#&valerie

the words nearly go over her head, but once they registered she couldn't help but laugh a little. no it wasn't exactly funny, but it had caught her off guard. perhaps for the first time in a while her smile had been genuine and she'd done something positive for herself. something that most people wouldn't necessarily consider selfish. valerie looked past her reflection in the mirror and at nora's face. "i tried studying those magazines, but then i just to a store and tried stuff on. this was the one i really liked the most. it had fit me just right," she turned her whole body to now face nora.

even in her pre-heretic and pre-shunned days from the gemini coven she'd been told that her feelings weren't always valid. it seemed like something that would follow throughout time, with just the vocabulary having changed. but there had been some places, some people she'd found acceptance with. so hearing those words from stefan, especially him, made her a little speechless. her cheeks flushed before she finally muttered out, "thank you, stefan. i needed that."

valerie's lips curled into a small smile before she nodded her head a couple times. "yeah, i suppose we do. feels kind of nice to be fighting alongside someone and helping each other out." she meant every word out of it. it was a good feeling to have that with someone else outside of the other heretics. this would be something she'd be pleased to write about in her next journal entry for sure.

Valerie crossed her arms as she looked up at the other vampire. She was unsure of his words, not quite used to hearing them. Plus the heretic wasn't quite sure what his motives would be, though her assumptions were that he wanted something from her. "Did you want something in return then? Usually people do," she paused, "want something that is."

“Oh, you can kiss me beneath this moonlight. It’s a good night after all,” her lips curl into a small grin as she invited him in for a kiss. “So kiss me.”

the heretic had been caught off guard by the sudden slam to the wall, but even more so from the kiss that followed. despite part of her wanting to end it and push him away, she also had urges of her own. so valerie chose to kiss him back.