THE NEXT DAY, Valerie had invited Freddie out to go shopping before they left later that week. At the end of the day, she and John had planned to go to this carnival later with Roger and Periwinkle. They called themselves the 'single squad' now, and had already made plans to do things together to mock Brian and Freddie for always double dating with their girlfriends.

Naturally, the Single Squad had been formed over a phone call between Roger and Valerie that very morning, and had already gained popularity with Periwinkle and John soon after.

"Darling, tell me why you're taking me shopping? I believe I have plenty of clothes already packed to last me a whole year in America." Freddie said as he went through Valerie's vinyl.

Valerie came back in from the kitchen with three mugs of tea, handing one to Payton who was resting on the couch, going through a horrible cold at the moment.

"Why not? I've never gone out shopping with you, and I just want to spend some time doing something you love with you." Valerie said as she sat in the chair she was often found in at three in the morning, cramming for an exam.

"You know I'm going to turn this into a shopping spree for you. We'll find something cute that'll catch Deacy's eye." Freddie said, looking at Valerie and winking.

She went a bright shade of pink, recalling the near kiss he had given her the night before. "Oh, please! It's not like that, we're just friends!" Valerie said at his obvious implications.

"Oh, sure. That's a bunch of bullshit, and you know it. I see the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him. It may seem like friendly banter, but I think otherwise. You absolutely fancy him." Freddie stating, grinning excitedly. He obviously loved playing Cupid.

"I second that. You're madly in love." Payton added, and Valerie scoffed.

"I am not. You two better leave me alone." Valerie said as she sipped her tea, trying to hide the pink tinge to her cheeks.

"Not until you admit it. It's been, what, five years now? He's fancied you for a long while, I can tell. And he was so jealous when you and Roger had your little one night..... thing." Freddie said as he selected a Beatles record and put it on.

     "He wasn't jealous. He just didn't want to interfere with the relationship." Valerie said, recalling what John had told her a few weeks ago.

      Freddie snorted with laughter as 'Here Comes The Sun' played; the B side of Abbey Road. "Is that what he told you? Oh no, darling. He was jealous."

      "Twat! How come he didn't tell me?"

     "Darling, you think he's going to tell you that?" Freddie said as he set his mug of tea on the coffee table. Payton has fallen asleep with the mug of tea in her hands, and Freddie went and lightly pried it from her fingers.

      "I suppose he wouldn't. But I think you're wrong. He couldn't possibly fancy me." Valerie said with finality as she sipped her tea. Freddie groaned loudly.

     "You're so blind, Valerie!" Freddie groaned as he sunk to the floor in front of the record player.

      Valerie rolled her eyes as she continued to sip her tea and listen to the record, calmly enjoying Freddie singing along. But it also gave her something to ponder while she listened to the record, and she kept it solely to herself.
*****

"Oh, this will look darling on you, Valerie!" Freddie exclaimed as he grabbed a deep blue dress off of the rack and showing it to her.

He had been right when he said that it would turn into a shopping spree for her and not him. At the beginning, they had been shopping for Freddie, and he had plenty of clothes perched in the crook of his elbow. But after about an hour and a half, he had started picking out shirts and dresses for her.

"I don't know. That neckline is pretty low." Valerie said, examining the low cut blue dress, swishing the skirt around a bit.

"Just try it on, you prude. It'll look great on you." Freddie said, insulting her but complementing her at the same time, pressing it into her arms. She already had a small pile of dresses, skirts, and shirts on her arms that Freddie had selected for her.

"Alright, alright. You have to let me go to the dressing room first." Valerie said with a laugh. Freddie nodded and led her to the dressing room and pushed her in.

"Try on a skirt, first. It might look cute with that sweater you have." Freddie told her as he shut the curtain on the dressing room stall for her.

"Alright, alright." Valerie said, selecting a black skirt with small flowers on it. It was flowy, and went down to her knees. It went nicely with her purple sweater.

She examined herself in the mirror before walking out and finding Freddie suddenly sitting on the couch with another man who seemed to be a worker at the store. The two were talking, and Freddie turned his attention to Valerie when she cleared her throat.

"Oh, it looks great, especially with that sweater. What do you think, Robert?" Freddie asked, looking at the man next to him.

The man was rather ravishing; he had startling blue eyes and black hair that was slightly curly. His features were sharp, and his lips were set into a constant smirk, it seemed.

"It looks good. I like it," Robert said with a nod. Valerie smiled at the two of them, and Robert and Freddie whispered something to each other before Robert got up and walked off.

"No introduction or anything? Who was that?"

"A friend of mine, don't worry." Freddie said quickly before ushering Valerie back into the dressing room.
*****

"You look fine! Don't worry about it!" Freddie exclaimed. They had come back to Valerie's apartment, and Freddie had Valerie change into the blue dress he had bought her.

     "Don't you think I'm overdressed? I'm going to a carnival for Christ's sake!" Valerie exclaimed as Freddie had her close her eyes so he could do her makeup. He had gotten rather good at is, as he experimented on Payton often.

