A week passed by in the blink of an eye, every night spent in Wally's bed due to your fear that the sentient house would sacrifice you to the eldritch horror that lurked the town by night in your sleep.

Also, apparently Wally owned a car? A royal blue, 1967, Chevy Impala to be exact. You didn't know who gave him his license, but it needed to be revoked. Something about him just screamed 'don't trust me behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle.' And when you had asked him what it ran on as there was no gas station in sight, he had replied that Home powered it for him, whatever that meant?

At least by now your scrapes had all healed, a few of the deep ones leaving faint scars. However, the gash on your face and sprained ankle still required some more time to heal, but you could at least bear weight on your foot.

On a plus note, in the span of the seven days, you had been introduced to everybody, Wally's uncannily cheery face not being the only one you've seen within the long timeframe.

Poppy stopped by early in the week to drop off freshly baked treats and coddle you, speaking with you in regards to everything baking wise and putting in good words about her fellow neighbors. Though she didn't seem to be too fond of Barnaby, stating that you should be careful around him as he had a tendency to forget his strength and she didn't want to see you anymore injured than you already were.

As the saying goes; speak of the devil and he shall appear. Barnaby came to visit later that same day, nearly breaking down Home's door with his rambunctious knocking. Wally had opened the door, you not wanting to leave the chair you had been sitting in to get it. The moment the massive puppet entered the house, he sped over to you and began swarming you with stories and jokes, asking you things about yourself as well. He was probably the worst kind of headache personified and you found that his jokes slowly lost their initial hilarity after the first ten times. It was a miracle that he left and you had a second to breathe.

The next to show up at Home was Sally, whomst was far too energetic for her own good. Her high pitched voice was lovely to listen to for the first few minutes, but then she wouldn't stop talking and it became grating. For a good hour she sat there chatting your ear off about plays and you made the mistake of telling her you were a singer. After that, Sally had pleaded with you to play in her future performances as the vocals and you had begrudgingly agreed only to shut her up. No offense to her, she was nice, however, she was on a whole other energy level than you.

Howdy had stopped by at some point later in the week, bringing you some materials he thought you might need such as clothing and even a toothbrush- you didn't even ask why puppets would need to own a toothbrush seeing as this was meant to model a children's show and health and safety were often introduced through media, including oral hygiene. Though Howdy didn't stay for long, the friendly caterpillar left the instant the sun began to set, heading off to his bodega where he lived on the second floor.

Making his appearance at some early hour of the morning, Frank had decided to be polite and introduce himself fully and greet you as a fellow neighbor. Just like everyone else, he called you Songbird- it was interesting how no one had tried to pry your name out of you, in fact, no one had even asked about it at all. Frank had spent a good half hour talking with you about the niceties in the neighborhood and dropping small facts whenever he could. He was honestly the most patient and calm neighbor you had met and it was almost a shame to see him go when he had told you he had plans with Julie, mentioning how she still needed support in regard to her sisters.

The day after, Julie made her first debut, handing you a plate of cupcakes when you opened the door, Wally getting prepared for the day in the washroom. She had a delicate tone and her voice would waver at times as though she weren't really there at the moment. For her sake, you stayed as far away from the Puppeteer topic as possible, not wanting to hurt her further, it was clear she was going through something and it definitely had to do with her sisters. When she had returned home, you had analysed every part of your frivolous conversation ensuring that you hadn't hurt her feelings or made her feel any worse than she already did.

Last to officially meet you was Eddie and it was when he was dropping off Wally's mail, his heartwarming smile so full of kindness. He didn't crowd you and only asked warranted questions, not wanting to overwhelm you like everyone else. Turns out, Eddie was actually married to Frank- you had been wondering where he lived as it was clear the post office was too small to be both a running service and a housing unit. After Eddie had left with his polite farewells, you had let Home close the door as you flopped back onto the chair you had dubbed as yours. However, your relief was short lived as Wally informed you that the mail he had received was actually a letter from Sally inviting everyone to a slumber party tomorrow and you were being forced to attend, you being the main focus of the event.

