~ an upppppdddaaaatteee, thank you for the reads, votes, etc <3 <3 all are super appreciated
btw, shout out to @Jewlez and @gogobunny- in particular, for the continuous support :) thank you guys!! ~
Ashlyn was having a full-fledged meltdown in the middle of my bathroom. And it wasn't to do with her soul-mate flavour of the week. No, it was because of me. I didn't realize that when she asked for an update about 'The Wolf Carter', it was going to begin in 'OH-MY-FREAKING-GOSH', and end in tears about how Wolf is alleged, my very own soul-mate.
So technically, it was about Ashlyn's dreaded fascination with soul-mates, just mine this time.
What a revelation.
It was crazy how quickly we went from painting our toenails red, and listening to the radio, to me attempting to comfort a hysterical Ashlyn on the freezing bathroom floor. There were a few things in the world that I majorly sucked at.
One, being unable to walk away from something I did not understand, I'm positive that this flaw of mine correlates as to why I can't keep that idiot, Wolf, off my mind these days. Two, dealing with crying people. Particularly the kind that is, a crying Ashlyn Jones. We have been friends since we were in diapers, but I sucked when she had meltdowns. I knew it, she knew it, Matty knew it, heck, even my Mum knew it.
I patted her awkwardly on the back as I took a couple steps back, "should I get you a tissue?"
"No, but for the love of Cupid, can you please get with Wolf", she retorted.
Stupidly, my cheeks went a little red, which honestly only added fuel to the fire because the next thing I know, Ashlyn is ugly-crying again and asking me how the hell she is supposed to create a ship name from 'Valentina' and 'Wolf'.
I'm getting worried about all the water she is losing so, I decide that to firstly, prevent my best friend's dehydration, and to secondly, dodge an awkward conversation about why I was blushing about the prospect of 'getting with Wolf', I would go and get her a glass of water.
So like any good best friend, I left Ash to drown in her own tears.
I wasn't exactly sure why I blushed, I barely know him, but I can't deny that my heart always beats a little faster whenever Wolf is around or mentioned. It's quite annoying actually.
He's just an enigma, that's all. You wouldn't blush or even notice he is around if you knew him.
The community service punishment had been keeping me up and on edge, ever since that night. I didn't need to know Wolf, nor did I need to spend unnecessary time with the boy. He freaked me out way too much. The punishment officially began after this weekend, and I was dreading it.
I filled a glass, just as Ash met me halfway, practically tumbling down the stairs, possibly due to all the tears in her eyes. She looked hilarious, but laughing would probably sign my death certificate so I kept my mouth shut.
"I thought of it!",
I raised an eyebrow, pushing the glass in her direction across the benchtop.
"Valof!", she had said it with so much confidence that I almost felt bad for the shock-horror look adorning my face.
"Ash, that's just horrible", the name but also, the prospect of Wolf and I ever being anything. I'd much rather keep my sanity.
Liar. You're fascinated already.
"I know", she sighed melodramatically, "don't fret, it'll come to me. There's a carnival in town, it slipped my mind before but we should go!"
"Right now?", I ask but it fell on deaf ears. Ash was already halfway out the door, in all her puffy-eyed, running mascara glory, with an iron grip on my wrist dragging me behind her.
Then she stopped, I thought I'd talked some sense into her, but instead, she turns around giving me a cheeky grin, "Who knows, maybe Wolf will be there,"
I flicked her nose, and it reminded me of the other night again, my annoyance just kept growing. Wolf was trouble and I had enough on my plate as it was. "Shut up Ash, just for that, we are going on all the rides."
I smile while Ash looks stricken. She despised rides. I loved them. The adrenaline rush, the inability to control while on a ride, it always put me in the best mood.
Hi, my name is Valentina Rivers and I have a severe case of being a walking contradiction.
A smirk took over Ash's face as she traced an 'x' over her heart. Great, another person wanted to put a dare on my shoulders. Lucky for them, much like mysteries, I never could walk away from a dare.
"If we see Wolf, I dare you to ask him to Jet's party next weekend, let's see you tap into the not-so-lost Valentina that we all once knew and loved". I glared hard at her, "you don't know what you're asking of me, Ash".
