[REWRITTEN]
Violet awoke sharply to the sound of muffled raised voices, her body jolting up from the couch that she didn't remember getting herself to. Pain shot up her side and she quickly curled in on herself, grimacing, her heart hammering against her chest. She buried her face in the blanket around her, pressing her hands over her side in an effort to quell the pain.
The room was dark - she didn't know where exactly she was, didn't even want to think about how she got there, all she knew was that her body was exhausted and in pain, all conversations before being a faint echo at the back of her cloudy mind.
The blanket wrapped around her was surprisingly soft but musty; something that had probably been kept in a cupboard for more years than it had been used.
She could barely prise her eyelids open without them stinging with tears.
The door to the kitchen was thin enough that the people on the other side tried keeping their voices hushed, but it wasn't as effective as they'd have probably liked.
"-her face is plastered all over the news-"
She knew the voice, she knew it was Five, she knew it was him and he was there just in the other room and it had been so long since she had seen him; but for the life of her she could not will herself to move a muscle.
There was a muffled response.
"-what do you mean?!- what happened?"
The other voice rose just enough for her to hear. "She won't tell us anything, Five! It's Violet! She won't say a goddamn word!"
The girl stiffly turned over onto her side, tucking her face down and keeping her back to the rest of the room. She weakly tugged the blanket up around her neck and buried the lower half of her face against it, her other hand pressed against her still sore side. Her eyes burned with tears that slid down her face and sank into the fabric around her.
Violet was too exhausted to tell whether or not what she was experiencing was a dream or reality as she slipped into a deeper sleep, the pain numbing as she allowed herself to fall into that darkness.
The girl had no concept of time in her state of exhaustion. No clue how long she lay asleep, or how much time had passed since she made it off the streets, or how many hours had passed since it happened. Whenever she did open her eyes, if only for a few minutes at a time, everything was sort of dream-like; clouded over with fog.
At some points she dreamt of a muffled news report, unsure if it was real or a figment of her imagination. There was a small television in the corner, and the longer she stared at it the fresher the news report became.
Something about a young girl reported missing by coworkers who were increasingly concerned for her safety.
- not the type to have just ran away -
A bike confirmed to be hers found by dogwalker at local park, abandoned.
No signs of a struggle or any foul play but increasing confusion over where the young girl could have disappeared -
No witness reports-
Worry for her safety-
Her brain lingered on how nothing else had been left behind. The car had been in the middle of the field. On grass. Damp grass that had stained her knees and dirtied her hands. She could feel it beneath her fingernails. Her mind spiralled confusedly on how there had been no tire tracks across the grass. No blood, no witnesses, not a shred of evidence left. No sign she had ever been in that park. No sign it had ever happened in the first place, except for the constant reminders imprinted across her skin and mind like a poison.
Her powers would heal the wounds, make the bruises fade, and in a day or so she'd have nothing but a faint scar across her side.
The only thing her powers couldn't do, was make it better.
It would heal, skin would patch over, the pain would fade and yet, it would not get rid of the feeling of that night. Of the gripping terror at another persons touch, of feeling so trapped, so overwhelmed her mind threatened to shut down completely.
In some ways she wished it would have.
But Violet was awake now, and her skin physically ached, and she had a feeling that even when her injuries healed, she would still be unable to get tid of that deep, twisting sensation beneath her skin no matter how much time passed.
The apartment was quiet save for some tinkering she could just about make out from the kitchen, but that door remained closed.
Staring far off until there were tears in her stinging eyes, Violet just let herself lay there on her good side, clutching a bundle of the blanket over her heart where she couldn't seem to shake the pain, exhaustion wracking her to the bone.
She didn't have the energy to lift her head, let alone her limbs, almost wishing the couch would swallow her whole.
A horrific emotion filled her to the brim as she couldnt help but recall things in the silence - the sounds, the sensations, the smells - everything. It washed over her like a physical wave of dread and fear and pain and she could do nothing but lie there and clutch that blanket so tightly she shook.
A sob caught at her throat as she pressed her lips into a thin, harsh line, trying her best to not make a sound as tears crept from her eyes.
The door to the kitchen slid open and a figure crept through, shining light across the otherwise dim room.
Violet turned her head into the blankets, screwing her eyes shut as her head screamed in protest.
Whoever it was must have noticed because a second later and she heard the sliding door close once more, light retreating.
