Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
𝐈𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 the second she kissed his lips goodbye in his car that morning. Following the mass message and constant lingering whispers of Guzman and Polo's friendship reinstatement, it didn't take long for word to go around that Charisma had broken school rules and willingly strode into the boys locker room to give Guzman a piece of her mind.
While the rumor mill hadn't narrowed the truth down to its essence, Valerio had expected the latter. The idea of Guzman dismissing Charisma entirely had seemed like the opposite direction things could have turned. He knew Charisma far too well to know the bombshell wouldn't go down without a fight in getting what she wanted and even after their first night where they both broke down their shells and revealed their nude, physically, mentally, and emotionally, it was still evident she was tethered to Guzman.
It was hypocritical of Valerio, that he knew, but he couldn't help the selfish and jealous tendencies. He too had been pinning over the messy sharp pieces of his failed relationship (not that any would call it that) with his half-sister just as Chari was with Guzman. Valerio and Chari simply had been two people who drunkenly sought to feel an ounce of affection and sensual longing in another person. It had been so long since either of them felt something besides loneliness and pain that once Valerio got a taste of potential romance (and a good lay, because face it, that's a bonus for him), he desperately grabbed hold.
Neither had expected their one-night stand to repeat multiple times until eventually it became routine to sleep in the same bed even when sex wasn't involved. He told himself to not look into their relationship - which really was merely a general state of friends with benefits - but Valerio couldn't help the lingering feelings that eroded... and part of him had hoped, from her responses, that Charisma had felt something similar.
At least, that was until the interruption of one annoying photograph. For once, Valerio hated the fact that no one in his forsaken school could keep their mouths shut and hopped on the gossip train. Usually he would be the conductor at the head of the cargo, pulling all the reins but this was the kind of scandal he wanted to flush down the toilet - especially when he had no idea what the fuck was truly going on. Charisma had yet to answer any of his calls, her phone going directly to voicemail and all of his messages went straight to delivered but not yet read; he even made the attempt at stalking her social media to see if there were any leads to her whereabouts but there had been absolutely nothing but crickets.
Tossing his phone atop of the table, he placed his chin atop of his arm as he rested on the table top. His eyes shot silent into his cell phone screen as if the longer he silently stared, he telepathically could reach Chari, in which she then would pick up her phone and either call or text him back or at least answer when he'd call.
He almost felt an ounce of patheticness.
Valerio wasn't one to wait around and sulk over a flame. No, Valerio was better than that to allow someone to take a piece of his heart or peck at his skin and dangle it above where he couldn't reach. He never wallowed over someone who didn't want him (lies - he pinned and moped for months over Lu, but again! That was a different story) yet here he was, going about his day as if the world had suddenly stopped spinning and he had absolutely nothing else to do with his time besides twiddle his thumbs until the next class.
Any ol' scenario where someone didn't want him or left him high and dry, Valerio would smother himself in booze and powder until the first person who batted an eyelash or grazed his chest with their finger as they grinded him onto the dance floor slithered with him into a bathroom stall or alleyway.
Substances and sex were his go to source of suppression.
He felt like an addict in a relapse of a fix as his legs shook underneath the table while his fingers thumbed along the table, casually tapping against his chin and arm as he watched the time tick on his phone. In a few hours, he'd be taking his wits to a new high thanks to Rebeka. She had seen him minutes prior to stalking into the student center, noting how he already was antsy and demanded he come let loose and forget his worries at her house where her mom was throwing a party with all of his fixes.
She subtly hinted at giving them another go, "maybe this time we'll have some fun before you drink all the alcohol hmm?" she had teased with a wink which thankfully, earned a laugh from him, something Valerio badly needed.
It was going to be a long two hours until classes ended before he could find himself partying it up at Rebeka's. Until then, he'd have to deal with his inpatient torture unless he managed to find a way to distract him, classes being his last source.
His eyes continued to linger upon his phone until eventually his eyes grew tired while he felt bored and began to close his eyes and sneak a nap in. However, his plan had been struck when a magazine met the back of his neck.
Sitting up straight in his chair, his hand went to the back of his neck while he eyed the person placing themselves upon the chair across from him. Valerio's jaw became taunt and his eyes hardened as caramel colored eyes stared back at him.
"Why are you so depressed?" Lu muttered as she placed her books on the table and began making herself at home. She was acting so aloof as if they both hadn't been disowned by their father and kicked to the curb. Within the snap of a finger, their family and friendship had dissolved into thin air.
Running his tongue along his teeth, Valerio ruffled his curls, then leaned back on his chair. His lips met his dimples and he wiggled his brows, "ah, no, I'm fucking perfect."
His half-sister stared at him with distrust and she shook her head, "come on Valerio, I know you better than that." Valerio's right eye twitched as his fake grin faltered slightly, however, he puffed out a breath of air and leaned back on his chair, "I don't think so."
Lu was about to protest but right as her lips parted, his cell phone came alive, vibrating against the table. Both Valerio and Lu's eyes ran to the contact ID, an image of Charisma from the waist up in her silk lingerie from their first night of fun appeared. It was a profile of her frame, her right hand gripping Valerio's face as she stuck out her tongue and pressed it to his.
Valerio's half-sister beamed at the intimate photo of him and her ex-best friend and she scoffed. "Her - " Lu stated, her eyes lifting from the phone, "really?" she finished looking back at her half-brother, "she's the reason for your sad puppy look."
Valerio couldn't help the boyish grin that lifted his facials and he stuck his finger out towards Lu, wiggling it back and forth, "fucking perfect," he repeated as if he wasn't sulking over Chari just minutes ago. Reaching for the phone, he stood from his chair and pressed it to his ear just as he ruffled Lu's hair and kissed the top of her head before gliding out of the student body with a rambling Chari in his ear.
