~~~~~~Ross POV~~~~~~
I woke up in a daze, completely unaware of my surroundings. The sun poured through the window. Sitting up, I heard a familiar voice to my right.
"Someone decided to wake up. You've been out for quite a while, 2 and a half days, I think." Barry smiled at me. "I suppose I should say good morning to you. However, it's late in the afternoon. It's good to see you conscious, dude."
"Where, am I again?" I ask.
"You're in a private room, in the hospital."
"It's a nice room, I bet it was expensive though." I reply taking my surroundings in.
"Yes it is."
"And why am I here, again?" I reply, confused.
"You got your foot stuck under one of the treadmills at the gym… Violet carried you out with Holly to drive you here. It was quite horrific to see, really. It was the worst I've seen Violet cry before. She was calm until she was in the waiting room apparently. And then, she just lost it and ran out."
"And who told you this?"
"Your wife, of course, Ross." Barry smile and picked up his phone.
"Are you the only one here?"
"Well, I texted Holly just now. Dan is out in the cafeteria with Suzy, Kevin and Arin. We've been taking shifts to watch over you, in case you woke up. That way you'd always have someone to question or talk to." Barry looks over and a weird expression plastered his face.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask.
"It's nothing. Violet said watching out for all of her colleagues was her responsibility." Barry explained then pointed to the other side of the room then down. It seemed that is where he wanted me to look. I hesitate and look where he asked to find Violet, covered up with a spare hoodie, out cold on the floor beside my bed. "She's been here the whole time, for two and a half days. You really had her worried, apparently it was her fault this happened… I'll tell you more about Operation: Nightshade later… for now, don't you have more pressing matters to attend to." Operation Nightshade is the name we used for the party, it sounded cooler that way.
"What like, drawing on her face?" I joke.
"I hope you don't, you know what'll happen." Barry replied, a worried look came over his face. I bent down closer towards Violet and realized how messy her hair was, almost like Dan's usually is. I brush the loose strands out of her face and then start flicking her cheek, it bounced back and I thought it to be hilarious at the time. I pull on her cheek and, all of a sudden, Violet utters the sound of realization. She tries hurrying off the floor but ends up looking like a Magikarp on land. She eventually sits up.
"Hey!" I wave at her and Barry sighs like it's the beginning of a laugh, but he manages to hold it in.
She lets out a frustrated sigh of air as Barry starts tapping things in to his phone.
"Hey, Ross!" She barks, really frustrated before flopping her torso on to the bottom of the bed, dodging my foot. "Fuckin'-dead-arm." She complains in a mutter. Trying to get up, she slips and face plants into the floor. As soon a she gets up, the tired scold begins.
"Let me know when you're gonna wake up before you wake up, will you! How else is a girl supposed to know to be ready beforehand?" Dan walks in with the other three of my friends behind him and sniggers slightly.
"Violet." I bluntly say.
"Yeah, what is it now?!" She asks crossing her arms.
"You've got some drool there." I point out the fluid around her mouth before she quickly brushes it on to her arm. The hoodie was safely on her boobs still.
"I hope you didn't fucking scribble on my face, Ross!" She messes with her cheeks a little.
"I was tempted to, but I decided it was better no to."
"Is that all you have to say for yourself, hmm?" Violet re-folded her arms.
"I guess I worried you quite a bit." I question as a statement. "I apologize."
"F-f-fine! I accept your apology but that's not what I was crying about…! I mean, I wasn't crying or anything!" Violet looked away after stammering and Barry started to chuckle along with the other four people behind her. "And yeah, you made me worry but as medic of the cadets it's my duty to worry!"
Then there was a sudden knock on the door. Kevin quietly answered it. My wife walked in with some flowers. Holly looked at Violet then at me, stopped for a moment and began to cry. She rushed over to me.
"My darling, how are you?" I ask.
"ROSS! ROSS!" Holly hugged me, dumping the flowers on my lap.
"Oh, stop over reacting. He just got his foot slightly shredded in a treadmill… That's all." Violet was blunt. "I knew all along he was okay. There's no way Ross wasn't gonna wake up. The game grumps don't take vacation, guys! Well we do, just not as dramatically as Ross! We'll be together until the bitter end. If you think getting your foot shredded and not waking up excuses you from your duties of entertainment, you've got another thing coming! Abandoning your job for almost three days is unacceptable! I'm talking fines here, fines! Plus back pain!" Violet over loaded my brain, while keeping her eyes shut and blurting 'her rules' at me.
"That sounds reasonable. Do you have any suggestions of how I'm gonna pay it off?" I tease and instantly wish I hadn't, Violet thought I was serious.
"Well, once your foot is better, you could A. Treat all of us to lunch, for three days."
"Okay, then what." I ask, Holly let go of me and turned around. Violet was leaning on the end of the bed.
"B.-"
"Pay you back?" I question.
"No-no-no. That will not be necessary." Violet waggles her finger at me. "Hmm? What could B be?" Her hand goes under her chin after she jumps up and sits on the window sill. "Do something completely and expressly inane at our party! And if you don't, I'm sending you to another dimension! You got that?!" Violet giggles, looking over at Barry as she says 'our party!' then pointed at me with her arm completely stretched out.
