-Techno's POV-

To be honest, I'm almost kind of sad that Wilbur said yes to going on the trip because I don't really want to go and be around people, but I said I'd do it, and if I back out now that Phil has told Wilbur that I'm going that's just awkward. And who knows, maybe it won't be terrible. Phil will be there, and this Wilbur person doesn't seem too bad, though Phil told me I need to be careful with what I do since if a handshake made him flinch, who knows what other things would be triggering.

Anyway, since I have to go on this shopping trip, I might as well go buy a red cape to match the crown that Phil got me for my birthday. If you're wondering why I like the royal look so much, it's because after Philza got me the crown as a symbol of my many wins in the obstacle course thing, I started wearing it there, even during competitions after I figured out how to keep the crown from falling off. People started calling me "King Technoblade" or "His majesty" as a joke because of my frequent first places and the crown, and it's kind of what I'm known for there.

Phil tells me that we need to go meet WIlbur now, so here goes our trip.

We walk down to the library, and a few minutes later Will shyly shows up.

"Hi Wilbur! Are you ready?" Phil asked upon noticing him.

"Uh, yeah. I don't know my way around here though, so where are we going?"

"There's a mall1. a few blocks away that we can get things from. There are a lot of different stores, so you can get all sorts of things."

"Wait, what's a mall?" He's never been to a mall before? Or even seen pictures or anything like that before? Well, maybe he just lived in some place in the middle of nowhere where there aren't any malls nearby.

"You've never been to a mall? Well that's fine, it's a large group of stores that are all right next to each other, usually with one shared parking lot, so you can go to one place and buy a lot of different stuff." Phil supplied. "I'm sure you'll know what it's like when we get there."

"Yep. Let's go, I can lead the way" (2.) I replied, since I know that Phil isn't as good at finding places, and because if I'm paying attention to where we're going and what turns to be taking, I don't have to talk to Wilbur.

However, I do notice Wilbur suddenly stiffen a few seconds after we started walking.

-WIlbur's POV-

I really hope they aren't leading me anywhere bad, like to some random alleyway where they can beat me up and leave me, and that Technoblade guy seems like he could really do some damage. For some reason I forgot about the walk to get to the store in my earlier reasoning, but I can't just leave now.

"Hey mate, you alright?" Phil stops walking to ask. Oh no. If I'm right and they know I'm onto them, that might not be good.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just remembered I, uh, left something in my room, but it's fine."

"If you want, you can go back and get it. We aren't that far away yet." Oops.

"No, it's fine, really." I start walking again, and they also continue walking Techno going to the front again so he can navigate or whatever.

My brain tells me that I should move so that I'm not walking in between Techno and Phil, since that makes it easier for them to attack me, but I find that for some reason I kind of like the feeling of safety it brings. However, as soon as I realize that, I am annoyed about it and decide to at least walk next to Phil, since if I slow down so I'm behind Phil, they'll probably both slow down too. The only problem with this is that now it looks like I want to talk to Phil.

"Hey mate!"

"Uh, hi Phil. So, uh, is there anything else I should know about our shopping trip or the stores or anything?" I ask, so it looks like a reason for moving, and also so maybe I can figure out if the store thing is real or a ruse.

"Good question! So, the mall we're going to has a home decor store, a few clothing stores, and several other stores that you probably aren't going to be interested in but we can check out if you want." Either this is a very well thought out ruse or he actually wants to take me shopping. Which is weird that they'd actually spend money on something for me, some random stranger. Maybe they just found a dollar on the floor or something and want me to owe them a favor. That must be it.

"Oh, okay."

"We set aside a total of $40 between the two of us to buy stuff for you, but if it's alright, maybe we should go home to eat instead of ordering something at a restaurant there."

Wait, seriously? It's almost like he read what I thought and immediately responded to it. Well, there probably is some sinister plan going on that I can't think of at the moment.

-Phil's POV-

Wilbur seemed kind of surprised and confused.

"I'm sorry, but we only have so much money from our jobs, and we've found an easy way to save money is to eat at the orphanage, where food is free, instead of eating out." I said, feeling kind of bad for being cheap while giving someone a gift.

He looked even more surprised. "N-no, that's totally fine." From his voice, it seemed like he was worried about something else and not the food.

"On the topic of food, the orphanage actually has pretty decent food. It's not a fancy gourmet meal, but it's like the terrible cafeteria food at school either." (3.) I add, just to make myself feel better about that.

We arrive at the mall.

"Do you want to go to the home decor place first, Will? You probably won't be able to buy things that are too fancy there because everything's expensive, but I'm sure you'll find some things that you like." I tell him.

"Sure, why not?"

"One thing you can do if you don't want to have a white bed, but you can't afford a new comforter, is to put a large blanket over it. It also keeps you warmer at night." (4.)

"Ok!"

