The next evening, Violet waited impatiently between a crowd of people in front of the Eden Palace, the movie theatre. The sun had not quite set yet, so the sky shone in variations of warm red and gold tones. In sharp contrast to the sky the almost sterile, colorless lights of skyscrapers illuminated the streets.
It was quite chilly already at this time of the year, and Violet shivered while she waited. She had an appointment with Wilbur ... and with Liz. But so far none of them was had shown up.
This morning, after their sleepover, Liz had begged Violet to call Wilbur after breakfast. Violet hadn't slept very well, she was exhausted and therefore had no power to say something against it. She couldn't manage to make up a reliable excuse, so she had called and had asked him wether he wanted to come to the cinema – in return for the previous evening. She didn't mentioned Liz with a single word. She had fervently hoped that he would refuse, but he had agreed. Liz had been sitting next to her with a bright red face and had almost died from excitement.
Vi yawned, exhausted. She didn't know why she had done that. But Liz had begged her so heart-rendingly that she had finally called Wilbur. In retrospect,Vi regreted that. It wasn' her problem after all! What had she to do with all this? If Liz hadn't told her that she was in love with Wilbur, the world would still be all normal and perfect. But no...
Vi felt queasy the whole day already. All day she was worried sick because of this delicate situation, so that she hadn't been able to eat something. Well, now the result was that she felt sick and totally exhausted. She fervently hoped, no, prayed that everything was over quickly. Hopefully Liz would lose her courage to talk to Wilbur.
Violet shifted her weight uneasily from one foot to another; her thoughts raced, but without leading somewhere. An inner restlessness fulfilled her. And the others weren't even here yet! What was she supposed to do when the two showed up? What should she do, what should she say?
And as if this aweful nervousness wouldn't be enough, she also suffered from this stressing emotional roller coaster. What was so bad about it when her two best friends became a couple? Would that really be so terrible? Maybe it would turn out as a really cool thing in the end. Why not?
On the other hand, she was skeptical about the idea that the two could become a couple. Violet tried to convince herself that it was because then Liz and Wil would only hang out together and had no longer time for her. But it wasn't just the feeling of beeing the odd one out, but the bare idea Wilbur could have a girlfriend – and Liz of all people! This was causing her sheer dread.
Vi took a deep breath, trying to calm down. But it didn't work, on the contrary, her nervousness only increased. She restlessly began to play with a strand of her hair and looked around impatiently for Liz and Wilbur. Then she had a horrible thought: What if Liz and Wil immedieately fell for each other? If they just looked at each other and instantly fell in love undyinglyl? Then Vi would have absolutely no chance to do something about it! Her heart made a painful jump at this thought.
Did she have the right to prevent that? Of course not ... if both wanted each other to be happy, who was she, that she intervened? The thought that Wil and Liz were a happy couple, made her so sad that she got a lump in her throat. Well, maybe she would just have to get used to the idea.
What an evening... She had quarreled with her best friend and her other best friend had suddenly became her competitor.
She closed her eyes, turned away from the crowd to a wall and put her hands on her pulsative, aching temples. She was tired, she felt queasy and had a headache, after all, she had barely slept and spent all Saturday laying in her bed, staring at the ceiling and worrying.
When she turned around, she suddenly discovered Wilbur in the crowd, and she tried her best not to dissemble her miserable mood and her nervousness. She smiled (or at least tried to) and waved over to him. Still, he seemed to sense that something was wrong when he came towards her.
"Hey, are you okay?" Wilbur asked anxiously. Violet didn't know how she should respond, but before she even had a chance to say something Wilbur spoke.
"Don't tell me you're still mad at me!" he asked dumbfounded and a little annoyed.
"I'm no longer angry..." Violet said weakly and rubbed her tired eyes.
"Okay," Wilbur said contentedly, "And what is it then?"
"Well, uhm ..." Violet began uncertainly. What should she say? 'Liz has a crush on you and somehow I have something against it'... And then he would ask, 'Why?' and then she would have to tell him, that... that she liked him more than ... she couldn't even finish this thought without blushing. She avoided his gaze and looked desperately for an half-way convinsing excuse.
