Two years earlier

It was a Friday night. The first Friday night in a little over a month where they all were able to go out together. It was harder now, with Marc having graduated early, Vallie spending all of her time texting and FaceTiming Tyler, and Lou spending time with Topher. It seemed as though none of them had time for each other anymore. Ophelia was the one who kept trying, though. She kept reminding herself that in a few months, they would all truly be pulled in different directions, so she needed to make it count now.

A week earlier, Ophelia had texted them all and told them they needed to clear their schedule, because no matter what plans they had, they were all going to Callahans, their favorite dive bar, for karaoke night. Caspar grumbled, having no desire to go, but Ophelia wasn't having any of it. It was March, which meant in two months, they wouldn't have these opportunities anymore. She analyzed the situation, and found that the problem was that they were growing apart. The solution was for her to be the glue pulling them all back together.

Vallie already had plans that week, because Tyler's college was on spring break. Rather than go on a trip with his friends, he was choosing to come visit her and stay in her tiny of campus apartment. He was a dream, really. She was filled with butterflies and disbelief, that someone could truly care for her so much that they'd choose to spend their week off in dreary Pennsylvania just to be near her. She figured that they could still go to Callahans, and that way he could finally meet her friends properly, in person.

When Vallie told the others that she would be bringing him along, they were less than ecstatic. No one could quite put a finger on why they just didn't like him. Perhaps it was the way he always sounded less than enthused when they heard her speaking with him on the phone, or maybe it was just the simple fact that he was stealing her away. None of them had expected Vallie to act so differently when in love.

Caspar and Lou were the first to arrive at the bar. Lou stuck out like a sore thumb there; the walls were scattered with sharpie writing or carved with initials, sports and beer posters filled any blank spaces, and it always smelled kind of stale. Lou was pristine, as she always was, dressed in  a pair of dark wash jeans and a black shirt, a plaid pea coat keeping her warm. Caspar didn't look nearly as put together as her (but really, who ever does?), but he was warm in a maroon sweater and jeans.

The two of them took a seat at the designated booth the group had claimed two years earlier. On the wall just above the table, Vallie and Ophelia had carved the initials of all of their first names; V, O, M, A, A, C, N. They had used a nail file, which took forever, so the carving wasn't super pronounced unless you knew to look for it.

Amory and Marc were the next two to arrive. Marc had driven in from the city and parked his car at Amory's place, which used to be their shared place, so that he could drink tonight and have a DD to drive him back. 

Ophelia showed up alone, a bright smile lit on her face when she saw the others gathered around her the table. She pulled up a chair and sat at the end, resting her elbows down and placing her head in her hands.

"Oh my god, you guys, it has been way too long." She sighed. She then sat up and stretched out her arms, leaning over to pull Marc into a hug. Sure, he used to grate on all of them sometimes, but that didn't mean they loved him any less. Plus, Ophelia could see when someone was putting on a facade, because she had been doing it for years. The dark circles under his eyes told her that he was tired, and that he needed this night away perhaps more than the rest of them.

"Anyone know if Nadia is actually coming tonight?" Caspar asked, leaning back in the booth. Everyone simply shrugged, because of course they didn't know. She hadn't responded in the group chat, which wasn't uncommon for her. Most of the time, Nadia either just showed up or she didn't. No one ever knew what to really expect.

Karaoke had already started by the time Vallie showed up, alone. The group of 5 had already suffered through a poor rendition of Celine Dion's It's All Coming Back to Me Now, and 2 whole minutes of someone singing Tequila by The Champs. The group had something they liked to call 'The Karaoke Rule,' which they had developed after many nights spent at Callahans' karaoke night Sophomore year. It went like this: never pick a song just because you want to sing it, pick a song for the crowd. No one cares if you sing as great as Alicia Keys, because karaoke night isn't a talent show. You simply pick a song to entertain everyone there.

"Hey Val," Ophelia greeted warmly as she moved her chair to the side, allowing Vallie room to pull one up herself. The rest of the group furrowed their brows, all silently asking each other the same question; where was Tyler?

Amory was the one to broach the question out loud. It was that protective instinct in him, immediately wanting to know if something was wrong so he could find the solution to make it right. "Is Tyler parking the car or something?"

"Oh, uh no." Vallie answered quietly as she took her seat. She looked down at her folded hands in her lap, before looking back up at her group of friends. Unfortunately, all eyes were on her. "He was playing some video game with his friends, so he told me he would just meet me here later. I took an uber."

Amory raised his eyebrows, and Caspar scoffed. Ophelia glanced over at Lou, both of them sharing a silent moment of girl talk. It wasn't something the guys in the group would pick up on, and Vallie seemed too distracted and distant to really notice. The shared looks communicated their thoughts easily: Shit. This guy is a dick.

"So wait, you're telling me he's only in town for one week to see you, and he, what? Brought a gaming system with him? To play with his friends that he sees all the time? Instead of spending time with you, who he doesn't see all the time?" Amory sat up and leaned over the table towards Vallie. He could feel himself growing a bit frustrated the more he spoke.

Sure, Amory didn't have the best track record with women. He knew that, he could accept that. But he never treated them as so unimportant in his life. Once he was done, they knew he was done, and everyone moved on. He would never pull some shit like that.

