You Give Love a Bad Name

I groaned and buried my head further into the pillow to drown out the noise from downstairs, but it was all in vain. Peals of Gerard's obnoxious and extremely loud laughter carried from the livingroom and into the bedroom - creeping through the cracks in the house and making me crazy.

I rolled over and pressed the pillow tighter over my ears. I mean, come on! Can't people understand that when it's past midnight it's usually nighty-night for most people? The time that requires some peace and quiet?

It's not like I was asking too much...

The sound of an approaching car outside distracted me from my thoughts, lighting up my room as it momentarily passed my house. In that second, my eyes took in everything around me, including the lone suitcase in the middle of the floor.

Valerie's.

My wonderful cousin was staying with us, in my bedroom, till the end of the week - sharing my room, my closet, and yes, most importantly, my space. Why? Because Gerard and Mikey happened to be crazy about her - their favorite cousin and all - and wanted some time to 'bond'.

The only thing is...why the hell couldn't they bond while she stayed in either one of their rooms? Away from me and my stuff. It's not like Gerard or Mikey would like rape her or something. Eww, incest is so not the way to go. But nooo, of course she had to stay with me because I too happened to be born with a vagina.

I sighed and rolled over once again, listening into the night. There was still chatter coming from downstairs, but one voice was noticeably absent. A second later I heard footsteps in the hall, which were replaced by the sound of a turning doorknob by my bedroom door.

I closed my eyes quickly, pretending to be asleep.

"Are you awake, Lena?"

I ignored Valerie and tried to make my breathing even, so she wouldn't suspect that I've been awake this whole time.

There was a pause, and then I felt a slight pressure at the foot of my bed.

If I wasn't pretending to be asleep, I would have rolled my eyes - what did she want now? What part of 'hey-she-isn't-answering-so-she-must-be-sleeping' did she not understand?

"Lena?"

Realizing that she wasn't about to go away anytime soon, I opened my eyes. "What?"

Her pale face shone in the moonlight as she grinned and sat down crisscrossed on the edge of my mattress. "Aww, come on, don't you want to catch up a bit? I haven't seen you for a whole -"

"- year?" I finished, sitting up and leaning against the headboard. "Valerie, we talked for the past five or so hours - I'm all talked out."

"No, silly," she rolled her eyes, playing with a strand of her red hair. "I talked, you sulked." Then her lips turned into a delicate pout. "Aren't you glad to see me?"

I raised an eyebrow. It was no secret that Valerie and I didn't like each other - we were just like vinegar and water; not able to mix at all - so why was she playing the hurt card now? Did she want something?

"Um..."

"Or are you still living in the past, doll?"

"The past?" I shot her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

She sighed and scooted closer to me, taking both of my hands in hers. "Oh you know, that little...feud we had when we were younger."

"Er..."

She laughed and shook her head, squeezing my hands. "But were over it now, right? You grew up, I grew up, we all moved on, yeah? I really want to get to know you during this visit, Lena." She studied me with her icy-gray eyes. "I want to be your friend."

"My f-friend?" I stammered, still unsure of the whole situation. I mean, for as long as I could remember, she always looked down on me because I was a year younger, thus less 'mature' then her, so I really didn't get the change of heart now. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we're both older now, so I thought that we should give our friendship another go. You are family, after all. I get along fine with Gerard and Mikey, so I see no reason why I shouldn't get along with you too."

Um, because you always treated me like I was a piece of sh - "I guess."

"Oh, goody!" She dropped my hands and made herself even more comfortable. "Now that we got that out of the way, let's bond. What do you want to talk about? Music, movies, shopping, boys?"

"Mu-"

"Okay, boys it is!" Valerie grinned at me and cupped her face in both hands, leaning forward. "I hear you have a new boyfriend now. What's his name?"

"Logan," I breathed out, his face flashing through my head. "But -"

"Is he cute?"

"Yeah," I nodded, feeling fatigue creeping over my body. "I guess he is."

"So when do I get to meet him?" Valerie continued her twenty questions with bright enthusiasm, completely oblivious to my drooping eyelids.

"Um, after Thanksgiving, I guess. After things get less crazy."

"Oh," she tilted her head to the side and studied my expression. "I just broke up with my own boyfriend a couple of weeks ago."

"I'm sorry."

She waved her hand in a dismissing motion, plastering another one of those sunny smiles on her face. "What for? The guy was a loser. I can do so much better than him."

I just nodded, willing myself to stay awake.

"So I've been thinking, why not have a little fun before I go back into a committed relationship again, you know?" Valerie continued, still watching me with that alert carefulness.

"Yeah."

"And you can help me!"

I swallowed and nodded yet again, ready to do anything so she would leave me alone and let me go back to sleep. "Sure."

Next think I knew, she was hugging me, her hair in my face. "Thank you!"

I mumbled a reply back, trying to avoid getting her hair in my mouth.

Valerie leaned back, tilting her head to the side. "Well, I found the perfect guy. He'll be like my rebound or something. I won't have to see him after I go back home, and it's not like it's gonna hurt his feelings or anything 'cause I heard that he is quite a player."

My eyes widened and I braced myself for what was coming next.

"So, Lena," Valerie smirked and leaned forward. "Tell me a little bit about Frank."