Bedroom Community

Schlatt struggles for a moment, battling with gravity in order to not drop the messy pile of letters in his arms as he shoves open the door. He walks into the empty classroom, desks and chairs all pushed up against the walls. It hadn’t been used in years. He closes the door with his foot and goes into the centre of the room, kneeling on the floor and placing the pile down on the hardwood.

He stares down at the pile, sighing softly. Every single letter Wilbur had sent him since third year. A lot of them were bent or out of order, but it didn’t really matter. Schlatt was just looking. Specifically for any sign that Wilbur might like him back.

It wasn’t likely, and even if he did, Schlatt worried about the bigger picture of it all. What if it caused something to happen in their friend group? Realistically, they hadn’t had any drama since fourth year and had matured since then. Kind of.

Schlatt dismissed the anxieties and started sorting the letters, reading over them and putting them into two piles. They jokingly flirted a lot, but they were just jokes. Schlatt falters as he places a letter down into a slowly growing pile of letters that had no sign of romantic attraction. Were they jokes? Was Schlatt joking?

At this point, no. He wasn’t. Schlatt doesn’t even want to try and think of how long it had been like that.

As he progressed through the large stack, Schlatt started to read over them a little more carefully and slowly. It was nice. They held a sense of nostalgia, and even if Schlatt couldn't place a specific time for some of them, it was soothing to read.

Most of them weren't very important conversations. Things about sneaking out at night or Wilbur forcing Schlatt to watch movies that he didn't understand. Eventually, Schlatt loses the purpose of why he had come here in the first place.

He lifts the letter at the top of the pile, noticing a large ink splatter to the left of the page. Schlatt remembered this one.

‘How do you not get the point of the movie?? His whole life was a lie and he was being broadcasted to millions of people, don't you think that's insane?! Imagine finding out that everything you've known isn't real? I would freak the fuck out!

How did you understand The Labyrinth easier than this, that movie is far more confusing, at least visually! I guess the concept was pretty simple. Maybe I should show Charlie and see if he gets it and see if you're just–’

The rest of the sentence was obscured by the large ink splatter, the only words left on the page being at the bottom, in small handwriting.

‘fuck. - Wil’

Schlatt laughed to himself a little. Eventually, he had understood The Truman Show, but it wasn't easy. It kind of took an understanding of TV shows and recording to get it, which Schlatt didn't have much of.

He put the letter down in the nothing pile, glancing at the difference between the two piles. There were very few in the pile for letters with some mention or implication of romance. It wasn't looking good.

Then, the door handle turns and the colour drains from Schlatt's face. He attempts to shove the letters back into one pile, in hopes that it would change something. It's far too late though, and the door swings open as a conversation between two people becomes silent upon seeing Schlatt.

But when Schlatt looks at them, he doesn't know if he should be relieved or horrified. It's Ted and Niki. While they are the more reasonable and easy going members of the friend group, it doesn't calm Schlatt's nerves much.

“Oh, hello. What are you doing?” Niki asks, walking into the room and letting Ted close the door behind her.

Schlatt quickly comes up with an excuse, stacking the letters hastily as he speaks, “Uh, just reading. Library was too crowded. These are just past essays and stuff, looking over them for exams, remembering things, um–”

And then he freezes as the two sit down and Niki takes a page from the pile. Her eyes skim over it before she stares at Schlatt uncomfortably. “Are these all–”

“No.” Schlatt whispers, dread filling his stomach. He's quick to slap Ted's hand away when the taller reaches for the letter in Niki’s hands. It's too late though. Niki knows something is wrong and isn't backing out until she knows what it is.

Unexpectedly, her expression softens and she glances down at the letters and then back up at Schlatt, whose knees are starting to hurt on the wooden floor. Then, she smiles a bit.

“How many letters do you guys write to each other?” Niki teases, and then starts adjusting the pile, making it as neat as possible.

Schlatt blinks dumbly, staring at her. “What?” He looks over at Ted, and he doesn't seem to understand what's happening, glancing between the two awkwardly.

Niki laughs lightly and shuffles the stack to the side, Schlatt shifting off his knees and sitting cross-legged like the other two. “Schlatt, I don't care. A little bit of information though, Wilbur definitely likes you back. Don't waste your time with this stuff.”

At that, Ted's eyes widen and his jaw drops a little. Then, after a second or two, he returns to a much more casual expression and shrugs. “Makes sense.”

Schlatt ignores him, deciding to deal with that thought later, focusing on Niki for now. “What? How do you know? Did he say that?”

“No, but we were talking about it a few weeks ago at dinner, remember? Halloween? When we found out Wilbur likes someone?” She asks, tilting her head.

Schlatt thinks about it, frowning a bit. That didn't prove anything. Wilbur spoke to people other than this friend group. It could be anyone.

“But that doesn't mean it's me. There's other people in his life, they could be from class and stuff.” Schlatt reasoned, trying to be logical. For once. He just didn't want to jump to conclusions.

Niki shook her head. “No, Schlatt. You guys are always together. You are his first and last resort in every situation. You do literally everything together, you know him better than anyone else on the planet, he sends you that many letters, I mean, that pile is huge,” Niki says, listing the reasons off on her fingers.