When Violet reopened her eyes, she saw the woman from the night before hovering by the doorway.
"Oh," she clearly didn't expect for her to be awake so soon. Any normal person with her injuries would have been out for the count for days, just considering the bloodloss alone. Her voice was a soft whisper. "Hi, I'm Lila... Shit, I didn't wake you, did I?"
Violet could barely see through her blurred vision the grimace form on her face.
She recalled her voice from the night before. The British accent, and then her heart twisted as she realised she had been with Diego. All she could do was wonder where her brother was now, but dread caught her in a chokehold as she realised she didn't know what would happen when he saw her again. How he would react.
Anger, most likely, and she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it.
At her lack of answer, Lila hovered, unsure of herself.
The small girl just watched her almost numbly from where she lay curled up, a redness to her eyes that could be seen even in the dim lighting, the darkness of blood still coating her like a second skin but dried now and only half covered by the blanket she clutched.
The woman took a tentative step forwards, trying to lighten the mood, holding up a mug. "I was just making tea," she said conversationally, still keeping her voice down. "Do you want any?"
It was strange how accepting of the chaos this woman was, how calm she was in the face of the absolute state the girl had turned up in, like it was something she was used to. Like she wasn't a complete stranger to her.
Ever so slightly, Violet mustered up the strength to shake her head once.
The woman seemed to become less tense at finally recieving a response, if only a tiny one, and slowly padded over to the couch opposite so she could take a seat with her drink.
"I'm not really a fan of coffee like the other two."
Her slow, sluggish mind struggled to catch up with what she was saying, and then, as flashes of uncertain dreams and half memories flirted through her brain and she realised that he actually had been there.
She had heard Five's voice.
Turmoil ate away at her sensitive guts as she closed her eyes, furrowed her brows and tried to swallow back her emotions. The Violet before had wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him. The Violet now wasn't so sure.
Now, the thought of him seeing her made her want to hide away forever, the anxiety of that interaction looming over her head like a storm cloud.
It all became a bit too much as her thoughts grew dark and the feeling of her dress, hardened and tacky against her skin made her want to scream, and the discomfort across her entire body felt like ice.
Violet slowly pushed herself up with her arm, grimacing as bits of fabric pulled on tender skin, the edges of the room spinning in an ebb of darkness. Her head pounded with every beat of her too fast pulse.
Warily, she raised a hand to the back of her head where she felt matted hair, her nails catching on crusted over blood. She numbly brought her hand down to her lap and stared down at the crystallised flakes on her pale skin.
Dazed and in a dull fog, she blinked slowly down at the sight, flashes of blood splatters replaying in her mind. Her eyes flickered across the green blanket half bundled across her lap and frowned at the patches of dark fabric, trying not to put thought to all the red everywhere.
A few long moments later, Lila could tell something in the girl had changed as she'd slowly woken up.
It was as though suddenly her senses were alert all at once, and she was concious of everything all too deeply.
The aching, twisting, horrific pain inside and the dress against her filthy skin being too heavy and too warm. Crusted over blood that was thick like a layer of glue against her, and a familiar panic crawling its way up her spine. The need to move and get rid of it all caught her in a chokehold as she tried to move.
The blanket dropped to her feet as she dragged herself to a stand. The first step was fine if I bit shaky, but the second and her ears were consumed by ringing, and suddenly the ground rose up to meet her, her knees smacking against the floor in a dizzying blink.
"Careful-"
A warm hand landed at her elbow.
A choked whimper caught in her throat as she jolted away in a gripping panic, aggressively smacking the hand away while scrambling back until her back hit the side of the couch, eyes suddenly wide and alert and piercing through the woman.
Lila stared down at the girl who appeared like a cornered animal about to gnaw through its own limb to escape some sort of trap, and immediately crouched to her level while making sure not to move an inch closer.
Violet fought to keep her breathing even as she stared down at the floor, tearing her gaze away from the women's eye, suddenly out of her own mind and into the present moment as the cold wood beneath her sank into her bones.
"Sorry," Lila said to her, putting a hand out. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."
Her head pounded with every beat of her rapid pulse, even as she tried to calm herself down, closing her eyes. Her skin itched where she had been touched and she wanted to ignore it but couldn't.
She could feel the womans eyes scanning across her skin. The dried blood across her ruined dress, the yellowish fading bruises across her shins, the scabs starting to heal over her knees. It must have been a pitiful sight to watch her cower and react like an alley cat who'd heard a dog barking too close.
