walter everett

Angel was supposed to wait in Stitch’s room.

She’d decide how long that lasted - but for now, she was entertained with flipping through the internet to learn about earth culture. Humans expressed emotions through gifs, trolled eachother unnecessarily anonymously, worshipped cats with funny captions and made light of terrible situations with jokes that were in poor taste. This was a wonderful planet. She was excited to be here.

Angel was tucked away in Stitch’s hammock, curled up tightly into a ball with her knees pressed to her chest while she browsed and worked on intaking the language. Her english had accelerated quickly once Stitch had given her a base, but certain words still eluded her, and tantalog still naturally slipped back into her dialect. At some point, an urban dictionary entry about what being ‘salty’ meant slipped her into a cat nap.

A noise shook her awake. She assumed it was Stitch at first, but when it wasn’t, she looked at the man strange. She’d normally be prepared to throw hands at someone who came in unexpectedly while she slept, but something about him gave off the impression that he was harmless. “Your guy?” She asked immediately with a possessive and worried tone. She wanted Stitch. “Is Stitch your… boojiboo [term of endearment]?”

-

He really didn’t expect to see anyone but Stitch in his room. Wally froze when he realized it was someone he didn’t know, and someone so pretty. She looked like she was sleeping too, clearly she was comfortable. A sudden heaviness dropped in the pit of his stomach. An unfamiliar feeling, one that confused him, but he pushed it down and blinked at the girl. 

“Um, hi. I’m Wally. How do you know Stitch? What’s your name?” Usually when Wally met someone knew it came with excitement. The prospect of lerning more about them and having a conversation. This time, he wanted answers. Was Stitch okay? Who was this? He furrowed his brow in confusion at the question. Boojiboo. That’s not a word he’s learned yet. 

“Stitch is my friend. Closest friend I would say. I guess that would make him my... boojiboo. Where is he? Is he okay?” 

Wally kind of missed Stitch, not that he would ever admit that on purpose. He hadn't heard from him in a while and Wally needed to know if he was alright, at least. After arriving at his house, Wally makes the quick decision to go straight to his window, Stitch isn't avoiding him this time. Creeping around the house, he pauses when he reaches the window to Stitch's room and listens for a moment.

Hm, no music or immediate sounds of his friend. Maybe he can just wait for him to return? Wally tests the window and feels the give of it cracking open. Perfect. Halfway through the window, Wally stops when he hears a strange noise. Oh, maybe he isn't alone after all. Assuming it's Stitch, Wally calls out, "you can't just ignore me, I do worry about you." Fully through the window, he turns to the source of the noise and freezes. This one he doesn't know.

He holds up his hands, hoping he doesn't startle them. "Sorry I'm looking for, uh, my guy."

🧬  

“Oh, you mean popcorn? You’ve really never had popcorn before?” She asked genuinely curious with a slight mused smile. It was becoming overwhelming obvious with each passing second that Wally wasn’t from Prentiss. Bianca wasn’t one to judge though, she was made up of chemicals and some supernatural DNA after all. “Well, it’s super buttery and salty but I think you’ll like it.”

Bianca paid with for their food, ordering him a soda to go along with their popcorn. Once handed their food she handed him his drink whilst she carried the popcorn. “Here in case you get thirsty.” She began walking again–hoping he’d follow her. She didn’t want to lose him quite yet, especially since she didn’t know his situation yet. “Catching bad guys. Though I’m not really sure that counts as a hobby.”

-

“Catching bad guys? Wow, that’s... what is that like?,” Wally followed Bianca as he responded. Out of all the people he’s met in Prentiss, no one seemed like Bianca. In a way, she reminded him of Eva. He wanted to learn more about her. 

“Thank you for buying me the food. I didn’t mean for that, I mean I wasn’t trying to get you to do that,” Wally kept up with Bianca. He was getting nervous. “I’m new here. There’s so much more to learn here and it’s taking me awhile to understand some things.” Wally sipped his soda as he talked. Wow, that was good. He has to thank her again. “Collecting these objects helps me remember things I want to learn more about. That’s why I went through the trash.” 

He suddenly felt like he’s been talking way too long. Maybe he told her too much. “Sorry,” he said with a laugh, “anyways, thank you.”

