Tate was walking through the halls of his school as his classmates ran around him in a panic—why were they panicking? When someone walks into the school with a shotgun and begins shooting at random people, chaos is certain. He walked down the hallway, leading to the library. The doors were shut and something was against the door, keeping him out. He sighed and walked around the corner to the side door. It started to open but then someone grabbed it from the inside; he shot three bullets through the door and it opened.
He walked around in a daze, killing the kids in the library. One by one he put the gun to them and pulled the trigger. Finally, he was down to the last one, a cheerleader who was hiding under the table. He flipped the table over, making her scream. He aimed the gun at her… "Tate," he heard a soft angelic voice utter his name. His eyes looked up from Chloe and he saw Violet standing in one of the isles, her hair was in her face, covering her eyes from direct view. He watched her hands that were trembling with fear; she raised her head, revealing her watery eyes. He had made her cry, he hurt her. The only thing in this world that he cared about was standing in front of him, shaking and crying from fear.
Chloe saw it as an opportunity to dash for the exit; he whipped around and shot her in the back without even looking away from Violet. Violet cringed, closing her eyes tightly, when she heard Chloe scream and fall to the ground. Tate wanted to hug Violet, tell her it was okay, but he knew he'd be lying to her. He crossed the line of things being okay between them when he ingested that cocaine earlier, to give him the nerve to go through with his plan.
"Why, Tate?" Violet whispered.
He lowered his head, looking at the blood puddle he was standing in. "What do you care? You broke up with me. You said I was turning into a monster, I'm only living up to your idea of me."
Violet felt a tear roll down her cheek. "You scared me, Tate. Your temper scares me. Had I known saying that would lead to this…"
"Violet, it didn't matter what you said to me, I would've still done this." She looked down; she couldn't stand to look him in the eyes anymore. She thought she knew him, but he was a stranger. Tate walked over and lifted her chin, making her eyes meet his. They were so dark that they scared her even more. He leaned down and kissed her, sending her mind reeling back a week before.
Tate was laying on the couch, waiting for Violet to get ready for their date. She stared at herself in the mirror, as she played with her hair; should it be up, or flow around her shoulders? Tate rolled his eyes at her constant primping, why did she worry about her looks so much? She was beautiful. "I don't understand why girls care so much about their looks. You're beautiful, Violet." She smiled at his words. She looked at him in the reflection before twirling around on the balls of her feet. "I care because I want you to be proud to have me next to you," she said as she walked over to the couch. He grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, she giggled as she melted into his body. He loved when she did that, he couldn't tell where he ended and she began. "I'll always be proud to have you next to me. I love you, Violet," he confessed for the first time before kissing her gently. He wasn't one of those guys who said it to hear it back; of course, he would love that, but he wanted her to say it when she was ready. He loved that she hadn't said it yet because that meant once she did, it was for real. He could feel her smiling as they continued to kiss, which made him smile in response. "Ahem." The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted their time. "Violet, I assume you'll be home at a reasonable time?" Ben asked. Violet started laughing. "Yes, dad." "I'll have her home by 9, Dr. Harmon," Tate interjected. Ben nodded and left them. Tate picked Violet up off his lap with no difficulty and set her beside him; he stood up, outstretching his hand. "Are you ready for our six month anniversary date?" He smiled at the knowledge that they had been together that long already. Violet smiled and took his hand. After dinner, Tate took Violet to the beach where they had their first date. It was such a pretty night; but not as pretty as Violet was, her brown eyes were sparkling in the light from the bonfire. Tate wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and just sat with her staring at the vast possibilities that was ahead of them. He didn't know where life was going to take them, but he knew wherever it was… He'd be satisfied as long as Violet was next to him. "Tate?" She asked. He looked down at her and their eyes met. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you." He smiled, it was the perfect ending to their wonderful anniversary, but all good things must come to an end. Just like Tate had promised, he had Violet home at 8:30. He walked her to the door and kissed her goodnight. From behind his back he presented her with a single black rose, because she didn't like normal things. She smiled at the gift and hugged him before going inside. He kept replaying her words over and over again, she loved him. For once, he felt like life was finally going right for him. He hadn't fought with his mother in a couple days, and now the love of his life said she loved him. He was on top of the world, but when you're at the tip top and have nowhere else to climb… You fall.
