Alive

Valerie stood among her closest female friends. She'd say they were evenly divided, but they weren't. It was Selena on one side and the other five on the opposing side. Val looked over the five girls. Felicia was staring at her with wide eyes. Valerie knew none of them wanted to be there.
Selena looked at her friend and frowned. Valerie took a deep breath. She wanted to scream at them all and just beg them to get along. She knew that wouldn't work. Five out of six of them were the most stubborn people she knew. She went to speak but stopped. She didn't know how to word her thoughts. Kaitlyn noticed her struggle.
"Val, whatever you need to say, tell us. We're all your friends, regardless of how we are to each other." She told her friend.
Valerie nodded. She still didn't know how to say what was necessary without being mean. The last thing she wanted was to offend anyone. Selena sighed, rising from her seat. All the girls looked at her.
"I really need to go to class. I mean, I want to hear what's up but I can't,"
"Oh, give me a fucking break." Felicia laughed at Selena's attempt to leave.
"Excuse me?" Selena hissed.
"There's clearly something upsetting the girl, you claim to be, your best friend, and you're trying to get out of here before she says a word!" Jocelyn shouted.
"I wasn't trying to get out. I have my grades to take care of." Selena rolled her eyes.
"Try taking care of your fucking friend instead of yourself, for once." Jocelyn spat.
"Like you're one to fucking talk!" Selena yelled. "I have better idea what's going on in your, friends's," She gestured her fingers at the girls. "Lives than you do because you've been too busy with Gardiner balls deep in you!"
Jocelyn scoffed. "You act as if I don't contact these girls every night and let them confide in me, unlike you currently."
Ainsley looked at Valerie. Val had a look of disgust on her face. Ainsley knew she was upset. She grabbed Jocelyn's knee under the table, trying to quiet her. Jocelyn continued. Ainsley sighed, looking to Valerie. She was shaking her head.
"Shut up!" Ainsley instructed the pair.
"Ainsley can't go one second without getting her big,"
"Enough!" Valerie screamed. All eyes turned to her. "This is my fucking problem!" They were all surprised by her swearing. It was an extremely rare occurrence. "I can't spend time with all of my closest friends at once because you can't act like human beings!" She shook her head. "Just get the fuck along! If you took a minute out of your day to stop thinking you're better than each other, you'd be best friends!"
No one said anything. Valerie had got her point out. She exhaled before she walked away. She brushed her hair from her face. She didn't realize she was so angry, she began crying. She rolled her eyes at herself as she walked to her locker. She started gathering her things for class.
Evgeni walked to his shared locker with Valerie. He saw her standing as she grabbed things. He smiled to himself. He loved seeing her. As he approached, she looked over at him. His smile faded as he he saw how upset she was. His pace quickened as he got to her.
Without a word, he pulled her into his arms. She hugged him back. He rubbed her back as she buried her face in his chest. As much as he wanted to hold her, he wanted her to be happy as well.
"Valerie," His accent was always heavy on her name. She smiled at it. "What's wrong?"
"I tried to talk to the girls about the arguing and they just argued more." She explained.
"Want me to go fight?" He offered.
She shook her head against him. "Just say things to make me forget about it."
"Dirty things?" He smirked.
She clicked her tongue. "No! We're at school." She giggled.
"Hm," He breathed. "Well, I love you."
"Meh, I need more." She joked.
He laughed. "Date tonight? I'm take you out."
She sighed. "You have practice." She argued.
"I skip for you." He told her.
Geno did as he said. He ditched his practice and appeared at Val's house. She opened the door in sweats and groaned. He grinned at her, pecking her lips. He walked past her and into her house. She frowned, closing her front door. He cocked a brow at her.
"You wear that?" He asked.
She rolled her eyes. "I didn't think you were serious."
"I never joke about you." He stated. "Now hurry, we have date."
Valerie got ready in the least amount of time she ever had. Geno took her hand as he walked her out to his car. He helped her into the passenger's seat before they drove to where they were going. They ate dinner at a nice restaurant. Valerie almost killed him when she saw the prices. He just grinned. They finished up and he took her home. He agreed to spend the night, knowing he could get ready for school from there. He'd left enough clothes at her house over the last few years.
Valerie laid in her bed. G came in from the washroom once he finished cleaning up. He crawled in next to her, tangling himself around her. He held her close, resting his head on her chest. His legs laced with hers. His feet hung over the edge of the bed. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"You know, I've loved you long time." He spoke, looking up at her.
"How long?" Val chuckled.
"'Member when I come here for first time?" He asked. She nodded. "You said you'd help me learn English and that's when I realize you wonderful person."
"That doesn't mean you started loving me that day." She argued.
"I love you since day I walk in on you changing." He smirked.
"Figures." She laughed, hugging him closer.
"Val, we get married one day?" He suggested.
"One day, far away, maybe." She told him.
"Not too far. Don't want to be old." He admitted.
"Okay, but not too soon." She smiled, playing with the hair on the back of his neck.
"But kinda soon."

Notes