The sunrise woke Walter up. Well, that and the racket of the train running up against the tracks. The young boy rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes, remembering what happened. The Muppets were on their way back to Los Angeles. After the whole run through with Constantine, they not only needed to re-plan their world tour, but also needed time to rest. But, while most Muppets planned to stick around L.A. and hang out, Walter had different plans.
After hearing what had happened, Gary and Mary called Walter, to make sure everything was okay. Walter explained that Constantine had been caught and put into jail where he belongs. Everyone was safe, but it was a close call. Especially after nearly losing Miss Piggy, and possibly Kermit too.
Relieved, Gary invited his brother to come visit their hometown, Smalltown. After all, Walter did have a lot of time to spare. Walter was pretty happy to be going. He wouldn't just get to see Gary and Mary, but maybe also hang out with some of his old friends he grew up with. They could hang out at the retro diner they use to go to after school on Friday's. Walter was pretty excited. After all this chaos, he wouldn't mind putting his feet up, and listening to the quiet evening sounds of the suburban town.
Walter rolled himself out of his bed, and went to open the blinds. The sun exposure blinded him for a second, but then his eyes adjusted. He looked out to see the large city of L.A. in the vast distance. He still had time to wake up a bit, and get ready.
He went to his trunk and pulled out a long sleeve light grey button down shirt, some black jeans, and a pair of black converse. When he was changed, he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and kept his shirt untucked. He looked in the mirror, feeling good. He was changing his style a bit. Though he was part of the Muppets now, he was still in his early twenties, making him the young adult of the group. The public eye really started to take a liking to Walter, so he wanted to freshen up his style a bit. And honestly, he was really enjoying it.
He messed around with his hair a bit. Trying to make it look less like he just got out of bed, and more well-kept. If there was one thing Walter liked to make sure was looking good, it was his hair. He didn't leave in the morning without doing it. Walter had nice hair. Not to toot his own horn or anything, but he did get a few glances and whispers from some ladies in the past few cities while on their tour. Not just because he was becoming more famous, but also with his wits, humour, fresh new style, and handsome features, it was definitely catching some girls' attention. What else could Walter say? He really felt on top of the world right now.
Before Walter could finish messing around with his hair, there was a giant knock at his door, making him jump a little bit.
"Walter! Open up! You really need to see this!" One voice said.
"Open! Open!" Another said.
"Come on, we don't have all day!" A third finished.
Walter stopped playing with his hair, and went to go answer. When he opened the door to his train compartment, Fozzie, Animal, and Gonzo stood there.
"Ha, nice hair." Gonzo laughed at Walter's messy bed head.
"Hey, I just got up." Walter said, running his hand over his head.
"Look what's in the morning paper!" Fozzie exclaimed, shoving the newspaper in Walter's face.
Walter took the paper from the bear and read carefully. It read; Muppet stars become Muppet heroes. The troupe put the most wanted criminal back in hostility. Underneath the article was a picture of everyone in London, where the final battle had happened, and a picture next to it of Constantine behind bars.
"Wow, they're calling us heroes?" Walter said, astonished by the headlines.
"Yeah, one day we're putting on shows, and the next we're catching villains!" Gonzo said.
"Villains! Villains!" Animal excitedly agreed.
Walter continued to look at the paper, not really sure how to react.
"You okay, Walter?" Fozzie asked.
"Yeah, I am." Walter reassured the trio, "but, maybe we shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves."
"What do you mean?"
"Well sure, we stopped him. But he nearly destroyed the Muppets." Walter explained. "I think we need to be more careful with who we trust, from now on."
"He's right." A voice agreed.
The four other Muppets turned to see Kermit walking towards them, holding his coffee mug.
"It was a close call, guys." Kermit said, "we have to be cautious."
"But Kermit, how are we suppose to know if someone is evil?" Fozzie asked.
"I'm not sure..." Kermit began, "but, I think we need some type of security. Someone who can do an overview of anyone we hire."
Walter nodded in agreement. It's funny how he always seemed to be on equal grounds with their leader. I guess Walter would make a better Muppet then he thought, after all.
Kermit then tried to avoid the seriousness he brought. He turned towards Walter.
"When does your bus leave?" He asked him, taking a sip of coffee.
"Later, tonight." Walter responded, "around seven."
"Oh, so you'll get there early." Fozzie tried to conclude.
