Clementine sat in her Reformed History class. The walls were grey, the desks were wooden. She was staring at her book, trying to pay attention as they learned about The War for what felt like the thousandth time. The war that ended the world, the war that ended war. She was trying to pay attention, but her eyes kept flitting up to the blonde haired girl that sat two rows up and one aisle over. She wore the same grey button up shirt and grey skirt that all the girls at their Senior Education Center wore but for some reason her eyes were always drawn to her, Clementine could pick her out of any crowd.
"Clementine." The teacher called out, Clementine jumped in her seat, her eyes jerked back to the front of the classroom. "Eyes forward, any more infractions today and you'll lose a day's worth of food rations, understood?"
"Yes sir." Clementine answered clearly, but as the teacher turned their eyes back to the board she swore she could see the blonde haired girl, Violet, smirking at her in her peripheral vision.
"Every nation was at war, there was no such thing as peace. Everyone was starving, everyone was sick, everyone was scared." The teacher rattled on, "There was so much death, the world had all but ended. There was hardly anyone left to keep fighting. Then a new regime stepped forward. The Delta rose from the ashes of the old dead world and they created a new one, a better one. A world where everyone can thrive, where no one goes hungry." Things were better now than they were before the war, or so they were told. Clementine didn't know, she was born after the Delta had taken control. She had never had any reason to doubt what she was taught until recently.
The teacher continued to yammer on and on but Clementine tuned him out again as she stared at her blank paper. She felt something in her chest when she looked at Violet, something that she didn't feel when she looked at anyone else. There was no word to describe how she felt but there was no denying that she felt something. Under Delta rule babies were arranged to be married from the day of their birth. Clementine already had a partner assigned to her, though she wouldn't know who it was until the joining ceremony that took place immediately after graduation. But girls were never joined with other girls and boys never with other boys.
They had learned in school that two people came together for one reason and one alone, for creating babies to repopulate the world. The wars that ended the world killed off over half the population, the Delta was setting out to fix that. Couples were joined, they had babies, the Delta took those babies, assigned them a name and raised them in the Nursery. Once the children outgrew the Nursery they were moved to the Primary Education Center and then the Senior Education Center. Clementine only had a month left before her graduation. The thought of her impending joining ceremony terrified her. She didn't want to be with someone she didn't know or feel anything for, she wanted to be with someone that sent her heart fluttering, someone like Violet.
The bell rang to signal the end of class, Clementine packed all of her supplies in her bag and stood to leave. She started walking out of the room, almost running into the girl that had been drawing her eye on the way out. "Excuse me." Clementine mumbled as she moved around her, face burning red as she kept her eyes on the ground. Conversations outside of class weren't against any rules but cameras were everywhere, they were being watched all the time. Often conversations weren't worth the risk, the Delta could take the smallest thing out of context and the next day you'd be nothing more than another missing person. Most likely shipped off to the rehabilitation center, or that's what was whispered among the students.
Violet caught up to her and kept pace by her side. "I've seen you looking at me." she whispered, keeping her eyes in front of her as she spoke. Clementine's heart raced, mouth agape, unable to form a sentence. "It's okay, I've been looking at you too." The brunette's voice caught in her throat.
She kept moving down the hall, not knowing what else to do. After school was recreation period. All students were required to join a recreational activity. The Delta said it reduced stress and gave them something positive to focus on, but Clementine felt like it was just a distraction. A way to keep students too occupied to see what was wrong with the current regime and too tired to try and do something about it.
Violet discretely slipped a paper into her hand as they walked. Clementine made a fist, holding the paper tight, keeping it hidden. She knew not to open it yet, it wasn't safe to open it in the hallways. Without another word Violet veered off to the choir room. Clementine knew that Violet took choir for her recreational, she had seen her sing the national anthem before school meetings and other Delta sanctioned songs at assemblies. Her voice was mesmerizing, but Clementine could tell that her heart wasn't in the songs. Clementine could only imagine how amazing Violet would sound if she believed in what she was singing.
Clementine headed outside to the field, sport was her recreational activity. She usually looked forward to the end of the class day, playing games on the grassy field was the most freedom she had all day. Free to run instead of walk, free to yell and laugh when usually silence was the best option, but today she was eager to read the note securely held in her hand and she knew she couldn't do that until was back in her dorm. As she approached the field where surveillance cameras were few and far between, Clementine slipped the note into her bag and set it to the side. Hustling to the field where the other students stood waiting.
