CW: drunk driving
I hate Valentina and I love her lies.
She's not what she says she is. I can tell almost immediately, the day she crashes into me at the football game. If she's who she says she is, she should've learned who I am.
The thing about Valentina is how beautiful she and her lies are. I think the lies only add to her beauty. She lies about everything. Who she is. What she is. Every, single, little thing. Her appearance itself is a lie, an illusion. I could tell her eyelids were fake—artfully done, but fake. I could tell that her wardrobe—her little pearl earrings, her navy sweaters, all of it—was new and only an illusion. A lie. I saw her once, when I was running in the morning, leaning out her dormitory window. Her hair was straight. She lies about her hair too—says it's naturally wavy, takes compliments for it.
There's a certain image that Valentina has. It's romantic and intoxicating, and I know she wants it to be like that. Skiing in Switzerland. Royalty as friends. Mansions in Porto Rondo. Vacation villas across the world. Family that might as well be the Medicis. It's all lies—sweet, indulgent lies. The kind that you could drink in and never be sick of. The kind that are so glamorous, so dramatic, so flamboyant and audacious that even when you know you're being lied to, you can't help but love it all the same.
She lied about cheating at poker. I couldn't be angry because I think there's something beautiful about that too. A fierce, burning will to win, a will to do anything it takes.
Her lies are the kind that I could get lost in and never find my way back from.
When she walks through that door on Halloween, I can't even be sure it's an accident. I can't even be sure her attire is an accident. A little red dress, the horns of a devil and the face of one too. They say the devil is beautiful. Lies, deceptions, dishonesties that are as beautiful as the bright-burning sun.
꧁꧂
Jasper didn't know what to do with himself after Valentina left.
He sank back into the couch, staring at the ceiling. What a beautiful, wicked person. He stole the notes of course, and he expected Valentina to see through it quickly. He just hadn't expected her to leave.
He wondered if he should apologise. For what? his mind asked. It's the same kind of lie she likes to tell so often.
Maybe I should.
Or maybe he should just go out and check on how drunk the party guests were. He decided on that. And maybe, if he saw Valentina on the way ...
He didn't let himself finish that thought, standing up and leaving the room.
Outside, the party was in full swing. Some underclassmen had found some cards and started a game of drunk strip poker (an awful combination of three good things, if you asked Jasper). Mia—a silly but easily convinced girl—was also drunk. She was making out desperately with someone else from their grade. Jasper made a note in his mind to ditch her that week. She'd been useful for the little notes-stealing debacle, but it was high time he moved on. There were always new, exciting things demanding the attention of Jasper Rochester.
Like a drunk Seung-jun. He was a funny guy. He'd been insufferable when he first came to Arbourne, but now, Jasper would trust him with just about anything. Maybe not a gun (they'd learned how to shoot together in Aspen and Seung-jun had been asked very politely to put the gun down after the first round).
"Jasper!" Seung-jun slurred, grabbing Jasper's arm and sticking to him like cling film. "Did you know—did you know, did you know that sharks don't have bones?"
"Yes," Jasper said, even though he definitely had not known that.
"And they get hunted for soup! Es just told me! It's so sad!"
Seung-jun promptly burst into sobs. "You should drink some water," Jasper told him, lugging him over to the kitchen. Drunk Seung-jun was funny but clingy. Jasper himself didn't drink. He found that it just made things less fun.
Seung-jun passed out midway through drinking his glass of water, so Jasper had to drag him up the stairs and into a guest bedroom that was basically Seung-jun's de-facto room whenever he came over. He'd locked off most of the upstairs since drunk teenagers had a tendency to get frisky and he'd rather not have that going on in his house, but this door only had one way to open it. There was no real special trick. All Jasper had to do was slam his shoulder against it as hard as he could (the doorknob tended to jam from the outside—the downsides of owning a historical manor) and it'd swing open.
After he'd deposited Seung-jun in his room, Jasper went downstairs and nearly stepped on a full bottle of wine being used to play spin the bottle.
He was about to move on when someone reached out and spun the bottle unsteadily. Jasper recognized the red lips, the wavy black hair, even in the dim lighting. Valentina.
The circle cheered as the bottle landed on someone—a drunk boy, maybe an underclassman. Jasper had never met him. Valentina—oh, she was drunk, wasn't she? Her cheeks had a wild sort of flush, her smile a little too wide. Her teeth were shark-like, gleaming in the darkness. She leaned over towards the boy.
Before Jasper even knew what he was doing, he grabbed her arms and hauled her up forcefully. "Enough," he snapped. As he dragged her towards the kitchen, his heart raced. What was he doing? He should've just left her. What did it matter to him?
