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"Right," Paulina said, "you were totally hanging out with that loser Foley last week, weren't you? Please tell me that isn't a thing. Because that would just be… eww."
"No, that wasn't really anything," Valerie countered, playing the whole thing down.
"But you even agreed to go with him to the dance!"
"Only because Kwan dumped me!" Valerie snapped, defences running in high gear.
"But that's twice. And you agreed both times. That means something's going on. And I was thinking of letting you back into the A-listers, but if this is going to be a thing, there's no way you can come back," Paulina told her.
"It's fine, guys. There's nothing going on with Foley. I certainly don't have a crush on him."
"That sounded like you have a crush on someone else," Star remarked.
Paulina pounced on the observation. "Yes it does. Tell us who it is."
"Guys, I don't have a crush on anyone."
But the blush gracing her darkening cheeks gave her away entirely.
"Who is it?" Star asked excitedly.
"I'm not going to tell you."
"If it's someone cool enough I might be able to make something happen. As long as you ditch the loser crowd," Paulina offered.
"Like I said," Valerie spelled out for them, "I'm not going to tell you."
"Oh my gosh, is it someone super awesome?" Star gushed. "Is it someone in this room? Is that why you can't tell us?" She half rose out of her seat to look around until Valerie pushed her back down with a harsh whisper, "No, it's not someone in the room and stop making a fool of yourself. You're going to get us in trouble for talking."
"Oh, sorry," she demurred.
"But really, Val," Paulina took up, "who is this guy? What's he like to have you all fascinated like this? I don't remember you ever having a crush before…"
"Yeah, how did you meet?" Star asked, leaning closer.
"Well," Valerie tried to come up with something that would placate them without saying too much. "We both like hunting."
"With guns?" Star gasped.
"Yeah."
"Have you gone out on a date?"
"No, we haven't dated or anything like that, but…"
"But…?" Star caught. "There's something between you, isn't there?"
"Yeah, sort of."
"Oh my gosh, has he given you presents?"
"A couple. He sent a box to my house and even left something for me at school."
"Does he go here?"
"No, he's not a student."
"Oh gosh," Star said with a hand covering her mouth. "Is it a teacher?"
"What? No! No, he doesn't go to the school at all. You guys don't know him. But he's really awesome. He's so amazing and he knows exactly what I like." She stopped to look at Star's enraptured face before faltering a bit on this next part. "Like… he got me a new outfit and it fits perfectly and is just the most comfortable thing ever. It's just what I wanted and he even got... all of the accessories to go with it."
"So dreamy," Star murmured.
"So do we get to see this awesome outfit, chica?" Paulina asked, eyebrows raised.
"Um, no, it's not normal clothes; it would be for like a shooting range. It's red so that everyone else can see you and won't accidentally shoot you. But it's really comfy and stylish and it can last through anything, I'm pretty sure."
"So, he's a pretty decent guy if he buys you clothes when you aren't even dating."
"Well, I hope that it will get to that point soon. I don't really have a chance to meet up with him that often, though. We just kinda miss each other."
"It's like forbidden love!" Star said, her eyes all misted over.
"Really, Star, it isn't anything like that. We're really good together. We're like a team. We work well and think the same way about a lot of things. About a lot of things that most people don't even really think about. But he's the most thoughtful guy ever and he really cares about me and the people I love and the town and making the world a better place. And he's just so cool and he never asks for anything in return and helps me to be a better person and achieve my goals and…"
"And you're rambling. Wow, you got it bad."
Valerie looked down at her lap and fiddled with her hair when she realized that Paulina was right about the rambling bit. Maybe she had gone a bit overboard with describing a guy she hadn't actually technically met yet.
"So what's his name?" Star asked with a bright smile.
"Oh," Valerie laughed a bit. "His name… it's um… he likes to go by Vlad."
Before either girl had a chance to respond, the entire class was interrupted when Manson began to gag violently and stumble blindly toward the door in search of a bathroom.
"Ewww," Paulina remarked casually, turning her attention to her perfectly sparkled nails. "That is so gross."