The Detroit Vandals were coming home in two days for a hometown show and Valerie was extremely relieved to have her boys back.

She was in Jack's room, tidying it for his return. He had left it astray when he took off for Cleveland and it had bothered her the entire time. She knew he would be pissed that she 'went through his stuff' but she hated having a mess anywhere in her house. Their landlord was also planning a visit soon. Though he wasn't very picky, he couldn't be in Detroit.

Valerie stepped out of Jack's room and jumped at the sight of someone standing in her kitchen. Her heart only settled back to normal when she recognized the dark hair and dark skin. Jamie was leaning against her countertop, sipping on OJ.

"Jesus, Jamie, this is why I don't have friends," she swore. "How'd you even get in here?"

"Some guy let me in the building. You didn't lock your door. Not very smart for a Detroit native."

"I'm very trusting." She said pointedly. Though, in reality, she just forgot to lock it after she ran to the corner store for some Mr. Clean to wash out Jack's dirty room.

"That's what gets you killed." Jamie said as passive as if she had just told her it was raining out today.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Anyway," Jamie spoke again. "I came here for a reason. You're coming to this party with me tonight."

Valerie opened her mouth in protest and Jamie shook her head. "Nope. You can't say no. We are both off tonight and that never happens. Go get ready."

"Fine." Valerie sighed but she was slightly excited by the idea of dressing up.

Valerie padded into her room and flung open her tiny closet. It was stuffed full. She never really grew since seventh grade. She went through a growth spurt, almost growing to six feet, that year and then never grew again. So, she never had to throw anything out - which meant a full closet, especially since in high school she spent ninety percent of her pay cheques on clothing.

Valerie grabbed a shiny silver halter top and a pair of dark low rise jeans and slipped on some heels. She briefly touched up her make-up she had done earlier to make it more 'nighttime' and then she was ready.

Jamie was on the phone when Valerie returned to the kitchen. At first, Valerie didn't think much about it. She had probably called Darrel or her mother, or something. But when Jamie started giggling like a school girl, Valerie knew something was up.

"Oh, we're going out tonight," Jamie said into the receiver. "Valerie's getting ready now."

Jamie turned around and spotted Valerie just behind her with her arms crossed. "Actually, she's ready now."

"She looks hot, too. Silver halter top, no back. Tight low rise jeans. She even has eyeliner on. It's a miracle, hey?"

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Who the hell are you talking to?"

Jamie smiled. "First it was Stef but he had to go call his girl. Right now it's Jack."

"Jamie!" Valerie groaned.

"She doesn't seem impressed with me," Jamie said into the phone. She looked up at Valerie. "He says he wants to talk to you."

Valerie grabbed the phone and Jamie ducked under the cord, smirking. "Of course he does! That's probably why he called me."

"Somebody's wound up." Jack laughed at her.

"Don't start," she said. "How's Chicago?"

"Pretty cool," he told her. "But I'm more interested in you right now. A backless halter top? Low rise jeans? How come you don't dress like that when I'm around?"

Valerie blushed and turned away from Jamie. "Because you're a pervert?"

"Yeah, that's it," he said. She pictured him rolling his eyes and flicking his hair out of his face. "But I'm serious. I'm hurt, Valerie. Apparently I've been missing out all this time."

"Apparently." She turned back to Jamie to glare at her friend. Jamie didn't seem fazed, she just shrugged.

"I can't believe I missed Stef," Valerie pouted. "How long do you think he'll be talking to Gina for?"

"Hours." Jack said immediately. "Until he goes broke. Looks like all you have is me."

"What a joy." She told him saracastically. But she didn't mind, not really. She loved when he called her.

"Most girls love talking to me, Val," She could hear Jack's smirk in his voice. "They think the rockstar thing is sexy. They'd kill to be on the other line right now and you're wasting it."

Valerie remembered feeding him the same lines except she was talking about New York.

"As if, Jack," she bit back. "Nobody would kill to talk to you, you're no Justin Timberlake."

"I'm offended you even put me and him in the same sentence."

Valerie laughed. "Why? I love me some JT."

"You're such a girl. Sometimes I forget."

"I guess I should be offended by that," she replied. "I'm going to have to cut this call short. Jamie's getting antsy waiting for me to leave."

"Okay, have a good time," he told her. "See you soon."

