Uh Oh!

I’ve never been good with words
Well, at least, not the sweet kind
Somehow, when she’s around it’s like I just lose my mind.

Wally scowled and kicked the wall of his room, pacing the woody floors of the ever-familiar treehouse. All morning he had been playing hide and seek with his mind, rummaging fruitlessly through the somewhat shallow waters of his mind in an effort to find the precise words to convey the feelings he had been pretending not to encase the past 6 years.

He shook his mussed, blonde hair out of his eyes in irritation, as though hoping he could shake his feelings for the petite Oriental girl out of his head. But of course, he’d never succeeded in that endeavor. And that, he thought with a twinge of annoyance, is what really bothered him. Wally wasn’t used to losing- after all, he had been the KND’s best combatant operative, a title he still held after joining the TND. Despite his lack of book smarts, he prided himself on being smart in the only ways that mattered to the teenage boy- the ways that resulted in getting the crud beaten out of people. So it irked him to no end that his tough-guy façade was easily broken by an overly-happy Asian girl with a fetish for Rainbow Monkeys. She won in the ways that mattered to teenage girls, and that was the worst part.

And I know, I know I should just leave it alone
But I won't, I won't.

It wasn’t as if he had chosen to fall for her. That, he supposed, was another reason he was aggravated by his infatuation. He hated being at the mercy of her smiles, her eyes, her hand brushing against his when reaching for something. He wanted to be rid of all these sensations that befell him whenever she was around him, but he even more than that, he wanted them to linger.

I keep getting in my way
And my friends say I’m crazy
A girl like that would never go for a guy like me.

He shoved his hands in the pocket of his all-too-familiar orange sweatshirt, futilely attempting to busy his brain with thoughts other than Kuki by counting numbers. However, he found pause when he reached 29. 29. 29 times, he had tried to tell Kuki how he felt about her. It had almost been 30, was it not for Nigel bursting into his room with an urgent mission summon. Despite the ever-growing list of attempts, he had never been able to spit out the words he needed. Sometimes he choked on them, sometimes he was interrupted, and occasionally she was the one to cut him off in lieu of something far more important. Most the time, it was simply his fragile nerves that gave out with a sputter of syllables on his tongue. No matter the reason, she almost always had the same reaction: A look of disappointment, a swift kick to the shins, and a frustrated growl. Abby and Hoagie had both chastised him more than 29 times, even scaring him into thinking that Kuki could lose interest in him due to his foot-in-mouth syndrome. That was, if she even had any interest in the first place. Though there was, according to Hoagie, irrefutable evidence of her feelings towards him, Wally still couldn’t help but wonder, especially when she was flirting with Ace or Sandy or every other cruddy boy who wasn’t him.

I know, I know that I should listen to them
But I won't, I won't, I won't.

He paced restlessly around his room, taking care to kick his belongings out of his way as though they had done him a great personal wrong. He came to a pause and examined his reflection in the mirror. Though he still had a shock of messy blonde hair that fell into his emerald eyes, his hair had darkened slightly with age. That wasn’t the only thing that was different. His face was leaner, more angular and freshly shaved. Indeed, Wallabee Beatles had grown into quite the heartthrob, garnering many giggles and glances from girls attracted to his toned six-pack and his now towering height of 6’1. Despite his popularity amongst the female audience, Wally only had eyes for Kuki. And yet, even still, he couldn’t take Abby and Hoagie’s advice and tell her. Hell, he couldn’t even say it out loud to himself. How was he going to say it to her?

And uh oh, uh oh, I get that feeling
And I don't know, don't know, how she keeps stealing all the air from my lungs
And leaving all the words stuck on my tongue.

Wally leaned against his mirror, turning his back on his reflection as he ran over his chosen words in his head. You’re the only thing in the world I want to see. I lose myself in the art of loving you. You’re poetry in motion. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair in a frustrated manner. It didn’t matter if he found the words he wanted and rehearsed them for days; when she was around and staring at him with those light brown eyes, he ceased to function. He hated that he needed her so much.

It's like I'm not even here
Ran me over as she walked by
Dust off my clumsy words and bad pickup lines.

Just then, a whirlwind of energy burst into his room, paralyzing his thoughts with the sweet scent of strawberry and vanilla. The object of his affections paused only a moment to recognize his presence.

“Oh, hi Wally!” she sang out, trilling the -lly in his name. He wondered if she knew about the tingle she shot through his toes whenever she said his name.
“What are you doing in here?” he asked, wearing what he hoped was a bemused expression and not a lovesick one. Not that it really mattered, as she was busy rummaging through his closet with her back to him.
“I need a sweatshirt. It’s cold in the lounge.”
“You can’t use your own?”
“All of mine are dirty. Besides, I like wearing yours.” She turned to face him, having thrown on another one of his trademark orange sweatshirts. He suppressed a groan, because damn he could get used to the sight of her wearing his clothes. She tilted her head to the side, wearing a calculating expression that she used when she was trying to get something out of someone. Great. She can probably read my mind. Maybe her mind reading will make this easier. At least I can’t screw up my words if they’re not being said. Hey, Kuki, can you read my mind? Can I even complicate your breathing? Can I shift your heartbeat like you do to me?

And I know, I know that I can't leave her alone
And I won't, I won't
I try to work up the nerve, hope to God I don't stutter
My thrown-together letters never end up as words.

All his internal questions fell unanswered. However, as he studied her expression, he could tell that one of hers was about to spill out of her perfect lips.

