~37 years ago~
"Moron," I huff, picking up a decoration that a tipsy dork knocks over. Lucy better appreciate all the effort I'm putting in to make her party nice. My stepmother bustles past me, brunette hair tied back tightly and a denim jacket pulled over her shirt. She pauses and looks back at me.
"Violet, dear, go get a coat on. You'll freeze."
"Nah, I'll be alright," I brush her off, wincing when one of my knobby knees hits a lawn chair. I hate having awkwardly long legs. "Do you know where Lucy is?"
"Honey, she's probably in the back with her friends. That is where the party is being held, you know. Not much is happening in the driveway."
"I was just making sure no one was taking Dad's parking spot," I shrug. "Besides, people keep knocking her stupid signs over and she's gonna throw a tantrum if they're not fixed."
"Violet," Mae rolls her eyes, voice firm.
"What? You know it's true."
"Your father will be fine. Go out back and help your sister."
"But Mae, she doesn't want my help," I whine.
"Violet, you're twenty years old. Act like it," she replies, though there's a slight smile on her lips.
"Yes ma'am," I grumble, stomping around the side of the house and cringing at the thought of joining the crowd of people that wanders from place to place. Lucy's never been the shy kid in the back of class, and it doesn't help that she's pretty. She's the smart one with the looks and the friends. I'm the awkward one with zero social skills whatsoever—not to mention my clumsiness.
Peoples' voices flood my ears in a low hum mixed with the beat of quiet background music and laughter. Cups filled with a variety of drinks cover tables and pizza boxes, sandwiches, and veggie trays lay around as well. On a banner tied between two poles that my dad and I set up is painted "Congrats Grad" in navy blue. I spot Lucrecia easily and decide the best thing to do is trail around behind her. Maybe then I'll be ignored. Of course, my plan doesn't work with Ms. Perfect in town. A grin breaks out on Lucy's face and she grabs my arm, tugging me closer.
"Violet! Come here, I want you to meet some people." I yelp when I crash into her, blushing when some passerby mocks me with his friends. Fuck off. "Gabe just went somewhere to—"
"I'm here," a voice calls, slightly muffled. We turn to see our cousin walking toward us with a paper plate stacked high with slices of pizza. Half a piece is jammed in his mouth. I scoff.
"Gabriel, you're such a pig."
"Hey!" He swallows, nearly choking on his bite. "We all have our roles in this family, alright?" He points as he mentions each person. "You're the ditz. Lucy's the smarty pants. Aunt Mae is the control freak, Uncle Rick is the workaholic, and my dad's the drunk." I roll my eyes.
"Yeah, okay."
"Alright, so," Lucy says, changing the subject and redirecting my attention. "Raina, Freddy, Locke, Tina, and—"
"David." Another man joins the group of graduates, holding two cups. He hands one to Raina and one to Lucy before tucking his hands into the pockets of his brown leather jacket. His jeans are just as faded as the old coat and he stands far taller than everyone else over here. Hot damn.
"Thanks, Dave," Raina grins, nudging him with her elbow. David grins, pushing his sleeves up a bit higher before facing me.
"You're Lucrecia's sister?" I nod, cursing myself for the blush that slowly creeps across my face. He smiles. "Cool. You're lucky, you know. My big sister's not very nice."
"Yeah, Lucy's kinda, uh, cool. I guess." I nod, stumbling over my words. Lucrecia suppresses a laugh and her friends struggle to contain their snickers. Except for Freddy, who sticks out his hand eagerly, his red curls bouncing as he does so.
"I'm Frederick Lawson."
"Violet," I reply, trying not to cringe when I shake his disturbingly moist hand.
"You've got a nice set of phalanges," he mutters, holding up my hand and looking over my bony fingers. I stand there uncomfortably, looking to Lucy for help. She laughs and pulls me back.
"He's a little too into human anatomy," she explains. "But Freddy, now's not the time to be checking my sister out. I think Kathy just got here."