Clementine rushed back to her dorm room, grass stains on her knees, she threw her bag on her desk. Carefully she pulled out the note, she kept it in her fist until her school book was out on the desk. Carefully she shifted in her chair, the only camera in the dorm rooms were on the ceiling in the center. She made sure that her body was between the camera and the note as she flattened it out on top of the books open pages. She quickly read the elegant scrawl.
Meet me in the dorm showers at midnight ~V
She read the note countless more times. Debating internally on whether she should go meet Violet or not. On the one hand she was dying to meet with blonde haired girl face to face, on the other hand, getting caught outside of your dorm after curfew was punishable by loss of three days worth of rations. She tried to debate, pretended there was a debate but there was no doubt in her mind that she was going to do it.
Midnight came slowly, the lights shut down automatically at ten. Clementine had climbed into bed, fighting sleep as she waited alone in the dark. Finally the clock on her wall read 12AM. Clementine got up, shoving her pillow under her blanket just in case someone was actually watching the surveillance monitors that night. She was wearing her grey t-shirt and shorts, her Delta issued pajamas, feet bare. She opened the door, listening hard in the darkness before exiting, closing the door quietly behind her. She padded down the hallway, the shower room only a few doors down. She opened the door as little as possible and slipped inside. It was dark inside, only a dim emergency light shining overhead but Clementine didn't mind, her eyes had already adjusted to the dark.
A hand wrapped around her mouth from behind, she heard a quiet 'shhh' in her ear and she nodded. Her mouth was released but her hand was grasped and she was led into the last shower stall in the room. Clementine's feet splashed softly in the puddles of water that remained from the evening showers. Violet pulled her into the corner, Clementine's back facing the wall.
"The cameras can't see us here, but we still need to be quiet." Violet leaned into the brunette, whispering directly in her ear. Her hot breath sent chills down Clementine's spine and she nodded silently. Clementine didn't know how Violet knew that, but she trusted her.
"I've noticed you for a while now," Violet continued to whisper, pressing closer and closer, "I think you've noticed me too." Clementine took a shuddering breath, grateful for the dark to hide her blushing face. "Do you feel something when you look at me?" Violet poked Clementine in the rib cage, "Right here?" Clementine nodded, slowly, timidly. "I'd like to try something with you, if it's okay?"
"Y-yeah..." Clementine finally spoke, she had no idea what Violet was talking about but she had already come this far...
Violet moved even closer, causing Clementine's back to press into the wall behind her. Violet's face was only breaths away, her eyes closed as she continued to ease closer, their lips lightly brushing against one another. Clementine's heart nearly pounded out of her chest as Violet left them there for agonizing seconds. Violet could feel the shorter girl tense in anticipation before she fully pressed her lips against Clementine's. The brunette's eyes widened, not sure what sensation she was feeling but enjoying it, even more so as Violet began to move her lips against her own. Clementine had no idea what she was doing, but she closed her eyes and began to mimic Violet's motion. She pushed back into the wall, arms at her sides, palms flat against it, hesitantly reciprocating Violet's actions and loving every tingle and warm feeling that flowed through her.
All too soon Violet pulled away, leaving Clementine feeling empty and desperately wanting more. She could see Violet smirking at her in the darkness.
"What was that?" Clementine asked in a breathy whisper.
"That was called a 'kiss'." Violet was whispering in her ear again now. "It's what people did before the war with people that made them feel that way inside. That feeling in your chest? They called that 'love'."
Clementine stood unmoving except for her chest that was pounding uncontrollably with the rhythm of her heart. She tried desperately to comprehend all this new information that Violet was giving her. She wanted to ask Violet how she knew this information. All literature and text written before the war had been destroyed a long time ago. She wanted to, knew it would be the more appropriate thing to say, but as she stood with her back still pressed against the grey cinder block walls the only thing she could get out was a hushed, "Can we... kiss... again?" The word sounded foreign coming from her lips but it was already her favorite word as Violet complied. Softly pressing her lips against the shorter girl's. Taking her breath away in the best way possible as she now eagerly kissed back.
After a few minutes Violet was the first to pull away, their hot breath warming the other's face. "It's not safe to stay any longer." Violet whispered, Clementine tried with all her might to focus on Violet's words instead of her still tingling lips or the feel of Violet's body pressed against hers. She nodded. She knew they were putting themselves in danger, not just for breaking curfew anymore but for being this close, for kissing. It wasn't necessarily outlawed, because it was never mentioned. Which made it all the more dangerous. Clementine had never seen anyone do something like this, ever. Yes, she had attended the Reproduction Seminars, they were a requirement for all final year students at the Senior Education Center. She was well versed on the things a couple had to do to create a baby but kissing was never mentioned. That feeling burning in her chest, the 'love' Violet had called it, was never mentioned but now it was all that Clementine wanted.
