𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 N̶e̶i̶g̶h̶b̶o̶r 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 - Wally Darling X Reader

Do You Want To Talk?

🩵Chapter Nineteen🩵

You were speechless. A can of beans rolled over to your foot, bumping it as you stared at Howdy in disbelief. "Y-You're joking... right?" You laughed bleakly, your throat feeling dry and like it was closing in on itself. You gripped some of your hair in one hand, eyes practically bulging out of your head. The caterpillar grocer cocked an eyebrow at You.

"Ah, well, I'm sorry if it sounded like a joke. I assure you it wasn't, neighbor." Howdy glanced down at the fallen cans. Two of his hands reached for the cans and started to restack the tower of beans while the other two made comical thinking gestures.

"She just came in yesterday! We got eggs together and-" You cut off and put your head in your hands. Were you going crazy? Maybe there was never really a theatrical star named Sally. Perhaps it was all in your mind, a character created to help You cope with your new environment. 'Or maybe this is all just a dumb dream and I'm going delulu...' You thought, glumly, heaving a deep sigh.

Well," Howdy spoke while stacking cans and scratching his head. "I don't know a Sally, but I can tell you all about my sister Callie and her brother Louis! You see, last week Louis visited Callie," He began, a big smile on his face as he began to explain that Louis and a Allie were having an affair. Just as he began to explain how common it was for this to happen between caterpillar siblings, the bell chimed as someone entered.

"Hi Howdy. Hi neighbor." Wally smiled as he walked in, stopping in front of a fallen can of beans. He cocked his head at it and bent down, picking it up. Unlike bean cans in the real world, which were usually just covered in picked off the red, brown, or white beans that were inside, these cans seemed to have a grinning clown on them with the words "BEANS" replacing its teeth. Wally walked to Howdy and handed him the beans. "Here you go, Howdy. Beans."

"Thanks little feller!" Howdy patted Wally on the head with one of his many hands. As he did so, Wally's hair messed up a bit, making the blue haired puppet narrow his eyes. "So what can I do for ya?"

"I need the supplies for my sleepover tonight. Barnaby said-"

"Oh! Right right right! I'll be back in a jiffy!" Howdy interrupted, especially enthusiastic today. He put one more can of beans on his bean can tower before hurrying to the back room. In Howdy's absence, You feel Wally's eye on You as You stared after Howdy.

"Are you ok neighbor? You don't look so well." Wally walked over to You, taking your hand in his plush ones. You quickly pull away. Of course You weren't ok. You were confused, paranoid, and felt like everyone was part of an inside joke where your growing anxiety was the punchline.

"I'm not." You replied, tone harsh and flat. You whirled around to storm out of the store when You realized Wally was still watching. "See you at Home." What else could You say to him? The bell rings again as You leave the store and step into the felt sunlight. No, you were not going to ponder how felt sunlight worked. One crisis at a time, please. You stare dully at the vibrant set, watching as the flowers all seemed to sway as if on a tempo.

"Heya buddy!" Chuckled an approaching voice and You turned your head to your left and saw Barnaby, walking towards You on all four.

"Hey Barnaby." You replied, hollowly, slumping a bit. Barnaby tilted his head at You in confusion.

"Woah... er... why so blue? Ther' can only be one blue neighbor in town, hate to break it to ya! Heh heh!" The great blue dog put one of his big paws on You, nearly obscuring your head under his massive paw. When You didn't respond- what did he expect You to do? Spin around with a grin and shoot back a smart joke before skipping off into the sunset?- Barnaby frowned a bit and sat down, sitting with You in silence before he stood up again. "Well, if ya need anything, maaaybe yuh should talk with Poppy, she's good at this listening and sympathizin' thing!" Then, Barnaby walked into Howdy's. Even though Barnaby wasn't much help, he was right, maybe talking to someone would help. You begrudgingly walked for her barn, continuously finding yourself in front of Home. You were beginning to get frustrated, about to give up, when You found yourself in front of Poppy's Barn. You knocked and the door opened as Poppy's big feather head peaked out, neck arched and craned to see who was there to visit her.

"Oh my feathers, are you quite alright dear?" She exclaimed once she saw your gloomy expression and oh... come in, come in!" Poppy ushered You inside with her wings, then gently shut the door. "This way, dear, sit on the couch and I'll get us some tea and pie." The great big bird scurried to the kitchen, head held low as she seemed to be actively trying to make herself smaller. You watched her for a moment before making your way towards the couch. You plucked the orange, green, and purple blanket you'd cuddled in last time and sat down on the couch with the blanket draped over your lap. Soon, Poppy hurried in cautiously, holding a tea tray with two tea cups filled with your favorite kind of tea and two slices of apple pie. "Do you want to talk?" She asked, as she handed You apple pie and a spoon.

You took the slice and thought, chewing the inside of your cheek. Should You tell Poppy about everything? Tell her about the humans below the neighborhood? Tell her about the dreams You had of your old life? Tell her about Sally's erasure? It would be healthy to tell her. But.. then there was Wally. You weren't sure how to feel about him. It was like he was two different people at times, changing character in the blink of an eye. One part of him was goofy, clueless even, and sweet, presenting himself as a kind little gentleman You couldn't help but adore. But the other side of him was cruel without reason, making You feel as if You were losing your mind. Could You tell her about Wally's- and, by extent, Home's- involvement in it all? Would she be safe if You told her?

"Would you like to talk about it?" She repeated, looking concerned as she shifted her feathers and sipped the cooled off tea delicately. You looked up at her and weakly smiled, shaking your head.

"I'm... not ready." You replied, scooping up some pie on your spoon, putting it in your mouth. Poppy nodded in an understanding way and a peaceful silence followed as You and Poppy enjoyed tea and pie.

(A/N: I'm so so so so sorry this literally took a month and a half to release! And for such small chapter. I've been having some writer's block and I've been working on a Wally AU of my own. It would mean the world if you checked it out! Of course, you don't have to, I just hope you enjoyed this chapter!)