VINDICTA ⋆ spencer reid

☆ queen's gambit

Should I be sung and unbroken by not saying?
Should I be sung and unbroken by not saying?
Still being cried and laughed at from behind me,
Hugged and tugged down through this tiger's masque for key.

~

Valerie, Late October 2006.

VALERIE'S DAY OF RELAXATION WAS LONG OVERDUE. She didn't let Sunday gloom over her outing with Ila, Dante, and Viv. Nighttime was about to roll around, but the skies still lightly shimmered with speckles of orange and pink. The spunky group of friends rarely had time to hang out with each other - the four of them. They had their clashing schedules, family outings, and work events keeping them occupied, however, it never hindered their ability to free up their packed calendars for an evening of catching up - or the occasional chance to let stupidity let loose.

Spontaneity was a word used to describe them, but they were never spontaneous in the way they planned or did things. Despite her cluttered mind, Val always kept tabs on her activities via random sticky notes she would leave on visible areas in her apartment. Her kitchen cupboards, fridge, bulletin board, the bathroom mirror - why bother staying neat when the important thing is that you remember everything?

Viv and Dante were on the opposite spectrum. Meticulously detailed to the point where their apartment interior design followed suit. Dante had an additional journal he would bring with him wherever he went to note the biggest ideas and the most minuscule ones, whilst Viv appreciates technology more with her laptop calendar and online notes. You could thank Viv for the group's efficient hangout scheduling with the use of shared calendars. She also has a dry-erase calendar stuck to her fridge for good measure.

Ila could be a bit of an oddball - sometimes she left sticky notes on her office computer, others she'd trust her mind to stick them in the back of her mind for later. Although, those moments never age well. Ila shared some similarities with Val in disorganization, but they made it work. Both sharing an apartment, Val would jot down Ila's reminders too. She was her best friend but she could never be certain Ila would retain them all, especially at each waking moment.

Ila owed $60 to the bartender for the day, offering to pick up everyone else's tab as it was her turn to cover the costs of this day's gathering. Val reached for the ballpoint pen she kept glued to her jeans and rolled up the sleeves of her shirt - writing the sum just in case Ila was too enamored by the bartender. Dante aced the dartboard near the mounted TV and Viv conversed with Ila, attempting to distract her tipsiness after 4 shots. The booths were small, leaving Viv to straighten her back, barely lucid as she was. 

After receiving her drink at the bar, she jumped off the bar stool and walked over to Dante, effortlessly nailing the board with only one hand to aim, while the other was tucked in his front pocket. He was confident in his abilities, forcing himself to hold back a smirk each time the dart's sharp tip pierced the board. When he's drunk, he lets his ego roam as it pleases.

"You can nail that board perfectly, yet nailing someone proves difficult?"

His eyes rolled to the back of his head, acknowledging Val's presence. "You're the devil's incarnate, Val." He took another shot at aiming the dart, closing one eye to align his eyesight with the dart's intended target.

Val rested her back on the wall in front of him, taking a casual sip of her drink. "Isn't that supposed to be your thing?"

He raised his eyebrow condescendingly, but still focused on the board. "Well, where did your genius of a boy toy go? To the moon or with me in hell?" 

Dante and Val share a sense of humor and camaraderie, which makes it easy for them to cheer each other up unknowingly. Their humor included sarcasm and brutal honesty, both appreciated by the two, even if it might sting. It's their way of expressing certain signs or emotions without being fully vulnerable - Dante knows Val continues to struggle with it.