Groaning out exasperatedly, Wally tried in vain to convince you that the sleepover would be fun and that Sally hosted the best events, but that only made your exaggeratedly drawn out groan worse.

Why was Wally so insistent and cheerful when you had reminded him everyday that you wanted to go home?

Not a single twenty-four hour period had passed without you retasking the yellow puppet with the goal of sending you back to the world you belonged in and not a single day had passed without Wally's disappointed look and half assed compliance. You knew he didn't want to send you back- or was being truthful when he said he couldn't, and yet the shred of hope that he would or could, motivated you to keep trying.

Home was nice and all, but it wasn't where you, a human, belonged.

"Please come to Sally's party~" Wally pleaded, leaning down on the armrest of the chair you were lounging on.

"Why should I?"

Wally paused to find a reason, his eyes lighting up when he found one.

"Because I'll go without you and you'll be left all alone tomorrow night!" he exclaimed, thinking he had you caught.

"That's fine. I trust Home now, he's too sweet and kind to harm me." You shrugged, fibbing. You were still a little on the fence with the living house.

The puppet looked baffled, pupils blown wide in shock, the arms he was placing his weight on buckling, nearly having him fall on top of you.

"I- What?" he stuttered, "Then why have you been spending your nights with me?"

Shit , your lie had been called out, did you want to dig your own grave deeper or come clean?

Mama didn't raise an honest bitch- you had snuck out of the house and made up far too many excuses just to stop now. Only issue was; what do you say? He had you stuck, to get out of this you'd either have to admit to your falsity or complement him by saying you liked his presence or something along those lines.

"Um... because I like your room better...?" Fuck it, the truth it is. "Never mind, you're right, I'm still a bit nervous, but that doesn't mean I can't survive one night without you- or every night for that matter!"

Wally beamed at your admittance, readjusting himself to sit on the armrest of the colourful chair.

"Mhm, how about this; you come to the slumber party and I give you something I am certain you'd like~"

"And what would that be?"

"You have to agree to the deal first before I tell you!" Wally bribed, smirking down at your glaring eyes.

"As far as I'm concerned, you think I like Home and being in the same space as you, so I'm pretty sure you're going to give me something not worth my effort."

You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms, focusing all your attention on Home's giant window eye. Home had two eyes, of course, one in the living room and the other in the kitchen, both of which were looking at you and Wally, watching the cheerful puppet's pitiful attempts to sway you.

"Oh, but I'm sure you'd like this~"

"Sorry, I don't agree to deals I can't see the profits on."

Wally stared blankly at you, perplexed.

"...profits?"

Huffing out a sigh at the puppet's lack of capitalism understanding- whilst also cheering that this world doesn't suffer from such a thing, so you didn't have to deal with it for now. You explained to him what profits mean.

"Profits are what you gain from a deal or transaction. In other words, I said; "I don't agree to deals when I don't know what I get out of it.""

"Ah, yes, your world and its weird profit system." Wally discerned, vanishing from his seat beside you and entering the hall. "Money is such a useless thing."

You wouldn't call money a useless thing, it's just that people placed far too much value in it, hence why you separated yourself from that lifestyle, not wanting to work yourself to the bone for a nickel and dime. Truly, it was sad when people dedicated their lives to building up a larger sum of funds just to learn that when the world ends you can't eat paper money, but you could've eaten the fruit from the tree that bore it.

That was probably the one thing Home had going for it, besides the friendly neighbors; the absence of capitalism and government. For such a small community they didn't require any large group formed to protect the people or approve laws, they just set out rules for everyone to follow and most of which were common sense and practical like 'don't go outside at night unless you want to get tangled .'

