Fate

Part 2

Everything happened so fast that Jamie failed to notice when the girl who helped her reach home safely left. It was her mom's voice that made her realize that she actually left. But how didn't she realize it earlier? She didn't even get a chance to say thanks to her. Maddy was still speaking but Jamie wasn't listening anymore, her whole attention was at the strange girl. When she entered her room she noticed that she was still wearing her jacket. That's why Jamie didn't realize her leaving because her scent was still near her due to her jacket. She was putting it on her bed when she heard Maddy speak again,

"Jamie, tell me the truth, did she hurt you in any way? Did she force you to--" Maddy was going crazy for her best friend's safety but Jamie decided to cut her off,

"Maddy relax. She didn't do anything. She was sweet and kind--" she would have said more but Maddy scoffed at her causing her to stop and frown at her friend.

"Sweet? kind? You have no idea what you're talking about. Do you even know who she is? Who her father is? What she does?" Maddy asks furiously. Now that Jamie thought if it, she didn't even know her name and that made her sad. She should have at least asked for her name.

"Well, I don't. Maybe when I meet her next time I'll ask her" Jamie said with a heavy sigh but she was hopeful.

"Next time? Are you crazy?" Maddy shouted. Jamie was confused as to why her best friend was overreacting so much. The girl seemed nice to her. But she got her answer when Maddy spoke the next words. "Jamie we are talking about Valentine Gray. She is the daughter of city's drug lord Damian Gary. She is a cold-hearted b***h, the ice queen. I know her very well because she goes to my school with her gang of petty friends. She is bad news Jamie that's why when I saw you with her today I lost it" Maddy finished with heavy breathing.

Jamie was in shock. Valentine didn't seem anything like Maddy described her to be. She seemed kind to her but if what Maddy was saying was true then Valentine was dangerous. She sits on her breath with her head in her hands and let out a long breath. Maddy sits down with her friend and hugs her. She was genuinely worried about Jamie, she was like a sister to her and because of what happened to her years ago she had grown even more protective of her.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea who that was. She offered me an umbrella and helped me get home so I thought...." she trails off with another sigh.

"I understand. I'm sorry too for the way I behaved but I was worried for you. I have seen what she can do first hand and it is not something I wanna share with you. The whole city fears the Gray family and Valentine takes full advantage of that fear. She's always with her gang of thugs and drug addicts. She acts as if she owns the city and takes whatever she wants. Seeing her with you today, it was a nightmare. I never want that girl near you ever again. Promise me, Jamie, that you'll stay away from her at all costs" Maddy says to her friend with concern laced in her voice. Jamie takes in all the information and nods her head. Maddy feels better and gets up ready to leave, " Now change and come downstairs for dinner, everyone's waiting. We'll have a sleepover tonight, just like old times. Oh and Mason is coming back this weekend" with that said she leaves the room and Jamie alone.

Jamie thinks about Mason coming back and feels happy. He's Maddison's twin brother and her other best friend. The three of them grew up together and Mason was Jamie's boyfriend. She was smiling but that same alluring scent caught her attention again. She was still processing all the information that Maddy gave her but somehow the feeling of Valentine'arms around her were on top of the list of her thoughts. It was a lot to take in. Without wasting any more time she entered the bathroom to freshen up in and trying hard to forget about Valentine but failing miserably.

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For next week all Valentine could think of was Jamie. She still couldn't get around the fact that those beautiful orbs couldn't see. It had become a norm for her to wait for the girl outside the cafe. She'd follow the girl and notice every detail about her but never really talking to her. She'd stay in her car outside the cafe watching her for hours but never going near her, never talking to her or anything, she just watched her from afar like something that was too good to be in her presence. To say that she was amazed by Jamie's sense of direction and the way she could do things like any other normal person would be an understatement. Every time she would see the girl smiling or laughing she would feel that warmth in her, confusing her even more. She had one of her gang members get her info about Jamie's background to learn even more about her and no questions were asked.

Victor was the only one who noticed the change in Valentine or her continuous absence. He was the newest member of her gang and the closest to Valentine. He had saved her from the police one night after a drug deal was raided by the cops, his father had escaped already with his left hand but she was left behind, that's when Victor found her and hid her in his house nearby. When Valentine learned about his background, that he had no family and was basically living on the streets, she added him to her gang. Now, Victor and Valentine were like siblings and they protected each other. Victor knew about Valentine's life and her struggles against drugs. He was one of the main reasons that she had been on withdrawal for months but after her meeting Jamie, she was badly disoriented and it wasn't hidden from Victor's eyes.

