AN: I finished Insurgent! I want Allegiant so bad!
Chapter 4: Violet
I wake up to my phone ringing the specific ringtone I have set for Johnny, and eagerly pick up.
Okay, I'm already needing to explain something here. I know that, from what you've heard so far, you think I'm madly in love with Roy, and that in this story I'm going to be that girl who doesn't do shit and is fawning all over a boy the whole time. Well, neither of those things are true. I'm not fully explaining the latter because I don't want to spoil the story, but I can explain the former. Basically, I do have a crush on Roy. That much is true. However, Johnny was my first friend and my best friend throughout all of elementary. Alex (Jordan), Johnny, and I only met Alex (Walker) and Roy in middle school, and my first crush was Johnny, in fifth grade when most of the girls were obsessed with that kind of thing. I figured Johnny would never go for me, he's the kind of guy who'd like a quiet outcast girl, or a girl who speaks her mind, so I tried to get over it, but you never really get over your first crush, you know? Anyways, yeah. Continuing.
"Johnny!" I yell excitedly, but cover it up by making it seem like a question. "Hey Silena." His voice comes from the small black device sitting on my dresser on speaker mode. I'm brushing my hair as I speak to him. "Heard from Roy?" I ask, blurting out the first thing that comes to mind. My hopes rise as I anticipate any and all news about our ginger friend, but there isn't any. "I was just about to ask you that." Johnny tells me sheepishly.
I take a deep breath. Hearing his voice makes me want to explode. I resolve, as I've done so many times before, to just ask him if he likes me. "Um, can I ask you something?" I ask, nervous energy coursing through me. "Anything." He tells me. I should ask him. I will ask him. But I like Roy. But I know that I also like Jonathan And I will sort this out. Just not now. So as always, I chicken out.
"Are Roy and-and Alex, um, together?" I ask, fumbling over the words, sure that Johnny can hear the self-disappointment in my voice. "Of course not! Have you seen the way Alex looks at Alex?" He asks a little too quickly. "Have you seen the way Roy looks at Alex?" I ask him, feeling for just a moment that I'm talking about dating gossip with one of my girlfriends.
He laughs. "So, he likes her. Get over it. I know he doesn't stand a chance with her, you know he doesn't stand a chance with her. Stop focusing on Alex, who doesn't like him, and start beating up the spirits of the 20 million girls at school who do like him." He tells me. I can detect a faint tone in his voice but can't associate what emotion it represents. Still, I feel dejected. I like two guys, and the one I like more is giving me dating advice for the other one. I hang up on Johnny, sure that he won't care.
I climb into my dad's car and wait for him to come and drive me. Normally I take the bus, but today my dad is going to a client's house and the school is on his way so he offered to drive me. I sit on my phone, when a text from Alexis appears on the little screen.
'Hey Silena. I'm about to get on the bus w/Roy.' I gasp, although Alex probably thinks I'm reacting in a much more extreme way. Even though Alex is my best friend, aside from Johnny, I haven't told her about my predicament, though she could probably give me good advice.
'Roy? Pls tell me tht wsnt autocorrect.' I type back quickly. 'Nope. Roy is here. Gtg. The bus is here. See u in a few.' Pops up after a few seconds. 'Bye.' I write back. My dad climbs into the car. "Ready to go?" I hope so. But to my dad I say, "Yep. Let's go."
As soon as I get out of my dad's car, Alex yells my name, and I hurry over to the pair of trees we always meet at. "Alex! Johnny! Any news?" I ask them, meaning the question for Alex as I already know that Johnny hasn't heard anything. "Quite a lot actually." I hear my best friend's voice from behind me.
I spin around. "Hey Alex! Alex said that you heard from-" "Roy!" I shriek, cutting Johnny off when I spot the tall red-head. Without thinking, I rush forward and hug him, almost falling by stepping weirdly on my stiletto heel. I hug Roy, but he barely seems to acknowledge my presence.
"Where've you been?" Johnny is the first one to speak after my awkward greeting. "Places." Roy mutters tightly. I suck in a breath. Judging from the hollow look in Roy's eyes and the way he's speaking, I can tell that this isn't going to end well. Apparently Johnny senses it too. "What happened? Are you okay?" Johnny asks him concern clear in his voice.
"Okay?" Roy asks, turning on the short curly-haired boy. "I am not okay. My mom was fucking shot. The bullet didn't hit her heart but it came pretty damn close. She's in the hospital and there's a good chance that she's not going to make it. My bastard of a father has the nerve to say that if she dies, he'll take me in. He's the one who fucking shot her in the first place! No, I'm not okay. And if she dies, nothing ever will be ever again." Roy's voice gets quieter and quieter as he talks, until he's practically whispering and tears have found their way into his eyes.
