🐇𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒🪐...
the next morning, valentina woke up to the sound of her phone ringing.
no one else seemed to hear it, all knocked out and dead asleep. it was her father calling. she checked the time, it was 5:32 in the morning.
"hello?" she answered the call. "where are you, valentina? i woke up for work, you're not home." the man spoke.
"shit— sorry. i slept over at a friend's." valentina lied. well, it was partially true. except for the friend part.
"well, come home." he demanded, then hung up. her father was overprotective and stern when it came to who valentina hung out with, especially ever since the rightmart riot last year.
valentina carefully picked up jess's head from her shoulder and lied it on a pillow. she wondered how she would get home, but she didn't live too far. she decided to walk.
she got up from the couch, her head sore from her hair being up. she quietly walked outside, screaming when she saw the dead body from last night.
she had completely forgot about it, and was shocked that no one else noticed the person.
valentina clapped her hands over her mouth, realizing that she probably woke someone up.
she walked over to the body, wondering if she could call the police or what to do. the entire group stormed outside after hearing her scream, everyone's hair messy and eyes slightly puffy.
valentina turned around to look at them. "sorry." she chuckled nervously. "oh, shit. what do we do?" jess referred to the body on the ground.
"call the cops. say we woke up with it here." scuba suggested and shrugged. "val, want me to take you home?" jess asked her, walking over to her.
"yeah, please?" valentina answered with a nod. "i'll come too." gabby followed jess to the car.
"thanks for letting us sleepover." gabby thanked. evan gave the girls a nod before they drove off.
"she still has your shirt." scuba commented. evan shrugged. "looks better on her than it did me." he replied and walked back inside with scuba, who dialed 911.
🐇𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒🪐
valentina walked inside her house after jess dropped her off. she was extremely groggy. her parents were both sat on the couch, looking worried.
her mother widened her eyes, narrowing them at valentina's outfit. "so, what friend was this?" her mother, kiara asked.
"uhh, jess. you know her, you like her. she's the sweet one." valentina said. "you mean the one who almost got you killed?" her father corrected.
"dad— guys... she wasn't capable of what happened that night! stop blaming her. neither are any of her friends responsible for it or what happened to me. they tried to help me, did you know that?" valentina argued.
"well, her father was the one who was an asshole and couldn't close the store." kiara shrugged in surrender. "we're just saying, hun. the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." her father, james answered.
valentina rolled her eyes, attempting to walk upstairs. "who's shirt is that?" james mentioned, crossing his arms. valentina froze. she completely forgot she was wearing evan's football jersey.
"uhh— jess's. she was on the soccer team for sophomore year." valentina lied. "looks a little bit for her." kiara wasn't convinced.
"well— jess... lost weight since then." valentina stammered and then sped upstairs to her room, shutting the door immediately after and plopping into bed.
gc
You've been added to this
conversation.
evan : bring me back
that shirt castillo
no promises 🤷♀️ : valentina
valentina kicked off her boots and pulled her hair out of the ponytail, groaning in relief of the sore pain.
"valentina! me and mom are going to work!" james shouted from downstairs. "okay! love you, bye!" the girl shouted back, then heard the front door shut.
she slid off her skirt and threw it across her room, leaving her in the jersey. she shut her eyes and fell asleep once again.
🐇𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒🪐
'DING DONG'
val woke up to the sound of her doorbell ringing. she groaned in annoyance, snuggled up in her blankets.
she realized she had to go and open the door. she wearily stumbled out of bed, walking downstairs and over to the front door.
she looked through the peephole before making any sudden moves. evan stood there, holding what looked like her purse. she must've left it over there before she left.
val opened the door, glancing down at her purse and then back up to evan. "hey... you left this at my house." he reached out to hand it to her, then noticing she had no pants on whatsoever.
"uhh, castillo? are you trying to show off?" he snarked. she felt the cold breeze from outside hit her legs, then her eyes widened in realization. "shit!" she gasped and pulled the shirt down to cover her thighs.