Valentine was like a calm hurricane, she would never show her emotions ever, it was like she had none but Victor knew better. He had seen her struggle, he knew about her nightmares, he knew that Valentine didn't like being touched at all and he knew the consequences of touching her, he knew that she was trained to kill a person with something as simple as a pencil, she was as deadly as a poison, she was merciless, forgiveness was taboo to her, he knew that she was never accepted by her father Damian, he knew about how Damian would punish her daughter with worst kind of punishments, he had seen it firsthand but never in his time serving as her gang member has he seen her giving a single expression. Damian trained her daughter to be a merciless assassin, he made her whatever she was. It was a mystery to Victor why hasn't Damian used her yet even when he knew that she was the best he had and deep down he was glad that Valentine was clean of such atrocities. Valentine was like a mystery to him which he was afraid to even thinking of solving.

Valentine was sitting in her car outside the cafe as usual but today Jamie was working the late shift and it was already dark. When Jamie left the cafe she started walking on her way but unlike other days Valentine decided to walk closer to the girl today. She knew that it was a risk but she wanted to and even she didn't know why. Before she could think about them or control her actions she was walking behind Jamie on a safe distance. Jamie was humming a tune in her own world unaware of the presence behind her or so Valentine thought. After a few mins of following Jamie silently, Valentine noticed that the other girl had started walking slowly. She was walking slowly making sure to not make any noise to alert the girl but suddenly Jamie stopped and turned around and stared directly at her direction. Seeing those eyes looking directly at her caused Valentine's heart to beat frantically and her breathing to stop. No sound was made by Valentine when those eyes looked at her, she kept staring at the girl, afraid that even the smallest of action could make the girl running for hills. There was no doubt Maddeline had told her all about her. All her thoughts were thrown out of the window when she heard that voice again,

"You know it's creepy to follow someone right?" Jamie asked. For a minute or two, none of them spoke. When she got no answer Jamie sighed. "Are you going to say anything or are you going to pretend that you're not there? You know just because I can't see doesn't mean I'm stupid" Jamie said. This threw Valentine off guard.

"How did you know I was here?" Valentine blurted out. Jamie laughed at her question which made Valentine feel that warmth again. Her heart was beating out of control and somehow her breathing was fastened. This had never happened before to her. What is happening to me?. She kept thinking.

"Well, you do wear a strong scent." she paused for a moment then asked, "Walk with me?" Valentine was caught off guard again. She didn't know what to say so she just started walking when Jamie did. She was curious about this girl but didn't dare ask questions. "You don't speak much do you?" Jamie asked when she noticed the other girl was not going to speak. Valentine just hummed as a response which caused the other girl to giggle causing Valentine to feel something strange in her stomach. "So, why were you following me? And why did you leave that day? I didn't even get a chance to thank you" Jamie said after a min of silence. Valentine was not used to such situations but she knew she had to answer and for some reason, for the first time in her life she was feeling nervous which was an alien emotion for her. When she thought about it any and all emotions were alien for her.

"I wasn't following you, your friend didn't like having me there so I left and no need to say thanks," she said in stoic voice. Even if she was feeling anything, she didn't show it in her voice or her face.

"I have to. If you weren't there that day I would have been sick because of the rain. So, thank you very much for helping me reach home safely." Jamie said smiling. Valentine kept looking at her smiling face for a while then spoke again,

"As I said before no need," she answered and went quiet again. They both walked silently again. Jamie started humming that same tune again and Valentine was listening to her with her undivided attention. Soon they reached the same house. Jamie stopped at the driveway of her house and turned around,

"That's my stop. Thanks again for accompanying me again." Jamie said smiling. She held out her hand for Valentine to shake. Valentine was looking at her hand contemplating if she should shake it or not. When she didn't Jamie sighed and started to withdraw it when against her own will Valentine's hand met Jamie's. As soon as their hands met they both felt the same spark again, like a warmth flowing through them like electricity. Jamie gasped at the feeling while Valentine stared at Jamie knowing full well that she felt it too. Before any, of them, could say something they heard a voice call out to Jamie. Both the girls turned around and Valentine saw Mason coming towards them. She knew him, he was the famous quarterback of their school.

