Chapter Text
“Clem! Clem c’mon wake up. Shit man if we’re late you better use them big brown eyes on Lee.” Nope. Thank you for the offer for arising from my sleep but I must reject- and now you’re kissing my neck. That’s below the belt. Not literally. Unfortunately.
The sunlight trickled in the window of the bedroom, it would be glaring if I actually opened up my eyes. I could hear Tiffany patting about in the kitchen and could feel some forgotten books cover dig into my calf. They were called hard backs for a reason.
“Wake. Up. Nerd.” Violet punctuated each word with a soft kiss to my spots, the place differing each damn time. My jaw, my collarbone (that one tickled) and just there was towards the side, right by my freckle cluster. The floral duvet had been stolen by the blonde during the night but even then I felt as if my skin was on fire. And it wasn’t because of my eczema. I tilted her head further so that Violet could have more space to roam with her soft lips as a really awesome car. Oh wow yep that’s the spot.
“Vi,” A breathy whisper of the girls name made her quit her ministrations. The pillow beside my head repuffed itself as the Violets hands that Violet was using to lean her weight on were removed. Through bleary eyes I could see the ruffled looking girl who sat up on my waist.
I felt...awkward. I didn’t know where to put my hands on the foreign body that had seemed so familiar to her last night. I smiled smally at the girl who was just taking her in. It was in this moment that I was glad for her vision or lack thereof. It MAY have looked like I was making brave eye contact with thee Violet Keane but in reality I was staring at a blurry, misty blob. Hot.
“Lee’s gone to work for a meeting. He left a note on the fridge. Your dad has real nice writing, all loops and shit you know? He crosses his t’s and dots his i’s to a new level.” Violet explained gently as her thumb grazed the tan skin of me beneath her. She smirked, I think, as she watched me rub the sleepydust from my eyes. It was a trait I had picked up from Lee and Aj had subsequently picked it up from me.
“Uh huh” I responded, discombobulated.
Honestly Violet could have been asking me for permission to nuke that Lilly ones house and that would still have been my response.
“Up and at em babe.” Violet murmured, pressing her lips to mines for a quick few seconds before hopping off and strolling into the bathroom.
See this would be the moment where I would have leant up on my elbows to watch the lightly swaying hips of Violet but I still hadn’t put my glasses on.
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The brick of the wall was dusty beneath my converse as I walked atop it and Violet’s hand was soft in mine as the girl walked beside me except on the pavement, guiding her along. Me, the awkwardly stanced, curly haired teen had previously had my other hand outstretched to balance myself as we walked past the other estate houses, however a rumbling truck nearly took my forearm with it. The audacity.
It had been maybe three weeks or so since Violet had arrived back at my doorstep, a sobering moment. Since then she had been spending the majority of her time with Clementine, me, by her side. The latter, me, loved their secret glances they shared and secret touches they gifted; in class an interlocking of fingers beneath the table, a brushing of Vi’s front against her back as they left a classroom, a seemingly tired head rested on her shoulder. Our little moment were ours and the secret was there’s to keep. Whatever the secret was? I hadn’t quiet found that out yet.
It frustrated me. Like a crossword from the hard side of my crossword book. I mean seriously! Picturesque for down 26 was COMPLETELY unexpected. Diabolical really, Tyson Crossword Publications. Well I hope you DIEson. That was slightly harsh.
A slight squeal (more than an ‘urf’) escaped my lips as Violet carried me from the wall, her left arm supporting beneath my knees (knobby as always) and her right steady beneath my back. The winds were starting to pick up and leaves floated around them. Violet didn’t mind (that much) that my strand of coiled went into her mouth as I leant her neck as she was spun. My (not melodious at all) laughs got lost in the gusts, successfully covering Violet’s ‘plah plah plah’s’ as she declared her mouth hair free. Coconut oil. Nice touch. More so nice taste.
Violet was seemingly reluctant to place me back down, enjoying the comforting and warm weight in her arms. I padded backwards unsteadily as I was placed back down but Violet regained a steady grip of my hips and pressed me, the barely shorter, girl flush against her.
Our breaths mingled with the foggy air and it was at this exact moment that I realized I had forgotten my school bag.
I could feel Violet’s breath against my lips as our faces were mere inches away from one another’s and my eyes cautiously flickered from her lips to the girls piercing ivy eyes. I didn’t think it was possible to get lost in someone eyes but boy was I lost! And I was using the map to fan myself. Violet laughed a bit as I squirmed in her arms.
“Last one to the school loses!” Romance.
:)
"I still feel for you girl. Having to spend civilized time with Violet? Oooh, you got it bad!”
