The Perfect Gift

A Funny Coincidence or...(Day 6.3)

There I was, sitting across the breakfast table and comparing the neighbor to a cartoon character.
It felt silly at first because we had already established that he was enthusiastic about the 70's aesthetic, and his style matched that. Never mind the fact that his cardigan and ascot were almost the same, and he had the same hairstyle. Except the longer that I looked, the more similar they seemed. His nickname was Wally for crying out loud!
It was in those few thoughts that anxiety struck me, hitting my diaphragm and spreading up into my chest until it blocked my throat, stopping my ability to speak. Wally had been doing most of the talking anyway, so while my mind continued to race, he carried on about how excited he was to be neighbors and how nice the neighborhood was. He behaves similarly to cartoon Wally too. He's soft-spoken, friendly, and charming, he likes to paint, and most notable, were his eyes... They were dark and piercing without being intimidating, although I am sure they could be...
It was impossible though. Cartoon characters don't just... come to life and move in next door! Besides, he's a living and breathing person, not a felt puppet. Reminding myself of the improbability was enough to ease my nerves and make me realize how silly a thought like that was.
It was about the same time that I came to this conclusion when Wally asked what I was thinking about. I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks as I tried to think of something quickly. With nothing else to cover up with, I decided to confess. "Did you ever watch that old cartoon from the 70's called Welcome Home? The one with all the puppets?" The question certainly caught his attention, but he only nodded in response. The anxiety was back, this time dropping into my stomach like a stone. "Well, I was just thinking how much of a coincidence it is that you not only kind of share a name with the main character, but you kind of dress like him too."
He didn't respond. He just stared with his eyes trained on me and I realized how wrong I was about them not being intimidating. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but it looked like he was thinking intensely about something. I had to move; to get away from his stare, so I stood to clear the plates. His eyes still didn't leave me. I was starting to get nervous, so I kept talking to try and ease the eerie silence. "I thought it would be funny if you really were Wally Darling and you'd crawled out of the TV just to live across from me. I know that it's a silly thought." I was rambling as I took the plates to the kitchen counter to clear them, so I didn't hear when Wally got up from his chair.
Thwump
Out of nowhere, Wally was behind me with his chest against my back, one hand on the counter, and the other hand holding my waist, trapping me to that spot. Out of panic, I froze. "I don't think it's so silly. Maybe it isn't such a coincidence that you're comparing me to your favorite character." His voice was lower, more hoarse than before, and the tone was enough to send a chill up my spine. There was a distinct lack of warm breath as he spoke against my ear, however. I tried to speak, to tell him off for the inappropriate contact, but I had no words. All the fight I had in me not even an hour ago was gone. Why? All I could do was open my mouth, but no words came. Thankfully my back was still to him so he couldn't see me gaping like a fish.
Finally, he broke the silence with a...laugh? He stepped away from me while saying, "Ha.ha,ha" and then to top it off, when he was done laughing, he actually said," You're the most, Y/N."! Before I could speak, he apologized, explained that he 'couldn't resist,' and said that I was 'just too cute' when I was flustered. I was still in mild shock when he apologized again and said he'd come by again later. With that, he left. I stood around in the kitchen, trying to gather myself and my thoughts when I finally noticed something...

He didn't take a single bite of food off his plate.