A Shitty Welcome Home x Reader Fanfic

Ch. 5: wanna hear a joke?

DAMN how was it possible for him to jog this fast?? You were barely keeping up as Eddie jogged to a blue house with paint splatters and paw prints on it. He stopped on the doorstep and knocked on the door.
No answer.

Eddie knocked once more and waited for a bit. "Hmm, I have an idea of where he could be." Eddie mumbled to himself. You noticed him fixing his hat and bag again and got ready to run.

The two of you jogged down the trail and made it to the outside of a bodega with a sign that read "Howdy's Place!" There were bananas, carrots, and more in the display window. A text bubble saying "100% OFF!*" was also on the window leading to a small worm (or caterpillar?) sticking out of an apple.

'How does 100% off work?' you thought. Eddie opened the door and held it for you as you walked inside. With both of you inside now, you decided to look around and spotted two people talking to each other at the counter. One was a blue beagle, and the other was a caterpillar. Just where the hell did you end up falling into?

You stood still until Eddie motioned for you to follow him. He walked to the counter and cleared his throat. The beagle and caterpillar turned towards him, but then looked in your direction. Why were introductions so embarrassing?

"Good afternoon! I came by to deliver some mail, as well as a new neighbor!" Eddie smiled. After a few seconds of silence, the beagle walked up to you and held out his hand. "Name's Barnaby B. Beagle. And you are?" he asked.

You took his hand to shake, but before you could answer, a loud 'phftttttt' sound filled the store. You awkwardly continued to hold his hand until the sound stopped. He took back his hand to reveal a small whoopee cushion in his palm. You've got to be kidding me.

The mailman giggled while the caterpillar facepalmed. It took a few seconds for Barnaby to stop laughing, but once he did, he apologized and asked for your name (for reals this time). "The name's (Y/N)." you said back to him. He hummed in response before grabbing a package Eddie handed him and moving aside for you to greet the caterpillar.

You walked up to the counter as the caterpillar greeted you. "Howdy! My name's...well...Howdy!" he beamed. "Nice to meet you, Howdy. I'm (Y/N)." you smiled back. Eddie placed some letters on the counter for Howdy and then walked up to you and patted your shoulder to get your attention.

"I've still got some things to deliver. Will you be alright staying here?" he asked. "Yeah, I'll be fine." you replied. "Great! I'm off now, bye everyone!" he waved as he began walking out the door. You all waved back at him until he wasn't visible anymore.

"Well (Y/N), want something from my bodega? It'll be free, as a welcome gift!" That seemed to catch Barnaby's attention. "Haha, more like bugdega." he chuckled.

You and Howdy both stared blankly at Barnaby as he kept a smirk on his face. "Yaknow what? Having a new neighbor has me in a good mood. I'll give you your usual for that joke, even though you've said it countless times before..." Howdy said while handing him a hot dog.

Barnaby's face lit up as he took it and began to eat it. You decided to look around for something to take. Only 1 free thing, but what? You couldn't make up your mind, so you decided to spin around with your eyes closed and randomly pick the first thing you laid your eyes on. Barnaby and Howdy watched you curiously. When you came to a stop, you opened your eyes.

They landed on some red apples that were on display.

You walked to the display (almost falling from dizziness) and picked up an apple you thought looked best.

"I'll take this apple, please." you said as you placed it on the counter. "Alrighty then, enjoy!" Howdy said, putting the apple in a small bag for you. "Hey (Y/N), have you met Wally yet?" Barnaby asked.

"Wally? Uhh, not yet." you responded. The name rang a bell, but you couldn't remember why. "Well, in that case, you should go meet him. He'd love to meet a new neighbor. I saw him walking towards the forest earlier, but he should be back by now." Barnaby said as he finished his hot dog.

You grabbed the bag that contained your apple and walked to the door. "Guess I'll get going then. Bye!" you waved. Barnaby and Howdy returned your wave as you walked out the door.

After meeting your neighbors, you had an idea whose house belonged to who, except for one. The red house that had eyes was probably Wally's. It's best to start there then. Despite your mind telling you not to, you walked the trail to the red house.