𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 ➤ 𝑹. 𝑩𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒚

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄

┌─────────────────┐

"𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩, 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩"

└─────────────────┘

(𝟏𝟔 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞) 

𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡, 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 careful to bide her time before roping Steve into her planned series of events. She knew if she gave him early notice he'd end up bailing with one excuse or another, so she waited until Friday evening before calling him up. Was it manipulative? Perhaps, but Valerie wasn't one to hold herself to high standards.  

"I'm not going to your dumb teen party," Steve informed her. Well, that's what she thought he said, she wasn't really sure, it was hard to hear over the deafening background noise, courtesy of Scoops Ahoy's heightening popularity in the summer break. Valerie sighed, phone squished between her ear and the crook of her neck as she paced her room, though she couldn't go too far since the cord kept pulling her back toward the nightstand.

"It's not dumb. Parties take a lot of planning actually. There's the venue, the guest list, the illegal sourcing of alcohol...didn't you used to be popular? You should know this." 

"It's a waste of my time. I have work tomorrow," Steve argued, though she could hear his patience wearing thin, implying he was almost reaching the threshold where he'd agree with whatever she was suggesting just to reprieve himself of her voice for a few hours.

The closet door creaked as Valerie flung it open, eyes scanning her selection of clothing for something scandalous. She kept her silence while her hand sifted through the racks. Steve exhaled heavily into the phone, piling on excuses, "Val, I can't go. I graduated last year. It'd be lame for me to turn up." 

"So? It'll be lame either way," the girl claimed, pulling out a short, navy blue velvet dress to ponder before placing it atop her bed with a satisfied nod. Steve made a noise of protest, "I thought you said parties weren't dumb."

Valerie rolled her eyes despite the fact she knew he couldn't see her, and plopped onto the mattress, careful not to wrinkle the dress beside her, "Dumb isn't lame, do I need to buy you a dictionary?" 

"You don't even pay for your ice-cream," the boy deadpanned before swiftly returning to the previous subject, "I don't see why I have to go. I'll just be babysitting you." 

"Aw, well lucky you," she retorted, matching his tone, eyeing the alarm clock on her night stand. She only had an hour until Tammy arrived, "but look, if you're that worried, I'll just tell people we're hooking up or something."

There was a pause on Steve's end of the phone, "But we're not hooking up?" 

"Obviously," Valerie replied, pushing herself from the bed to pace the room once more, her sock-covered feet scuffing up the plush carpet. Admittedly, she was excited for tonight, or what she would remember from it anyway, which probably wasn't going to be a good amount. More silence. The brunette clicked her tongue impatiently, "So what's the verdict?"

"What time do I have to be there?" his tone was one of defeat, monotone and entirely unenthusiastic, but Valerie had a pretty good idea that he would end up enjoying himself regardless. Steve, while legally considered an adult, was still a reckless teenager at heart, and Valerie? Well, she was just looking for a good time.