Disclaimer: I do not own ASOUE or any of the characters there included.

ASOUE: "One Day My Prints Will Come"

Violet stood looking at the door to the elevators, and all of a sudden it came flooding back to her. Memories of when she was happy… when everything was okay. Back before all the craziness… when her parents were alive…

-- Flashback

"So, Violet. You never answered me. What do you want for your birthday?" asked the boy sitting next to her at lunch. He had fair hair, and dark green eyes that sparkled when he was talking about, or doing something he was very passionate about.

"What?" she asked, shaking her head back and forth. Violet Baudelaire tended to be very dreamy, and it was hard to get her to concentrate sometimes.

"Your birthday," he said a bit louder, "what do you want?"

"Oh, my birthday, right." She said with a nod of her head, and then thought for a moment. "I don't know, Ben. You surprise me." She said with a smile.

"Violet… you know I'm no good at surprises."

"Yeah," she said with a laugh, "but I like to see you try."

"Thanks," he muttered, "I'm glad to see that you think I'm such good entertainment. Okay, I'll surprise you, but if you get something completely bizarre… don't blame me." He smiled.

"Don't worry. I won't." She laughed.

--

Days passed and Violet gradually forgot about Ben and his surprise. She wasn't too concerned, anyways. Ben was a smart kid, and knew Violet well. He probably wouldn't get her something that she hated, and most likely he would get her something better than she could have even imagined.

--

Before she knew it, it was the day of her birthday.

"Happy birthday!" called Ben as she entered the hallway, and Violet blushed. She didn't like to be made the center of attention.

"Thanks. And by the way I've been meaning to ask you, are you coming to my birthday party?" She said.

"Wouldn't miss it." He said, and smiled. "I'll have your surprise present there." He told her.

"Looking forward to it. But right now I've got to get to English. Bye, Ben!"

"See ya later!" he called.

She turned and sprinted down the hallway.

--

That night Violet had a birthday party that she would never forget. There was her family, and a couple of her friends. Ben arrived with a very flat package under his arm. He handed it to her.

"Should I open it now?" she asked.

"Naw, you can wait till later." He told her.

"Okay. I'm looking forward to the surprise present." She smiled at him.

"It took me a while to find it, but I think that you'll like it." He told her.

"I'm sure I'll love it." She said and then invited him to come into the dining room where they were all congregating for dinner. (How weird is that, I mean, why would you dine in a dining room?)

The dinner was a small feast. Sunny (who was only about six months old at that time) spit up all of the oatmeal she was eating. Even at that age she wasn't keen on soft foods. But it didn't taint the warmth and fun that they were having at the table. Ben and her other friends acted like they were part of the family. There were no nerves present tonight.

Violet was wondering what Ben's gift was. She had forgotten about it for a while, but when he had mentioned it again, it had made her unable to stop thinking about it.

And soon she didn't need to wonder anymore.

It was time to open the gifts.

She got through all the rest of the gifts until there was only one gift left. They were all very nice gifts, but somehow Violet couldn't help but feel a little bit dismissive of them. She was too busy thinking about what Ben had gotten her.

And then at last… she was able to tear the wrapping away from the package.

"Oh, Ben! This is one of the best birthday presents I've ever gotten!"

In the package lay the blueprints for an elevator.

If any person but Violet had gotten this present they would have felt terribly disappointed, and probably cried on their candles, causing them to go out that way instead of blowing on them. But Violet Baudelaire was not normal. She was an inventor. And inventors are a completely different species then the rest of us humans. Some are a bit crazy, and others seem to have lost that muscle we call a cranium. But for the most part… they're just smarter than the average person. And Violet certainly was… smarter that is. Not crazy.

"I thought you'd like it." He smiled.

"Thanks." She said, and gave him a quick hug. His face flushed slightly, but no one noticed.

The party went on into the late hours of the night, until her parents bowed out, and went to bed, taking Sunny upstairs with them. Klaus' eyes began to glaze over behind his glasses till Violet suggested that he too go to bed. He gratefully nodded his head, and left without a word. After that most of her friends left.

Ben was the last to go. His brother had come to pick him up.

Violet walked him out to his car, and as he was about to step inside he seemed to reconsider, and turned around.

"The blueprints weren't the only gift I got for you."

"The blueprints are gr-" she started to say, but suddenly his lips met hers. She almost staggered backwards, but tried to calm herself. After she relaxed it wasn't so bad.

It didn't last long though.

"Gotta go." He stammered, and ran towards her car.

"Bye…" she said in a small voice, slightly out of breath. She watched him as he got in the car. He didn't look at her, but she saw his face turn slightly red. She wondered if hers was doing the same.

As the car turned the corner, she didn't do, or say anything but simply stared. He stared at her too. And silently she turned and walked inside.

Klaus was sitting in the living room reading.

"So… good birthday?" he asked.

"What are you doing up?" she asked. He had gone to bed over two hours ago.

"I guess I wasn't as tired as I thought." He said with a grin.

"Right…"

"So was it a good birthday?" he asked again.

"Great. I'm so glad that Ben came. I'm so glad my prince came." She said, and then realized just what she'd said. She blushed.

"Your prince?" Klaus asked, in a slightly amused tone of voice.

"Prints." She stammered. "P-R-I-N-T-S. Elevator prints."

"Right…" he said, and looked down at the book in his hands, trying to hold back a laugh.

Hope you liked it! I had fun writing it! I was going to end it before she walked in and saw Klaus and then I thought it was a little too solemn for two thirteen year old kids, so I added the little bit of humor at the end. I actually got it from a lame joke that my dad told me that has Cinderella going into a Photoshop and saying do you have my pictures, like three times in a row, and then the fourth time when the guy says that he doesn't have them she sings "one day my prints will come!" Way lame, I know.

This whole thing is based LOOSELY on page 124 of the Ersatz Elevator. I'm just obsessed and I take the littlest things TOO far. So sue me. 

This is a one-shot by the way. Since whenever I write longer ones I never finish them, and then all you wonderful folks try to rip my head off. And I'd rather not be headless.

The world is quiet here,

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