Today was the day. It was Wednesday, and Walter wast itching for rehearsal to end so he could go see Lily. Walter never thought in a million years, he would want to pass the time to leave the Muppet Studios, and go to see something else. Or in this case, someone else.
The clock was about to hit 5, and Kermit had just rounded everyone up to say some technical things.
"Gonzo, I'm just not so sure about the 40 foot drop." Kermit said. "I mean, we're not doing the show until next week, but it still sounds dangerous even with a huge amount of rehearsal."
"Well in my defence, you think all my ideas are dangerous." Gonzo responded. Many of the other Muppets nodded in agreement. Kermit sighed.
"Okay, please just don't push it too much." Kermit said.
"I think that's it, chief." Scooter said, looking at his clipboard. Kermit nodded.
"Okay, everyone thats a wrap for today. Nice work." The frog concluded. All the Muppets began to scatter, getting ready to end the day. They all made their ways out of the theatre, slowly. Of course, they like to stay and chat since they were a family. They were never in a rush. It was unlikely for someone to.
But today, Walter was. He tried to quickly leave, but it didn't go unnoticed.
"Hey, Walter!" Someone said behind him, approaching him. Walter turned around, to see Scooter, Fozzie, and Gonzo.
"Hey." Walter casually said.
"We're going to see a movie, you wanna come?" Scooter asked. Walter swallowed, nervously. Oh, man. He was gonna mess this up, wasn't he?
"Well, I...kind of have plans..." Walter said, getting confused looks from the trio.
"Plans?" Gonzo said, "you haven't been in L.A. for that long. With who?"
"It's not exactly plans." Walter covered up. "It's more like...an appointment."
"Appointment?" Fozzie asked.
"Yeah, there was a...power outage in my apartment last night. The handy man of our building is coming by to each door, and see if anyone was...tinkering with wires we shouldn't have been." Walter lied. He felt selfish for lying, but had to if he didn't want to tell them about Lily.
"Power outage, huh? That's too bad. We've had a few of those, here." Scooter said. Walter relaxed on the inside, glad that they believed his lie.
"Well, I gotta go take care of that. Don't spoil the movie for me, tomorrow." Walter said, making his way to the door.
"Don't worry, we won't!" Fozzie laughed, "see ya, Walter."
As Walter left, Kermit came and stood by the trio. He watched Walter walk away.
"Is everything okay?" Kermit asked, concerned.
"Yeah, there was a power outage in his building. He had to get home before the landlord came to his door." Scooter explained.
"Power outage? In just his building?" The frog said.
"Yup." Fozzie said, not suspecting anything at all.
As Walter left the auditorium, Kermit continued to ponder to himself. He knew something was up. Kermit had been in this family long enough to know when someone is hiding something. But, Walter was still just a kid. He was also new to L.A., so what could've been causing him to act so secretive? Kermit didn't know what it was, but he was now suspicious of the boy.
Walter caught a taxi cab, and told the address to the driver that Lily had texted him. As the cab drove across downtown L.A., Walter felt more and more nervous. He tried to remind himself that he was just helping her unpack, and nothing more. But the flirty texts were probably gonna make this meet all the more weirder. Should he have changed? Maybe have re-done his hair? But, it didn't really matter. It was too late, now. He was on his way.
After a little ways, Walter's smart phone began to ring. He picked it up, and saw it was Gary.
"Hey, Gary." Walter said, answering the phone.
"Ask her out." His brother said, without even saying hi. Walter felt his stomach drop. He did not at all expect that.
"W-what?"
"Ask her out! Walter, this could lead to something, great!"
"Okay, I know it can. But, what if it doesn't? What if she doesn't want to...go out with me." Walter said, nervously playing with the fabric on his black, faded jeans. The cab driver gave him a funny look when he said that out loud.
"The worst thing she'd say would be no." Gary reassured him. "There's no harm in doing it, but I honestly think she's really into you."
Walter sat up, slightly. "You do?"
"Yeah! So, ask her."
Walter swallowed, and felt his chest grow heavy. But a little voice in his head reminded him that if he doesn't do this now, he'll regret it.
"Ok, I'll try. I'll...ask her out."
"Let me know how it goes." Gary said.
"Yeah, will do. Bye." Walter hung up the phone, just in time for the cab to pull onto Lily's corner. When the cab came to a stop, Walter's heart pounded. He was nervous.
Walter, calm down. He thought to himself. You're just helping her unpack.
He swallowed.
And...asking her out.
After Walter payed the cab driver, he exited the car.
"Hey, kid!" The cab driver called out. "One more thing." Walter turned to look at the driver.
"Make sure you make it clear you're asking her out." The stranger advised. Walter took his advice by surprise, but nodded.
"Ok, I will." Walter responded. The cab driver then took off, leaving Walter to stand in front of Lily's building.
Walter got to the floor that Lily said she was on, and walked down the hall. Looking for apartment 418.
418...418... He repeated in his head, looking for it. When he came upon the big white door, with the plaque on the side with the numbers 418, he nervously looked at it. He was just helping a friend unpack. One that he was gonna ask out, that is. But he needed to act cool. As though this was just another friend hang out. Walter tried to calm himself down, but he couldn't. Who was he kidding?
Walter had feelings for Lily.
He had been pushing it back, and not admitting it to himself. But, now was the time. He had to ask her out. The worst thing she can do is say no, just like Gary said. That being so, Walter knocked on the door.
"Just a second!" Lily's voice said from the other side, making Walter all warm on the inside. Lily then opened the door.