"I'm coming, my love!" Freddy cries, taking off to the front of the house. What... the hell.
"Hey, Violet, can you—" Lucy starts.
"Dessert in the kitchen!" Mae calls from the backdoor. I sigh as a crowd of college students tries to cram themselves into our house all at once. Lucrecia's friends drag her away, insisting that she load up on goodies because it is her party, after all. I huff, turning and nearly jumping out of my skin when I see David still standing there, pouring soda into his cup silently. Raising an eyebrow at me, he leans a shoulder against the brick wall of our house.
"Violet, huh?"
"Hm?" I flush scarlet red, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Oh, uh, yeah." He chuckles softly, taking a drink from his plastic cup and shaking his head. I panic. What did I do? "Yeah, I know, sometimes I forget it... Heh..." I shrug, feigning indifference. "It's kind of a weird name." He grins, and it's a smile that easily suits him.
"I like it. Pretty name for a pretty girl." Oh geeze... Is he a fuckboy? I laugh and look down at my shoes.
"Uh... Thanks, I guess. So, um, what did you study in school?"
"Nothing," he shakes his head. "Didn't go. I'm Raina's little brother, which means I'm kinda friends with your sister." He sighs, staring into his cup. "I want to be in SOLDIER, but everyone says I probably won't make it. I mean, it takes a lot to get in, and it's more of a little boy's daydream." Shrugging uncomfortably, he takes another drink and looks up at the sky.
"I don't think so," I frown. "You can do what you want, and fuck anyone who says otherwise. It doesn't matter what they think—prove 'em wrong and see who's talking then." He huffs out a laugh and looks back toward me.
"You're right. Thanks."
"Uh, yeah. Sure," I nod. "And sorry for the f-bomb, but y'know..."
"Nah, it's alright."
A steady flow of people begins to leave the kitchen through the backdoor of the house and David turns on his heels, tossing his cup into the trash and tucking his hands into his pockets. His head is ducked forward to hide his face as he heads toward the edge of the woods behind my home. Desperate to continue conversation, I hurry to follow.
"Hey, where are you going?" I ask, earning a smile.
"Getting away. This isn't exactly my scene." He pauses, glancing back at the fairy lights and shadowy tents of the graduation party. "Wanna join me?" Better not get attacked.
"Sure," I shrug. Laughing, David starts walking again. I take longer strides to keep up, stepping into the forest and following the long dirt path. Blue eyes look at me before turning to the starry sky.
"So, Violet, what're you planning to do?"
"I don't know, honestly," I sigh. "I mean, coming up behind Lucy, I kinda let everyone down. It's kind of silly that people want your whole future planned by eighteen, anyway. I'm indecisive and I'm not too good at any one thing. Of course, even now, it almost feels too late because I'm three steps behind everyone."
"Says who?" David asks, brows furrowed. "You're what, twenty? You've got your whole life ahead of you, no need to rush. But, I mean, I get what you're saying. Everyone wants a decision and they want it now. Half the time, I have no idea what the hell I really want."
"Yeah," I huff. "But I guess I'm pretty fast, strong. Good with a bow. They might be hiring Lucy at the new Shinra Mansion project, and I thought I might be able to tag along and protect the place, so they didn't have to pay for a bunch of extra staff. There's plenty of wildlife Midgar people don't know squat about; I've lived Nibelheim my whole life."
"Don't they have the Turks?"
"They have their paperwork and their babysitting to do," I scoff, giving a flippant wave of my hand. "I'll be doing them a favor."
"Smart girl," he chuckles.
"Hey, this is a high school dropout you're talking to," I tease.
"Yeah? What's it to me?" He elbows me playfully and I roll my eyes. Something about this guy's upbeat personality that draws me in and keeps me there. And no it's not also the fact that he's, well, gorgeous. His honesty, his smile, his welcoming attitude... What's wrong with me? I suddenly recognize the path we've taken and nod toward a new direction.
