⫸——⫷

An hour and a half later, you left Julie's house feeling strange.

On one hand, you felt good about making a new friend. She seemed like a very kind soul, and she was super fun to hang around. But on the other hand, her warning about Wally left you feeling uneasy. What could he be hiding that was so dangerous that she could not even tell you about it?

You would just have to find out.

After the film ended back at Julie's house, she had invited you out to town again later. She was going out with Barnaby and Wally for dinner and karaoke and offered to take you with her. You accepted her offer to go into town later with them, but said that you wanted to go home first to have a minute alone. She was totally fine with that and arranged for you to meet her at Howdy's Place at 6 P.M..

Half of your conscience screamed at you to not go out to town because Wally would be there to watch you. The other half of you begged to go so that you could watch Wally back and discover his secrets.

In the end, you decided that you would follow through with the plan to go. If you did not go, it was true that you would be able to avoid Wally. However, you kind of wanted to see him. Part of you wanted to show him that you were not afraid of him, but you also just thought hanging out with the group of them would be fun. Hopefully, there would not be any interrogations directed at you.

You walked home, then took some time alone to shower and relax in the motel. Once 5:45 P.M. rolled around, you left the motel and headed to Howdy's Place, mentally preparing yourself for the night ahead.

⫸——⫷

"Hello, Charlie! Long time no see!"

You laughed.

"We're eating dinner at Javier's Grille," Julie continued. Her hair was done up nicely, and she had put a flower pin on her dress. Her shoes and stockings were different as well — she traded the teal stockings for white ones and donned black slippers. "It's really good. Some local chef owns the place. I heard he lived in Mexico before this and came here to sell his amazing food to a new crowd."

Julie started to walk back towards the train station, away from Howdy's Place. You walked next to her, listening as she continued talking about the restaurant. She seemed to know so much about everything here, which was a good thing. The more you knew about this town, the better, so you soaked up every drop of knowledge that Julie offered.

Once the two of you arrived at the restaurant, she sighed. "Okay," she said, turning to look at you. "How does my hair look?"

"Amazing, as always. Don't bat an eye about it," you replied.

Her sweet face broke into a grin. "Oh gosh, thank you! You look phenomenal as well. Let's go in." She took your hand, a friendly gesture, and led you in the restaurant.

The exterior of the restaurant held a very vintage brick-and-mortar vibe; the inside was no different. The walls were lined with red bricks and plaster, the floors were paneled with creaky, dark wood planks, and all of the tables were metal. Julie waved at someone in the distance, and you saw them: Wally and Barnaby sitting in the back of the restaurant. They were waving back at Julie.

The table had four seats. Once you and Julie got over there, you took a seat next to Wally, and she sat next to Barnaby. Barnaby looked just about as nice as a big blue dog could in a fancy, multi-colored vest. Wally was wearing a blue vest over a white button up with a red neck tie, obviously all topped off with his usual pompadour. The placemats were red flanneled cloths, and the menus were small slips of crinkly brown paper. You took a menu and gazed at it.

"So, as I was saying," Barnaby said, "he threw the egg across the wall, and it splattered everywhere! It nearly made him cry, because he had to clean the whole mess up."

You looked up from your menu. Wally was laughing at Barnaby's story. Julie stared at Barnaby. "Have I heard this story before?" she asked.

Barnaby then retold the story. It was about Frank, the guy you met at Wally's painting lessons, getting mad about eggs, and it was pretty funny, to be... frank.

Eventually, a server came to your table and took your orders. All of them ordered alcoholic drinks, so you ordered a vodka soda. Food wise, you just selected what you thought looked best on the menu. Wally ordered an apple pie as his meal — Julie and Barnaby both got personal pizzas.

Once the server walked away, you looked at Wally, frowning. "An apple pie? That's your dinner?"

He shrugged a shoulder, smiling at you. It was the first time the two of you had made eye-contact all night, and it made you shiver. "It's my favorite dish on the menu," he admitted.

Barnaby shook his head and sighed, like a disappointed, but relenting, father. "I'm surprised you don't have diabetes. Maybe the 'eating with your eyes' thing voids all of the sugar."

"It doesn't void the sugar. And how do you know I don't have diabetes?" Wally asked.

In response, Barnaby rolled his eyes, then turned to look at Julie. "So, how have you been recently, Ju-Ju? We didn't get the chance to catch up enough at Wally's house the other day."

Julie then went on an extensive tangent about the new board game she was making, then she talked about hanging out with you earlier that day. Her dialogue was lengthy and detailed, like always. However, Wally and Barnaby both listened to her every word very patiently, so you did the same.

At some point, your mind began to wander to what Julie said earlier about her and Wally being in some sort of relationship. Not only did you ponder what their relationship was like and how... involved they were... but you were just aching to know what Wally was hiding that Julie was so afraid of. Julie had not given you nearly enough details earlier. But, of course, you could not force any more information out of Julie, because she apparently promised not to tell.

"Charlie?"

You blinked. "Hm?"

Apparently, it was Julie who had said your name, because she said, "Did you hear me?"

"Hear what?"

"Something on your mind?" Barnaby asked you.

