Anything Goes! (Wally x reader) ⚠️NOT MY BOOK!⚠️

Sundown (Chapter 2)

⚠️warning for brief mentions of disturbing imagery towards the end of the chapter. it's nothing excessive or graphic, but the section is marked off with ellipses in case u wanna skip it.⚠️

Your grip tightened on the box instinctively as you saw Wally standing there. The pep-talk you had given to yourself was now utterly pointless. The familiar pounding in your chest returned, shattering any expectation of staying calm. Despite that, you did your best to keep a straight face, not wanting to be too painfully obvious about how you were feeling. That became increasingly difficult when he suddenly leaned closer, snapping you back to reality.

"Hello?"

"Hm?"

"I asked if that was for me, silly." He pointed to the box.

Off to a great start.

"Oh! Yeah, it's something you ordered from Howdy, I think."

He clasped his hands together and smiled. The way his eyes lit up with excitement made your brain short circuit.

"Perfect!"

He opened the door wider and walked into Home, motioning for you to follow. You did, not wanting to be left stranded on the porch by yourself.

It was strange to realize, but you had never actually been inside Wally's house before. Despite being the namesake of the neighborhood, you really didn't know much about Home itself. Everything looked very standard, from what you could tell. To the left of where you stood, there was an arched entrance that led to a cozy-looking living room with velvet furniture, colorful patterned wallpaper, and a large fireplace on the far side. Wally's paintings dotted the walls as well, spilling into the hallways and even into the kitchen on the opposite side. It was garish, colorful, and unapologetically maximalist.

This certainly looked like somewhere Wally would live.

Continuing to follow him, you went upstairs and into a small room. The patterned linoleum tiles were splattered with paint, and half-finished canvases were scattered everywhere. It was much more disorganized than the other rooms you had passed.

"Pardon the mess. I wasn't expecting anyone. Especially that someone being you..." He said as he cleared off a large table coated in so much dried paint it was difficult to tell what color it had once been. "...and hand-delivering my order, no less! This is very exciting indeed."

He reached out his hands for the box. You obliged, passing it to him and trying to ignore the fact that his hand had brushed yours in the process.

"No worries, it's just me."

"Just you?"

"Yeah." You shrugged. "There's no need to fuss about cleaning."

"On the contrary I think you're quite special, and that's quite the achievement coming from me, " He replied. "So, to me it's well worth the fuss."

"In that case, thank you."

"You are welcome, dear neighbor."

It was like he was trying to get into your head. That wasn't fair. Was he trying to do that on purpose, or was it really that easy for him to mess with you? You let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding. It was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain your already flimsy composure.

"It sure is nice out there today, huh?" You blurted out, internally groaning at your attempt to make conversation.

"It sure is." Wally agreed, moving the last of his things from the table.

"It's hot, though. Way hotter than I was expecting."

"Is that why your face was so red when you saw me?"