There was a reason for certain walls and I was having a hard enough time as it was, with keeping them up around Wolf, those damned blue eyes seemed to see through everything.
Ash softened a little, "I do Val, and I miss her as much as you miss her."
I traced an 'x' over my heart, and Ash knew she had won. It was a long-time tradition we had kept up, daring one another at the worst, best and most random times, for a sense of familiarity in a quickly changing world, or for reasons unbeknownst to the other, the pure stupidity of the dares were our thing.
"One condition,"
If one of us was going to suffer, so was the other. Ash wasn't surprised, but I could still feel a little fear radiating from her. "You have to come on every single ride with me, as many times as I say, and if you vomit, then I won't fulfil my part of the dare."
Cue my evil laughter.
We shook on it after she called me the living incarnation of evil, which was rightfully so.
As we drove toward our destination, with the horizon before us, painted by the sunset in hues of lilac, pink and orange, I realized that I hadn't even thought of my parents all day or Emerly for that matter.
Relief and guilt somehow both coursed through my veins, but as the fluorescent lighting, and the jolly music of the carnival surrounded Ash and I, the feelings were replaced by the need to submerge myself in this next distraction for as long as I could. It was unhealthy, but the smell of popcorn and Ash's excited chatter overpowered the small voice in my head, that voice that always reminded me that, I couldn't keep doing this forever.
➹
"That
Was
Absolute
Hell,
Val
HELL!!"
Ash panted, her eyebrows were scrunched together as if she were in pain, her lips drawn into a thin line. I burst out laughing, my sides hurting and my eyes tearing up at the sight of her grey-hued face.
But, hell it was hilarious. Ash screamed her lungs out the entire ride and almost fainted when the little boy next to her puked out the cotton candy he'd be munching on. Not the smartest move of the kid, but definitely one for the history books because of Ash's face. Her eyes had looked like they were about to pop out of her head and roll into another dimension.
"Do you give in?", we had been on the same ride five times in a row, I was feeling fine, but Ash was obviously taking it harder.
I loved how the wind nipped at my face and overpowered any thought in my stupid head, every time we spun around. I felt so alive, thankfully, my ridiculous anxiety wasn't playing up from the lack of control. I was feeling better than I had in weeks. I think Ash had picked up on this too.
I really wished the carnival didn't have to leave tomorrow. Everything seemed brighter at the moment, brand new almost. I didn't want it to go back to the way it was before.
"Ash, I think I want to run away and become a carny,"
Ash shook her head softly at me, "Val, you know you can't keep avoiding everything that happened"
It was easier said than done. Not that I was even interested in talking about it any more than this right now. I was too happy.
"Look, forget I said anything okay? let's go on the teacups, less stress for you", I winked and grabbed Ash before she could say anything more, pulling her into the crowd, away from the boy who puked, and hopefully, away from that conversation.
➹
The teacups destroyed Ash.
I honestly never would have thought that such a cheery, child-hood reminiscent ride, would make her puke her guts out.
It was a joyous occasion because if we did see Wolf, the dare was off. Ash had lost, I was victorious! I did feel a little bad though, so I sat Ash down on an ancient looking wooden seat to go and find her some water, for the second time that day.
My eyes scanned the set-ups. Water, I needed some water, preferably bottled so that it didn't spill when I voyaged back into the rowdy crowds.
The remaining flecks of sunlight reflected on something shiny in the near distance, grabbing my attention. With the need for water practically forgotten, God I was an awful best-friend these days, I drew closer to a set-up where somebody was acting as a target.
A target for a knife-thrower.
I watched in awe at the precision of the masked man, concealing everything but two striking blue eyes, and a pierced smirk. I couldn't stop the horrified gasp that escaped my lips when a knife barely missed the target's left hand. The masked man's eyes remained trained on mine, as he threw another knife, one that pierced exactly above the target's head. I swallowed, almost unable to draw my gaze and attention elsewhere.
That smirk was way too familiar, and my suspicions were correct, as Wolf Carter appeared in front of me, a black mask in hand, mischief etched across his face.
"Enjoy the show princess?"