Schlatt opened his mouth to speak, but she got in first. “How long have you been keeping his letters?”

In all honesty, these weren't even all of them. It was the majority, but a good fifty had been left behind so Schlatt didn't look like an idiot in the hallway carrying a foot tall stack of parchment around.

“Since third year.” He muttered, avoiding eye contact. Niki had a point. She nodded, eyebrows raised a bit.

“Never took you for a collector,” She met Schlatt’s gaze directly. “You should ask him out.”

And immediately, Schlatt shakes his head. “No.” He answers, almost breathily. He can't ask Wilbur out. It didn't make sense in his brain to do something like that. There wasn't a path where Wilbur would agree.

Niki sighs and reaches forward, grabbing Schlatt’s hand in both of hers, providing him comfort. “Schlatt. He's going to say yes. Just ask him to the Yule Ball. Even if it doesn't go to plan, I don't think anything will change between you. Wilbur has been following you around like a lost puppy since second year, you'll be fine.”

It was a bit reassuring, Schlatt letting himself nod. Niki was right, as usual. Schlatt took a breath, relaxing a bit. “What if he thinks the Yule Ball is gonna be boring though?”

Niki rolls her eyes. “Jesus, Schlatt, you're doing this once in your life, get over yourself. Let's go find some parchment and ink and then go get an owl, I assume you aren't in a state to see him in person.” She states firmly, standing up and gesturing for Schlatt to get up too, picking up the neat letters as he gets to his feet.

Ted follows them, not commenting on anything and deciding to stay quiet on the matter. As they make their way out of the room, Schlatt asks, “Wait, what are we writing? I'm not going to ask him out through a letter.”

“Just tell him you want to sneak out tonight to Hogsmeade. You'll do it then, okay?” She replies and Schlatt nods wordlessly. So this was happening.

****

Wilbur bounces his leg, putting his quill down to take his glasses off and drag his hands down his face, a little noise of frustration escaping his throat. He stared down at his blank parchment on the desk through his fingers, figuring that if he stared at it long enough, the words he wanted would magically appear on the paper.

The soft footsteps to his left pause, followed by a shuffle, and then silence. “Wilbur? You okay?” Tommy's voice filled the space between them, as it always seemed to do anywhere, and Wilbur dropped his hands onto the wood with a knock.

He turned to his brother, hesitating before speaking. “Sorry. I'm just stressed, keep talking.” Wilbur tried to be reassuring, but Tommy clearly wasn't having it.

The blond shook his head glancing down at the parchment and then back at Wilbur, who diverted his eyes. “I think you need a break. You've done two subjects since I've been in here, that's one per hour and at the rate you're going for this one, you aren't gonna finish it before dinner.” Tommy said, Wilbur raising his eyebrows, surprised at how much attention Tommy had been paying to what Wilbur was doing.

At the lack of response from Wilbur, Tommy nodded towards the parchment. “When's the exam for that one?” He asked, walking over and taking Wilbur's quill off the desk and putting it back in the ink pot.

“Five days, it's at eleven in the morning.” Wilbur answered, watching as Tommy nodded in acknowledgement, despite barely knowing how exams work. His O.W.Ls were in a few weeks. Wilbur had no doubt in mind that his brother had barely even considered studying for them yet.

Tommy then went over to Wilbur's bed, sitting on it cross-legged. It was almost a pattern at this point. Tommy visited Wilbur often, and if Wilbur was at the desk in the dorm, Tommy would go sit on his bed. He knew Wilbur thought it was awkward to have a conversation across a room.

And so, Wilbur rose from his seat and sat down next to his brother, his knees pulled up to his chest. Tommy turned to him, now with a cocky smile and raised eyebrow. Wilbur held back a groan of resentment, knowing exactly what that look meant.

“Which of the three women you know will you be taking to the Yule Ball at the end of the month, hm?” He asked, his tone resembling a grandfather asking if Wilbur had found a girlfriend yet at Christmas dinner.

Wilbur would never admit that it had made him smile. “I know more than three women and I'm not taking any of them.” He replied, watching as Tommy gasped dramatically, staring at Wilbur with wide eyes.

“WHAT?!” He exclaimed, a lot louder than Wilbur had anticipated. Tommy then jumped off the bed, facing Wilbur and placing his hands on his shoulders, shaking him lightly yet aggressively. “YOU'RE CHOOSING TO BE BITCHLESS?!” Tommy yelled, the end of his sentence turning into a boisterous laugh as Wilbur dissolved into giggles.

Once he had calmed down, Wilbur took one of Tommy's hands off his shoulder. “And what about you, hm? Who are you taking, then?” He questioned and Tommy grinned. Wilbur already knew the answer.

“Well, it's a tough decision, really.” Tommy began, his hair falling over his eye. “There's just so many women, Wilbur, and then all want me! I mean, I walk out of charms class and they're in packs, it's overwhelming!” He complained, Wilbur nodding along.