"Come on," I say, starting in that direction.
"Are we allowed down there?"
"Of course we are, you goody two shoes," I roll my eyes and cross my arms against the chill of the night air. "We own this land." I lead the way down the narrow road. We reach a short offshoot and approach a cross-shaped tombstone.
Ruka Smithstone, 1947-1966
Beloved daughter, student, and friend
"Who's this?" David asks, gingerly brushing a dead leaf off of the top of the tombstone.
"My best friend," I reply, kneeling and fishing in my pocket. "I meant to drop by earlier, but I got caught up in my decoration duties. You don't mind, do? You could always continue without me."
"It's alright," he reassures me. "I like meeting new people." I nod, sitting back on the heels of my boots and eyeing the stone. "Are you okay?" Maybe I shouldn't have taken a hot guy to a grave first thing...
"I couldn't save her."
"What do you mean?" he asks, kneeling beside me.
"She... had a really hard time with... mental stuff," I start, trying to figure out how to word this. "Always wrestling with her own mind, her own impulses. She turned to me for help and I tried to do as much as I could." I sigh, eyes narrowed as I think. "Ruka was one of the most cheerful people I'd ever met—I guess it just didn't add up in my head, but I still tried to understand. But... I'd had a really shitty day and when she tried to talk to me about her problems I basically told her to 'f' off and find another shrink."
"... Oof."
"Yeah." I look down at my palms, rubbing at a smudge of dirt with my thumb. "I didn't see her for a long time after that. Teachers asked me where she was and I just shrugged. Finally, one night, I came home from a night out with my friend and plugged my phone in because it was dead. When it turned on, it said I'd missed three calls from Ruka." I sigh, shaking my head and chewing my lip. "I... felt everything go cold and I knew this was it. I'd fucked up."
"You don't have to talk about it," David insists, his eyes as kind as they were when we first spoke.
"No, it's okay. I took Lucy's keys and drove out to her house as fast as I could. I almost broke down the door trying to get in... Found her in the bathroom upstairs with her grandfather's dagger..." I shake my head again, taking a deep breath. "She'd waited for me to call back. It was all so fresh... I'd missed her by an hour or two, tops. She was dead because I couldn't get my head out of my own ass long enough to see her pain." David sighs, resting a hand on my shoulder.
"It's... hard, I know. No one should have to carry that on their shoulders."
"I was angry at first," I say, starting up again. "Angry that she'd taken the easy way out and stolen herself away from me. Angry that she'd abandoned me when she knew I didn't have anyone else. But then I realized... I'd done just that to her. I had no right to be angry. It was selfish of her, but I was selfish first." I give a weak shrug. "So, here we are."
"I can't blame you for being mad," David says slowly, his direct eye contact making me uncomfortable. "I would be... and likely for the same reasons. You've thought about it a lot, though. At least you didn't just brush it off."
"Who the hell would?"
"Idiots, probably. See, I told you you're smart."
"But I'm not a nerd," I retort, laughing faintly. David smiles forcing me to keep eye contact by pinching my chin between his fingers. Shit.
"You could be. Just not one for school subjects."
"Weapon nerd," I scoff, rolling my eyes. He laughs, eyes flitting over my face. There's an awkward pause—and then David moves forward and I instinctively pull away, startled.
"Shit, sorry," he hisses, immediately retracting from my personal space. I shake my head.
"No, no, you're fine. Just... wasn't expecting that."
"No, I just met you," he huffs, scratching the back of his head. "I shouldn't start any commitments I can't keep, y'know. I'm the kind of person that gets stuck with the people I open up to, yeah? Doesn't matter how or why. Sorry; I made this weird." I throw my head back and laugh. It was at that moment David Harper earned my respect; I had to keep him. In order to do so, I couldn't let this moment pass.
"Then you'll just have to strike up a new commitment, then, won't you?" I tease, gripping the open edges of his jacket and pressing my lips to his. And fuck is commitment good.