So, I'm Graduating... (Valerie)

[Noah Washington]

Was it strange to almost hope it wasn't true? Graduating was pretty unsettling; it was like moving out of some built up safety. Fending for himself? He wasn't sure such a thing was possible. He liked not having to worry about supporting himself, even if in reality he had been for years. School was a necessity in life. The future didn't need to be offered thought while it was in play.

The options were overwhelming. Was what he supposed to do when Hammel stopped being his home? Go back home? He had reasons to go, but there was a pretty substantial reason why he wanted to stay. And he had been avoiding the topic for some time; diverting the conversation if it ever actually came up. He decided to call rather than confront the issue of his potential departure face to face. He wasn't sure why. It just seemed safer that way.

And so he made the call, bringing the phone up to his ear and waiting for recognition. When he heard the click, he was silent for the first few moments. "...Um, hey. How are you? Do you have time to talk? ...Or are you busy with exam stuff, or something?"

[Valerie Danner]

Valerie was complacent.

It wasn't all the time that she was, though. But a sense of comfort and security that befell the nineteen year old placed her in this little bubble where she felt nothing would change.

And most certainly not something that she felt pretty damn sure about.

So when she got the call, she didn't think anything by it as she answered. Not even Noah's hesitance at first.

"Eh, exams can wait." She answered as she dipped a small brush into the bottle of nail polish. Spreading a thin coating of turquoise polish, she smiled at her lack-lustre attitude towards her education.

"Did you just get back from work?"

[Noah Washington]

Noah breathed an involuntary laugh at her response. "You sound so hard at work." He joked. Her approach to her education was her decision, and not something he was ever willing to comment on. If nothing else, he appreciated being such a powerful distraction. "Yeah. Literally just walked in and crashed onto the bed. Work was a nightmare." He coupled the generalised statement with a hefty sigh. The blonde curled his free arm around his pillow, hooking it closer towards him.

"So hey, I got news. Contrary to my own belief and your terribly addictive influence, I've actually done well enough to graduate this year." He paused, not for an effect, but because he wasn't sure what words followed that statement. "No more college slash high school romance for you." He laughed, though he cringed at the words at the same time.

[Valerie Danner]

"Oh totes." She responded with a small laugh of her own. "My nails don't paint themselves. And besides, I am doing a public service for people who look at my feet. I mean damn, Noah. I'm being a saint here."

Hearing that he had just returned from work made her coo sympathetically. "Poor baby."

But as complacent as she was, his next bit of news got her biting her lower lip. Of course, her initial response was relief. Because although she had gotten over the whole scandal of dating a high schooler, there were still remnants of doubt that other people were as tolerant as her.

"Well damn, senior. Best news ever, isn't it?" She grinned before her smile fell. His news meant a lot of things. Since he was done with school, that meant he was done with her. He wanted to go back home. To his family. Of course he did. It wasn't like he had any obligations here. Surely, she wasn't a good enough reason for him to stay...

Was she?

Quickly, she regained her composure because although he was on the other line, she always had a suspicion that he could instantly tell when something was wrong.

"Have you been scouted for awesome swimming schools or something?" Valerie added a small, hopefully natural laugh at the end.

[Noah Washington]

"I guess as a member of said public, I should be thanking you." Noah replied with a laugh.

He breathed a sigh, dusted with a slight hint of humour as another laugh threatened to break past his lips. Being a senior, and all that. It was so uncertain given how Hammel's schooling was graded. He had always been strong when it came to understanding his powers - maybe that was something that carried him through. Like he hadn't spent enough time thinking on the topic. "It's pretty good, yeah," He tried again, "Mom was pretty excited to hear the news."

It may have been his own mentality and the toll it was taking on him, but he wasn't confident enough to determine whether or not his news had shaken her.

"Nah. I'm not really looking at studying again. At least, not for a while. I'm still not sure what I even want to do." He admitted, his mouth turning into a frown at the thought, "How did you know what you wanted to do post-graduation?"

[Valerie Danner]

"Damn straight you should." Valerie laughed, pausing in her nail painting to assess the emotions going through her then. On the one hand, she really was proud of the fact that her boyfriend was graduating from high school. But on the other, the possibility of him leaving Pilot Ridge, and most importantly leaving her, weighed her down.