I remember that Techno mentioned that he wanted to buy a cloak. Who would've known that the gift I gave Techno for fun would make that much of an impact? Also, I wanted to look around and see if any of them are hiring because I need a new Saturday job, since my previous job was just for a limited time. We're going to need to split up, but I don't want us to get lost, especially Wilbur because he doesn't know his way back.

"Hey, do you have a phone, Wilbur?"

-Wilbur's POV-

I actually do have a phone, though I just got it recently. The government people that sent me to the orphanage and dealt with the trials regarding my parents also bought me a phone so that way if I ever get in a bad situation somehow again, for example if my parents try to kidnap me or something, I can call for help.

But who knows why they're asking. Do they want to steal it or something?

"Why?"

"Techno and I also have other things we want to do while we're here, and if we do everything together, we'll be here too long and will get hungry and all of that. So I was thinking we could exchange numbers and text each other when we're done, and decide on a meeting place. Are you okay with that?" That's not what I expected, but it really makes a lot of sense.

"Uh, sure." We exchange numbers and I go look at things around the store. After a long debate with myself, I decide to actually try to spend the full $40 because I might not get another chance. I end up buying a yellow blanket for my bed, a music note thing, and a sign saying "Home Home". I mean, that orphanage is going to be my home for the next 4 years. I wish I could've changed the color of the white walls instead of the bed, but paint is expensive and also takes a lot of work and time to do.

After all of that, I'm left with 8 dollars. I go to the furniture store that's next door to see if there's any random accessory that I can buy for 8 dollars. I look around for a while, but the store is really big so it's hard to find stuff. In the end, I buy a maroon beanie that costs just about the amount of money I have left.

My phone has been dinging for a bit, and I discover that Techno was previously at the store I'm in, but he left to find Philza. In a miscommunication error, Phil also left to find Techno here. I let them know I'm done shopping, and that maybe we should meet up at the front of the mall. I think I remember where that is from the entrance to this store.

The only problem is this store is so big, I can't remember how to get to the check-out area and the entrance from where I'm at. I don't see any workers that I can ask either. I end up walking around aimlessly, hoping to get somewhere eventually. Well, I don't end up getting out, but I do end up seeing Philza walk by. I've never felt so relieved, I thought I was going to be trapped in this labyrinthe of a store forever.

"Phil!"

He turns around and sees me, and walks over.

"Hey mate! How was your shopping trip?"

"Pretty good, but I'm kind of lost here."

"I know right, this place is so big! I can't find Techno anywhere!"

"Have you been reading your texts?"

"... No, oops." It turns out that he didn't read our messages to meet at the front of the mall and he's been looking for Techno in the mall this whole time.

"Well, that would be embarrassing, but if I had actually read my texts, I wouldn't have been able to find you here. Though you really should've told us that you were lost." As he says this, he guides me to the front of the store. Apparently I was pretty close the whole time and didn't know it!

"Sorry, I thought I could find my way out."

"Do you need to check out?"

"Yeah." I go buy the beanie, and Phil waits in line with me. It turns out that I forgot about tax when I decided to buy the beanie, but Phil paid the extra few cents.

"You really didn't have to pay for that tax, I could've found a cheaper beanie."

"No, Techno's been waiting at the entrance long enough. Also, you like this hat, so it's worth a few extra cents to make sure you get the one you like most."

Well, that's nice of him. But it's definitely true that we've left Techno waiting for forever, so instead of wasting time arguing about it, we hurry to the front.

"Finally, you guys! What happened?"

"Wilbur got lost in the clothing store."

"Hey! You're the one that didn't check your texts and didn't realize Techno had already left. You would've been walking around there forever too!"

"Wow, you didn't need to expose me that way Will."

Techno sighs. "Well, I'm glad you ran into each other and got out. Let's go back."

As we go back, I tell Philza and Techno about what I bought, and Techno shows me his cape. I'm sure why he wants a cape, but it does look cool. Phil also talked about this one store that's hiring and about the interview that he will have for it in a week.

When we got back, I realized that I hadn't thought about whether Phil or Techno were trying to hurt me in some way in a while. I also realized that I had started to call them by the nicknames that they call each other: Philza and Techno. They've also started calling me Will, which is cool. Maybe my move to the orphanage won't turn out so bad after all.

A/Ns:

1. If it's not already exceedingly obvious, this takes place in the US because I live there and everyone, including people who are actually British irl, speak with an American vocabulary because I would totally butcher it if I tried to have people talk the British way.

2. Not a Dora reference, y'all!

3. To be honest, I've never eaten cafeteria food because I always bring food from home, so I'm just going off rumors when I say that cafeteria food is bad.

4. I do this on my bed, not because we can't afford another comforter but because I'm too lazy to go online and buy one, and I already have the blanket

Chapter word count: 2123

Total word count: 2240