"I mean, sure, I guess, but it's really not that big of a deal." Vallie waved off his concerns. "He only got in last night, and he's been pretty tired all day, so I think he just needed some time to himself before he was in the mood to go out."

None of them pressed it any further, because they knew that there was no use. If they tried to convince Vallie that it was simply a shitty thing to do, she would just get defensive before shutting down. 

Caspar didn't say anything throughout the exchange, but he was lost in thought. He cared for Vallie, a lot. She was his first real friend in college, the one that brought him to the others. What he really wanted for her was to be happy, and in the past few months she had seemed happy. She told him she was, at least. He made a mental note to save his concerns, to trust that Vallie knew what she deserved, but to still keep an eye on Tyler.

Nadia entering the bar was a welcomed distraction to the tension around the table. She walked in confidently, her long straight black hair cascading down her back and her smile bright. When she reached their table, her eyebrows dipped.

"Woah, what did I just walk into?" She looked around the table, surveying the blank faces. Clearly, she had missed something. Whatever it was though, she didn't really care. Tonight was a night for them to catch up and have fun, so she wouldn't allow them to all be so down. "I think like, half of you need a drink."

Vallie agreed, so she pushed out her chair and went with Nadia to the bar. Back at the table, Ophelia pulled her and Vallie's chairs aside while Amory got up and pulled another table over, pushing it up against theirs to make more room. 

Marc knew he wasn't exactly the best at relationship type things, seeing as his family never really pushed healthy communication or boundaries but instead focused on always coming out on top. Still, he knew enough to know that whatever was happening between Tyler and Vallie wasn't great, so he wanted to voice those concerns with the others.

"So, Tyler..." Marc started, gaining the other's attention. "He sucks, right?"

"Sounds like a complete asshole."

"The worst."

"We might want to give him a chance... But we'll probably still hate him."

Everyone was basically talking at once, aside from Caspar, who was mainly just taking it in. Amory slid back into the booth next to Marc, and Ophelia sat down in the chair next to him. They tried to look casual and keep their voices low, knowing Vallie and Nadia would be back with the drinks any second. 

"Last week, when I was hanging out with her, she had him on speaker phone and he was going on this whole rant about how annoying it was that all of the fraternities on his campus are being investigated for hazing. Like, it was the biggest inconvenience in the world for him that a kid ended up in the hospital during rush. And Vallie just sat there! She didn't say anything!"  Ophelia rambled, her eyes wide with disbelief. 

Lou wasn't all that shocked that Vallie didn't say anything, considering they all knew the girl's dislike of confrontation. Still, she couldn't fathom what Vallie even saw in the guy. Thinking about her friend's poor relationship too long made her think of Topher, though, and her own relationship concerns. But that wasn't something she wanted to worry about on a Friday night, so when Nadia called back to the table and told them to join them at the bar for shots, Lou was quick to oblige. Ophelia trailed after her.

Marc, Caspar, and Amory stayed back at the table. Amory was driving that night, and he hated shots anyways. Caspar didn't drink. Marc might have joined them, if he wasn't stuck still thinking about Vallie and Tyler. Ever since he'd graduated, it had felt like life was falling apart, and he was left scrambling trying to tug everything back into place. He didn't feel he had any control over anything, but he wished desperately he could have control here.

"So, Tyler and Vallie, we just don't do anything? Don't say anything to her?" Marc posed, trying to use the other two as a sounding board. He didn't know much about relationships truthfully, and he didn't think Caspar did either, but he felt Amory would know what to do.

"There's nothing we can say." Amory sighed and shrugged. He had thought about it a lot, even before tonight. He knew that more than anything, Vallie just wanted to feel wanted. He just wished he could find a way to show her that she deserved more than that. "Besides, look at Lou and Topher." He paused, and all three boys looked towards the bar. Caspar felt himself grimace at Topher's name, but he was good at hiding those sorts of things. "I mean, the guy sucks, right? But Lou obviously sees something in him, so we let it go. Unless either of them really fuck up, then I'll handle."

"It's not like they're going to get married." Caspar finally spoke up, the words coming out flatly. "Val's smart. Lou's smart.  They'll choose what makes them happy."

Marc simply nodded, but still couldn't shake the worried feeling from the pit of his stomach. It didn't go away when the girls returned to the table with a round of drinks. It grew stronger as the night went on, even as he got drunk and laughed and danced and sang with his friends. He had never understood his family before that night, not until he found himself secretly wishing he could change his friends' minds.

Most of them left the bar at 2 AM. Tyler never showed, and no one mentioned it to Vallie. She was thankful for that. Nadia left without saying goodbye around 1 AM, but that wasn't uncommon for her. She liked to have fun, but she also needed to study in the morning. Ophelia, Marc, and Amory went back to Amory's apartment. Caspar was too tired, so he gave Lou a ride home and called it a night. Despite being invited, Vallie ordered a ride and went home alone.

No one voiced it, but they all felt the way that things were changing. It simply seemed that there was nothing they could do about it.

___

So this chapter isn't very individualized at all, but it's just a start to show where they were before and some context on Tyler. As I jump into the present, that will change. Still, I hope you enjoy it and pleaseee let me know if there is anything I messed up or that I should change :)