Poppy made her way back out with a plate of hot chocolate chip cookies and set them on the coffee table in the center of the room. "Here you go! Be careful I just got them out of the oven so they're probably still pretty hot."
My mouth watered at the sight and smell of the baked treats on the table. "Thank you Poppy! It's really nice to finally meet you." I beamed over as she took a seat on the other side of the couch I was sitting on.
She sent back a shy smile "It's nice to finally meet you too (y/n). Everyone in town has been buzzing with excitement since you got here."
The sound of Wally scoffing quietly caught our attention. Quickly realizing he had let his happy go lucky facade falter, he fixed himself in the blink of an eye. After letting out a few exaggerated fake coughs, he turned back to face Poppy with a smile "Sorry neighbor I think I may be coming down with something."
I let out a quiet, ironic laugh as my eyebrows furrowed. Inside, my mind was still racing trying to figure out what had just happened. I mean, that's the most genuine I've ever seen him act around me. We were laughing together and he didn't even scold me when I called him Wally. And yet, not even five minutes later, he's right back to taking jabs at me.
Poppy sent her friend a sympathetic smile "Oh i'm sorry to hear that dear. If there's anything I can do to help you feel better you just let me know alright?"
My heart melted at Poppy's kindness, even if Wally didn't really deserve it. There's no way she would ever kidnap someone, much less ever want to. Then again...
"Oh thank you Poppy but that's quite alright. You really are just the most!" Wally waved her off bashfully.
... If I've learned anything from Wally, it's that you should never judge a book by it's cover.
My shoulders relaxed slightly as my eyes continued examining the very floral living room. They eventually landed back on the plate of cookies sitting in the middle of the coffee table, making my stomach rumble slightly.
"Go on dear don't be shy!" She motioned to the plate with one wing.
My face flushed at the fact I had been caught basically drooling over the sight of the treats, but grabbed one nonetheless. My eyes lit up as I took a bite. The soft, warm texture melted in my mouth as the sweet, rich flavor brought me back to my mothers kitchen.
"What do you think?" Poppy moved to the edge of her seat, awaiting my rating.
I hummed as I finished chewing the dessert. "It tastes like home."
⎻⎺⎺⎻-⎽__⎽--⎻⎺⎺⎻-..ઇଓ
Wally and I waved goodbye from Poppy's porch, who walked us out with a bright smile. "Thanks for stopping by! Come back anytime you'd like!"
"Thanks again for having us!" I called back.
"See you soon neighbor!" Wally grinned as Poppy closed the door behind us.
We began making our way back toward our houses as the sun began to set. I hadn't realized how long we stayed chatting, Poppy just has such a nice presence.
The atmosphere was calm and quiet until Wally let out a low groan. "That got us absolutely nowhere." He shoved his hands in his pockets and hung his head.
We were in there for so long, I almost forgot how he sounded when he didn't have that nice guy mask on.
"I wouldn't say that" I tilted my head in his direction "We can definitely take her off the list of suspects now."
He slowly looked up at me with narrowed and annoyed eyes. "Obviously. Poppy couldn't hurt a fly if her life depended on it."
My eyebrows furrowed at his negative attitude towards his friend. "Hey, there's no reason to talk badly about her. She's sweet."
"Who said I was being mean? That's just a fact." He raised an eyebrow at me, letting out an ironic laugh. "That's one of the many great things about her. She's kind to everyone..." He goes quiet for a moment, tilting his head down slightly as his voice lowered to just above a whisper. "...Even if they don't deserve it."
The comment caught me off guard. Surely he was just taking another jab at me, as always. But then again, there was something about the way he said it, something in his tone. I couldn't exactly wrap my mind around it, but it felt like he might just be talking about himself.
He abruptly stopped in his tracks, causing me to look up to notice we were already outside of my temporary home. "Meet me outside of Home at 10 am tomorrow. We'll go to Howdy's bodega to talk to him before heading over to Julie's house. We should try to get as much done as possible in one day so we can get you home sooner."
His wording hit me like a truck, causing a smile to slowly form on my face. I turned back to him with a playful smirk "Aww you said get me home instead of get rid of me! You must actually care~"
His eyes widened in a mix of shock and disgust, though I could still see what looked like a pink hue dust across his cheeks. "Oh you know what I meant!" He scoffed, beginning to walk off toward his own home.
"See you tomorrow Mr. Darling~" I called after him in a sing song tone.
"I hope you never wake up~" He copied me in a mocking tone, waving me off without turning back around.
I unlocked the front door before turning back around to see him walking off into the night with his hands stuffed in his pockets. I couldn't help but laugh quietly to myself as I walked inside, being sure to lock it behind me just in case.
"Maybe, just maybe, he's not as bad as he makes himself seem."
Feeling the most peaceful I have since I've arrived here, I made my way to the bedroom I've been staying in. Surprisingly, even though all of the items and decorations in the room look like they belong to a child, the closet was full of clothes that fit me perfectly.
I slipped on a pair of pajamas and let myself wander around the room. The only times I've been in here have been to sleep so it's about time I explored a little more.
Most of the things I stumbled upon weren't much of a surprise: old looking stuffed animals, some half finished coloring pages, torn up picture books.
The moonlight seeping in through the window reflected off of something small hanging off the windowsill. It was a slightly rusted silver necklace with small heart shaped locket. A wave of melancholy hit me as I ran my finger along a rusted over engraving of what looked like flowers.
Hoping to find some sort of clue to who's room this is, or was, I opened up the locket.
My breath hitched. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't a photo of a smiling young Wally. He was holding up half of a heart with his hand, and by the looks of it, there was someone next to him mirroring the same pose. It was hard to tell since the photo was ripped down the middle, the other half of the picture nowhere to be seen.
"Whoever used to live here must have been really good friends with him. Maybe that's why he hates me so much; He was hurt in the past and doesn't wanna get hurt again..."
If that really is the case, then it changes my entire view of him. He's not really an asshole.
He's just hurting
Heyyy author here! I know this is knew I haven't really talked in here before but I wanted to apologize for the short chapter and slow uploads. I just finished with my finals and am visiting home right now so I've been really busy but I'm trying my best to get out the best work I can for you guys :)
That being said, I appreciate everyone voting for the chapters they like it really helps motivate me! Don't be scared to comment what you think as well I love seeing everyone's thoughts!
Thanks for understanding and I hope you enjoy what's coming! (The next chapter is really long 🥲)