Work Text:
As Valentina bounced up and down on Stephen’s cock in the back seat of his sedan, she thought, why do bad things happen to good people? She had done everything she usually did, and she always wins. And it wasn’t just that she didn’t win, though that was worthy enough of a meltdown. But she hadn’t even lost to a worthy adversary like Alaska. No, she’d lost to Ariel motherfucking Versace.
Taking out her anger and frustration on her boyfriend’s dick probably wasn’t the best way to cope, but what other option was there?
She checked the time.Five minutes, which meant Stephen would cum in about twenty seconds. She’d gotten so bored with their sex recently that she’d started counting the minutes. The only time she could actually get close to coming is when she thought about That Summer with Justin Michaelson. The Summer that was never spoken of.
“Tina !” grunted Stephen beneath her as she felt him vibrate inside her and go limp beneath her. She thanked God for the darkness of the car so that Stephen couldn’t see her colossal eye-roll as she stood up, sliding off him. She crouched, winding her panties back into place and tried not to listen to his satisfied breathing. Then she lunged arms-first into the passenger seat and started to make her mug presentable again.
With her free hand, Valentina pulled out her phone and checked the cheer triad group chat.
No new messages. Valentina needed her girls right about now.
V: Hey. Anyone wanna have a girls night?
Behind her, Stephen pulled the condom off and started zipping up his pants. “So,” his hot breath hit her bare shoulder. She prickled. “Where to?”
It had stopped being sexy about a month ago, but she needed Stephen, so Justin and everyone at school would see that she was stable enough to keep a relationship afloat. When she didn’t respond, Stephen made his way back into the driver’s seat. His hair was wild, the combination of backseat sex and hours old hair gel making him look like he’d gotten his head licked by a horse. When Valentina looked at him from the corner of her eye, she could remember why she’d started dating him. He was mature and goofy. Focused on academics without taking himself too seriously.
“Teeny?” he prompted.
“Oh, right, um…” she sat there thinking for a minute. “I guess you could just take me home.”
Stephen gunned the engine and drove them out of the student parking lot. “Wanna stop by any place?” he asked.
“Actually, Steve, we could stop by Eegee’s.” She made sure to use her sweetest voice. “If you want.” It was a bad idea and she knew it, but Valentina was in the rare mood to punish herself.
Once they arrived, Stephen went inside to order them two signature eegee’s shave ices, but Valentina didn’t stay in the car as he’d asked her to. She had worked at Eegee’s That Summer and knew from experience that you could see Justin Michaelson’s house directly from the back steps of the building. She couldn’t stop herself.
She should have.
Because Justin’s car was in his lit driveway. It was dark, but she could see the subtle shadows of the car moving slightly. Bouncing, in fact. There was movement inside the car. She strained her eyes to try and figure it out. One silhouette was for sure Justin, the other she recognized but couldn’t quite place. Until she heard a muffled “ Fuck yes !” from inside and caught a glimpse of bouncy blonde hair.
Willam and Justin. Willam and Justin fucking in his car.
It shouldn’t have been as much of a shock as Valentina took it. Willam had been all over Justin back at the dance and when he liked something, Justin didn’t hold back. And he didn’t really care who got hurt along the way. Two things she knew first hand.
At some point her feet had carried her back into Stephen’s sedan. Tears were streaming down her face when Stephen came back carrying their order. “ Teeny ,” he cooed as he settled back into the car. He placed the cups of shave ice on the dashboard and put his hand on her shoulder. This time Valentina didn’t prickle at his touch. There was no hiding it. She couldn’t tell if it was just the result of the past weeks’ stress or just the events of the night, but suddenly she was sobbing uncontrollably.
“ Babe , babe what is it?” Stephen asked, leaning awkwardly across the center console so he could put his arms around her.
Valentina leaned into his embrace. “I didn’t win,” she sobbed. A half-truth, but it would have to do.
Stephen said all the things he was supposed to. That she was beautiful and deserved the recognition but that crown was just a ring of plastic that probably hurt to wear anyway. He said he loved her and so did her friends.
Valentina bit back her thought at that last comment: if Willam loved me then why is she fucking my ex right now ? But, fists clenching hard into Stephen’s sport coat, she already knew the answer. Willam did it to teach Valentina a lesson. That she wasn’t infallible and needed to get the fuck over Justin if she ever wanted to succeed. And she hated the fact that Willam was right. But she would never tell her how much that hurt.
Stephen pulled awat and put the car in gear. Valentina dabbed at her eyes with her fingers. The flow had stopped for now. “Where are we going?” she croaked, her voice strangled with tears.
Stephen smiled and risked a glance at Valentina.“I’m taking you home.”
At Valentina’s driveway, Stephen got out of the car and walked her to the door, something he usually avoided at all costs. As she fiddled with her keys, Stephen took another new step. “I told my folks I’d probably sleep over at the guy’s tonight. They aren’t expecting me home. But I can go home, if you’d rather…” his voice trailed off as Valentina looked up at him lovingly.
Then she kissed him, softly, without any lust behind it.
As she opened the door, Valentina explained “My dad is off to a spa-yoga camp thing and my mom is on a business trip. Shannel is staying with my grandma,” she did a deflated cough/exhale. “I was gonna throw a party… to celebrate my obvious win.”
