Under Seven Minutes // Private RP

Violeta pushed her free hand through her hair, evidently distressed. “I’m really sorry, it won’t happen again—There isn’t a mess, I promise. I sprayed some Febreze and opened a window—And Ari, it’s not your fault, please don’t worry.”

“Violeta,” Amanda’s eyebrows furrowed sternly. “We don’t care about that. What matters is whether you’re okay or not. Sit down, rest up. Drink your tea—you’ll feel better.”

Violeta’s anxious motions slowed to a stop. Gradually, her shoulders sank in relief; Amanda wasn’t upset. She wasn’t going to be fired, she wasn’t going to be mocked. The poor girl nodded her head meekly and reseated herself, uttering a quiet ‘thank-you’.

All the while, Gray’s eyes never strayed away from Violeta. Not when Aria joined her on the couch and definitely not when she began to sip the tea. His jaw clenched—he knew she wasn’t sick. At least, not like that. That pale face, the way she barely ate anything… he couldn’t help but link it to himself. She always got uncomfortable around him. It would make sense.

“Do you need more honey?” Amanda questioned, seating herself and slowly running her fingers through Violeta’s hair. Touching something Gray wanted to for a long time. He immediately turned his head away.

Violeta caught herself before she could lean into the touch. Just because Amanda was breaking down the warm but cautiously polite boundaries they’d kept in the past, didn’t mean she got to do the same. Especially after what she’d done.

“No, thank you,” she answered quietly, guilt and shame seeping into her voice. I shouldn’t be doing this… Every few seconds, her eyes zipped to Grayson’s. What would he do, now that he’d seen her so weak? Her hands tightened around the teacup.

When Gray felt eyes on him, he immediately banished the longing from his face as if it wasn’t there. He fixed his gaze on his foster mother, who looked rather worriedly at the girl. He knew she liked her. Too much, it seemed. Perhaps it was because Gray liked her, or because she was a sister to Aria, Gray didn’t know. What he did know was that Amanda liked Violeta. It made him happy.

“I’ll walk you home,” Gray said quietly, speaking up before his mother or sister could. He silently dared her to refuse. Even if she did, Amanda would insist. “After you’re done with the tea.”

Violeta’s eyes widened in alarm. No, no, no. Internally, she began to panic. What would he do to her in retaliation for her unforgivable act? What would he say? Would he try to hurt her?

“I—Thank you, but it’s fine,” she answered hurriedly, despite the looming threat of darkness beyond the house’s walls. For a woman especially, walking alone at night was never a good idea. To add to it all, her pepper spray was still in her dorm room…

“No, let him,” Amanda insisted. “I wouldn’t want anything happening to you. It’s late.”

“I’ll walk you home,” Gray repeated, hands in his pockets. “So don’t wory about anything.”

Violeta could only nod, helpless as she awaited the horror show that was to come. She half-contemplated lying, saying that her roommate had a car and could pick her up, but she knew that Amanda would quickly realize the untruth once a car didn’t pull up in her driveway. There was nothing to do but sit there and finish her tea, no matter how terrified she was.

Finally, she was done.

“Come visit again,” Amanda said to her as Aria ran to put the empty cup in the sink. Amanda wrapped her arms around the girl, hugging her briefly before pulling back. “It was a pleasure having you here. Gray hasn’t behaved weirdly, so that was a plus, too.”

“Oh, come on,” Gray groaned, shooting his foster mother a dramatic look, walking behind her when she pulled away from Violeta, and wrapped his own arms around her neck. “Are you seriously being like this, Amanda? Sometimes I think you love teasing me more than you love me.”

Amanda laughed, slapping her son on the arm.

“That’s true,” she teased him. “Go on, then. Walk her home.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Gray peeled himself off of her before turning towards Violeta. “Come on.”

Violeta kept her eyes trained on the ground as Grayson exchanged a few words with his mother. She uttered a few more apologies and thank-yous, but was soon out the door…. with Gray close behind. The moment Amanda’s comforting presence had disappeared, she felt her muscles lock up in fear.

“Aria thinks of you like an older sister,” Gray spoke up, walking beside her slowly, keeping his eyes in front of him, hands in his pockets. “It’s just us two, but she always wanted a big sister. You can’t exactly talk to your brother the way you would to a sister.”

