TW: strong language, mentions of violence, mentions of dead relatives, mentions of/insinuated sexual acts, and mentions of homophobia
*spice warning*

Valeria and her friend group always eat lunch outside of the school because it was more private and was convenient when planning for her quinces since the whole group would be a part of her court. Val wanted it all to be perfect because when she was young her mother always had this vision of her quinces and Valeria wanted it to be just like how she described it.

Valeria is currently standing at her locker putting some things away. She was about to pick up her laptop until she felt a pair of familiar hands on her waist. "Hola mi amada."Alex whispers into her ear and softly kisses behind it which makes Valeria melt.

"Hi papito." Valeria smiles turning to face him.

"You have everything?" Alex asks. Valeria picks up her laptop and her phone and nods. Alex takes her laptop for her, grabs her hand, and they walk their usual route to the table they always sit at.

The couple sees their friends ahead but Valeria notices something. She sees what looks like blonde hair but none of her friends are blonde so who is that? When they reach the table Jade and Celeste come up and hug Valeria and she then hears a rather high-pitched voice say "Hi Alex!"

Valeria looks over and sees a very unfamiliar girl. She was smiling so brightly at Alex and Valeria already sensed something weird. She sits down next to her boyfriend and wraps her arms around his torso while looking at her. The girl's smile drops as Alex kisses Valeria's forehead. "Who is she?" The girl asks annoyed.

"This is our best friend Valeria she's also Alex's girlfriend. Valeria, this is Chloe." Hugo explains.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you." Valeria fake smiles and her and Chloe gives her a nasty look.

"How long have you been dating?" She asks with her arms crossed.

"11 and a half months."Valeria says staring right back at her. Her friends feel the tension. "How do you know Alex?" Valeria questions.

"We have the same history class we're practically best friends." Chloe smiles and touches Alex's bicep. Valeria stares her down and Finn decides to change the subject.

"So, umm...Valeria, your birthday is coming up do you want anything specific?" Finn asks before stuffing a chip in his mouth.

"Not really I don't really want much on my actual birthday I just want to wait till the party." She replies. And looks back over at Chloe who's still touching Alex. Alex shrugs her off and puts his arm around Valeria's waist.

"You're having a party?" Chloe asks.

"Yes, it's my quinceanera." Valeria says. "Speaking of quinces you all are obviously a part of my court so who's dancing with who Lydia needs to know?" Valeria asks her friends.

"I can dance with Hugo." Jade replies and Celeste rolls her eyes.

"I wanted to dance with him." Celeste huffs.

"Come on, one of you needs to dance with Finn. Rehearsals start tonight." Alex states and the girls start fighting. Chloe looks extremely confused and decides to speak up.

"Isn't it supposed to be like a regular party what's a court?" She looks at Alex. Valeria takes notice of how she's so attached to Alex and starts to get annoyed. Alex explains it to her and Valeria's phone rings and she sees that it's Schneider.

"Hey, dad. What's wrong?" Valeria says right after accepting the call. Schneider starts to go on about which suit he should wear to this event that he always goes to, to raise money for their school. "Dad, you could have asked me this after school. Or ask Lydia she's home. And I already told you the blue one....okay bye." Valeria hangs up and Alex chuckles.

"What's he going on about this time?" He sighed and Valeria smiles.

"He's stressing out about what suit to wear for the auction later. Since my dad likes to hook up with Finn's mom around this time I'm sleeping at your place tonight." She replies and opens her laptop. "Okay, who's dancing with Finn?" Valeria looks at her friends.

"Celeste is but she's not happy." Finn looks at her with a weird face.

"It's okay you'll live."Valeria says while opening up the google slides she made. "You think Elena and Syd would be okay with being a part of the court?" Valeria looks over at Alex and sees Chloe laughing. She slams her laptop closed to get their attention and they both look at her.

"Amada are you okay?" Alex asks while slowly rubbing her thigh and she just stares at him.

"Did you hear what I said?" She asks and Alex shakes his head no.

"No. I'm sorry mama what happened?" Alex puts his arm around her and she rolls her eyes.

"Do you think Elena and Syd would want to be a part of the court?" She asks again and Alex nods.

"I can ask Elena right now."Alex says while pulling out his phone and texting her.

"Any way we're doing something on your birthday." Hugo says.

"No, we're not what would we even do it's on Wednesday this year." Valeria argues.

"Let's do something fun like bowling or laser tag you love that." Finn pitches in.

"Fine but my dad will not let me stay out late." Valeria finally agrees.

"And we're showering you with gifts." Jade points at her. Valeria just smiles and Alex puts his phone down.