Sitting on the brightly coloured chair, you happened upon a realisation that made your insides feel icky as though you had personally wronged yourself. Over the span of a week, you had slowly begun to acclimate yourself to this environment, the constant bright colours and cheerful demeanors no longer seen as outlandish in your mind. You were starting to like it here.

Shaking your head and forcing down any and all implications that you actually enjoyed your stay at Home, Wally waltzed back into the room with something plainly hidden behind his back, grinning from ear to ear.

"What do you have?" you asked in the same tone one would use for a dog hiding something in its mouth.

Wally's lips twitched up even higher at your query, his eyes gleaming conceitedly.

"Something that will convince you to accept Sally's invite~"

With that Wally pulled out a bright red 1960s ferranti radio with blue decals from behind him, holding out the small piece of technology for you to take. However, the second you reached for it, Wally tucked it closer to him, correcting you for trying.

"Nu-uh, you're not getting this until you agree to come with me tomorrow night!"

Clever Wally had discovered just how to get you to join him in going to Sally's; music . Ever since you arrived in Home you had been longing for some sense of normalcy and music had been the medium of your everyday life- you were a vocalist after all, it was in your nature. So Wally knew exactly what he was doing when he offered you a semblance of your old life back in the form of an old fashioned radio.

"... Does it work?" you whispered, voice feeble at the sight of the brightly coloured radio that already held sentiment in your heart due to its correlation with your favourite hobby and career.

Wally's complexion softened at your heartbreakingly desperate tone, his smirk shrinking down to a gentle smile. Generously, he handed you the old technology that appeared to be in mint condition, allowing you to inspect it.

It was smooth beneath your touch, never having collected dust or any damage for as long as Wally had owned it. Hesitantly, you twisted the dial to turn it on, nearly crying out with joy as music poured through the speaker.

~Everybody loves somebody sometime~

~Everybody falls in love somehow~

It was playing Everybody Loves Somebody by Dean Martin, an almost sixty year old love song, the audio quality surprisingly clear and beautiful for such an archaic form of technology. Wally seemed to agree, humming along with the melody as it played.

~Something in your kiss just told me~

~My sometime is now~

With proof that the radio was in working condition, you placed it down on the side table, letting the music fill the room as you threw yourself into Wally's arms, thanking him profusely for giving you something so priceless. If his words were true and he honestly couldn't bring you back, then maybe, just maybe, he could earn your forgiveness by letting you use his radio.

~Everybody finds somebody someplace~

~There's no telling where love may appear~

Laughing breathlessly at your antics, Wally gently wrapped his arms around you, joining you in a hug. Lightly he began to sway you both in tune with the melody, you not even caring about his coyness, simply lost in the music you had been deprived from.

~Something in my heart keeps saying~

Wally decided to join in on this line of the verse, singing softly, his voice stunning and surprisingly balanced.

"~My place is here ~"

Faltering back from Wally's grasp, fingers swiftly switching off the radio, you faced the puppet with shock written all over your face.

"Since when did you know how to sing?!"

"Ha. Ha. I usually do it when I paint. I turn on the radio and sing along. Didn't know I was good enough to draw your attention~"

Releasing a groan, hands thrown in the air dramatically as you flopped onto your chair, you couldn't deny Wally the truth.

"Wally, as much as I hate to say this, from just that one line I can tell you're good- I mean, that vibrato was wonderful and didn't waver in the slightest. Honestly, you should try singing more often, I could help if you want!"

The chance for more singing and listening to music had you jumping on the opportunity like a fox. Wally's face lit up at your offer, his hands coming together to form their usual 'splendid!' position that looked more like he was praying.

"That sounds wonderful~" Wally proclaimed. "But you'll have to agree to go to Sally's first."

Grumbling in disdain, you begrudgingly accepted your side of the deal.

"Fine, fine. I'll go to Sally's with you."

"Lovely! I knew you'd accept~"

"Uh-huh..." you quirked a brow at the puppet's constant bubbly attitude.

Did Wally ever get upset?