Exhaling sharply, Violet shakily felt behind her to take hold of the arm of the couch and put all the strength she could behind her legs, attempting to get herself to her feet again and off the floor.
Lila hesitated, standing along with her but hand twitching at her side as though wanting to help.
"There are some medical supplies in the bathroom," she said, gesturing to their right. "Do you need any-"
The word help died on her tongue.
The girl became concious of a creeping nausea that she hadn't put much thought to until then as it worked its way into her throat like a burnt acid.
She suddenly darted away from the woman and barely made it to the toilet bowl before she was forced to cough up whatever was in her stomach.
Tears burned her eyes as she heard near silent footsteps cautiously approaching, making her hackles raise, but she knew she couldn't do anything about it in her condition as she continued to retch.
Violet scraped some of her hair away from where it tried to fall in front of her face, fingers catching in the knots, before a gentle, feather-like set of hands did it for her.
Too caught up in the energy leaving her body and the exhaustion of it all, she couldnt bring herself to push the person away.
She was concious of a gentle voice murmuring somewhat that was hard to hear over the ringing, but strangely she couldn't pull away as she cried and coughed.
Unknowingly, Lila had nearly faltered as she did the girl a favour, when her eyes fell upon the finger shaped markings around the girls neck. Fading to yellow, close to disappearing like it never even happened in the first place, but there all the same. The violent nature if it was clear, and she just frowned down at the floor.
When there was nothing else to cough up, not even bile, Violet was left a silent sobbing mess as she tried to wipe her face with a towel and avoid all eye contact.
She felt her hair fall back across her shoulders, and sniffled, running her torn sleeve over her face.
"You're alright now," Lila murmured down at her, earnestly, a deep line at her brow as she stared off with distant eyes. "You'll be alright."
She lowered the bundled towel and let the tears fall, a wave of newfound fatigue crashing over her like waves against rocks. Everything felt off, wrong somehow, and she was so tired. So awfully tired, and angry.
The news report rang heavy in her skull like a broken record.
How could there have been no evidence of foul play? How could there have been no evidence at all? How was that possible?
It was like the whole thing had been erased from existence, and only she was left with the fallout.
After a long few moments she managed to rinse her mouth and shortly sank back to the floor, curling up with her back against the bath tub, eyes half lidded. She drew her legs against her side, her torn, stained dress in tatters across her bruised legs.
She couldn't quite fathom why, but Lila sank down to the floor with her, leaving a bit of distance between the two as she fiddled with a medical kit beneath the sink.
Violet was just glad she didn't turn the light on. She was sure the bright light would make her cry, simply out of overwhelm.
The girl didn't have the energy to tell her that she really didn't need the things that she was picking out of the little green bag. In just a day the bruises would be gone and the wounds would be nothing but scabs in the process of healing. In a week, there would be no evidence at all of what that man had done to her. Just her memory of it.
Lila picked out some bandages and gauze in their individual packets and quietly placed them between them on the floor, like a silent olive branch in some sort of offering.
Violet just stared down at the grey bathmat between them, listening to the dull thump of her heart at her temples.
She had no idea what Lila was thinking, nor why she chose to stick around when she had no reason to. She was just a stranger to the girl. She may have known Diego, sure, but she didn't even know what had happened or why.
To be fair, neither did Violet.
If she put too much thought to the man who had done this to her, she thought she might crumble. Too quickly she was suffocated by the scent of his cologne and the feel of his weight pinning her to the seats-
"You don't have to say what happened," Lila finally broke the comfortable quiet, noticing her fingers rigidly clutching the end of her skirt as her mind drifted. Her brown eyes reflected a sense of knowing, as though she understood the girl more than she could fathom. "You don't have to say anything."
Her eyes stung.
She said it like it was okay. Like she knew, somehow. Something about her tone filled her chest with unwanted emotion that she didn't know what to do with.
Violet barely had the energy, but raised her eyes to meet hers if only briefly in some sort of acknowledgement. That she was present, or was trying to be, and had heard her words.
"It's in the news, you know." Informed Lila as she fiddled with a pair of metal scissors in her lap. "You're a missing person. Some people from this diner across town seem to be quite worried about you."
She closed her eyes.
The woman approached the topic with caution. "One of them was sure something bad had happened... said something in the interview about you having some trouble with some of their customers, and that she thought they might have had something to do with it?"