"Sit with me in the cafeteria tomorrow? For midday meal?" Violet asked quietly, hopefully. Clementine nodded, her cheek grazing against Violet's soft skin as she did.
"I'll leave first, wait at least five minutes before you go." Violet said, pressing her lips against Clementine's one last time before she left the shower stall, the slight creak of the door signifying that she had left.
Clementine let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, thankful that she was the one to leave last. She didn't think her legs would move right now if she wanted them to. They felt shaky and unsteady beneath her as she continued to lean against the wall for support. The minutes ticked by, Clementine replaying the encounter over and over in her mind, until she finally made her way swiftly and silently back to her dorm room.
As she clambered into bed her mind raced. The odds were likely that no one watched the security cameras at night unless they were suspicious that something was going on. They had no reason to be suspicious of Clementine, except for mild infractions she was an obedient student. She had never done anything to deserve more than two days loss of rations but public whippings weren't unheard of and something as severe as rebellion... often times those people just disappeared. Sometime they would mysteriously reappear, but they were never the same and some people never came back at all. Violet... Clementine hoped she made it back to her room safely... She knew Violet had given them reason more than once to keep an eye on her and Violet's knowledge of the old world gave Clementine even more reason to worry, sending her into a fretful sleep.
Clementine woke up unsure if last night was a dream or reality. Her eagerness to see Violet made her feel as if it was real but if it was she also feared for Violet's safety. Either way she wouldn't feel at ease until she laid eyes on the girl. Clementine's heart soared when she saw Violet in the classroom. A discrete wink told Clementine that it was no dream. It was a struggle to keep the smile off her face but she didn't want to do anything out of the ordinary, anything that would make her or Violet suspect. Clementine sat in her normal seat, took her normal notes, tried to avoid staring at the back of Violet's head as she normally would. Everything went as normal until it was time for their mid day meal.
Clementine grabbed her tray and looked around the cafeteria, she spotted Violet immediately. She tried to walk as casually as possible to claim the seat beside the blonde, not wanting to look too excited.
"A pleasant day." Violet greeted as the brunette sat beside her.
"The most pleasant." Clementine responded back, as was customary, but for the first time she actually meant it. The cafeteria was a good place to talk, because of the large collection of people the ambient noise most likely made it very hard to single out voices. They stayed silent for a few minutes though, Clementine looking at her tray, there were vegetables, a meat and a slice of bread. Food wasn't always this good but the Delta was growing in strength and acquiring more resources by the day. Clementine couldn't help but think what they might be doing to acquire them and her stomach churned.
"Your name's Clementine?" Violet spoke, softly but not in a whisper, she shot some glances in Clementine's direction but didn't focus on the brunette.
"Yes, and you're Violet." Clementine said knowingly between bites. "You stood up at the Reproduction Seminar and yelled that everyone should be free to choose their own partners." Clementine held back her smile, remembering the shocked faces of the students and teachers.
"I lost my food rations for four days for that." Violet smirked.
"That was when I-uh... I first started feeling something for you...um... you called it... love?" Clementine whispered the last part, not wanting be overheard using a word from the old world.
"I was first drawn to you when you shoved that boy Mitch in the recreation yard for messing with some of the Primary Education Center kids." Against her better judgement Violet looked directly at Clementine as she said it, happy she did when she was met with Clementine's rosy cheeks as a reward.
"I only lost two days rations for that one." Clementine looked down at her plate and shrugged.
Violet looked down at her empty plate, "I have to go... meet me again tonight? Midnight?"
"O-okay..." Clementine exhaled as Violet stood and left. Clementine slowly chewed the rest of her meal, trying to put time between their departures, excitedly awaiting tonight.
Weeks had passed since the girls started their midnight meetings, to diminish suspicion they spread their meetings out, skipping a day or sometimes days in between to be safe. Never eating more than one meal together a day and always switching the meal that they shared.
Their graduation was one week away and it had been three days since their last midnight escapade. Clementine had Violet pressed against the shower stall wall, more bold than when they had first met, taking the lead as her hands slipped under Violet's Delta sanctioned t-shirt caressing the soft skin of her waist. Violet's arms wrapped around Clementine's neck, her hands buried in her hair, holding her close.