Walter looked at the comedian with disbelief. "Smalltown is in Idaho." he tried to explain, "It's more than a 13 hour drive, Fozzie."
"Oh, I thought you said 13 minutes."
"Argh..." Animal shook his head, annoyed.
"You really wanna spend 13 hours on a bus?" Gonzo asked, Kermit also a bit surprised. "Or at least take a plane, maybe travel by map?"
"I'm kind of use to long drives." Walter shrugged. "I'll fly back home, though."
No one noticed, but Kermit smiled a bit when Walter said "home." He was happy that their young newcomer was starting to recognize them more as a family, rather than just his co-workers.
"Okay well, I'll see you guys when we stop." Kermit then said, "I have a lot of documents to fill out, after all that chaos."
"Are we pressing charges?" Gonzo asked.
"You bet we are." Kermit laughed. "I'll see you guys." He said, leaving.
After Kermit left, the other three said bye and went their ways, too.
Walter of course, closed his door and went back to messing with his hair. He wouldn't have a lot of time, though. He needed to pack up, so that he could continue to pack up for his trip, later.
Walter jiggled his keys into his apartment door. Yes, HIS apartment door. Since all the Muppets got back together and Walter had joined, they all had to move to L.A. However, they were all currently living separately in their own apartments and homes. They loved being around each other everyday, but were still getting use to sleeping under the same roof every night, together. It was also difficult to find a house, or mansion that was big enough to fit all of them, but still let each of them have their own personal space. So until then, they decided to have their own places. It would probably be like that for a while.
Walter didn't mind. He saw them everyday, either way. Also, because of his boost in his finances after becoming a Muppet, he was able to afford a nicer L.A. style flat. One master bedroom, bathroom, a nice living area, kitchen. It had a very modern apartment decor style. At first, it was a bit overwhelming for Walter, since he came from a small town, with very country-like houses. But, he then started to take a liking to it.
His favourite part was probably the huge window view, looking over the neighbourhood. It was beautiful during the day, stunning at night. Walter could look out for hours. But, there was no time to waste. The bus won't wait for him.
His door unlocked, and he entered his apartment. Walter turned on the lights, and took in his surroundings. It was only one of the few times he'd been there. He bought it as soon as he'd signed as an official Muppet, was offered his first pay, and put it with the rest of his savings. Soon after, they went on tour, so he hadn't spent that much time, there. His main furniture was in place, but there were still a few boxes everywhere. But, he had a bus to catch. Guess it would have to wait until he got back.
Walter threw his keys aside into the key bowl, on the small table near his door. He sighed as he closed the door with his foot, back faced against it. He was stressed. Not sure if it was from the whole Europe madness, or that he had to start packing if he wanted to catch the bus, but he was stressed. All he knew, was that he really needed this trip to his home town to unwind.
The young Muppet pulled his trunk to his room, and began to unpack, slowly. He knew he was in a rush, but he was exhausted. As happy as he was this morning, he couldn't ignore that he'd been having trouble sleeping the past few nights. Probably because he, besides Animal, knew that there was something wrong with their leader. And he was right. He was so right, that his senses had to keep him up at night.
When Walter was done, he pulled out a smaller suitcase from his closet, since he'd only be in Smalltown for a while. He started to toss in some fresh clothes, and other essentials. He made sure he had what he needed. He wouldn't need his passport, since he'd be travelling within the U.S.
Walter had spent so much time prepping, he'd lost track of time. It was 6:25. He needed to catch a cab within the next five minutes, if he was going to catch that bus.
He grabbed his stuff, ran out the door, and locked it behind him.
Once arrived at the station, Walter gave the cab driver a tip, and ran. Getting the cab was easy, sure. It was the traffic that was bad. Even L.A., the hotspot of California, had it's problems.
It was 6:56, Walter had just made it. He got on and settled in his seat, extremely tired but relieved. He laid his head back, and felt like he was ready to fall into a deep sleep. Until, his phone buzzed.
He took his smart phone out of his pocket, and saw that he had got a text from Kermit.
It read:
Tell your brother we all say hi.
Walter smiled, feeling good inside. Though it was taking time getting use to his childhood heroes as his family, they sure were trying to make a good effort to do so.
He texted back to the frog:
Thanks, I'll see you guys in a week.
Walter then put his phone away, put up his hood of his red zip up hoodie, rolled over in his chair, and drifted off to sleep.
I know the first part was pretty short, but I hope you enjoyed! Make sure to come back!