Chapter Text
Schlatt was slumped back in his chair, idly scrolling through twitter. A tweet from his bud, Ted, popped up on his feed, and he smiled as he responded casually.
Ted Nivison
Some cool stuff coming next week, keep your blinkers peeled
Schlatt
@TedNivison its gonna be fun man
Ted Nivison
@jschlatt I finally get to see that gorgeous face in person
Schlatt
@TedNivison gross i have a boyfriend
He snickered at his own joke, watching with a strange glee as the quote retweets and replies flooded in from over enthusiastic fans theorising and gaping at his simple joking tweet. It was a little strange having such a following watching his every reply, but he had to admit, his ego was bigger than ever.
The original context of Ted’s tweet returned to him then, and he found himself thinking about something that had continuously crossed his mind ever since he was invited to the week of events the man had planned.
So many different creators and influential people would be at the events, participating in the following recording sessions, streams, parties… In writing, it sounded fun, finding people with similar interests and potentially collaborating in future with them all for a fat paycheck and potential friends.
The only issue was… Schlatt hated all that socialising bullsh*t. And knowing Ted and his other friends are absolute social butterflies who would thrive in any situation… God. He had a headache just thinking about being expected to keep up that same socialite charismatic persona around new people. So, he devised a little plan to invite someone who wouldn’t mind hanging around him most of the time.
Was it a bad excuse? Well… Yeah. But it was a good opportunity to see someone he’d really only hung out in person with once.
He tapped his foot. The worst he could do was say no, right?
Trying not to lose his nerve, he typed out a private message to Wilbur.
Schlatt
wilbur what if i told you i had the opportunity of a lifetime and it was all yours
Wilbur
I’m listening
Does this have to do with you going to Ted’s place?
Schlatt
it might
so hes having this party on that night and theres gonna be a load of really influential people there for some event in the city
point is that therell be agents looking for talent and all that stuff
Wilbur
I think you forget the part where I live in the UK
Schlatt
thats the thing tho, this could be super big for you! you gotta come to this party man i promise itll be worth it
Wilbur
Idk Schlatt, I haven’t planned for a trip or anything
I would love to go but there’s more organising involved than just flights
If loads of people are there for the event then the hotels are sure to be booked out at this late of a notice
And I don’t know where anything is in New York
Schlatt huffed in slight annoyance. Wilbur was listing good points and it was quickly destroying his hopes that he would be able to actually hang out with one of his best friends. His thumbs flew across the screen in a desperate attempt to change the Brit’s mind.
Schlatt
but ill be there
listen you can stay in my hotel room with me and tag along as my plus one
and ill make sure you talk to all the right people at the party
Wilbur
Your plus one huh?
Schlatt
and that week there’s gonna be a huge collab that teds organising which is gonna be super fun
Schlatt’s teeth grazed his bottom lip at Wilbur’s borderline flirtatious message, smiling like a fool.
Schlatt
well, yeah, we’re allowed uh to bring someone if we want
Wilbur
It does sound tempting
Are you sure it would be okay if I stayed with you?
Schlatt
why, you snore?
Wilbur
You know very well I don’t
An uncharacteristic snort came from Schlatt, relaxing back into the chair once more. He could tell Wilbur was very close to saying yes, so he drove the point home just a bit more.
Schlatt
yeah yeah
listen wil if anything i would just really like you there
Wilbur
Oh yeah?
Schlatt
oh shut up
you know why
Wilbur
Haha I’m just teasing you Schlatt
I’d love to come
Schlatt
really??
Wilbur
Yess of course I would
Schlatt
thats great news because the other bunkmate choice I had was tommy and I cant handle that
Wilbur
Oh he’ll be so upset
Schlatt
hell get over it
He smiled, turning off his phone when the other said he was heading to bed. That was fine, even though he was a little upset their conversation was cut short - he had yet to pack his sh*t.
-
Wilbur was tapping his finger on the side of his phone, staring at Schlatt’s contact picture of Jambo. It had been hours since they’d messaged, and the other was sure to be asleep by now. He was six hours ahead of the other man, it being nearly 9am in Brighton, grazing 3am in Austin.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the sudden plans to fly over to America for a full week. He wasn’t one for the spontaneous, and while it all excited him, he couldn’t help but imagine all the nightmare scenarios that could come from this whole event.
Phil messaged him then, pulling him out of another miserable day dream. He was responding to something Wil had messaged him the night before, but he took the opportunity to ask for some advice.
Wilbur
Phil I’m having second thoughts
Phil
About what?
Staying with Schlatt?
Wilbur
Not that part exactly but.. Yeah
I’m just worried
Like this is a big opportunity for me and I don’t want to mess it up
Phil
What’s the opportunity?
Wilbur remembered then that the other, while being invited to the event, was there purely for fun and maybe a bit to supervise Tommy. He wasn’t really sure if anyone knew about the agents Schlatt had promised to be there.
Wilbur
Ted’s hosting this party as you know and there’s gonna be agents and talent seekers there or something and it’s just.. A huge opportunity for me to finally get my serious music out there and for it to be seen by more than just a fraction of my fan base
And god schlatt has been so generous with this offer and I’m super thankful but it feels all so overwhelming
And sudden
I’m not sure my music is up to my own standard let alone the judgement of professionals
Would I be making a huge mistake if I just stayed home
Phil
That’s a lot.
