shifted and pulled her hand into his, stepping towards the man.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but your yelling at my friend." He spoke out a small voice but he was so sure the man could hear every word he let out of his mouth.

"This bitch? Can't even walk on her own two feet without a man picking at her dress?" He seethed, showing George his yellow teeth.

"Who're you callin' a bitch?" Tommy yelled from behind them. George pulled a hand to stop him from walking any closer to the man- If he knew what was coming for him, he would be running hundreds of miles from where he stood.

But he was stubborn.

"What? You her boyfriend or somethin-? Wasting your time, I mean, look at her!" His nose shrivelled up. "Hideous excuse of existence."

"You FUCKER!" Tommy yelled and jumped up. It took George all his might to pull the blond away from the man. Not a finger was laid, but blood was boiling and battling, and they all knew it so well that it resembled the strings that Wilbur was plucking on stage.

Tubbo tried to calm Tommy down, while also sending fingers up at the man, and George bared his teeth at him. "We'll be leaving, thanks. We don't want to waste our time on degenerates like you."

George pulled a hand on Niki's shoulders and kept one on Tommy, asking to Tubbo to open the door to the bar and taking them all out for some well deserved fresh air.

When the door shut, Tommy was fuming. George had let go of him soon after and he stomped around the area, muttering vulgar curses. Niki sat quietly, slumped on the wall of the bar, listening to Tommy's yelling.

George glanced at her and crouched to her height, a worried tone lacing his words. "Are you alright?" He asked.

Niki looked up at him and nodded quietly. George could feel that something wasn't right, but didn't inquire about it. All would come in good time. He strung a hand over her shoulder to let her know that he was right beside her, and she sniffled, leaning into his touch.

He sat down next to her.

"That, that bastard. How dare he. With that mind, I'd go right in there and punch him in the face, maybe I'll do it twice to ground him a little, make sure that he doesn't pick fights with my friends." Tommy yelled, eyes drilling into the door.

"Calm down, Toms." George warned, his voice low. "It happened. We can't do anything about it now, but we do need you to stop screaming."

"But he-"

"He was bad, yeah. But G's right." Tubbo replied, staring at Tommy with his true, round, eyes that somehow made Toms listen. George was glad that Tubbo was there to ground him.

Tommy stopped. He sighed and sat down next to Niki with a huff, Tubbo following him shortly, sitting down next to him. "I'm sorry, Niki."

Niki smiled in response, a sad smile, something that George wished to know and understand but he couldn't, he just couldn't.

The four waited outside in silence, listening to the swaying sounds of cars driving down the road or the cheers that escaped a small crack in the door of the bar.

Wilbur pushed the door wide after 20 minutes and turned to them with wide eyes, gripping his guitar. "Where were you lot? I've been looking everywhere for you."

George was the only one that turned to look at him. He shook his head and went back to gazing at the distance. Wilbur casted him a questioning glance, and then he sat down next to them with a small huff.

"How was your concert, Will?" Niki sniffled. Wilbur took out a bottle of water and took a quiet sip before he replied.

"Yeah, it was great. Now, is someone gonna tell me what went wrong?" Wilbur asked slowly. George knew him well enough: He was not blind or stupid, but he cared and thought he just had to know.

"Someone cornered Niki and wouldn't leave her alone. He told her some- terrible, terrible things." George spoke slowly, his voice giving away to silence as he finished.

Wilbur grew silent too. "Niki, I'm so sorry." He tried to stand up but George pulled him down.

"Don't. We don't want to stir more trouble then we already have." George replied, and Wilbur glanced at him, then to the door and then to Niki. He sat back down.

They grew silent once more, and perhaps a little more then that, for when Wilbur pulled his phone out of its pocket, it was 3AM. They had work tomorrow. He and Niki atleast.

Wilbur tugged on his sleeve and he stood up. George and Niki stood in turn and they waited for Tubbo and Tommy to rise too, but they didn't. George turned to a sight that made him smile; Tommy was leaning onto Tubbo's side, his chest rising and falling in sleep, while Tubbo was rubbing his eyes.

"Huh- What?" He whispered and George extended a hand for him to take. Wilbur bent down and pushed Tommy up and onto his back, checking him carefully to make sure he hadn't been awaken.

George strung a hand over Tubbo's shoulder to keep him intact and the five left the wretched bar behind, hoping that it would never have to bring them anger anymore then it already had.

Little did they know, the flame that burned with their worry was becoming a fire. And it all came in the hands of a man, that filmed Tommy jumping at the man.

-

✨ ✨