"Of course she was! I can't imagine what parent wouldn't be."

His response to her thinly veiled insecurity put a little bit of hope in her. It could totally mean he was going to stay and continue working at Honest Abe's.

"A lot of that was due to Spencer being here. And also because of actually liking my major in the first place. I think everything was just...convenient I guess?" Valerie replied truthfully.

She continued painting her nails, adjusting her head so her phone won't drop from its perch between her ear and her shoulder.

"Hey so...wanna celebrate your graduation some time?" She asked, a little hesitant.

[Noah Washington]

"She's definitely excited..." Noah replied, tying off the subject of his mother and her reaction to his graduation with the simplistic trail of his voice. Why she would be excited was relatively obvious. It didn't need to be said. And somehow, he was pretty sure mentioning his mother's need to have her eldest son back home was a total downer.

He offered a small sound of recognition, coupled with the nod of his head. Not like she could see that. "Yeah. I guess convenience would be a pretty big factor for future plans, huh. Must help living with someone you're so attached to, and all that?" He asked, turning to glance up at the ceiling.

"I thought you were just hanging around for the drama," He started with a joke, chuckling to himself, "You'd still be into me?"

[Valerie Danner]

She made a sound as if to say "Yeah that part of this conversation is over" before closing up her nail polish bottle, setting it aside and leaning back against the couch.

The way he replied for some reason got her sitting straight up again in attention. "It does male things easier, yeah. I mean, if Spence had been elsewhere, I would be there too." She paused and sighed softly. "Glad she was here though." She answered in a quiet voice before smacking her forehead with a small shake of her head. That wasn't campy at all. Valerie thought to herself.

Glad Noah had made a joke, she got into it pretty quick. "I dunno man. I might just lose interest in you after the high of being all scandalous dating a younger guy but for now, I guess I could keep you around." She grinned, closing her eyes.

"This Saturday by the open field?" She was referring to the spot Noah had taken her on their first date. She didn't want to believe it but she actually thought bringing him back there might make him feel less inclined to leave her.

[Noah Washington]

Noah offered a small laugh in the silence after her statement about Spencer. "So it's important, then." He reasoned, thinking about his family. They were on the other side of the country. In hindsight he'd probably be angry at himself for being so vague, but he couldn't really help that in the moment.

"Damn," He laughed, incredibly relieved that things weren't so awkward. At least, not in this moment, "See, I knew it. I should have lied and told you I wasn't going to graduate."

He didn't say anything for a moment or so, settling in the surprise that she quickly asked to hang out with him. But he didn't want it to feel awkward, or forced, so he made a move to say something as soon as his mind was willing and his voice able; "Oh, yeah! Sounds good to me."

[Valerie Danner]

"It was for me, yeah." Valerie answered truthfully. Had she never met Spencer, Vermont wouldn't have even crossed her mind. To be perfectly honest, she didn't even know Vermont even existed before Spencer was sent here.

"What good would that have done? I'd still be clingy." She laughed, glad that he didn't seem to think it was awkward.

His silence was something she welcomed as she tried to gather her thoughts but the silence was a little longer than she expected and the part of her that was terribly paranoid, and painfully dominant, started to think Noah was hesitating. Like she really had something to worry about with him graduating. Maybe this was his subtle way of telling her that he didn't want to pursue anything with her.

Not even his somewhat enthusiastic response cleared her head but she forced a smile on her face and replied. "Awesome. You bring the food, I bring the booze?" She joked.

[Noah Washington]

Noah shook his head, laughing into the phone. "Nah, you're never clingy." He said quietly. Clingy he'd already dealt with. Clingy was gone from his life. She was not.

"Okay, sounds like a deal." He replied finally. Noah resigned from the phone call with a small nod and a standard; "Goodbye."

He got up and tossed his phone back onto the bed behind him. She was a real factor in this decision, and he knew that. In truth, he almost wished she wasn't. He was supposed to go back home with no remorse and do what he had planned on doing; fronting up for his family. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to do that anymore.