"uhm, thanks for my purse — bye!" she snatched the purse, then shut the door hurriedly. her face illuminated a bright red. she heard the faint sound of evan still laughing as he walked off.
val scoffed at herself before running back up to her room, still embarrassed.
evan
don't mention
that to anyone :
: hard not to
: it was definitely
a sight to see
shut up :
val set her phone down, changing into actual clothes and getting ready for the day. she set the jersey in her bed and walked over to her closet.
shortly after changing and brushing her teeth, even doing her hair, valentina received a notification from instagram.
JOHN CARVER TAGGED YOU IN A POST.
she opened it, revealing a photo taken from afar, but showing the embarrassing event that occurred earlier when evan was at valentina's front door to return her purse.
it was clear that she didn't have her pants on. she relived the embarrassment all over again. "nice legs. they'd make the perfect dinner." the caption wrote.
"what the fuck?" she mumbled to herself in disgust. "what a creep." she added as she ranted in her head.
gc
gabby : woah valentina
jess : everyone meet at capotain diner
many moments later, the group arrived at the local diner and got sat at a large booth.
a boy named jacob came and slammed down a paper on the table. "you guys want tickets to the mccarty party?" he asked, staring at them.
"he's charging this year?" gabby scoffed in disbelief. "who's going to that shit? no way." valentina shook her head and handed him the paper back.
"they're selling out quick." jacob warned. "how about you finish my fucking history paper? and then we'll talk about the tickets." evan grinned sarcastically at the boy.
"you're an asshole." valentina told evan after jacob walked away. "so are you." evan returned the insult, raising his brows. valentina rolled her eyes over to gabby, who said, "be nice to him." she whined.
everyone's phone then rung from a notification, also from instagram. they shared a weird look and opened it.
a photo of a table decorated for thanksgiving was set neatly. "the table is set." the caption said.
"ooh, it's a table." valentina and evan joked in sync. they both shared a brief look, furrowing their brows at each other and then rolling their eyes. "yeah... but— this is weird, isn't it?" jess asked the girl.
"i guess." valentina shrugged. "well, who's taking these photos? i mean... they're the ones who killed that guy last night, right?" gabby asked the group
"clearly." yulia opinionated. "so, are we like gonna die?" scuba queried. everyone sat silently for a moment. "you think it's a killer?" gabby asked him.
"hell yeah." scuba confirmed, nodding at her. "what do we do?" jess inquired. "i don't know, i've never dealt with a killer before." gabby scoffed and laughed nervously.
"maybe it's just some crackhead trying to scare us." valentina suggested. "exactly. you guys are just too gullible." evan agreed.
"are you guys kidding? he killed—" jess began. "or she." gabby corrected. everyone shot her a confused and suspicious look. "they already killed someone night." jess continued.
"who knows what it is or what they're trying to do? we can't really do shit about it until something happens to us." evan answered jess.
"right, well, of course you wouldn't know how to deal with this. i'm not surprised." jess snarked at evan, putting on a sarcastic smile.
🐇𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒🪐 ...
the next day at school, the bell for the end of 4th period rung. valentina walked out of her class, bumping into scuba.
"hey, scuba." she greeted. "what's up, val? i didn't know you had mr. torres for history too." he remarked, pointing at the classroom they walked off to lunch together.
"yeah, speaking of that— did you understand the homework?" she asked him. "nah. i don't pay attention in history." scuba and replied. "as expected." valentina sighed, disappointed.
the two walked outside to the lunch tables and sat with jess, yulia, gabby, and evan.
"we should all go see a movie tonight— or hang out." scuba suggested, looking at evan to see if he understand what he was implying.
"i'm busy tonight." val mentioned. "what? since when? doing what?" jess wondered. "i'm inviting a friend over to watch some movies," val explained with a chuckle, bert sure of why it was so shocking. "why, am i a loser to you?" she joked.
"exactly that." evan confirmed. she threw her crumbled up gum wrapper at his forehead, making the group laugh momentarily.
