the bucket list | lrh

08 - scooby and the gang

Valentine wasn't particularly excited to wake up the next morning, but when she remembered her plans to have Calum and Luke over she felt much more relieved to see the sunlight spilling through her window.

As she quickly shrugged a pair of jeans on, her mind wandered around aimlessly. The conversation with Luke last night had left her swimming in thoughts of the blonde, and she wasn't exactly a hundred percent sure what she should do about it. For now, she'd have to settle for calming her nerves—because he wasn't gonna be there for a while and she had no other plans.

As she exited her room, Scout shot his head up to meet the girl. For the last several weeks he'd been bringing the her meals to her room—so she wouldn't have to leave her bed—and he was surprised to see that she had willingly left on her own bright and early. He shook the suspicion that rose when he considered that it might have something to do with the blonde showing up last night.

"Hi, dad," she spoke softly, keeping her eyes fixated on the kitchen. She walked a little too fast for Scout to form a response before she was out of his sights, but she returned quickly with a plate of breakfast that he made earlier in the morning.

"Hi, baby."

Jeans? Did she move on overnight?

"What are you up to today?" The girl asked, plopping down on the couch next to her father. She smiled as he went on about his plans to visit Mary's mother later on in the evening.

"Calum and Luke—" putting the blonde's name second and last was definitely on purpose, and Scout noticed. "—are gonna come over later on to hang out," she explained, leaving out as many details as she possibly could. Scout knew that something was going on, but alas, he just wanted his daughter to be happy. "Alright. No funny business. I'll notice if any of my alcohol goes missing." Valentine let out a gentle laugh, knowing very well that she'd never steal from her dad.

It was Adeline's favorite thing to do—drink their fathers liquor—but Valentine never had the courage to disobey his authority like that.

"Of course not," she assured the man, a sensitive grin playing at her lips. Another thing that Scout could hardly be oblivious to.

Since when is she smiling so much?

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Luke was nervous. He didn't know why, or what he'd even had to be anxious about, but he was. So much so that when he picked Calum up from work, he could hardly form a proper sentence to greet the boy. Instead, he stared with an unreadable expression. Calum figured he was just being weird—because everyone knew Luke did that a lot—so he didn't comment on the strange interaction.

In fact, both boys remained silent for the entirety of the drive to Valentine's house. They didn't even say anything when they passed Scout on his way to Mary's. They didn't bother speaking to each other and it was awkward. Both boys were praying that Val could dissolve some of the obvious tension, because they were just too stubborn to do it themselves.

"Come in," the girl smiled, ushering them inside with a wave once she opened the door only a few milliseconds after hearing the knock.

The girl wouldn't admit it to anyone other than herself and maybe Mary later on, but she was waiting for the two to arrive with such angst that she didn't know she could possess.

"Hey," Calum greeted her, stepping in first. She smiled in return, backing up so to give him enough space as he scooted past.

When Valentine set her gaze on Luke, her heart nearly stopped. Now she was the nervous one.