"Elaina." She whispered, the sound barely leaving her lips.
Lila sat up a little straighter at the sound of her voice, even if it was only small. "Do you know who did this to you?"
Violet buried the lower half of her face in her arms wrapped around her knees, trying not to conjure the images of those mens faces; somehow the thought of the one in the drivers seat haunted her more, but she couldn't think of why. The glow of his sharp features against his lighter flame, the scent of cigarette smoke choking her, the sound of his stony voice-
-stop playing with your food-
- she just dipped her chin once, staring off to the side.
Her fingers picked angrily at the dried blood on her sleeve, staining her nails.
She knew she had only gotten their attention because she wasn't neurotypical. If she had been able to converse like everyone else, she'd have been glanced over like Nuan and the others. It was the pure fact she wasn't able to talk back that they had latched onto her like leeches, sensing some sort of weakness within her that could be played with. It made her hate herself to the very core, despising the fact that her wiring just wasn't the same as everyone else's.
If she could have defended herself properly, would they have looked at her twice?
It was a deep, dark rabbit hole to dive down and her thoughts began to spiral - but the woman opposite her seemed to notice and had seemingly read her thoughts. Or maybe it was just a woman's intuition.
"It wasn't your fault, you know that, don't you?" She asked, a line at her brow. "You didn't do anything to make them do this."
The girl blinked in absent surprise, managing to lift her gaze enough to meet her eye.
"You didn't do anything to deserve that," she urged with certainty, leaning forwards. "Alright?"
Unsure if she believed her but taking in her words all the same, Violet just nodded once against her sleeve, eyes a bit glassy. After a few minutes, she stared back down at the floor, finding it hard to focus.
Lila stared down at the bundle of medical supplies left untouched between them, and then scanned her dishevelled appearance, fixating on the dried blood painted across her pale skin.
At some point Violet must have glanced up at the shower in absent yearning because she wished nothing more than to tear her skin off layer by layer and scald her body in boiling water until she would become purified.
But the gnawing anxiety crept in. She couldn't use someone else's shower.
This wasn't her place.
She couldn't count on no one waltzing in, destroying the privacy, and most certainly couldnt count on the fact she wouldn't sit under the steady, scalding stream for hours until her fingertips turned wrinkled and pale and the water ran cold.
And of course, she had no clothes other than that damned dress.
Violet couldn't count on anything.
Everything felt raw, unsafe, like she needed to hide from it all in order to disappear. The world around her was disjointed, off in so many subtle ways that only she could see.
A short while later, Lila eventually asked if she wanted to use the shower, and Violet didn't utter a single word.
When Lila offered to get her some clothes and stay outside the door, sensing her discomfort even thought her silence, the girl hesitated before giving the slightest of nods, almost impercievable to anyone not looking close enough, fingers tightening around her grazed knees.
When Lila got up, she had a better spirit about her. She moved with purpose as Violet listened to her tinker around outside the bathroom, wondering what she was up to, until she returned with some towels and a small pile of clothing that she had procured from somewhere. Some of it looked like her own, but she couldn't quite be sure.
"I don't know when the boys will be back, but I'll wait outside if you want me to." She told her.
Violet had to use the edge of the bath to pull herself to a shaky stand. She nodded numbly and watched her shut the door.
Anxiously, she pushed herself off of the bathtub and shuffled over to twist the lock, finding the satisfying click easing her nerves ever so slightly. She rested her forehead against the door and exhaled, taking a moment before shuffling back towards the shower.
In a sort of daze and unsure how long it took, she eventually managed to prise off her ruined dress, having to bite back a hiss as the rigid fabric tugged at sensitive skin where blood had practically glued it to her side.
Her eyes didn't lower once. She refused to look at the state of her body as she climbed into the shower and made sure to pull the curtain closed. The light wasn't on and tiny room itself was dim, bringing her a strange comfort. She didn't have to look at her body in clarity for what it was.
The stream of water was ice cold at first, a shock to the system, but it worked to wake her up a bit, forcing her into alertness.
For what felt like minutes but easily could have been longer, Violet stood under the water as it gradually grew hotter until it burnt against her skin. Something about it was purifying, and took away from the ghost sensation of harsh hands on her skin, the heat taking over her senses until not much else was left.
