the bucket list | lrh

18 - ashton irwin

Valentine tried to reach out. She called multiple times, but being sent to voicemail gets tiring eventually. She wanted to clean up the mess she'd made with the blonde boy, but if he wasn't willing to pick up the phone—she figured there was no use.

So for the next couple of weeks, Valentine found herself slipping right back into the hole she had just barely dug herself out of. Scout had to go back to hand delivering her meals to her bedroom, and she spent a majority of her time sleeping. Though she appeared to be lacking the necessity, with dark circles under her eyes and pale skin—she was getting more than enough sleep.

In fact, she was getting a little too much of it. Her theory was that she couldn't get upset if she wasn't conscious, and it worked. Any time she felt herself thinking of either her sister or Luke, she laid down and put her mind to rest. It was easier that way, for her at least.

Scout on the other hand had never been more worried about his daughter. He knew she was still grieving, but he was disappointed to see the sudden decline in progress. He was proud to see how far she had come, only to be let down and watch her seemingly rewind time.

So when he approached Kellianne for advice, he was almost relieved that Mary had overheard. Valentine's dearest blonde friend was more than excited to step in and be of help to the family she adored. Mary wasted absolutely no time before storming over to Valentine's home and barging in as if it were own.

The brunette girl was annoyed by Mary's presence, but she didn't mind it much once they began conversing. It was something she didn't know she could use, because the support of a close friend never hurt anybody.

"Come on!" The blonde urged, tugging a little on Valentine's wrist to pull her away from the bed.

"I'm not doing it, Mary."

"Yeah, I'll accept that as an answer when you give me a valid reason as to why you shouldn't go." Mary knew inviting the brunette to a party in the town over was a long shot, but she was also well aware of the fact that she could be very convincing.

"My valid reason is that it sounds lame."

"Lame is something you have yet to experience with me, isn't it Leonard? Yes, I'll answer that for you. It is. Not once have I ever led you anywhere that has been lame."

Valentine gulped down hard as her friend successfully pulled her out from under her blanket. She winced at the sudden movement, unsure what excuse she could possibly pull out of thin air at that point. It was true after all, Mary had never invited Valentine to something that could be classified as boring. It just wouldn't be defined as fun in Valentine's dictionary, that's all.

"Yup, that's right. Come on," the blonde boasted, a prideful grin spread across her face. She knew it wouldn't be too hard to convince her friend to go out, but she didn't expect to get a surrender so quick.

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Luke didn't smoke often. He had a phase at some point, but it was buried deep in the long list of secrets he held from his high school career. He didn't enjoy the feeling as much as he used to. He didn't feel the need to be so distorted from reality for a sense of release anymore.

"You done?"

"No."

Luke didn't smoke often. But that certainly didn't mean he hadn't been smoking more frequently ever since his slip up with Valentine. It cursed his brain, marinating there and haunting his dreams each and every night. He tried to drink it away, he really did. And though it usually worked under any other circumstances, it wasn't doing the trick this time.