𝕊𝕥𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕕 ℂ𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕕 ➶

𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕪-ℕ𝕚𝕟𝕖: 𝕄𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕄𝕖𝕕𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘

"His name is Garrett! Garrett Gates," Fran sighed dreamily.

Morticia --for convenience's sake-- had decided their girls' night would be that night, the one they got back from the Harvest Festival. So she extended an exclusive offer to Val, Fran, and Larissa to stay in her room. Apparently she hadn't been assigned a roommate yet. Odd, but it meant no one would have to sleep on the floor.

Fran immediately took the opportunity to gush over her new crush.

Valentina was doing her very best to stay in the moment and out of her emotional brain. She currently had her foot on Tish's thigh as the girl painted her toenails a conch shell pink. She was hyper-focused on the heat of the other girl's leg, a stark contrast to the cold strokes of the brush over her nails.

She couldn't seem to keep still, but her squirming hadn't resulted in Morticia painting any skin... Yet.

"What does he look like?" Larissa asked. Good thing, too. Val couldn't think of a single question to ask... And, if Tish cared about the object of Fran's infatuation, she was doing a poor job of showing it.

Larissa had always been the most supportive friend... Just not to Valentina. Which was fair. Kinda.

"Like a sexy viking, with shoulder-length, blond hair! He's huge, tall with widest shoulders I've ever seen on a boy his age. His face belongs in a museum."

"Do you have anything in common?"

"Yeah! Apparently he's into fencing. He's the captain of the fencing team at Jericho's normie high school, Mount Mansfield. Plus, he absolutely loooves pizza, just like me! It's like we were made for each other! I can already envision it... In five years, we'll be married. In ten, we'll have our first kid. I've got names picked out and everything! Tyler if it's a boy and Marie if it's a girl." Her unbridled enthusiasm suddenly dimmed a bit. "There is one minor snag, though."

Val looked up as Morticia finished up with her toenails. "Oh?"

"His dad hates outcasts. Like, really hates them. Enough that he had to bring it up in our conversation, warn me ahead of time. God, we're like Romeo and Juliet..."

"Romeo and Juliet died in the end, Fran."

"You know what I mean!" Then she turned all her attention to Valentina, going so far as to grab her by the hands, mindless of her wet fingernails. "Val, you've gotta help me get him! You're the one and only love witch I know! Plus your mom's, like, super famous."

Uncertainty and anxiety rose up in her like a flood of Biblical proportions. "I don't know... Sounds like you're doing just fine on your own. Maybe we should let things take their natural course..."

"No!" She exclaimed. "I want happily ever after! I want love in seconds flat!" Still, Val hesitated. Fran quit her crazy act long enough to coo, "I know you can do it. Just... Do me a favor, okay? Whatcha say?"

Valentina looked down at her toenails again rather than up at Francoise. But, eventually, she nodded. The other girl squealed and hugged her tight as a straightjacket, bouncing up and down.

Morticia's expression was completely unreadable, a perfect poker face.

~~~

Valentina was initially worried about when Garrett and Fran would be able to meet again. Not as much as Fran, but still so worried. That was before Morticia informed them both of the upcoming fencing competition between Mount Mansfield and Nevermore.

It was a rigged game, mostly for show rather than anything else... Mount Mansfield would be moving on to the next stage of the competition whether or not they won Jericho.

But it was the next --and possibly last-- time that Garrett would most definitely see Francoise, so Val needed to take advantage. She staked out the roof of the gymnasium, where she could watch everything that happened inside through a long, narrow window.

She didn't bother with a mask this time. It hadn't helped her last time, so what was even the point? Plus, she didn't have the time to secure one. Balaclavas didn't grow on trees, and she'd lost her last one.

It was impossible to make out features through the sabre masks everyone was wearing, especially at such a distance. She had the good fortune of spotting Garrett when he took off his to get a drink of water. Tall, broad, and blond... Just like Fran described him. Oddly familiar, too. Val hadn't a clue where she'd seen him before, just that she had.

Once he put his mask back on, she was sure to keep an eye on him. A feminine figure kept walking up to converse with him. The girl never took her mask off, but it didn't take a genius to work out that it was Francoise. She wasn't exactly subtle with her interest.

Valentina materialized her bow and arrow and waited. It took a while for her to get a clear shot in... But, the second she could, she let her arrow fly.

It hit him in the back of his left shoulder and lodged itself there in his flesh. The force of the blow caused him to stumble forward. Fran caught him in her arms. Val could only imagine this was when they locked eyes through their masks.

There was only one problem. Not a teeny tiny one, either. No, the major issue was that that girl wasn't Francoise.

Once Garrett was upright again, she tore off her sabre mask and started looking for the archer's vantage point. It didn't take long for Valentina to meet the angry eyes of none other than Morticia.

Fuck! Again?!

Quick, before anyone else could see her, Val spun around on her heels and ran for the exit. Trouble was on the horizon, as obvious as an approaching storm. Fingers crossed she wasn't the one struck by lightning.