𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 ✧ 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜

chapter five.

i angerly stuffed a piece of popcorn in my mouth as i trudged behind grace.

again, this girl had gotten me to another social event that i usually go without. the homecoming huddle.

well, maybe it was more than grace that got me here, but i felt more comfortable putting the blame on her.

jackie had called me, telling me what a disaster the walter cider cart had been. both with breaking down an hour into the huddle, and apparently causing a rift between brothers.

"cmon, i see jackie! she's over there-" as we weaved our way through the crowds of silver falls residents, i squirmed under the social anxiety and chaos of the towns square.

"ugh, this sucks!" i groaned, getting my foot stepped on for the third time, "i wanna go home!" i whined, unashamedly, like a two year old.

what had gotten into me lately? this jackie girl was getting me into too much trouble.

by trouble, i meant the normal lifestyle of a teenager in silver falls.

after jackie settled benny down last night, we were able to clean up the floor and finish everything needed for the silent auction. skylar had borrowed a shirt from nathan walter, and i drove us all home.

i walked in my room with the loudest sigh.
peace was restored.

until now. a panicked jackie was found by the silent auction booth, stress wrinkles covering her forehead as she looked down at her usual clipboard and notepad.

"jackie," i took a deep breath as i finally emerged from the crowd, thankful to have a distraction from the suffocating square around me, "whats wrong?"

she looked up at me, utterly hopeless, "we're not even close to our limit, and erin has already been hating on me for it." i frowned, we knew erin would be trouble, but she didnt need to be shameful.

"you good, new york?" a voice startled us both, and we turned to see cole walter, walking over from the cider cart.

i failed trying not to roll my eyes. along with trouble, jackie was beginning to get me closer to the walter boys than i had been in years, and with all the self-sensoring ive been having to do lately, i was getting weaker and weaker by the day.

jackie huffed, "if people dont start bidding, erin will make it her personal mission to ensure this is my first and last contribution to the fundraising committee."

"erin doesnt have that kind of power." i said bluntly, knowing how insensitive it might have seemed to say in front of her boyfriend... fling... whatever cole was to her. but i didnt care.

cole laughed, but sent a look over my way, "no, shes right. she doesnt." he shook his head affirmingly over at jackie.

"and if she did, our school has hundreds of committees."

"yes, but princeton looks for consistency and follow-through," jackie groaned, and i put a hand on her shoulder, soothingly.

"maybe if this town cared more about theatre and arts like they do football," i scoffed, "there'd be a lot more of that at events like these." i looked around at the people in the towns square, laughing and eating and talking with friends, but not willing enough to support what this very event was here for.

the theatre needed to be rebuilt, that's at least where all the donations went to today, but people saw it more as a social event than a fundraiser.

cole looked out to the crowd too, and there was a certain look in his eyes, "harper gray is right." he said, catching me off guard, both with the nickname and the confirmation, "i'll be right back."