She seemed really happy until she just totally stopped. Violet stared at the wall behind me, blankly but eyes wide open. Her shoulders hunched up to match the height of her neck, slowly.
A tear ran slowly down her face as the shivering started. Violet's neck lifts her head and view to the ceiling. Barry put his phone down and stood up. Violet blinks for the first time in a minute before her neck cranes down to the floor, almost like a dark shadow covered her skull and made her unable to control it. Her hands slap over her mouth. When her hands are removed, Violet bolts across the room to her gym bag.
"Violet? What's the matter?" I ask as her brush is pulled out of her bag and through her hair. The hair brush is dumped back in and her stiletto heels are put on her feet. The hoodie which was now on the floor, was picked up and put on. Pushing past the rest of the people in the room, her phone vibrates in her bag.
~~~~~~Violet's POV~~~~~~
Memories that I'd never remembered until now flicked through my mind. I don't care about my phone as it wasn't important. I burst into the corridor and continue to run. I needed to get outside and think about what I'd just remembered. Did I find her and just walk away? Running down that hallway really felt like real life 'Temple Run'. Instead of stopping outside like I planned to, my legs just kept running.
The people on the path in front of me made space for me to get through. I forgot my manners and kept running. Look who ended up running home. The way home was pretty simple, after I got the GPS on my phone working, while still running. Impressive, I know. My music ended up helping me carry on. After 2 hours of plain old running, I reached the complex. As I ran up the stairs, I lost my footing and rolled back down again.
"Ow, fuck. This is-OW! Jesus Fuck! That's gonna hurt in the mornin'." I mutter while rolling down the last two floors of stairs.
It was only 7 floors, don't worry. I skidded on the floor and ended up at Barry and Dan's feet. "Hi…" I sigh, pulling myself back up.
"Violet are you okay? Is anything broken? Where does it hurt?" Dan panicked.
"Nowhere. I'm fine." I reply, cracking my neck. In my head I was like: 'NO! I AM NOT OKAY!'
"You just fell down a flight of stairs, dude!" Dan continued.
"7 actually…" I correct him.
"WHAT?" Dan yells in disbelief.
"No-no. It's cool." I answer. "Hey, why'd you look so sour Barry?"
"Why the fuck did you run away?" He said, hands on his hips, sassy as fuck.
"That, my friend, is something neither of us will ever know…" I make my way back up the stairs. "Anyway, how's about we get up to our apartments and live like this conversation never happENED!" I end up yelling because I fall back down them. "I will walk up those stairs." I try after speaking but slip again.
"Uuh, fine. I'll carry you." Barry sighed going to pick me up.
"NO! Uh-uh. Nope, get off!" I move away and Barry grabs my hair.
"Are you sure you don't want to be dragged?" Barry asks, annoyed and gritting his teeth.
"OKAY-OKAY! You can carry me." I let him do what he wants. "Jeez, you don't have to be so forceful about it." I mutter.
"What was that?" He asks.
"Nothing." I instantly go mute.
When he takes me up to my floor, he asks Dan to open the door. Once that is out of the way, I am thrown into my hallway. 'Ow… My butt bone.'
"See you later Violet!" Dan calls worried, Barry just stays quiet.
"HEY! WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR JERK?!" I bellow at Barry. "YOU COULD'VE BROKEN MY ASS!"
"It'll teach you for being so sketchy and weird." Barry calls back. I march after him and when I catch up, I latch on to the back of the neck on his T-shirt.
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" I yell.
"You're walking up the stairs fine now, you just did that for attention. You do everything for attention!" Barry calls.
"NO I DON'T! NO I FUCKING DON'T! YOU DO NOT KNOW ME! YOU CAN'T EVEN RESPECT A WOMEN LIKE YOU SHOULD, DICK!" I couldn't control myself.
"Go away, Violet." Barry sighs. I turned to walk back down but, as we all know by now, gravity rules all. I slip on the stairs and cut my face. I turn and look up.
"Violet. Ohmigod, you've got a gash on your cheek." Dan displays a hand. "I'll get you fixed up."
"Are you sure?" I mutter. "He doesn't seem to want me there… Dan, it's okay, I'll do it myself. After all I used to be the medic in cadets and I've fixed you up before. I'll be fine." I turn around after getting up and slam the door to the stairs. Luckily special effects make-up exists in the world, I was gonna need it. I spent a good half an hour stitching myself up. I take a picture and send it to Danny.
"Does it look okay?" I ask on messenger.
"Yeah, looks like its make-up! Hahahaha!" Dan replies.
"Thanx, hun. I'm glad you're still okay with me." I send. "You're a good friend." He doesn't reply. I go to get some fresh air but I'm stupid and think 'I'm gonna go to the frickin' doors, 70 flights of stairs down. Oh no…' (Obviously sarcasm.) I forgot about my inability to walk down stairs. I grab my phone and head out to the stairs. It went fuckin' terribly.
"Ow, fuck-shit-bastard-tit-ow-ow-ow-ow!" I exclaim while falling. I surprisingly still had my phone in my hand so I went to the contacts page and called Dan. He picked up straight away.