She held onto the tiles to keep herself up the entire time, ears perked for any sound of anyone entering, her nerves like a live wire.
Still, she could not lower her gaze. Could not glance at her marked skin, refused to, and couldn't stand to see the red water slowly fade to clear because even after she knew she would not feel clean.
At some point she managed to gather her thoughts and clean herself, fingernails scraping at her skin and running through her matted hair, wincing at every pull until the dried blood was gone.
Halfway through she made the move to pick at some dried splotches on her arm, but her fingers turned glassy and transparent and her hand simultaneously travelled through her skin, as though it wasn't even there in the first place.
She withdrew it and it returned to normal as she stared down at it. Her fist clenched and it stayed physical, and she managed to get rid of all the blood eventually when she gathered control of the flickering going along with her heart.
Harsh touches lingered, borrowed deep into layers of muscle and bone, but as she let the hot water burn away at her body she could almost imagine it wasn't real. Or hadn't been, anyways.
As she brushed over the small wound in her side, scabbed over but now reopened, her nerves protested but she couldn't bring herself to care. As long as the wound was smaller and less angry, her body was still doing its job. And pain was just just her way of life, something she was used to.
The only difference with this type of pain was that everytime her nerves sent signals to her brain, she was tortured with the reminder of how she gained those injuries in the first place.
How long was she in there, scalding her skin pink and irritating her wounds - soothing her aching bones - until she grew dizzy from the heat and was forced to step out?
She had absolutely no clue.
All she knew was that she felt better, if only by a fraction, to be free of the confined of that god awful dress and filth.
She didn't quite have the energy to dry herself and simply sat on the baths edge, staring off into the distance until she felt comfortable enough to stop clutching at her towel like it was suffocating her and actually put on the clothes left out for her.
There was a pair of jeans and a spaghetti strap vest that she had to tighten the straps of to fit over her small bony shoulders, yellow with fading bruises. Thankfully there was also a jumper, a green knit one that definitely looked like it would fit Diego rather than her. But the girl was thankful for the excess fabric and bundled her hands into the sleeves, her damp hair hanging loosely around her face and clinging to her neck. She practically wrapped herself in the fabric, embracing her arms around herself and tucking her chin down, feeling as though she could nestle herself into a corner and go back to sleep.
She avoided the mirror entirely, not keen on seeing what hollow ghost she looked like, and eventually exited the bathroom.
At the click of the lock, Lila sat up from where she sat with her back to the wall nearby.
Violet shyly peered over at her, averting her gaze quickly as she scanned the living area now that the lights were on. It didn't seem as daunting to her senses.
There were two soft looking couches either side of a low glass coffee table. The kitchen was off to the right, and to that right there was a hallway that probably led to the bedrooms. To her left was a balcony sort of landing with a set of stairs that led down to what looked like a store front.
Fiddling with her hands, Violet cautiously approached the rail and looked over, seemingly searching for something.
"They'll be back soon."
The girl said nothing in response, simply wrapping her arms around herself for comfort, staring out through the front of the store windows that ran floor to ceiling. They were half frosted for privacy, the bottom half of the display filled with all sorts of radios and televisions in multiple sizes, the older kind that were clunky and box-like.
Daylight streamed in and it made her wonder how long it had been since she woke up. How long it had been since-
The muffled clicking of a door opening made her spin, hackles raised, as two shadowy figures shifted into the kitchen through the somewhat transparent screen.
Lila stood at once, flashing her a weak smile as she headed for them.
Violet watched her enter the kitchen and half slide the door shut behind her, muffled voices lowering slightly.
Uncomfortable, she bit down on her sleeve hard and looked away, flexing her other hand down by her side to shake the tingling sensation growing there.
At the sound of the door sliding shut once more, Violet turned to look and felt her heart do something funny at the sight of Five gently closing it behind him. He had an unreadable expression on his face, appearing somewhat cautious but stoic.
He approached her slowly, the look in his eye softening.
She struggled to maintain his gaze. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him after so long of wishing he was there, that she wasn't alone and lost away from what she knew, but the thought of someone touching her also made her want to scrape her skin off with her own nails.
"Vi."
She exhaled slowly, subtly leaning back against the railing for better support. Her limbs still felt like glass and lead at the same time, and keeping herself upright was a chore.
His hand slid easily into his pocket, almost as easily as the calm expression slid into place. She could tell he was masking his anger for her sake. "You okay?"