I chuckled at Sophie’s statement. She had decided to help me restock books in the earthquake-hit-looking library so I could be done twice as fast. The red haired girl grinned down at me from her place on the third rung of the ladder. Gah. Heights. I strained on the tip tops of my toes to hand her up some classic book that had so many pages Louis (sprawled out nearby) had declared it thick. With three c’s. And no K. What has this world come to!
I could feel Violet’s gaze on me from where she leans against a nearby table that she was meant to be scrubbing.
Violet and Asaim were meant to be on graffiti clean up duty. Alas it seemed the dude was immersing himself in the various dicks on his own, a loner deboner. Hah. That was a good one.
"Im used to it! Besides, it’s nice having someone else around who isn’t Louis, the good!" She stops what she doing and turns to me to the best of her abilities. My arm holding yet another heavy classic is outstretched towards her.
"Yeah." She sounds very sullen now. I silently yell at myself for doing that. As if I didn’t already seem like an outcast why with being the Principals daughter and all.
"Soph come on. I told you I'm getting over it." It being the exclusion, being the butt of shared classroom snigger causing jokes.
"Okay Clem, say you do get over being treated like shit and left out. What about the scars that are gonna be left behind? You'll always have those scars. And with those scars you have a chance of that wound being open again. Like a blister-“ “Ew” I interrupted and she shot me one of her looks. “-Well you can count on me Miss Everett! I'm not gonna let you down. I just wish I gave you a chance before."
She finishes her statement with a dazzling smile. I chuckle once more at her enthusiasm. I’m practically Chuckie at this stage.
"I truly believe you won't Sophie." I flashed her a dazzling smile of my own.
"Wow Clementine. Way to choke a girl up. Looking all cute in your little baseball cap and all!" I grinned again and dropped the book I had in my hand on the table. It was heavy. I walked towards her, her having since jumped off the ladder, and wrapped her up in a hug.
Her arms encircled my waist as she leant down (Sophie? More like SOTALLphie.) and she practically lifted me off the ground a few centimeters. I allowed myself a few seconds of just returning the hug and immersing myself in her comforting hold.
"I'm sorry." I mock pout when I pulled back, still keeping my arms locked behind her neck and hers stayed on my waist. She just shook her head and smiled.
“What kind of name is Charles Dickens?” Louis had awoken.
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I will myself to not stare at the willy on the other canvas. It was just..so detailed. A masterpiece, truly. A masterpenis.
I continue to paint the school mural, Tenn and Aj’s pointers on painting realistic tree leaves running through my mind. Making ‘smoosh’ sounds whilst using a flat headed brush.
I made a deal with Principal Dad. I said I'd paint a positive ‘student creative spurring and school inspector impressing’ mural for the school if I got to have the school WiFi password.
“Hey loser," someone sings softly, extending the y. I crane my neck to the left making hair fall into my eyes from my messy ponytail. Violet was standing there, leaning against the door frame with a huge smile on her face.
"And what's got you all smiley?" I tease. She laughs and puts her bag down then makes a running jump and hops up on the desk by me.
"I'm just real happy for the first time in months," she answers with shrug, as if her reasoning is meaningless. I put my paint brush down, wipe my hands on a nearby rag and pull her into a tight embrace that she returns whole heartedly. My hearts palpitating from the braveness. This is Sparta!
"God I missed this," she whispered against my neck.
"You missed what?" I ask softly, stroking her back unconsciously. We are now going to ignore the fact that I didn’t wipe my hands good enough and there’s a streak of white on her denim jacket.
"This. Just being able to hug you and forget everything else," she replied. It comes as a surprise to me that I mean that much to her, and then again it doesn't. These last few weeks she's been trying to convince me that she cares. Now that I'm finally listening I wonder why I didn't forgive her a long time ago. Even though she didn’t properly apologize.
Truthfully I know that answer. I know it was that underlying insecurity that kept me from this. I guess that's another thing I have to thank Sophie for. And that was that something else would happen that would make her leave or throw a fit again. I’d be alone again. Or that Minnie would reappear with her side shaven hair. And tallness!
"I missed you," I finally answer back even though we have only been apart for what a few days?
"You don't have to say that if you don't mean it Clem," she mutters. I pull back from our embrace reluctantly. I feel she knows I mean more about her absence after our falling out than the past few days.
"Why would you think I don't mean it?" Explain yourself, lesbian.
"Do you understand all the terrible unforgivable things I've done to you?"
"Yes." But I try not to think about them.
"I don't think you do. Rocky I left you in the dust. But even before that I was a complete and utter cunt to you. Yet you still stayed in your boat floating up the shit river that is me.” Horrid metaphorical use.
“I just completely ignored you when you may have needed me the most with your dad working all the time and Aj becoming independent. We both think I'm selfish and that I believe I deserve everything in this world but the one thing I know I don't deserve is you. You could have given up on me or told everyone about the whole dyslexia thing but you didn’t." The sincerity and unbelieving-esque of her words almost brings me to my knees.