Violet broke the kiss, breathing heavily but trying to remain quiet. "I... I think we need to go..."
Clementine pressed her lips along Violet's neck in between her words, "but... we only... have... one week..."
The joining ceremony hung heavily over the two. They would soon move out of the Senior Education Center's dorms and into the Couple's housing district.
Violet pushed Clementine back slightly, breaking their connection, "Clem." Violet waited until Clementine was staring into her green eyes, "Let's run away."
"W-what?" Clementine said a little louder than she meant, she lowered her voice, "Where would we go?"
"Anywhere..." Violet whispered, holding Clementine's face in her hands, stroking her cheeks with her thumbs. "It doesn't matter as long as we're together.
"I don't know..." Clementine sighed, "Maybe it won't be so bad after the ceremony... we'll have our own houses, we could find a way to be together still..."
"I don't want to spend my whole life sneaking around." Violet pulled Clementine into a hug, "I want to go somewhere we can be together, out in the open. Please Clem, go with me."
"Alright...let's go..." Clementine whispered into Violet's ear, still locked in their embrace. "When?"
"The morning of the ceremony... things will be hectic, everyone will be packing bags, no one will have reason to question us." Violet said, still speaking quietly.
"What time do we meet? a-and where?" Clementine asked.
"At noon, before the ceremony starts..." Violet held her tighter, "Meet on the grassy field. We shouldn't meet again until then."
"I... but..." Clementine stuttered. Violet claimed Clementine's lips once more, kissing her deeply, it was short but meaningful. As Violet moved away, Clementine's voice was barely audible as she answered, "O-okay..."
"I love you." Violet said, separating and heading out the door before the brunette had the chance to reciprocate. Clementine no longer dreaded the day of the joining ceremony but was anxiously awaiting it's arrival.
The week dragged by for Clementine with no midnight meetings in the shower stall, no sitting together in the cafeteria. The most they risked were stolen glances in the classroom and in the hallways. By the time the day of the joining ceremony finally arrived Clementine felt nothing but relief.
She packed her bag full of her grey uniforms and pajamas, they were to be traded in during the graduation. Grey uniforms swapped for colored shirts, each person received the same color as their preassigned partner. No one knowing who they were coupled with until they were given their new color. The color represented the start of a bright new future together, or so they said.
Clementine wandered to the cafeteria for the last time, when she spotted Violet she couldn't help but sit next to her despite their agreement to avoid one another.
"We're not supposed to be together." Violet chastised, but Clementine could hear the smile in her voice.
"I just wanted to make sure you were ready. That the plan is still on." Clementine lied. She really just couldn't stand their distance any longer but it was a valid excuse. She took a bite of her food to try and look casual.
"I've never been more ready." Violet said. She placed her hand on Clementine's bare knee, holding back a chuckle as the brunette splashed water down her front in surprise. They had never touched anywhere but the shower stall before and certainly not around other people. The risk of discovery was too great but with the risk came a sort of exhilaration that sent Clementine's heart racing.
Violet continued to eat with an air of nonchalance as Clementine burned red, frozen as Violet's hand stroked her thigh. "The question is, are you ready?" Violet asked. Clementine nodded dumbly. Violet stood from her spot and left without another word.
Everyone was gathering for the graduation and joining ceremony. Everyone except for Clementine. She separated from the group and walked to the grassy field. The same field she had come to for her sports recreational for so many years.
Violet wasn't there yet. Clementine looked around, gripping her duffel bag. Nervous to be standing out in the open for too long. As soon as Violet arrived they could make straight for the woods, get cover there and then run, for as long as they could. The Delta couldn't have control everywhere even though they acted like they did. Clementine knew there were other groups. Certainly one of them would allow her and Violet to live with them in peace but if not they would live alone in the woods. They could take care of each other. Anything was better than the life the Delta would force on them. After ten minutes Clementine started to worry, had Violet been captured? Had she gone on with out her? She wasn't sure which would hurt worse when she was startled out of her thoughts by a voice.
"Hey! What are you doing out here!" a female safety agent yelled from across the field. "Everyone's supposed to be at the graduation ceremony."
"I... I did sports here... it was my favorite part of the Education Center... I just wanted to see it one last time..." Clementine lied, looking around anxiously, hoping Violet wouldn't run up just now.
"Fine, you've seen it, get to the auditorium, now!" the safety agent yelled.