You knew he could be frightened, though only in the presence of the puppeteer and he could become tense when the topic of the creature was brought up. But other than that, you had never seen him get angry and you had done some pretty heartless things to him since your arrival here, like giving him the cold shoulder and hiding his eyeshadow palettes in random places around Home- he still hadn't found the orange one which you had hid behind the ice tray in the freezer. And yet, he still never got mad or anything, he did ask you where his eyeshadow went though and you had brushed the question aside with a cruel remark and he had simply accepted that answer and moved on without any agitation.

However, this ponderous topic arose a new, fearful question; Did you want to see Wally angry?

The first time he had truly shown himself to you was by eating Father John- the recall of the memory eliciting a shudder- and he hadn't appeared to be irate at that point in time, so what would he look like if enraged?

Blood, that was the thought that first came to mind. If Wally was ever agitated enough, he would probably kill, at least, that's what you assumed. He seemed to have an endless patience, the likelihood of you ever witnessing Wally's rage being slim, especially here in the neighborhood, surrounded by his friends.

Though the mere thought of a frenzied Wally had your blood running cold. That surely wouldn't be a pretty sight.

"Songbird?" Wally called from the kitchen, having left to start prepping dinner which he said would be steak diane.

"Yes?" you replied, having long gotten used to the puppet's nickname for you.

"Since you're going to teach me more about singing, may I offer my assistance with painting? I know it isn't really in your wheelhouse, but if you wish to share your talents, the least I could do is offer to teach you mine."

The arts had always held a special place in your heart, you had just specialized in the vocalist side of things. So Wally's belief that his painting proposal wasn't up your alley couldn't have been more wrong. And with the skillful works of art you had seen spread out in every room, you could safely say you were in good hands under his mastery.

"I'd love to take you up on that."

"Alright." Wally nodded, focusing on the pan he was cooking with. "Oh, and after dinner, I have to go out somewhere, if you don't mind waiting here for me to get back?"

"Yeah, that's no problem. While you're out, can you find a way for me to get back home?"

It was your daily 'let's remind Wally of the task at hand' time.

The puppet's head swung around to face you solemnly.

"I've already told you there's no way out, only a way in."

"And yet you also claim you have a way in and out."

"Through the use of my puppet, yes." Wally conceded, "Without it I wouldn't be able to and last I checked, you didn't have a puppet."

Your desire to return to your world also seemed to be a sore spot with Wally, though his reasons as to why you couldn't get back appeared to line up and be plausible- if he was telling the truth that is.

Honestly, you were unsure of whether or not you could trust the puppet. His statements that he had never outright lied to you were correct and he never tried to actively mislead you anymore as far as you could tell.

You were attempting to pin this situation down with logic, despite nothing that had occurred being even remotely close to the realm of logicality. In the end, you settled on humming your concurrence, deciding maybe it was time to let fate take the wheel.

—

Every time you brought up that you wanted to go back to your world after he had already stated there was no way out, it felt like a slap in the face. He was trying his best to keep you happy and willing to stay, though you always seemed to fall back on reminding him of your request, every single day.

Why did you want to leave such a quaint place as Home? Was he not a good host?

At this point he was concerned he was doing something wrong. Maybe after he brought you your things you'd change your mind? He had been working hard in your old world to bring you your sentimentals.

Finishing up dinner and placing it on the kitchen table, Wally assisted you over to your seat so you wouldn't bear any more weight than necessary on your bad foot. You thanked him for his help as always, then you both dug into your meals, you with your utensils, Wally with his eyes.

Earlier this week you had made a peculiar joke regarding his style of eating, something about him taking the saying 'eye candy' to a whole new level? He didn't understand, but you had been rather amused by your own words.

Finishing up his food in a few blinks, Wally sighed his approval before clapping his hands to gain your attention.

"I'm going out now, I will be back before dusk. You said you'd be alright while I'm gone?"

"Yep." You nodded with a simper to confirm.

"Well then, if you need