"She said yes." Alex says and Valeria opens her laptop again.

"Okay, so that's Hugo and Jade. Finn and Celeste. Sofia and Matt. Elena and Syd. And Alex and I. Remember rehearsal is at Alex's at 7." Valeria says while typing.

"Alex is a part of the court?" Chloe asks and Valeria starts to get annoyed she turns to Hugo who's on the other side of her.

"Why is she even here?" Valeria whispers. "She just sat down and wouldn't leave she's so fucking stubborn." Hugo whispers back.

Chloe sits there waiting for someone to answer her. "Yes, he's my escort he agreed to do it a year ago and it's kind of a given since he's my boyfriend." She says in a duh tone.

"Shouldn't your mom be planning this or something?" Chloe says raising her voice and everyone freezes and Valeria just stares into her soul.

"She's gonna kill her." Alex thinks to himself.

"She can't plan it for me because she isn't alive and I'm doing a lot of the planning because I want it to be just how she imagined it." Valeria moved her body so she's facing her more. "And I think you should really mind your business and take you're fucking hand off my boyfriend's leg." Valeria shoves her hand away. Chloe stares at her and puts it right back where it was.

Valeria's face gets red and her lip quivers. "Shit..." Finn whispers because he knows what's about to happen. Valeria slowly stands up and grabs the girl by the shirt. She puts her face close to hers before she starts to speak. She didn't yell she spoke rather calmly but it was scarier than when she yelled.

"If you don't take your hands off of him and leave him alone I will knock all of the teeth out of your head and punch you so hard that your nose will be broken. It only takes one second for me to put you in a god damn hospital." She says before slamming the girl down back in her seat.

She then grabs her stuff and walks away from the table. "Fuck you." She hears Alex's voice from behind her and footsteps following her.

Alex runs after her as she walks back into the school. "Hey slow down." Alex says before finally catching up. Valeria doesn't say a word but opens her locker and puts her stuff away.

"I don't want her near me, our friends and especially you." She turns around and Alex nods while being a little bit scared of her.

"I can ask my history teacher to move me, okay?" Alex rubs her arm. Valeria looks up at him and sees him smirking. "Is it weird that I thought that was really hot?" Alex asks, laughing slightly and Valeria pushes him.

"We have a couple of minutes of lunch left let's go back and if she's still there I'll kill her." Valeria walking in front of him.

"See when you get jealous and protective you become even hotter." Alex laughs before grabbing her hand and walking back out. They reach the table and Chloe isn't there anymore.

"Thank fucking god." Valeria says sitting back down.

"I'm surprised she's not bleeding right now." Celeste laughs and Valeria hears someone behind her.

"Sup shit heads." Sofia sits down in the spot Chloe sat in.

"Why are you here you don't have the same lunch period as us?" Valeria raises her brow at her.

"It's a passing period and I hate the class I'm supposed to go to and I'm bored and Matt isn't at school today." Sofia rambles.

"Go to class chiquita." Alex scolds her and she puts the middle finger up at him.

"Fi. Go please." Valeria says and Sofia gets up and runs to class before the bell rings.

Valeria, Alex, and Sofia walked into the Alvarez apartment, walking behind Penelope who was rambling about Matteo. "And then, oh, my god...Mateo did this funny Nikki impersonation. 'Hi, I'm Nikki. I'm terrible.'" Penelope laughs. They all just stare at her, being tired of her talking about him. "You got to see him do it." Penelope walks away.

"Enough about Mateo already. Just admit it, you like him." Alex smirks.

"Yeah, of course I like him. He's my buddy." Penelope puts her purse of the chair.

"No, but you like him." Valeria says, nudging her.

"You guys should have seen her, smiling and laughing." Sofia adds and sits next to Elena on the couch.

"Ooh. So, you're crushing on a DILF, eh? You want to talk to him? DILF to DILF?" Schneider says and Valeria scrunches her face at him.

"Don't call yourself a DILF in front of the people that made you a dad. Ew." Valeria says while sitting down next to Alex on the arm of the chair.

"I hear you." Schneider looks at Valeria for a split second and turns back to Penelope. "And, yes, I will be your wingman at the fundraiser. Once again, I'm donating handyman for a day."

"Oh, that thing you do every year where Nikki outbids everyone, and you two go home together?" Penelope gives him a look.

"That's why we're sleeping here tonight. Because the first time that happened we heard them." Sofia says and Elena's eyes widen.

"You should sound proof your room. You have the money for it, and, you won't scar your children for life. Again."