"Uh ..."
"Yes ...?" Wilbur asked impatiently. Violet took a hissing breath, then she blurted out.
"Liz dumped Pete!" she squeezed, her eyes shut. It was the first thing that occurred to her.
"What?!" Wilbur exclaimed, horrified and so loud that some people turned around to them. Violet breathed a sigh of relief. He was now convinced that this was the reason for her strange behavior. So, the rest of the evening she was safe from questions like "What's wrong with you?"
"Why?" Wilbur added a little quieter, but still upset.
"Oh, no idea ..." Vi said, but then remembered that she actually knew it quite well, after all, Liz had told her everything yesterday, "She just doesn't love him... And besides that..." Vi bit her tongue. She was just about to portray Liz in a rather bad light. But if she did, it would decrease the chances that Wilbur would develop some interest in Liz!
"She's in love with another boy ..." Vi added sheepishly. And immediately she felt how the bad conscience tormented her. What kind of friend was she? Violet wasn't even sure if she had serious feelings for Wilbur, yet she tried to prevent that Liz had a chance with him...
"I can't believe it! She leaves Pete for somebody else?! That's so – that's so lousy! She always seemed so sweet and shy -?! I never thought she was able to do something like that!" Wilbur went back and forth in front of the cinema, gesturing wildly with his hands.
"It all makes sense now! That's why he didn't feel well yesterday, and why he didn't want to talk to me on the phone. I bet the poor guy is devastated -.." He paused and looked at Violet out of the corner of his eye, then he suddenly jerked around, grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her.
"You knew it, and you rather want to go to the movies with me, instead of supporting our friend through this painful time? We could have asked him if he wants to join us at least!" he cried dramatically.
"There i-i-is s-s-something e-e-else" Violet stammered because he still shook her all melodramaticly, "Liz c-c-comes too at any m-m-moment."
Suddenly Wilbur stopped shaking her and looked at her angrily.
"Not seriously... We go to the movies with Liz, while Pete sits in his basement and cries his eyes out because of her?!"
"Yepp, Pete totally wants us to be with him right now, holding his hand and watching him cry!" Vi replied sarcastically, "He's a boy, he needs to overcome this on his own."
"Vi, since when are you so sexist?" Wilbur said and tore his black hair, "And we could still show some solidarity! Why do we have to hang out with his ex-girlfriend just one day after she dumped him?!" he complained, "When Liz doesn't want to have anything to do with Pete, then I don't want to have something to do with her - I'm leaving!" he ended determined, turned around and was about to stomp away.
Quick as a flash, even before Violet knew what she was doing, she reached out and grabbed his arm. She wanted to stop him, though she didn't exactly know why. Finally it would totally suit her when he was mad at Liz, so they would never get a chance to become a couple. But she had a guilty conscience, which left her no choice.
"Now don't exaggerate!" She said sternly, then her voice was pleading, "Please, Wilbur, she has a difficult time at the moment..."
"Whose side are you on?" Wilbur asked, disappointed.
"Oh come on! This is not a fight or something! That's why you shouldn't get all so exaggeratedly upset. Give her a chance to explain, please!"
Before they had found a solution, Liz came towards them through the crowd suddenly. Vi didn't even notice it at first, only from Wilbur's scowl she saw that someone was approaching from the side.
Exceptionally, Liz wore her wild, curly blonde hair lose, and she was wearing a white coat, which reached down to her knees.
Vi greeted her breathlessly, maybe a little overly friendly. Wilbur, however, looked all grimly, and said nothing.
"Oh, let me guess ..." Liz began cynically, "You've already heard the news ..." Liz asked Wilbur. It was less a question than a statement. Vi bit her lip. Liz wasn't even here for five seconds and she already acted as confident, as she never did before when Wilbur had been around! All you could except usually was a shy "Hi" – if she said anything at all.
"Yeah, totally great news," Wilbur said gloomily, crossing his arms.