"what friend?" gabby inquired. "oh, you guys don't know him. he's uhh.. a family friend. he goes to rtc." valentina informed the group,
"rtc is our rival school, val. i'm disappointed in you." evan joshed. "well, it's a good thing i don't care about how you feel about me, isn't it?" valentina raised her brows and tilted her head. scuba snickered.
"wait— him? like a boyfriend?" yulia giggled with a smirk. "no, no. it's not like that." val laughed, shaking her head in refusal.
"mhm." evan hummed, not convinced. "what do you care, anyway, evan? jealous becase you can't find someone to lock in with?" valentina grinned.
"actually, half of the girls in this school want me. the entire school doesn't even know of your existence, so, yeah. maybe you wanna rethink what you just said." evan shot back.
valentina rolled her eyes. "we should go shopping for prom dresses tonight before you go watch movies with your man, val." gabby mentioned.
"i'm not going to prom. and he's not my man, he's really just my friend that i've known since i was 8." valentina corrected.
"prom is like... 2 weeks away." yulia commented, giving gabby a confused look. "yeah, but better safe than sorry. i don't want to wait last minute for a dress, do you?" gabby asked the girls.
"nope." they answered in sync. "great, we'll go after school." gabby concluded with a smile. "isn't it tradition in the school to have your date take you?" scuba chimed in.
"well until any guy has the balls to ask us to the prom, then maybe we'll consider that." jess told with a shrug.
"you guys already have dates though. jess, you're with ryan. yulia, you're with scuba. gabby, i don't know who you're with but you should go with evan." valentina suggested.
"he's lame. why won't you go to prom?" gabby queried. the group turned to valentina, all interested in her answer too.
"don't want my heart broken. in like every other rom com movie, the lame girl gets taken out by the hot jock as a bet, then once they go to prom together, then the news is broke and she's all sad. haven't you seen 10 things i hate about you? or she's all that?" valentina asked.
"no?" gabby answered, her voice showing her confusion. "those are just movies, val." scuba assured, knowing perfectly well he had a bet going on with evan.
"well, i still have never gone to prom or homecoming. none of those school events." valentina added, still refusing.
"come on, it's so fun. plus, it's our senior year. are you really gonna go your whole life not knowing what prom would be like?" asked evan. "if it means saving my heart again, absolutely." valentina nodded in confirmation.
evan and scuba shared a look. "i mean, everyone has a date expect for you and evan." scuba looked down cluelessly to avoid the looks everyone shot at him.
evan kicked scuba under the table. "what are you trying to say?" valentina raised a brow, already knowing exactly what scuba was suggesting.
however, she wouldn't agree to it. she wasn't going to the prom with anyone and that was final.
"i'm saying— you and evan should go to prom together." scuba blurted out. "no way." evan and valentina shook their heads.
"well, then who will go with gabby? i really think you two should go together." valentina stated, shifting glances between evan and gabby.
gabby glared at evan for a few moments, seeming to admire him. "i can picture that." gabby swooned, everyone shooting her an odd look.
"right." evan answered with a sigh, completely disagreeing with gabby's words. he wanted to continue the bet and take valentina to the prom after making her fall for him, all for the money.
🐇𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒🪐 ...
later that day, valentina was up in her room, reminiscing about her times with ryan. she missed the feeling of being in love until it just turned into a pain in her chest.
she heard a knock at her bedroom door. "come in." the girl said, setting her phone down and sitting up to face the door, which swung open and revealed her father, holding up evan's jersey. he looked disappointed.
"what?" she asked him, confused as to why he was looking at her like that. "i don't remember jessica's last name being fletcher." james mentioned, referring to the name fletcher on the back of the jersey.
valentina froze, not sure how to respond. "you know, i knew evan fletcher's dad back in high school. he was a rich asshole, and so is his son." james warned.
"dad, i'm not even dating him." valentina scoffed with a light chuckle at the idea of her and evan ever dating.
"well, a girl doesn't just borrow a boy's jersey. this is hard for me to say, because, well, i don't like him or his father but— you should... invite him. for... dinner." james grumbled.
