THE SLOWEST BURN ~ wally clark x oc

~ notes ~

WALLY 

I lay on my back on the brown couch in the faculty lounge, tossing a rubber band ball up in the air and catching it. I feel too restless, so I get up and pace. Where's Charley?? I tracked him down an hour ago, and he said he'd meet me in the lounge soon. I sling the rubber band ball from one hand to the other, again and again, still pacing the room.

My head snaps up as the door opens and Charley walks in. He closes it behind him and collapses on the couch. I jump over the back and flop opposite him. We both look at each other in disbelief. 

“Bro.”

“I know.”

“Bro.”

“I know.”

“What happened?? How did she end up here? You had to have seen something when you found her.” I'm dying for more information, and I’m so relieved we finally can talk about it.

“I found her in the courtyard on a bench last night,” Charley shares. “I wasn't near there at all yesterday during the day… so I don't know how long she'd been there. She was alone.”

“Holy shit. What did she say? Did you notice anything? I wasn't over there yesterday either.” It's painful to imagine her there, confused and all by herself.

“She looked… shell-shocked,” he replies reluctantly. “I guess cancer finally took her, but I think we'll have to eavesdrop here to find out more details from the teachers.” Charley looks baffled by it all.

“Well that would actually help… if it wasn't Friday. Now we have to wait forever before anyone's here!” I let out a big sigh. I know I'm getting worked up, but it's finally sinking in that Kaitlyn is actually, one hundred fucking percent, really really here. “Dude, I need a therapy session right now. What do I do??”

Charley shakes his head and says, “I really don't know, Wally. You being reunited with your secret soul mate wasn't on my bingo card for today.”

“I can't tell her that I know almost everything about her because I basically stalked her for over two years! But I'm not a good enough liar to pretend she's a complete stranger to me.” Charley really needs to amp up his therapy skills at the moment. 

“Well, I guess the first thing is to just wait and help her feel more comfortable here. We can't really-”

The door flings open and Rhonda saunters in with an orange. She plops down sideways on the easy chair opposite the couch, her legs dangling over one arm. When she's done settling in, she looks up expectantly. 

“So what's going on, boys? Any weekend plans?” She smiles coyly.

“Come on, Rhonda. Wally and I need to talk. Privately.” Charley looks as exasperated as I feel.

“Ah, yes. Did I interrupt a secret conversation about a romantic crisis in a purple dress?” she teases.

“I have no idea what you mean.” I glance at Charley.

“Oh, boys… You seriously underestimate female intuition… and extremely overestimate Wally's ability to be subtle. I've known for eons you've had it bad for her.” She clarifies, “I had an inkling, and then when you sat through four performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, it was confirmed. I was fairly certain you didn't innocently have a penchant for Shakespearean comedies.”

My mind wanders a moment, remembering Kaitlyn as Titania, the fairy queen. She had flowers and leaves woven in her hair, and her costume was a delicate dress formed from sheer fabric and more flowers and leaves. As for her performance… Even though the actual phrases were gibberish to me, I understood her perfectly. She was gifted onstage beyond singing.