~Michael~


    I walk into the house with Val, who has a present for Willow and Ronnie. The second Willow hears Valentina''s voice, Willow runs up to her. Val hugs her and lifts her up. Ronnie comes into the room from the kitchen and smiles.


    "Val! You came!"


    "Of course darling! Just for you!"


    Val hands the two wrapped presents off to Ronnie as Willow clings to her neck, refusing to let go.


    "Daddy told me that you might not come."


    Ronnie awkwardly smiles, looking at Val and she whispers into Willow''s ear.


    "Your dad wishes I didn''t come. But guess what."


    "What?"


    "I''m here. And I got you a present."


    Willow excitedly bounces up and down in Val''s arms and she nearly drops her. Valentina manages to set Willow back on the ground. Ronnie shakes his head, still holding the presents.


    "I told you before that you didn''t have to buy her anything."


    Val smiles through clenched teeth and grabs the present wrapped in red paper.


    "The only person I bought anything for is you, Radke. Happy birthday by the way."


    They glare at each other as Ronnie nods and Val hands the gift to Willow. Willow quickly but carefully opens it. Inside is a framed picture. It''s a drawing of Willow done by Val. Willow hugs it to her body.


    "Thank you, Val! I love it!"


    Val hugs Willow and Ronnie eases up. It''s a beautiful drawing. I''m sure Chrissy is gonna feel a certain type of way. The doorbell rings and Val goes to open it. It''s Rei. Fuck.


    "Ronnie. This woman is asking for you.."


    We leave Willow in the living room and go to the door.


    "The fuck is your problem? Let her in. Shit."


    Val looks at me confused and lets Rei in at Ronnie''s request. She hugs me as she comes in and Ronnie hold his arms out to her. Rei looks at Val.


    "Is this her? Is this Val?"


    "Uh yeah. Sorry. Val this is Rei, Rei this is Val."


    Val shakes Rei''s hand, still confused.


    "I''m Ronnie''s girlfriend. I''ve heard so much about you. It''s so nice to finally meet the famous Val."


    "My name is Valentina, please."


    Val has this look in her eyes and Rei''s taken aback for a second. Rei nods and apologizes. Ronnie takes Rei to meet Willow and Val stands at the door, staring into space.


    "Who the fuck? When the fuck?"


    "The cashier Max jokingly gave Ronnie''s number to. They''ve been friends for a while. She''s also a model. They started dating after the Jacky misunderstanding. They''re uh, close, I guess."


    Val stares at the wall, she takes a deep breath and turns to me.


    "I''m guessing she''s going with us. Obviously. So, I can be friendly. It''s great that he found someone."


    ~Ronnie~


    I introduce Rei to Willow and they have a brief interaction before Rei drags me into the kitchen to talk.


    "What is she doing here?"


    "Come on Rei. I invited her before and Willow wanted to see her. Plus, she''s my friend and Michael''s as well."


    Rei folds her arms in front of me and gives off a superficial attitude.


    "Your friend? Bullshit. Do I need to remind you how upset you were? Or how she sleeps around with your friends and band to make you jealous?"Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "She didn''t sleep with anyone, I told you this. It was a misunderstanding."


    She rolls her eyes at me and I sigh.


    "Ronnie."


    "Look it''s fine. You don''t need to worry."


    I kiss her and she drops her arms. I get her to smile and we walk back out to the living room. Willow is eagerly seated in Val''s lap and Michael is sitting next to them. We sit on the opposite couch and Rei hands me a neatly wrapped box. Time to open presents before we go out and meet up with everyone else to celebrate my birthday. I open Rei''s present. It''s a Rolex watch. We haven''t been dating long, this is kind of a shock. I''m not one for materialistic presents. I hug her and kiss her cheek. Val makes a disgusted face behind Willow.


    "Wow, Rei. Thank you so much. You really didn''t need to."


    "Only the best for you."


    I grab Valentina''s present and open it. It''s a fucking box of fruit gushers. I laugh and smile over to her.


    "Max told me that they''ve been your favorite since you two were kids. I know they''re probably not gonna get eaten because of the calories but nostalgia."


    I smile even wider and stand to hug her. It was such a sweet gesture.


    "Thank you so much, Val! I haven''t had them in years! I''m not gonna let them go to waste."


    After Chrissy comes by to pick up Willow, we''re all getting ready to go out. Rei''s been super affectionate, probably because of Val being here. Valentina has been polite to Rei as best as she can, besides glaring when she thinks no one is looking. I''m on my phone confirming the address for Rob and TJ on my phone when Val and Rei start talking.


    "That was sweet. Buying my Ronnie fruit snacks. It''s really cute. I hope it wasn''t too costly for you, being an artist and a college dropout."


