🐎🫧🎨 GORGEOUS ! 🎨🫧🐎
( a cole walter fanfic )
PART TWELVE oh, boy
arriving at the veterinary clinic was relatively smooth, albeit encountering some traffic typical during lunch hours. elijah navigated through the streets and swiftly parked the car as they reached their destination.
upon entering, blanca approached the reception desk, she found a man engrossed in his computer. sensing her presence, he looked up and greeted her, "hi, can i help you?" he asked, ready to assist.
elijah stood patiently behind blanca, having held the door open for two elderly women with their cats, finally catching up with her at the reception area.
"hey, jamal?" a familiar voice rang out, catching blanca's attention.
"can you—" katherine began, but as she looked up and caught sight of blanca, her expression shifted to one of surprise and delight.
"oh, hi! what are you doing here?" she asked, genuinely confused by blanca's unexpected appearance at the clinic.
as katherine continued to engage with blanca, her gaze also shifted towards the figure standing behind blanca, and she couldn't help but notice his towering height—his presence being hard to miss, standing at 6'3". with a warm smile, katherine directed her attention to the young man.
"hi, elijah. it's been a while. how are you doing?" she greeted him, acknowledging his presence with a friendly demeanor.
"hi, mrs. walter," elijah greeted warmly. "i know, it's been a little while. i'm doing good, thanks for asking," he replied, offering a soft smile as they exchanged pleasantries.
blanca stepped in, offering an explanation for their unexpected visit. "i came to drop off some lunch, or snacks, i guess," she explained, referring to the bag containing the leftovers from the café. "we only had two periods today, so we left."
katherine graciously accepted the bag. "oh, well, thank you very much," she responded appreciatively.
blanca, ready to head back, started to make her way towards the front door. however, before she could leave, katherine noticed something peculiar about blanca's attire. "wait... is that george's hat?" she inquired, observing blanca's headwear.
"no?" blanca responded, puzzled by the question.
"oh, i swear he has one similar. he's a hat collector too," katherine remarked, rolling her eyes. as she glanced at the hat, a knowing expression flickered across her face, causing blanca to feel a pang of unease, sensing that something was amiss.
feeling a sense of hesitation, blanca looked over at elijah, who stood beside her, equally puzzled. with a heavy sigh, blanca reached up and removed the hat, revealing her bleached scalp underneath.
a moment of silence fell as the revelation sank in, leaving a sense of tension in the air. "oh, god. what did you—" katherine began before catching the unease on blanca's face. hastily, she attempted to salvage the situation. "i mean... that's cool,"
blanca let out a sigh, feeling the weight of the situation. she met matherine's gaze, carefully choosing her words to explain. "it wasn't on purpose. someone put hair bleach in the shampoo," she explained, revealing the unfortunate incident that led to her bleached hair.
elijah reacted with a scoff, while katherine's jaw dropped wide open, her body language reflecting a mixture of anger and frustration. jamal, who had been focused on his computer, glanced up, observing the unfolding scene with a pursed lip.
"blanca," katherine said, her tone resonating with anger, though blanca understood it wasn't directed towards her. the red-haired woman gestured for blanca to follow her, tilting her head in a clear indication that she wanted to speak privately.
as the girls were about to walk away, elijah interjected with a request. "sorry, but can i use the restroom?" he asked politely, sensing the need to give them space for their conversation.
katherine nodded in acknowledgment. "oh, yeah, it's down the hall to the left," she directed, pointing towards the restroom before turning her attention back to the teen girl.
"honey, you've got to tell me what happened," katherine spoke in a hushed tone, conveying concern. "do you have any idea who it was?"
blanca paused, feeling conflicted. she disliked the idea of being a snitch, as she recalled moments when jackie had reported on her in the past when they were younger. "isaac said there was a bet..." she began, speaking quietly, unsure how much to reveal.
katherine closed her eyes, taking a moment to process the information. "oh my god," she breathed out softly, visibly affected by the revelation. she opened her eyes and turned to blanca, a mix of embarrassment and pity evident in her gaze.
"i'm so sorry," katherine expressed.
blanca was about to dismiss her apology when a voice interrupted their conversation.
"hey," the voice spoke, drawing their attention. she turned around to see cole, who had an amused expression on his face.
"woah," cole uttered, trying to suppress a smile that was threatening to appear. blanca rolled her eyes and decided to put her hat back on.
"tony says your car won't be ready till tomorrow," he informed, glancing at his distressed mother. "um, if you want a ride home, i got the trunk," cole offered.
acknowledging that she still had a couple of clients left to see. katherine suggested, "i'll just see if your dad can pick me up, but i think blanca could use a ride," directing her attention towards her son.
meanwhile, just as the conversation unfolded, elijah emerged from the bathroom and strolled down the hallway. he adjusted his necklace, pausing briefly as he noticed cole at the end of the hallway. a small smirk appeared on elijah's face, eliciting an eye-roll from cole.
"you've gotta be kidding me," cole muttered under his breath.
"what's up, walter?" elijah greeted cole with a casual tone. cole maintained his gaze but remained silent in response.
