Valentine Martin woke up in the early morning, scrunching her nose as she heard unfamiliar moaning through the wall. She sat up, massaging her face to get the sleep away. Straining her ears, she heard it again.
"Use your words slut. What do you wa...
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Just as Kenji asked, a phone ringed. Without breaking eye contact, River picked it up, his glaring eyes focused on Valentine.
"Hmm," River hummed to whoever was on the other side of the phone. "Are two seats available?" He asked.
Although, Valentine didn't count it as asking. It was in such a demanding tone, she felt sorry for the person on the other side. She tore her eyes away from River, still feeling his glare on her as she spared a glance at Kenji who was already looking at her.
The man smiled apologetically at her, as if realizing he had put her on a tough spot.
Valentine nodded at him with a forced smile, not wanting to guilt her friend.
Kenji smiled back, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. He was scared for a second, he had angered Valentine. Even though he had never managed to see her angry.
"Valentine, could you get three plates for me in the kitchen?" Kenji asked, seeing her play with her fingers nervously as River continued to stare at her. Not once did his eyes stray from her while he continued the conversation on the phone.
Relieved that she could escape, –even if it was for a just a bit– she jumped from her chair before Kenji could change his mind.
Valentine moved as slow as possible in the kitchen. Her hands fisted her hair, not believing that after not even a day of River seeming to tolerate her, he immediately hated her after a sentence that came out of Kenji's mouth. "It's gonna be okay," Valentina told herself softly. "It was just a joke." She had never confronted Kenji about her feelings. He couldn't know... right?
She grabbed three white plates from the cabinet, three small forks and a knife to cut the cake. When Valentine came back, River and Kenji were staring intensely into each other's eyes. Valentine put everything on the dining table, forcing them to take their eyes off each other.
"Thank you," Kenji softly smiled at her.
Valentine returned it back, sitting down in front of them. Under the table she fiddled with her fingers again, wishing she could eat her slice of cake in the guest room instead of feeling the tension risen every second.
"Thank you," Valentine thanked Kenji silently with her head down as he handed her a plate, patiently waiting for the men to taste it first. Kenji glanced at her, seeing she hadn't touched her plate yet.
"I thought you liked strawberries," he murmured to himself.
"I do!" Valentine answered quickly, not wanting to make him feel bummed out. It was quite true, she loved strawberries and even remembered picking them from the garden in the backyard back of the orphanage when she was a young girl. She also owned strawberry scented shampoo and a strawberry plushie. Her absolute favorite thing she owned were the strawberry-scented candles in her college dorm.
