Prologue.
11 months before the main event
Thursday (mm/dd/yy) [US]
27/7/23 // 7/27/23
(dd/mm/yy) [UK}
Valentina pov
3:00 pm
"My sweet Valentine!!!" I hear someone shout from behind me, running noises following the voice. I turn around and my eyes light up.
"Astral Projection!!!!" I open my arms and run into my best friend, colliding us into a tight embrace. We spin around in a hug before we stop spinning, giving each other a tight squeeze. We separate and beam at each other.
"Hey!" Astral says, panting and smiling brightly. My eyebrows raise.
"Astral," I say, staring at her with suspicion in my voice. People walk by us and give us dirty looks, signalling for me to pull Astral to the side of the sidewalk. I cross my arms and stare at him.
"What??" They say, looking at me with the same eyebrow raise I was giving them. It is our bit.
"What are you doing here?" I say, narrowing my eyes and leaning in to inspect her face. "Last I checked, you unfortunately didn't live in the UK. Or Brighton. You left after we finished secondary school to attend your special cosmetology university." Astral tenses and gives me an 'innocent' smile.
"Uh- ... Suprise!!" He gives me jazz hands. I raise my eyebrows even more. Somehow that is possible. She drops her smile and her hands. "So I can't just see my best friend?" They say, looking straight into my eyes. I sigh.
"No. No, you can't. Unless you suddenly won the lottery?" I question. He stays silent. "That's what I thought."
"Listen-" They start. We both get pushed by a group of teenage boys who are running after a terrified-looking person. Poor kid. Annoying ass teens.
"Let's go to my flat." I start walking through the path to my building, glancing behind me to see if Astral is following me. They are.
I enter the building and look at the front desk girl, giving her a nod and she clicks a button to open the lift. I walk in and hold it open, watching my best friend of almost a decade and a half years follow behind and enter. I click the button for my floor and the doors close.
"I didn't forget our 15-year friendiversary did I?" I raise my eyebrow as the lift hits floor 4. Astral shakes her head.
"two more months." He replies and I nod. It hits floor 6 and the door opens, letting us exit. I walk out and walk to my door, unlocking it with the key in my pocket. "It will never not surprise me how you can afford to live in this fancy apartment." They walk inside behind me and sit on my couch, letting me close my door and turn to her. He puts their backpack and suitcase near the centre table, turning to me.
"God the Americans are rubbing off on you. 'apartments.' " I say in a mock American accent. "Oh, how I love my burgers, the authentic American cuisine!" I get a pillow chucked into my direction for that comment. I giggle and walk over to my couch, sitting next to Astral. I lean up against them and rest my head on her shoulder. I sigh, closing my eyes. I breathe in her scent. The same rose perfume that he has used since year 7. I smile, the scent bringing me back to our awkward teenage phases.
"I missed you, Val." Astral mutters, leaning into me and closing their eyes as well.
"I missed you more, Ast." I mutter. No matter how hard I try, my guard always falls when she's with me. I love her so, so much. I let slumber take over from my tough day and eventually, I fall asleep on her shoulder.
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TIME SKIP
2 HOURS
5:05 PM
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I stir awake when I hear knocking at my door. I look up and see that Astral fell asleep as well, their mouth slightly open and snoring. I have so many pictures of him asleep at sleepovers. I shift and ease my way out of her grasp, careful not to wake her. I open my door to find the person knocking.
"Greetings. Are you Valentina Amulet?" The person asks, looking up from their clipboard. I wearily nod my head, my eyebrow raised in defence.
"Yes, I am..?" I say, sounding more like a question rather than an answer.
"Do you know of an individual named Astral Winslow?" I tense. I immediately get the story we always have planned as a backup. Astral is going to have a lot of explaining to do.
"Yes, I do. D-Did something happen to her? Oh god... She hasn't texted me back in such a long time. Is my best friend okay??" I say, acting worried. This guy doesn't need to know that she is about 7 meters away.
"Oh. Yes, she is fine. At least, we think so." He seems caught off guard by my reaction. "Astral has been accused of stealing, and when she was given a court date, it was reported that she booked a ticket and smuggled the thing into international airlines. somehow...." He says wearily. "You have not seen your friend?"
"Oh no, I have not! If I find her, I will make sure to report it! Thank you so much, officer!" I say, bowing to show my respect.
"Thank you. Have a good night, Ma'am." tsk
"Of course! You two!" I smile and close the door. I hear something from her suitcase and walk over to it. I open it and a small kitten comes rushing out. It looked well fed and it looks like Astral kept it in good condition.
The kitten runs over to me and I pick it up. I stand up and flick her forehead, startling her awake. She stares at me then looks down at the kitten in my hands, immediately shooting her gaze back up to mine.
"uhhhh..... surprise!" She says in her nervous tone, doing her jazz hand things.
"Astral. what. the actual fuck. did you do."
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my valentine ~ james marriott
FanfictionValentina Amulet is down on their luck. They are working their boring 9-5 job until their best friend from America appears and convinces them to quit their job. They make a small business together while Valentina doesn't forget about their dream to...