"looks like she already has one," cole quipped in response to his mother's offer, indicating blanca's apparent association with elijah for the ride home.
elijah swiftly caught onto the context of the conversation. a sound that was part laugh and part scoff escaped from him in response.
sensing the awkwardness and tensions among the teenagers, katherine intervened, attempting to diffuse the situation. "well, let her choose who she wants to leave with," she suggested, trying to ease any discomfort and allowing blanca the agency to decide her ride home without further pressure or implications from the conversation.
blanca felt a surge of discomfort as katherine's suggestion unintentionally placed her in the spotlight, making the situation even more awkward. her widened eyes betrayed her unease, sensing the collective gaze and the underlying tension amongst the teenagers, with a palpable presence of testosterone in the atmosphere.
on the awkward moment of choosing between the two boys, blanca hesitated before making her decision. her gaze lingered on cole's for a moment longer than expected before she spoke up.
"i think i'll just go home with cole," blanca decided, attempting to alleviate the tension. "you mentioned that you have errands to do earlier, and i don't wanna get in the way of that, so..."
elijah expressed his willingness to adjust his schedule. "i don't mind, i can push them back, honestly," he offered.
"no, no, it's okay," blanca reaffirmed her decision. "it makes more sense for me to go home with him, anyways," she suggested, trying to rationalize her choice. elijah leaned against the wall beside her, observing both cole and blanca, trying to gauge any signs of discomfort.
"are you sure?" he asked, his gaze fixed on her. blanca nodded.
elijah held his gaze on her for a few seconds longer, accepting her decision. "alright, i'll see you later," he said before moving away from the wall and walking past cole, lightly shoving into his shoulder in passing.
as cole and blanca were on their way out of the main waiting room, katherine called out blanca's name, prompting both teenagers to pause and turn back, acknowledging her call with a curious glance.
"we're going to work out that other thing later," katherine reassured blanca, referring to the issue with her hair.
"okay, thanks, katherine," blanca responded with a nod. cole courteously held the door open for blanca as she walked out, showing a gesture of politeness. he looked back at his mom, his brows furrowed in confusion, before following blanca out of the room.
cole's attempt to break the silence led to a question about the pending issue katherine mentioned earlier.
"what's the thing?" he asked, his gaze alternating between the road and blanca.
blanca redirected her attention from the passing scenery back to cole. "huh?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her tone.
"the thing to sort out," cole clarified, briefly glancing at her before focusing back on the road, driving with one hand on the wheel.
"something to do with what happened earlier," blanca surmised, attempting to make sense of the situation.
blanca noticed cole's semi-confused expression, realizing he wasn't fully understanding. "the bleach in the shampoo bottle," she clarified, offering more context to help him grasp the matter they were discussing.
cole shook his head slightly in an attempt to understand the situation.
"dude, you literally just saw my hair," blanca expressed, hoping to jog his memory.
"yeah, okay, i did... i did hear about that," he admitted. blanca crossed her arms, gazing out at the passing scenery.
"isaac legit thought you wouldn't come out, let alone go to school," cole chuckled. "it was a nice save with the hat, though," he reached for blanca's hat, which she swiftly swiped away his hand, not wanting to be touched.
"wait. what did you say to my mom exactly?"cole inquired about blanca's conversation with his mother, seeking clarification.
"i just told her what happened. someone put bleach in the shampoo," blanca explained, perceiving it as a straightforward explanation.
"you're joking, right?" cole asked, seemingly incredulous at the situation.
"no," blanca responded, feeling a bit puzzled by his reaction.
"so you snitched?" cole probed, trying to understand what had been shared with his mom.
blanca's arms uncrossed. "well i-"
"oh boy"cole breathed out. he continued driving down a dirt pathway, leaving blanca bewildered about their destination.
"where are we going?" she asked, feeling perplexed by the sudden detour. cole remained silent, driving until he eventually parked the car.
unbuckling his seatbelt, cole exited the vehicle, leaving blanca still seated and watching his movements through the windshield.
"cole?" clanca called out again.
cole turned around, walking backward as he spoke. "well, we can't go home. not yet," he said before turning back and continuing down a hill.
perplexed, blanca asked, "what do you mean?"
stopping and turning around once more, cole explained, "we have this thing among us kids where we never tell on each other. see, if we ratted on each other for every time someone did something... we'd probably be grounded forever."
blanca rolled her eyes, sighing deeply.
"so when they find out you snitched, well—"
"yeah, i get it," blanca cut him off, her gaze drifting to the passenger mirror.
cole continued walking down the hill, glancing back to see blanca still seated in the car. "coming?" he called out.
blanca took a deep breath, unfastening her seatbelt and stepping out of the car. leaning against the passenger door, she absorbed the surroundings. vibrant green grass and trees enveloped the area around the bright aqua blue water of the lake, creating a picturesque scene.
observing cole's figure growing smaller as he descended down the hill, blanca hurriedly followed after him, being mindful of her steps as she navigated the terrain.
Athena's interlude 🫧🎀
craving an açaí bowl so bad rn