"Walter!" She happily said, throwing her arms around him and hugging him. Walter felt his face go hot, as he hugged her back. His heart pounded, with her so suddenly close. He's surprised she didn't feel his pounding heart, while leaned up against his chest. They pulled away from the hug.
"Hey, Lily." He said, his voice sort of hoarse. Shoot.
"Come on, there's a lot of stuff." Lily said, pulling him in. Walter looked around the apartment. Besides the boxes, it was nice. L.A. flat nice, like Walter's. But, slightly smaller. Most apartments in L.A. were really nice, if you had money. Walter's was just a bit more expensive, since he was now a Muppet star.
"Hope my unpacking issues don't interfere with your rehearsals, Mr. big shot." She said.
"Heh, don't worry. The Muppets aren't that hectic." He said. Lily smiled, glad to see Walter, and have him help her.
"Okay, so the movers already helped me with my furniture. So, thats fine. Walter, you have no idea how excited I am! You won't believe it! I already have plans to-" Walter stopped Lily, by holding her by her shoulders.
"Lily, deep breaths. Not all at once." He advised her. Lily did as told.
"Sorry," She said, smiling. "I just...can't believe I'm here."
"I know the feeling," Walter agreed, letting go of her shoulders. "The night I became a Muppet, I couldn't breathe in enough air."
As Lily and Walter unpacked Lily's stuff, Walter thought to himself. How was he gonna do this? How was he gonna ask her out? A million different versions raced through his head.
So you wanna go out sometime, or what?
How 'bout we go out sometime?
Hey, you're coming out with me. That's not a request.
Walter sighed to himself, accidentally catching Lily's attention. "Is everything okay?"
Walter looked back at her. "Uh yeah. My throat's just a little dry..."
"Here, I'll get you some water." Lily stood up, and went to the kitchen. When she was gone, Walter stood up, and started pacing back and forth.
"Okay, calm down." Walter reassured to himself. "You know you make things weird when you're not calm." Walter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to relax. It was just asking her on a date.
"Do it when you leave." He told himself, "that way, she'll have less time to think about-" Walter immediately shut his mouth, as soon as Lily entered with his water. She handed it to him, and looked at him suspiciously.
"Were you talking to someone?" She asked. Walter blushed, embarrassed.
"Just...talking to myself." He nervously said. Instead of being weirded out, Lily laughed.
"Don't worry, I can relate. I talk to myself all the time, before going on stage to perform." She said, happily. Instead of feeling nervous or embarrassed, Walter smiled back. With his natural, relaxed smile.
"You have a nice smile, Walter..." Lily said, looking at him differently.
"Thanks..." He responded, channeling every cell in his body to prevent him from blushing.
As Lily and Walter unpacked, Walter pulled out a photo album.
"What's this?" Walter said, opening it. Lily looked up from the box she was rummaging through.
"Oh, just some old childhood photos."
Walter flipped through the pages, recognizing a lot of photos of Lily as a small child and her with her parents. He then stumbled across a photo he recognized all too well. It was a picture of him and Lily as little kids at the Smalltown Summer Carnival.
It was captioned: Walter and Lily, 8 years old.
"I forgot about this..." Walter said.
"What?" Lily said, coming over. She sat where Walter was sat on the floor, and observed the photo. "Hey, it's us! Oh my gosh, we were so little..."
"I know..."
"Your father took that photo." Lily said, holding the album closer to her. She then realized what she just said, and looked at Walter. "Oh, Walter. I didn't..."
"No, don't worry." Walter reassured her. "It's been years since he...you know." Lily nodded, but didn't break her gaze from Walter. Neither did he. They both stared at each other for a moment, not looking away.
"Walter..." Lily spoke quietly, "you look so much like your father..." She gazed into him. Walter didn't shutter a breath, or blush. He just took it all in.
"Thanks..." He said. The boy then realized that now was more than a perfect time to ask her. He didn't know how, he just had to say it. "Lily?"
"Yes...?" She asked, still looking at him.
Walter swallowed. "Did you want to...go out with me on Friday night...?" He all of a sudden saw something change in Lily's face. He wasn't sure if it was good or bad. He felt his heart pound.
"Go out, Friday...?" She said. "Like, on a date?"
Walter looked her in the eyes, now more solemnly. "Yes."
It was moments before she said anything, making Walter nervous again. Until a small, yet sweet smile formed on her face. "I'd love to, Walter."
Walter felt his heart leap, with glory. He not only asked her out, but felt as though she was intrigued to do ask herself. But the point was, he did it. He was going out with a girl he really liked. Yes, a girl he liked.
Walter smiled, as he put the album down. "That's great! I-I don't know exactly what we'll do, yet. I'll text you details, but maybe we can-" Lily all of a sudden grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Walter, deep breaths. Not all at once." She said, repeating his previous words. The two stared again for a moment, and then started to laugh.
The two spent the rest of the night, laughing and talking. They enjoyed each other's company, after all that texting. And, they could hardly wait for Friday. As soon as Walter was done rehearsal that day, he was gonna get to his apartment, get ready, and meet Lily at 6. It was a short time, but he could do it.
Walter eventually left Lily's new place, to head on home. They've been so distracted talking and unpacking, they hadn't notice how late it had gotten. But, Walter didn't care. He enjoyed every last minute of it. As soon as Walter had entered his apartment, he couldn't help himself. It all came bursting out.
"WOOHOO!" He yelled, throwing himself onto the couch. He looked at the night sky outside his window, and sighed happily. The beautiful night lights shimmered, and Walter just stared off into them.
He sighed happily, and leaned his head back on the couch. What a suspenseful, yet great day it had been.