Stephen was there, caressing her cheek and making her look at him. “You like that one Love Island show, right?”
Valentina blinked. “Yeah.” It was her favorite show. None of her boyfriends ever remembered.
Stephen made his way to the couch and sat down, opening one arm for her. “Why don’t we watch some of your favorite episodes together?” Valentina hesitated. He looked at her earnestly and held up three fingers. Dumbass scout salute. “I won’t complain.”
She joined him. They watched her favorite show on DVR and chilled. They could just be there with each other and not try to get anything out of it, just enjoying the other’s company.
And you know, that wasn’t so bad.
Violet drove Alaska home in stunned silence, each replaying in their minds what they had witnessed. Alaska had hidden out in the girl’s bathroom to cry and then stormed out when Jinkx and Ivy came in. She was so not in the mood for their positive bullshit. She hadn’t just not become prom queen, she hadn’t even placed ! Jinkx and Adore--fucking Adore -- had gotten more votes than her. How was that fair? She went to parties and flirted with people and pretended to like people she hated for the sake of becoming a known socialite. What kind of socialite loses to a bitch with no arms???
“Hey,” Violet poked Alaska’s arm when she came to a stoplight. “Stop it.” She avoided looking her sister in the eyes. “You’ll get frown lines.”
Alaska did something akin to a cough/laugh/sob. It was so like Violet to not be able to show genuine care for someone even when she was alone with that person. How fucking sad was that? And Alaska had spent so much time trying to be exactly like her older sister. Of course, she’s not Violet. Never has been. Never will be.
When they reached their two-story home, Ongina raced out to meet them. “Show me the crown! Show me the crown!” she cheered.
It sent a knife through Alaska’s heart. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to cage the tears she already knew were unstoppable. Marching past her 9-year old sister, she overheard Violet say softly, “She didn’t win.”
“ What ?!” Ongina squealed as if she just heard that Violet started dating someone her own age. It was unthinkable.
Alaska slammed the front door behind her and rested her body against the carved wood. “ Fuck ,” she sobbed before marching toward the stairs. But of course she couldn’t get by without running into MKD.
“Hi mom,” Alaska choked.
Mrs Kasha Davis grinned down at her daughter. She smelled like white wine. “‘Laska,” she greeted, her voice thick with alcohol. “Come in and celebrate!”
Alaska rolled her eyes and sniffed. “I lost , mom. Didn’t you hear?”
Kasha bade her daughter follow her into the kitchen. She had two fancy glasses laid out on the kitchen table, a bottle of champagne set between them. The light refracted off the brims of the glasses, making little rainbows. Kasha led Alaska to the setup and picked up the bottle; she handed it to Alaska. “Care to do the honors?”
Alaska shook her head. “Don’t you get it?” she demanded, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. “I LOST! I didn’t WIN! There is NO CROWN! There is NOTHING to CELEBRATE!”
Kasha looked straight into her middle child’s eyes. She leaned over the table, tried to, at least; her swollen abdomen got in the way. She reached out to grab Alaska’s chin and yanked her daughter closer. “You listen to me. I don’t give a shit what your sister says, or what your father says. You were nominated. You went to prom. You didn’t win--who gives a rat’s ass? I don’t. Now,” she released her death grip on Alaska’s face. “ I am going to celebrate my daughter’s senior prom.”
She effortlessly popped the cork. Vapor spilled out the top of the bottle. Kasha tipped the bottle so that the spillage went into her own glass, preserving the good stuff for her daughter. Alaska didn’t protest this time. If her mom wanted to drink with her, fuck it. It wasn’t like she was going anywhere tonight, she thought with a sob.
The champagne looked like liquid joy. It even smelled happy. If anything had the chance to cure Alaska’s blues, she was willing to try champagne.
The mother-daughter talk that followed was really therapeutic. Kasha was more sober than Alaska had seen her in a while, or at least she was trying to act that way. At least she was trying. Selfishly, Alaska wished it could always be like this between them.
They finished the bottle. Alaska stopped Kasha before she could pull out another. It was nice; Alaska felt like she glowed. Like all those bubbles had built up inside her, lifting her spirit like the house in UP . At some point Violet and Ongina had come in and the youngest Thunderfuck was about to go on some spiel about teen drinking but Violet stopped the tyke’s lecturing by yanking her out of the room.
Alaska undressed in the bathroom that night, taking a long look at herself. Her skin was smooth and blemish-free, minus a freckle or two on her arms. She didn’t have stretch marks or acne and her flesh was tastefully tan. The day Alaska Thunderfuck looked orange would be the day she died. She was pretty, she decided, and she was worthy of the love that her mother showed her that night. Even if the Overboard Park student body disagreed.
Yeah, she thought, I am good enough. For me.
She rewarded herself with a nice, long, hot bath, complete with scented soap and an exfoliating bath bomb.
And, she remembered, people usually got laid on prom night. Nobody was with her tonight, but she didn’t actually need a guy to make her feel good. Plus, she was trying to commit to self love…
About half an hour later, as she was catching her breath, Alaska thought with a grin, at least I can say I got off on prom night.