What a complicated question. Had she ever been?
Her dull eyes maintained contact with his own. Her fingers twitched at her side but she made no move towards him, and it was like a mental glass wall had been placed between them.
She barely heard Diego and Lila entering the room before she gained the courage to speak.
"I need... something," her voice was hoarse and tiny, barely audible to the other two, but Five had a knack for always hearing her.
He nodded. "What is it?"
She hesitated, tightening her jaw. "Take me to the diner." She spoke with surprising steadiness.
Diego tensed.
Five's expression cracked a little.
She knew they all knew it was where she worked. Her half year of life in Dallas had been spread bare for the city to see now the public had gained interest in the missing persons case.
No family, no known friends, no birth records in any hospital in the country, appearing out of no where and starting a life then having it ripped away - a little puzzle for police to try and follow.
She swallowed before continuing, anxious he would say no. Her fingers fidgeted. "It's-" she swallowed, trying to force the words out. "it's not far-"
"-are you seriously considering going back to where you work right now?" Diego spoke up, eyeing her doubtfully. "You're a missing person."
"I hadn't noticed." Was all she whispered back, more like a hiss.
She even surprised herself by not tearing her gaze away, holding Five's stubbornly.
She was tired, and knew she shouldn't go anywhere near there, but there was something she had left behind in her work locker and she needed it.
And she was going to go with or without Five's help.
"Why do you want to go there so bad?" Five asked slowly, giving her an even look.
Now she was speechless, unable to find the right words that would convince him it wasn't a waste of time. It was a risk she was going to take whether she had his help or not, and at her persistent stare, he seemed to get that message.
Five scratched the back of his neck uneasily, catching eyes with Diego who appeared just as unsure. Lila rose an eyebrow watching the two.
Violet was growing impatient. She needed to do it before she lost the confidence and never got it back again.
Just one thing from her locker, that was all she wanted.
"I won't be seen." She mouthed to him, her voice gone, turning herself invisible in a flicker and then back to normal, her body returning in a faded wash starting from her hands.
Lila perked up curiously in her little corner on the couch.
Five fixed her with a stare that held a thousand unsaid words and warnings. Her shoulders sagged in relief when he finally dipped his chin in a nod and extended his hand to her, waiting for her to initiate the touch.
She grasped his sleeve just as Diego sighed. "This is a bad idea."
"We won't be long," was Five's simple answer back.
The feeling like she was falling made her close her eyes on instinct, but a second later and it was over. Her eyes opened and she knew they were behind the diner, right where her bike would usually sit. The dumpster was on the opposite wall and hid them from the street view.
The sun was high in the sky and Violet had to take a moment to adjust to the brightness, shielding her eyes with a grimace. As she turned to look at her familiar surroundings that no longer felt quite right, he must have noticed her hesitation.
"You don't have to go in there, Violet. I can get whatever it is you need." He offered, silently hoping she would take the offer.
She shook her head, still staring at the back door, fidgeting with her hands. Aftef a few more seconds she managed to gain the confidence and allowed her body to fade into translucency.
Violet walked right through the metal door as though it wasn't even real, before quickly fading invisible.
Once inside, now on her own, her palms grew clammy.
She looked left and right before quickly stepped through the next doorway into a short hall with only a few other doors. She passed one to her left that was still propped open with a mop bucket, the same one that lead out to the diner floor, and she couldn't help but falter.
The radio on the counter was dialled to a low hum - the tune she couldn't name off the top of her head barely filling up the diner like it used to. Usually it was loud enough for the people on the complete other side to be able to hear, creating an enticing atmosphere for families and friends to sit in.
Mrs Harrison was by the radio and had her hair down, unusual for her. Nuan walked up to her carrying a plate ready to be served and Violet watched them converse quietly, looking distracted and solemn.
She couldn't see Caroline or the rest of the tables from her angle but could only assume she was picking up shifts where Violet now couldn't.
She'd never seen the place look so glum.
Violet forced herself to tear her eyes away from the solemn scene and continue through to the store room.
When she tried the door to her locker, it was of course locked.
Pressing her lips into a thin line and watching the door, she let her hand appear as a grey-ish apparition as it passed through the locker.
She grabbed everything she could - a bundle of fabric that had been folded, then after some thought, the envelope no bigger than her hand shoved all the way at the back.
As she headed back towards the exit, this time she refused to glance towards the diner floor, knowing it would only make her heart hurt.