The next day at school Tate was still on his high, he didn't even mind his geometry class like he normally did. Everything was brighter and more tolerable when you were in love; the fear of losing that love was what made Tate's world crash down around him in just a mere moment. He was walking to his next class when he saw Violet talking to Kyle, the quarterback for the basketball, or football team. Tate didn't know nor did he care; he lived on the track field. "So, I was thinking you and I could go catch a movie?" Kyle said, confidently. Violet rolled her eyes. "I'm already seeing someone, Kyle." He put his hand on the locker next to hers and leaned in close to her face. "I know you've been seeing that creep… What's his name? Late?" he chuckled. "But I'm real. Why don't you just dump his sorry ass and come out with me?" He reached over and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Violet pulled away from him. "His name is Tate, and like I said… I'm with him." As Violet started to walk away, Kyle grabbed her arm. "I don't think you're hearing what I'm offering you. I'm the coolest guy at school. Most popular. Most likely to succeed. You go on a date with me and your high school reputation is gold." Violet sighed. "Yes, but I would rather not be sick on a date, and if I went out with you… my upchuck reflexes would get a work out." Kyle rolled his eyes and grabbed her face, locking their lips together. Violet squirmed. Suddenly, Tate appeared between them and shoved Kyle into the lockers. "What are you doing, Tate? I can take care of myself!" Violet screamed at him. He whipped his head around, not saying anything. She stared into his eyes that were black as night; their cold, distant glare sent shivers down her spine. She had never seen him that angry. "What the hell, man?" Kyle shouted. Tate pulled his right hand back, balling it into a fist, and let it meet Kyle right in the nose. Instantly, Kyle fell to the ground, wiping blood from his nose and whimpering in pain. "Tate!" Violet cried. She tried to break up the fight but Tate was too far gone. He shoved her into the wall, not even realizing what he was doing. He lunged for Kyle once more, punching him in the face over and over again. He didn't know what was going on or what was happening until he heard Violet crying behind him. Her sobs snapped him out of his delirious state. He let go of Kyle and turned around, Violet was bleeding and scared. He had hurt her. He had hurt the only thing that mattered in his life. After that day, Violet avoided Tate except for the one time he cornered her, trying to get her to talk to him and she said she didn't want to talk to a monster. He also began fighting with his mom, again. After Beau was suffocated, Tate let the darkness that always sat inside him take over. In the absence of light, there can only be dark. Violet was his light and he scared her away. He had become a monster; everyone would be better off if he wasn't around, but since Tate had spent his entire high school career being overlooked, he decided he was going to be remembered. He was going down in flames.
He blinked a couple times before setting down his gun; he sat down in a chair and looked around at the destruction he had caused. The lives he had taken. "I've done a bad thing, haven't I?" he asked as he looked up at Violet's eyes. She nodded at his sudden childlike demeanor. She watched his expression soften; his eyes became scared and full of sadness. She saw them become glassy and tears start streaming. "What do I do now?" he asked himself, mostly.
Violet took a deep breath. "Well, we have to go to the police, they're outside."
"They'll send me to jail…" he noted. Violet agreed. He sighed and decided he had no other choice. Violet held out her hand for him to take. He stared at it for a moment before taking it. They walked down the vacant halls hand in hand; before they opened the doors, Tate stopped. "Violet, I really do love you, just so you know. I'm sorry I'm such a monster. Please, don't forget me?"
Violet put her hand on his cheek; he moved his face against her skin, closing his eyes. "I love you too, Tate. Everything will be okay. I will never forget you." He took a deep breath before opening the doors. The entire school was surrounded.
As soon as they were clear of the door, one of the police officers grabbed Violet, pulling her out of the way. Tate stood with his hands in the air at the many guns that were now pointing at him. He looked over at Violet's scared face and he smiled slightly. He turned his head back and grinned at the officers; his mind was already made up. He quickly reached into his coat. As soon as the officers saw him reach for something, they began shooting. Violet screamed as she watched Tate's body dance to the bullets that were coursing through his chest. Tate fell to the ground and Violet ran to him. "Tate!" she called. He had blood all over his chest, neck, and face.
He slowly looked at her and smiled. "This was for you," he whispered, weakly, revealing a single black rose that now had bullet holes in its pedals. She let her head drop to his chest and began sobbing uncontrollably. She listened as his heart gave up and his breathing stopped; it was the loudest silence she had ever heard. The police pulled her away from his body, blood stained her dress as she walked away with that rose held next to her heart. She didn't know what to think, but for a long time after that she could've sworn he was haunting her, watching over her.