Violet

Eleven

Elliot, the man who’s name I don’t know, and I were currently sat in the large back room of the silent library. The sun was just beginning to set and I found myself zoning out, thinking of all that has happened this week. My therapist had mentioned trying to make friends with people that seemed as kind and caring as Regina. Silently I thought of Elliot, didn’t seem as maternally caring as Regina but he was nice to me none-the-less. I now considered us to be friends. I glanced up, from the book I was clearly not reading, to him. His face was scrunched in a concentrated frown at a book he had sectioned off. I heard movement coming from the left of me and I slightly moved my eyes towards the only other person in the room. 

The man looked hot to say the least. He had a strong muscular build, large hands and large arms clearly chalk full of muscle. His face held a prominent jaw line with an attractive amount of stubble coating his chin. His eyes were the color of amber and I found myself struggling to look away despite being caught checking him out. Elliot didn’t seem to notice our interaction as the stronger and I remained in what seemed to be an accidental staring contest. The man’s hair was short but he had dark black tendrils of it covering his forehead, stopping just above his beautifully intense eyes. We remained transfixed on each other before I heard the shuffling of paper and Elliot clearing his throat. 

“Well, I need to step out and use the restroom, I’m not feeling so well. Vi, will you be okay here by yourself?” Elliot questioned and I swung my head away from the beautiful man and looked towards him. 

“Yes, I think I will try and work more on this project but if you’re not feeling well we should wrap it up soon. Anyway, my mom will kill me if I’m out too late.” I spoke up with a grimace, not wanting to sound childish in front of Elliot…or the strangely attractive man. 

“Yeah, I need to get home soon too, gotta at least spend one day with the family this weekend before we go back to school on Monday.” Elliot responded with a chuckle and I smiled softly at him. 

As he turned to leave, I almost heard a soft growl coming from the direction of the strange man, I chose not to respond to it. I wondered if it was possible that I was going crazy. 

“How’s the project coming along?” I heard a deep, smooth voice speak out in the now quiet room once Elliot departed and, as much as I didn’t want to admit it, the sound sent shivers down spine. I glanced up from my work just in time to see the man sit in front of me, in Elliot’s now empty chair. 

“It’s frustrating and peculiar.” I responded slowly, trying to even out my breaths. I couldn’t figure out why it felt like the world trembles when he talks. I considered the possibility that it was just me that trembles. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the man chuckle. 

“Maybe I can help?” He questioned as he leaned forward in his seat to look at some of the paperwork Elliot had. 

I stumbled over my response but managed to spit it out, hoping I didn’t sound too nervous. 

“Ah, s-sure, Do you know anything about this?” I questioned. 

“I think the project is supposed to go over something called…ah, lycans.” I paused briefly to look at the notes I had made for the class, double checking the theme of the project. 

I heard a slight intake of breath and when I glanced back up at the man he bore an attractive smirk on his lips. I blinked once, slightly unsure as to what the smug look on his face meant. When he noticed me looking at him though, he dropped the look and smiled softly. 

“You’re not going to find much here in this library on that subject. I know we just met but my father owns an extensive library and he has a much larger selection of works that cover this topic.” He spoke up causing me to frown hard. 

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back in my chair, staring straight at him. 

“I don’t know anything about you.” I piped up quickly. 

A flurry of emotions crossed the strange mans face. I could only decipher a few. Confusion, concern, anger, and finally understanding. He sure was expressive with his emotions. I contemplated this as a silence enveloped us. 

“You’re right. I’m sorry, that was um, inappropriate of me.” The man seemed to sit straight up in his chair, composing his self slightly. 

“My name is Aiden Price.” He spoke smoothly, bearing a small smile as he reached his hand out for me to shake. 

A wave of anxiety crashed through me. I tried not to show it as I nodded my head once then looked away. When I returned my eyes back to his he seemed slightly annoyed but I paid it no mind. 

“My name is Violet, do you know Elliot? It looked like you two know each other.” I responded as I adjusted in my seat. 

I watched as Aiden chuckled then pulled his phone out to check it. I remained silent in my seat as I waited on him to finish up whatever it was he was doing. A few moments passed by before he finally put the phone away and looked up at me. 

“I apologize. Yes, I know Elliot, our families have known each other for a long time now. It was Elliot that texted me.” 

“He wanted me to tell you that he got sick at his stomach and was wondering if you would be okay with him going home and possibly bringing his school stuff to him on Monday.” Aiden relayed the message and I frowned as I pulled out my phone to check for any texts from him. 

“Oh he never texted me. Sure, yeah, I guess if he’s sick I’ll just take his stuff with me then.” I spoke up. 

Elliot seemed fine moments before but I damn sure wasn’t going to complain too much about being in Aiden’s presence. 

“Are you new to the town?” Aiden asked after a moment of silence. 

I sat my phone down on the table and looked at him. I gave a small smile which he politely returned. 

“Yes.” 

“Is it that obvious?” I questioned. Aiden nodded his head once with a teasing smirk. I shook my head in response, a smile playing at my lips. 

“My mom and I just moved here about a week or two ago.” I replied, hoping to be able to make friends with him. 

“What do you think of this place?” 

“Do you like it here?” He questioned.

“Surprisingly, yes, I do like it here. I like how small it is. I moved here from New York so I’m not really used to living in an area this small. I really like that I don’t have loud, rude people for neighbors. At least I don’t think I do. I haven’t met them yet.” I spoke, adding a sad chuckle at the end. 

“What about you?” 

“How old are you?” I questioned before Aiden could reply. 

