Alejandro downed the rest of his beer bottle before promptly grabbing another one. He needed something to make his heart feel less like it was screaming for her affection. He felt so needy, and that was something he knew he couldn’t let happen. “Oh, yeah. That was the Thanksgiving he accidentally caught my sister’s playhouse on fire,” though his sister was mostly passed the playhouse phase his parents hadn’t quite been ready to let go yet. “Yeah. I went to state for cross country. So, yeah college has been everything I love, and more,” he ran one of his hands over his face. “I’m um sure you want to spend sometime with them,” but oh how he wanted to be her only focus tonight, how he wanted it to be like the old days when they were joined at the hip.. But that wasn’t their life anymore. “Yeah. I saw Kellan, and even brought his new girlfriend. He’s always posting on instagram how they’re life is like Legally Blonde,” Kellan had never been Alejandro’s favorite person mostly because he was the biggest dick on the cross country team. “So, I think almost everyone is here. The whole class of 2018 is back together again.” 

Val listened intently, subconsciously swapping the water bottle in her hands from right to left. “Yeah, how do you forget that?” Val chuckled, shaking her head. Alejandro’s family was always an eventful one, which is why Val probably always enjoyed spending time at his place over hers. It seemed like things were going on all the time at his house while hers was usually empty because her mother seemed to always be out of the house, working hard to make sure the two of them had everything they could ever need. “That’s really nice to here, Alejandro. I’m happy for you,” Val replied genuinely, giving him a smile. She knew how much Alejandro busted his ass to get his cross country scholarship so Val couldn’t help but feel happy for him, to know that everything was going well for him, even if she wasn’t a part of his life anymore. “I mean, yeah of course,” Val hummed, looking around the beach. “But I seriously don’t see them anymore,” the blonde sighed, shaking her head before giving Alejandro a playful smirk. “So maybe I can grace you with my presence a little longer if you don’t mind?” Val’s face puckered slightly at the mention of Kellan,remembering just how much of a pain in the ass he had been throughout their high school years. “It’s definitely nice to see everyone here again..” Val looked around again as she took a sip of water, noticing that some people had started setting up a bonfire as the sun had started to set. “Do you want to maybe take a seat over near the bonfire?” Val asked, nodding her head in the general direction.

Once upon a time (or the night of homecoming junior year) he came home, and he swore to his mother that he would one day marry this girl, and their would be people in their lives who would only know them together.. His mother of course tried to be practical about it since they were so young, while Alejandro knew that their youth wasn’t reason enough for them not to work out.. But he never managed that they’d actually end up being no longer together. “Honestly, more people should take that approach. My uncle Joseph drinks three shots of fireball every thanksgiving, and he always ends up setting something on fire,” usually because he didn’t put out his cigarette butts properly. “I mean I’ve gone to a lot of frat, and sorority parties this past year, I know my way around a keg now,” his first keg stan ending with him falling on his face resulting in a bloody nose. “I think Callum and Lucas have seen the snapchats I’ve sent them,” before his roommate would take away his phone to make sure he didn’t send photos to Val. “I’m fine,” he knew he probably should have taken a sip of her water, but that would numb the awkwardness quite like the beer would. “Thank you,” a large swallow from his bottle of beer traveled down his throat. “So, have Ronnie and Camille been back in town for long?”

Growing up with a single mother, Val never really grew up with the example of a happy and healthy relationship. So much so that by the time she had reached her teens, Val was convinced that love just wasn’t real and she would even find herself making snide remarks when Ronnie or Camille would complain about the boy they liked at the time. All that relationship stuff just seemed ridiculous to her. But then Alejandro showed up and quite literally turned her life upside down. He put into question every single thing she ever thought she knew about love and relationships, in the best way possible of course. Now, Val didn’t know if it had anything to do with the Fireball she had taken down but she was starting to feel a little less stressed about this whole interaction. “Ha, I do recall you calling me one Thanksgiving while you stood outside and watched them handle a fire..” she mused, a small grin on her face at the memory. She nodded at what he said next, remembering that she had soft blocked him on Snapchat when the break up had happen so of course she hadn’t seen anything. “Oh really? Well sounds like you’ve had a good time at university.” Val hummed in thought again, taking another sip of her water. “I think they got back like three days ago?? But tonight’s the first night I see them..” she shrugged before slightly turning her body to look around the party. “It really seems like everyone made it out though, so that’s cool.”