"HEEEELP!" I cry. "You need to de-bug me. I think I'm broken!"
"What's the matter Violet?" He asked.
"I don't seem to be able to stairs." I complained. "Help! I'm useless. I already know."
"How far down are you?"
"One flight, so not that far." I answer I pain. "My face hurts."
"I hope that stitching hasn't come un-done… I'm comin' to get'cha, I'll be there in a minute." Dan says before hanging up. I lock my phone and wait. I hum to myself trying to assess my wounds before he got there. My nose felt weirdly out of place.
"Hi… Look, I'm really sorry you're having to do this. I'm having one of those days, ya know? Could you open one of my windows when we get back to my apartment?"
"Lizzie, I'm okay with it. It just shows that I have respect and am able to help those in need. Plus, your one of my very best friends!" Dan smiles lifting me up. "Wow, your slightly heavier than I thought… No offence."
"Oh, you. You're being adorable. No offence taken, its mah tits, dude. I also know that I haven't been going to the gym all too much." I reply tugging at his cheek.
"Thanks, so umm. Do you know why Barry's pissed with you?" He asks.
"Yeah, I think so. Has he told you or anything?"
"No, that's why I'm asking you."
"Well, I think he's pissed because I won't tell him what's going on in my crazy mind." Dan opens the door leading into my hallway. "At the hospital, I would have loved to tell you guys, I really would… But I don't know what the thought- no memory, sorry, entailed. I just need time to think… Alone."
"I'll set you down here, by the window, open it and then I'll be gone. Tell me when you've thought it over, and then, I'll be all ears for what's been bugging you." He says. I hug him.
"Thank you, Daniel. You are the best friend any women could have, I really mean it." I eventually let him go. When he leaves my apartment, I begin to think. 'Why memories from when I was four, now? I'm pretty sure it was cancer. Oh well. I need to go to the store… I am not going down those stairs. Maybe if I try-'. There was a buzz coming from the living room. Suzy texted me.
"What happened?" The message read.
"What'cha mean, hunny?" I ask.
"Violet, stop fucking with me, you put it on Instagram."
"What do you mean, I haven't posted all day. I'm super serious."
"Check your account."
I go to check my account and then I instantly stop. "No." I said out loud. "It can't… Why did it-? For fucks sake." I mutter.
"Oh, hey Suzy. My phone posts pictures on its own. I was gonna tell you tomorrow." I answer.
"Tell me what? I wanna know now."
"I keep falling down the stairs in the complex, I was fine until I got to the complex after this morning. When I went to climb the stairs, I got 7 flights up and then I fell."
"Ohmigod! Violet, how?"
"I don't know. Barry was really pissed with me too. :(" I throw myself onto my front, back in my bed room.
"Oh, right. The party's in two days. What are you gonna do?"
"I don't care about it. I already have loads of marks on my arms. If you think it's necessary, I have special effects make-up. Soo yeah." I finish and throw my phone at the wall. 'Goddamnit, why? I should probably ask Dan about it now.'
~~~~~~Dan's POV~~~~~~
I was watching some TV, just casually while Barry was editing something on his laptop. My phone's ringtone went off.
"Hey, Dan." Violet had called me.
"What's up?" I ask.
Violet coughs and continues speaking. "Yo, you got any sand paper I could use?"
"Umm, why?" I become curious.
"Don't ask questions. Just bring it down if you've got some." Violet demanded.
"I'll ask, two minutes." I put my phone against my chest so I can ask Barry.
"Do we have any sand paper, dude. Apparently, Violet needs it." I ask him and his eyebrows raises.
"Yeah, we've got some. It's in the cupboard nearest the door in the kitchen." He point me in the right direction.
"Thanks, dude." I thank my roommate before putting the phone back up to my ear. "I'll be two minutes with it alright."
"I know this sounds deathly ironic to my situation, but take the stairs." Violet replies. She hung up on me.
That was slightly terrifying, just knowing that I don't know what that mad women was doing before she did it. Mad as the Hatter, she is. I grab the sand paper and head down the stairs to find Violet messing on with her hair. "Uuum, Violet?"
"Huh, Whuyt? Oh right, it's just you. Give da sand paper to meh, but stay here. Alright?" Violet was so weird, I took the opportunity to record this as I told Arin of her situation and apparently all he could do was laugh at the idea of Violet being unable to use stairs anymore. Violet grabbed a single sheet of sand paper from the pack. "Stay right there, this may not go as planned."
"Okay." I answer while pointing the camera at my worried face then back to Violet. At this point she lifted her foot almost up to her neck and rubbed the sand paper on it. She repeated the process with her other foot, folded up the sheet and stuck it in her pocket. Again, I turned my phone camera to my worried and now curious face. Upon turning it back, Violet slowly shuffled further forward. She began to lift her foot like the world was in slow motion and without any problem, she cleared 3 steps but went flying on the forth one. "VIOLET, ARE YOU OKAY?" I asked after she stopped falling.
"NO, I AM NOT OKAY!" She yelled back and I stopped the recording.
"Arin, get Suzy to record your reaction, you will laugh." I text.
"I won't laugh. Send it to me then."