“Do you have a problem with me wearing your sweatshirt, Wally?”

There it was. His window. No one was around to distract him, and she was staring at him with those expectant brown eyes that still, incredibly, held a shine of hope within them. He had to tell her.

“U-h uh, n-no-o.. I-I-I… I actually r-r-re-real-ly like it on y-yo-uu.”

Her smile lit up his heart. He could hear the flames roaring in his chest. “Really? You do?”

Deep breath, Numbuh 4. Steady yourself. “Y-yeah. Kuki, I… u-um… I l-l-like you wearing m-my sweatshirt. A-a-and… I.. u-um.. I-I like it a l-lot. T-t-the reason I l-like it i-i-is b-b-b-because… I-I-I-I..”

Come on, Wally, just say it! Why are you doing this to yourself? You know she knows. Look at the way she’s looking at you. No, don’t look at her, she’ll wreck your concentration. It’s now or never, Wally. “I…u-um… l-like… the way you look in orange..” he trailed off lamely, mentally shooting himself in the brain.

And uh oh, uh oh, I get that feeling
And I don't know, don't know, how she keeps stealing all the air from my lungs
And leaving all the words stuck on my tongue.

Kuki looked at him, hurt and disappointment radiating from her eyes. He turned away, ashamed. With a small sigh, she murmured a “thank you Wally” under her breath and left his room, closing his door with a soft snap. He stared at where she had been standing, her pain floating into him and filling him with loneliness. Yelling in frustration, he kicked his dresser, feeling his toes smarting painfully while he mulled over his words. Dammit, why couldn’t he just freaking TELL HER?! What was the point, anyhow? Everyone and their dog knew of his long-unrequited love for her, including her! Why the hell did he need to say it out loud?! He scowled. Stupid cruddy girls and their stupid cruddy expectations, he thought savagely as he chucked his shoes against his wall to hear that satisfying thud that was met upon impact. After a few more moments of seething silently, he began his incessant pacing again.

Now I know that she's so out of my league
But I just can't stop, I keep thinking
Just wait and see, she's gonna notice me.

Abby and Hoagie were right. She deserved someone who wasn’t a baby. Someone who could readily admit his feelings for her instead of cowering behind broken syllables and strung-out letters. She wanted a romantic, a Romeo to her stunning Juliet. Wally wanted to be that for her. But he didn’t know how. Maybe, maybe he would never know. But he wasn’t about to give up.

Just then, a soft knock graced the panel of his door. He figured it was Abby, coming down to lecture him about making Kuki upset. Usually that was how it worked; Kuki would run off upset and either Abby or Hoagie would yell at him. Abby usually knocked, Hoagie just barged in. Sighing to himself and bracing for the worst, he shuffled across his floor and opened the door. To his surprise, he found neither of them. Instead, he found a tiny Oriental girl with wide eyes wearing an overly-large orange sweatshirt.

And uh oh, uh oh, I get that feeling
And I don't know, don't know how she keeps stealing all the air from my lungs
And leaving all the words stuck on my tongue.

“I’m sorry I was upset, Wally,” she murmured, staring up into his eyes.
“I like you, Kuki. I don’t know what love is, but I like you a lot,” he blurted out.

What in the hell had just happened? Had he…. Had he actually told her? Those weren’t the words he remembered rehearsing. He wanted to scream. What in the bloody HELL had he just done? He didn’t dare chance a glance at her face. He imagined that her beautiful eyes were frozen into a perpetual wideness, shock etching every inch of her porcelain features. He couldn’t bear it, he just couldn’t. He had let her down. He’d had the poetic words she wanted to hear all planned out, and being the idiot he was, he screwed it up and ruined the moment. He’d ruined everything. This was only confirmed by her tiny body hurling itself at him with a force powerful enough to knock him to his bedroom floor. This is it, he thought, bracing himself for her fists of fury.

They never came. Instead, she threw her arms around him and kissed him. She kissed him with such a passion that it shocked Wally out of his panic. Really, it shocked out of feeling anything that wasn’t her lips on his. And damn, if that wasn’t the most earth-shattering kiss he’d ever had, he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to kiss again. His heart hurt with happiness, his toes hurt from his previous outburst, and his head hurt from the Oriental girl currently tugging on his hair passionately. And it was the most wonderful kind of pain he had ever experienced. For want of oxygen, they finally broke apart, both panting for air and grinning sheepishly.

“Wow, Wally. Just wow. That was even better than the ‘I’m-sorry-I-was-upset-with-you’ present I got you.”

“What the… Kuki…” His tone was wary, but his eyes were dancing. The fire in his heart had engulfed him, burning him in the best way. Nothing could put out the flames, not even Kuki as she produced a Rainbow Monkey in the most hideous shades of pink and purple. Not that he’d ever let her know that.

“What the hell, Kuki?! I hate Rainbow Monkeys! If you think for a minute that I want your stupid girly-girl crud in my room, think again!”

Now he felt the fists of fury as they pummeled him in his stomach, punctuated only with Kuki’s loud, angry grunts. As she finally shifted her weight off of him and exited his room, she turned around to look at him.

“Jerk,” she said calmly. But she was smiling, and as she disappeared from his view, she blew him a kiss.

He smiled, shaking his head slightly as he picked himself up off the floor and assessed the damage to his stomach. That crazy Japanese hurricane was going to be the death of him, and he had a sneaking suspicion that he’d love every second of it.

I’ve never been good with words
Well, at least not the sweet kind.