Vi slapped her face. She couldn't believe how offended he was. After all, Liz had dumped Pete and not him! And orther people's relationships were so none of your business!
Then she stopped short suddenly... the same should count for her, right?
"Okay, the movie begins in ten minutes," Liz said with a sober look at her watch, "Perhaps I can clarify a few things until then."
Wilbur wanted to leave. That was treason! What should Pete think when he found out that Vi and him were hanging out with Liz just one day after she had broken his heart? He was still standing there with crossed arms and didn't move until Vi gave him an imperceptible nudge with her elbow. Actually he wanted to protest, but then he thought about how the situation must be for Violet. He had nothing to do with Liz and he didn't really care about her, but Vi was good friends with her, she couldn't just decide for one side - she was caught between two stools. Wilbur took a deep breath and then accompanied the girls into the cinema, only to do Violet a favor. He made a mental note to be as nice as possible to Liz, to make the situation easier for Violet. Still, he felt somewhat guilty because of Pete.
As they were entering the cinema, Liz pushed Violet aside with a smile to walk beside Wilbur. Violet found that incredibly childish and gritted her teeth annoyed. Then she moved to the other side so that Wilbur went in the middle between the two girls.
When they arrived at their seats, Wilbur sat in the middle - he had no idea how it happened, and he felt a little uncomfortable to sit right next to Liz and talk to her. After all, he had no idea how to get her to speak, because she never said anything.
But today Liz was quite talkative, she spoke without fear, and explained the situation with Pete. And Wilbur had to admit that Vi was right. Liz's reasons were quite plausible and reasonable, but that didn't make it less painful for Pete.
"That's all well and good, but what about this other boy...?" Wilbur asked, after Liz had ended. Vi swallowed, and had to resist the urge to make herself invisible. She pressed herself back in her seat and slid down, as if she could hide.
Liz leaned forward and gave Vi a grim, yet amused look.
"Ah, so that's how you keep my secrets!" she said reproachfully, yet with a bitter amusement. Vi felt how her face turned hot. Her mouth was completely dry, she had no idea what to say.
"Who is it anyway, if I may ask? Do I know him?" Wilbur asked curiously, turning to Liz. Liz swallowed and looked over to Vi. Vi was paralyzed. At the same moment Wilbur whirled around.
"You know it, right? Who is it? Do I know him?" he asked Violet instead. Vi groaned inwardly. Apparently Wilbur planned to figure out what was going on here. Great...
Vi looked at Liz, looking for a sign, that told her what her blonde friend was up to do now. Vi felt as if she had been thrown into icy water. Oh God, what if it happened now?! If it came out now? When Liz now told him that she had a crush on Wilbur for years already! Liz would simply say "I love you, Wilbur, so much! But I was too scared to tell you" and Wilbur would say "Oh, really, that's nice, I like you too" and then Liz would say "Cool, let's smooch!"and then they would kiss - Okay, maybe Violet's fantasy ran riot there, but something like this could probably happen! She fervently wished anything to happen, something that would save her from this unbearable situation! An earthquake that would bring down the Cinema for example! She hated her life at this moment, she wanted to be somewhere else. Just a few minutes ago Wil was about to hate Liz, but Vi just had to convince him to join them! And now her two friends came along so well! They hadn't talked that much with each other within the last two years. Vi had to do something!
"The movie begins!" Vi suddenly heard her own voice saying, before Liz could answer.
"Bad red-herring" Wilbur replied with a grin.
"Sorry... I thought, uhm, I thought the curtain had moved ..." Violet said meekly, and sank back into her seat. What should she do now?
"Oh, girls and their secretiveness!" she heard Wilbur saying, after none of the girls wanted to tell him who the mysterious boy was. He folded his arms, pretending to be offended.
"It's not important who it is ..." Liz started, "Pete feels bad and it's my fault... I'll call him tomorrow and apologize. Hopefully we can work this out in a peaceful manner."
"Good thing," Wilbur agreed. Thus the topic of the mysterious crush was off the stove for now. Violet dared to breath a sigh of relief, but the evening wasn't over yet... Something could still happen.