"Hey, baby," he said hugging Jamie who was smiling with a slight blush on her cheeks. Valentine felt something again but this time it wasn't pleasant. Mason saw Valentine standing there and stiffened. "What are you doing here Dark?" he asked her rudely. Valentine's face remained the same, expressionless. She didn't want to waste her time or breath on him. Sensing the tension Jamie decided to answer for her,

"She was helping me get home safe. I took late shift today so--" she would have continued to speak but was cut off by Mason's scoffing.

"She helped you get home safe? That's funny considering it is because of her and her people that we aren't safe in the first place" he said. His words, however, had no effect on Valentine what so ever.

"Mason why don't you go inside and I'll join you in a minute. Please?" Jamie asked. He tried to protest but Jamie spoke again, "please just give me a minute. I'll be back in a minute," she said again. Mason sighed and kissed her mumbling an ok and left but not before glaring at Valentine who was looking at Jamie. When Jamie was sure that Mason had gone inside the house she sighed and looked at Valentine who was standing in the same spot silently. "I'm sorry about him and about Maddy. They are overprotective of me. I apologize for them" she spoke softly.

"They are not wrong. I am a dangerous person to hang out with and he was right we do make the streets more dangerous" she replied. Jamie frowned on her answer. She was about to speak but Valentine didn't let her, "You should go now. Your family must be waiting." she said. Noticing that Jamie was about to protest she started walking away.

Valentine walked a few steps away when Jamie started walking back to her house. She stopped and waited till she was inside her door. A part of her, a very foreign part, wanted to make sure that she was safe. She watched her disappear behind the door and she took a deep breath. She was still standing there when she heard someone behind her and in the trance of her instincts, she held the person by their neck only to come face to face with a very pissed off Victor. She released him while he fell to the ground coughing. She didn't wait for him to recover and started to walk away,

"Really? That's how you greet me? Where the hell have you been? And most importantly what the f**k are you doing in this territory?" Victor almost yelled. He stood up and walked beside her. He waited for any sort of answer but when he got none he got frustrated. "V do you even realize that you are in Lord's territory?" he yelled. This got Valentine to stop. She turned around and looked at him. From months of time, together now Victor could tell what Valentine was thinking and he knew that she had no idea but he still wasn't sure what caused her to come here in the first place. Was it because of the same girl?. He thought.

"Let's go, Vic," Valentine said after looking around for a while and noticing for the first time that she was indeed in an enemy territory which wasn't a good idea. Lord's would not think twice before killing them. She didn't care about herself, it was Victor that she cared about.

"What were you doing here V? Is it about that girl?" Victor asked walking beside her. When he didn't get any answer he didn't pry. He knew that she will tell him when she felt like it but he knew that she was risking that girl and herself by being involved.

Valentine had no idea that she had been in the enemy territory and she was beyond mad at herself for not noticing it before. She was so engrossed in helping Jamie reach home safe that she didn't even realize where she was in the first place. She returned to her car and went back to her place. All the time her hand kept tingling, it had been since the moment it had touched Jamie's. She couldn't describe the strange feelings and she didn't dare face the reality of Jamie being able to touch her without causing those painful flashbacks when even her own mother's touch caused her painful flashbacks to return. What was so different about this girl? And how could she touch her? What was that feeling she had when their hands met? All these questions were swarming her mind.

Where Valentine was thinking about all that happened tonight so was Jamie. Even when everyone was telling her that Valentine Dark was bad news, she couldn't ignore the feeling of safety she felt in her presence. She couldn't forget the spark the moment their hands met, her hand was still tingling from the sensation. She couldn't forget the sound of her voice and how soothing it was for ears and how her heart sped up hearing her. She couldn't forget that alluring scent that Valentine carried. She couldn't ignore what she was feeling. Valentine's presence screamed of dominance. She wasn't very talkative and neither was subtle while following her which made her chuckle. It was unexpected even for her when she asked her to walk her home and it was even more when she started walking with her. She thought that she'll refuse her but she didn't.

Against all the warnings, Jamie found herself wanting to meet her again. She wanted to know her more, listen to her, talk to her and deep down she wanted to see her someday. She wasn't afraid of her neither was uncomfortable even after knowing who she was. On another hand, Valentine was thinking that following Jamie was a wrong decision and it would have caused trouble for her as well as Jamie if her father found out what happened tonight. She decided to stay away from the cafe, from Lord's territory, the stupid feelings that she got every time Jamie was in her sight, the feeling of warmth and especially Jamie. She will neither see her again or go near her. They both drifted off to sleep in their separate beds and with their different thoughts. Little did they both knew that fate had much more in store for them.

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