She returned to Five, stepping out into the alleyway in her ghost form, almost making him jump as he stopped his tense pacing.
He stopped when he saw her, and his gaze softened when she flickered back to normal and saw what she was carrying over her forearm - his old sweater.
The black one with blue diamonds that she had now worn more than he ever got the chance to.
A tiny smile formed at that.
"I was going to say it must have been pretty important," he mused lightly, tilting his head at her. She looked down, holding it close, trying to hide the red tint to her cheeks as she clutched the envelope. "We should go... before we get seen."
This time she held her hand out to him, and when he saw the faint scratches and broken nails he gently took hold of her wrist, touch light as a feather.
She glanced up at him as they teleported back to the apartment above the radio store.
They reappeared in the kitchen. Diego and Lila's voices travelled up the stairs as they walked out into the sitting area.
They exchanged a glance before they passed the doorway. It sounded like arguing, but with the two they couldn't be sure.
From the envelope Violet picked out a small but decent sized wad of cash and tossed the envelope into the trash. She folded it and tucked it into one of her pockets, trying to block out the raised voices from downstairs.
Five watched her for a moment. She had changed since he had last seen her and to see it hurt his chest. She was more cautious, skittish even, but with a sort of distracted daze about her that left her dissociating at random intervals when she didn't even know she was doing it.
She only appeared half present, half a ghost in her own body and mind, and he knew he wasn't going to make it any better by what he was about to tell her.
He shifted. "Violet, I know you've gone through a lot being here, but there's something I need to tell you."
Violet's eyes closed as she turned her head to the side subtly, a tiny furrow of her brow. She wished she could be absent. She wished she could hold her hands over the ears of her heart so she would not have to listen to him.
She did not like his tone and knew bad news when it was coming.
She turned to look at Five witheringly.
His lips were pressed into a thin line as he watched her carefully, as though anything he said might make her shatter like glass.
Anxiety thrummed in her veins as she flexed her fingers by her side in an attempt to rid herself of the tingling sensation.
Violet looked at him properly, now, for the first time since the theatre in twenty nineteen, and realised with sudden clarity that he was wearing the exact same uniform. The same haunted look in his eye, the same wariness in his bones, in the way he carried himself. The brash, boyish confidence had faded with time - though it seemed not much of that had passed for him.
How long had he been in this timeline, she vaguely wondered - how long had he had to recover, to allow his brain time to catch up to what was happening around him?
He took a careful step closer to her, eyes troubled and serious.
She didn't like it.
"Violet, we brought the apocalypse with us to this timeline."
She kept his gaze and for a brief moment they both looked so, so tired.
They were each looking at a mirror of themselves, expressions printed so similarly it was startling. The pinched eyebrows, the half lidded eyes, the down turned lips, the bruises under the eyes.
She didn't seem surprised, but sighed silently to herself, grabbing her hands together to stop them shaking.
Five continued, and the more he did the less animated his voice become.
"I only got here a couple of days ago and I've been trying to round up the family so we can deal with this all together," he revealed. She just listened quietly, clutching her sweater against herself, eyes glassy. His flickered down to the floor briefly. "I'm sorry I didn't go looking for you first - before anyone else," he said, hands in his pockets. She could hear a twinge of guilt and the what if's swirling around his head. She knew him. She knew what he was thinking. She looked at him sadly and just shook her head. "Diego was just the easiest to get to. Plus it's not that easy finding someone who's biggest skill is knowing how to disappear."
At that last point, she gave him a defeated smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes - but it was nice to see all the same.
He gave her an equally small one back. It was bitter, as was their reality.
Now she knew the truth, the tiniest burden had been lifted from his shoulders, letting him breathe a little easier. But it had almost been thrown right back in his face at seeing Violet so... hollow.
He wondered if it was worth it.
Defeated, the girl padded over to one of the couches and slumped into the corner stiffly, placing a hand over her side at the twinge of discomfort. She sort of sank into the cushions, staring off at the cluttered coffee table, unbeknownst to the fact Five had followed her.
He took a seat beside her, resting his elbows on his knees, and the same haunted look as he took a moment to decompress in the silence.
(Please note the chapters after this point may be disjointed and confusing as I'm in the process of rewriting it all - anything with REWRITTEN at the top or in the title is good, the rest without it will be the old version)
Hope thats not confusing!