"Yeah, see you soon, loverboy."

X X X

Valerie was shoved in between what felt like thousands of sweaty bodies. She had lost Jamie hours ago. She probably had run off with some cute guy and had forgotten to tell Valerie. Valerie was a little annoyed but mostly she just wanted to find an exit and go home.

"Hey, baby girl," some white guy with a Von Dutch hat and a tee shirt styled with trashy graffiti-themed lettering on the chest said to her. She tried not to screw up her face. "Let me buy you a drink."

"I've had enough. Thanks." She said coldly and pushed past him.

He tugged on her arm. "Don't be like that, girl. I'll get you a drink, we can talk."

"Not happening, buddy," she ripped her arm from his grip. "I have a boyfriend and even if I didn't I'm not that desperate."

She strutted away from Trucker Hat, shoving anyone out of her way with the use of her elbows, and cursed Jamie for dragging her out just to abandon her.

She finally found an exit through all the bodies and fog. An exit sign was illuminated probably fifteen feet away from her. She was relieved to see it. But she wasn't relieved to see a familiar face.

Cole was in the back corner of the club grinding on some girl while she was kissing all over his neck. Valerie stopped in her tracks eyeing both Cole and the door, deciding which route she should take. The door was even more appealing than before but she knew she couldn't let this go.

She wanted to let it go.

Cole was the type of guy that you were supposed to get involved with. Smart, goal-orientated, and had a good solid plan for his life. Valerie had never been with a guy like that and she thought that testing the waters with Cole, branching out, and going for the right kind of guy might get her somewhere. But how were the guys from her side of town the wrong kind when the right kind couldn't even keep his damn hands to himself?

She wasn't too upset as she watched her boyfriend with another woman. She liked Cole but she wasn't in love with him, not yet. It was more a damage to her ego than anything else. He made her feel as if he really wanted her. That was quite obviously bullshit.

If Valerie was the type of girl Cole usually went after, she would wait around for Cole to step away from the other woman and quietly pull him aside and confront him. But Valerie was not his usual type. She had tamed herself, a little, for him but she was still the same girl from high school that had a fiery mouth and enough attitude to cause a scene. It wasn't the first time Valerie had been cheated on. Many boyfriends past had gone down that path - practically all.

She pushed through the crowd, more forcefully this time, until she was no more than two feet away from Cole. For a moment, she just stood there, a hand firmly pressed on her hip and eyes narrowed harshly in his direction. He must have felt her glare because he looked up right away. Instantly, he paled, pushing the other girl off him.

"So when I can't hang out this is what you get up to?" She shouted over the music. "I have to tell you, Cole. I'm surprised. I thought you were a lot more boring than that."

The girl looked up at Cole. Her brows furrowed at him - asking him silently what the hell is going on. Valerie didn't have a fight to pick with her, she probably was clueless about it. Cole was a whole different story.

"Is this like a one time thing or have you been fucking around on me since you asked me to be your girlfriend?"

The other club goers had already turned their attention to her. A lot of them had stopped dancing and stared obviously between her and Cole.

The girl who had hung off him slipped out of his grip, she wouldn't meet Valerie's eye.

Cole just stared at her, his mouth slightly agape.

"Well? You gonna say anything or are you just gonna stand there like a fool with your mouth hanging open?"

Cole stepped closer. His face was almost pressed up against hers. It was similar to what it would look like if Cole was going in for a kiss but Valerie knew it was definitely not that.

Cole leaned in, his lips just barely touching her ear.

"Can you just drop it?" Cole hissed, his eyes flickered around the small crowd gathered around them. "This isn't the place."

"Okay, so let me get this straight - this is the place you can cheat on me," she was talking with her hands. "But we can't talk about it."

"I don't want to cause a scene. It looks bad."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Fine. We can't talk about it here, where can we talk about it?"

"My place," Cole told her. "."

She narrowed her eyes at him again. "You're lucky I was just about to leave because you haven't seen half the scene I could've caused. I'll see you tomorrow. You better be a bit more talkative."

Valerie slipped out of the crowd after that. No tears came or even felt like coming.

Trucker Hat side-stepped in front of her. "Looks like you ain't got that boyfriend anymore. My offer is still on the table."

Valerie huffed and didn't even gift him with a reply, just left the club.