𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒.

☆ payment

☆ = bonus chapter!! for more context but not necessary to read. sometimes u just miss out on some details

girls bathroom
it was lunch period. valerie, being hungry, finished her packed lunch early and headed off to the girls bathroom to fix up some things about her appearance. she wasn't one to worry much about it, but she was a bit concerned about her uneven eyeliner that her friend sayaka commented on and how her hair was a bit messier than usual (it was probably due to her trying a new method of curling her hair, ultimately failing.) valerie was brushing her hair since she couldn't fix her eyeliner without an eyeliner brush, not being one to bring makeup supplies to school.
her hair was often tangled, and so it took quite a bit of time for her to brush thoroughly. she planned on getting back to sitting either petunia back at the lunch table when she was done, but little did she know, something besides the tangled mess of her hair would keep her held behind.
valerie was about to dismiss the footsteps (that almost resembled the feeling and volume of an earth quake) she heard approaching the bathroom, minding her own business until she saw a familiar figure in the mirror.

×@<(¡€?

valerie suddenly turns around as she realizes ×@<(¡€ was staring at her through the mirror. they make eye contact, and thankfully, ×@<(¡€ was leaning against a pillar of a bathroom stall, which was far away enough for valerie to distance herself from her, leaning back to the sink, which was on the opposite side. ×@<(¡€ speaks. "valerie,"
valerie is a bit cautious and nervous as to why ×@<(¡€ was talking to her. she wasn't good at reading people, so she couldn't define the serious tone in her voice. "yeah?"
"i just wanted to say that i'm sorry for the outburst i had earlier... you know, about petunia." ×@<(¡€ looks down, ashamed. valerie thought the apology was very sudden. after all, it wasn't really her problem, but if it'd give ×@<(¡€ some closer, she supposed she could accept it. "oh, no, you're fine." valerie replies, a hint of confusion appearing.
"i just hope that doesn't get in the way of things, because i do want to be friends. can we?" ×@<(¡€ asks, continuously jumping to audacious topics. where was the idea of them two being friends coming from? valerie's grip on her hairbrush came loose as she looks at ×@<(¡€, as if she was crazy. "i- um, really? with me?" valerie says confusedly, making it out to be as if she didn't think anybody would want to outright be friends with her, even notice her. which was partly true, but she was trying to avoid the thoughts of her not really wanting to be friends with ×@<(¡€ in the first place, due to her bad reputation. "yeah! you're really cool."
"oh, thank you?" valerie was usually very flattered by compliments, but for some reason, the tone of how ×@<(¡€ said it sounded so fake that it made valerie a bit uncomfortable. ×@<(¡€ suddenly switches the topic to her. "yeah, you play umm.. what, the recorder, right?"

"the clarine-"

"yeah, we could duet because i'm a violin prodigy! i can go easy on you if we ever do though, don't worry."
"i mean, i dunno, i could probably handle what you'd gi-"

"i also have hacking skills... all these cool abilities, you know? you should totally be friends with me. i'm popular, stuff like that."

valerie wasn't very convinced. at least for her, she thought the process with making friends was a lot more natural. to click when they talk to each other, which was not the case between her and ×@<(¡€. maybe it was her people pleasing tendencies, but instead of turning her down, she tries to be nice about it and avoid outright rejecting her offer. "i'll... think about it. i don't know if i'm interested in making new friends right now."

"yeah, yeah, okay. oh, by the way, do you and petunia like hello kitty?" ×@<(¡€ continues to ask abruptly, but valerie does answer properly as she has been. "... yes?" though, it was easy to tell valerie was a bit on edge since all of this came out of nowhere, and the conversation wasn't exactly going smoothly with all the topic changes. it had her skeptical, but conflicted on what in particular.
"oh, me too!"