My face flushed in color when I realized how rude I had come across. 

“I’m sorry, it’s really none of my business.” I followed up quickly. 

Aiden simply smiled patiently, then when he realized I was done he responded to my rambling. 

“I am twenty-two. What is your age?” Aiden questioned. 

“If you don’t mind me asking.” He followed up and I could just barely make out a hint of color coating his cheeks and neck. I smiled at him, finding his embarrassment adorable. 

“I don’t mind. I’m eighteen. I go to the local high school; should be graduating later on in the year.” I responded and I couldn’t help but feel like the small talk was nice. 

“Well, you seem very sweet Violet. Would you mind if I walked you home?” He questioned and I shot him a confused look, unsure of why he was ending our time together so soon. 

“It’s getting late, and I believe you had mentioned something about your mom appreciating you being out so late.” Aiden spoke up and I nodded slightly. 

“Yeah, she can be protective sometimes. Are you going to kill me in the woods if I let you walk me home?” I questioned in all seriousness, while keeping a straight face. I mentally acknowledged the fact that Elliot left me stranded here with no ride home.

Aiden burst out in a fit of laughter and I had a hard time not getting lost in the sound of it. 

“No, killing pretty women is not in my nature.” He replied as he slowly stood from his seat. 

I flushed from his compliment but turned in my chair slightly to grab the sweater I had brought and quickly pulled it on, hoping it would briefly mask the red flush on my skin. When I had successfully done that, I glanced back to Aiden only to see a slightly irritated look again, only this time the look was a bit darker. His irritation was easily noticeable in the way he held his fists clenched down at his sides. 

For a second time tonight I brushed it off. 

“As long as you don’t kill me, it would be nice to have you walk me home. Apparently there is a large wolf out and about in this area.” I spoke up nonchalantly as I gathered mine and Elliots materials and walked towards the door. Aiden seemed to be frozen on what I had said as he hadn’t made a move towards the door until I was almost out of the room entirely. When he caught up to me he held a small smile on his face. 

“Yeah, I’ve seen that wolf around here a time or two. He doesn’t seem to be a bad wolf.” He spoke up almost like a child speaking of an animal. We exited through the library doors, and into the cold night air as I excitedly responded. 

“That’s what I said! Almost like a larger version of a cute house dog.” I replied as my thoughts flitted back to the beautiful black wolf. 

“I don’t think he would appreciate being related to a house dog.” Aiden replied dryly, forcing a small chuckle as I began leading us towards the direction of my house. I made sure to keep us on the sidewalk as we walked. 

“Well, how would you know?” 

“It’s not like you can speak to him.” I replied with a laugh of my own. 

I couldn’t deny that I was enjoying Aiden’s company. We walked for another ten minutes, joking and laughing with each other. When we came upon my street, I stopped us. 

“Are you going to start stalking me if I let you walk me to my house?” I asked jokingly. 

Aiden tossed his hands up to his chest creating a motion that he was holding his heart. 

“Duh, oh you don’t know? I have just been dying for years to become a creepy stalker of this beautiful girl I just met at the library. Once she goes into her house, I’m just gonna wait outside all night long since I am just so infatuated with her.” Aiden joked and I busted out laughing as I continued on walking towards my house. 

“Then I guess she should make sure to lock all of the doors and windows tonight. We wouldn’t want this girl to be murdered in her sleep or something.” I responded in amusement. 

Despite the fact that I knew we were talking about me, it didn’t feel weird or uncomfortable to be around him. I felt a soothing calm wash over me as he walked me up to my front door. 

“I enjoyed spending time with you tonight. Maybe we can see each other again soon.” Aiden spoke up. 

“Maybe we can, Mr. Stalker.” 

“Since you’re friends with Elliot now, maybe I’ll just start hanging around Elliot, you know, just to fulfill my respectful stalker duties.” Aiden joked then shot me an adorable smile. 

I smiled in return and nodded my head once. Aiden took this as his cue to leave and with one final smile and a small wave goodbye I watched as he turned on his heel and began jogging in the direction of the clearing that was down the street. I took a moment before entering my house to just ponder on today and what my therapist said. 

It was good to make friends and maybe Aiden and I could be friends. We seemed to get along with each other well. I liked the way he joked and he wasn’t half bad looking if I do say so myself. I had a brief moment of wondering what friendship would entail. Would that mean hanging out and watching movies together? Or would that mean finding random fun things we could do? 

I had begun to feel excited about the possibility of seeing him at school, then realized he had said he was twenty-two. I dropped my head at that realization then shook it to clear my thoughts. Going to school is not without its challenges but at least I had Elliot there. I didn’t have him in every single class but I had him in a few and if he knew Aiden like Aiden said he did, then maybe I could talk to Elliot about all of this and, at the very least, find out if Aiden is as good of a guy as he seemed to be back at the library. 

I took a few steps towards the front door, finally taking note that the front porch light was on and that, from out here, it looked like the lights were on inside the house as well. I felt my anxiety spike, knowing my mother wasn’t going to be too happy with my decision to stay out past dark. Despite knowing this, I couldn’t bring myself to be too upset by it. I had a really fun time with Aiden and Elliot, and if Elliot really was sick, then I might just take Aiden up on his offer to help me with this project, maybe his dad really did have all sorts of books on the topic that could help me get a good grade. 

With one final smile at the events of tonight I took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping into the warmth of the house, hoping with everything in me this wouldn’t be a major fight between my mother and I. I didn’t know how much longer I could handle her being overprotective and irrational.