“Miss Piko, all of these look so good on you!” Vallerie gushes, the two girls were currently in the mall for what was supposed to be ‘just window shopping.’ 

“Oh, and this one and this one, a silver would go great with this, and maybe matching shoes… with earrings definitely.” Throwing several articles of clothing and accessories at the sales clerk. 

Vallerie marches back to the fitting room, the floor surrounded by mountains of clothes all fit for Piko. 

“How is it? Does it fit you?” She knocks.

“Yeah, but I don’t think I dare to wear any of this. The only stylish thing I own is the garments they require me to wear when tending to the Goddess of Sorrow.” Piko comes out of the fitting room wearing an outfit Vallerie picked out for her. 

“Yeesh, I’m sure it’s not even the Goddess requiring you to wear the robes. It’s the head nymph that’s enforcing it, right?” Vallerie circles Piko, evening out the hem of her shirt. 

“I mean… now that you mentioned it, that might be the case– how did you know it was the head nymph?” 

“Oh! This would look darling on you!” Vallerie didn’t hear the last part– maybe even what Piko had just said, as she was too distracted with the blouse a sales lady brought her. “This should be the last outfit.” 

“Wonderful, your total would be–” 

“Yes, yes, here’s my card.” Vallerie tosses her card, and the sales clerk frantically catches it. 

“Wait, but you didn’t even get anything for yourself.” Piko scrambles to put on the clothes she wore before Vallerie dragged her to a fashion show with her as the model. 

“I love dressing people up! You came to the right person, Miss Piko.” She cheers, “Load these up to my car while you’re at it, number 57.” Vallerie tosses her car keys to the clerk standing next to her. 

“I did come here for makeup, though.” 

“I-I can help load everything into your car.” Piko offered as she exited the fitting room, the employees scrambling around her to grab every piece of clothing Vallerie threw at them. 

“I couldn’t ask that of you!” 

“It’s the least I could do.” Piko chuckles. 

“Alright then, meet me back at the food court when you’re done. Or in Atson’s when I’m taking way too long.” 

“Deal.” Piko picks up a few shopping bags. 

“Meet you there, Piko baby!” Vallerie waves off as she makes her way to Atson’s. 

The mall is fairly busy considering it was a weekend. Sanne and Loukas initially invited her for another round of practice, but when Piko reached out to ‘window shop’, it wasn’t even a question who Vallerie chose to spend her weekend with. 

Adults, teens, and kids were littered around the mall, enjoying the weekend as they did. Though if this were Pampeka, the malls would be the usual hubs to show off fashion and streetwear. 

Vallerie can thank the Bleufuad locals; they’re a lot more casual when it comes to fashion. Underdressing saves HOURS of Vallerie’s time, though, it seems like she is still overdressed for Bleufuad standards. 

Entering Atson’s, she was greeted with a basket that she happily took, knowing she was here to restock her makeup and skincare. 

She doesn’t hesitate to throw products in, already familiar with what she uses and which brands to choose from. 

“Goodness, where is the Sour Mint eyeliner when you need it?” Vallerie whispers to herself as she scours the shelves.

 “Aha! Gotcha!” But before she could get a hold of the eyeliner, someone had already taken the last one. “Hey, I was after that.” 

The man towered before her; he didn’t even bother to turn his attention to her; he just gave her a side eye. He was a head taller than she was, with dark hair that reached his shoulders, purple eyes, and arms that looked like they wouldn’t have a problem flinging her like a ragdoll if he wanted to.

“Well, I got it before you did. Tough luck.” 

Vallerie eyed his basket and couldn’t help but gape when she saw that he had ALL of the Sour Mint eyeliner in his basket. 

“You already took all of them, can’t I just have one? What do you even do with all that eyeliner?” 

“That’s not really your business now, is it?” He starts walking away. 

“For a person to have that much eyeliner, you sure can’t draw them evenly!” Vallerie argues as a last-ditch attempt. If she can’t have any, she might as well just rile him up a little. 