    "Yeah well, it''s not all about money or fancy gifts. Tell me, on a cashier''s salary, how could you afford a Rolex? Did you dig it up or beg your sugar daddy for it?"


    Val smiles at us both as I stand and tug Rei away. I knew they weren''t gonna get along but fuck.


    "Alright everyone, it''s time to go. Rei and I will go in my car. Mikey, take Val in your car. As long as they''re both kept away from each other, we''ll be fine."


    ~Valentina~


    I wake up, hungover, sprawled out on the couch in my apartment. It''s been a few days since Ronnie and Max''s birthday. It''s such a great thing to live a few blocks away from a liquor store but also a bad thing. I start cleaning up my apartment when notifications start going off on my phone. I grab water from my fridge and check them. A bunch of conspiracy tweets basically saying, ''Anyone else find it weird that Ronnie and Val suddenly stopped following each other and then Ronnie posts about his new girlfriend?''. I roll my eyes and toss my phone on the couch. I have a deadline but I can''t work in this messy apartment. My phone starts ringing, it''s Robert. I mute the ringer and make a quick post on twitter about my deadline. That way no one will bother me. They know I never answer when I have a deadline. He texts me.


    "Just wanted to check-in. See if you''re okay. Call me when you can love."


    I wake up early Christmas morning, to a phone call. I''m hungover yet again. The great thing about drinking until you pass out is that you either don''t have night terrors or you can''t remember them. I yawn and look at my phone. 16 missed calls. 4 from Alva, 2 from Max, 6 from Michael, 3 from Jacky, and 1 from Zakk. I pull leftover vegan nachos from the fridge and dial Zakk back.


    "Oh my god, Val?"


    "Shouldn''t you be with like family or something? Not calling me on Christmas."


    I put the nachos in the microwave and wait for him to answer. I''m trying to eat more healthy since I drink so much.


    "Where have you been? And don''t give me that deadline shit. After Jacky couldn''t find you at your apartment and no one could get ahold of you, they called me. Me! You''ve even been dodging Rob!"


    I sigh as I pull the heated nachos from the microwave. I shove one in my mouth and chew before I answer.


    "I really have been busy with my deadline Zakk. And I''ve been making new friends in my building and the area near me. Everyone knows I don''t answer when I''m working on a project. I must have been at a neighbor''s when Jacky stopped by."


    "Can you call and tell them that you''re okay? Michael wanted to see you before today. Merry Christmas by the way."


    I finish my nachos and yawn again.


    "Michael is in Florida, celebrating Christmas with Alva. I''ll stop by when he comes back next week. Merry Christmas Zakk."


    I''m pretty sure he knows damn well that I won''t be stopping by that house. And I don''t plan on calling either. I always forget when I start drinking anyway.


    "Want some company? I can stop by later."


    "Ah, no. That''s okay. My neighbor invited me over for dinner today. You enjoy today though."


    "Talk to you later Val."


    He sighs before hanging up. I don''t really enjoy Christmas that much anyway. I mostly just look forward to the sales at the stores. I finish cleaning around my apartment and get to work on my recent project. I could''ve let Zakk come over but if anyone found out, they''d be super pissed off. Including Michael, Jacky, and Robert. I can''t focus on my project thinking about them. Damn it! I put my pencil down in frustration and turn on my music. Ronnie''s voice comes through the speaker and I immediately shut it off. Of course, Falling In Reverse would play first. Fucking hell! I give up and grab my phone. I shoot a quick text to Zakk, telling him to feel free to stop by. I then text Robert, he might not answer considering today but it''s worth a shot.


    "Merry Christmas, I''m still alive."


    "Merry Christmas baby girl. Where have you been? I miss you!"


    "Busy with this deadline and kinda avoiding human contact."


    "I''m sorry. Avoiding Ronnie doesn''t mean you need to avoid everyone else though."


    "Who said that I''m specifically avoiding Ronnie and unintentionally avoiding everyone else? I''m not, it''s just the holidays."


    "We both know that''s bullshit. Nice job making Ronnie feel guilty though."


    "What does he feel guilty for? Being a complete moron?"


    "No, but funny. He feels guilty because he knows you''re not talking to us due to him. We all know you have this idea that we''re his friends and don''t want to get in between that or whatever."


    "My god. Are you psychic? Read my fortune."


    "Haha. Stop shutting yourself in your apartment and drinking so much. Call everyone back! Interact with people. Stop ignoring your friends Val."


    "For your information, Zakk is coming by today. I gotta go."


    "You better call me tomorrow."


    "Mhmm. Love you, byeeeee."