𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐊 . . . 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝

𝟒𝟓. 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡

45. you're a catch

season four, episode three: valentine's day

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Valentine's Day had never really been Nessa's favorite on the long list of holidays. She much preferred Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even Halloween. It's not that she was jealous of all of the couple's on Valentine's Day – she had no reason to be, she had the perfect boyfriend. She just didn't really see the point of it all.

Besides, it seemed a bit careless to be so happy in the middle of everything that was going on. Today did not feel like a happy day for Nessa. But, she and Scott had plans later, and they planned on going to the dance together, so she attempted to put a smile on her face.

She joined Justin in the halls as soon as she walked into school, he greeted her with his prize winning smile and a box of sour gummy worms.

"Happy Valentine's Day." he said cheekily as he handed her the box of candy. It was one of their traditions for years, no matter who either of them were dating. Justin always made sure that his best friend felt his love on February 14th.

"I love you, Foley!" Nessa said as she wrapped him in a hug, tearing open the box and popping a few in her mouth instantly. She reached into her own bag, digging deep until she found the box of M&Ms that she had bought on the way to school this morning. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Justin smiled, grabbing the box as he gave his best friend another quick hug. "At least I know I can count on you for a gift today."

It was no secret that Justin was still reeling from the aftermath of his breakup with Jessica, and Nessa knew that, which is why she made sure not to forget about their tradition today. She couldn't stand the idea of Justin going empty handed today.

"You can always count on me." Nessa told him proudly. "You have years and years of M&Ms to come on February 14th."

Both of them smiled, eating their candy as they stood in wait for Clay to join them, and when he finally did, he was frantically looking up at the cameras the school had installed as they walked through the hallways.

"Look." Clay told the two as he pointed up. "They put up cameras. They're everywhere."

"It's probably just the vandalism, right?" Justin asked as he looked over at Nessa, begging her to say something to calm Clay down.

"Yes, definitely." Nessa said, and Justin silently thanked her with his eyes. But, that was not good enough for Clay Jensen.

"They didn't put any up after the baseball field, and that was worse." Clay countered, and Nessa was already exhausted.

"Dude, most high schools have security cameras nowadays." Justin tried to calm him down, but Clay was having none of it.

"This is different." he told the two of them. "Something's up. They know something."

"Yeah, I gotta go." Nessa told the boys. She couldn't do this today. "Need to go find my Valentine."

Both boys nodded, and Nessa beelined through the hallways toward the Athletics wing, where Scott undoubtedly was. She was correct, as she saw him shoving books into his locker toward the end of the hall. She smiled to herself, telling herself how lucky she was as she walked toward him, wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Happy Valentine's Day." Nessa whispered as she got to her boyfriend, who smiled immediately upon feeling her touch. Scott turned around, placing his back against his open locker as he gave her a quick and soft kiss on the lips.