Tags/Warnings: Friendship drama, ValentinoxOC, Vox, Velvette, Angel Dust, Charlie, Vaggi
Previous Chapter: https://www.tumblr.com/naomistarla/807481525180497921/chapter-9-crossroads
Still propped over me, Val smirks at them. âIâm starting to think this hotel has a problem with boundaries.â
âYouâre one to talk!â Horns grow from Charlieâs head as her eyes glow red.
Vaggie points the spear in our direction. âValentino, leave. Kylie, youâre welcome to stay, but he isnât.â
âWait, youâre kicking him out? He didnât do anything!â I sit up, holding my robe shut, prompting Valentino to back away and sit.
âWe donât know how long his âgetting betterâ will last, and we donât know if Angel Dust would be safe around him.â Vaggie comes closer, still pointing the spear, now directing it more clearly at Valentino. âValentino, leave. Now.â
Valentino shrugs. âIf you insist, Actual Angel.â He climbs out of bed, unbothered by his nudity in front of Charlie and Vaggie.
Charlie screams as her body contorts. âYou can get dressed first!â She pulls a startled Vaggie out of the room and slams the door.
âWeâre staying at the door until you leave!â Vaggie shouts. âWe WILL attack if you do!â
âWell, will you come back with me?â Valentino takes his time pulling his clothes back on.
I sigh. I want to stay, but I donât know if I could stand staying in the same place with someone I hurt so much, even if I kinda think heâs overreacting. Word also might get around the hotel about my little encounter and me being a âtoxic friendâ and stuff. Valentinoâs an overlord, so yeah. That makes things worse.
âYes.â I put my clothes back on and grab a few more from my drawers.
âI can send Kitty to pick up your things.â Val reaches a hand out to me.
As soon as I grab his hand, he scoops me up into all of his arms and flies out the window.
Soaring through the air, my hair and tail being violently blown aside, I scream and latch onto Valâs neck.
âOh come on, mi cariĂąo! Weâve flown before!â
âWeâve never jumped out a window!â I say as I squint.
I gradually regain confidence and feel a thrill looking down at the citizens of the Pride Ring. âHey everybody, my boyfriend can fly! Suck it!â I stick my tongue out.
Val yelps and jerks us to the side as some kind of flaming projectile heads for us. âMight not be best to tease people in Molotov Cocktail Avenue.â
âWell sorry; I never heard of that place! Iâm still new here! Sounds fun though!â
After a few more minutes of flying and staring down at everyone, Val stops at his bedroom window at glowing pink Vee Tower, opens a window, and climbs in.
âValâs room sweet Valâs room!â I giggle and kiss the floor.
âOh, okay. The floorâs the first thing you kiss when you come back. Thatâs fine.â Val looks away, crosses his top arms, and puts his bottom ones on his hips. I see a smile try to creep up.
âWhat? I missed this place!â I sprawl out on the floor. âMissed all itsâŚValentinoness!â
Valentino laughs and picks me up from under my arms. âWell, that was the idea!â
âWell, it was a good idea!â I give him a peck before he puts me back down.
âSo, anywhere you wanna eat tonight to celebrate?â
âHmmâŚcould we go to that Italian place again? I really miss the lasagna.â
âOh! Yes, please! I miss the breadsticks!â
âLetâs wear matching outfits!â I jump and clap my hands.
We arrive through the dark glass doors, standing proudly in our matching red coatsâwell, his being made of his wings, of course. Mine was Velvetteâs âValentinhoesâ coat, designed for Valentino fans, resembling his wings. Val and I are also both wearing zebra prints; mine being on a dress borrowed from him, and his being on his pants.
All eyes turn to us. The patrons, the servers. Some of them look at each other and whisper. I wish I could say I wasnât a little self-conscious. I mean, it was embarrassing enough for everyone to know about the breakup, even though I wanted them to know. The drama, thought not put in much detail, was probably going to be refreshed in peopleâs heads now. Great.
Buuuut I gotta at least kinda enjoy the attention! Val pulls me closer and gives a cheesy tip of his hat to everyone. I straighten my back and give them a casual wave.
A woman holding menus walks up to us. âTable for two?â
âYes. Gracias,â Val answers.
After weâre seated, Val points to the breadsticks on the menu. âI think Iâll just order breadsticks for both of us.â
âOh, ok. Iâm gonna get the lasagna, how about you?â
Valâs eyes narrow as he looks up. âUh, I think Iâm just gonna have half the breadsticks. Iâm not really that hungry.â
âWhat? Are you sure?â I honestly feel disappointed. I mean, Iâm glad to be here, and to be with him, but I donât like being the only one with a meal at a restaurant. It sucks some of the fun away.
Val holds his hand up. âItâs okay, Kylie. Itâs fine.â
His phone buzzes. He rolls his eyes and picks it up. His face drops a bit when he reads whateverâs on the screen.
He puts his phone back in his pocket. âEh, nothing. AnywayâŚâ Val puts his elbows on the table and rests his chin on his glamorously folded hands. ââŚyou do anything, or anyone interesting when you were at the hotel?â
âHa!â I kick him under the table. âWhatever. Well, I started figuring out why I do certain things I shouldnât do, and I started actually having better control over my anger.â I almost say my sexual impulses too, but I donât know how heâd take it. âI mean, Iâm glad Iâm back with you, but there are some things I still miss.â
He taps my nose. âWell, glad you had a good time without me. As for me, I just released what may be the last movie of Angel Dustâs Lonely Husband series. Vox and I just made up after a fight over ai.â
âWell, two of the actors got into a fight over which one of them I liked better. They literally tore each other to shreds. Got pretty ugly.â Val flicks his hand. âAnyway, Vox suggested I use ai to replace the actors.â He growls and pounds his fist on the table, making me jump. âI wouldâve punched his screen in, but Iâm trying to control myself. Thatâs how much I love you.â
I take his hands in mine. âI bet that took a lot of strength. Iâm proud of you, Val.â
He rubs my hands with his thumbs. âThank you.â
A few weeks pass. Iâm again settled into my role as Valentinoâs girlfriend/sugar baby, and our rekindled relationship is old news. We still get tabloid pics, though. Some less flattering than others. Itâs crazy how ugly someone can look if someone snaps a picture when theyâre talking.
