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CHAPTER TWENTY: your love is unquantifiable _______________________________ FOR THE LONGEST, VALERIE THOUGHT SHE WAS INCAPABLE OF CONQUERING LOVE.
Melina was rarely around to show Valerie any affection, and even when she was around, she continued on with her life as if Valerie hadn't even been born. It hurt, but eventually, Valerie got used to it. It also didn't help that Nova claimed to love Valerie, just so that Nova could thrive off of whatever kind words Valerie shared with her. Valerie would also find herself questioning why she hadn't been in a relationship. She may've had every boy in Hawkins wrapped around her finger, but she had never been in a relationship. It was just too trippy! Plus, the guys that were fawning over Valerie only wanted to get in her pants, which was a complete bummer. Valerie would not sign up for anything less than what she already has. _______________________________ Valerie, Robin, and Steve had been awake for approximately eight hours since all went to shit. To no one's surprise, Selina fell asleep before the three could even ask her to help.. classic Selina.
The worst part of it all, was that Robin's flask was still in the back room of Scoops Ahoy, along with Valerie's handbag, which had almost all of her belongings. Luckily, Selina would never let her handbag out of her sight, so there was a slight chance that Selina was carrying a flask.
"Woah—woah. Where're you going?" Steve asked as Valerie stood up. "Oh, I don't know, maybe to go out on a road trip or something." Valerie shrugged sarcastically. "Where do you think I'm going, Steve? It's not like I have much places to go." Valerie scoffed. Leave her alone! She may've had an attitude, but everyone would if they were living their nightmare running on no sleep. "I'll join you." Robin hopped up. For someone who hadn't slept at all, she had a shit-load of energy.
Valerie climbed down from the top of the elevator, along with Robin. Valerie spotted Dustin, who had his back slumped with sleepy eyes. "Morning." Dustin mumbled. "Morning." Valerie replied. Valerie walked over to Selina's corner, spotting the blonde using her handbag as a pillow. "Sorry, Selina." Valerie sighed, carefully removing the bag from under Selina's head. She would not hear the end of it from Selina when she wakes up. "Please tell me there's something in there, something useful." Robin sighed. Valerie dug through Selina's purse, her eyes widening in satisfaction as soon as she spotted the metallic flask she was looking for. As soon as she lifted the flask, she immediately realized how the flask felt incredibly lightweight. "No, no, no." Valerie shook her head. "What? What is it?" Robin questioned. Valerie shook the flask in denial, turning the flask over and seeing a purple sticky note. 'Sorry, Val. Just protecting you, so you don't end up like your mother.' The note read. "Motherfucker." Valerie seethed. "I'm gonna kill that two-faced fuck. I swear to—" Valerie began, before Robin cut her off. "Val—Valerie. Look, I know you're upset, which is completely understandable and I do not hold that against you whatsoever. But.. don't you think it'd be best if you saved that rage for when.. y'know, the Russians come to murder us all?" Robin hesitatingly asked. Valerie took a moment to gather herself, taking a very deep breath. "You're right, sorry." Valerie sighed. "Nova wrote this on an empty flask." Valerie handed the note to Robin. "Wait, let me see." Dustin got up, walking towards the two. Valerie was so overstimulated that she didn't even realize Dustin had also witnessed her outburst. Both Robin and Dustin read the note in silence, shaking their heads at Nova's words. "What did you even do in the first place? If you don't mind me asking, of course." Dustin raised his eyebrows as Robin handed the note back to Valerie. "I didn't do shit." Valerie defended herself. "Wha—what's going on?" Selina asked, rubbing her eyes. "Wait, why the hell was my head on the ground?" Selina asked, looking up at Valerie and spotting her handbag in Valerie's arms. "Are you serious? I could've gotten an eye infection from this dirty ass floor if I leaned the wrong way. Or, even worse, I could've had a pimple outrage—" Selina began, before Valerie interrupted her. "I'm sorry, but that's literally the least of our concerns as of right fucking now." Valerie tossed the note to Selina. "No, no! Don't you dare try to change the subject, Valerie—" Selina shook her head, soon being cut off by all three of them. "Selina!" All three of them shouted. "Okay, okay! My God." Selina sighed, picking up the note. Selina read the note word for word, her facial expressions dropping as she finished reading the note. "You haven't even talked to Melina yet, have you?" Selina asked. "I haven't had time to." Valerie shrugged, which Selina rolled her eyes in response to Valerie. "That doesn't even matter as of right now. We just need to make it out of this shithole alive." Valerie sighed. "Could you nerds be any louder?" Erica spoke. "You're awake?" Dustin asked. "No, she's still sleeping." Valerie replied sarcastically, Dustin flipping her off. _______________________________ About an hour had passed since everyone woke up, and they were still trapped, having made no progress whatsoever. Dustin and Steve had been on the roof of the elevator, attempting to reach anyone through the Walkie-talkie. Meanwhile, Valerie, Robin, Erica, and Selina were observing every detail of the elevator, trying to do something useful with their time.
