the bucket list | lrh

12 - peter's peppers

"Are you sure? A hotel?" Scout was in genuine disbelief at what his daughter was suggesting that he be okay with. "Yeah, but it'll be fine. It's just Luke," Valentine argues, trying her best to convince her father that Luke's text wasn't all that crazy. If only she'd known that the fact that it was Luke was exactly what put him off of the idea.

Her heart did skip a beat when he suggested getting a hotel so that they could crash afterwards without having to make a long drive home, though.

But Scout could tell that she really wanted to go, so he threw his hands up as to surrender.

"Fine, but if I get a call from sheriff—"

"Sheriff Thompson saying I got arrested, yeah dad that won't happen," Valentine interrupted, finishing the mans usual warning before he got the chance to.

"Then fine. But be good. And I don't think I have to warn you, but please don't drink and drive. I mean that for both of you. Nobody will be driving under the influence." Scout wasn't a very restrictive father, but he definitely knew how to put his foot down when he really needed to.

Raising two moody girls on his own was hard enough, and had he not mastered the skill by now he'd probably be at a loss for words.

"Of course not! Thanks, daddy!" The girl squealed, jumping up to hug the man who hesitantly wrapped his arms around her in response. He could've sworn he was hallucinating, because she hadn't hugged him in well over a month. It wasn't since they both cried the morning after Adeline's death that the girl was this close to him, and he felt his heart speed up a little because of it.

꧙꧙꧙꧙꧙꧙

Sure, Valentine had been on dates before. She'd been on plenty of outings with Adeline and Mary, and she had even ventured out to a handful of parties at one point in her life. But this wasn't like any of those things, because this was Luke and their friendship was strange to her.

While she got dressed and packed her overnight bag, she felt obliged to pick her best sweatpants and an equally delicately planned outfit for the next day. She wasn't sure why she wanted to impress Luke so badly, she just wanted to make sure that she made a good impression. Though it wasn't exactly his first time meeting the girl, it was his first time really seeing how she was in a proper social setting.

"You're crazy," Mary huffed, throwing a pair of socks at the girls head. She had forgotten to pack them amidst her frantic routine of getting ready, and Mary was waiting for the perfect opportunity to chuck them at her.

"Ow," the brunette groaned dramatically, throwing the socks into her backpack before zipping it up.

"Why am I crazy?" She asked, finally registering what the blonde had said to her.

"You're freaking out over what to bring when you won't even be sleeping in the same room!" Mary giggled, poking fun at her friend. "Well, I don't know that. He didn't specify. We could be staying in the same room," Valentine expressed her stress, which only made Mary all the more amused.

"In that case, pack lingerie."

Valentine was wishing she hadn't already tossed the socks into her backpack, because she'd love to throw them right back at Mary now.

"I hate you!" She gushed, throwing her back onto her bed that Mary was covering a good two thirds of.

"Why are you here, again?" Valentine asked playfully, an exasperated sigh leaving her mouth—as if she'd just had a long day of work, rather than a long afternoon of dealing with Mary's endless comments.