Nothing Lasts Forever

Chapter Five

June 2nd 1981

Dave wasn't in English. At first Val just figured he had ditched class because he never seemed to pay attention anyway but after a while she realized he didn't seem like the type of person who would leave her alone. Not that she minded, Val knew he only would have distracted her from working.

Valentine came to the conclusion that Dave must have been sick, or taking the day off for some other reason. She didn't see him in the hallway on the way to any of her other classes when they usually would have crossed paths. By the time the bell rang for lunchtime Val had scared herself into worrying whether or not she was still invited to eat with Slash and Pete if Dave wasn't there. He had been the one to ask her in the first place after all and maybe the others didn't really want her there, but the day before Slash had been very nice and didn't seem to mind her being there.

In the end, Val told herself to suck it up and go with Slash and Pete. There was only one problem. Neither of them were at the place they met the day before. Valentine started to worry again. Were none of them at school? What would she do of they weren't? She couldn't just stand there waiting for them forever. Maybe they'd known she would be waiting and met somewhere else to avoid her. Val fold herself she would only wait for five minutes and if they didn't show up she would eat lunch with the girls the Dean made sit with her on her first day.

Much to Val's relief, Pete came walking up to her not long after she began to think about leaving. "Sorry, the canteen line was really long today," He apologised, running his fingers though his wavy hair and scanning the area. "Where's Dave?"

"He wasn't in English," Val bit the inside of her lip. "Where's Slash?"

Pete shook his head. "Dunno, he wasn't in any of the classes we have together." They began to walk across the field towards the park, the hot sun beating down on their backs.

"Do you think they're both sick?" Val doubted it. They seemed fine the day before and she didn't see how they could get sick overnight. She looked up at Pete. He was pretty tall and very good looking. At her last school the girls would have been all over him. They were here too. Val noticed how girls would stare and giggle when he walked past. She wondered if he realized.

"Doubt it," Pete shrugged. "I heard something happened after school yesterday. We have band practise tonight so I'll ask them about it then."

Valentine was a little confused, to say the least. Something must have happened that prevented Slash and Dave from coming to school but she wasn't sure what it possibly could've been. Pete didn't seen perplexed though so Val didn't let herself worry too much.

June 2nd 1981

Pete was talking to his friends outside the front gate to school the next morning. Normally Val would have been intimidated by the loud group of teenagers and gone straight to her first class but the curiosity was eating away at her. She walked right up to Pete and said hello. He didn't seem to think she was being too forward (as she was worried he would) and was kind enough to introduce her to all his friends. Val immediately forgot all of their names but thought the gesture was nice.

"So," Val asked the moment she had the opportunity. "Did you find out what happened to Slash and Dave?"

Pete looked around at his friends before putting his hand on Val's shoulder and pulling her to the side, away from the group. "Yeah, sort of. They weren't at band practise but Steven told me they're both grounded."

Val gasped. She had never been grounded before and she couldn't imagine how awfully boring it must be. "For what?"

Pete chuckled at her total overreaction. He gave her a friendly bump with his shoulder,causing some of the nearby girls to give Val a jealous glare. She took a self conscious step away from him. "They've been suspended for getting into a fight after school on Monday."

Valentine's eyes widened in shock. "A fight? How come? Why?" She hadn't pinned either of them for a violent type. They seemed so sweet. Definitely not threatening.

"They're just stupid," Pete was in a really good mood that day. He had a smile in his voice whenever he spoke. It reminded Val of Steven. "I'm not sure exactly what happened but I bet it was spectacular."

Val bit her lip to hold in a giggle. The thought of Dave throwing a punch was laughable. He was so small and thin there was no way he could hurt anybody. "When are they coming back to school then?"

"Friday. Steven says they would've had the whole week off but they need to be there for the last day," Pete nodded. Some of his friends were trying to grab his attention but he chose to ignore them.

Valentine had almost forgotten Friday was the last day of school before the summer holidays. She'd only been at this school for a month so she didn't feel quite ready to leave. The thought filled her with dread. Steven, Dave, Slash, and Pete were her only friends and she wasn't sure they would want to hang around with her during the holidays. If they didn't, she was going to be very bored because there wasn't going to be anything for her to do.

"But we're gonna break them out after school today," Pete paused a moment then smiled sympathetically. "You can come with us if you'd like."

Val knew what he was doing. Pete felt sorry for her because he knew she had no friends. There were two options. She could be offended that he pitied her and never talk to Pete again. Or she could forget about it and go with them and probably have a great time.