"no thanks." valentina refused. "fine, i'll call fletcher's father myself." james shrugged. "fine! i'll text evan." valentina groaned in annoyance. her dad laughed at her reaction and left the room, shutting the door.
evan
evan :
: why are u texting me
i kinda need u to
come over for dinner
at my house tonight :
my dad saw ur jersey
and thinks me and u are
like a thing :
: ur dad is scary
what? :
: fine i'll go over
ur fine with having
to pretend to date me? :
: u aren't??
no?? :
forget it i'll see u
tonight :
: what about your boyfriend ??
he isn't my boyfriend ! :
: mhm suree
i'm gonna tell him he can
come over another time
instead :
🐇𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒🪐 ...
evan was about to arrive for dinner at valentina's house any second now, and valentina was preparing herself to endure pretending to date evan.
there was a knock at the door, and valentina rushed to open it before either of her parents could.
when she opened the door, she met eyes with evan. "my parents are going to be down like any minute now. i think they're expecting us to be all lovey dovey and stuff, but all i'm allowing is simply holding hands like the whole dinner. got it?" valentina explained in a whisper voice.
"you'd think you would know how to fake a relationship by all of those movies you watch." evan scoffed. "evan, i'm serious. i—" valentina began, but then she heard footsteps down the stairs.
"evan, hi!" kiara greeted with a wide grin. "hey, mrs. castillo." the boy answered, returning the grin and glancing at valentina, who stood beside him and narrowed a pair of squinted eyes at him.
"well, go ahead and sit, you three. i'll start serving your plates." kiara assured. james stared evan down, as if he was waiting for something.
"why is he looking at me like he's gonna kill me?" evan whispered, turning to valentina. "he wants you to do something— just hold my hand or something like i sai—" valentina whispered back, being cut off by evan's lips on hers.
she wanted to push him off right away. she almost did, raising her hand to his chest to create a larger gap between them. but she had to pretend to like the kiss and make it seem natural in front of her dad.
once they both pulled away, valentina gave him an irritated look, evan mirroring her actions.
then about an hour later, the night was over.
evan offered to help clean up with valentina after her parents went upstairs.
"i never thought i'd admit it, but you actually did a pretty good job at being a pretend boyfriend." valentina stated, jumping up to sit on her counter behind evan, who was washing the dishes.
"thanks. i could get used to it, you know?" evan joked. "yeah, no way that's happening. maybe with gabby, though. you guys would be cute together." valentina opinionated.
"i can't be with her. i'm kind of in the middle of something with someone right now." evan hinted the bet subtly.
"oh, really. who? scuba? i had a feeling." valentina joked. "shut up. no, just someone." evan corrected, putting away the last dish after drying it.
he turned the faucet off and turned around to face valentina, leaning against the counter. "well, that person is very, very unlucky to have your eyes on them." valentina snarked.
"name one person besides ryan that's ever liked you." evan answered, rolling his eyes. valentina opened her mouth to speak after a few seconds of silence, but evan cut her off. "exactly. i wouldn't be talking, castillo. so, can i get my jersey back now?" he questioned.
"yeah, get your shit together while i go get it." valentina said and hopped off the counter, running upstairs while she went to grab the jersey.
she snatched it off her bed and was about to return downstairs until she noticed her bedroom window open, the wind blowing through her sheer curtains.
the girl was baffled, not remembering ever opening her window since the last day of summer. she walked over and shut it, stepping back out of the room and walking downstairs again.
valentina tossed the jersey at evan. "there. get out of my house, forget this ever happened, and don't mention the pretend boyfriend thing to anyone." she rambled, partially in a joking matter.
evan caught the jersey and nodded as he walked off to the front door, valentina following to walk him out.
"and, look, all jokes aside— thank you for doing this. my dad would've like totally killed me if you didn't come." valentina thanked, her voice showing her genuineness.
evan glared down at her and nodded. "yeah, anytime, castillo." he mumbled, letting himself out. valentina waited for him to drive off before shutting and locking the door to walk back up to her room.