wally's lament.

[ 28 ]

⫸ Love rainbow factory Wally so much omg

⫸——⫷

At first, you and Barnaby danced slow, following the flow of the music. Luckily, you understood how to do a basic slow dance. Barnaby seemed to recognize that you did not have the skill to pull off anything wild, because he followed your step, making slow little squares with his feet and being careful not to step on you.

The two of you giggled occasionally as you danced. You were beginning to feel the effects of your last drink warming your flesh; the fact that you already felt it proved how strong the drinks were. As the music began to swell, Barnaby asked, "I haven't slow danced in a while. How am I doing?"

You grinned up at him. "You're doing fantastic."

After dancing with Barnaby for a few more moments, the song changed, and people began to switch dance partners around you. Your hands loosened over Barnaby's shoulder and arm as you looked around; for a second, you had no idea what was going on.

You looked at Barnaby again. He gave you a reassuring smile before detatching from your arms. "Find a new partner," he said. Then he smiled mischievously and added, "I'm sure Wally's around here somewhere."

You blinked at him, debating on a witty response to bite back with, but he had already turned around and was swiftly sweeping up a lady with bright pink hair and curly beige horns that had flowers blooming from them. His absence left you alone amidst a bustle of arms and legs.

It was true that you wanted to dance with Wally. Earlier, he had looked so captivated with Julie — you wanted him to look at you like that. But, as you were turning around, you suddenly found yourself face-to-face with a chest dressed in a tuxedo.

"Oh hey, Charlie. Long time no see."

You looked up. It was Howdy, the man that owned and worked at Howdy's Place. He was smiling down at you. "Care to dance?" he asked, extending two of his four arms out towards you. 

You were hoping that Wally would have been the one to make a shocking appearance and ask for a dance. Maybe he did not know you were on the floor yet, or maybe he already found another partner. Maybe, once he realized you were on the floor, he would come ask you. Or maybe he was waiting for you to ask him first, but why would he do that?

But Wally was not here right now, and you did not want to dance alone for a whole song. You smiled at Howdy. "Of course."

You took one of his hands and placed your other hand on his chest. Howdy's shoulders were a bit high up, so it would be awkward to dance with your hand on his shoulder. All of it was kind of awkward, since he had so many limbs to account for; he had two hands on either side of your hips, one hand in yours, and the other up by your ribs. As the new song began, the two of you started to find your rhythm. His footwork was different from Barnaby's; Howdy took more control, holding you harder and swaying you about, whereas Barnaby had sat back and let you guide the footwork. A classical song that you could not name played slowly from above, guiding the waltz in Howdy's four feet.

"So, you like your new place?" Howdy asked.

"Yeah, I like it. It's nothing special or grand, but that's okay," you replied.

Howdy nodded. "I live above the grocery store, so I'm used to 'nothing grand'."

"Really? Above the grocery store? That's kinda cool."

"Yeah, it is, until Wally sneaks in at three in the morning to steal apples," he replied. You laughed in response.

The crowd shifted around you as the music continued. You tried to sneak glances around as you danced, when suddenly, Wally's figure flitted by. You looked over at him, first registering the new lady he was dancing with, then registering his stare, which was trained directly at you.