"I feel so sorry that it escalated in the end... but ... well, you know him" Liz explained to justify herself.
"Pete's a pretty stubborn guy." Wilbur said with a smile, "but that can be overlooked."
"Overlook?" Liz replied, surprised, "You've never had a relationship with him, dear, there's a few things that you can't overlook!" she joked with a grimace, then she giggled.
"I don't want to know any details, please!" Wilbbur laughed.
"Hmm, I could invite him to the tournament." Liz pondered after a pause, placing a finger to her chin, then she bent over to Wilbur, "You wanna come too?"
"What tournament?" he asked in surprise.
"Well, I do gymnastics."
"Right, Vi told me about it."
"So, what about it?" Liz asked hopefully.
"Sure! I've always wanted to see, how these... gymnastatics do... gymnastics... No seriously, i have no idea. What are you doing there anyway? Is it like those performers from the circus?" he asked.
"No, it's quite different, i guess" Liz giggled.
"You sure? No juggling? No rope dances?" he asked disappointed.
"No - " Liz began, but Wilbur interrupted.
"No trapeze? No Lions? No burning motorcicles?"
"No!" she contradicted, but Wilbur didn't stop.
"No magicians? Not even clowns?" he said, all over dramatically.
"You really can be annoying!" Liz responded with a wry smile.
"Me? Never! Vi can confirm that, right? I never annoy anyone!" he said, slightly exaggerating, hoping that Violet would jump in to contradict him. He wanted to include her into the conversation because for some reason she was peculiarly quiet today. But Violet just stared gloomily into the void. Was she listening to them at all?
"Like yesterday?" Liz asked with a knowing smile.
"Wooow, wait a sec!" Wilbur exclaimed, waving his hands, "Yesterday I was the annoyed one! Because lil' Violet happens to be hopelessly old-fashioned!" he protested vigorously.
"Yepp, I already noticed that," Liz announced with a grin.
"You should've seen her when she used a transport tube for the first time!" he laughed and puffed Violet slightly with his elbow.
"You should have seen her face, when she was in one of the flying bubbles!" Liz said and bursted out laughing.
Vi had to pull herself together, to not start groaning in annoyance. Suddenly she was in an extremely bad mood. Great, now the two started mocking her. And why did they come along so well anyway? Why was Liz so outgoing and talkative? Violet couldn't stand it anymore, she had to get out to get some fresh air and to calm down.
She stood up abruptly.
"I'll go get something to drink. You want something?" she asked, without looking at them. She tried to hide her bad mood, but was only able to speak with a completely monotone voice.
"No need to be offended..." Liz said, caringly. After all, she and Wilbur were just kidding.
"I'm not offended, I just slept bad, I'm tired as hell... and now I'm thirsty." Violet said, trying to keep a somewhat normal tone. Wilbur grinned and leaned over to Liz.
"Does she always become so crotchety when she's tired?" he whispered to Liz, but so loud that Violet could easily hear it. Violet looked from the corner of her eye and stirred over the fact that he came so close to Liz.
"Always!" Liz agreed with a pseudo-whisper too.
"Do you want something now?!" Violet asked more forcefully, and you could hear clearly that she was pretty annoyed.
The two disagreed. Vi then left the room almost rushed. Outside, she first took a deep breath and then she got herself a Coke to get awake again. Only when she was outside, she thought that it probably was a bad idea to let the two alone. She started to panic a little and rushed back to return to the cinema.
"Will your parents be there too? I mean, at this turnament" Wilbur asked the blonde girl beside him.
"Yo, my mom .." Liz said casually. First, she wondered about this question, but then she knew. Obviously Violet had told him about her private... situation. This girl couldn't keep sonething for herself!
Liz leaned back and gave Wilbur a weary look.
"Do your parents impose a lot of pressure on you too?" She asked bitterly, after a pause. Against her expectations, Wilbur started laughing.