“Close as in friends? Close as in boyfriend/girlfriend?” Douglas asked, pressing curiously into the statement. His realm of what closeness meant was very small. “I haven’t seen anyone like that, unfortunately, but I’ll keep my eye out for her. If you have something of hers with a scent, I could probably identify her a little faster,” Doug offered with a thin lipped smile; it wasn’t fun looking for someone and not being able to find them. He had an advantage with his sense of smell, but even he got tripped up from time to time with certain creatures he tracked.

“Oh, sorry, I’m Doug,” the young man said apologetically, letting out a hand to offer it to him to shake. A smile pulled across his face from ear to ear when he asked about his girlfriend. “She’s constantly surprising me. I never really know what to expect from her. She’s fun and super kind – but not really someone you want to get on the bad side of, either. But I adore her.  I’m sorry you lost your Eva. If I can help I will.”

 -

@loveatfirstbark​

“What’s the difference between friends and girlfriends? People keep saying that and I don’t quite get it,” Wally pauses but doesn’t give Doug much time to answer. Sometimes he gets overexcited when he talks to people. This isn’t really something he has gotten used to. “I don’t have anything that smells like her. I’m not even sure if she has a smell,” Wally remembers the smell of the ocean and his plants after a trim, he doesn’t think of anything when he pictures her. Do either of us smell like anything?

Wally smiled at Doug, “Lilo sounds lovely. Have you known each other long? I bet her and Eva would get along. Should I tell you what I know?” Wally isn’t really sure what he’s doing. He doesn’t know where she is or how to find her, but he has to start somewhere.

Stitch ignored his comment as he started to poke at the plant his friend had. He lifted the sad looking leaf before staring at his friend with a blank expression. “So you’re going to save it to kill it again?” The boy joked with his friend, a smirk coming into view. Stitch knew he was a riling up the boy but he couldn’t help himself. “Awe, so pretty, could be your next girlfriend.” His voice was higher as he spoke but it was quickly followed by a hand slapping onto the back of his friend. “And how exactly do you plan on getting it home? Don’t tell me you’re going to try to carry that thing the whole way?”

x

He knows that Stitch is teasing him, he shouldn’t respond but he can’t help himself. “I am NOT going to kill it! All it needs is a little love and they’re going to thrive.” Wally grins at Stitch as he thinks about how beautiful this plant it going to look when it’s back at full health.

After a moment Wally’s smile drops into a look of confusion, “what do you mean by next girlfriend? I have plenty of girlfriends from around here. At least I’m pretty sure they identify as girls and I consider them my friends. Why, do you not have a lot?” He continues frowning for a beat before remembering the main point of the conversation and starts with excitement.

Bending down to pick up the plant, Wally fumbles a bit while picking it up. Eventually he rises with the plant solidly in his hands. The leaves still shake a bit from the sudden movement as Wally turns to Stitch, “home I go.”

Doug was deep in his photos, sitting on a bench in the park. In the short time that he’d been there, he’d taken dozens of selfies and photos of his fun adventures – and now he was faced with the very real possibility of losing it all. He had to force himself to stop for a moment, going fifty miles a minute was getting him nowhere and only served to wear him out with nothing to show for it.

He stopped on a video of him and Max trying to copy a tiktok dance trend - something they had done on a stormy day. He smiled, then pursed his lips at a thought which was suddenly interrupted by another male voice. Doug looked up, a little surprised at the young man who looked as equally lost as he usually did. “Uhm,” he stammered, thinking of the only obvious answer he knew,“ I don’t know an Eva. I know a Lilo, she’s a pretty girl and she’s usually on the beach. She’s my girlfriend. I’ve never met an Eva, though. Is she lost? Do you need help? I can help you find her.”

-

“Lilo. Pretty name. I don’t think that’s who I’m looking for,” Wally paused trying to figure out how to explain how he lost Eva. The problem is, he doesn’t really know. “Eva, well we arrived here at the same time. We haven’t known each other for long but, we are.. uh close,” he smiles as he finishes. Sometimes he worries that they aren’t as close as they think. That Eva just tolerates him.

Wally looks at the person next to him. He didn’t know if anyone would want to help him look. “Eva is serious, but passionate. Not much can distract her from he goal. The problem is, I don’t know if she likes to talk to others. It might make things difficult,” Wally furrows his brow and looks at the ground. His thoughts start to spiral as he doubts his description of Eva- maybe he’s got her all wrong. What if he doesn’t know her like he thinks?

