Under Seven Minutes // Private RP

“And just be honest with her. Try to put yourself in vulnerable situations, where you’re unmasked. Show her you trust her.” Irene seemed to be taking this very seriously and meticulously, but all of a sudden, she paused. “Wait—you promise you’re telling the truth about this? And if you messed up… just give it time.”

“I promise I’m not lying,” Gray answered almost instantly. “I would never lie about this. Not about Vy.”

Then he paused again, taking in her words. He sighed heavily. “That’s the part where it gets hard,” he admitted. “I hate being vulnerable. I hate being shown a side of myself that I’m not… familiar with. A side that people can use to turn it against me.”

Irene was most likely the greatest human lie-detector the college had ever seen. That being said, she believed the strange boy in front of her. She could see the truth, raw and admittedly awkward, behind his words. So, for now, she decided to trust him. And though she seemed sweet and naive, she could get very dangerous, very fast.

“Violeta isn’t going to use anything against you,” she told him simply, speaking in her usual, factual manner. “All that being said, I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’re going to get very far with her. I hope you sort out your misunderstanding and lose the rivalry, it’s evidently hurting the both of you, but beyond friendship? I don’t think there’s much you can do at this point.”

Gray fell silent, taking in her words. She was right. Why did he ever think it would work out? Him and Violeta? It was always supposed to be a silly crush. There was never a ‘something more.’

“You’re right, I suppose. I’m a player. She’s… Violeta. She deserves someone better. Anyway,” he stood up, fixing up the mask he had dropped from his face. He wore another one of his masks. Cool, composed and collected. “Thank you for the advice. I’m sorry for wasting your time. I’ll be taking my leave then.”

Irene peeled the remains of her sandwich off her lap, giving Gray a sad smile. “Oh, and before I forget. Whether or not this goes anywhere, if you ever hurt my best friend again, you’re going to regret it.” Her voice was strangely soft, despite the severity of the statement she had just spoken. “I will not hesitate to decorate your face with bruises.”

“I’ve never had the intention of hurting her,” Gray responded calmly. “And if I ever do, I wouldn’t do anything to stop you.”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and without sparing a glance back, he walked away.

That went well. Extremely.

Though he always knew it was never going to work out, actually hearing it hurt. She never gave him a chance. It wasn’t like he had ever given her a reason to.

Irene stared after him. She was a smart girl, adept at riddles and complex equations, a girl who could spin numbers and theories out of thin air, all the while toting her huge bag of books. But try as she might…. she couldn’t seem to puzzle this boy out.

[TIME SKIP - one week later]

Violeta glanced out the library window, curled up in her usual arm chair while she waited for Aria to come for her lesson. But today, her thoughts were not on her younger student, but rather, on her older brother.

Gray.

Confusing, painful, frustrating Gray, who never missed a day of classes, but who was nowhere to be seen. Violeta hadn’t seen him at all today…. and though she knew how fortunate that was, she couldn’t help but feel concerned.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Amanda questioned her daughter, who smiled at her.

“I’m going to be fine,” she promised. “I’m not… as affected by this day as he is. Have a nice day at work, mom.”

Amanda sighed before pressing a kiss to her forehead. They bid goodbye and Aria walked inside the building, biting the insides of her cheeks. She located her tutor at a window table and slowly walked over to her, thoughts on her brother.

“Good afternoon, V,” Aria greeted, taking a seat, a lot less chirpier than she usually was. Did she even deserve to be happy today when her brother wasn’t? “Today’s lesson was a lot simpler, so I think it would just take a while.”

“Hey, Ari,” Violeta greeted warmly, but her smile quickly turned into a frown. “Hey, what’s wrong? You seem…. tired. Is everything okay?”

The thirteen-year-old merely grinned.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she responded cheerfully. “But I do feel a little tired. I’ll take a nap when I get home.”

Violeta relaxed, giving a nod and a smile. “Alright.” But before she could stop herself, another question was slipping out. “D’you know where your brother is? He and I were supposed to work on a project in class today, but he wasn’t there.”

Aria blinked before sighing, running a hand through her hair. She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to contemplate an answer.

“I don’t know where he is,” she admitted honestly. “You won’t see him at all today, though. Probably not tomorrow, either.”

