'Do you have a best friend?' Tanith asked suddenly. Valkyrie looked up, surprised. 'Uh...yes. You.'
Tanith smiled. 'Apart from me. I thought we were more like sisters, anyway.'
'Well, yes, we are,' Valkyrie agreed. 'Apart from you? I don't know...Skulduggery?'
'What, that weird Mr. Pleasant guy?' Crystal asked from the doorway. Valkyrie jumped about a foot in the air off of her bed. 'Crystal, get the hell out of here!' she hissed.
Crystal scowled and folded her arms firmly. 'No,' she said bluntly. Tanith snorted in quiet amusement. Valkyrie glared at her and then turned her attention back to Crystal. 'You've got no right to barge into my room like that! Get out! And what are you doing here, anyway?'
'Mum's talking to your parents,' Crystal replied coolly. 'Who's that?' She nodded towards Tanith.
'A friend,' Valkyrie responded just as coldly. Crystal narrowed her eyes. 'It's unwise to have guys as best friends. They're untrustworthy.'
'I disagree,' a velvety Irish voice spoke up. Crystal jumped and Skulduggery appeared in the doorway. 'I've got some pretty solid reasons of why men make extremely reliable best friends.'
'Which are?' Tanith pressed. Crystal looked petrified and indignant at the same time. Skulduggery took a step into Valkyrie's room, counting off his fingers. 'We don't start rumours for no apparent reason. We won't tell anyone your secrets.'
'They won't steal the guy you like,' Tanith added. 'They don't PMS act rude randomly.'
Skulduggery nodded with a grin. 'Yes, that. We stick up for you most of the time. If you're cold, we give you a jacket. If you're hurt, we carry you to safety. Are those enough reasons for you?'
Crystal, evidently peeved, stormed away from Valkyrie's room huffily. Tanith and Valkyrie burst out laughing as Skulduggery stood, triumphant, leaning against the bookcase. 'I rest my case,' he said. 'I'm going over to Gordon's. Do you want to come? I have something I need to find.'
'I'll be down in five,' Valkyrie said between laughs. Skulduggery rolled his eyes and headed downstairs. Eventually, the two girls stopped laughing, clutching their stomachs and panting for air.
'You know,' Tanith said, flicking her long, blonde hair away from her face. 'I've got another good reason why guys make good best friends.'
'Do tell,' Valkyrie said with a smile, grabbing her jacket.
'You may just fall in love with them.'
Valkyrie froze and glanced back at Tanith who had a mischievous smile on her face. Snatching her cellphone off the dressing table, Valkyrie slipped out of the room, running downstairs as her heart thumped in her chest. Fall in love? With Skulduggery? No way! But as she climbed into the yellow Bentley, she glanced up at her window where Tanith made a heart with her hands. Valkyrie scowled but glanced at Skulduggery. She suddenly wondered what he looked like as a human. Was he cute?
Scolding herself, Valkyrie turned her attention back to the road but Skulduggery had noticed her quietness. 'You okay?' he asked.
'Fine,' Valkyrie said through her teeth. She hesitated, and then spoke again. 'Hey, Skulduggery? Do you have a best friend?'
Skulduggery looked surprised. 'Uh...yes. You.'