"In this case, have at you." I reply then send the video.
He replied with a video 5 minutes later and you wouldn't believe how right I was. "Arin, you're a horrible person. U know that."
"Yes, yes I know Dan."
"Well, at least u know u r." I finish.
"UUM, EARTH TO LEIGH DANIEL AVIDAN! I'M STILL DOWN HERE, YA KNOW!" Violet belted.
"Oh right." I rush to her aid. When I take the women to her apartment, she starts speaking.
"My nose feels funny, still. Uugh, whatever, I'll live." She was really weird. "I can do everything else but walk down stairs. Wow, what is my life anymore."
I leave her to sort herself out and return to the apartment.
"Dan, what's with her? Why, man?" Barry asked.
"I… I don't know. It's starting to weird me out." I reply. I spend the rest of the hour watching TV then, after that, I see something that I'll never quite be unable to unsee.
We are having a really-really-really important conversation when Violet walks into our apartment covered, and I mean covered, in pillows. She sidles into the living room quietly.
"Hey, guys. Imma just gonna take… thiss. Thanks." She takes a cushion from our couch and leaves again.
Barry's face was beyond traumatized. "Barry, I don't know about that though. What would Suzy say about it?" I restart the conversation.
"There will have to tweak the party's overall run down if she does it again. What if they argue?" Barry continued.
Violet 'Staypuff Man' Blackwell began her descent down the stairs. We could tell because the language she used was more embarrassing than her protection scheme. "OW-FUCK-SHIT-MOTHA-FUCKA-DAMN-IT-SHIT-OW-OW-WHYYY?" That is what we heard amongst other things. I rushed out to find Violet in the corner of the stairs' flat base, breaking two of the flights of stairs apart. She was shaking and… wait, what? She was bleeding.
"You-urr-might need to wash the cushion. I'm so-so-so-so-so-so sorry. Dan all I want to do is walk down the stairs… OW FUCK." Violet touched her nose. "Oh, oh my god. I've broken my nose." She said and I ran down the stairs to meet her but she fixed it back into place with a massive crack before I got close. "EEEEEEEEEEP!" She squeaked before clapping her hands over her mouth. "Ow."
"Oh, my, Violet. You have to be careful." I say before pulling my phone out. I text Barry to help me as I didn't want to hurt her.
"O-o-ow." She complained.
Barry ran down the stairs to see Violet balled up slowly trying to remove the pillows from herself while singing to try and distract herself from the small open wounds and broken but corrected nose. She generally couldn't do much for shaking so I just hugged her to make it a little more bearable. "It's alright Violet." I whisper.
"T-Thanks. Dan, y-you're a gr-great friend. I don't think I can stress it enough." She smiled while removing the last of the cushions. "I-I-I'm really sorry, I keep ruining your time. You should be able to spend your days off doing what you want, not looking after me like a child."
"No-no, Violet. You didn't have time to be a child in your childhood. I understand. You're allowed to occasionally." I smiled. Barry reached us and helped Violet of the floor. She scampered up the stairs on using her hands to help her. I began collecting the pillows that she'd left behind. She waited for us at her apartment door.
~~~~~~Violet's POV~~~~~~
"So, I suppose you want to know why I flipped out earlier in the day, hmm." I ask holding the door for them.
"Umm, yeah. It's not like you don't do it all the time." Barry looked at me.
"Hey, relax." I mutter. "Gimme the cushions and I'll throw them in the washing machine. Meet me in the living room." I say and get soft, red-stained pillows thrown at me and the ones that could fit got put in and the washing machine started to clean them. I quickly look in the mirror I have above the sofa. "Daw, shit…" I sigh after being so direct. "Never mind." I sit in front of the two men on my wooden coffee table and stuff my hands between my thighs, attentively.
"Feel free to start." Dan said.
"Dan, you look bored, pay as much attention as humanly possible." I tease. "And you too, Bar."
"And that's supposed to mean what now?" Dan asks, raising his index finger.
"Long story short- Pay attention." I bluntly snap and push his finger down. "So, I had a… memory. A very early one, to say the least. It was traumatising because- because…" I look down. "I-it was when I was four… I walked i-into my sister, Annabelle's room. The night before, she was found… dead. I found her corpse o-on the floor and left it. And then- and then-" I broke out into tears.
"IS THAT IT?! WE TELL YOU THAT 'YOU CAN TELL US ANYTHING'. BUT EVERY FUCKING TIME YOU RUN! I DON'T CARE, WHETHER YOU DON'T OR WON'T TELL US. WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU, BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO TELL US ABOUT EVERYTHING UNTIL FORCED TO. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO YOURSELF! VIOLET, YOU ARE UNBELIEVEABLE." Barry yells and storms out.
"I-I don't believe that made any sense but when he's angry he tends not to." I mutter. "Dan, tail him and make sure he doesn't punch a wall or some stupid shit. I have work to do, alright." I turn to Dan, pushing him towards his friend.
"Are you sure?" Dan asks me.
"Would I be saying anything if I wasn't sure?" I reassure. "Get up there." I cheer and go to the kitchen. I had to clean the blood up on the stairs before anyone noticed. I never had bled so much in my life before I met them. I'm pretty sure I was going delirious with the amount of blood I'd lost just then as I hadn't thought about healing my wounds.
