JOHN WALKED VALERIE up to the apartment, and the two said their goodbyes.

"Thank you for taking me to the movies. I had a lot of fun." Valerie said with a smile, turning to John.

"Of course. And thank you for coming with me." John replied, and smiled at her. Valerie smiled back and hugged John before she took her key and unlocked the door to the apartment.

       "See you tomorrow." She said quietly with a smile as she opened the door and made her way into the apartment,  shutting the door gently behind her.

She sighed deeply when she entered, taking in the familiar cinnamon smell of the apartment. She seemed to have a permanent smile on her face, even after she and John had parted.

     The apartment was lit by only one lamp in the living room, and she moved further into the room to find Brian asleep on the couch. Deciding to not wake him, she set her clogs by the door and quietly walked over to him.

     She fixed a blanket so that it covered him, and she turned off the lamp before heading back into her room where she got changed into some pyjamas.

      She looked through a few of her notes from the night before and hung up some notes she had written earlier around her room. She often did that; hung her notes and drawings around the room. It was a way for her to look through things more easily, and she had a specific wall for everything.

       She shut her window and closed her curtains before going to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She caught herself in the mirror and realized how tired she was, then glancing at her watch to find that it was nearly one in the morning.

     Valerie hadn't realized she and John had stayed out that long. She shrugged and sighed deeply as she finished brushing her teeth and went back to her room, turning off her lamp and curling up underneath her blankets.

       She lied awake for a long while, thinking about everything that had happened that night. But the events eventually turned into dreams, and she fell into a deep sleep.
*****
      "Did you steal my shirt?" Brian asked. They were getting ready for the concert. He had come into her room to ask where she had put their laundry, because he never knew where anything was, and he found Valerie lying on her bed.

She was staring at the star chart on her ceiling, mumbling to herself, a thick pile of papers sitting on her chest. She set them aside and sat up, looking at Brian.

"Yes, I did. I'm almost done with my thesis." Valerie said as she got off of the bed, to which Brian scoffed at her outfit, trying not to laugh.

"Great job. And what does that have to do with stealing my shirt?"

"It goes with the nerd punk rock vibe I'm trying to give." Valerie said, going over to her vanity and pulling her flaming red hair in a ponytail, a few strands hanging loose and framing her face.

She turned back to Brian and looked at him, showing off her outfit. It consisted of black jeans she had cut into shorts, layered over fishnet tights. She had on black combat boots, and her nails were painted a deep blue. She was wearing one of Brian's button up 'NASA' shirts, and her eyes were smudged with blue eyeliner. It was an outfit that looked like it didn't belong at all in the seventies.

       "Looks good. And, how much more of your thesis do you need?" Brian asked, and Valerie checked as she slipped into a leather jacket.

    "About ten more pages." She replied simply as she stared out of her room, grabbing Brian by the sleeve and tugging him along. They'd be late if he didn't hurry.

"John said you're working on your new album soon." She supplied as she sat on the couch while Brian put on his shoes. He looked up at her and laughed.

"Yes, were going to record next month."

      "Ah, only one more month." Valerie said, practically bouncing on her heels as she waited for Brian to be ready. When he finally was, she grabbed her car keys, and the two headed out the door.

Brian hadn't seen her so excited for a concert since Smile first started. He smiled at the thought that maybe it was a mix of having gotten out of the house, and nearly finishing her thesis.

"Giddy, aren't you?" He asked her, and she rolled her eyes at him as she got into the car. But he did notice that she grinned at him. He didn't question it.
*****
"The show, was amazing! But I'm famished. We must go out to eat." Valerie insisted as she burst into the boy's dressing room after the show. They all looked up at her along with a blonde woman she had never seen before.

     "Who's this?"  She asked, and Freddie squealed with delight.

     "This, my dearest, is Periwinkle Stiefvater. She's Romanian, and she is now my new favourite person. I met her at the bar before the show, and she's amazing." Freddie said as he steered Periwinkle toward Valerie.

     "Hi, I'm Valerie Cartaya."

     "Oh, you're the one they've all been raving about! My goodness, you'd think you're a goddess given the amount the worship you." Periwinkle said, all in good humor, as she extended her hand toward Valerie.

      "I wouldn't go that far. She's more like our glorified roadie." Roger spoke from his corner by John, who was trying not to laugh. Valerie rolled her eyes.

     "Oh, that's rich coming from a wannabe opera singer." Valerie quipped, and Periwinkle laughed at the smoothness of their conversation.

     "You're one to talk! Don't think I haven't heard you trying to sing Carmen before."

     "Shove your Carmen, I've heard you trying to sing the Aria before. You know the one."  Valerie replied, rolling her eyes at Periwinkle,  who was biting her lip to keep from laughing even more.

     "Least I sound better than you,"

     "That's not saying much. A dying bird sounds better than me, so." Valerie shot back, and Roger pretended to be offended.

     "Ladies, ladies. Let's not murder each other before we haven't got food in our systems. Once we're all nutritioned up,  the you can duel."

     "Freddie, that's not a word."  Brian said from where he was looking in the mirror trying to carefully wipe away his eye makeup Freddie insisted he wear.

     "Oh, shush, darling." Freddie said quickly as he wrapped an arm around Periwinkle.

     "You can come along, if you like." He offered to Periwinkle, who nodded and grinned.

     "Sure, that sounds lovely. I look forward to getting to know you all better." She said, and John snorted with laughter.

     "Oh trust me, you so do not."