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His name’s Charley.
Wally only found out because he had been spying on the Spanish class, watching some meaningless ice breaker where they had to create name tags. Charley had simply scribbled his name across the paper and placed it aside, knowing nobody would read it.
Wally did. He didn't know that.
“What is with you and watching this kid?” Rhonda asked him, twirling her sucker between her fingers before sticking it back in her mouth.
Wally shrugged, pawing with the bottom of his jacket for a second before the bell rang. He watched as Charley left, taking in his appearance all the meanwhile. Frosted tips, glasses, denim.
“Most definitely gay.” He told Rhonda.
She gave him a curious look. “Why does that matter?”
“I dunno. Just does.” Wally replied.
“Not like you’ve got a five star reputation with the gays.”
Wally frowned, but didn’t deny anything.
—---------------------
“Please?” Wally asked again, dragging his arms across the wooden table to clasp them together in a begging motion. “Pleaseee-”
“Okay, fine. Fine.” Charley replied, time exasperated but mouth curled in half a smile. Wally whooped in delight, getting up and immediately taking hold of Charley’s sleeve.
“Come, come!”
Charley lets Wally drag him outside, both of them clamoring into the golf cart.
“You better not go too fast. We tipped over last time.” Charley demanded of him. Wally just laughed. Even though they couldn't commit property damage, Wally stayed forever reckless.
Even as he went fast, Charley was grinning, holding onto the sides of the cart so he didn't fall out.
Wally enjoyed moments like these. Where they had fun. Just the two of them, or even with Rhonda, and sometimes with Janet back before she crossed over. It was so much better than having limits, than being stuck in school for eternity with nothing to do. At least they knew how to entertain themselves.
When Charley first got here, Wally was ecstatic. For so long, it had only been Rhonda and Janet with him, and occasionally Dawn. There was also Yuri, but the guy still wouldn't talk to them. It felt nice to have Charley.
It…definitely wasn't because of how long he spent hovering around Charley when the boy was alive.
And yet even though he's happy, Wally wouldn't deny the pit that formed in his stomach when Charley first died in that cafeteria. Pity.
Lost on his onslaught of thoughts, he takes a sharp turn. And Wally almost doesn't notice when the golf cart suddenly gets lighter. Not that light, considering Charley wasn't that heavy to begin with. It was funny, Wally could pick him up so easily, and it was hilarious to tease him about it-
Wait.
Wally presses the brake, and swivels his head to the side. Charley is gone.
“Fuck.” Wally hissed, turning his head behind him and sweeping his gaze over the grass. Finally, in a patch where the school just had plant flowers, he spots denim.
“Fuck, Charley! Are you okay?” Wally yells out. He rushes outside the golf cart and runs to Charley, apology on the tip of his tongue.
Except when he gets there, Charley is already rolled over, and pushing his glasses up his nose. He's smiling; laughing, actually.
Charley wordlessly pulls Wally down, and out of sheer surprise Wally actually does fall onto the ground next to Charley.
“I told you not to go so fast.” Charley reprimands, but there's amusement in his voice. Wally just chuckles back, still taken a bit off guard, and rests his head down next to Charley.
He's blushing. Is he blushing? Maybe it's because Charley still has a hand on Wally's arm. And he's laughing.
And it's one of the best sounds he's heard in ages. Decades.
—------------
Wally feels the urge to punch somebody. Alas, the boy he has his eyes on is very alive. And Wally is very dead.
He watched instead as Charley winced, clamoring to the floor while the boy much taller than him laughed. He joked around with some of the other jocks around him, and Wally was appalled to think he hung around these types of people once upon a time.
There was a guy yelling at them, a firm hand on Charley's arm as he helped the boy up.
Emilio. Wally only knew his name, but he also knew how conflicted he felt about the guy. On one hand, Emilio protected Charley. Loved him, even. It wasn't hard to miss.
But at the same time…Wally was sour. Maybe because he wasn't there to do the same.