"They better sould! It couldn't hurt me," he replied, with a grin. Liz looked into his eyes and had to smile inevitably. She had to suppress a dreamy sigh. He was so cute, she couldn't believe her bliss, sitting right next to him and even talking to him. At that moment, everything was perfect. Nothing could go wrong today.
They were interrupted when the lights went out in the hall and the holographic movie started. Wilbur was a little impatient because Vi wasn't back yet. Also Liz turned around to look for her. Shortly after Vi came back, stumbling her way through the other people. Violet was reliefed because for now the conversation was interrupted at least, so she didn't have to listen to their talk any longer. Then, however, she had a horrible thought: the two didn't necessarily needed to "talk"! Vi found herself peeping over to them, to make sure that Wilbur didn't put his arm around Liz' shoulders...
"Vi, you're getting paranoid ..." she thought in frustration. She hadn't slept well, and probably she was totally getting caught up with this. She had to calm down, after all nothing had happened until now.
And even if something happened between them - what could she do about it? She was completely powerless!
Violet wasn't able to follow the movie, she only saw blurred shapes and colors that swirled around the room. She was too distracted by the pictures in her mind's eye. She incessantly imagined some absurd horror scenarios about how it would be, when Wilbur and Liz were a couple. Vi felt, how the pressure on her chest was getting bigger, as if a heavy burden lay on it. She would have to get used to this feeling...
She startled from her bitter thoughts, when she felt a vibration around der left wrist. Relief and horror streamed through her simultaneously. She was glad that she was able to get out of here! On the other hand, she wasn't too keen in another encounter with Cobra. He was the only villain they had to fight. There were other criminals in this time, but those were nothing superheroes would have to take care of, like imposters or tax dodgers.
Out of the corner of her eye Violet looked over to Liz, who was staring at the holo-projections. Then Wilbur turned to Vi and returned her gaze. He also had one of the team watches, equipped with a transmitter and a communicator. She looked into his brown eyes, which now appeared almost black in the darkness of the hall. Vi could totally understand Liz' feelings and she wondered why she hadn't fallen for him immediately herself. For a moment she was lost in the features of his attractive face, which was illuminated from one side only by the holographs - after a few seconds though, she wondered why he was looking at her so impatiently. With a nod and a shooing movement of his hand, Wilbur showed her to leave the room. Vi had been so lost in thought that she completely forgot the emergency call - until her bracelet vibrated for a second time. Startled, she got up and stumbled once more over the other moviegoers, clumsily stepping on some feet, earning some angry comments. She apologized and hurriedly left the room.
For Wilbur it wasn't so easy to disappear unnoticed, after all, Liz was sitting right next to him. He couldn't get up and leave without her noticing it. He needed a good excuse, otherwise she might follow them, and that would only make things more complicated. Why did Cobra always have such a damn bad timing? Then, however, Wilbur had a spontaneous idea. Hopefully it worked. He turned to Liz and nudged her gently. Surprised, she turned to him and looked at him with her big blue eyes.
"I'll go and look for Violet" he whispered into her ear. Liz pulled her head back in surprise and looked puzzled at Violet's empty seat.
"Where is she?" She asked, confused.
"I don't know, she's been away for a while." Wilbur explained, although Vi had left only a minute ago, "I'll take a look where she stays so long. You stay here and tell me everything that I missed" he continued with a charming smile.
"Okay," Liz said with a wide grin, and maybe a little too loud. Immediately, someone in the row behind them complained with an angry "Shh!"
"I'll be right back!" Wilbur whispered and left the hall, moving not as clumsy as Violet, but the people were still impatient and annoyed because they were disturbed again.
Outside the cinema Wilbur was bewildered with a spectacular, yet very, very unusual sight. There was a crowd in front of the building - well, that wasn't uncommon, but the numerous police cars and the helicopters, that circled around the block, were more than unusual. The light cones of searchlights wandered over streets and buildings, countless onlookers were on the road, to see what the whole fuss was about. In between Wilbur discovered outside broadcast vehicles and journalists with cameras and microphones. There wasn't only the tremendous noise of thousands of voices but also the annoying sound of countless sirens. How should he find Violet in this chaos?