Valeria and Alex were in Alex's room and Valeria was laying down texting the group chat to see when everyone would actually be here. "CHIQUITA!" Valeria yells. And Sofia walks in a few seconds later. "Is Matt still sick?" Valeria asks and Sofia nods. "Shit...we can FaceTime him so he can learn the dances because he needs to get all the practice he can get, text him."

"Okay, bye..." Sofia trails off before shutting the door. Valeria slams her phone down on the bed and puts her hands on her face.

"What's wrong mama?" Alex asks looking up from what he was doing on his phone. He slowly creeps his hand up to her leg and rubs it.

"I'm just upset that Matt can't come today and there's a possibility that he could be too weak to even learn the dances on facetime." She huffs.

Alex removes her hands from her face and smiles at her. "You seem really stressed right now and it's not a good idea to be mad before rehearsal so...can I help take your stress away?" Alex asks in a low tone. Valeria looks up at him and Alex's eyes travel down to her lips.

Valeria grabs the back of his head and smashes her lips on his. Alex hovers over her fully, not breaking the kiss. Alex caresses her sides and Valeria wraps her arms around his neck as their lips move in sync. Alex swipes his tongue across her bottom lip but she doesn't open her mouth. So he reaches his hand over to her butt and grabs it. Valeria gasps and he takes the opportunity to shove his tongue in her mouth. A few minutes later Valeria's phone dings.

"Ignore it." Alex demands and moves his head to kiss her neck. Valeria bites down on her bottom lip to avoid sounds coming out and her phone dings again. Alex lifts his head and nods toward her phone telling her to answer it so she picks it up and Alex continues his acts.

"Jade and Celeste are coming up r-right now." She says while texting back. "Mhm." Alex hums, not removing his lips. "Amor, you have to stop." She breathes out and Alex listens and sits back down on the bed.

Valeria gets up, fixes her shirt, and leaves the room and Alex sits there annoyed, but, he leaves seconds after her. The sound of knocking fills everyone's ears and Valeria goes to open it. Jade and Celeste come into view smiling at her and she immediately hugs them.

"Hey, Val. Don't freak out but-" Sofia begins to speak but Valeria cuts her off.

"If you tell me not to freak out I'm probably going to freak out what happened?" Valeria asks already starting to freak out.

"Matt is too sick to get out of bed today he can't really practice on facetime." Sofia explains and Valeria stares blankly.

"Amor, are you okay?" Lydia asks from the kitchen. Valeria just nods slowly trying to hold in her feelings.

"Okay...let's sit down come here." Alex grabs her a leads her to the couch. Valeria is still staring at nothing and not speaking.

"Are you okay, honey?" Celeste rubs her back.

"He better be able to catch up tomorrow and if he doesn't I'll go over there and make him. Tell his mom to give him Vicks. Never mind she's white give her the Vick's." Valeria rambles. Valeria starts to get annoyed and drops her head to her palms.

"You sure you're okay?" Jade asks and Valeria shakes her head.

"I just want her to be proud of me and it's starting to fail." Valeria says referring to her mom.

"Hey, she's so proud of you and you know it. It's one day of rehearsals he'll catch up and learn the dances. I know all your mom wants is for you to be happy not stressed all of time." Alex reassures her and she smiles at him. She picks up her phone to text Hugo and Finn and they say they'll be there in less than 15 minutes.

"Let's take it from the top." Lydia says twirling her finger in the air.

"Can we please have a break?" Finn whines while trying to catch his breath.

"When I was your age I danced in the Havanna club, all night without one break. And I was wearing 4 inch heels." Lydia rambles.

"If I don't take a break I'll drop dead." Finn says dramatically.

"Fine, go. I don't need another law suit." Lydia waves us away.

Valeria went over to the couch to check her phone and Hugo sits next to her. "Hey, I need to um...tell you something important and I only really feel comfortable telling you." Hugo looks down at his fingers.

"Okay, let's go in the hall." Valeria gets up and Hugo follows behind her. "So, what's up?" Valeria asks looking up at him.

"Lydia is gonna call us soon so I'll just spit it out." Hugo takes a deep breath. "I think I might be bisexual. But, I don't really know and you seem like the most supportive person in the group and I don't want to tell them till I really know." Hugo admits.

"Does your family have any idea?" Valeria asks and Hugo shakes his head no.

"You know they're extremely religious unless I'm in a relationship with a guy I don't know if I'll ever tell them." Hugo replies.

"I'm always here to support you and I hope you know that I'll never judge you even if everyone else  around you is. And of course the secret is safe with me. Take your time don't put any pressure on yourself." Valeria engulfs him in a hug. "Okay let's go before they get suspicious." Valeria smiles and they walk back out.

