A/N Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter! I'm glad you liked it. I hope you enjoy this one too.


Chapter 1

Valerie touched ground in Los Angeles two hours before the bachelorette party was supposed to take place. That would give her enough time to check into her hotel and change into something a little less comfortable than the clothes she'd travelled in. A part of her was nervous to see them again, still wondering if Kelly held a grudge against her. Though the woman had invited her to the bachelorette party too so she should be on her good side. Right?

No, Valerie was a different woman now. Happy. And she was looking forward to showing all of them how much she had changed. She also wanted them to meet Matthew, but he didn't seem too keen on meeting anyone from her old life. They hadn't discussed that more because she just didn't want him to be mad at her.

Grabbing her bag, she walked out of LAX airport and hailed a cab. Seeing the familiar city floating by her window, she sighed happily. When she left she never thought she'd actually miss this city and the people. But she lived there for a long time and she considered it her home just as much as Buffalo.

Outside the windows palm trees started to appear, letting her know that they were almost at the hotel. She recognized the streets she always drove down and the houses she always admired. The brunette brought out her phone and snapped a photo through the window, sending it to her old boyfriend and probably closest friend.

"Feels good to be back," she wrote under the picture.

Three dots soon appeared, indicating that David was writing a reply already. They disappeared for a second, but then returned just before his reply came.

"We've missed you."

Valerie knew there was no we in that statement and she had to say that the feeling was mutual. He was the one she'd talked to the most since going back to Buffalo, both on text and a phone call at least once a week. She had him to thank for her newfound happiness and she wanted him to know how much better she was now that she'd gone through therapy.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she wrote, a small smile tugging on her lips.

….

Valerie stopped in front of the door of the beach apartment and took a deep breath before knocking. If anyone would've told her she'd one day give Kelly a big bear hug, she would've laughed at them, but that's exactly what happened as soon as the blonde opened the door.

"Hey Val," she giggled, clearly already a bit tipsy.

The brunette looked around the room and was surprised, but overjoyed, to see Brenda in the bunch. She hadn't seen her childhood friend in so long and she hadn't expected her to be back for this wedding. Though it was her brother so she probably should've.

"Brenda!" Valerie exclaimed and the two of them hugged, probably a little too long.

Donna cleared her throat and held out a glass for Valerie which she gladly took. "You have some catching up to do," the redhead said before turning to the bride to be. "Time for the next game of the evening… Who's most likely…"

Valerie took a seat next to Brenda and sipped the champagne she had been given. Perhaps everyone was starting to get drunk already, but her presence felt as natural as anyone else. She didn't feel any sideway glances from any of them.

The game they were playing, Valerie hadn't played since ninth grade with her girlfriends when trying to get drunk. This time around she actually didn't get as many fingers pointed at her. They'd already covered who were most likely to have sex at various odd places, who were most likely to participate in a threesome and who was most likely the one to be married next, which all guessed Brenda. Valerie agreed that it was about time she tied the knot with Dylan.

"Who's most likely to…" Jackie spoke up, thinking about something to say, probably something just as dirty as the previous questions. "…experiment with BDSM."

Her daughter, the bride to be, almost spat out the champagne she had just sipped. "Mom!" she exclaimed and laughed along with the others who hadn't expected the older woman to say something like that. Fingers started going up, one at Mrs. Teasley, one at Valerie, but most were pointed at Felice Martin.

"I don't even want to think about that," Donna said, shuddering and took a large swig of her champagne.

"You heard my daughter… I'm not saying anything," Felice said, hiding a smirk behind her glass. Yes, the woman was getting drunk, just like everyone else in that room.

"Ew…" Kelly laughed and got up. "Let's agree to never do this again with family." She walked over to the kitchen and picked up the tequila. "How about some drinks?"

The women in the room raised their glasses in a 'Yes, please' and the bride to be started preparing strong margaritas. This was going to be a long night.

At two am the oldest women had decided to call it a night and gone back to their hotels. Valerie also felt ready to leave, but she just couldn't bother to move from the floor where she was sitting up against the couch. Kelly sat slouched in the armchair, her eyes focused on the liquid in her glass. Brenda was stretched out on the white sofa, her legs in Claire's lap, who sat on one edge of the furniture. Donna had chosen to stretch out on the rug, her body under the coffee table, while Andrea occupied the other armchair. All of them were absolutely smashed and every single movement made the room spin out of control.

"I'm never drinking again," Donna groaned, closing her eyes hard. "Why is my room so far away?"

"At least your bed is here," Valerie said, looking at the redhead with a tired smile.

"You can sleep here," Kelly offered. "As long as you don't read our diaries."

Valerie chuckled and took another sip of her drink. Was it another Margarita she was drinking? Or had they made something else? "I'm more into mystery novels now," she joked. The thought of reading Kelly's diary made her feel embarrassed. What was she thinking doing that?

"I'm glad you're here," Kelly slurred and put away her glass on the table. "And
I'm sorry we never got to be friends before you know."

"Me too, Kel," Valerie sighed and was surprised when the blonde suddenly threw her arms around the brunette.

"I should go to bed," Kelly said, her words slightly muffled by Valerie's hair. "I'm getting married tomorrow." The woman stood up again and staggered away to her old room and stumbled into bed, without bothering to change out of her dress.

Valerie looked around the room at the other women, noticing that they had all fallen asleep. She stood up, slowly, not wanting to lose her balance. The room was still spinning after all. Grabbing her phone, she realized she had eleven missed calls from Matthew, and she grimaced slightly. She couldn't really call him back right now, but she opened a new message and told him she would call him in the morning. In her inbox she also found an unread message from David and a smile stretched across her face as she read it.

'Everyone's passed out drunk. Tomorrow's gonna be painful. How's things over there?'

She quickly typed a reply. 'We've had way too many margaritas. The room is still spinning.'

Surprisingly, three dots appeared, followed by David's message. 'Did you have fun though?'

Valerie smiled at the thought and nodded, as if he could see that, while she replied. 'Yeah, I don't know why I was nervous. Shouldn't you sleep?'

Three dots and then: 'You're a good person. I should. I just can't. Can't wait to see you tomorrow.'

For some reason tears welled up in her eyes. She wasn't used to anyone calling her a good person, she had never seen herself as a good person either. 'Thank you. Can't wait either. If we sleep time will go faster.'

'Good point.' David replied quickly. Three dots appeared so Valerie kept herself from writing anything. Though the dots disappeared again for a second before a message came. 'Can't we meet now?'

Valerie wanted nothing more than to do just that, having missed her best friend, but they had a wedding to attend in the morning. However, none of them played a very important part in the wedding so they could afford to be just a little tired. Right?

'Where?' she replied, chewing on her bottom lip.

'I'll come to the beach. Bring blankets.'

Valerie suddenly didn't feel tired anymore as she walked over to the empty armchair and grabbed the two blankets hanging over the back. She sat down, clutching her phone, the blankets in her lap, as she waited for David to arrive.