Another week went by. Violet and Sal were unseparable. By now, all of Nockfell High School was convinced that they were a couple, given that they held hands at any opportunity they had, including walking through the hallways. Most kids were too consumed in their own exhaustion to care, while others were oddly disturbed by it. Of course, Travis shared his thoughts on it multiple times per day, every single day. His use of homophobic slurs against them was rather confusing to Violet, but she chose not to acknowledge it. 

Today, however, none of the gossip or pointing and whispering mattered, because Violet had a plan. She got up early to make space on her dresser for Hot Sauce's tank. Larry and Sal agreed to help her transport him. 

Of course, she was rather nervous about her mother meeting the boys, especially Sal. But, the conversation she had with her nearly several months ago stuck with her. Although she had her quirks, she was always good to her. It hurt Violet to know that her own mother felt that her daughter was embarrassed of her. What a perfect way to prove her wrong. Plus, her father wouldn't be home for another few hours, so they'd have plenty of time to set things up.

There was no way he could find out that she was so close with two boys.

"Alright, here's the plan," Larry began as the three stood in his bedroom. "We take the fish out of the tank and carry him separately. That way if the tank gets dropped, we don't have a mess and a dead fish to deal with. I even got a cup." He held up a green plastic cup with a victorious grin on his face, causing Sal and Violet to smile.

"Good thinking, Larry. One of you will carry the tank and the other will take Hot Sauce. I'll grab his food and other supplies," Violet added on.

With that, the trio got to work. Violet dipped Larry's cup into the fish tank, filling it halfway with water. She then carefully scooped Hot Sauce out of the tank with a net and placed him into it. His fins shuttered as he confusedly looked around at his new environment. "Sorry, buddy," she apologized.

"Heh, it's his car now," Sal joked while taking the cup into his hands.

Larry shook his head, but let out a small laugh. "Too soon, dude."

Since the accident, everyone's injuries were healing nicely. Violet was able to remove the gauze from inside of her nose and some of it off the top. The bruises beneath her eyes were beginning to yellow, indicating that they'd soon disappear. Larry, Ash, and Todd's faces had mostly healed and were now mostly scattered with tiny pink lines. Larry still had a few scabs though, but they'd fall off any day now.

Once Violet gathered the rest of Hot Sauce's supplies, Larry unplugged the tank and lifted it off of the dresser. "Shit, this is heavier than I remember," he grunted. "Let's go."

The three made no haste in making it to the elevator. Sal used his free hand to jab the button a few times. Fortunately, they weren't left to wait for very long. Larry still complained about the weight of the tank the entire way to Violet's apartment, however. But this wasn't terribly surprising. 

"Hang in there, Larry," she told him, digging her key into the lock on her front door. 

"Doin' my best," he groaned.

Once Violet pushed the door open, her heart sunk. Of course, her mother chose today to leave her books and research notes all over the coffee table and couch of their living room. Oddly enough, she wasn't working on any of it. In fact, Violet wasn't even sure that she was in the house. She must have gone grocery shopping. They were rather low on food, after all.

"Hello?" She called, gesturing for the boys to follow her to her bedroom. No answer. 

Larry was too concerned about the fish tank to even notice the mess in the living room. But she did notice Sal sneaking a peek at her mother's work. It made her want to curl up in a ball and disappear. She wasn't embarrassed of her kind, and very loving mother. It was just her...interest. Her disturbing, mind-boggling fascination that she put an unhealthy amount of time into. 

She had to remind herself that at least she had a living mother. Sal would probably adore having a life like her's. She needed to stop being so selfish.

Once they made it into her bedroom, Larry rushed over to her dresser and slammed the tank down on top of it. He exhaled loudly before giving both of his arms a rather violent shaking out. Sal scoffed and shook his head at his best friend's dramatic behavior.

"Yeesh, easy there," Violet said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Are you okay?"

"Shit was heavy, little dude," he replied, breathlessly.

"I'll say."

Sal took the opportunity to quickly look around Violet's room. Her bed was neatly made, with her baby pink comfortor smoothed over the mattress. Leaning against her pillows was a small, raggedy stuffed animal. He couldn't tell if it was a bear or a dog due to its condition. Although, it was rather obvious that it had been deeply loved by her for a very long time. She didn't have any posters on her walls like he and Larry did, but she did have a few framed photos of herself with her parents hanging up. In one of them, she had a wide grin on her face and was missing multiple teeth. She hadn't changed very much since she was young.

Violet also had a small desk tucked in the corner. It was stacked high with papers and textbooks, as well as a few decorative knicknacks. From what he could see, most of the papers were handwritten notes from school. Not even Todd put this much work into his education. 

"Earth to Sally Face!" Came Larry's voice, snapping Sal out of his thoughts. "Hot Sauce can go back in his tank, now."

"Right, sorry."

Violet lifted the lid off of the fish tank and watched as he slowly tipped the cup over it. Soon enough, a flash of red slipped out and into the water, along with the rest of the water that they'd taken earlier for transportation. She giggled as he circled around the neck of his guitar decoration. "He's so cute."

"Hey," Larry said from beside her bed, "what the hell is this?" The pair turned their heads, only to see him holding up the stuffed animal that Sal was observing just moments before. 

Violet hurriedly snatched it out of his hand. "Not yours, that's what it is."

"Is it your teddy bear?" He teased.

"Yes, actually. My mom and dad put him in my nursery before I was born."

"I like it," Sal commented, leaning over her shoulder to get a better look. The poor thing was so worn down that its "fur" was matted and one of its eyes was barely hanging on by a thread. The fact that Violet was so attached to this thing couldn't be more adorable.

"Him," she corrected. "His name is Buttons."

"Shit, my bad, Buttons," Larry said. Sal shot him a glare as he pressed a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh.

Violet gently returned Buttons back to his spot on her bed before plopping down at her desk. "I have some studying to do. Thank you, boys."

"Kicking us out already?" Sal taunted. "We never got a change to take our shoes off."

"Eh, we were gonna play video games anyway," Larry told her, playfully shoving him toward the door. "You sure you don't wanna come?"

She smiled. "No, thank you."

"Suit yourself. See ya, little dude."

"Bye, Larry."

Sal gave her a small wave. "See you tomorrow, Vi."

"Bye, Sally."

> > >

Messages

hey :)

Hi, Sally :)

ur up late r u okay?? do u need me to come get u????

I'm okay. I just got done studying. Are you okay?

i just wanted to tell u something

What is it?

i love you

I love you too, Sally.

u didn't say that before u were ready right?

No, I'm ready. I think I understand my feelings now.

i'm proud of u!!!

I'm getting very tired, Sally.

go to sleep, my Violet. i love you

Goodnight, Sally. I love you back.

End of Messages