     "Don't be so dramatic. You look perfect!" Freddie said as he finished her eye makeup.

      "You look ravishing. Don't fret, John will love it." Freddie said with a smile as he kissed her cheek and steered her out into the living room where Brian and Payton were sitting.

"Hey, there she is! You look great!" Payton said, her voice scratchy and a bit stuffy. Brian watched her carefully before grinning at Valerie.

"You look beautiful, Val." Brian said as he sipped the coffee he had made for himself.

      "Thank you, Brian." Valerie said as she walked into the kitchen to get some medicine for Payton.

    "As I was saying, John won't be able to take his eyes off of you all night," Freddie said, quite loudly. Valerie sighed as she walked back into the living room, pouring medicine for Payton.

     "He's hardly ever able to take his eyes off of her. And vise versa for Valerie." Brian teased, raising an eyebrow at Valerie.

     "Brian, shut up. You may not remember, because you were drunk, but Payton gave me permission to stab you with a plastic spoon if you annoyed me. Her terms, not mine." Valerie said with a slight laugh, looking pointedly at Brian.

      "She was drunk, too. If she hadn't been, you probably would've gotten a much better deal." Brian replied as he toasted her with his coffee.

"I just think you and John need to kiss or whatever and start going out." Brian said earnestly, looking at her.

     "I'll have you know, he's kissed me already." Valerie said, and immediately regretted it. The reaction she got from Freddie and Payton she expected, but Brian was a whole different story.

      "You kissed, and didn't tell me?!" Brian exclaimed, shooting up from his chair and spilling coffee all over his pants.

"Hold on, now! He kissed my... cheek, so you need to calm down. The only person I've told is Roger and -"

"That prick? I can't believe you told Roger before me?" Brian said, somewhat of hurt as he set his now practically empty coffee mug on the table.

"I didn't want this reaction! I was going to tell you later," Valerie said, managing to keep her voice level. Brian was overreacting. Again!

     "Ah, later." Brian said airily as he went into the kitchen to clean up his pants. Valerie huffed and marched after him, leaving Freddie and Payton sitting in the living room awkwardly.

    "You know what, Brian, you need to let the whole thing with Roger go. Grow up. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you first, I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings, but this is not fifth grade. Don't be so sensitive just because you heard about something a little bit late." Valerie said to Brian, her tone venomous.

     Brian turned to Valerie and sighed. "It's not the thing with Roger. It's really not. I just..... I feel like after the whole thing with Roger, you and John have really leapt into it too quickly."

     "Too quickly? Brian, we haven't even started dating, or kissed, or even been honest with each other about how we feel!" Valerie exclaimed, leaning against the counter behind her.

      "You're not my father. I can date if I like, Brian. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't date. I really like him. He doesn't even know." Valerie said, her voice losing its bite as she went on. Brian wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into a hug.

      "I'm twenty six, for fuck's sake. Chill out, Brian." Valerie concluded, and Brian nodded.

      "Okay, okay. I will,"

     "There's so much I've yet to learn about John." Valerie said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. Brian sighed a bit.

      "Sorry," He said simply. Valerie didn't expect a very good apology from him in the heat of the moment anyway.

      "I'm just as old as you, and you're married. I know that I'm kind of struggling to get my life together at the moment, but if I've fallen for someone,  you have to let it happen." Valerie muttered into his chest.

     "I'm sorry. I guess, after ten years, I've just grown to see you as the little sister I've never had." Brian said with a slight laugh.

       The doorbell rang and Valerie smiled a bit. "I'm literally older than you."

       "Yeah, by only a few months. Your birthday is in March, and mine is in July."

       "Aww, we're compatible!" Valerie teased with a laugh. Freddie had already opened the door and let Roger in.

     Roger had come to pick up Valerie. They were planning on picking up Periwinkle and then leaving the car at John's house to walk to the carnival.

     "Hello, doll. Don't you look gorgeous. A bit fancy for the carnival, eh?" Roger said as he kissed Valerie's cheek, giving her a twirl. Roger gave a knowing look to Freddie, who laughed a bit.

    "What can I say? Fashion is one of my many talents, darling. I can't help I made our little Valerie a bit too pretty for the carnival." Freddie replied, winking at Valerie.

     "Well, you look lovely. Sorry we can't stick around, by the way. I made Valerie promise to ride the roller coaster, and were trying to get there early so she doesn't change her mind." Roger said, and Valerie sighed.

"I regret promising anything to you, Roger." Valerie said as she put on the clogs Freddie had bought her to go with the dress.

"You love me."

"Sure. Keep telling yourself that." Valerie said as she stood up, winking at Roger. She grabbed her purse that was on the coat rack, and the black trench coat she had bought when she had first moved to England.

"Right, I'll see you guys later. Brian, don't eat all my ice cream. I need it later for when I'm wallowing in self pity." Valerie joked as she linked arms with Roger and walked out of the apartment, a little bit eager to see John again.