[ 𝙾𝙿𝙴𝙽 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁 ]

She stared momentarily at the person in front of her. Bella sometimes couldn’t help but get herself into these situations. Whether it was because she was being too nice to someone or offering to help where she was unsure if she could even do anything.Holding out a hand she paused them before they continued. “Wait, you saw her do what?” She asked, almost shocked at what they were telling her.

-

“Your sister? I met her at movie night. I was the one digging in the trash, not her, I might not have made that clear,” Wally continues, excited to finally meet Bella. He only knew two things about her: beautiful hair that reminds him of the rust back home and one of Bianca’s sisters.

“I liked her a lot, I bet you guys have so much fun together. I never did get my coin though,” Wally finishes with a sigh. Ever since movie night Wally has been wondering about the shiny object he saw at the bottom. Eventually he stumbled into the library and quizzed one of the librarians until he figured out the name of his prized object.

Once Wally brings his focus back to Bella he realizes that he’s forgotten to introduce himself. Silly. “OH! I’m sorry, my name is Wally. I’m kind of new here and wanted to say hello,” he smiles at the woman in front of him and adds as an afterthought, “your hair is beautiful.”

Okay, today is definitely the day Wally finds Eva. Or at least the day he gives it a solid effort without getting distracted. First things first, he has to water his plants. The best place to think is around plants, he thinks to himself. 

Maybe today he should try asking around about her. Wandering aimlessly hasn’t really gotten him anywhere, as much as he was convinced he’d bump into her right away. Alright new plan, ask people about her and don’t get distracted. 

Wally rushes from his makeshift home, excited about this new idea. This one is definitely going to get him closer. Once he reaches the street he approaches the first person he sees, someone sitting on a bench. He stops and reminds himself to calm down, don’t scare them off this time. As casually as possible he strolls towards the bench with his hands in his pockets and sits a distance away from them. 

“Sorry to bother you. My name is Wally and I’m looking for someone. Eva. Have you seen a very pretty girl around here? Maybe near the beach?”

It might’ve been the first time in Bianca’s life that she became completely speechless. Looking wide-eyed at the man as he spoke of trading scraps for food. “If you want some food, I can get some for us. You just need money…not whatever you’re looking in there to trade it for.” She trailed off, hoping she wouldn’t need to pry the stranger away from the dumpster.

“I’m Bianca.” She replied, looking down at his hand for a moment. Debating whether or not it was a good idea to shake his hand after he had just been elbow deep in trash. Using her thumb and index finger to shake his hand lightly. “C’mon Wally, We’ll get you some actual real food to eat.” She replied with a small smile as she waved him towards the concession stand.

-

Part of Wally really didn’t want to leave the trash can, but a bigger part of him was curious about this new adventure. Wally stares after Bianca as she waves at him and after a moments hesitation, jogs after her. 

“Hi Bianca, um, thank you for taking me to the food. Have you had it before? I really want to try that fluffy looking yellow stuff,” Wally babbles in excitement. Every day here has brought so many new discoveries. He can’t wait for this one. Even better, this time he has someone to share it with.

Wally thinks back to the crash course Stitch gave him, something about acting more normal around other people. “What do you like to do?” He asks her, quickly going over the list of approved conversation questions stored in his mind. 

Benji wasted no time doing as he was told, leaning head first into the can himself to take a peek, always curious, especially when Wally was around. He didn’t notice anything other than common trash, though, before peeping back out.

“What is it? Is it the coin at the bottom?” It was the only guess he had, and Wally was right, it could be traded for food, but they’d need more than a dime. “I have some money,” he fished in his pocket to pull out a handful of change and show it to the other. “We can use this if you want a snack or two! Maybe even three!”

-

“OH! Wow you have a lot. Can we get this one anyway? I’d like to keep it,” Wally finished that sentence a little sheepishly, realizing that these shiny objects might not be as rare as he thought. It would fit in with his collection of items so well, he could place it right between the spoon and the object that someone told him was a used canister of film.

Wally looks at the trash again, reaching in deep to trying to snatch the coin. He’s seen a lot of people staring at him while preoccupied with his mission but he couldn’t bring himself to care much. Feet lifting off the ground, Wally finally grabs his prize. "GOT IT! Pull me up Benji! It’s time to eat,” Wally kicks his feet in excitement as he yells towards his friend. 

Benji was a bundle of energy. He could hardly sit still for half an hour, much less a whole movie. He was excited, he was, but he’d just sat down and he was already taking a walk to one of the snack stands for no reason other than to stretch his legs. In his absences, he felt like he’d miss a few crucial details, but it was fine; he could use the internet later to connect the dots if the plot got confusing.

