Heartbreak Hotel

Posted on Sat Jul 18th, 2026 @ 11:54pm by Lieutenant Mark Valleroy & Corey Valleroy & Connor Valleroy

1,251 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Valentine's Day
Location: Valleroy quarters
Timeline: right after Two Teens a-Dancin'

The doors to the Valleroy quarters swished open. Mark and Connor glanced up to see a frantic-looking Corey rushing in, who was repeatedly muttering something that sounded like "No, no, no, no..." Corey didn't even acknowledge the two of them as he rushed straight into his bedroom.

"Uh, Uncle Mark, was it just me or did Corey just seem to be freaking out a bit more than usual?" Connor asked a bit hesitantly after a moment.

"He did seem rather wide-eyed," Mark said. "I'd better check on him."

Mark headed into Corey's bedroom. Corey was on the bed still fully-clothed, his back to the door as he still whispering, "No, no, no..."

"Corey? Is everything all right?" Mark asked gently as he sat down on the bed next to Corey and put a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Did something happen between you and Tessa?"

Corey turned and looked up. "I thought she was single," he managed to get out, a couple of tears running down his face. "I'd planned it all out as a date. It was going so well. I thought maybe there was a chance for us to be...a couple, maybe. But she's not single, and she didn't tell me until the end when I tried to ask her out again! It was all a disaster!"

Mark processed what Corey said for a moment. "So if I understand correctly," Mark finally said, "You thought Tessa was single and you invited her out on what you thought was a date, but apparently she thought it was some sort of 'just friends' setup, and neither one of you realized what the other was thinking until the end?"

Corey nodded. "How could I have been so stupid?! I can't believe I let the guys talk me into asking Tessa out!" Corey replied, trying to chock back a sob but not really succeeding. Mark took the lad into his arms and let him cry it out. When it was over, Mark gently said, "I'm sorry it didn't turn out the way you were hoping..."

"Come on, Uncle Mark, you're probably glad I'm not dating," Corey said with a sniffle. "You probably think I'm just a little kid anyway and that I'm too young to be dating."

Mark paused for a moment, thinking. "Yes, in some ways you're not too far off," he finally said. "You're still a bit young for any formal dating. I think that's where Tessa may have been thrown off by the activity. I know that if I knew you were considering it a date and not just some activity between friends, I would have stepped in sooner and talked with you about that. I mean, most people know that Tessa is seeing Nurse Taylor, so I kind of thought that you knew too..."

"You knew?!" Corey gasped out. "Everybody knew?!"

"Yes, but as I said before, I didn't realize that you considered what you were doing with Tessa as a date, or I would have said something beforehand. We're all kind of forgetting that you're growing up and that as such, you're getting to an age where you're starting to experience feelings that are more than just friendship, and you don't quite know how to handle those feelings yet. It's not always easy to have that first crush, and especially when you get your first heartbreak right after."

"What do you know about first crushes and heartbreaks, Uncle Mark?" Corey asked, sounding dejected.

"More than you might realize, kiddo," Mark replied. "My first crush...it was when I was 14, so not much older than you. A girl in my grade at school - Becky Hansen. She was smart. Very athletic - she could throw a mean right hook in Karate class. And oh so very pretty. Not in the almost artificial model type, but the natural type, someone who did have good looks but who was also confident in her own body. We'd known each other for several years by that point, had classes together, helped each other with class projects, and I thought it'd be pretty neat if she and I were more than just friends.

"One day I heard that one of our classmates at school would be throwing a party at their house. Now, it wouldn't be a wild party by any means - the kid's parents were going to be there to keep an eye on everything. I heard from several reliable sources that Becky planned to be there, so I made sure that I'd be there, too, with the idea that I'd muster up enough courage to finally ask her out. I arrived there before she did, so I strategically placed myself near the front door. After a while she comes walking and she stopped a bit before she reached my location to talk to a couple of her friends,

"While she's standing there talking, and as I start walking towards her, in walks Freddie Johnson. Kid was the total opposite of being cool. Member of the school science team, president of the chess club, things like that, If you looked up the works like 'nerd' or 'dweeb' in the dictionary, you'd find his picture next to the definition. Well, just before I get to her, Becky looks over and sees Freddie. She walks over to him and jumps into his arms, and the two start snogging right there in front of everyone. Some of my friends who were there said that, despite all the noise from the music and chatter, they could still hear my lower jaw hitting the floor. I was totally shocked and rather devastated. I'd had no idea Becky and Freddie even knew each other, much less that they were a couple. I was devastated for weeks afterwards."

"Wow," Corey said. "So I guess you do know what I'm feeling right now."

"Somewhat," Mark said. "I mean, I didn't have an entire date planned out before I found out, but still, I know what it's like to really like someone that way only to find out that they don't return those feelings in quite the same way. And an interesting fact - Becky and I are actually still really good friends to this day. We still keep in touch on occasion. So don't throw everything away just because Tessa is already seeing someone else. She can still be a good friend."

"I don't know," Corey replied. "I tried to date her, but she was already seeing someone and everyone knew but me! How can I ever live that down?!"

"I haven't had much of an interaction with Tessa, but I don't think she's unreasonable. If she knows that it was just an honest mistake, I think she'll understand."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then maybe she was never a friend to begin with. I know it still hurts, but know that it will get better, even though it seems like it won't. Now, go blow your nose and get ready for bed. Try to get some sleep. In the morning things might look different, if not better."

Corey nodded, then went into the bathroom, blew his nose, and brushed his teeth. He then went back into his room and pulled off his shoes, shirt, and cargo shorts and then crawled into bed. He grabbed his pillow, wondering how he'd ever fall asleep after what had just happened, but the exhaustion from it all caused him to soon drift off into sleep.

 

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