He came to a stop at the kitchen island, letting go of Valentina. She nearly folded halfway over the table, going totally limp. Jasper frowned, leaning down to check if she was awake. She hadn't been mixing drugs with alcohol, had she? That would be bad—
Her eyes snapped open, a cheeky grin spreading across her face. "Surprise!" she giggled drunkenly, drawing out the last syllable.
Jasper realised at that moment how close he was to her. He jerked away. "I'm getting you some water," he muttered.
As Jasper began to fill a glass with water, something brushed against his cheek. He looked up. Valentina was suddenly very close again, her delicate fingers moving a strand of hair out of his face. "Pretty," she mumbled, staring straight at Jasper. "I like your makeup. And your face. Too bad you're 'n asshole though."
Jasper had to laugh at that. He didn't think Valentina would ever be like this. Not to him. "Are you even going to remember any of this tomorrow?" he asked amusedly, handing her the water. Maybe he could learn something about her while she was drunk.
"Abs'lutely not," Valentina declared, drinking the water like it was a glass of wine.
"Really," Jasper said in disbelief.
Suddenly, Valentina slumped backwards onto the counter again, facing the ceiling this time. Jasper glanced at her throat, the line of her chin, her lips—
Valentina was looking at him too, her eyes knowing and alight with repressed laughter. "It's why 'm not s'posed to drink. Can't remember shit afterwards."
So she wouldn't remember any of this. Good. Good. Jasper's heartbeat eased somewhat.
Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulders from behind. Jasper flinched, but then recognized Mia's voice. "Jasperrrr!" she exclaimed, high-pitched. "Teddy told me you have cars!"
Valentina looked over through her lashes, her eyelids heavy. "Cars?" she asked.
"You want to see them?" Jasper asked, wondering who he was asking the question to. Wondering why he was doing this.
"Yes!" Mia slurred.
Valentina didn't say anything, but she followed Jasper and Mia as Jasper navigated the drunken teenagers towards the garage. The door was password-protected. Jasper unlocked it, entering the garage. His eyes began to adjust to the dim light.
The garage was his dad's pride and joy. It was a new addition to the building, long and wide in order to accommodate all the cars his dad had acquired over the years. A vintage Rolls Royce, a green Astor Martin, a charcoal grey Ferrari, a Mercedes Benz racer, even an authentic Model T that couldn't be driven but sure as hell looked good on display. At the end of the garage was the only car Jasper was allowed to drive, a red Lamborghini. It was the only car his dad wouldn't mind him wrecking, because it was newer, and therefore worthless.
Mia gasped and laughed as they walked past the cars. Valentina reached out to brush the side of a Ferrari. Jasper almost told her to stop, but there was a peculiar look in her eyes, like she loved the cars and everything about them.
Jasper found the keys to the red car, giving them a little shake. "Do you want to drive?" he asked Mia, then immediately regretted it. She was drunk. What was he doing, going out in a car with his girlfriend and another girl who he should hate?
Then again, Jasper thought, reflecting on the scene he'd walked in on earlier, she won't be my girlfriend for long.
"Don't wanna," Mia said.
Before Jasper could tell her that he'd drive, Valentina plucked the keys out of Jasper's hand. She twirled them around her finger, a manic light in her eyes. "Don't worry," she said, grinning. "I'm a great driver."
That's not what she said on the cruise. She said she was a shitty driver.
She hopped into the driver's seat, turning up the ignition. "Get in, losers!" she crowed.
꧁꧂
Valentina was neither a good driver nor a shitty driver. She was a dangerous driver, doubled by the fact that she was drunk. She nearly wrecked the statue of maenads in Jasper's front yard while turning out, laughing all the while. Jasper loved going fast in cars, but with Valentina driving, even he kept a tight grip on his seatbelt.
They surged onto the open road, Valentina flooring the gas pedal and shooting them towards at least 200 KPH.
Mia screamed giddily as they soared past the endless grassy hills of York, darkened in the night. It took Jasper two tries to open the window, letting wind roar through the car. Valentina kept weaving wildly on the road, like she couldn't get ahold of the steering wheel. It was thrilling and dangerous and thoroughly bad for him.
Suddenly, Jasper saw lights in the distance. Double headlights of a cop cruiser, parked off the road. "Valentina, slow—"
They shot right past it. Suddenly, Valentina stamped on the brake. It threw Jasper forward, the seatbelt tightening and nearly choking him. They skidded to a stop, kicking up dirt and gravel. "What?" Valentina asked, breathing quickly like she'd just run a lap. "Why'd you tell me t' slow?"
