A.N. You have no idea how long I've waited to write this chapter, this is where the main idea came from to write this fanfic, I hope you enjoy it and as I promised, a longer chapter this time.
The long-awaited day for Joey Beetles had finally arrived. It wasn't yet dark and he was already preparing for the tremendous show. Outside, Wally was with his father setting up some tents for camping. Their father told them that they could camp outdoors as if it were a camp, after all in their backyard they had a good space despite the pool, but none of their children seemed interested in that until the present day, where an excited Joey brought various things from his room.
Kuki helped him, the truth is that seeing a starry night together with Wally moved her in a way that was difficult to explain. She was already feeling anxious that it would be dark soon. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye along with his dad setting up the tents and she blushed at the thought that they would see the stars together. She really felt very good.
When Mr. Beatles finished setting up the tents and arranging everything necessary for the children to spend the night awake looking at the astronomical phenomenon, Kuki went over to talk to Wally who had just put sleeping bags in the tents. One tent was supposed to be for him and her brother and the other for her, but to tell the truth, she hoped could be closer to him.
"It seems that your dad was looking forward to this day almost as much as Joey," says Kuki, handing Wally some blankets to place inside the tent.
"Dad gets excited when I do activities with Joey, you know, he's so much younger than us, it's not like we can do the same things all the time. Maybe one day I'll teach him to skate."
"You don't do it anymore, before you didn't let go of your old skateboard," Kuki tells him, reminding a little Wally that he fell whenever he tried until he completely mastered it.
"Sometimes I use it, it's just that I take care of other things" Wally leaves the tent because his brother calls him. "What do you want, dwarf?" the minor approaches them.
"Dad says you help me bring and install the telescope, it's a bit heavy"
"Okay, I won't be long," he walks past his brother and shakes his hair. Kuki and Joey are left alone in the yard as dusk begins to fall and the sky turns orange and purple.
"Kuki," Joey calls her, "I thank you very much for staying with us tonight, I'm sure it will be something to admire," he smiles at her.
"Sure, well, my parents aren't back yet and I'm thinking I'll have to share my room here with my sister tomorrow," she starts playing with his hair without realizing it.
"I will also thank you for making my brother less unbearable, he has changed"
"What do you mean by that?" Kuki asks curiously.
"I don't even know where to start," the boy shrugged. "Since you arrived, he's not so bitter anymore, he talks to me more, includes me in his activities and even seems to smile, and I thought he didn't."
"What the heck are you saying? I don't think that's because I'm here." She suddenly blushed and looked away but Joey could tell.
"Do you like my brother?" Suddenly the boy asks surprising Kuki, her face blushed even more.
"What?" the girl begins to deny with her hands "N-No I Don't know where you draw those conclusions from, what things you say"
"Yes, I see, they are one for another," he puts his hands in her pockets.
Kuki was going to answer but a noise caught her attention. It was Wally who had stumbled because he couldn't look very far down because of the telescope case he was carrying in his hands. The girl hurried to help him and place him on the ground. Joey walks over to them and doesn't say anything else. Those two definitely liked each other but neither said anything about it, they were slow.
Joey excitedly opens the box and takes out the big telescope. His brother helps him put together the pieces that were left in the box so that it is ready before the rain of stars begins. Kuki helps them by reading the instructions and indicating where each piece went so that it would be well assembled. Mrs. Beatles looked at them through the window enthralled with the childhood scene. Had to admit, she liked Kuki a lot and hoped that in the near future she would become part of the family.
After a while, Wally's father comes up to them and checks that the telescope is well set up and stable, they place it near the camp they had built and they go in for dinner to get ready for the big night.
"Tonight is very important to me, don't ruin it for me, Wally," says the boy going out to the yard when the night had already covered the entire sky and the stars had already appeared in the firmament.
"Whatever you say," he replied without much importance.
Joey was still entertained with his telescope commenting on things that after a while the teenagers stopped responding to him because they were more entertained in their conversation. Wally's parents were next to Joey, taking pictures, they even took some pictures of Wally and Kuki who had sat together on a blanket that had been spread out on the ground, right in front of the tents.