We all stand in awkward silence after Roy's outburst. I reach for his hand after awhile. "Roy, I-" "Save it." He snarls, tearing his hand out of mine. "No one can make me feel better right now." He tells us, and the bell rings just at that moment. "C'mon buddy. Let's get to class." Johnny told Roy. The three of us walked towards our homeroom.
As we're walking into the school, I grab Johnny's hand and squeeze it in support. He smiles slightly at me and grips my hand tightly, as if I'm giving him strength. "Hey Roy! Wanna hear a joke?"
I tiptoe after Johnny at the end of the day. He's been trying in vain all day to get Roy out of his stupor. He has a new plan now, and I have a feeling I'm not going to like it, since he refused to share details with me. He's talking to Alex behind a tree. He keeps gesturing to Roy, who's sitting on a bench that's pushed up against one of the outer walls of the school.
Alex walks over to Roy and sits down next to him. I am standing behind the closest tree that isn't Johnny's tree, so I can hear what's happening. "Hi Roy." Alex says shyly, which is odd, since they've known each other long before we've known them, and they have always been completely comfortable with each other. I guess that's why Roy likes her. "Hi." He says. It hurts a bit that his voice is much less pained when talking to her than to me or Johnny.
Hey! Just because I like Johnny more than I like Roy doesn't mean that I don't like Roy! Ugh,I sound so slutty.
"You do know that, whatever happens, we'd never let you end up with your dad, right?" Alex asks him. "What?" He sounds confused, almost like he just woke up. "We'd stash you in my attic among the dangerous weapons and the floating siblings. The authorities would never find you." Alex tells him. Roy almost laughs at her joke, and I wish it were me over there instead of Alex.
"Lexis, look. I know that Johnny put you up to coming over here and talking to me. Remind me to thank him later. I really, really like you, Alexis Walker." Roy tells her, going to take her hand, but pausing as if afraid to. "I'll just-" Alex cuts Roy off by pressing her mouth to his. I want to sob and cheer at the same time. If Alex and Roy start dating, I won't have to worry about liking Roy because I wouldn't stand a chance against Alex. But Alex and Alex are soul mates, and, again, I do still like Roy.
Alex pulls away from Roy and stares at him for a moment. Roy is grinning like crazy, like he just finished a marathon. Alex doesn't seem to notice, or maybe she does. Either way, she isn't very comfortable, and bolts from the scene. However, I notice a blonde head fleeing the scene as well. Roy's grin fades to nothing and he collapses back on the bench. Johnny steps out from behind his tree and approaches Roy.
"Dude, she just kissed you. You've had a crush on her for ages, that's epic." Johnny says. I wince. That is the exact opposite of what Johnny should have said. "She ran away." He says, sounding like he's a million miles away. He then gets up and walks away. I tear after him, and Johnny seems too preoccupied to notice my presence.
"Roy!" I call after him. He turns. "Hey Lena." He says, his voice sounding tired. "Were you in on that too? If you're wondering, I have noticed that you like me, and you should've protested his plan." Roy tells me. Even though he's still depressed, he seems much lighter. That's good.
"He didn't tell me his plan. I wasn't in on it. And honestly, my reaction wasn't as extreme as I'm sure Johnny thought it would be." I tell Roy. He looks at me questioningly. I grab his hand lightly and pull him to the bus stop. We sit down on the bench near it. "I'm not as head over heels for you as everyone thinks I am." I tell him. He looks intrigued. "I do like you. But-" "Wait." Roy cuts me off. "Before you tell me who you like besides me. Johnny likes you." Roy tells me.
I suck in a breath as my heart practically explodes in excitement. He likes me he likes me he likes me! Parades through my mind over and over. "Are you serious? Johnny likes me? Like, Johnny Oakman?" I ask him. He nods. "Don't tell him I'm the one who told you." He pleaded. "Roy! That's the best news! Oh my god!" I feel lighter than air, like if I jumped right now, I wouldn't come back down. "You like him back?" He asks incredulously. I nod. "Thank you Roy!" I cry, wrapping my arms around him.
Just at that moment, a bus pulls up. Roy gets up and runs onto the bus. He waves to me and I wave back. A huge tension I hadn't even noticed between the two of us has just been lifted and I feel fantastic. Then I remember the blonde girl I saw running away from Alex and Roy's kiss. And what blonde would want to wreck Alex's life besides Samantha? This is not going to end well.
After dinner that night I sit at my window seat and gaze at the stars, thinking about Johnny. I didn't want to tell him that I like him over the phone, so I'm going to do it tomorrow at school. I'm trying to decide how best to tell him when I notice something pink in the sky. It's moving very fast and very towards me.
I leap backwards away from the window, forgetting to close it. The pink object flies through the open window. I discover that it is a ring. The ring shakes in midair and then a portal opens around it. Somehow, I get the feeling that telling Johnny that I like him is the least of my problems now.
Alex! You douche! God!