"Mom, what exactly is it that you're trying to summon?" Violet asked, grimacing as her mother started lighting candles.

"The Red-Eyed Demon," she replied, giving a nonchalant shrug.

"Doesn't that thing kill people?"

"Not necessarily."

"That doesn't make summoning a demon safe, you know."

The woman chuckled, pulling the curtains closed and allowing the candles to light the room with an orange hue. "I would never summon anything that could hurt us."

Violet sighed and headed toward her bedroom, careful not to trip over any boxes. The house was already beginning to smell of scented wax. She couldn't stand them. They gave her such a headache.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

i'm at Larry's. wanna come hang out?

I don't have a key card to the basement, though.

if you had a key card, would you say yes?

I don't see why not.

i'll be right up :)

Violet looked at her mother. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd be too encased in her ritual to notice that her daughter wasn't home. For once, she was grateful for that.

With ease, the teen girl was able to slip out of the front door without acknowledgment, silently closing it behind her. She leaned her back against the wall and sighed as a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

That was when the lights flickered. Violet perked up, feeling chills crawl up her spine. A strange buzzing filled her ears, causing her heart rate to quicken. As her eyes wildly scanned the hallway, she spotted a dark figure standing several feet from her. It appeared to be a shadowy silhouette of a person with no feature but a pair of blood-red eyes.

It was the Red-Eyed Demon.

The buzzing grew louder. The lights flickered again. She could feel her heart pounding through her fingertips. Still, Violet didn't move a muscle. She feared that one wrong step would cause serious destruction. No...she knew it.

The apparition was motionless. It did nothing more than glower at the girl, despite the chaotic flickering of the lights. It's beaming red gaze conveyed nothing but evil. Violet felt herself begin to tremble uncontrollably, nausea overtaking her senses. At this point, she wasn't sure whether to let herself faint or try to escape. Neither option seemed to have a good ending.

Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the demon was gone. The buzzing was gone, leaving Violet's ears ringing. It hurt her eyes to have to adjust to normal lighting. She couldn't look away from where the shadow had stood. It was just...gone. It was like nothing ever happened, but her thundering heart and shaky palms proved otherwise.

A series of questions flooded her head. Where did the demon go? What happened to her? Was she already dead? By now, she had long forgotten that Sal was on his way from the basement to fetch her. She didn't even noticed when he appeared at her side.

"Vi, are you alright?"

She jumped, her head snapping in his direction. "I-I, uh...I—yeah."

"You're shaking," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You startled me."

"Did you...see something?"

Violet looked back to where the apparition stood once again. No trace of it had been left behind. Part of her was tempted to tell Sal what happened, but she couldn't put it into words. It wasn't easy for a teenage girl to tell her friend that her mother managed to summon a demon without feeling insecure. "There's nothing to see."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sal coaxed.

"We shouldn't keep Larry waiting."

"O-Okay..."

> > >

After noticing how shaken up Violet was, Larry gave her a blanket and a glass of water to help her relax. She didn't say much. Instead, she listened to the boys chatter whilst curled up in a beanbag. Her trembling hands made it difficult to drink her water without spilling it, though it would've helped greatly with her dry mouth. She set it down beside her.

"My mom's, like, pissed dude," Larry ranted. "She keeps going on about how I'm too old to be getting into trouble."

"Did you explain what happened?" Sal asked.

"Yeah, only twenty times. She won't listen."

"She'll come around."

"How'd your dad react?"

Sal shrugged. "He wasn't that mad. He's just worried that I'll fall behind on my schoolwork."

Violet's parents shared that concern. After seeing the amount of work she brought home every night, they could hardly fathom the stress she'd be under after missing an entire week. She learned that they blamed the incident on the move from a conversation at breakfast. They decided that Violet was acting out because she missed home. Although it wasn't true, Violet didn't correct them. At least now they were cutting her some slack.

"So, Vi," Larry quizzed, "how's it going at your place?"

"My parents think that moving has caused me to act out. They aren't giving me hell for it, but I know they're disappointed," she concurred, her voice slightly wavering.