Suddenly, the show started. At first Kuki swore that it had been his imagination when she saw a flash in the sky but then had seen another, and another, and another. The sky showed sparkles with each passing minute. Honestly, she had never seen anything like that. Joey was with her parents looking at them through the telescope and a voice made Kuki turn his attention to someone else.
"I didn't think this would excite you so much," Wally says with a smile on his face.
"Why do you say that?" she says, looking at him.
"Well, your eyes sparkle every time a star passes by."
"Stop looking at me and look at the sky," says the girl who had been embarrassed. "It's just that the stars, well, they're pretty," she plays with her hair.
"Yes it is," says the boy who was still looking at her. When he realized that they had been staring at each other for a long time, Wally blushed and decided to lie down on the blanket to get a better look at the sky. Kuki imitates him and stay in silence looking at the shower of stars.
"I don't think I've seen my brother so excited about something like this in a long time," Wally began to speak without taking his eyes off the sky, "He seems happy that you stayed here for the summer."
"Your brother is very sweet, he sometimes reminds me of you when we were children, although you were much tougher," Kuki laughs.
"Remind me to teach him how to fight, anytime in elementary school they'll call him a nerd," he says, bumping his fists excitedly.
"Wally, don't you think we should make a wish?" asks the girl. "I had read somewhere on the internet that when you see a shooting star you should make a wish and it will come true."
"What would you ask for?"
"You're not supposed to say it."
"Hey, I know how to keep a secret. I will not tell anybody. I could even tell you mine"
"Really?," Kuki smiled, he felt so comfortable being next to Wally looking at the stars that he had even almost forgotten that Joey was in the telescope a few meters away along with his father.
"Of course," Wally accommodated himself, approaching the girl so that she could hear her better and they could lower their voices while telling their wishes. "Actually, my wish may seem very silly," he sighed, "I want to join the high school football team."
"That's not silly, that's great. Is that why you trained this summer?" the blonde nodded "It's very cool, I'm sure you'll make it, I... I'll support you, we'll all do it" the girl replies excitedly, maybe if Wally manages to get on the team she'll be encouraged to try out to be a cheerleader.
"Thank you, that means a lot to me. Well you know, everyone supports me" Kuki looks at him surprised "Don't tell anyone I said that" the girl laughs due to her friend's behavior. Deep down she knows that Wally loves his friends very much, although he never says so. His actions show more what he feels than his words.
"My wish" Kuki looks at the sky again "Is to be able to be with you and the others forever. I want the five of us to hang out like we have since we were kids. I haven't told anyone, but it hurts me that Abby and Hoagie are estranged. I wish I could help them, do something... but I also don't want to meddle in whatever is going on with them." She was honest with him and had kept silent for a long time about the discomfort she felt regarding his two friends. It wasn't something she could just say to Nigel because she doesn't think he understands what's going on being away but with Wally, things were a little different.
"Hey, it's okay," says Wally when he realizes that Kuki has started to cry, "I promise you that the five of us will go out like we always have. Those two…" He takes a long breath, he was also annoyed by the fight between his other two best friends. "I know that somehow they will fix their differences and we can be together without problems, the truth is that I also miss our group outings. You know the movies, the milkshakes, the arcade, going to the park, the tree house at Nigel's…"
"Oh yes, the tree house, I had almost forgotten about it," Kuki interrupts him, who had been moved by the mention of their meeting place where everyone was always "Who would have thought you would get nostalgic, Wally, I'm surprised," Kuki laughed, wiping her tears .
"Don't start, we all have feelings or something," he excused himself a little embarrassed, he was talking too much about himself and that wasn't something he went through on a daily basis. "Are you feeling better?" he asked, seeing that she had stopped crying.
"Yes," answered the girl who was now staring at him, "You always know what to say," she loved that strange connection they had when it came to talking about problems, for some reason he knew how to comfort her and make her feel better despite always fighting; despite disagreeing on numerous occasions; despite being so different, he always found a way.