He was headed back to his spot when he saw Wally sticking out of the trash can, and suddenly the movie was forgotten about entirely. He was a curious man, one could not reasonably expect him to keep walking.

“Did you lose something?” He asked, tapping the man on the shoulder to get his attention. “If you lost something, I’ll help you find it! It’ll be like a scavenger hunt! … without all the other steps, but they’re the boring parts anyway.”

-

That shiny object looked so much closer than it seemed. Wally had his hand deep in the trash can but it still seemed just slightly out of reach. He reaches in further, fingertips inching closer to the object. A familiar voice stops his journey and he looks over his shoulder to see Benji. Perfect, he thinks. The perfect partner in crime. 

“Hello Benji! Come over here and look at this.” Wally points in the trash can, looking back and forth between the object and his friend. He loved showing things off to Benji, it was always so much fun. 

“I think we can trade this for the food they have over there, want to try? You might have better luck than me.” 

If Bianca was going to make the most of this night she might as well do her job. Though she wasn’t expecting much besides some teenagers roughhousing. However she was becoming restless, bored even. Bianca wanted action–something juicy. Even if she got hurt. Catching the bad guy was half the fun.

Roaming through the crowd she found nothing so she decided to try by the concession stands. That’s when she stumbled upon some poor soul digging through the dumpster. She didn’t know the story so she held back on judging the guy right away. Tapping on his shoulder she waited until he faced her.

“Uh–hey bud, you do know they’re selling food just a few feet away. No need to scavenge for scraps.”

-

Wally turns to face whoever interrupted his quest for the shiny object. He finds himself face to face with someone giving them a very confused look. With all the excitement of his search he didn’t hear anyone come up behind him. 

“Oh! Hi, I was just saw something in the trash can I wanted. I think I can trade it for some of that food over there, I’ve heard it’s good. Do you want to try some with me? We could probably find more of these.” 

Wally sends a wide smile her way before remembering that he’s forgotten to introduce himself. “I’m Wally.” He sticks his hand out towards the stranger and continues to smile at her. 

Wally needs to find Eva. He needs to make sure she’s okay and he wants to talk to her. If only he could stop getting distracted. There’s just so much to Prentiss, so many people. So many new plants to study.

So yes, he’s been looking for Eva but he’s also been getting to know Prentiss. He already has a little makeshift home hidden in some forgotten building and he’s built up quite the collection of plants. That’s part of the problem, Wally can’t stop collecting things. He wants to learn everything about these objects, about the way this town lives. It already feels like he’s missed so much.

The biggest discovery Wally's made is movie night. He’s never seen anything quite like this before, the way the glow of the movie screen bathes everyone watching. That’s why he’s here now- wandering through the crowd and trying to find somewhere to settle down.

He walks by a trash can and sees something shiny reflect the light of the screen. What’s this? He’s seen people exchange these round metal circles for the food they’re selling and wonders if he could try the same. Wally leans fully into the trash, digging his way down to the object tempting him. Right as he’s about to grab it he feels a tap on his shoulder, stopping his search.

@downtotheground 

Stitch had sniffed out his best friend for another session of annoying him. It was a slow Monday, he might as well do something productive. Wally just so happened to be his favorite target and only real friend besides his family. Stitch wasn’t sure how to talk to everyone besides his family most of the time. He came off a little pricklier than people usually found friendly, but Wally seemed to put up with it this far. “Wallert!” He called as a smile came onto it face, already knowing the name itself would bother him. “Don’t tell me you killed another dieffenbachia?”

-

Wally startles when he hears a loud voice interrupt his thoughts. He was so focused on this plant he stumbled upon in the park that he didn’t hear anyone approach him. Oh, It’s Stitch. He’s pretty sure there’s no one else in existence who would call him Wallert. Wally smiled at his friend in relief, then quickly moves to step in front of the plant he was studying.

Ever since landing on Prentiss Stitch was the only one that Wally seemed to get along with. When he talked to anyone else it felt like he was missing something, that everyone was in on a joke he didn’t understand. Stitch though, he never made him feel like an outcast. “First of all, this one isn’t a dieffenbachia. Secondly, I didn’t kill this one. I found it here all alone and now I’m going to save it.” He smiles at Stitch proudly and steps aside, showing him the plant. “Isn’t she pretty?”