𝕊𝕥𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕕 ℂ𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕕 ➶

ℕ𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕟: 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕝

An hour. It was an hour's drive from Jericho to Nevermore. Only God knew how long it would take Valentina to get back to the academy on foot, especially at the speed she was going.

Good news: there were buses that shuttled students to and from Jericho Saturday and Sunday. So long as she stuck to the main road, one would pick her up. Bad news: the earliest shuttle didn't start running until seven AM. So she had a several-hour hike ahead of her.

There was no sidewalk along the main road, so she just walked off to the side. After the first half a mile, she couldn't take it any longer and had to take off her shoes because they were causing her so much pain.

Walking barefoot on a gravel road was hardly the most comfortable sensation in the world --what with the sharp rocks digging into her soft and supple soles with every step-- but it wasn't like she had another pair of shoes she could change into.

That turned out to be the worst decision of the year, because she ended up stepping on a shard of glass --probably belonging to an empty beer bottle someone threw out their window-- in the dark.

Valentina wished she could feel sad or angry or even just plain surprised at Deuce's betrayal, but the most she felt right now was surface-level pain and bone-deep exhaustion.

After what felt like an eternity, the universe decided to throw her a bone. A car --or, rather, a truck-- came speeding down the road from Jericho. What the driver was doing out at this hour was anyone's guess. But there was the slightest chance...

She stopped in her tracks, turned around, and stuck out her arm with her thumb up: the universal sign of a hitchhiker in need of a ride. And, miracle of miracles, they stopped.

Valentina limped her way over to the passenger's side and peered in through the open window. The inside of the truck was dark, but she could just barely make out a teenage boy, who was maybe a couple years older than her, with large, prominent features and shoulder-length blond hair.

"Hey," he said, looking concerned, and rightfully so. "Where are you headed?"

"Nevermore," she answered in a heartbeat, tone as pleading and hopeful as it could get. Maybe, just maybe, her luck had turned. "Can you give me a ride? Pretty please?"

He gave her a quick once-over, from the rats' nest atop her head to her swollen and bleeding foot, before nodding. "Get in."

She let out a deep, shuddering breath before pulling the passenger's side door open and quickly climbing inside. Once she'd buckled her seatbelt, the good Samaritan shifted gears from park into drive.

"What are you doing out at this time?"

"Not picking up hitchhikers to murder, if that's what you're thinking," he replied with a small snort.

Valentina shifted in her seat, trying and failing to get comfortable. "That didn't even cross my mind," she admitted. Maybe that was foolish of her. She was so desperate for a ride that she didn't even think of the dangers that might come with it.

"I don't know if that makes you naive or just plain stupid... But, like I said, you have nothing to worry about. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd take a late-night drive to clear my mind. I got into a fight with my old man, so I could really use the time alone." He didn't look at her, kept his gaze trained straight ahead, completely focused on the road. "What about you?"

"Someone who I thought was my friend abandoned me in Jericho," she answered.

"Ouch! For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. It's kind of the opposite of your fault. You're helping me immensely." Her finger found a loose thread coming out of the side of her seat and she started pulling and playing with it. It was something to do. "Do you wanna talk about what you fought over? I'm more than willing to lend a friendly ear."

He took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out. It was obvious the very thought of the argument was getting him worked up. "Yeah, I guess. He's basically a huge bigot. Outcasts never did anything to him, but he despises the whole lot of them simply for existing. And, worst of all, he's poisoning my little sister with his hatred. That house is a fucking nightmare."

"At least your dad's still around." Hers had up and left shortly after The Divorce. Valentina wondered for the longest time why her mother hadn't just used her powers to make him fall in love with her all over again. Now she understood. When forced, "true love" wasn't love at all.

It was a weird remark, but Valentina hadn't a clue what else to say. Certainly not in a conversation that already felt so stilted and unnatural.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," he sighed, but then he didn't follow it up with anything else, so she let silence fall over them.

But eventually, finally, they arrived at Nevermore's gates. She directed him to the front of Ophelia Hall, wanting to keep what walking she had left to a minimum.

"Thanks again...?" She said without realizing she'd never asked his name or introduced herself. How rude of her. Then again, she was so, so tired.

"Garrett. Garrett Gates."

"Valentina Zhang. I hope we meet again, under different circumstances." Then she unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed gracelessly out of the passenger's seat.

She didn't look back, didn't wave as he left, just soldiered on into the dormitory.

The dorm mother was nowhere to be seen, probably having retired for the night herself. Climbing the stairs to the third floor was possibly one of the most painful experiences of her life, but she got through it in one piece.

Her luck was on a roll, because Morticia had left her dorm room unlocked. She tried to sneak in as quietly as a mouse, but her roommate wasn't in bed. She was sitting at her desk, burning the midnight oil.

"Where have you been?!" She asked. A simple question, just four words. And yet... And yet, and yet, and yet--!

Valentina? After the night she'd had, she just absolutely broke down.