“Right, and what are you gonna do about that? Do you love one of them? You have to take only one of them otherwise they'll all get angry with you for taking more than one.” Wilbur said, playing into the joke. This was a bit Tommy had been running since he had learned what a girlfriend was, which was when he was four.

Tommy paused, thinking. “You're right. But I think they'll also get mad if I take only one. I mean, they might get jealous! Then what do I do?”

Wilbur sighed, crossing his arms and leaning back against his headboard. “Not sure. You're in a tough situation, Toms. You'll get out of it, though. You always do, somehow.” Wilbur reassured him, even though it was a completely fake situation.

Wilbur leaned forward as Tommy sat down next to his legs, on the edge of the bed. He reached out a hand and moved the blond's hair out of his eye, Tommy flinching away and squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before opening them with a frown.

“You need a haircut, nobody's gonna take you to the Yule Ball with that thing on your head.” Wilbur joked, leaning back again.

Tommy gave an offended look, scoffing. “Just you wait, you'll be so embarrassed when I walk into the hall with all my three hundred girlfriends.” Tommy grinned, Wilbur returning the expression.

The taller of the two tilted his head, crossing his arms across his chest. “In all seriousness though, have you got someone you're wanting to take or no?”

Tommy thought for a few moments before shrugging, looking down at his hands. “Not really. I know Ranboo and Tubbo are going together as friends so I'll probably just tag along with them.”

Wilbur nodded, picking at little balls of fluff on his trousers. He looked up when Tommy spoke again. “What about you? Like, seriously. Do you have anyone you want to take?”

Wilbur paused, staring at the carpet. Schlatt. He wanted to take Schlatt to the Yule Ball. “No,” He replied, voice quiet. “I don't think so.” Wilbur had no idea how Tommy would react to him being in love with Schlatt.

Tommy sighed and rolled his eyes. “I can see the blush on your cheeks from where I'm sitting, Wilbur.” He said, and Wilbur almost considered jumping out the dorm window to escape the following conversation.

“Okay, fine,” Wilbur sighed, shifting on his bed. Tommy's eyes lit up a bit, clearly not expecting to get answers so soon. No day long stretches of nonstop annoyance? It was a miracle in his eyes. “There is someone, but I can't tell you who it is.”

His shoulders slumped, visibly disappointed. “Ugh, why not?” Tommy whined, his leg starting to bounce.

Wilbur smiled a bit, shrugging. “Because if I told you, by the end of the week, half the school would know. You know it, too. Don't pretend you can keep a secret when everybody knows you can't.” Wilbur pointed at him, almost accusing, but they both knew it was just lighthearted banter.

Tommy sighed and nodded. “Yeah… Well, I accomplished my goal, you successfully took a break from studying. Good job, king,” Tommy smiled, and gave Wilbur a high-five.

Wilbur smiled warmly and nudged his brother with his foot. “Right, get out of my dorm, go find yourself a girlfriend.” He teased, and Tommy stood up, grinning as he backed away with his hands up in mock surrender.

“Alright, I'm going, I'll see you later!” Tommy said, the two waving goodbye as Tommy made his way out the door, pulling it until there was a click.

Wilbur sighed, taking out his phone and checking his notifications. Most of it was just apps telling him about random things Wilbur didn't really care about. Then, Wilbur had the daylights scared out of him as there was a bang against the window next to Charlie's bed.

Wilbur quickly ran over, looking out the window for a sign of anything that could have hit it. Then, when he glanced down, he saw the barn owl on the bricks, struggling to get up. Wilbur quickly unlocked the window and shoved it open with an awful screech, his shoulders lifting up near his ears for a moment.

Then, he reached out with both arms, cringing at the feeling of the rain getting his sweater wet. He scooped up the animal, careful of the letter attached to its leg. Wilbur took the owl over to the desk, shoving the parchment onto the floor before placing the bird down on the wood on its side for the time being.

It shivered and looked around, probably trying to figure out where it was. Wilbur gently pet its feathers, staying away from the wings as best as he could. He grabbed some scissors and cut the letter from the owl's leg. He put it to the side before gently lifting the bird and placing it on its feet.

Once he had deemed the owl was sturdy enough, he took his hands away, letting it take a few steps towards Wilbur. In reality, Wilbur had no idea what he was doing. He was a halfblood, his wizard parent being a muggleborn. They didn't have an owl. They had the crows, Wilbur considered, but it didn't change the fact that Wilbur had no idea what to do.

He went over to the window that he had left open. “Uh, do you wanna leave or…?” Wilbur knew it probably couldn't speak English, but it was worth a shot. And, to his surprise, the owl took another step and then rose into the air, flying out.

Wilbur had no idea how to react, deciding to just not think about it and close the window. He went over to the letter that had been delivered, cringing at the wet paper. He opened it, recognizing the handwriting as Schlatt's.

‘I’m really busy but I'll be sneaking to Hogsmeade at ten, meet me by the station at half past. It's important, you can't pass this one down.

Schlatt’

It was short, but it didn't need to be any longer. Wilbur found himself grinning, tucking the letter into the desk drawer. After the stress of the day, hanging out with his best friend late at night was just what he wanted to do.