Rhonda called him over for support group, and Wally didn't answer her immediately. Instead, he watched as Emilio straightened out the collar of Charley's signature denim jacket, and Charley idly hugged him before rushing off the English. Wally felt the urge to follow him, but Rhonda yelled again, and he turned on his heel and walked towards the gym.
Wally didn't like Emilio. And he didn't want to admit to himself why.
—---------------
“You like Maddie, right?”
Wally stayed silent. He didn't know what to say.
Yes, he liked Maddie. Something about her, something he just couldn't have. He didn't know why he couldn't have her, it was like something was stopping him.
He kept telling himself it was their mortality. The fact she was more alive than he'd ever be, even dead. But another thing told himself it was him.
“Yeah.” He said softly, not turning up to look at Charley while he said it. But he could practically hear Charley smile, even if it didn't sound genuine.
“Good. I'm happy for you both.” He declared. Wally thought Charley’s voice quavered. Or maybe he was desperate for it to.
Charley sat down next to him, taking off his glasses. “I feel bad for her. I want to help.”
“You are helping, Charley. We all are.” Wally replied instantly, wrapping his arm around Charley's shoulder idly. Charley didn't flinch, instead leaning into it.
“Wally, she's confused. And I want to comfort her, how am I supposed to do that if I don't even know how she died?” Charley replied, exasperated.
Wally realizes then what he's doing for Maddie. He's comforting her. Making her feel good, loving her. Not in a romantic way, a comforting way.
He doesn't like Maddie. He loves her, and wishes she has everything good in the (after)life. But he adores Charley.
He doesn't tell Charley that though.
—----------
Charley is mad. It’s a foreign expression, one that Wally hasn’t yet seen on the boy. Rhonda isn’t around, telling Wally he could just watch the alive kids as long as he wants, she got bored spying on people a while ago.
Wally doesn’t want to watch the alive kids. Just Charley. He’s not sure why.
He’s not just mad, he’s pissed. Kinda like Wally’s mother when he’d skim over football practice, or fake sick so he didn’t have to go.
Charley’s pissed off, and Wally thinks it has something to do with Emilio. It makes him mad on behalf of Charley. He never did like Emilio, no matter how caring and how loving and how alive he is. He still never liked him. For no specific reasons.
He watches Charley grab a plate of fries from the cafeteria, opening one of his English books and scribbling in it furiously. He shoves a french fry in his mouth, and Wally tries to act like he’s not watching from across the cafeteria.
He doesn’t notice when Charley’s hand flies up to his throat. Or maybe he does.
It becomes shockingly clear what’s happening, and Wally wants to scream.
Wally also feels his heart soar with hope, and he hates it.
—-----------------
Emilio is crying. Sobbing, even screaming.
Charley is crying. Confused, distraught. Rhonda is next to him, comforting despite her demeanor.
Wally is crying. He’s not sure why.
—-----------
“You're breaking up with me?” Maddie asks. She doesn't sound mad, in fact, she sounds relieved. Interested, even. “Why?”
“I love you, Maddie.” Wally admits, fully genuine. “And I hope you get your body back, really really bad. But…” He trails off, and to his surprise, Maddie looks like she understands.
“I get it.” She says, and Wally feels the urge to comfort once again.
“It's-it's not because of you, Maddie. It’s-”
“I know.”
Wally blinks, taken slightly aback. “You uh- you do?”
She gestures her head to Charley, tilting it. There he sits, with Rhonda and Quinn and somehow Yuri, talking enthusiastically about something. Wally immediately turns flushed.
“Maddie, I-”
“I've seen it, Wally. What's in the way of the two of you anyway?”
Wally looked between Maddie, and then Charley, mouth agape. And then he quietly said,
“Me.”
Her face softens, and Maddie leans towards him and pats the side of Wally’s shoulder. He can't believe he might never see her again.
“Go do it, Wally. No matter how awkward it may seem, you guys will get over it one day if it doesn't end up like you want it to.” She leans back to sit up straight. “Although honestly, I think it's gonna turn out just how you want it too.”
