𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 ✧ 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜

chapter ten.

somehow, without even knowing me, danny had figured me out. he knew exactly who i was, what i was hiding from. them.

but he hadnt cared. hadnt then questioned it when i started showing up, hadnt called me out about it, well until now. but even now, it wasnt in a mean way. he was understanding. he was everything i thought this family wasnt.

he wasnt superficial.

this time, i caught when the feeling came. i noticed the difference in my chest, the warmth of my body. the racing of my mind.

it was exactly how i felt staring at cole, the other day on stage.

the feeling of realization, of an epiphany. of shifting feelings.

but it was while looking at danny.

as erin and i overlooked the family set up a board game in the living room, i saw cole looking over at our direction.

its probably just at erin, i told myself, as i forced my eyes not to meet his.

but soon, his quick footsteps headed towards us made me lose my confidence.

suddenly, though, another body appeared next to me, in between cole and i.

it was danny. i smiled at him.

good, i thought, cole can now come talk to erin, and i wont have to be awkwardly a part of it.

but, out of the corner of my eye, cole slowed, and stopped completely. and even slower, he turned on his heels and walked away.

i tried to focus on danny's eyes, and pretend i didnt notice.

"so, about theater."

my eyebrows rose as if questioning him.

"you should consider joining." he smiled proudly down at me, and i just stared back.

"i'll think about it." i said, only letting half a smile show.

he nodded, satisfied enough, and jackie walked past him in the hallway, heading towards us.

"thank you both for coming," she said as she handed us our jackets back, warm from the dryer.

"thank you for inviting us." erin smiled.

"come on erin," i said, suddenly feeling an urge to get out of here, "lets get ya home."

we said goodbye to jackie, and piled in my car.

while pulling out of the long driveway, i felt erin's eyes on me.

"how long have you been with the walters?" she made it seem much more intimate that i ever wanted to hear that sentence.

"not long, few weeks. i'm jackie's advisor, so its part of the job."

erin stared at me some more.

"what?" i said, hesitantly.

her smile grew.

"what!?" i demanded.

"you dont really like them, do you?"

i huffed out a breath. what is it with people and figuring that out lately. seeing right through me, as if i was air.

and why did that suddenly make me more ashamed of it?

but, i let another huff out with the truth, "i never really have, no."

erin giggled, "they're dumb, and dramatic. i'll give you that." she shook her head as she looked out the window, "and cole was... cole wasnt the one for me." she looked back at me, "but there are a lot of crappy families out there." suddenly, her tone and her face got more serious, "and the walters arent one of them." there was a moment of silence, "i'd hold on to that for dear life. i wish i couldve."

i let my fingers stretch around the wheel, and sighed microscopically. trying not to realize just how right she was. realize how much i had been learning that the past few days.

cole was everything people said he was; charming, dramatic, popular, could get anything he wanted.

but he still, in the little time i had gotten to know him so far, had proved some of my worst thoughts about him wrong. he was sweet to have bid himself for jackie. and he was much more relatable than i thought he was, talking at monty's that night had been light and easy. not for a second did they act like i hadnt spoken a word to them in all the years i was at this school. i was jackie's friend, and that was enough for them. and it truly seemed genuine when cole was worried about her the night she was drunk, and felt it best that a girl came to handle her, even if there was another motive.

and danny had never once proved what i thought this family was like. being much more intentional and kind, he made you feel like you were valued. that you were seen.

he had made me feel that way, today. and he barely knew me.

the walters kept surprising me. and i hated to admit it, but i had been convincing myself to fight the intrigue that came with every time i was around them. that grew at every factor that shocked me.

intrigue into why erin and cole really broke up.
intrigue into why cole really called me the night of the party, or if there was even another reason.
intrigue into if danny had really been watching me, paying attention, and what for.

and intrigue into, if possibly, the more i got to know them, how much more this family would shock me. would prove me wrong.

and would teach me how i had gotten so good at lying to myself all these years.