I was just watching TV, without any shoes on, and I wanted to go and pace outside for a bit. I go to my hall and Dan texted me.
"Wuu2."
"Gonna go pace without any shoes, cuz yolo." I type and before I can ask him what he's up to he replies.
"WAIT! Are you sure? You keep falling down the stairs." Dan reminds me.
"Oh, yeah. Wut evr. Idc."
"R u mad or something."
"Fine, u can come along." I wait for him. He gets down and smiles at me. I stop at the top of the stairs and Dan makes his way down.
"You ready?" He asks.
"Meh…" I say. And it quickly became the moment of truth. I slowly take my first step and continue until I reach the bottom and then it hits me.
"Yeah, Violet! You did it…? Umm, Violet?" Dan begins in a cheer and ends in confusion as my face begins to slowly turn angry. "Hello? Earth to Violet?"
"It can't be…" I growl. "I just… -did I?" I slowly looked down. "It can't… Why did I not-? Is this-?" I turned and looked at him slowly while my hand balled up and became a fist. I stormed back into my hallway and Dan followed. "IT WAS THE FUCKING SHOES!" I yell along with some other things after slamming my apartment door before Dan can go inside.
"Okay, Violet. Imma just go back up now, okay?" Dan says before leaving.
~~~~~~Dan's POV~~~~~~
I get back up. "Hey, Bar! Her shoes are to bla-" I realize he's not in the room before finishing my sentence. I check and he was already asleep in his room… at 8 'o' clock? Wow, he must of thought too hard or something. I decide, considering tomorrow was gonna be last day of preparations for Operation: Nightshade that I was to get an early night too.
I was almost asleep and from down stairs I hear an earth shattering clatter and immediately after, from the room next door from me (Barry's room), I hear a thump. Footsteps and keys could be heard right afterwards.
~~~~~~Barry's POV~~~~~~
I was startled by the thump and I knew it was Violet because down stairs was where the sound had come from. I was planning on apologizing as there was no point of my anger. I co-ordinated my apology after Dan said about Violet not having much of a childhood. I was going to later on, when Dan had went to bed but I fell asleep beforehand. I went to go and check on her, just to make sure she was okay.
Unfortunately, I find her on her own kitchen floor, unconscious. "Dan, get your ass down here! NOW!" I yell and hear what would be hilarious as he scampered down to my position.
"Dude, what happened?!" Dan asks.
"I just found her like this dude, what are we gonna do?" I panic. "She might be dead! Where are we gonna hide the body?!"
"That's not something you should be worrying about- We should be worrying about what we'll tell Suzy! "I gave you guy's one job!" She'll say."
"You're right. Oh no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no. What are we gonna do?" I ask.
"Urr-umm… Check for a pulse… Yeah, do that."
I check her neck. "She's got one. That's good." I breathe and start to calm down.
"Oh thank fuck. She's just unconscious. Umm, let's get her off the floor." Dan suggests and I nod. "Where to?"
"Maybe her bed's a sensible idea."
"Yeah, let's go." Dan and I pick her up. "Bar, you wanna stay with her?"
"For tonight?"
"Yeah, just in case."
"Oh, alright." I sit on the floor next to her bed. "You can go up to bed, Dan. I'll stay with her for as long as she needs after she wakes up and then I'll go to Arin and Suzy's after. Night, bro."
"Night." Dan calls and leaves. I get up and look at the view of all the Christmas lights outside and become jealous of Violet for it. I wished I could look out on to something so beautiful… Oh well. I sit on the other side of her bed and can't help but notice how peaceful she looks. I trace my finger along her shut eyes and then the side of her face. She's so damn cute!
~~~~~~Violet's POV~~~~~~
I awoke to extremely hairy arms around my waist. 'I wasn't here before! What time is it? Who is that?' I freak out and fall out of my bed, screeching. I look up and see its Barry.
"DUDE. WHAT THE FUCK!"
"Huh, Whuyt? Where-" He looks at me after I startled him awake.
"You had your arms on my fucking waist. What even happened? All I remember is- ooh… WHAT THE FUCK?! Why are you even here?" I ask.
"I came down after I heard a noise and found you unconscious on your own kitchen floor. What was I supposed to do? I wanted to make sure you were okay. What was I supposed to do?"
"There is another bedroom, with a bed in it. There is a couch. You don't lie in a female friend's bed with that female friend. It's wrong on so many levels, that's why I freaked out. It's different when you're in a relationship with the girl but not when your both single. It's so wrong." I rant, completely weirded out.
"I'm sorry okay." Barry begged for an apology complete with an understanding. I sighed after running my hands through my hair.
"I'm sorry too. I just was a little surprised, that's all. The left side of my brain was speaking for a moment."
"What about the right side of your brain?" He challenged.
"Oh shut up… What time is it?" I ask.
"Umm, 11 in the morning." He replies getting out of my bed. I get to my bedside table and open the draw. Barry looks inside with me.
"I didn't buy all of these when you told me to sleep on your birthday… Totally not."