Wally nods along, holds his hand up, tells her he'll tell Charley.
He doesn't know what he's going to say, but it's there.
—--------------
“Charley, you know I love you right?”
That was supposed to be it. That was supposed to be the moment. Wally was supposed to sound sincere, why didn't he make himself sound more sincere?
Regardless, he leans forward slightly. And Charley sits up on the picnic table, cranes his head downwards, and looks Wally in the eyes.
The kiss was inevitable. Wally couldn't help pressing into it, grasping the back of Charley’s dress shirt. He doesn't even consider it, the fact that this is the first time he's kissed a man. Because it feels so right.
That didn't mean it felt good. It felt like 30 years of pent up lying and dancing around the problem. Just before it could even feel right, Charley pulls away. His eyebrows are furrowed, and he looks…heartbroken.
“You love Maddie.” He whispers to Wally.
‘I don't.’ Wally wants to say it back so bad. He wants to yell it out loud, beg, plead. He wants Charley to stay.
But the look Charley gives him, it's hurt. Like he's a second choice. He's not. Wally needs to tell him that.
But his throat feels dry. Ironic. He licks his lip.
“Yeah.” Wally murmurs, watching as Charley slowly shifts off the table. And despite it all, despite how much his long dead heart is screaming, Wally doesn't follow.
“Yuri was looking for you.” He informs Charley, and he gets a curt nod in response.
Wally doesn't go back to the reunion after that.
—-------------
The door is right there. It's right there. He can see the light shining through, beckoning him.
Wally drops his football.
Everyone's gone. Everyone consists of Maddie, and Charley. Wally’s never felt more alone, and yet…
He needs to know. He needs to find Charley.
Wally doesn't approach his door, doesn't even glance at it, instead turning around and running out.
He'd always thought about it. What if Charley crossed over before he'd ever get the chance? But now, it was the other way around, and Wally couldn't go without knowing. Just knowing.
He loved Charley. With everything he had. So much, he never wanted to hurt him. So much, Wally danced around the prospect for three decades just so it didn't further complicate Charley’s after life. He watched him for so many days while he was alive, hovering around and trying to reason with himself why he was doing so. He loved Charley so much.
Wally finds himself outside the art room, the one place he knew Charley would be after Maddie left, and yet he never stopped to consider why.
He doesn't see why, until he opens the door.
Charley has his arm wrapped around Yuri, both of them pressed into a soft kiss as clay smudged on the back of Charley's jacket. This kiss wasn't like the one Wally and him shared. It wasn't desperate, it was peaceful. Romantic, happy. Content….loving.
Charley loved Yuri.
Wally feels the floor go out from beneath him, and Charley catches the sight of him from the corner of his eye. Immediately, Charley startles.
“Ohmygosh-” Charley breaks away from the kiss, and Yuri looks around in curiosity. He doesn't know he won the world.
“Wally! I didn't see you there.” Charley laughs, tone relaxed. Like it's casual. Because it is. But then Charley frowns. “Wally, are you okay?”
He should say something. But his throat feels dry again. Like all the moisture travelled up to his eyes. Wally hangs his head down, and nods.
“Wally?”
This time, the noise that he manages to squeeze out of his lungs is choked, along with a meek ‘I’m fine.’
It's like Charley knows, the way he softens. “Wally..”
Wally clears his throat. “No. No. I just- Rhonda's calling you.” He fibs, turning on his heel and willing himself to look away before he cries.
He always thought his death was the worst part of his existence. Maybe it wasn't.
Wally leaves the room, Charley calling after him weakly. Yuri watches on in curiosity still.
Idly, Wally wonders if the door is still open.
—---------------
“Did you get the snacks?”
“Yep, I got chips and snagged some soda.”
“Sick! I dunno how you steal so well from this place.”
“Years of people stealing my lunch money, Wally. I got creative.”
“Fair. Did you get?-”
“Yes, Wally. I got some Doritos.”
“Yesss! Man, I love you.”
“...I love you too, Wally.”