She had been such a large point of his life through all of high school from their freshmen year as just friends to their relationship sophomore until senior year, in high school there was no Alejandro without Val. College learning who he was without Val, and without his high school friends was one of the hardest parts of the first few months of college.. But it was all in the process of growing up, and right now he felt anything but grown up.. He felt like the same senior in high school he once was, the only difference was there was now a metaphorical hole in his heart. “It never does. Fireball and tequila always manage to knock everyone on their ass it seems,” he down the cup in his hands before he focused back on the beer he grabbed when he first arrived to the table taking a swig from it. “Wow, you’re so funny. Actually you’d be surprised how much in college I drank,” most of the time he served back in his role as designated driver after he got over the first few months of being heartbroken. “You’d think after all the high school parties we had on this beach someone would know to bring some chocolate milk,” another swig of his beer was taken. “Or maybe like some soda to down some of this liquor with.”

When they had first broken up, Val really thought navigating life without Alejandro was going to be nearly impossible. She had been so used to seeing him practically every day since they met Freshmen year of high school that to suddenly lose that was a massive jolt to everything Val was used to. Until this moment, Val had thought that she had done a pretty good job getting over things and moving on but the slight pang in her heart as she talked to Alejandro seemed to hint otherwise. “You’ve got that right. That’s why I’m always one and done when it comes to Fireball,” Val shrugged before finishing the cup Alejandro had served her. Right away, the girl grabbed a water bottle and drank a bit before looking up at him in surprise. “You? Drinking? Color me surprised, Alejandro,” Val grinned, crossing her arms over herself. “Are you going to delight your friends with your new drinking abilities tonight?” She joked again before staying quiet at the mention of the chocolate milk again, remembering how on occasions she used to bring chocolate milk for the boy, either keeping it in his car when he drove them to parties or sometimes going as far as to keep one in her purse so he could have it at a party. Anything to see him happy. “Uhm..” Val spoke herself out of her daze before awkwardly holding out her water bottle to him. “I mean, if you want some, have at it.”

Alejandro felt sick, honestly. He felt sick that things had ended anyways. He spent his first three weeks of college drunk, and crying in his room to the playlist he made of songs that reminded him of Val, which was the whole reason his roommate kept his phone following every party so he wouldn’t send her dick pics, or even worse send her drunk text about his feelings. “Yeah, hi,um,” he mumbled quickly unsure of what to say to her. This was so awkward, and watching her friends walk away from the table didn’t make him feel any better. “One Fireball for a spitfire,” he twisted the cap off the bottle of fireball. Getting drinks for girls at college parties was so much easier, they simply flirted with him, asked about his tattoos, and he didn’t feel like his stomach was going to leap out of his body due to the feelings he was still struggling with around them. He poured them both a glass of the cinnamon flavored liquor. “Here,” he extended a cup to her before downing his. “I um like your hair,” he didn’t know what was appropriate in this moment so he simply poured himself another drink hoping the more he drank the better he’d feel. 

Val hated the awkwardness. Of course, it was something that was expected but the expectation didn’t make this interaction any easier.When Alejandro and Val had ended, Val turned herself into a bit of a recluse, basically only leaving her room to occasionally eat and shower. That sadness lasted in her for about a month until she decided she was tired of feeling so upset. She threw herself into school and her job, but for the longest time, it seemed like everything just reminded her of Alejandro. And now, just having him here in front of her, Val would give anything to just be able to reach out and touch him, give him a hug, anything. But she knew things had changed between the two of them and if there was any hope if things going even slightly back to normal, it was going to take a lot from the two of them. The blonde couldn’t help the tiny smile on her face at the mention of “spitfire”, a word Alejandro used to describe her quite often. “Why thank you,” Val smiled as she took the cup from his hands, very carefully doing her best to avoid even the smallest bit of contact between their hands. She took a small sip of the liquor, her face puckering almost instantly. “Ugh, that doesn’t get any easier, does it?” she laughed nervously as she looked down at the liquid in her cup. “Oh, well thank you,” Val responded before watching as Alejandro served himself another cup. “Wow, did college finally teach you how to drink something besides chocolate milk?” Val teased with a small grin on her face.

