VALERIA GARZA X READER
ADVERTENCIAS: Homophobia, Family rejection, Emotional abuse, Small town prejudice, Toxic environment, Closeted relationship, Angst
You haven't seen her in years.
In high school, you were inseparable, always joking around, sneaking off to the bathroom between classes for little kisses.
She was your first time for everything.
First kiss. First real love. First time.
Your relationship, if you could even call it that, was a secret. You lived in a small town, and gossip spread like wildfire.
Sneaky kisses in the back bathroom of the high school until the prefect caught you. Valeria was furious.
The principal, the prefect, and even the school psychologist wanted to expel you both for inappropriate behavior.
Disgusted looks burned into your skin as Valeria took your hand under the desk. When the psychologist noticed, she started yelling.
Everything spiraled out of control so fast, and it all happened at once.
The psychologist was shouting hurtful things. The principal picked up the phone to call your parents, and the prefect was trying to reason with you, arguing that what you were doing was against God.
Valeria stood up and hit the psychologist.
Everything went silent.
"How dare you, little girl?!"
The principal didn't even get a chance to dial. She slammed the receiver against the base of the phone and glared at Valeria with a mixture of hatred, disgust, and anger.
I wish you could hide Valeria from those stares, hide and run away… you heard Mexico City is more liberal about these things, maybe…
Maybe, just maybe, you and Valeria could run away there.
"Shut up. Do they do this to any student? What about Kevin and Janet? The prefect saw them kissing behind the computer lab and only gave them a scolding. Why is it different with us?"
You're downcast and tears sting your eyes, they feel hot, your cheeks burn.
"This isn't right, it's against nature. We'll call her parents, not yours, Valeria. We know you don't matter enough to them."
"Don't call my parents, please… no… we didn't do anything wrong…"
They do. They call your parents and in a few days, the whole town will know. Your friends drifted away, your parents force you to go to Mass every Sunday and Wednesday afternoon.
They don't even talk to you; they're too ashamed and constantly insist to anyone who will listen that Valeria incited you to do it. She turned you away from God.
Everyone at school knew Valeria was an atheist; she was always clear about it, so it's not hard for others to believe she did it so you'd go to hell with her.
It's not true. Vale didn't force you to do anything.
They won't let you see her. The principal won't expel you, or Valeria, but she'll move you both to different classrooms. Different classes, different dismissal times, and all you have are stolen moments. Late-night calls when your parents are asleep.
She sneaks out of the house and calls from pay phones so they won't find out.
It's not safe. The town isn't safe at night, and you both know it, but Valeria insists she needs you like the air she breathes.
Things don't change much at high school. You do get into the only high school in town together, but even the administration there keeps you apart.
It seems they can't forget. They weren't doing anything wrong.
They didn't kill anyone, they didn't hurt anyone. Those who do aren't looked at differently. It doesn't matter if Don Pedro killed Doña Juanita; he's still free and accepted everywhere. He goes to church and lives his life normally. He wasn't banned from anywhere, and he didn't go to jail. There were no consequences.
You did face consequences. You were kicked off the women's gymnastics team, and Valeria isn't allowed back on the soccer team.
The best way to stop them from treating you strangely is to stay quiet and lower your head. Valeria doesn't understand that; she always responds with sarcasm and rudeness to anyone brave enough to insult her in front of her.
Eventually, they stop insulting Valeria… but not you. They just stop making cutting remarks around her.
"Valeria, please stop! You're not going to convince me to stay."
You're crying. It seems you've been doing that a lot lately. You don't know how you still have tears left to cry.
"No! No, why? Why do you want to leave, preciosa?"
She kneels down and gently wipes away your tears, a gentleness that only you can draw from her.
“Because everyone hates us, Vale! My parents won’t even look me in the eye anymore, Pastor Rodriguez insists on talking to me privately after mass, and my friends… My friends talk behind my back. Please, let’s leave. I have enough money for a bus trip to Mexico City; we can go and start a life there.”
“I won’t leave. I can’t. I’m not going to run away like I’ve done something wrong. I didn’t, and I’m not leaving.”
“Then I’ll leave alone!”
You shout desperately.
You can’t stay in that town. It’s… it’s suffocating. Everyone stares at you. Your friends push you aside and fall silent when you approach.
“I’m leaving tonight, and… and I wish you had agreed to come with me.”
Valeria steps back as if you had slapped her, and suddenly her eyes fill with tears.
“Are you leaving?”
“I’m sorry, Vale, I can’t… I can’t anymore.”
You cup her cheeks and kiss her.
It's a wet kiss, but not a fun one. You’re both crying, and it’s an awkward kiss.
That night, in silence. You pack your most precious belongings and escape in the early morning without waking your parents. Valeria is at the bus station; she has no suitcases or even a backpack.
Your last hopes of her joining you die at that moment.
“Will you come back?”
She’s very close, she takes your hips and presses her forehead to your temple, you do the same and take her by the waist.
The bus station is almost empty. Only a sleepy employee watches television behind the counter.
“…”
There are no words, you can’t make promises you’re not sure you can keep, and you don’t want to give her false hope.
The call for the bus saves you from having to answer; your only ticket to freedom is about to depart, so you kiss her one last time.
It’s a kiss that leaves you both breathless before you climb the bus steps and find your seat.
You can see her through the window. Her hands are in her pockets, and the necklace with your initial hangs from her neck.
That’s the last time you see her.
The last thing you heard from her was that she joined the army a few months after you left.
She was 17, born in September a year before you, so you were in the same school year.
She joined the army and apparently served for six years before disappearing into thin air. She was presumed lost in action.
That was five years ago.
ªºªªººººº
I disappeared for about two months because I focused all my attention on a longer fanfic that isn't COD and is now in AO3. I'll try to post more about COD more often.
