Just Add Walter

02 | Sooner than Later

Dedicated to _odair_ for convincing me to put up this story sooner rather than later.

Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes by Fall Out Boy in the media bar along with a picture of Walter (Garrett Neff).

     

02 | Sooner than Later

  

“Five-foot-ten and a half,” Lou was telling Kai proudly.  “And I'm only sixteen so I'm bound to grow even taller.”

“My gosh,” Kai gushed and gave our not-so-baby-anymore baby brother a massive bear hug. “I move out for three years and you shoot up to the sky.”

I was already wearing an expression of absolute horror from too much staring at the picture on Lou's phone.

But after bringing Kai's bags into the house, Kai had started fussing over Lou while Lou just allowed her to fuss over him with complete gusto.  

As much as Dad and I loved Lou, we just weren't the fussing types – and Lou's life force, as he so conveniently fit into the archetype 'baby of the family', depended on exactly just how much people fussed over him.

“Maybe we can chop you at the knees so you can be cute again,” Kai mused, still being indifferent to my pain.

Lou twisted the whole indifference-to-Wren's-problems knife by gasping and narrowing his eyes at the twenty-one year old.  “Oh, you wouldn't dare, Kai.”

Kai just laughed it off and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

I winced.

Of course, Lou noticed that and he smirked at me. 

“Too soon?” he chuckled.  “Don't be jealous, Wrenny-Benny.  I'll take a kiss from Walter Quinn any day over one from Kai."

Kai's eyebrows raised at the name, clearly impressed.

I didn't think I could feel worse than I did five seconds ago.

“Quinn?” My voice was thin as paper.  “Walter Quinn? Quinn as in, like,” I trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

“Yup.”  Lou's attention was already on something else.  “You know, Kai, your hair looks a little bit shorter.”

“Thank you!” Kai laughed, her attention quickly snatched away as well.  She ran a hand through her pixie cut.  Two months ago, Kai had been sporting dark brown hair that almost reached her waist.  “I got tired of having to braid it or pull it up into a ponytail everyday so,” she shrugged, “I had it chopped off.”

“Well it looks very good on you,” Lou replied.  “

A rock – scratch that, a tiny pebble – had a longer attention span than our entire family combined.

This was one of those a-girl's-gotta-do-what-a-girl's-got-to-do situations.

So I, a girl who needed to do what needed to be done, let out an ear-piercing shriek.

Kai and Lou quickly covered their ears and yelled at me to shut up.

Not even eight seconds later, the back door slammed open and Dad's voice boomed through the house just as my scream was dying down.  “Motherfu –”

The rest of his words – or word, really – was drowned out by a fresh scream courtesy of moi.

Dad quickly crossed the room and covered my mouth with a grease-stained hand.