THE SLOWEST BURN ~ wally clark x oc

~ arrival ~

Welcome to my story! I'm planning on this being several chapters, so I hope you stay with me as I continue to write. If you love a good slow burn romance, this is for you. I like to develop characters and build sweet anticipation. I don't give very much physical desctiption for my OC, so you're able to imagine her how you like. :) Enjoy!!

[Warning: There is mature content and language throughout]

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WALLY

"Wally! Hey!"

Charley calls to me from all the way down the newly emptied hall. School's out, which means Mr. Martin's daily meeting is about to start in the gym. Well, technically it already started a few minutes ago, but we tend to be pretty lowkey here about tardiness. I can make it up by being on time tomorrow. And the next day. And the next, pretty much forever.

I call over my shoulder a friendly, "Hey bro, see you inside!"

I hear footsteps and glance back to see that Charley's almost caught up to me. He must have run, I think, which is pretty weird. We just don't really run around here, unless I've actually convinced someone to play basketball or football or something. I smile to myself. This is morbid as hell, but we're seriously overdue for another jock death.

My hand grasps the metal door handle just as Charley reaches my side and says my name again, out of breath this time.

"Hey man, how's your day?" I clap my hand on his shoulder and offer him a smile as I open the gym door.

"Wally, wait, I need to tell-"

I enter and see the familiar circle of chairs on the other side of the room. Everyone else is there, so once me and Charley take the last two seats, Mr. M will bring up some topic he thinks is relevant to what's going on in our lives, deaths, whatever you want to call it.

Charley grabs my arm at the same time it hits me... There aren't two open seats. There's just one.

I cross the basketball court, Charley at my side, seemingly flustered but given up on telling me whatever he was so insistent about. Everyone looks up, including the person filling my usual seat.

Holy shit.

I turn to Charley wide-eyed, unable to control the shock hijacking my face. My heart immediately starts hammering in my chest.

"I tried to tell you," he mutters under his breath. He then composes himself and smiles at our new member.

"Kaitlyn, this is Wally. Sorry, he's not the most, uh, subtle guy, and it's a big event to meet someone new here."

He's covering for me, because Charley damn well knows exactly what is going through my head, and it's not just surprise at seeing a new face. It's because it's her. And I'm still reeling as she speaks to me, a quiet, "Hey".

Kaitlyn Sands is here. Kaitlyn fucking Sands. She's like... HERE here. And she's talking to me.

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KAITLYN

What is happening what is happening oh my god has been running on a loop inside my head for hours.

Last night felt like an eternity. At first I was floating in a bath of blinking red and blue lights and a blur of teary faces. No one could see me, but I could see myself... It was startling to view from an outside perspective what I'd become these past two months: pale, in pain, exhausted, and dying. Well, dead.

"Mom!" Penny wept into my mom's shoulder, clutching her like a child. "She's gone!"

My mother looked broken. "I know, sweetheart," she sobbed. "I know you-" She couldn't speak coherently any more, and I had to just watch the two people I love most in the world weep for me.

Am I going to see a tunnel of light or anything? I wondered. I closed my eyes and pleaded for heaven, nirvana, enlightening. I'd take anything other than utter disorientation and darkness.

But after a minute I opened my eyes and watched my body be taken away in a quiet, unlit ambulance. Soon my family was gone too. Since then I've felt untethered, lost in space. No tunnel yet, I guess.

Then some time after, someone found me. I was still outside on a courtyard bench, hugging my knees and replaying the scene of my cold body being zipped up in a bag.

"Hey," this boy said, tentatively.

He introduced himself. Charley. A ghost like me, apparently. He seemed nice at least.

Now in the present, I can barely recollect the conversation, other than him coaxing me to join others who knew what I was going through. But he left me there in the gym to go find someone, and I've been surrounded by a circle of people who are all staring at me. Now Charley's back and introducing me to yet another person.

"Hey," I respond. The guy towers over me, which heightens the feeling of being trapped. "Um, I just need to-"

I press my palms against my face, as if I can hide from it all. It feels like the room is spinning. Can vertigo last forever? Because that's what this is, right? Forever? I thought the afterlife would be this glorious new adventure. But I'm right where I left off, only it's an alternate universe.

"I need to-" I stammer. "Uh, go... somewhere... I'm sorry, uh-"

I abruptly stand up from the folding chair and step back from the circle. This is just too much, too fast. Too many faces looking at me. Too many tragic histories. It's like a fire hose, and I can't breathe. I need to escape, be alone with my thoughts. I need to curl up somewhere and get the spinning to slow down.

The metal chair clatters to the floor and I start to trip over it, but the new guy's steady hand appears under my elbow to keep me from falling.

"You good?" he asks.

My eyes meet his, and in my addled state I can't even manage a polite thank you. He doesn't seem offended though, more like he's caught off guard by the interaction. But his face softens slightly, and he gives a slight nod of encouragement, and his eyes convey empathy. Or maybe it's pity. I need to get out of here.

He respectfully pulls his hand back as Charley gently says, "We'll be here when you're ready."

I stride out of the room, my pace picking up the closer I get to the exit. I'd run if it didn't seem too dramatic. But these people have no idea who I am, and you can't redo a first impression. Just as I reach the side door of the gym, the tears spill onto my flushed face. I'm craving something familiar, something safe, and I don't want anyone to see or hear me sob.

I may feel lost, but I know exactly where I want to go right now.

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