“What kind of dweeb drinks chocolate milk at a party, you need a sippy cup?” his second best friend Lucas questioned as he approached the two. They had been the three best friends since kindergarten, each serving their own role in their small friend group; Lucas was the blunt asshole who rubbed most people the wrong way and constantly talked about his soccer glory days, Callum was the artistic one who managed to always score the best pot, and Alejandro was squad dad who made sure they both got along. He heard Callum open his mouth to say more but his words didn’t sound like anything other than the mumbling from Charlie Brown’s teacher as his eyes locked with Val’s. Fuck, this was what people wrote sad country music songs about, and he felt as if he had a metal pipe lodged in his wind pipe. “I need a drink,” he said unaware that his two best friends had spent the last few seconds bickering. “Like something stronger than Chocolate milk,” he moved quickly over to the drink table. “Camille, Ronnie,” he quickly spit out as he grabbed a bottle of beer (god, how he hated beer), but he wanted to seem as if he had a purpose. “Ba-” he was going to call Val babe as he would have once upon a time, but the beating of his chest reminded him otherwise. “Val,” he mumbled. “Do you like um-” he looked over the table. “Fireball, I can get you all a glass.”

Val couldn’t help but feel a slew of emotions when she finally saw Alejandro. The nostalgia from all the time they spent together, the pain she felt when they broke up,and the love she felt that she kept shoved down deep in the pit of all her other emotions. She knew that seeing him ran the risk of those feelings trying to bubble their way back up to the surface but Val knew better than to allow it. She really wasn’t trying to get hurt again. “Oh god.. What do I do? Do I do anything?” Val chattered nervously to her friends as she nervously twirled a strand of freshly bleached hair around her fingers. Before anyone could say anything however, Alejandro had reached the table and greeted both of her friends. The two girls mumbled hellos in return before taking a look at Val and stepping away from the table, leaving the girl feeling like a deer in headlights. Gee, thanks guys.. “Uh hi, Alejandro..” Val mumbled back, looking up at him as she did her best to ignore his obvious almost misuse of a certain pet name. “Uhm.. yeah, fireball works, but just one, I’m not really trying to drink too much tonight..” Val could feel herself nervously start to ramble so she stopped herself quickly before she could go any further.

she walks over to the dresser and leans down to grab one of the small vases she got from her mom when she first moved into her dorm. “sometimes i think you say things just to butter me up.” she chuckles before placing the vase under her small sink and filing it with water. she then places it on her dresser and then puts the roses in it. “thank you, for the roses by the way.” the red head turns around to give him a bright smile. she buries her face in the crook of his neck when she feels an arm secured around her waist. she missed him more than she led on, but that was the way lydia was. she never admitted when she needed someone, she always thought she could handle things on her own. but the truth was, seeing stiles was the best thing that happened to her all week. so, she made sure to take in as much as she could with this long awaited hug. “i know you do, believe me i hate it too.” when she pulls back, she gives him a quick sad smile. hands reach down to grab the males, giving them a light squeeze. “i still have to study, stiles! if i don’t study…i would probably lose my mind.” she sighs, wrapping her arms around her his neck when he hugs her again. “i can show you around, if you want.”

Stiles moved further into Lydia’s dorm, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. He couldn’t help but admire her as she moved, wondering how it was possible for her to do such a mundane task, like filling a vase with water, with so much grace.  “Me, butter you up? Never,” Stiles replied with a cheeky grin. He pushed himself up from the bed, reaching for Lydia to wrap an arm around her waist again. “Of course, anything for you..” he mumbled, pressing his lips to her forehead. He kept his arms around her, listening to her as she talked. “I mean of course you need to study..” he mumbled, gently placing his hands on her cheeks. “But I also need you to keep yourself sane. It’s all a balance, Lydia.” Stiles couldn’t help but worry about Lydia, especially with her being so far. So once he finished his semester, there was really nothing that stopped him from coming to check on her and make sure she finished the year with her sanity. “Stiles looked down at her, a lazy smile on his face as he admired her. “You know, I’d say yes but it’s pretty late and I don’t know how much you’d be able to show me..” to prove his point, Stiles nodded over to the sole window in the room, indicating that it was pitch black outside. “How about one more night of studying and then tomorrow you can show me around?”

Alejandro Miguel Flores had always been on the quieter side; he was in the top 15% of their graduating class due to his over achieving personality (and the small class they graduated with), he ran cross country all four years of high school, and his role as squad dad kept him busy along with a certain girl who stole his heart. Their break up hadn’t been easy, but it was something they both knew was logical sense. He was headed to Ohio State on a Cross Country scholarship while majoring in English education. Alejandro had only been home for two weeks, most of his time home had been occupied by driving his younger siblings Isabella (who had just turned fifteen) and Amelia (who was twelve) around their small town. Tonight was the first time he was going to be able to see his friends from high school, all while hoping that he wouldn’t end up running into Val… He wasn’t ready for that. He showed up to the beach wearing his black swim trunks, and his Ohio state tshirt. “I hope you have the Texas speedos we bought off Amazon under that,” his best friend Callum commented as the two walked towards the party.. The whole reason he had bought the speedo to begin with was for senior skip day in hopes of making Val laugh. “I lost it,” he lied as his eyes scanned the party just in case she was there. “So, what does a guy have to do to get a decent glass of chocolate milk in this town?” he loudly asked as he approached the group of people he had gone to high school with. 