Alex noticed that they both were gone but didn't feel like saying anything yet. "Okay get in your positions!" Lydia yells. Alex quickly puts down his phone and grabs Valeria's hand. They were currently practicing their opening dance. The song "sauvemente" starts to play and they all do the dance in sync.

"Finn I know you are an americano but you have to move your hips more." Lydia says being way to brutally honest. Valeria laughs a little bit and Alex spins her halfway so she's facing her back towards him. He holds her arms straight up and she squats down and sways her hips.(I hope y'all understand what that looks like). She stands back up and turns back around.

"Hey were you and Hugo talking earlier?" Alex asks once she's facing him again.

"Yeah, why?" Valeria says trying to pay attention to her foot work. Alex pulls her in closer.

"I was just curious you guys were gone for a little bit." Alex looks down at her.

"He had something to say about the dance and didn't want Lydia to hear." Valeria explains and Alex shakes his head. "You good?"

"Mhm." Alex mumbles and starts to get ready for their lift.

"No tengas miedo." The moment Alex hears that he lifts her up by her legs and Valeria rests her hands on his shoulders. He stares into her eyes as their foreheads touch and they make a full turn. He lets her down and finishes the dance off with one final spin and dip. Lydia claps and everyone is out of breath.

Alex walks into the kitchen with Valeria behind him and he tosses her a water bottle. "You sure you guys  weren't doing anything?" Alex asks while chugging his water.

"I threatened to put a girl in a hospital earlier today because she was flirting with you so no we did not." Valeria takes her hair out of the bun it was in. As she was doing that Alex wraps his arms around her middle.

"I'm sorry." He whispers. Valeria puts the hair tie on her wrist and places her hands on his cheeks.

"It's okay. Now, let's go hang out with our friends before they leave." Valeria smiles while squishes his face.

"I hate love." Finn rolls his eyes and the couple looks behind them and Finn is looking at them fake gagging.

Valeria was in Alex's room changing into some clothes she left in his closet. The bedroom door opens and Valeria realizes that she's only wearing a tank top and underwear. Alex walks in and his eyes widen. "Shit, I'm sorry." Alex says while turning around.

Valeria chuckles and walks behind him."You know you're allowed to look, right?" Valeria questions.

"I just didn't want to seem too pervy or make you uncomfortable." Alex lowers his voice. Valeria grabs his wrist and turns him around but he has his eyes covered with his other hand. Valeria laughs and pulls his hand away and he immediately looks down at her.

"You can look. You've seen me in a bathing suit this isn't that different. You're allowed to look at what's yours." Valeria teases which makes Alex get butterflies in his stomach. She walks away to put on her sweatpants and Alex watches her the whole time. She then turns around and sees Alex's face flushed red. "You okay, babe?" Valeria raises an eyebrow at him and he nods while leaning toward and resting his arms on his lap.

"I'm gonna go brush my teeth." Alex states before getting up quickly. Valeria gets comfortable in the bed and scrolls through TikTok until he comes back.

"Your boyfriend is taking forever in the bathroom." Sofia says while walking in. "I really have to pee but he locked the door and yelled at me to wait." Sofia complains. Valeria takes a few seconds to process it until she realizes what happened. Her hand flies to her mouth and she laughs. "What?" Sofia gives her a nasty look.

"Um...he may b-be in there for a while." Valeria says while laughing. Sofia thinks for a second then her eyes widen in realization. "When he comes back don't say anything." Valeria points at her and Sofia slowly nods while trying to hold in her laugh. Sofia sits next to her and they talk about random things for about 5 minutes.

"Okay, but did they come up with the name wiener dog before or after hot dogs?" Sofia asks genuinely confused.

"Just google it." Valeria laughs and Alex walks in. They stop laughing and look at him.

"Hmm. What were you doing in there?" Sofia asks and Valeria nudges her. Alex rolls his eyes at her.

"Get out. Now." Alex demands and Sofia walks away but when she's behind him she holds up both of her middle fingers and Valeria covers her mouth so she doesn't laugh. Alex looks at her but she turns her head away. "It's your fault." Alex says, knowing that she's aware of what happened.

"I'm sorry." Valeria says trying her hardest not to laugh.

(I had to do it)

"It's fine." Alex sighs and gets under the covers, next to her. Valeria reaches over to charge her phone. She plugs it in but then she texts Schneider to say goodnight. Alex looks over at her, grabs her hip, and pulls her down. He pulls her close to his chest and they soon drift off to sleep.

KARISSA RANTS
i wanted to end this book bc the fandom is dying but I've also gotten some new readers so now I'm confused lol