Having just showered, I lounge on the couch in my silk bathrobe. I watch Valâs most recent interview on my phone, and I pay extra close attention, since Val told me he was asked about our relationship.
I feel a little less excited than I otherwise would, since I just caught a glimpse of Angel Dust downstairs before I showered. Part of me keeps wanting to apologize, but what for? Iâm with the man I love, and heâs treating him better! Wish Angel could understand that! Itâs not like I was asking him to be friends with Val or be part of a throuple or whatever!
Well, I know our relationship isnât exclusive, mainly on Valâs end. Neither of us said it was, but itâs pretty clear. Iâve seen how he acts with some of his workers, including Angel. Clearly our hearts are only for each other, but physically its free reign. Kinda wish we laid out some rules. Iâm honestly not in love with the idea of open relationships. More rules, more complicated situations, and so on. I actually did try to get with a couple of Valâs actors, but I didnât try too hard because I just wasnât enthusiastic enough. Maybe Iâll talk to Val about laying out some rules or even closing the relationship.
I get snapped out of my train of uncomfortable thought when I hear the interviewer mention my name. I go back ten seconds.
âSo, how have things been going for you and Kylie?â
âAmazing. Just perfect. We just canât get enough of each other, and she just couldnât stay away.â Valentino chuckles and smokes.
I feel a mild flash of anger. Acting like he thinks heâs so cool. Which he is, but still. Ugh! He was so happy when Angel Dust walked in on us together. He shouldnât have had to find out that way!
I jump and nearly drop my phone.
Val runs to me, holding up two dresses. âBaby, I was thinking we could match for the show! Cheetah print, huh? Realized we have the same dress! Ha!â
Wow. Nearly forgot we were about to go to Velvetteâs fashion show. Iâm honestly surprised I never asked Val if we could wear matching dresses, given heâs the first boyfriend I ever had who wears them.
This was definitely a fantasy I had growing up. Walking down the red carpet while people would take pictures and ask questions. Well, this isnât THE red carpet, but itâs some kind of equivalent. Itâs red and it has Velvetteâs card logo thing on it. It looks like a card with a âVâ and a â3â forming a heart.
âOh! I see you two are wearing something from Velvetteâs Hell Frozen Over collection!â A woman in a blazer points out with a wide grin. She looks mostly at Valentino but gives me some glances. âWe all totally missed seeing the wintry, intricate ice patterns worn by the Pride Ringâs most fashionable celebs! What made you decide to bust these out?â
âOh, you know, nostalgia, if itâs long enough ago to count. Also, there were two dresses available that were our sizes, so yeah.â Valentino grins and turns around. He stumbles and catches himself on my shoulder, grabbing his head.
âAre you okay?â The paparazzi and I ask at once.
âYeah, donât worry, chicas!â Val gives his eyes a few fast blinks. âI think itâs all these lights.â
âIâŚI guess so.â I pat his arm. Kinda weird that lights would do that to him, since heâs around them all the time. I mean, his profession involves a lot of them, and weâre in Hell.
âVal!â Velvette waves.
âOy, me love! You looking forward to your show, wot wot?â Val chuckles.
They both burst out laughing at his fake cockney accent.
Velvetteâs new line is called, âWearable EDM.â Lots of wacky, creative cutouts, as well as neon colors and prints ranging from cheetah to news headlines. One man on the runway wears a rainbow blazer with different photos and headlines swirled. Velvette honestly never struck me as the EDM type, so this was a pleasant surprise. Well, she is the most culturally relevant and up to date of the Vees, not to mention the youngest, so I guess it makes sense.
Iâm totally into this, even more so, since Val and I get to sit in front with Velvette. More publicity! Vox is next to me, so yeah, things are a little awkward. He and Val exchange polite smiles. Good to see theyâre getting along better, like Val said, but I canât help but feel a little jealous. Hey, I said a LITTLE jealous. Iâm not the jealous type, but can you blame me? I mean, heâs kind of Valâs ex, so a little jealousy is natural, I think.
âThat was the best show of hers Iâve been to in years! Well, sheâs only had a few, to be fair.â Val says as he drives us back home.
âI gotta get back into EDM!â I exclaim, âThe runway music and clothes! Chefâs kiss!â
âWell, I found the music a little obnoxious, but I loved the clothes!â Val pats my knee.
I flick my hand. âUgh 70s kids be likeâŚâ
âHa!â Val slaps his lower hands on his legs. âNice! The 70s is when I died, though.â
âOh! Right!â I gasp. âSo that means you remember black and white TV! How did you feel when color TV became a thing?â
âOh, I was excited! I have awesome memories of watching it at my friendâsâŚâ Valâs head sinks as his voice trails off. ââŚhouses.â
âVal?â I lean over and put a hand on his shoulder. âAre you okay?â
Valâs head hits the steering wheel as he lets go.
Just as I scream and grab the wheel, we crash into Vee Tower.