He hummed. "That sucks, dude. You shouldn't have even been punished. You weren't part of it."

"She told the principal it was her fault," Sal interjected, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Wait," she said, "how did you know that? You and Larry were separated from everyone else."

"Ash told me."

"It wasn't your fault, man," Larry insisted.

"Sal already told me that."

"He's right."

Violet pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders. "Bickering about who's at fault isn't conducive. We should probably make arrangements to get some of our schoolwork so we don't fall too far behind."

"Little dude," the dark-haired boy sighed. He moved closer, wrapping an arm around her side and looking up at the ceiling. Violet wanted to squirm out of his grasp, but remained still. "You worry too much about the small stuff. We have an entire week off. We can do whatever the hell we want!"

"Until school comes around and we're drowning in homework," she remarked.

"Who cares? Everything is optional if you don't give a shit about the consequences."

"But I do give a shit about the consequences."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I have a lot to teach you, Violet."

When Larry pulled away, she decided that the scent of both cologne and marijuana that lingered on his clothes wasn't working out for him. However, it wasn't necessarily out of place when it was on a boy with unkempt hair and wrinkled clothes. Not to mention the dark bags shadowing his eyes.

Moments later, a woman's voice called out from the living room. "Larry, who are you talking to?"

It was his mom.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Larry hissed, springing out of his beanbag. "I'm not supposed to have people over!"

Sal and Violet stood up as well, desperately looking for somewhere to hide. Suddenly, Sal grabbed the girl's arm and darted toward the staircase that led outside. Her body instantly went cold as the blanket fell onto the floor in a crumpled heap.

As the two made it outside, a gust of crisp autumn air hit their faces. Dry leaves crunched under their feet as they ran, drowning out the sound of their labored breathing. Violet's shaky knees made it difficult to keep up with her blue-haired friend. They ran all the way around the building until they made it to the front entrance, where they stopped to catch their breath. Sal placed a hand on the wall to support himself while Violet pushed her hair out of her face.

Soon enough, their breathing slowed and their heartbeats returned to their normal pace. They were silent for a few moments, simply enjoying the cool breeze dancing around them. Then, Sal began to snicker. Violet grinned, suppressing a giggle herself as his snickering turned into quiet laughter. She looked over at him and immediately met his gaze. His eyes were scrunched up from the smile hidden behind his prosthetic.

She gave in.

It wasn't long before the two were doubled over in laughter, leaning against one another for support. Tears spilled from their eyes as small wheezes escaped their lips. Violet felt her ribcage growing sore, causing her to clutch her sides. Still, she wouldn't have given this moment up for anything. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed like this with someone. For the first time in ages, she hadn't a care in the world.

Sal and Violet managed to regain their composure a few minutes later, both of them feeling too weak to stand. So, they sat down in the grass and leaned against the brick wall enclosing Addison Apartments. Violet picked up a yellow leaf and held it up to the sun, observing the spindly veins fanning from the core to the tips. Beside her, Sal was trying his best to hide the fact that he was watching. The prosthetic made it much easier.

"What's your favorite season, Sal?" The girl queried.

"Definitely winter," he replied. "I like the snow."

She smiled as the leaf slipped from between her fingers and was carried off by the breeze. "I like autumn."

They fell quiet again. The breeze playfully wisped through their hair and shuffled the vibrant leaves covering the ground. Somewhere off in the distance, windchimes tinkled cheerfully. Violet closed her eyes and allowed the peacefulness to engulf her. The familiar scent of cinnamon filled her nostrils as Sal's shoulder brushed against hers. It made her heart flutter.

"Maybe suspension isn't so bad," she chirped. "This is better than sitting in a classroom."

Sal grinned. "Are you suggesting that we get suspended more often?"

"I—no! I'm just saying that this experience might not be so miserable after all."

"So you're saying that I should kick Travis's ass on our first day back..."

"Sal!" She laughed, digging her elbow into his side. "No more suspensions!"

"Alright, alright," he surrendered.

"Wanna go play videogames?"

"I thought you'd never ask."