"It sounds so legit." He teases. "I'm ashamed of you. These are so damn bad for you."
"And I'm supposed to give a shit because?" I take my purse out of the draw along with my super powerful headphones. "Go buy me some food and some Aloe Vera stuff as well." I hand Barry $30. "You can buy something for yourself as well. Okay?"
"You sound like a mom."
"Well, I don't wanna sound or be like my mam. I actually want to be nice to my kids, so it's better that I start acting like it earlier than I planned to really… Anyway, you should get going, I'm starving." I ruffle his hair and slam down on my couch, yawning. Barry leaves and says he'll be back soon. Eventually the phone rings.
"Hello?" The person on the other end of the line asks.
"Hello, Ms Blackwell speaking." I begin with my oh-so-original greeting.
"Oh, Violet, it's me- Arin." He speaks. "Do you know where Barry is? He's not picking up on his mobile."
"Oh, I asked him to go to the shop for me. He must have left his phone in his apartment. I'm afraid he won't be able to get over to yours for a good three hours or so. I'm sorry about that."
"No worries… Hey, are you okay?"
"Arin, of course I am. What do you mean by that though?"
"I mean, you ran from the hospital and also you were unconscious on your kitchen floor last night."
I sigh before answering. "Yeah, I'm alright… I've got somethings that I have to deal with, catch you soon. Okay?"
"Okay. Catch you later, Violet. Bye."
"Bye, Arin." I sigh again and cut off the phone. "Sometimes, you get sick of those words. 'Are you okay?' I'm sorry that I'm so depressing, alright." I complain. I take my t-shirt and bra off after grabbing a towel. Laying on my front on the couch, I put the towel under my chest and stuff my headphones on, blasting 'Better off dead' by 'Pierce the Veil' so that you could clearly hear the lyrics from outside of my apartment. The song was on repeat. I have no idea how I fell asleep with the music still playing at the exact same volume.
Later, I wake up to and was startled by Barry who shook me awake. "-ey. Hey. Get up. I could hear your music… So it is possible to have it on full blast and fall asleep."
"Aah!" I squeak, jumping. "Hey! Quit startling me when I wake up. That's twice today!" I complain, hands on hips, yelling my words because I couldn't hear myself because my music (that was now off) had made me just slightly deaf. I rub my eyes. "Arin called for you… *yawn* …earlier on."
"What'd he say?"
"Meh, he was just wondering where you were… That's all… So, what'd you buy yourself, hmm?" I ask.
"Urm, some bananas, some Sprite and a sandwich." He replies.
"Bananas and Sprite…? Wow. You're brave."
"Not at the same time, I'm not that dumb. I got you what you needed. You didn't specify what kind of food you liked so I just used common sense." He says and hands me the bag. I peek inside. There was a 1.75 litre bottle of Pepsi Max, a rocket, mayonnaise and prawn sandwich, chocolate doughnuts, some crispy M&M's and, of course, the Aloe Vera gel I asked for.
"I fucking love you! How did you know? This is my favourite sandwich filling a-and drink. Your like a-a mind reader or something!" I smile and boast happily.
"So, I did a good?"
"Yas! Of course. And, ungh, the doughnuts. You fucking rock. Oh, my god. My favourite chocolate in the world! Hashtag O-M-F-G heart." I couldn't hide the smile. I pounced and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "You're the best!" I felt like the fat 10 year old that I used to be, again. I let go and pull the Aloe Vera gel out of the bag and hand it to him.
"Do you want me to put it away?" He asks.
"Do you think I have my t-shirt and bra off for no reason? I want you to apply it, you dumby!" I tease.
He slowly turns a shade of crimson. "Ar-are you sure?"
"Umm, yes." I flop down on my stomach. "On a day like this, I need the company. And plus, I'd do it myself but, as I've already mentioned, my t-rex arms disappoint me."
"O-okay."
"Bro, you've went so red. Do you need some on your face as well?" I tease.
"W-what are you talking about?" He tries to pretend that I'm batshit crazy.
"Oh shut up and work, boy!" I tease again. "You act like you're in elementary school when I do things spontaneous like this. I'd be able to tell that you and Dan share an apartment if I didn't know you personally." He starts applying it to my back, it burns a little but I get used to it.
"How long am I doing this for?"
"Until you reach the bottom of the bottle."
"Are you serious?"
"Don't you wanna spend time with me, huh?" I confront him.
"O-o-of course I do…" Barry was shy to admit it.
"*Sigh* Whatever…" I stop for a moment and pull a creepy smile. 'That, my creative lil' shnookums, is a great idea. We will try to push him to his limit. Nice job brain. I am forever in your debt.' "So, Barry what's your ideal… girl like?"
~~~~~~Barry's POV~~~~~~
She asked me that question. I answered it. "Well, she'd have dark-ish hair. She wouldn't give all too much of a shit. She'd appreciate the little things. She'd like my jokes… all the time. She'd not criticise on what I do all too much. But she'd be very-very stubborn at times and cute and shy at other times. When she has an idea, it stays locked away, never forgotten. There's a lot of things that I don't know how to describe about her but, one day, I'll find her." I described the women in front of me. "How about you? What's your ideal guy like?"