Wilbur
I know sorry for spamming
Phil
No I mean, that’s a lot of emotion and stress and perfect reasons to be stressed
If I was in your place I’d probably try and puss* out
But Kristin wouldn’t let me do that to myself, especially if it was as huge an opportunity you say it is
So I’m not gonna let you do this to YOURself
I really think you should go. I’ve heard your music and the scrapped lyrics you post on twitter and it is amazing. Everyone knows it is and we all can see your potential
This is huge, yes. But you deserve every good thing that comes out of it. You deserve this opportunity more than anybody.
Wilbur
Phil you are amazing
I’m still anxious about it but I think I’ll go anyway and just face it head on
Phil
Good
And hey, have fun
You don’t get to see Schlatt very often huh?
Wilbur
Well, no, you’re right
I think we’ve only hung out in person once and it was around other people
And I think we were both still nervous around each other since we’d never really met like that
Phil
Well Schlatts your close friend, I’m sure it’ll all be fine
Wilbur
Yeah you’re probably right
Again
Phil
I usually am
Wilbur
Hush
I think I’ll talk to him about it too so he isn’t put off by how anxious I’m going to be the whole time we’re there lol
Phil
That’s a good idea
Wilbur
Seriously though, thank you
Your support means a lot to me
Phil
Anytime :)
Wilbur rolled over onto his side, still bundled up in his duvet. He’d been rotting in bed for the entire morning, and it was probably time to drag himself out of it before he wasted the entire day away. He didn’t do so without shooting a quick text to Schlatt.
Wilbur
You awake?
There was a long pause from Schlatt, and Wilbur almost assumed he wasn’t gonna get an answer for a few more hours. He moved to his computer setup, switching it on while waiting for a response. When he heard the buzz, he snatched his phone and found himself smiling at the notification.
Schlatt
unfortunately
whats up
Wilbur
Was gonna ask you to call, but if you’re not up for it that’s all good man
Schlatt
oh
no no I can call
just give me a second
Wilbur
Alright!
The eagerness was a little cute, he had to admit it. He opened discord, waiting a few minutes before calling the other.
When Schlatt joined the call, his voice was deeper than usual, and notably raspy. There were loud shuffles on his end, ones that were usually not present on their normal discord calls. Wilbur assumed he was in bed.
“Hey, what’s up man?” Voice evidently sluggish with sleep, Schlatt attempted conversation.
Wilbur chuckled quietly, leaning back in his chair and brushing a hand through his curls, “Did my message wake you?”
“No.” Came the instant, grumbled response. Followed shortly by; “maybe a little.”
“We didn’t have to call dude, you could’ve just slept.”
Some more shuffles, a muffled yawn, “Nah, I was awake anyway. Can’t sleep.”
“How come?”
Schlatt sniffed, pausing for a long moment, potentially just to think of a response, “Just thinking. How come you wanted to call, anyway?”
It was Wilbur’s time to pause then, thinking back on his conversation with Phil. Schlatt had asked him to come late the night prior, and the stress had woken him at nearly 6 in the morning. For Schlatt, it hadn’t been a day yet.
“Just a bit anxious about this trip, I guess.”
An alarmed shuffle, and Schlatt’s voice was louder - he wasn’t leaning in, was he?
“Are— You’re not-, I mean, you still wanna come, right?” He seemed so worried. Was Wilbur coming really that important? He knew Schlatt got tense and quiet in bigger crowds of people he didn’t really know, but he certainly knew a few of the people going to this event. It shouldn’t be so bad, right?
“Why, would you miss me?”
Schlatt heard the tease in his voice then, and the bed creaked once more as he attempted to nonchalantly lean back.
“Psh, not a chance.” Wilbur let the silence hang, just to make the other a bit nervous. He was cuter that way.
“But, um. I was looking forward to seeing you, I guess.”
Wilbur laughed then, a soft, warm and teasing chuckle, before speaking words dripping with friendly sarcasm, “Aw, Schlatt, you really mean that?”
“Shut up.” Came an immediate response, dry and humourless. Wilbur still found it funny.
He decided to stop teasing the poor guy and tell him about his worries for the trip. Schlatt was a good listener when it really boiled down to it, offering kind encouragement and an attentive listening ear. Wilbur often thought about how different he was when he was doing bits and messing around in streams, as opposed to their private calls and more serious messages. And, well, theweeklyslap, but the uploads on that weren’t consistent enough to really have a foot in the door.
The one thing that never seemed to stop was the mutual joke-flirting. It was just so easy when it came to Schlatt, and he wasn’t quite sure why. He didn’t find himself making these sorts of jokes with many others - maybe once or twice, but never as consistent as it seemed to be with the American.
They talked for another maybe 15 minutes about their mutual worries for the event, and then for a bit longer about the more relaxed and fun plans Ted had for later in the week. Wilbur found himself more eager than before, excited to get there and hang out with his online friends. And see Schlatt, of course.
Schlatt started quieting down around 40 minutes into the call. His replies were slower, shorter, and more mumble-y. Wilbur knew he was probably falling asleep on call again, but was too prideful to admit it and leave.
He purposefully lowered his voice, leaning in to the microphone as to not wake him back up with a louder voice, “Schlaaatt~?”
“Mmmm…?”
“Are you falling asleep?”
“Mm-mm.”
“Are you suuure?”
Another long pause. Wilbur thought he might’ve been gone for good, but a response caught him right at the end. A tiny hum, filled with a sleepy sigh and a shuffle into his pillow. Wilbur couldn’t help but smile and shake his head fondly.
