Chapter Text
Well, shit.
In the split second James took to open and close the front door, Otto had somehow slipped outside unnoticed. The sneaky bengal cat was most likely perusing the backstreets of London, unaware of the dangers they hold. He's an indoor cat for Christ’s sake, he won't survive a day out there.
Getting back home and finally realising his precious cat was missing, James frantically pulled his shoes back on and ran outside to search.
“Otto! I swear to god you're gonna be the death of me one day. Otto!”, he shouted, seemingly into the void, as he received no reply. Shaking a bag of cat treats also appeared to fail miserably, the strained meowing noises he made didn't help either; people stared at him from across the street as if he were a freak of nature. God forbid a man wants to find his cat, hopefully in one piece.
One passerby stopped him, tapping his shoulder.
“Oi mate, what’re you looking for? I'm not busy, I can help find whatever it is if you need.”, the strange man said, his words filled with kindness.
James turned around to look at him face to face, and god damn was he beautiful; light brown strands of hair fell in front of his eyes, a chiselled jawline that really shaped his face, and a striking pair of crystal blue eyes.
He only noticed he was absentmindedly staring for too long when the man waved a hand in front of him.
“Uh.. you okay there?”
“Yeah, sorry there- got lost in thought. I’ve lost my cat- uh, he's a brown bengal, quite big, and usually very loud. If you help me, you'd be a lifesaver.” James spoke, his tone laced with a twinge of desperation.
“Oh! Yeah sure man I don't mind! I don't think I caught your name by the way, I'm Will.”
So, just “Will” huh? Is that short for another name? Maybe William, or Bill maybe? Does it really matter?
The name stuck with him, for some unknown reason.
“I'm James, I'd say nice to meet you but this probably isn't one of the best circumstances to meet someone!” he chuckled, also earning a small giggle from Will.
They got to searching after he showed Will a photo of Otto so he actually knew what he was looking for- and finally, after a good 20 minutes of wading through thick bushes and poking their heads under every cardboard box they found laying around, James heard a shout from behind him.
“Is this him?”
He looked over and immediately doubled over with laughter. Will was holding Otto above his head like that one scene from “The Lion King”, triumphantly smiling at him as if he'd won the lottery. Turns out the cat was laying in the shade behind the flower shop on the street corner. Well, James could rest easy now knowing he was safe and sound.
“Thank you so much, I genuinely think I would've gone insane trying to find him without you!” James sighed heavily, a weight now lifted off his shoulders.
“No bother, seriously. I'm glad I could help!” Will spoke, as he started to turn away to get back to whatever he was doing before this whole situation.
“Wait! Uh- is it alright if I get your number or insta, it's just that you've been really kind to help me with this and I just-”
“You know you're rambling, right? Give me your phone so I can follow my insta will you?” Will deadpanned, he didn't look annoyed, he just looked… expectant. Like he already knew this was going to happen.
They exchanged accounts and before turning away to leave, shared an awkward- but not unpleasant- handshake.
Later that night, James is doomscrolling twitter (as one does when you have nothing to do at 2am) thinking of stupid TikTok ideas to promote his music. Look, he loves writing music with all his heart, it's his passion, his life, but the promotion aspect is incredibly draining. Maybe it's the fear of failure- if you spend so long writing and producing something you genuinely enjoy, just for no one to appreciate its beauty.
Oh, who is he kidding.
Just make a few 15 second videos to post over the next week and go to bed.
That's what he would've said to himself if he actually had some common sense (which he certainly doesn't to be clear). Instead, he switches to scrolling through his mates Instagram stories; people at concerts, random photo dumps, the lot. For a good half an hour, he scrolls, liking people's posts and stories, his brain on autopilot.
Until a post came up, and before his mind even registered whose it was, he clicked that heart button.
Fuck.
James had to do a double take to make sure he was reading his screen correctly, to make sure he wasn't having hallucinations from his tiredness.
He had liked one of Will’s posts, and not even a recent one either, one from two years ago.
Oh my god.
Seriously.
What was he thinking?
He wasn't thinking. That was the problem.
Before his single brain cell kicked in, his curiosity had peaked. The post was just a small photo dump, some of Will and his friends, some of what looked to be in a studio, some were just simple pictures of the beach. He clicked his profile and saw a youtube link. James should've known to stop there, he was digging himself a hole he couldn't climb out of. But he didn't stop.
The youtube link led to a chanel titled “a bit more willne”. Strange name… but he's seen weirder content on the internet. A video titled ‘We Tried Banned Energy Drinks!’ caught his eye, the bright graphics on the thumbnail sticking out like a sore thumb.
So, he watched… and then clicked another video, and another, and another; before he knew it, an hour had sped by and he was still craving for more.
The bright studio lights really highlighted Will’s looks- the slight freckles spotting his cheek, the glint in his eyes when he grins ear to ear, the way his hair curls up from underneath his hat.
He was falling hard.
James was comfortable in his sexuality, had been for a while now, but this felt strange. Not exactly in a negative way, just… unusual. It wasn't like him to feel this way about someone, especially just after meeting them. Maybe his exhaustion from the events of the day were finally getting to his mind, maybe he was just drowsy from his horrendous sleep schedule, he doesn't know.
What he does know is that he should probably head to bed.