I finished the plate of macaroni and slid it across the table to Wally, showing I had finished. He never once looked down at it. He kept his gaze glued onto me. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and tapped my finger on the wooden table.
"I finished." I said, feeling very awkward.
Wally smiled sweetly and picked the plate up, making his way over to the kitchen and finally breaking our uncomfortably long eye contact. He set the plate in the sink and came up from behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on my good shoulder.
"Would you care to dance with me a bit, darling?" Wally whispered into my ear, blowing a quick stream of air against it to tease me.
"I don't think-" I choked on my words as Wally's hand moved to my.. barely shoulder.
His hand applied pressure that sent waves of pain crashing through me.
"You don't think what?" Wally cooed, pressing more.
"I- I think that is a great idea." I said, hopping up from where I sat.
Wally smiled triumphantly and walked over to the radio on the counter, turning the knob. He flipped through a few stations before landing on the classic 70's romance section. Music filled my ears, drowning out any fears I had about this dance. Wally stepped in front of me and held out his hand with a bow. I giggled a bit at the gesture, taking his hand. He pulled me in and wrapped an arm around my waist as he began to sway us back in forth in time with the music. I rested my head comfortably in the nook between his chest and neck.
"Y'know, Barnaby used to give me dancing lessons. We used to dance just like this! He always told me I'd need it one day." Wally leaned his head on mine.
"Barnaby has always been like a brother to me. But.. I will admit we have drifted apart quite a lot." Wally slowed down our sways.
I leaned my head back and looked up at Wally, quickly noticing how his happy demeanor became saddened.
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Wally spun me around and pulled me back in, now having both hands on my waist.
"Well, many neighbors arrived one day - eight to be exact. They were awfully young and I spent everyday playing with them! Oh, it was just lovely! But after they all.. disappeared, Barnaby and I never got back to talking." Wally admitted, his eyes closing as he pulled me in even closer.
I mentally noted the details about the missing persons cases, but I couldn't help but feeling bad for Wally. I know I shouldn't because he's a bad guy and kidnapped me and killed the detective and kind of ate some of my shoulder- but he has treated me rather well besides all of that.
"I'm.. im sorry, Wally." I said, glancing up into his sad eyes.
For the first time since I arrived, I saw the humanity that lied behind those eyes. Wally smiled sadly down at me, moving a piece of loose hair away from my face. He began to hum when a certain song started playing, I think it was 'beautiful dreamer'. He started to sway us faster and picked me up by my waist, spinning me in the air before placing me back onto the floor.
"It's alright, because now I have you! You make everything better when you're not throwing a fit, my dear." He twirled me and dipped me, our faces coming awfully close together.
He brought us back up with a laugh and took me by the hand.
"Can I show you something?" He said, a small blush forming on his cheeks.
I nodded, it was hard to say no when he looked so.. adorable. He led me down the hallway and into a dark room. He turned on the light switch and it lit up the bright room. The walls were red and had shelves holding different cans of paint, a rack of paint brushes hung from the ceiling and a easel sat in the middle of the room with an apron hanging off of the corner. I looked around in awe as Wally led me to his easel.
"This is where I like to go when I'm happy. I paint things that make me happy, which is why" he paused, walking to a corner where a square sat with a tarp covering it, "I painted this!" He said excitedly, pulling off the tarp to reveal a beautiful portrait of me.
"The first day I saw you through the tape, I started on this. I've been painting it ever since." He brought the painting over to me.
A red blush creeped up my neck and lit up my ears, they were practically glowing. He captured my essence perfectly. My hair looked so realistic and my face was spot on - it looked just like me.
"Why, Wally, it's lovely." I said, a smile plastered on my face.
He took my hand again, leading me out into the living room. He told me how he wanted to hang the picture somewhere visible so that everyone who entered could admire my beauty. I turned a deep shade of red at such a romantic gesture. We settled on a free space above the television, just in perfect view of the front door. Wally and I sat down next to each other on the couch, he clicked on the television to life and scrolled for a movie both of us would enjoy. We more or less cuddled up close together under his fluffy blue blanket. I watched for a while until I started to grow a bit tired, Wally caught on and picked me up bridal style - making sure I stayed nice and comfortable under the blanket. He brought me to his bedroom and tucked me into his bed.
"Thank you for today, darling. Oh, I'm so proud of you!" He said softly, leaning down and placing a kiss on my forehead.
"Sweet dreams." He whispered into my ear before shutting the lights off and exiting the room, making sure to leave the door cracked open.
I fell asleep, contempt with the day and locking up the part of my mind that wanted to run away deep down.
Maybe Wally wasn't so bad after all,
Maybe he wasn't so different from me.
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