The man actually looks at himself in the mirror that was situated between the makeup shelves. But it didn’t bother him; all he did was smirk as if he was anticipating a fight. 

“What? And patchy foundation application isn’t more embarrassing? Get over yourself.” 

The more he spoke, the more Vallerie was taken aback. 

“You want the eyeliner so bad? Here, try and reach for it.” He practically lifts the eyeliner above her head, Vallerie making the mistake of trying to take it. She failed to do so as he swiped it before she could grab hold of it. 

He barks out laughing, clutching his stomach, and points at her. 

“Holy shit, you actually tried to take it. This is priceless!”

“What do you even gain from this?” Vallerie is red from embarrassment at this point. 

“Entertainment, you’re surprisingly good at it. Come on, patches, lighten up, maybe it's moisturiser you should be focusing on.” He mocks, throwing her a container. 

Patches?...Patches?

Vallerie was fuming at this point; she could give in to her temper, letting it all loose. But she remembered Piko was waiting for her, and her reaction would only boost his ego and amusement. 

She sucks in a breath and walks away, paying in cash, and storms out of the shop. 

Vallerie bristles among all the other people in the mall and meets up with Piko in the food court. She had a cup of froyo in her hand and another beside her. 

“Vallerie! Over here! I got us some frozen yogurt.” Piko waves. 

Vallerie immediately simmers down, taking the cup as she deflated in her seat. 

“You’re so darling, Miss Piko… why can’t more people be nice like you?” She takes a spoonful into her mouth. 

“Did something happen?” 

“Yeah, let’s finish quick. I want to get out of here.” 

—---

“Hi hiiiii” Vallerie walks into the clubroom, attempting to sound cheerful. But the way she set her shopping down contradicted her tone. Piko is still following beside her, equally worried about what happened when they split up in the mall. 

Sanne and Loukas looked at Piko. 

Piko shrugged. Nodding to either of them to try and coax Vallerie to talk. 

Loukas looks at Sanne. 

Sanne clears his throat, “Vallerie… is something wro–” 

“HE WAS SUCH AN ASS!” She finally explodes. 

The three jolt at the sudden outburst. 

“Uhh, who was?” Sanne meekly asks

“This guy in Atson’s! Took all the eyeliner. I asked for just ONE, and what did he do? He holds it over my head! And when I reach for it? He takes it back, laughs at my face, and calls my makeup patchy!!” Vallerie rants, pacing the room with her arms flailing around as if that would soothe her anger. 

She meekly opens her compact powder mirror to inspect her makeup, blushing, knowing the criticism is true. Her eyes carefully scanned her face, her finger trying–and failing– to blend the patchy spots. Her mouth curving into a frown when it fixed nothing.

Before anyone could reply, a knock could be heard on the door. 

“Hello, hello, I heard a darling Valentine is in here.” A sing-song voice opens the door. 

“Monifa, baby! You’re back!” Vallerie cries to her friend. 

Monifa is a tall woman, towering over Loukas, Sanne, Piko, and Vallerie. Wearing the school uniform with the supreme student government president badge on her collar. Her hair was a soft, rounded puff of coiled hair tied at the lower back of her head. 

“You look upset. Someone ruffled your feathers already?” Her laugh is rich, everything about her screams ‘elegance’ and ‘power’.

“Urrgghhh, don’t even get me started this ASSHOLE pissed me off so muc–” 

“Hey losers, guess who’s back!” The man whom Vallerie had a kerfuffle with earlier suddenly bursts into the room. 

“Monifa, fancy seeing you here, gorgeous!” He greeted, but he didn’t even notice Vallerie. 

“YOU!!” Vallerie points scornfully. 

“And patches is here as well, small world.” He laughs as if they were buddies for years. 

“I’M GONNA RIP YOUR EYES OUT YOU, SHITHEAD!”