"Yes ma'am." Clementine said, the safety agent kept her eyes on Clementine until she started making her way back across the field, her feet felt heavy and her mouth was dry. She felt like her head was in a haze. Her body was on autopilot as she took her spot on stage with the rest of the final year students. The rest of the final year students minus Violet. She was missing from the ranks and Clementine's gut told her that wasn't a good thing. Speeches were given but Clementine didn't hear anything that was said. Duffel bags full of the grey school uniforms were collected as the graduation ceremony came to an end. The audience was full, every student at the Education Centers were required to attend.
The graduates were then told to stand in a single file line at the front of the stage. Girls on one side and boys on the other. As Clementine stood in a daze, blankly looking out at the crowd of students sitting in the audience, she caught a glint of blonde in her peripheral. Her head jerked in that direction, eyes landing on the most beautiful sight as Violet stepped onto the stage, joining the lineup.
Clementine made no show of hiding her stare, just grateful that Violet was alive, but Violet wasn't looking back. If anything she was actively avoiding her gaze. Clementine glanced her over worriedly, there was about five other girls between the two of them in the lineup. She could see Violet holding a bandaged hand against her chest. There were red blotches on the bandage that made Clementine's heart ache. What had they done to her? She fought the urge to run over to Violet right then and there. Knowing that would only put Violet in more danger.
New duffel bags were dropped in front of each of them. Everyone was instructed to remove the grey button up they were wearing, leaving everyone onstage in their white undershirts. They were then told to open their new duffel bag and put on their new color. The color would reveal who their prearranged partner would be. Clementine smiled to herself as she opened her bag and pulled out a purple blouse. As she buttoned up her new shirt she glanced over at Violet, who was struggling to button her blouse with her bandaged hand.
Every sensible part of her being was screaming at her to stay put, to not take the risk, but Clementine never considered herself entirely sensible. She stepped out of the lineup and helped Violet button up her orange shirt, "Seems like fate to me... you got orange and I got violet..." Clementine whispered.
"Too bad that's not how life works." Violet whispered back, avoiding eye contact.
"Back in line!" a safety agent yelled, Clementine glared at them.
"When I'm finished." She said sternly, finishing her work with the buttons. Thoroughly enjoying her proximity to Violet, before getting back in line. She kept her eye angrily trained on the agent. The male graduates were moved in front of their female partners. A boy named Louis stood in front of Clementine wearing a matching purple shirt. He smiled shyly at her but all she could manage was a sad smile back.
Louis was a nice guy. They had worked on projects together at school. He had a joviality about him that was rare to find and he occasionally managed to make her smile. Sometimes they sat together in the cafeteria, though it was never safe to sit next to the same person everyday. The teachers didn't like when the students got too familiar with one another. Clementine glanced over at Violet, seeing that she was paired with a tall boy with a haircut so bad she couldn't believe the Delta allowed it. Marlon was his name, Clementine could tell from her encounters with him that he had a terrible temper.
Clementine's hands became sweaty, she wiped them nervously on her grey skirt. The prospect of a life with Louis wasn't the worst thing she could imagine, but she couldn't allow Violet to be trapped with Marlon. Clementine took a shuddery breath as they were marched off the stage to the resounding applause of the crowd. They could still get out of this, she'd meet up with Violet, they could still run away, somehow. A safety agent led the group off stage and out of sight, everyone stood together as couples, unsure of where to go from here. A safety agent stepped up to Clementine. The butt of a rifle was shoved hard into her stomach, she doubled over clutching her middle as the agent grabbed her by the back of the neck, forcing her up straight as another agent bound her hands behind her back.
"For your crimes against the Delta, you have been sentenced to death."
"C-crimes..? D-death..?" Clementine stuttered. What happened to loss of rations? To public whippings? Were Clementine's crimes of sneaking around with Violet really so great to warrant death? And how had they found out? They were so careful. Louis stood next to her, a worried look on his face.
Violet looked at Clementine, guilt shown in her green eyes, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." tears were now streaming down Violet's cheeks. Clementine looked at her, harsh reality washing over her like ice water.
"You... you turned me in?" Clementine asked, wanting it to not be true, waiting for Violet to deny it, but she didn't.
"I'm sorry," Violet said again between sobs that racked her entire body, Clementine shook with confusion, eyes not leaving the blonde as she attempted to explain, "They started watching me closely after I yelled out at the Reproduction Seminar, they have incriminating tapes... and audio... they needed to make an example of someone to keep the new generation in line... They offered me a deal."