"Well, he'd always be there for me even in the darkest days. He'd be constantly worried about me, even if it was just my normal expression that day. Umm. They'd be very open about anything. He'd get frustrated quickly, sometimes. But, he'd be cool about most things. Extra supportive and understanding. An overall sweetheart who'd know my boundaries like we should know the laws of the country. Ya know, just someone who doesn't have to say anything to compliment me, I'd just know." She smiled at me. "Your description sounded a lot like my sister, Rose. Minus the dark hairedness. You two would get along really great."
"Well your one sounds like my brother Alex. I thinks he's going to the party, you two will get along like a house on fire." I smile awkwardly.
"Alright, next question:-"
"What is this, 20 questions?"
"Meh… it's a question thing. Not exactly '20 questions'." She nods. "Anyway. What is your ideal wedding?"
Oh my. Violet, why? Why must you ask all of these questions? "Erm, something just really traditional. Casual stuff, like… I don't know. Umm, traditional dress… after party… Stuff like that, ya know? Umm, so what about you?" (Yes, at this point I was still rubbing the gel into her back and I would be for another few hours.)
"Well, me personally? I want to get married in a massive, poofy as fuck, black dress that makes me look so damn anorexic it'd be unbelievable. Umm, there's the cake that I want to be massive and I'd probably take down most of it because I'm a greedy bitch. After party, it'd be wild as all hell… I don't mind parties but it'd also be amazing if it was a dinner party if a party like that isn't affordable, because money doesn't grow on trees, ya know? Hehe! Urm, the bridesmaids would literally have a dress to suit their personality and it'd have to be a dress. And the grooms men would were something really authentic. I'd probably play a 'runaway bride' prank on my husband to be because it'd be funny as shit to watch him panic. And maybe the night after all of that, me and my newly wedded husband would sit and watch anime together drinking really expensive wine. So, a drinking game really." She smiled.
"High expectations much?" I joke starting to feel slightly awkward. "What next?" I was surprisingly scared.
"Are you a virgin?" She smiled like she was staring directly into my soul.
"Why would I tell you that?!" I become slightly aggressive. "I refuse to tell you… What about you? You got yourself into this mess so answer the question."
"Urr… umm… yes…" She seemed quite awkward. "I had to be sensible when I was in college so I had no choice in the matter. My dad would've honestly disowned me and would be ashamed of me and look down on me, ya know. If I have to be particularly honest with you- I had the occasional senpai but it never got any closer than senpai as I'd be made fun of it if I told anyone. It was always better to be on the other side of the metaphorical wall, ya know. In secondary school, if you dated or liked a lad: you'd be called by his name for the rest of your days. It was funny and horrible at the same time."
"And the next question?" I smile because her awkwardness was pretty funny to watch.
"Umm, lemme see." Violet looked off into the distance. "Where did you grow up as a kid?"
"That's a pretty laid back question compared to the last one. I grew up by Long Beach in LA. I mean I went to Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, if that answers your question."
"Meh, it'll do."
"And you?"
"It'll probably be easier on google maps, gimme my phone then gimme a moment." She display an open hand. When I pass the phone, Violet taps in a few different town and city names. "So, I lived in a few different places. At first I lived on Saltwell Road near, Saltwell Park, in Gateshead, that's where I was born. Then we all moved out to Elswick Road in Newcastle quite close to St. James' Park, the footie stadium and then- You okay, you look confused? Am I going to fast?"
"I'm starting to be unable to understand what you're saying." I say, my eyebrow still raised.
"Ah, shit. A've been slipping in to mah Geordie accent again. Sorry dude. I'll try to slow down and correct the accent issue, just know I really can't help it." She starts speaking in quite a posher accent for the majority of what she still had left to say.
"After a while, basically after the divorce, I and my dad moved to Springwell. It's a place next to the angel of the north. And by the way I lived in an arm village near York, I think it was, that the in habitants nicknamed 'The Base.' I should have made that clearer earlier on. After, I moved to Killingworth, where I lived until I said goodbye UK and hello USA. Anyway, this is the angel of the north." She showed me a picture of the structure.
. /search?q=fox+tv+network&espv=2&biw=1093&bih=522&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Uj6cVcboIsXx-QHbi7GQCA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg#tbm=isch&q=angel+of+the+north&imgrc=kpY64wH_SebhbM%3A
"Holy shit! You lived next to that thing! I've seen it on the internet quite a lot." I was amazed.
"I used to sit on the bottom of it every Saturday and Sunday."
"Wow, cool."
"You do know how it came about right? You do know what the template was right?"
"No, what? How?"
"Some idiotic guy got another guy to wrap himself in fucking cling film, or saran wrap to you Americans, to make a 3-D goddamn template of him that would be structured into something as beautiful as that." She explained, quite annoyed. "I always wanted to start a campaign to get it painted and coloured up as I thought it looked a little bland but it would ruin my reputation of being dark, gloomy, lonely and too down to earth at school, how I liked to be seen, ya know. It always builds up a lot of mystery about the person like that, ya know."
"Really." I say shocked at both the fact and her opinion that she'd just spoken.
