Heart Beats and Hard Beats (Canon)

The party continued into the night. Lights dimmed, the music became more suggestive and harder, the libations continued to flow freely. Couples had begun to pair off, some heading home, others looking for empty bedrooms, the bravest and/or horniest simply embracing the not so secret solitude of a hallway or corner. One beautiful brunette was certainly letting herself be consumed by the atmosphere, eyes closed as she moved her voluptuous body to the music.

Valerie had been dancing for a while now, only taking short breaks every now and then to grab another drink. Throwing her curves around this hard was thirsty work. The outcome of which meant that Val was buzzing the perfect amount, covered in a light sheen of sweat, and drawing more than a few eyes to herself. Val was a talented singer who had a passion for music, inspiring her love of dancing. She was damn good at it too .The way her delicious curves moved back and forth in time with the beat, her hair whipping about in an enchanting chaos, and the look of ecstatic focus upon her face combined to create the image of a young woman born for the dance floor. A brave few guys had attempted to dance with her, but fewer still could keep up with her. She had given them a shot, sure, but she wasn't in the mood to entertain anyone who couldn't match her. Most guys had decided to give her a wide berth anyway. No loss, Val shrugged to herself. She was pissed off and a horny, not ****. The episode with Nolan had seen to that.

Valerie had originally taken to the dance floor to work out her frustrations. Partly due to the taller guy's boorish advances, and partly to take her mind off of the fact their her kind-of sort-of date had bailed on her. She was annoyed at that, but mostly she was just upset. She had been looking forward to tonight for so long... She wanted to put that behind her, to just let loose and have some fun. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. Opening her eyes, Val looked around the large room. The party-goers had begun to pair up in earnest, some much more 'advanced' in their 'relationships' than others. A pang hit her heart, it should have been her and Jace... Val shook her head. That wasn't happening tonight, not any more. The song had changed over, a pounding, high tempo techno beat. The curvy brunette threw herself back into the rhythm, determined to lose her mind to the music. Val's hips popped to the beat, her ass shacking hypnotically, drawing more eyes to herself. She grinned at that. Her ego deserved at least a tiny boost, she decided. Hell, maybe she'd find a guy up to her standards after all. Nolan may be a pig, but she couldn't lie and say his suggestions weren't enticing. It would definitely be a good way to get her mind off of things at the very least.

After a few more minutes of up-temp dance tracks, Val had yet to make any progress. She had even tried to initiate things herself, dancing in front of a few guys, even grinding her large ass on another, to no success. Val was starting to feel like something was wrong with her. She even tried dancing with Matthew Chester, who also turned her down. When Val demanded he tell her what was wrong with her, he quickly replied that it was nothing; everyone just thought she was Jace's girl and didn't want to cut his grass.

That certainly was not what Valerie Barnes wanted to hear.

The music slowed down then, a grimy, raunchy R&B beat now bursting forth from the speakers. All around her, dancers began to pair up and grind against each other, some doing far more than that. Val cringed at the sight, this should have been her and Jace. Now though, it looked everyone else left on the dance floor had managed to find a partner. Everyone except her. Slumping her shoulders, Val was about to call it in. Tonight just wasn't her night. She supposed she would just go home and cry herself to sleep. As she walked to the edge of the dance floor in a cloud of disappointment, Val stopped to look up when she heard her name called.

"Valerie! Where are you going?" cried out her best friend Mina Park. Looking over to the busty girl of Korean heritage, Val was genuinely surprised to see that Mina had also managed to find herself a partner for the intimate dancing going on. The familiar football player behind her held Mina's hips in his large hands, her short grey bodycon dress stretching against her large breasts. Mina leaned her back into her partner's chest, one hand behind his neck, the other on one of his hands on her hip. For all the grinding that the muscled guy was doing against her tight ass, Mina gave just as well as she received. The short skirt on her tight dress has slightly ridden up, Mina not caring in the slightest as she ground her ass up and down on the larger guy's crotch. Val tried her best to ignore the pang of jealousy that struck her.

"I think I'm going to go home," Val explained, slightly raising her voice to be heard over the loud music.

"No! You can't leave yet!" Mina pleaded. Looking back up and over her shoulder, Mina gave her partner a wink. "The dancing has just gotten good." Upon hearing her words, the dark haired football player's free hand moved up to cup and squeeze Mina's breast, eliciting a moan then a giggle. Val failed to hold back her blush. Mina was excitable at the best of times, a scenario like a raunchy dance floor just brought out her inner wild child.

"This party hasn't exactly been fun for me," Val tried to argue, her arms crossing over her ample cleavage in frustration. "And I've been trying to dance, it's just that everyone either backs off or won't dance in the first place."

"Seriously?" Mina asked, her sensual dancing not stopping for a moment. "Why wouldn't anyone want to dance with you?"

"Jace," Val admitted grumpily. "Everyone thinks I'm his property or something."

"Well that's bullshit. Jace lost any claim on you after bailing without saying anything," said Mina, her visage softening in concern for her friend. Taking a step out of her partner's grasp, Mina walked forward and enveloped her best friend in a tight hug before letting her go. Val noticed the look in her eyes; Mina had a plan. "You're not allowed to leave yet! If nobody else will do it, you can dance with us."

"I'm not sure," replied Val, expressing her concern. "I don't want to get in the way if you and-"

"Nonsense!" Mina interrupted. Turning both herself and Val to the tall, well built football player, Mina have a wink before presenting the two of them. "You wouldn't say no to dancing with two two sexy juniors would you?"

"Not a chance," he responded with a grin. The powerful linebacker stepped towards them, his hands grabbing opposite waists and pulling their busty bodies into his strong torso. "I'm never letting go of you," he promised Val, her breath hitching. His hands slid down their curvy hips before finding a resting place on their ass, giving them both a friendly squeeze and leading them back to the center of the dance floor. With the predatory look he was giving her, Val didn't think she'd have to worry about being ignored by her new partner. The scenes of his body moving in an erotic harmony with Mina's also told her that he would probably be able to hold his own when it came to dancing as well.

"This is probably a very bad idea, isn't it?" Val asked partly to her new partners, partly to herself.

"Probably!' Mina cackled.

"The worst," he agreed, the next squeeze of her ass far more possessive.

Val's heartbeat raised in excitement. Her new partner was someone who gave off dangerous vibes. Good girl Val from 2 hours ago would never be seen dancing with him. She would have stood in a corner, waiting patiently for her prince charming to come find her.

Valerie's eyes sharpened into a wicked conviction, her mouth and excited smirk. She wasn't going to sulk and mope any more, she was going to have some fun with a new guy, a black knight.

Besides, Jace deserved to know that he had hurt her. She wondered if this would hurt him back? Despite everything, she wasn't doing this out of **** or spite, she still cared for Jace... But he had his chance, it was time to forget about him for a while. It was time to dance with her best friend and a hot older guy. The fact that she was about to shake her ass with Evan Simmons would probably piss him off.

She just couldn't bring herself to care for now.