VALERIE STEPPED BACK INTO THE party, her heart still racing from the brief but charged moment with billie. the atmosphere felt a bit heavier now, like something was off. she scanned the room, her eyes landing on her friends-olivia, gracie, conan, sabrina, and danah-gathered in a circle, their faces tense.
"what's going on?" valerie asked, walking over to them.
danah turned to her, visibly furious. "i overheard odessa talking shit about you in the bathroom. apparently, she's been telling people she lied to you about everything." she gritted her teeth, her fists clenching. "she's been lying about the billie situation, val. everything she told you back then was a lie."
valerie's stomach twisted. the anger in the room was palpable, and she could feel the heat building in her chest. "where is that cunt?" she asked through clenched teeth.
gracie spoke up, her voice sharp. "she's sitting over there with billie and quen. probably still lying through her teeth."
the group didn't hesitate for a second. they made their way toward odessa, who was sitting casually with billie and quen, talking and laughing. before odessa could even notice them, danah called her name loudly.
"odessa!" danah's voice cut through the air, and she marched straight up to her.
odessa's expression faltered for a split second as she looked up, trying to find the words. "what's going on?" she began, but she didn't get a chance to finish.
danah was on her in an instant. with a swift movement, she grabbed odessa by her hair and yanked her up from her seat. without warning, she punched her hard in the face. the room fell silent for a moment, everyone watching in shock as danah delivered another hit, this one landing on odessa's cheek.
"you're a fucking liar," danah spat, hitting her again. "how dare you lie to valerie like that?"
the girls tried to pull danah away, but she was beyond livid. she kept swinging, shouting insults as she struck odessa repeatedly, her voice shaking with rage. sabrina and olivia both grabbed onto danah, trying to calm her down, but she was unstoppable.
finally, after what felt like an eternity, they managed to pull danah off odessa. she was panting, fists clenched, her body shaking with the adrenaline of the confrontation. "keep valerie's name out your fucking mouth, you cunt," danah said locking eyes with odessa, still seething.
"let's get out of here," conan said, glancing around at the crowd, most of whom had pulled out their phones to record the incident. "this is a shitshow."
they all moved quickly to a private room, away from the prying eyes and cameras. inside, sabrina took charge, her voice calm but firm as she addressed billie and quen.
"odessa's been lying to all of you," sabrina said, her tone no-nonsense. "she told valerie all this shit, made it sound like everything was real, about how billie was sleeping with her while she was seeing valerie, and how billie would beg her to kiss her every time she went out with valerie."
billie's jaw clenched, her fists tightening at her sides. "what the fuck?" she muttered, her voice low but sharp. she stormed out of the room, leaving quen to exchange a tense glance with the others.
valerie didn't have to guess where billie was headed. she followed her, pushing through the crowd to find her. billie had already found odessa again, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her from her friends. she slapped odessa hard across the face, her voice seething with fury.
"you fucking liar," billie hissed. "you think you can just walk around spreading lies like that? after everything?"
valerie couldn't watch it happen. her stomach churned as she stepped in between them, grabbing billie by the arm and pulling her away. "enough," she said firmly, her voice shaking with a mix of anger and exhaustion.
billie paused, her breathing heavy, her eyes still locked on odessa. she exhaled sharply but didn't say a word as valerie led her away.
before leaving, valerie turned back toward odessa, giving her a cold, dirty look. she didn't need to say anything-odessa could see the contempt in her eyes.
once they were a safe distance away, valerie and billie found a quiet, private spot. valerie stood still for a moment, her arms crossed, her thoughts racing.
billie broke the silence, her voice quieter now. "so..."