Raymond did intend for any of this to happen. It all went by so fast that the comments from Leigh came out viciously, Jimmy's comment made Raymond look over at him with a look he hadn't given him in a decade, and then went fully back to the now argument between Valerie and Ryleigh. Raymond understood as Val explained- even if it killed him inside. He didn't even sent her a letter, or texted her, or hell, even told her that that night was the best night of his life... How many times had he gone on dates while he was in Hollywood? Granted none of them went anywhere. Most of them were attempts to feel how he did back home, assuming that Val would have moved on. Apparently she had, and Ryleigh wasn't too happy about it.

He never remembered the two going at it like this, Ryleigh yelling that she was "running off again" made his heart twist but he wasn't going to let this go any further. Before he could interject Jimmy had appeared and put his hand on his shoulder, shaking his head as if not to get involved. "Leigh--" Raymond spoke but was immediately shut out by Val's defense, and once again his heart twisted at Val saying that he wasn't around to be yelled at. Once again he wanted to intervene as soon as they started talking about them sleeping together, but was quieted by the comment that came after. Jimmy walked away a couple of steps while Raymond looked down to the ground. All he could do was listen to Val's voice. For years he had dreamed of hearing her voice again. He wanted to hear her laugh, the little squeal she would do when she got excited about something... but all he had heard since coming back was her voice on the verge of tears and anger. It broke his heart.

The two girls had always been close, or so he had remembered. There was a comradery between the only girls in the group, but it seemed that was all but gone and Raymond was absolutely to blame for some of that. Raymond was speechless. Every regret, every missed opportunity, every time he should have called but didn't. It hit him in that moment that he was to blame for this all. "Val." Raymond finally found his voice, a bit cracked as well, but she didn't stop, especially when Leigh called after her again. "God damnit, Leigh, lay off her!" Jimmy said in frustration. Raymond took off after her, and as he did he heard Ryleigh call out at him this time. "You're about ten years too late for going after her, Ray!" He shook off the ice in her tone and exited the bar, hoping to catch Valerie in time.

He glanced around the streets, barely making out her figure as she turned the corner. "Val!" Ray called after her. "V! Just- Wait! Please!" 

[i]Back in the day Raymond was one of the only people to cool Valerie down. There would be arguments or conflicts within the group or just in town, and while everyone expected Austin to go after her to talk her down, he would often look to Ray. 'You guys are on a same wavelength.' he would say before shrugging. It was that simple to him.[/i]

He thought Austin would say the same thing in this moment. God, he wished he was here.

"Val...!" He breathed, and finally she seemed to stop to give Raymond a little bit of her time, even though he knew he didn't deserve it. 

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He approached her, panting slightly, and as he looked at her he felt his throat starting to close up. This was the first time in ten years that they had been this close together alone. He could still see parts of tears dried on her face, her beautiful eyes watery and slightly puffy. How many times had the two of them looked at each other in similar situations when they were younger? That felt like a lifetime ago... and while she looked almost exactly the same, she seemed like a completely different person. Or at least that's what he thought. He never had trouble talking to Valerie, but now...

"I..." He gave a nervous chuckle, putting a hand on his face before giving a sigh. "Don't really know why I rushed out here. Figured that Austin would have told me to way back when. He always said that we shared a total of one brain cell between us." He pointed back and forth to their heads with a sad and small smile, but sighed again. "Ryleigh didn't mean that shit, and I wanted to apologize for that 'dog' comment. I truly had no idea... and I'm sure that he's- ah..." There was so much that he wanted to say. He was angry at her, confused, sorry, guilty, happy to see her in a way. "You alright?" Raymond asked, knowing that he might be on a verge of getting smacked and/or yelled at.