The beach party was slowly coming into view and Val couldn’t help the smile on her face as she noticed some familiar faces right on the edge of the beach. “Camille! Ronnie!” Val yelled before the three girls were running towards each other, screaming as they all embraced each other. “Oh my god, I’ve missed you guys,” Val sighed as the three girls pulled back to look at each other. “You guys needs to tell me all about California!” Val exclaimed as she linked arms with the two of them. “But first, a drink!” The three girls started walking over to the drinks table when she heard it for the first time: his voice. Of course it was his voice, it would be impossible to mix it up with someone else. Plus, only one person would ever ask for chocolate milk in public and that one person was Alejandro. Val hesitantly looked over her shoulder and her eyes instantly found him. She couldn’t help but admire him in his t shirt and swim trunks. He looked just as good as when he left, if not even better. “Oh crap,” Val swallowed before turning back around. “Girls, move quickly..” Val muttered as she basically speed walked the group over to the drinks table. Stopping to get a water bottle, Val opened it and took a quick drink. “Oh god, Alejandro’s here..” Val finally told the girls, looking up at the two of them wearily. 

“what? when did we ever race each other? i’m pretty sure i’ve always been too busy hacking into websites to run.” he teases, he had always been the tech nerd that everyone came to with a problem. even prior to all of the “A” nonsense they went through, he was always that guy. “i would’ve kissed your lips but i didn’t want to hear a high pitched ew from this little one.” he motions to the small blonde in between hanna’s lap, tickling at her tummy more before he moves over and slides back into the bed next to the other two. “at least you got some extra sleep, all i had to do is feed her and she was okay.” he chuckles softly, leaning his back against the headboard. “i think watching it in bed is a perfect idea, what do you say, erica?”

Hanna rolled her eyes with a laugh. “Hey, we used to be physically fit once upon a time,” Hanna remarked. Caleb definitely wasn’t wrong though: whenever the girls needed help with anything tech savvy, Caleb was always the first person everyone turned to. It definitely did help get them out of some sticky situations. Hanna laughed at what Caleb said next, shaking her head. “Well that’s pretty unfair to me, don’t you think?” Hanna joked with a shrug. Hanna craddled Erica in her arms before moving back to sit next to Caleb against the headboard. “Thank for you doing that, by the way,” Hanna leaned over to give him a quick peck on the lips. “I really appreciate the few extra moments of sleep.”Placing the happy baby on her lap again, the two watched as Erica smiled and clapped her hands, probably unaware of what she had been asked. “That looks like a yes to me,” Hanna laughed before taking the remote off the dresser and turning the TV on, automatically starting the movie.

her nose scrunches almost immediately from the soft tap to it but nether the less, the red head gives him a smile. “i’m just surprised to see you here, it’s only a week until i come home.” she chuckles from his follow up comment and then leans forward to peck his cheek. lydia steps to the side to let stiles into her room, closing the door behind him. “well, you are right about that. i’ve been studying for my finals for two weeks straight already.” she sighs, pulling the brunette into her for a tight hug. “i am glad to see you, though. and wouldn’t want anyone else to distract me from my schoolwork.”

“Yeah..yeah I know,” Stiles sighed as he walked into Lydia’s room, placing her roses on her little dresser. “But a week left is still a week too long away from you,” he finished responding, turning back to look over at her. Sometimes Stiles still really couldn’t believe his luck. He’d be in love with Lydia ever since they were in third grade and he always just knew that they would somehow end up together. Even then, he still couldn’t believe the stunning redhead was finally his girlfriend after so long. Stiles wrapped his arms around Lydia, one tightly around the girl’s waist while the other one soothing rubbed circles into her back. “I really hate that you get like this...” Stiles mumbled, looking down at the girl. “You’re seriously the smartest girl..like possibly ever! You really shouldn’t have to kill yourself studying when it comes to finals.” He kissed her forehead before pulling the girl into a tight hug again. “Yup, that’s me: the ultimate distraction!” he teased with a grin as he looked down at her.