"Oh! No, I'm just a little tired," you replied. You noticed Wally staring at you out of the corner of your eye. He probably knew you were thinking about him, and you wondered if he relished the thought. "What were you saying, Julie?"

"I was asking you what you did for work," Julie said.

For some reason, the question reminded you of the killers (as if being blackmailed to murder was some sort of assassination job) and your face flushed. You struggled to find your words, even though this was not something you needed to lie about. "Before this... uh... I had two jobs. I was a server at a local bar and I did some accounting, but only minor stuff. Very boring. Now I'm working with Eddie at the post office — I work tomorrow, actually."

The server came back with your drinks, cutting your conversation short. Wally stared at his drink with intense eyes and it instantly vanished. He made a sour face. He was finished before the server had even left, and he asked for another immediately. His actions made Julie and Barnaby burst into laughter the second the server left.

"Wow," Barnaby said. "Are we getting drunk tonight?"

Julie shrugged a shoulder. "I thought that was the plan," she said. "But I'm still going to take it slow." You were completely unaware of this plan.

Wally glanced at his water, looking proud. "I just wanted to get the first one out of the way."

You took a sip of your own drink. "Do you guys do this often together? Go out and drink and whatnot?" you asked.

Barnaby shrugged. "Not too often. I personally like to keep the drinking rare. I'm a big guy, so just to get drunk for one night takes a lot of drinking." He then pointed his thumb at Wally. "Can't say the same for this guy over here..." Barnaby said out of the corner of his mouth. Julie giggled.

"Hey, I don't drink too much! I drink less than you," Wally said.

"Well, yeah, but you're a lightweight," Barnaby insisted.

You were laughing at their silly conversation. Julie's eyes found yours, and she smiled, almost as if she was reassuring you.

The boy's banter continued. Eventually, the food arrived. More drinks were ordered and finished. By the end of dinner, you and Julie were a bit tipsy, Barnaby seemed fine, and Wally was nearly drunk. It was, quite honestly, odd that the alcohol somehow transferred through his eyes and into his body.

Barnaby bought dinner, which you extensively thanked him for. He said it was no problem at all, even though the bill must have been high.

You all left the restaurant and started walking to another building. "This place is open all night," Julie was saying, in reference to the second building. "It's a bar, basically, but they have an open mic for karaoke every night. This is usually where we go when we spend the night out."

You all entered the building with Julie leading you forward. It was a squat brick flat with black tiled floors. It was shockingly modern, with dim purple club lights strung everywhere. It was also shockingly crowded. Crowds of people that you did not know danced, drank, laughed and loitered all around you.

You swallowed. Bars and clubs were never the safest places to be, considering pick-pocketers and people who might slip roofies in your drink. Plus, you were essentially surrounded by strangers. Even Wally, Barnaby and Julie were people you had only met a couple days ago. There was nobody here who you trusted enough to fully have your back if you needed it.

Just then, someone grabbed your arm tightly, breaking you out of your thoughts. It was Wally. You looked at him, and he was smiling lazily at you, his dark eyes slightly more glazed over than usual. "C'mon love, let's get some drinks. I know you want one."

Holding your arm the entire time, Wally pulled you away from Barnaby and Julie, who were waiting in the queue to write their names down for karaoke. Your stomach lurched briefly, but the alcohol in your veins helped calm your nerves. Wally led you to the bar, where a crowd of people stood around the lengthy counter top.

"It's always so busy on Friday night," Wally mumbled. He brought you up to the counter and ordered two shots of tequila and two margaritas. After a while, the bartender put your drinks on the counter.

"Alright, (Y/N), take a shot with me," he said, taking one of the shot glasses for himself and handing you the other. He had to talk loudly over the booming karaoke on the other side of the room.

"First of all, stop calling me that. It's Charlie to you," you said. "And second of all, fine, but I don't want to get wasted."

"But I want you to be wasted!"

"Why? So you can roofie me?"

Wally's smile broadened. "Maybe," he said. Then, before you could respond, he lifted his shot glass in front of his face. "Okay! 3, 2, 1 —"

You downed the contents of your glass. Ew. You shivered and made a face, slamming the glass back on the counter top. "Ugh."

Wally was already finished and was now staring at his margarita, which he held daintily in one hand. "Don't worry, baby," he said, nearly slurring now. "After a couple more of those, you won't even remember that little kill of yours. Works like a charm for me."

You paused, staring at him.

He did not appear to be aware the implications of his words. If it worked like a charm for him, that meant he...

"What is that supposed to mean?" you blurted. He did not respond.

Unless Wally was being sarcastic with that little quip, then Julie was right — he was not as kind as he seemed. You lifted your margarita and took a cautious sip. The shot was already worming its way through your veins, which made it difficult for you to be nervous about Wally's last sentence. Instead, you found yourself looking at him through a thick fog of fondness.

"I like the way you're staring at me," Wally said, still only slightly slurring. He winked at you.

You felt your face flush and instantly turned away.

Dear god, that was so embarrassing. You did not even realize you were staring at him. The blush on your cheeks worsened. Hopefully, under the bar's dim lights, Wally could not see your cheeks.

"Shut up," you said. Then you turned around, facing the dance floor. "Let's go karaoke, freak."

⫸——⫷