𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎// john deacon

chapter twenty- charmed

WHEN VALERIE GOT back to her apartment, she was greeted by Payton and Periwinkle, who they had grown quite close with over the past few weeks.

   "And how was the airport? Lots of fans?" Payton asked, twisting her engagement ring around her finger as she settled herself at the kitchen table. Periwinkle was already sitting down, sipping a mug of - undoubtedly- coffee.

    "Oh, I don't know. A fair amount. I didn't really pay attention."  Valerie replied, and it was the truth. She had been too caught up with John.

    "This morning, Brian got very emotional. Said he'd miss me a lot." Payton said, almost as an afterthought. She was paying attention to Valerie, observing her because she somehow seemed different.

Valerie was distracted by the new bracelet that adorned her wrist. She hadn't gotten a good look at it at the airport, so she was observing it now.

All of the charms were incredibly beautiful, and they caught the light of the apartment.

Now that Valerie got to have a good look at all of them, she noticed the intricacy of each one, and the obvious amount of thought that John had put into selecting each one.

One of the charms was a paint palette. John knew of Valerie's love for painting, though she didn't often engage in this passion. She never had the time. Still, she smiled knowing that he remembered such a small detail.

   The second charm was a shooting star charm that was adorned with tiny diamonds. Obviously a nod to her career in astrophysics.

   The third charm was a music note. Valerie, practically being a part of the band, knew a fair amount about music. But she was also just completely in love with jazz music.

    And the last charm was a scrabble piece. Not just any Scrabble piece, but one with the letter J engraved on it. Valerie couldn't help but smile. She could almost hear Payton telling her that the charm was practically a profession of his love for her.

"Valerie, I asked you something!" Payton said, poking Valerie lightly, grinning.

"What?"

"I asked if John bought you that bracelet."  Payton asked with a smirk. Valerie blushed. Periwinkle was trying not to grin at Valerie's obvious embarrassment.

    "Oh, yeah. He did." Valerie said with a slight smile, her blush growing. Payton laughed.

    "I knew it! About bloody time. Y'know, Roger called us before you got on the plane and told us the news."  Payton continued, smiling when she saw that Valerie had choked on her tea.

    "So how was it? He made it sound quite scandalous,"

    "It's Roger. Anything he tells you is probably as scandalous as it can get."  Valerie noted, and Payton made a sound that meant she agreed with her.

    "Well? I want details, ma'am." Payton said, clapping her hands in quick succession. Periwinkle shushed her quickly. Nobody wanted to wake the neighbours.

     "It was.... nice. It was amazing." Valerie told her, blushing, messing with the charms on her new bracelet.

     "That's all I get?"

    "This isn't grade school. He kissed me, and it was great."  Valerie said with a shrug, a giggle escaping her lips.

    "It might as well be grade school. The entire band and even Miami and Reid have been placing bets and rooting for you and John. Honestly, the two of you couldn't have been more blatant about how you felt." Periwinkle admitted. Though new to the group, she was caught up on everything quickly.

"Well why don't I just read the note he gave me. Like we're in grade school," Valerie said, though she couldn't help but smile at the thought of reading a note.

    "Right, here we go."  Periwinkle said excitedly as Valerie brought the note from her pocket and unfolded it.

    The paper was very crinkled and crunches up, but it was not unreadable. And so, Valerie began to read

"'Dearest Valerie, I'm writing this the night before we leave. I've been so nervous to write anything, I've put it off until the very last minute. What can I say? I'm a master procrastinator.' He lamely attempted to cross it out there," Valerie read, pausing to point out the slight alteration in the note.

    Both Periwinkle and Payton gave her a look that said they wanted her to proceed, so she did.

    "'Of course, I knew I'd have to write this eventually. And what better time right before I leave for America? I want to apologize for the timing. Truly horrific on my part.

    I'll just get on with my point, or else the entire letter will just be me rambling! Valerie, what I wanted to tell you is that I like you. I truly do. So much that it even scares me sometimes.

    I think any longer trying to hide my feelings - which I did a horrendous job at, Roggie says - and I would explode.

    Of course, a date will have to wait. But I'm hoping you'll make some room in your schedule for when I get back?

    I'll see you at your graduation. Lots of love.

    Yours, John.'"  Valerie finished,  a stupid grin, much like the one she wore at the airport, on her face again.

    "That was very sweet. Just the fact he even wrote out a note shows you how much he cares," Periwinkle observed. Payton agreed.

    "I just wished he'd asked you out sooner! It would've been so much fun to get you all dressed up for a date."  Periwinkle continued, shaking her head and laughing slightly.

    "Your John has quite horrible time management. He may handle the finances of the band, but he cannot manage his timing." Periwinkle concluded.

    "Amen to that, sister. Your boy has got to get it in line. I want the two of you to start on some kids. Stat!" Payton exclaimed, making Valerie laugh.

    "Oi, calm down a bit. Can't jump into it too quickly, now can we,"

    "Gotta get started on some kids, Val. Pretty soon you'll be shriveled and old and unable to reproduce. Tsk, a shame really. Your babies would've looked wonderful." Payton said with fake disappointment, making the three girls laugh.

     "Whatever!" Valerie exclaimed, blushing. She moved from the table to start on breakfast (which she had skipped out on).

    Payton and Periwinkle continued to talk, but Valerie had only really focused on one thing in their whole conversation.

     'Your John' they had continued to say. And Valerie rather liked the sound of that.