A/N: Dedicated to seawaneka. Thank you for your support! ♥

*****

Vallery’s POV

I walked through the hallway, thinking about how much my schedule sucked.

Not only did I have almost no classes with my twin, but I had to share a lot with that religious weirdo Matthew who apparently had made it his mission to preach to me every time he got the chance in order to try and save my soul. That boy was becoming a problem and I had no idea how long I’d be able to keep my cool and thus my promise to Nat; I just wished to smack that sermonizing bastard so badly! One punch and he’d probably declare me the Devil’s spawn and therefore beyond salvation and leave me the heck alone.

The rest of Nat’s soon to be friends were okay, except for the Chatter Box; she was giving me a headache with her constant babbling. It was even worse than what my mom did and that was saying something. How did the others from their group endure having lunch with Karen each school day? Especially Kaylyn; she barely said a word to anyone. And whenever she did, it seemed she was doing it because she had to, not because she wanted to.

The coolest of the bunch had to be Dustin. The boy was a charmer and not only because he was total eye candy with his fit body; not to mention those grey eyes went so well with his light brown skin. He had a good sense of humor, could make small talk without it seeming forced and most importantly – he knew when to shut up. He also got bonus points for being playfully flirty instead of coming off as a creep or nuisance.

And then there was Irene, of course; the reason why my brother got initiated into that group. The two of them seemed to get more than well. She was smart and down-to-earth – two things my brother appreciated. He liked to play it safe; I was the one who enjoyed taking risks.

I was now at the parking lot. Nat and I were to meet here so mom could pick us up before we all went shopping. It wasn’t amongst my favorite activities when accompanied by my mother but hey, I needed new clothes. I searched for her car or for any signs of my brother but with no success. Most of the people had left already so the lot was almost empty. The last class had ended about twenty minutes ago. I was late to get out because I’d been discussing with my teacher my “unacceptable behavior” which she “would not tolerate” and if it continued she would not only send me to the Principal but would make sure I’d get detention for the rest of the month.

And all I’d done was to comment on her attire and to politely advise her to burn all her clothes because her lack of fashion sense was an eyesore.

“Looking for a ride?”

I wished I had not turned around to see who’d asked me that. A varsity jacket and a cocky every-girl-would-be-so-lucky-if-I-banged-her smirk; I was now about to talk to the American teenage jock cliché. Just what I needed after surviving Matthew, Karen and a bunch of idiotic teachers.

“So?” He prompted, leaning on his black Dodge Charger. “A hottie like you shouldn’t walk.”

Did he think the look he was giving me was supposed to be seductive?

Narrowing his eyelids like that made him seem drowsy. The car on the other hand was something I to be admired but even that wouldn’t make me accept a ride from a sleazebag like him.

“You like it?” He ran his hand over the smooth surface of the hood. “It’s not borrowed; it’s mine. It’s a real man’s car.”

“You’re right; this is a real man’s car.” I grinned and he mirrored my expression, thinking for a moment he had me hooked.“So how come a boy like you is driving it?”

His lips turned down faster than you could say “Burn!”

“Is it a gift from your daddy?” I kept jesting, his face getting redder with each word I said.“Nah, it’s probably from mommy, you look like a mamma’s boy…”

“Shut the fuck up!” He pushed himself off the car and loomed over me.“Don’t you talk about my mother.”

“You’re right. I apologize.” I lifted my hands up, in a pretended apologetic gesture. I let him cool down for a moment – he even took a few steps back - before going on:“So, it’s a gift from your boyfriend then?”

His face adopted the reddest of shades yet.

“You freaking…”

“Shut up and get lost.”

Hunter sounded bored but he still managed to include a threatening note in his tone. To my surprise, the other boy didn’t even try to put up a front; once he saw who gave the order, he just silently turned around, got in his car and drove off in a hurry.

“I could’ve handled that,” I noted.

“I believe you. Walk me to Aunt Betty’s car.”

He didn’t say it as a question or a suggestion; it was another command which of course made me stand more firmly on my spot. He smirked, realizing why I’d suddenly straightened up and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Vallery, how about you walk me to my Aunt’s car?” His voice was jestingly polite but I decided to go with him anyway.

“I thought you’d argue more. About how I should’ve let you handle that guy on your own,” he said as we walked to the far end of the parking lot.

“I usually would, but you got me curious,” I admitted with a shrug. “Did you do it to suck up to my brother?”

“Suck up to him?” He laughed. “Not my style.”

“But you like him.”

“I don’t know him yet. Not that well anyway.”

“What do you know so far?”

“Apart from the fact that he blushes easily and is a terrible liar?”

I giggled.

“Yeah, that aside.”

“He adores you.”

“You are not getting any points in astuteness for that; it’s pretty obvious,” I noted. “What do you like about him?”

“His looks. His accent.” His eyes got a tad softer. “It reminds me of a friend of mine - Devon, except he’s not so easy to tease. I like that too – that Nat is fun to tease.”