Violeta inhaled shakily, struggling to keep the last of her composure. “What—What do you want from me, Gray?” she asked after a lengthy pause, wary, confused, and anxious about what was to come.

Gray shot her a raised eyebrow, though his heart skipped a beat when she spoke his name. Even if it was coated with fear.

“Nothing,” he answered honestly. “I don’t want anything from you.”

Grayson, she reminded herself sternly, Not Gray.

“Then why are you doing this?” Violeta asked quietly. Why are you going this far to pretend you care?

“I’m not pretending,” Gray answered with a small sigh. “You know, I’m really not going to force myself on you. I may be a flirt, but I know where to draw the line.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she answered immediately, what seemed like the millionth half-truth of the evening. “You know what I mean. Don’t—Don’t play with me, Gray, I’m sick of your games.”

Gray finally stopped walking, letting out another sigh.

“Whatever I’m going to say, you’re going to ignore,” he said softly, looking at her right in the eyes. “You’re going to pick out on something else, no matter what I say. So really, why are you asking me this?”

All of a sudden, my fear melted into anger. “Yes, I’m going to pick out on something else,” I told him, quietly but full of impromptu fury. “Because there’s a long list of things to care about, Grayson. I don’t—I don’t understand you. Why? Why are you doing this?”

“Who knows,” Gray shrugged, pleased to have her feel something other than anger. It didn’t matter whether her words were like needles. Anything was better than that fear. “Why do you think I want something from you?”

“Stop,” Violeta breathed, “Stop. For god’s sake, just stop.” He was still toying with her, still twisting her mind, trying to make her say it aloud. Well, she wasn’t going to cave in to his goddamm torment. “You know why. I know why. So stop trying to make me say it. Please. Just—Just walk me to my dorm and be done with it.

“That’s the whole goddamn problem,” Gray finally exclaimed in exasperation. “I don’t know! I don’t know why you hate me. I don’t know why you always look at me like I’m an ant beneath your shoes. I don’t know why you always seem to be afraid whenever I’m around even though I’ve always tried to keep up a respectable distance whenever we’re together. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing wrong if you don’t tell me outright so I can fix it.”

He was still pretending. Still trying to twist her words, still trying to bend her to his will. Violeta felt sick all over again. Her anger was completely spent, draining out of her and leaving nothing but desperation and exhaustion. “Please,” she repeated in a tiny voice, hugging her middle.

Gray stared at her for a couple of minutes, fighting off the urge to wrap his arms around her. Please. The small, scared voice. Terrified Violeta. Because of him.

“I’ll walk you to your dorm now,” he muttered, looking forward again. “Let’s go.”

He didn’t speak again.

Violeta didn’t relax for the entire twenty-five minute walk home. Gray lived close to campus, but even so, the way back was painfully slow, minutes stretching out into eternity. When they finally arrived, tense and silent, she paused, unsure what to say.

Though Gray wanted to spend a little more time with her, he was pleased to reach her dorm. He looked at her once they stopped.

“Goodnight,” he said quietly, waiting for her to walk inside.

Violeta gave a tiny nod, not daring to meet his eyes. After a few moments of fumbling around with her keys, she uttered a soft “Thank your mother for me,” and was gone.

Gray shook his head, heaving a sigh before he turned around, walking away. This wasn’t good. Gray never told anyone he was adopted. He preferred to keep his background a secret, not because he was ashamed, but because he hated talking about it. And now the girl who hated his guts knew about it.

Violeta drifted up the stairs and in the general direction of her room, not bothering to take the elevator. She wasn’t lost in thought, just… drained. Empty. All her anger and fear was spent, and by battling back her revulsion, all that was left behind was a lingering sense of numbness.

When she finally arrived at her room, the door swung open to reveal her hardcore, red-headed roommate, Lillian.

“Where were you??” she demanded, pulling Violeta inside.

“Tutoring,” she mumbled in response, turning away. “That’s bullshit,” Lillian answered bluntly. “Are you okay?? What happened?”

“Nothing.”

[TIME SKIP: TWO DAYS LATER]

“What we’re doing this month is very simple,” their teacher, Carter, started, snapping Gray out of his thoughts. “We’re going to do a problem-based project. You’ll all be in pairs and each group will work on a different problem related to environmental science. I’ll be selecting your groups for you. They’ll be on the board.”

Gray looked at the projector as it turned on and he sighed heavily when he saw who he was paired up with.

Violeta. The universe truly hated him.