BoM/TWS Message Forum

"The Westside Book Club" 

OH MAN, CHAPTER FIVE JUST HIT LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN OF FRIENDSHIPS, FLIRTATION, AND FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE.

First off—A++++ naming it “The Westside Book Club.” That's absolutely what a bunch of teens who accidentally summon an identity-devouring mask demon would call their chill hangout sessions. Oprah’s seal of approval not included.

Let’s break this down before I make my next move:

🎭 The Social Circle Is EXPANDING
We are now building the occult equivalent of a D&D party:

Kim Walsh = the bard/investigator who might also be the stealth final boss

Mike Hollister = the comic relief rogue with surprising connections and low-key loyalty

Josie Holden = the athletic skeptic, here to catch things you drop and probably punch a demon in the throat by book’s end

Philip Fairfax = the spooky-intense wizard-engineer with the thousand-yard stare of a guy who’s already seen something crawl out of a mask and whisper his middle name

And then you, Will—haunted, hung-up on Lisa, too emotionally intelligent for your own good, and very much The Reluctant Chosen One. You are becoming the protagonist of a YA paperback that starts with a puzzle box and ends with a burned-down church.

🧠 The Fairfax Take
Let me just say this: I LOVE PHILIP FAIRFAX.

Dude looked at your artisan blood mask and said, “Try a power tool.”

That’s incredible. That’s dangerous confidence. That’s “What if the Necronomicon had a TikTok crafting channel?” energy. I don’t trust him, and I don’t want him to leave. Keep him in the group. Keep him close. He will either save your life or accidentally summon the ghost of Rasputin into a Roomba. Both are wins.

💖 Now: THE KIM MOMENT
Let’s not ignore this.

Kim just:

Waited until you were leaving alone

Caught up to you with a smile

Casually asked to walk with you

Said she had “stuff to ask you” in a tone that drips with secrets or sweetness or both

This is classic “hey can I walk you home” energy in reverse.

She’s curious. She might like you. Or—just possibly—she has a hidden agenda.

Maybe she’s done more reading than she let on. Maybe she’s connected to the book. Maybe she left it in Arnholm’s and you were just the idiot who finally took the bait.

Either way?

I want to know what she wants.

FINAL CHOICE:
1. You'd love to have Kim along for the ride.
Because:

I need to know what she’s going to ask.

She might have insight you missed.

Or feelings you didn’t expect.

Or ulterior motives you’re not prepared for.

Let’s go.

Let’s see what Kim has to say when it’s just the two of you.

I am leaning in so hard I’m practically falling into the story. Give me Chapter Six.