"Another friend of yours?" he asks. His eyes wander over the wares offered at every stall they pass, but most of his attention sticks to Jesper.

He likes hearing about Jesper's friends, the kaleidoscope of people he surrounds himself with. Jesper's world — not necessarily the literal planet he's from, but more so the space he's inhabited, the life he's lived — is so different from his. More interesting, more exciting.

Most of Wilhelm's friends were just people to pass the time with. The roots never really stretched deeper than joking around and having fun. For all that he'd bitched about having to leave his friends behind when he was sent to boarding school, the texting dried up fast. Group chats became foreign countries full of inside jokes he wasn't part of.

It's nice that Jesper has at least one friend from home here with him. So many months removed from his old life, Wilhelm wouldn't know what to do if suddenly a familiar face popped up. Well, maybe with one or two exceptions.