Everyone was asleep except him. This was no surprise. Despite having taken a full dose of his sleeping medication, Sal was wide awake. He'd spent the last several hours staring into the darkness of the treehouse and listening to Larry's low, rumbling snores. Ever since his mother passed, spent most nights lying awake until dawn, contemplating virtually every aspect of his life. Although, Violet coming around certainly made nights like this easier to bear.

Sal thought about his newest friend a lot. Much more than he cared to admit. He thought about her smile, her voice, her hair, her kindness, her humor, the way she held his hand, and of course how she picked up the habit of calling him Sally all the time. There was nothing he'd change about her.

Sometimes he wondered if she felt the same way about him. If Violet truly wasn't bothered by his face or his awkward personality. It was hard to believe that someone, especially a girl, could want any sort of romantic relationship with someone like him. But then he looked over at her, his eyes falling onto their hands. Her fingers were now curled around his thumb and squeezing ever so lightly. As far as he knew, Violet never held Larry or Todd's hands. She didn't visit their apartments just to watch TV or play video games with them. Heck, she didn't even do that with Ashley.

No matter how many times Sal went back and forth with himself, he couldn't quite come to the conclusion that Violet had feelings for him. For now, he settled with the possibility that she viewed him as her closest friend, which was okay.

What troubled the teen boy the most was the situation with the paranormal activity in the apartments. Violet was already much too involved for his liking. He couldn't stand that she'd had multiple encounters with the Red-Eyed Demon. Even with her mother having studied this topic for years, she hadn't dealt with anything like this until she met him. Part of Sal wondered if it was his fault.

The thought of ending his friendship with her had crossed his mind several times. Maybe if he left her alone, the demon would do the same. But how could he just cut her off after how much he'd grown to care about her? How could he tell her that they couldn't dance together or hold hands or watch movies with Gizmo together anymore? The very idea of it was too much to bear.

Sal rolled onto his side to face Violet. The moonlight creeping through the window illuminated her sleeping form. She was now sprawled out on her back with her hair fanning out across her pillow. Her chest steadily rose and fell with each breath she took. She was at peace. After the night she had, she deserved it too.

"I wish I knew what to do," he whispered, careful not to wake her. "I want you to be safe."

Violet stirred, taking in a deep breath and tightening her grip on his thumb. The boy smiled weakly as she did so, reaching over to rub circles on the back of her palm with his free hand. Leaving her behind couldn't be the right thing to do. It just couldn't. There had to be another way.

"I'll do whatever it takes."

> > >

Violet felt a bit nervous walking into advanced algebra on Monday morning. She wasn't sure why. Mrs. Packerton seemed to enjoy having her as a student, and she didn't have a hard time getting along with others. Besides, she doubted she'd be having to make any new friends, as Sal was already taking the class.

"Good morning, Violet," Mrs. Packerton chirped as she stepped into the classroom. "I'm so happy you made the switch. I think this will be a wonderful opportunity for you!"

The young girl forced a cheerful smile onto her face. "Thank you, Mrs. Packerton. I won't let you down."

Her eyes scanned the room in search of Sal's vibrant blue hair, but were unable to find him. She shrugged and made her way toward an empty seat in the back of the classroom. This seemed like somewhere Sal would sit. He must have been running behind.

Students began filing into the classroom one-by-one, causing Violet's anxiety levels to rise. A girl dropped into the seat on her right and dropped her textbook onto the desk. Violet kept her eyes glued to the doorway, praying that the next person to come in would be Sal. Unfortunately, she was let down every time.

When a particular blonde boy in a purple sweater stormed through the doorway, the teen found herself supressing a gasp. Sal never told her that Travis was in this class. He didn't seem like the type to care about doing well in school. Perhaps he was naturally gifted in math.

Violet shook her head and focused her attention back on the entrance. Three more students made their way in before Sal appeared. She could have sworn that he glanced at her before plopping down in the seat closest to the door, despite her excited waving to him. But Violet knew him better than that. He wouldn't ignore her.

Class began shortly after this. Violet tried not to let Sal's mistake distract her from the lesson, but she couldn't help herself. What if it wasn't a mistake and he was angry at her? That couldn't be true. They hadn't spoken much at all since Saturday, and he certainly wasn't angry then. What could have possibly changed?

"Violet," Mrs. Packerton's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, "how do we solve an equation we cannot factor?"

"I-I, uh, the quadratic formula...right?" She stammered.

"Correct! And that is?"

"The opposite of B plus or minus the square root of B squared minus 4 AC over 2A."

"Precisely!"

Fortunately, Violet wasn't called on again for the rest of class. She did her best to take notes, but her paper ended up being covered in random numbers and unsolved equations. Why was she so out of sorts over this? Sal just wasn't paying attention. It was probably hard for him to see past his prosthetic sometimes. It wasn't a big deal.

The second the bell rang, the girl stuffed her things into her backpack and hurried toward Sal, who was already making his way out the door.

"Sally," she said, falling into step with him, "did you forget we have algebra together now?"

He kept his gaze locked ahead of him. "Oh, uh, yeah I forgot. Sorry about that."

His voice sounded different. Violet couldn't pinpoint what it was, but she could tell something in his tone was off. She frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"No."

"Was it Travis?"

"No, he didn't do anything. Don't worry about it."

"Sally."

"Yeah?"

She placed a hand on his upper arm. "You don't have to keep things from me. We're friends, remember?"

"Yeah...I remember..."