"Violet, you deserve to have someone have your back! Through thick with three c’s and no k and thin." She won't look at me so I take her chin and make her look at me. "Stop that. I've forgiven you Vi."
"Yeah but I haven't forgiven myself," she says her voice thick with self-loathing.
"We all make mistakes Violet. You shouldn't beat yourself up over this." She lowers her head. I can tell that she isn't going to listen to me, so I just take her hand and kiss her knuckles lightly. Callouses. Her green eyes follow my every move as I press her hand firmly to my heart.
"How do you do that?" she asks with a shake of her head.
"Do what?"
"And you don't even realize you're doing it," she chuckles.
"What are you talking about you goof?" I joke and playfully shove her. She grips my hand back and smiles. I pray my hat doesn’t tilt off. The floor has crumbs of crackers on it!
"How do you just make everything better with a simple action? You're the only person that's ever been able to do that to me."
"Really?" She squeezes my hand lightly.
"Yeah, really." Her legs wrap around my hips to bring me closer and I don't protest. The hand that isn't holding mine cups my cheek. It moves subtly trying to bring my face closer to hers. We-we can’t do this. Someone could walk in and we’ve been doing this dancing around talking about us game all week and it was getting seriously old. Like that sandwich in Aj’s bag.
"Vi stop," I whispered. Her legs tightened.
"How about you try that again but this time say it more convincingly," she whispers just a hair away from my lips. It's torture not closing the distance.
Her arms circle around my neck more so and her fingers play with the baby hairs at the nape of my neck. She tilts her head. Dammit.
"Why? What are we doing here? Please Vi." My voice cracks at the end. Prepubescent Louis could never.
"What do you mean?" She asks searching my eyes.
"I just want to be friends." I know it shouldn't pain me as much as it does to say that. She shook her head, her dirty blonde hair bouncing, "No you don't. Since the first day of this study thing I've seen the way you look at me." She moves her other hand to cup my cheek. "Why are you denying this?"
"What are you doing out of class anyway?" I move from between her legs and pick up the paint brush again. She sighs and I'm already missing her warmth but I continue painting. "I always skip geometry," she says nonchalantly. I turn and fix my disapproving gaze on her. She meets my eyes head on.
"You shouldn't skip classes," I whisper.
She scoffs. Typical.
"I shouldn't do a lot of things," she replied then looked down at me then at her hands and wrung them. "Then why do you?" Her head is still down allowing her hair to frame her face with a curtain of tendrils.
"I don't know," she sighed. "Maybe because it's the fact that I'm expected to do them, you know? Sometimes I want to.” I do know what she means. Having expectations on you is like having a cinder block tied to your ankle pulling you underwater.
"I'm sorry." I find myself saying. She finally meets my eyes again. She seems frustrated and annoyed that I’m saying that.
"Why are you sorry?"
"I'm sorry you go through that." She shakes her head.
"It's not your fault.”
"No, it's not.”
I turn back to the mural. "I'm sorry that you don't get that other people's expectations doesn't matter. The expectations you have for yourself do." I could feel her stare on me.
"Only strong people can do that. And," she chuckles. "And I'm not that strong emotionally.” You’re not strong physically. Who do you think you’re fooling? Damn near dropped me the other night.
"Yes you are." I say as my hand stops painting and I look at her in disbelief. "You're one of the strongest person I know." There's a silence between us. It's broken shortly after someone comes through the door. “Can we talk later? I want to- I want to apologize properly and- and explain myself.” She looks so innocent and small in asking this.
"Hey babe, I brought you lunch. Do you want Greek salad or-" Sophie stops when she sees us. I send a silent thank you to whoever is watching over me that Soph didn't catch Violet and I in a more intimate position.
"Am I Interrupting something?"
"Yes."
"No."
Vi and I answer simultaneously. Sophie raises her eyebrow at us. "No you weren't Soph." I walk over to her and give her a side hug. She gives me a goofy smile in return. Out of the corner of my eye I see Violet gagging and send her a warning glare. Her jaw is clenched and her arms are protectively crossed at her midriff.
"If you guys are doing something I can always come back."
"That's a wonderful idea." Violet shoots me a look that I politely ignore.
"Actually Vi was just leaving." I grip Soph’s arm and lean my head on her shoulder. My glasses slide down a little which Sophie pushes up with a grin. I look into her eyes if only to ignore the hurt in Violet’s. For once I allow myself to not care about her and lose myself in blue eyes desperately willing my mind to not turn them green.
"Yeah I need to go. Bye lovebirds." She changes her tone from heartbroken to condescending quick.
:)