the bucket list | lrh

39 - webs unraveling/valentine ignoring

Valentine and Luke were late to the party, because traffic really seemed to be on Mariams side. She had hoped they'd get caught up in the worst of it, specifically so they'd have more alone time. Her evil schemes seemed to be heard by the universe, because that was exactly what had happened.

"You think they're already like... here?"

"Valentine, it took us an hour to drive like eight miles. They're definitely here, I don't know their shortcuts," Luke laughed, watching as the girl cautiously climbed out of the car to make sure her dress didn't ride up too much. Luke had opened the door for her generously, even though he knew he was really pushing it with the small acts of affection.

"Do you think I'm overdressed?" She asked, insecurity exposed in her fearful tone. Luke smiled gently, lowering his eyes to meet hers as she stood in front of him. The two weren't far from each other, only about a foot between them.

"You look... so beautiful, Valentine," Luke complimented her, watching as a little sparkle shined through in her eyes.

"Thank you, Luke," she smiled, and you could tell she was genuinely grateful for his words. The blonde placed his hand on her lower back to move her over and close the car door before leading her to the front door of the house they had pulled up to. Luke had no problem walking right in, and Valentine noted how comfortable he seemed in the home.

"Here!" He called out into the large and empty house. The size of the place wasn't what surprised Valentine the most, it was the beautiful decorations inside. The place looked amazing. It was a perfect mix of mid century modern, as well as just a tad bit elegant with royal color schemes.

"Back here," a familiar voice called back, which Valentine figured was Mariam.

The two turned and walked through a large entryway leading into a every so slightly massive living room. To the left, a half wall separated Valentine and Luke from the kitchen where Mariam and another unfamiliar girl stood. Several shades of gold and pink balloons littered the floor around them and Valentine quickly learned what type of party this would be. Stacks of red solo cups covered the counters and she could just barely see a large collection of bottles that were sure to be full of alcohol instead of innocent fruit punch.

"Luke!" The girl whom Valentine hadn't met yet screeched, immediately dropping the flat balloon in her hand and running up to the blonde she hadn't seen in over a year.

"Elise," he grimaced, accepting her hug reluctantly. He kept it short despite the unfamiliar girls attempts to linger with her head on his chest.

"Uh... hi," Valentine spoke up, directing her words at Mariam who looked miserable in her current situation. Valentine laughed a little, remembering the Elise girl being the one that Mariam didn't want to come tonight.

"Hey, girl! Elise, get off of Luke and introduce yourself to his girlfriend," Mariam suggested, a certain devious tone to her words that Luke knew all too well.

"Oh, hey," Elise finally straightened herself out. Valentine was much too busy frantically looking to Luke for some idea on how to react. She needed him to say something about what Mariam had let slip. She needed him to correct her, or confirm it. She needed him to say something.

"Girlfriend? Well, okay! I didn't think I'd see the day. I'm Elise," the bleached blonde girl waved towards Valentine. She had yet to take her eyes off of Luke though.

"Hi," Valentine waved back, feeling the pressure of both Luke and Mariam's curious stares. Both of them were waiting for her to acknowledge it.

"Girlfriend?" She choked out, and Elise was left totally out of the loop as the three seemed to have some telepathic mental battle.

"Oh? It doesn't really matter to me, you can—" Elise began to correct herself, but Luke huffed a little and groaned instinctively at her rather obnoxiously high pitched voice.