Once again, Violeta’s smile turned into a frown.

“Oh,” she murmured, unsure how to feel about this, “Is he sick, or with friends?”

Aria winced.

“It’s not… my place to say…” she said slowly. “The only thing I can say is that it’s a rough day for him. He’s hard to find when he wants to be alone.”

Violeta’s entire stance changed.

“Oh…” her eyes softened considerably. “I’m sorry for prying.. and I’m sorry about your brother. Could you—“

Here, she paused. What am I doing??

“If you see him, could you ask him to give me a call? Your mum has my number.”

“I’ll try,” Aria nodded in understanding. “Again, he might not be back today.”

“Yeah, I understand,” Violeta murmured. After a minute or so, she gestured to Aria’s bag. “So, let’s get started. What did you need help with today?”

“Physics,” she crinkled her nose in response, taking out her book from her bag. “We’re doing Inertia right now and it’s driving me insane.”

Gray:

It was funny how the day—or days—you dreaded most always came back. This day, for Gray, was one of those days. Empty, cold, grieving. Did he deserve it? Maybe. Maybe the pain that came with this day was something he deserved. This day, he spent alone.

Gray looked ahead, eyes blank, void of any emotions. He tossed a pebble in the air before catching it again, never removing his eyes from in front of him. Maybe he should move. This was too much of an obvious place to be. Graveyard. It would be the first place Amanda would check if she wanted to search for him. Even if she knew he wanted to be alone, she’d do it.

He didn’t deserve it. None of it. The foster family, the warm house, food. He deserved nothing.

So he stayed there, staring emptily at the stone. Like he did every year, he sat there in silence.

Violeta tugged the sleeves of her sweater down over her hands, strangely chilly in the moderate temperature. Having finished with Aria, she made her way over to her art studio, just in case there was anything she could help out with.

But just as she was rounding a corner, she caught sight of a very familiar figure…

Maybe he should have stayed there. It was a dumb idea to move around. He should have just stayed there, but that would have involved him breaking. He couldn’t find it in himself to do that. So had Gray pulled himself to his feet to walk around, reminding himself of what he had and what he had lost. So when he comes back after a while, he’s numb.

But as Gray finally decided to head back, he caught side of familiar hair. A familiar figure. Violeta.

If it had been a normal day, he would have smiled. But it wasn’t a normal day. He looked at her as if he wasn’t really seeing her. His eyes cold, face uncharacteristically blank. She had nothing to do with him. There was nothing he had to say to her.

Violeta’s fatal flaw? She had an enormous weak spot for people in pain. No matter how much she feared or hated a person, the sight of them in pain beckoned to her, called her motherly, nurturing side out of hiding.

And when she looked at Gray, that feeling increased tenfold.

Before she had fully grasped the situation, Violeta found herself moving forward, her worried eyes fixed to his expressionless ones.

“Gray?”

“Gray?” The teenager blinked, looking over at the girl who called him over. Was that concern on her features? If he was in a good mood, he would have commented on it. Instead, he gave her another blank look. He didn’t voice his thoughts aloud. What did she even want from him?

She didn’t ask if he was okay, because he’d already given an answer. Instead of overwhelming him with questions and concerns, she merely hooked two fingers into the crook of his elbow and pulled him down the street.

“I’m buying you coffee.” Her voice was soft, cautious, but even so, it was clear that the offer was non-negotiable.

At first, Gray let her lead him along, but then questions prodded at his numb mind. Was she worried? For him? Gray couldn’t understand why. She hated him. She feared him, he made her anxious so why? Why did she keep giving him hope onl—he expelled that thought, regained his composure and dug his heels into the ground.

Grabbing her hand, he tugged his arm free.

“Go home,” he muttered in a quiet tone. “I don’t need coffee.”

Violeta didn’t miss a beat. “Then I’ll get you a croissant.” Taking hold of his arm again, she tugged him through the streets. Her inner mother hen had completely taken over. Seeing him like this… it was unsettling.

“Violeta,” Gray clipped, pulling his arm out of her hold again. “I don’t need anything. Go home.”

Violeta gestured vaguely to his slumped posture. “I can’t leave you like this.”

Gray quirked an eyebrow.

“I’m pretty sure you can,” he responded calmly. “I prefer being alone.”