"Disappointing, I know? When I was a little kid, I always thought that it was because the only angel to ever fall from heaven looked like that. My god damn primary school broke my dreams when I was in Reception. They broke the dreams of a five year old. It's unbelievable." She muttered.
"Aww that was a cute point of view to have. Your teachers were a little harsh. To say that to someone in Kindergarten, though."
"Those teachers were absolutely shocking to my class… My half of the class, anyway." Violet sighed and I gave her a confused look. "Oh, you wanna know why there were two groups, huh?" She asks and I reply with a nod while getting some more Aloe Vera out of the bottle. "That's simple. We tended to be a little bit too wild. Especially, our year group. There was the red group, who were the favourite popular kids, and the yellow group, who were the nerds, trouble makers, rude and disgusting kids all in one place. Of course I was one of the nerds. As you can imagine, the teachers fucking hated our group. I was only in the yellow group for half of the year because I'd go home crying about not being with the kids who I thought were nice until I moved to that group. Eventually, I fit in with none of the ranking groups so I just hid in between the rocks in the playground at break time. No-one ever bothered me as they couldn't find me. I'd often hide there every hour of the day until home time and get the teachers worried. After the divorce I did it every day until I was used to life with half a family… Besides that, you ready for another question?"
~~~~~~Violet's POV~~~~~~
"Hey, Violet." He turned to me. "That went downhill really quickly."
"When I was young, I thought every family had its difficulties. Sometimes I was wrong and sometimes I was right. After that I learned to not think about it."
"Look, you calm yourself down. You're getting stressed over a long gone memory… Try to think of something else." Barry was the second most supportive person in the grump family, I didn't know who took first place yet.
"Where was I at again?"
"Next question, I think."
"Ooh, yeah… What's your favourite colour?" I ask.
"Umm, purple…"
"Oh my god! That is totally rad! I love purple! It's my favourite colour too. Not because of my name, no. I just love the colour, along with blood red and the colour of my soul." I tease at the end of my speech, my favourite colour just also happened to be purple too. I never liked being a copycat.
"And the colour of your soul is?" He asks.
"Black, of course! It's not much of a colour. More of a shade, really." I giggle.
"Violet, your soul is pretty far from black. You're a sweet gal."
"Thanks… I guess."
"No problem."
"Can I tell you something… really important that I don't want you to tell anyone else?"
"Only if you feel like you can trust me." He smiled and I frown.
"Ya know the urm… injuries on my arms… and how I said they were from cooking… I-I lied, to you." I immediately stuff my head in to the arm rest of the couch.
"What?"
"They are umm… they're actual d-depression cuts. I've busted a couple of veins in my time." I blurt. Barry instantly wipes his hands on his shirt so that they're moderately dry. He continues to lift me and hug the hell out of me. "They haven't healed because they were really deep."
"Stop talking. I just want to say two things. 1) Your secret is safe with me. 2) I kinda already figured that out." He smiled. Releasing me so that I was comfortable. "I'm gonna continue with your back now. Is there another question?"
"Why, yes there is, good sir!" She joked. "Which is the one word in my vocabulary that I use excessively?"
"That one is simple. The answer is: Fuck."
"Seriously? Dude. Really?"
"Yes… This is a really random question for now but have you ever considered driving?"
"A car? No… no. I was thinking more like… I don't know, a bike… Yeah, I'd like to drive a bike. I'd wear lots of black leather and spandex, and boy do I love spandex." I smile and tell the honest to god truth.
~~~~~~Barry's POV~~~~~~
'HOLY SHIT. OH MY GOD… A WOMEN, WITH A NICE ASS… WEARING SPANDEX… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" I couldn't help but think about it. A grin spreads on to my face. 'HELL YES VIOLET, I'LL LET YOU 'DRIVE A BIKE' ANYDAY!'
"Umm, Barry. Hun that face… your creeping me out with that face." She frowned. "Oh… I think… I think I know what you're thinking… Deal with it, spandex is not disgusting or a way to beg to be attractive. It's a way some women, are comfortable to, dress. I love spandex… it's like my favourite thing… well I wouldn't say it was at the top… it's in my top ten of top tens though." She jokes.
"I wouldn't mind, if you learnt to ride a motorbike, Violet. I wouldn't mind at all." I smile, thoughts speeding through my mind at one million miles per hour.
"I'll have to save up for a good five-six months, 100 poun-dollars a week, just to be sure." She taps on her phone screen a couple of times. "That'll be around pfft… 2000 to 2400 dollars max… It'll do… You alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm good. You?"
"My mood hasn't shifted from 'meh' in two weeks."
"Just think, tomorrow is the day of the party. You'll love it."
"I'll love it, huh?" She replies, mystery in her face.
A/N- I'm sorry about the wait for this chapter. I plan on bringing as many chapters out as I can during the summer. My plan is to write lots in mass during the 5 weeks I have left and bring most of said chapters out in September. Don't worry, I won't fail you. My sister always has lots to suggest and sometimes we just spend time laughing and talking about, the ideas she's brought to the metaphorical table are insane. Expect to see some awesome chapters out soon. Okay?!
TheMidnightGamer
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