DECEMBER 24 . . .
7:55 p.m

"He's taking you on a date?!" Roni shouts in excitement.

"Yes! Now calm down he's waiting outside." Valerie says, hoping that Roni would quiet down.

"He's outside already?" Roni asks as Valerie nods at her. "You can't go. Not like that! You're not going on a date with me, Val. Go change to something else."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Valerie asks as she looks down at her attire. She was wearing a white oversized jacket with black jeggings and white keds.

"Seriously, Val?" Roni shakes her head as she heads toward Valerie's closet and starts picking out a new outfit for her. Once she was done, she turns around and hands Valerie the new outfit. "Here, change."

Valerie looks at the clothes, taking them. "Okay, fine." She sighs, going to the bathroom to change. She takes off the clothes she had on and changes to the dark blue high waisted jeans and white knitted crop sweater along with black ankle strap high heeled boots. After she was done, she walks out of the bathroom only to find out Roni wasn't in her room anymore. She takes one more look at herself in her mirror, making sure she looked presentable.

After fixing her hair a little bit, she walks downstairs to see Roni holding Tessa as she was keeping Tom company. Valerie's shaky hands sliding down the railing of the stairs as Tom turns around to the sound of Valerie's heels. He smiles as he admires her beauty, "H-Hi." He breathes out as he walks up to her.

Valerie blushes, looking down as she pushes back the loose strand behind her ear. She slowly looks up at Tom, smiling at him adoringly, "Hi."

"Don't mean to ruin the moment, but you should probably start heading out." Roni reminds them.

"Right." Tom blushes as he turns to face Roni. "Please, take care of her. Okay?"

"You got it, Thomas. Tessa's in good hands, don't worry." She reassures, smiling at both Tom and Valerie. "Now, go." She nods toward the kitchen for Valerie, winking playfully.

Valerie chuckles as she shakes her head, "Let's go." She whisperers toward Tom as he nods toward her. Valerie grabs her handbag from the kitchen counter that Roni gesture toward and hinting that what she needed for tonight was in there.

"Ready?" Tom asks Valerie.

"Yeah." She breathes out happily as he leads the way to his car. "So where are we going?" She asks as he opens the car door for her.

"That, darling, is a surprise." He says with teasing smirk playing on his face as he shut her door. Valerie playfully rolls her eyes as he walks to his side and gets in.

9:45 p.m

The whole car ride was peaceful and filled with a few random conversations here and there just to pass the time until they arrived at Tom's surprise location.

"Tom, what are we doing here?" Valerie asks taken aback at the scenery in front of her.

"I-I just figured, you know... you love astronomy. I-I could take you to my favorite spot where you could see the stars better. Do you- Do you not like it? We could go somewhere else. I-If you'd like." He rambles on.

Valerie shakes her head as she let out a little chuckle. "N-No." She smiles widely. "This is perfect." She says as she looks at Tom, her eyes glistening. "No one has ever done this for me, thank you." She says softly as she hugs him.

"You're welcome." He smiles softly. "Wait here." He whispers loud enough for her to hear him as he exits out of the car. He walks to the trunk of the car and opens it as he pulls two blankets out along with a small gift box. He smiles to himself, putting the the small gift box in his jacket pocket. He shuts the trunk, going to the hood of the car and setting one of the blankets down.

Still holding a blanket, he goes to get Valerie out of the car. He opens her door as she gets out and lets out a quiet 'thank you.' He holds her hand and leads her to the hood of his car. He lifts her up gently and sets her down on top of the hood as he does the same. He wraps the other blanket around them as they gaze at the stars.

More so, Valerie gazes at the stars whilst Tom is struck by Valerie's beauty; he couldn't look away from her. Valerie's eyes flicker to Tom as she smiles happily, "What?" She asks as her eyebrows furrow, but her face still holding a radiant smile.

He shakes his head, "N-Nothing." He pauses as he let out a soft chuckle. "How come you didn't tell me sooner?" He asks her, curious to know why she waited so long to tell him about the feelings she had for him.

Valerie sighs, looking out into the distance as she shakes her head. "I-I don't know." She shrugs, looking back at him. "I was scared... I guess. It's hard to explain." She says looking down at her fingers. "I guess, I felt safe with just knowing that I was possibly invisible to you and you knowing that I didn't exist... in my little world-" She sighs, "it-it was easier that way because I didn't have to face the rejection if I just came straightforward with you. I didn't want to face the fact that maybe you didn't like me because of the way that I look. I also didn't want to face the fact that maybe you weren't the person I thought you'd be and that I was just in love with the thought of you." She rambles on as she pulls her knees against her chest.

"Val... you were never invisible to me." He whispers as he brought his pointer finger up to Valerie's chin, gently pulling her face to meet his. "I noticed you every day whenever I had the chance." He smiles softly. "I just thought that you didn't like me that way." He tells her truthfully as he pushes the strand of hair back behind her ear, leaving his hand on her cheek. "I like you just the way you are, Val. There's nothing I would change about you." He says softly as he caresses her soft cheek. "Why do you have to be so perfect." He whispers softly against her lips.

Valerie smiles, looking up into Tom's dark chocolate eyes. "I could say the same about you." She whispers back.

Tom lets out a soft chuckle as he shakes his head. He inches closer to Valerie, closing the gap between them. His lips gently pressing against hers in a warm kiss. Both of his hands gently holding the sides of her face as his phone starts ringing. He lets go of the kiss as he quickly apologizes about his phone. Pulling his phone out, seeing it was an alarm for when it was midnight.

He smiles at Valerie, "Merry Christmas." He says happily giving her a small kiss as Valerie smiles.

"Merry Christmas." She whispers happily. "I got you something." She cheers softly.

"W-What?" Tom asks taken aback. "No, no. You didn't have to, Val." He protests as he lightly chuckles. "You gave me enough, love. It's my turn now." He smiles.

Valerie shakes her head, "No. This is the last gift." She laughs softly. "Please." She pouts.

Tom rolls his eyes playfully, "Alright." He sighs as Valerie let out a light squeal of joy.

She pulls out a little gift box from her handbag and gives it to him. Tom smiles at her then starts opening the gift, revealing a silver bracelet with the words: 'you're my star xx' engraved on it along with a little diamond to represent the star. Tom looks at Valerie, feeling speechless.

"I-I don't know what to say." He says softly. "I love it, thank you." He smiles, giving her a longing kiss. He lets go as he looks at her adoringly before grabbing the gift box from inside of pocket. "Now, here's yours." He whispers, handing it to her.

She takes the gift from him as he begins to put on the bracelet she gave him. She then opens the gift, revealing a crescent moon with small words engraved in it. "My moonlight." She reads as she smiles up at Tom. "It's beautiful." She says softly as she gives him a warm hug. "Thank you so much." She whispers as she looks at Tom longingly. "You really are perfect." She whispers against his lips.

"I could say the same thing about you." He whispers teasingly as a small smile grew on his face. He pulls her closer into him as he holds onto her as if he was afraid to let her go.

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『 LILLS SPEAKS! 』

merry christmas (eve)!!