“Really?” I moved in front of him and so we both stopped walking. “If you tease my brother too much, if you push him too much, I’ll break you.”

He tilted his head to the left and his grey eyes sparkled in amusement.

“Too much?”

“A little teasing will be good for him; he needs to get out of his shell,” I voiced something I’d often thought about and we resumed walking.

“And what if Nathaniel getting out of his shell means him getting into my bed?” He asked casually.

“What of it?”

“You insinuated that jock is gay and you used that as an insult. Do you believe it’s an insult, Vallery?”

“It’s not about what I believe; it’s about what he fears. He looked homophobic. Guessed I was right about that,” I smirked proudly.

We stopped next to an oldreddish-brownDodge Caravan Turbo.

“Hunter Harris – a minivan guy?” I sneered.

“No. Boot Camp Aunt – a minivan woman.”

“Boot Camp Aunt?” I repeated like a questioning echo.

“I moved in with Aunt Betty Harris because I was supposed to clean up my act,” he began to explain, reaching in his pocket for the keys. “My parents thought it would be like a placing me in a correctional facility. She’s really religious and doesn’t take shit from anyone so she was supposed to reform me. I think they were hoping she’d cure my gayness.”

I snorted at that.

“Yeah, turns out my religious Aunt couldn’t care less who I screwed. She’s tough and blunt – sometimes plain rude, but just. I actually enjoy living with her. You and Nat needing a ride home?”

“In that? Does everyone here ride in a dodge?”

“You and your brother really enjoy replying to me with a question,” he shook his head. “It’s annoying.”

“No, we don’t need a ride; mom’s getting us. That’s her now actually,” I said, pointing to the car which just entered the lot. Mom parked next to Hunter’s spot and greeted him before asking where my brother was.

“Don’t know,” I shrugged.

“It’s not like him to be late,” she commented, furrowing her eyebrows. “I’ll call him.”

“He’s not a child, mom.” I rolled my eyes.

“Bye, Mrs. Reed. See you, Val.” Hunter hurried to get in his vehicle, probably sensing that family drama was about to ensue.

“Get into the car, Vallery,” She ordered flatly and took her phone out of her purse. “I’m just going to check on him…”

“There he is,” I told her, seeing my brother jog our way.

“Sorry, I’m late,” my twin apologized, sitting next to me and buckling his belt as soon as his arse touched the backseat. “I hope you two didn’t wait long.”

I was about to tell me Hunter kept me company just to see the look on my brother’s face when I mentioned our neighbor, but mom cut me off:

“Don’t worry about that, honey. How was your day?” She started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

“What took you so long?” I questioned irritated; I wasn’t angry at Nat, I was just annoyed that mom greeted him with a smile and me with a heavy sigh. And I hadn’t done anything today! Okay, maybe I did something, but nothing she knew about.

“I was chatting with Irene and lost track of time,” he admitted absentmindedly as he took my belt to buckle it for me.

“Who’s Irene?” She looked at his reflection in the mirror.

“A friend of mine, mom. And my Biology partner.”

“Is she pretty?”

Her eyes were back on the road but mine were on my brother’s face. Would he blush, talking about that girl?

“Yes, mom, she is.”

Yep, he blushed.

“That’s nice,” mother noted and I saw a smile on her face.

“She’s also very smart, mom,” Nat made sure to point out. I knew he hated being judged for his looks – why? He was so handsome - and he did his best to ignore a person’s appearance. It didn’t always work though. And how could it? As he himself had said, we liked being surrounded by beautiful things and by beautiful people.

“I’m lucky they paired us,” he concluded, looking out the window. Or was it away from me?

Too late, Nat; I’d already seen your rosy cheeks.

“Oh, I am sure you would’ve been able to take every assignment on by yourself. I expect nothing less of you; you are so clever…” Mom began to chatter and I tuned her off. I didn’t need to hear her praise Nat again; it was a subject she picked often as it brought her great joy. To me it was annoying and it was making my brother uncomfortable.

Poor Nat!

Yes, I sometimes hated that my parent either ignored me or that whenever they saw me they tensed up, but Nathaniel had it much worse.

He was perfect in their eyes and he desperately wanted to hold on to that image. He loved them too much to risk disappointing them and that put him under a lot of pressure. Sometimes he was so stressed out, I thought he’d flip. It was one of the reasons why I dragged him off to workouts with me; I wanted to ease some of that tension off. He had another cure for that – writing. I never understood how that could help, but it obviously worked just fine for him. And if Nat was happy, I was happy.

Hunter’s words echoed in my head: “And what if Nathaniel getting out of his shell means him getting into my bed?”

Really, what of it?

As long as he was happy, it was alright with me.

*****

A/N: So what do you think about Val now that you’ve had the chance to jump into her head?

Is she a better storyteller than Nat?

What are the chances of her and Hunt becoming friends? The two of them have a lot in common…

Comment to tell me what you think and don’t forget to click on the vote button if you enjoyed the chapter!

Hugs, kisses, have a great time wattpading,

CatMint5