Wally stopped looking at the sky and had focused on Kuki, he was right next to him, lying on that blanket, outside looking at stars. It's like a scene from one of those teen movies he once watched has come to life. The moon had risen and illuminated the girl's face and hair, and she looked beautiful, at least that was what he thought, what he felt. But what exactly was he feeling? When he thought about that, her chest began to burn, her heart had raced and that was when he realized that the answer was her, it was always Kuki. Since childhood he felt nervous and anxious always being so close and that feeling had grown over the years, until it became impregnated in his entire being. He loved her, and he loved her very much, and at that very moment, he wanted so badly to tell her.
"What's wrong, Wally?" Kuki asks when she realizes that he had been looking at her with great intensity for a long time.
"Kuki, there's something I want to tell you," Wally began to speak, he wasn't sure how far that would go but for some reason he didn't want to go back. Both Kuki and Wally didn't notice when their parents entered because the house phone had been ringing. They were so engrossed in their conversation that everything around them became insignificant for both. "At first I didn't care much that you'd stay at my house, that is, well... you're my friend and your parents had to leave. I thought it would be boring but the truth is that I-I had a lot of fun, actually," he started to stutter as he was getting nervous.
"I had a lot of fun too," Kuki smiled at him, making Wally blush.
"Well, you know, for a while I've wanted to tell you that... K-Kuki you, I don't dislike you, the truth is, well yes... I like to do things with you, I want to tell you that..."
"Kuki!" Wally's mother interrupts them, causing both teenagers to get up immediately because they were very close. Mrs. Beetles approaches them and hugs the girl, taking her by surprise. "Oh Kuki, your parents called and said they just got off the plane, they'll be here in about an hour. I know how much you missed them, don't you think that's fabulous news?" She hugs her tighter.
Kuki responds to Mrs. Beetles's hug with a bit of awkwardness and glances at Wally who was standing there looking away. If Wally's mom hadn't interrupted them, she'd swear he was about to say something important, something she's been waiting for a long time.
The girl enters the house and goes up to the guest room, which she used to have for the last few weeks and felt kind of sad seeing all the things she had to pack up to go back home. A part of her wanted to stay and finish the conversation with Wally but her parents probably wanted to come pick her up as fast as her father was allowed to drive at that time of night.
Everything was going well, the stars were beautiful and was able to enjoy them together with Wally. They were having a very comfortable conversation. She enjoyed every day staying at the Beatles' house, she shared beautiful moments with Joey and had a lot of fun in what could be, her best vacation so far. As she packed her things, emptied the cabinet drawers where she kept her clothes, took her personal items from the bathroom and put them away, she then started to feel very sad, she would really miss that room.
Because she was in a bit of a hurry, since had put everything away as if it was already her own room, she unintentionally left the door open. At some point Wally came up and stood in the doorway as he watched Kuki running from one place to another in her room, emptying the furniture and packing her bags. A strange feeling of melancholy began to consume him. Why did he feel like this? The answer was simple, he didn't want her to go, but asking her to stay was not an option, her parents were already on their way.
"C'mon Kuki, I don't think they'll arrive so soon," Wally says, drawing the attention of the girl who, because she was busy, didn't realize when he arrived.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to forget anything," she said in a sad tone, trying to close the first suitcase but it was becoming difficult.
"If that were the case, you could go back to get what you need or I could even take it to your home," he approached to help her close the suitcase and Kuki thanked for the gesture. "I guess you're happy that your parents finally managed to come back, right?"
"Yes I think so. I wasn't expecting them today, I'd like to finish seeing the stars" she sighed.
"Well, I can help you finish faster and maybe we'll have time to see it before your parents get here" he takes one of the rainbow monkeys from the girl that was on the bed "I guess you need another suitcase to carry them. I can lend you one if you want."
"I'd appreciate it, I brought a lot of things from my house without taking into account how to return everything in the suitcases," she laughed a little nervously.