Ah, shit. They should've just kept going now that they got spotted by a cop. They weren't even that far from Arbourne. But she just had to stop. Jasper quickly looked in the rearview mirror. Headlights, rapidly gaining on them.
He made a split-second decision. Valentina was drunk and seventeen. Jasper was not-drunk and eighteen and licensed. It was no question of who'd get off easier if caught for speeding. "Valentina, get in the back," he ordered.
"Hm? Why?"
"Just do it!"
Valentina shrugged, complying. She was going too slow. Her devil horns snagged on the headrest and Jasper yanked them off, shoving her in the back. He scrambled over to the driver's seat, trying to calm his racing heart. The cop car was gaining on them.
Suddenly, a door opened and someone ran out, slamming the door shut again. Jasper twisted, just in time to see Mia half-stumbling half-running away.
"Mia!" Jasper yelled.
She didn't pay him any attention, continuing to try to get away. That little—
They weren't even going to arrest her! She could've just stayed put but she just had to ditch him! I am so breaking up with her after this.
The silence gave Jasper a brief, brief moment to catch his breath. He looked in the rearview mirror. Valentina had slumped against the back seat, breathing hard. Her hair was messy, like someone had run a hand through it. As Jasper watched, she tilted her head back, exposing her neck and collarbones. A sudden urge to touch it flared up. Jasper gripped the wheel so hard he thought he might break it and wrenched his eyes towards the cop car, which had just stopped right next to them.
She's driving me crazy.
꧁꧂
"Then they tested me for a DUI, but I hadn't been drinking so the only thing they could put me in jail for was driving irresponsibly," Jasper says, his clear blue eyes meeting mine.
He isn't smiling now. He was grinning confidently as he started his story, describing how he brought Seung-jun to a spare bedroom and came down to find me about to kiss an underclassman. And then he dropped the smile. The way he described that night, the way he described me—it left an ache in my chest, a dryness in my throat.
The way he sees me is the same way I see him.
"Happy with your stupid prize?" Jasper asks. His voice is low, careful. He's testing the waters. Waiting for my reaction.
I don't know what to say. I always know what to say, but this time, I don't. Why would he switch with me? Why would he let me drive? Why, why, why?
He takes my silence as an answer. What kind of answer, I don't know.
He pushes past me, opening the door. His suit brushes against my arm, silken and smooth. And then he's gone. I don't process it until he's halfway down the hall.
I spin on my heel and run after him. It's hard in my stiletto heels but I manage, catching up. Jasper doesn't say a word. His expression is bitter, icy. "Wait," I say.
He keeps going, striding purposefully through the ballroom and out towards the garden. "Wait," I repeat.
He doesn't stop. I nearly trip over the transition from marble tiles to grass. I stumble, grabbing his sleeve. Only then does he stop. He turns on me. "So?" he asks quietly. "Are you happy with the answers you got? Are you happy, now that you know how much of a fool I am? Are you happy that you were right?"
I want to reach up, touch a hand to his cheek. He grabs my wrist before I can do so. "Answer me."
"Right about what?" I manage.
His gaze is molten, burning and wanting. "I'm an asshole, just like you said. I'm as dishonest as you are and I can't say what I mean. And I play stupid games and I don't win any prizes. Maybe I'm stupid and reckless and idiotic for playing in the first place."
Suddenly, a cheer goes up. I look around. "Ten!" someone screams out.
Nine.
Oh. Right. It's New Years.
Eight.
Seven.
"If you're stupid," I whisper, prying his hand gently from mine. He looks at me like he's never looked at me before.
Six.
Five.
"I just might be stupid too," I murmur. "A fool who wants things she shouldn't."
Four.
Three.
"I don't get it," Jasper says hoarsely. "What else do you want from me?"
Two.
I reach up and touch his neck. "A New Year's kiss," I say, and then I go for it.
One.
He meets me halfway, crashing into me like a tidal wave. His mouth is warm and soft, and then he's really kissing me, tangling his fingers into my updo and devouring my mouth like it's everything he's ever needed. It's everything I've ever needed. It's hot and icy and rough and sweet and everything, all at the same time. I hear a bang and then a shower of golden light.
He breaks away, but remains close. "Fireworks," he says.
Golden fireworks, showering down upon the beach, far away from us.
"Fireworks," I agree, and press my mouth to his again.
This time it's slower. His hand trails down my neck, my spine, and I melt into his touch. I never knew he could be so warm.
꧁꧂
surprised by the bonus chapter? the last one was a little short, and i couldn't just leave you guys hanging like that ;) i, personally, think this chapter is positively delectable. i hope you enjoyed reading it as thoroughly as i enjoyed writing it. we're heading into act ii territory baby!