"So everything... everything was a lie?" Clementine cried out, tears now glistening in her eyes. Worse than being betrayed was the idea that there had been nothing to begin with. A one sided love affair that she had risked so much for. There was a pain in her chest that she could have never imagined.
The rest of the final year students stood around nervously watching, confused at what was going on, too afraid to speak or even move. Violet stepped closer to the brunette, "No, not everything... At first I just needed to set someone up to take the fall instead of me. They told me that if I could provide evidence of rebellion from someone else, they would let me go. I noticed you watching me. I thought it would be easy... Easy to manipulate you, to incriminate you... but I was wrong. I fell in love, I didn't mean to, but I did."
"Lies!" Clementine yelled. She was happy before Violet complicated things. Life wasn't perfect, but it was fine. Sure Clementine had stared at her in class, in the halls, the cafeteria, but she never would have pursued anything if Violet hadn't initiated it.
"It's true!" Violet shouted back, needing Clementine to believe her, "I wanted us to run away, I wanted to be with you but they caught me on my way out to the field..." Violet started unraveling her bandage, "I told them I refused to help them anymore, that I wanted out of the deal. That they could take me for their example instead." Her unbandaged hand revealed a bloody mess and a missing finger. Clementine recoiled as Violet held it in her face. "They cut off my finger, told me it was too late and this is what I get for trying to run out on them. I'm sorry." Violet reached up with her good hand and caressed Clementine's face, both girls in teary shambles. "You have to believe me, I'm so sorry, I love you."
Clementine took a quivering breath, "It's okay... I forgive you." And she did. She was still hurt, but she didn't blame Violet, she blamed the Delta. "Violet, I lo-"
"That's enough!" the safety agent growled, dragging Clementine roughly by the neck out of the room. When Violet moved to follow, two other agents stepped in front of her, guns held out menacingly they herded the group onto a bus and to their new homes. Violet sat by Marlon, guilt and hatred overwhelming her. Determined to think of a way to get Clementine out of the mess she placed her in. Louis sat alone, his soft heart crying for the girl he had known since birth but barely knew. Crying on the inside, but he knew better than to appear upset on the outside. Showing sympathy for a known rebel could earn him the same fate. A safety agent promised that Louis would be delivered a new partner in due time, but that did nothing to quail his sadness.
The next day at dawn all students and citizens of the Delta were summoned to meet in the public square. Where a platform and post had been erected over night. Violet arrived with Marlon, not wanting to see what she knew was about to happen but wanting to be there for Clementine at the same time. Everyone seemed to be confused about what was going on. Everyone except the group that had witnessed Clementine's arrest the previous night. There had been no public executions since the Delta took over. Things must be worse than Violet knew. They must be desperately losing control of their citizens in order to do something so brash to try and regain it.
Clementine was marched out, surrounded by safety agents, her head was held high but Violet could tell that she was shaking uncontrollably even from where she stood. Clementine was still wearing her purple shirt as she was moved into position on the platform, a noose draped over her neck. Violet called out in vain, but the girl was too far away.
Violet began frantically pushing through the crowds of people, Marlon yelling after her. A safety agent on the platform was calling for the crowds attention, everyone silenced, curious to know what the quivering girl was doing on stage. Most citizens too young to have ever heard about public hangings. Violet pushed on. A list of rebellious offenses was read off to the gathering, a warning to all in attendance that rebellious deeds against the Delta would not be overlooked or forgiven.
The safety agent finished his list just as Violet reached the front, she yelled out in urgency. Clementine's eyes darted around the crowd as she heard Violet's voice. Tears cascaded down her face when amber eyes met sea green. Violet cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed, "I love you Clementine!" Helpless to do anymore.
Clementine focused on Violet with all her strength. Ignoring the now booing and jeering crowd. Ignoring the creaks of the lever as it was being pulled. Ignoring the pounding of her heart that would soon beat no more. She took what would be her final breath and shouted, "And I love you Violet!" the lever clicked into place, the platform beneath her feet fell, a small look of surprise crossed her features as she dropped through the now empty space. The rope went taut and with an almost imperceptible snap, her eyes clouded over and she was gone. Violet's breath caught in her chest as she stared at the lifeless swaying body that had been Clementine, that had been her love, and her eyes burned with rebellion.
A/N: I know, I'm sorry, but I think I've proven my angsty self at this point. I'm ready to move on to happier things :)
Also, this is part of an "end of the world challenge" I did with a few other authors. Check over at violetssidebitch in the book called "The Midnight Club" The end of the world fics start on chapter "the world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it."