Wally left the room and went to his room to check in the closet a bag where the girl could put her stuffed animals and the things she needed to pack, when he returned, she saw the girl sitting on her bed folding her sweaters to put it in the bags and then he saw that she stopped and started to cry. This alarmed him and he quickly approached the girl.
"Why are you crying, Kuki? " Asked the boy somewhat uncomfortable with the situation, what was he supposed to say?
"I-I'm sorry," she used one of his sleeves to dry the tears that ran through his eyes. "It's just, I don't know what's wrong with me, I… I'm happy that my parents are back but… I…" Without thinking, she throws herself into Wally's arms and hugs him tightly.
Although Wally was surprised by Kuki's hug, he hugged her back. It was not necessary to say a word at that moment, they both knew why they were sad, neither of them wanted to separate like that. When the girl calmed down and stopped hugging Wally, she felt very sorry and she didn't want to look him in the face, how was she going to tell him what she felt?
"You don't want to leave," the boy began to speak, breaking the silence, and she only limited herself to nodding her head, "I don't want you to leave either, Kuki," he managed to say in a whisper before repenting.
Kuki looks up and his eyes meet. Without saying anything, Wally takes the audacity to wipe his tears that he still had on his cheeks with his hands and they stare for a few moments, the first to blush was Wally, then he put some distance.
"You know, it's been good having you in my house, you can come back whenever you want. It's not that we're saying goodbye, school starts the next week, don't be sad", he consoled her. "We should finish packing," he says looking around, realizing that they don't have much left.
"Wally, you were… well, what did you want to tell me?," the girl began to ask, playing with her fingers. She didn't know how to broach the subject but they were alone again and she really wanted to finish listening to what he had to say.
"Oh… that. Well, I..." he blushed even more remembering what he was about to tell her. Was that the right time?
"Wally, here you are," Wally's mother appeared, interrupting that moment again. "Your parents are here, son, please help her get all those bags down," she ordered.
Wally helped down the suitcases that were ready with Kuki's things, the girl still hadn't come down, she was internally debating whether to leave Wally's rainbow monkey there or take with her and continue giving it love. When Wally went up to see why it was taking so long, he found Kuki still in the guest room fixing the sheets on the bed, putting the stuffed animal on top of it.
"Why don't you take it with you? You make better use of it than me, believe me," says the boy who had leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed.
"But it's yours, you should give it more love from time to time," replied the girl.
"You could leave it there, when you come to visit or if you need to stay, well, you already have something of yours here."
"Really?" she asked. Was it her imagination or was Wally really being sweet to her?
"Sure, now let's go down, they're waiting for you"
Kuki had to make an effort not to cry in front of everyone. Wally's parents were very sweet to her and hugged them as if they were her family, the time she spent with them was something that he was going to treasure all her life. Joey cried when he hugged her when she said goodbye to her, definitely despite being so similar to Wally, he was very different in personality from his older brother.
Kuki's parents took her daughter's bags and headed to the car, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Beetles, leaving Wally and Kuki alone in the living room since Joey had gone to the bathroom. At that moment, the blond approached the girl and gave her a quick hug as her goodbye. He really wanted to do it, but not with everyone looking at them.
"See you at school, stop being sad, we're almost all together again like your wish," Wally smiled at her, a sincere smile and Kuki couldn't be happier with that facet he was showing her, she adored him.
And so, summer ended for everyone. Kuki went back to his house and his sister arrived the next day. Abby's flight had been delayed so she arrived the next morning, coinciding with the day that Nigel was arriving from his camp and Hoagie, well, he was hoping that the texts he'd had with Abby the last few weeks would be enough to talk again in person without things getting weird.
A.N. And with this we end the first part of my fanfic, I am very excited to write all the drama that is coming, now that my cute children from KND enter school after this beautiful summer. By the way I want you to check my networks on twitter, instagram and tumblr thashipdump, you won't regret it, I post my KND arts there and I invite you to read my other KND fanfic "Hijacking", the plot is heavier so I write longer chapters, we read each other until the next update.
