Violet's head was full of static.
She looked in the mirror of the bathroom and brushed a hand over the faint bruises across her biceps, watching with puffy, red lined eyes as they faded away into her pale skintone. It was like they had never existed in the first place but this cold feeling inside of her meant she knew that they had, and couldn't forget it.
She worked methodically then, a bit numb, showering the drying blood off of her skin and after drying off, putting back on the same clothes. The torn, loose jeans and the spaghetti strap top with splotches of blood in places - Violet didn't care.
As she did this, a clock ticked down in her head, making her internally panic.
They had less than an hour and half to convene in the alleyway outside in order to get back home and that was it.
She had heard Five come back in a whirlwind, listening through the door with a heavy frown as he explained quickly. Everything would be set right, no doomsday, so long as they made it in time. He'd threatened Diego, at the end of his tether, raising his voice once again before leaving.
Diego and Luther had left, not bothering to check if she had any clue what was going on or if she was even still there.
She traced the thick scar across her palm, uneasy. Upset.
Violet moved around, forcing herself not to look at the covered up dead body of what she knew was Elliot, and making sure she didn't slip on the bloody Swedish message scrawled on the tiled floor below. She simply went into the alley and sat herself down on the steps, waiting, trailing the pale new scar on her palm.
That was all she could manage to do to pass the time. She trailed it with her index finger, feeling the jagged, raised line down her hand while she tried not to dwell on how she had got it. That alone was futile.
They had ten minutes left and the anxiety was killing her and all she could do was drown in the memory of Five shouting in her face and his bruising grip on her even while she had tried to shy away.
Her hands shook, she felt sick to her stomach and she couldn't stop bouncing her knee to the point where the muscles in that leg were actually aching.
It wasn't the fact he had swung the axe at her that struck her to the core as much - purely because she understood those circumstances.
He was tasked to kill a board room full of people and had seen a figure from the doorway. He had no reason to believe it could have been her because she had told him she'd stay behind. He didn't know if someone had slipped free from the room - if that had happened he would have failed, slaughtered people for absolutely nothing, and had to live with the trauma and weight of it all while trying to find another way to leave the timeline without the world ending. She could have been a witness to the killing and who knows what might have happened if they'd gotten away.
The dark, murderous look in his eyes while he towered over her covered in blood with an axe raised - that had caused her a twinge of fear, she couldn't deny it - but that was before he realised that it was her.
Before he realised what he had done.
What had scared Violet most was how quickly his rage had turned to her, how he had so callously raised his voice at her and touched her so harshly that her skin had bruised.
- and you're not even going to say anything? -
When he knew. When he knew how physical contact and using her voice made her shatter like glass.
That was what had caused her the most pain. Those actions had struck her like a blade through the heart.
And despite the betrayal she knew it had been partially deserved. Because she had lied to him when he had no reason to believe she ever would.
They had both left on awful terms and it was eating her up inside.
Violet looked up at the sound of a cars engine screeching to a stop outside the alley. An old blue car pulled to a stop and the front door was shoved open, the very person she was both desperate to see and dreading to see exiting in a rush.
She must have been so tucked into the corner that he didn't notice her at first. He went straight for the briefcase tucked and hidden behind the dumpster which she didnt even notice.
Her leg bounced quicker and she looked down so a curtain of her hair shielded her from his sight.
He took an old watch out of his pocket and checked the time, glancing around, searching. His eyes fell on Violet, quietly and meekly watching him from the steps and her body was twitching with anxiety.
She didn't look away from him this time but she noted that same darkness in his eyes as before dissipate when he met her eyes and it made the tension in her shoudlers settle. Slightly.
"Vi-" he moved towards her but Luther bursting through the door behind her made her stand and quickly back out of his way, her back against the wall.
He glanced between the two wide eyed, scanning the empty alleyway.
"Where is everyone?"
She began chewing her nails, folding her other arm across her stomach for comfort.
An annoyed smile formed on Five's face as he glanced down at the ticking watch. "You're the first!" He stated bitterly, a strange energy buzzing through his veins.
His eyes widened even more. "What?" He exclaimed incredulously.
Five ran a hand through his hair, stressed, turning to her and making her freeze like a deer in headlights, not expecting it. "Violet, listen-"
She flinched when Klaus careened into the alleyway, stumbling and pushing himself off the wall with flailing hands.
Violet frowned, scanning him up and down. He was sweating and strangely twitching.
"Hey! We made it!" He joyfully shouted, glancing between them all in glee, swaying on his feet as he caught his breath.
Something about him was so very off but she didn't know what it was.
"We?" Luther questioned.
Klaus's eyes lingered on Violet and she shifted, uncomfortable. "Hey, Violetta!" He gave the softest smile that almost looked foreign on his usually lackadaisical expression. "I missed you-"
Her heart stopped.
Violet's arms dropped to her side, eyes widening a fraction.
She hadn't heard that nickname in years.
No one even knew about it, not even Klaus because it was-
"Ben..."
The name fell from her lips in a whisper barely audible, but Klaus grinned at her. His expression quickly changed however as he began acting even stranger. He threw his arm out stiffly, then pushed at the underside of his jaw, face screwed up in discomfort. "Get out! Get out!" He yelled, sounding almost possessed.
Violet took a hesitant step towards him while the other two took a step back, staring at him bewildered.
There was this awful, familiar pain in her chest as she breathed, the nickname burning a place inside her skull. The familiarity of that nickname she hadn't felt in so many years.
Only Ben had called her Violetta; He'd told her once he didn't quite know what had given him the inspiration - it just rolled easily off the tongue and sounded pretty.
Klaus then proceeded to throw up all over the ground next to him much to all of their disgust. He collapsed on his back with his arms out, groaning in exhaustion before lying still.
"I can't believe you're here!" Luther gestured angrily to the mess of a man.
She managed to tear her gaze away from him to notice movement out the corner of her eye.
Five rubbed the back of his neck, beginning to pace around while constantly looking down at the watch. "We have eight minutes." He muttered, shaking his head.
Violet slowly and cautiously approached Klaus, avoiding the pile of vomit. She stared down at him while fidgeting with her fingers, almost hopefully.
He looked up at her blearily, blinking. "I just had the strangest dream..."
Her eyebrows knitted together and she looked up when Five's voice began to rise. She bristled. She couldn't help it.
"Where are the others?" He asked no one in particular, shaking his head.
The urge to go put a hand on his arm got the better of her but she caught herself, pausing mid step and drawing her hand back. She didn't like seeing him like this - he looked like he was on the verge of having a panic attack or going into a psychotic rage.
Neither sat well with her.
She swallowed down her nerves and cautiously approached him until he noticed her. His harsh gaze softened considerably and he opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and tore his gaze away, clenching his fists.
He paced away from her, muttering angrily to himself. "No, this was a mistake," he set the briefcase on the ground and paused. "I shouldn't have trusted them."
He was talking to himself at this point.
Violet felt sick with the anticipation of it all. The waiting. The dread that they wouldn't get here in time.
She knew they wouldn't make it.
Every half minute that passed she could feel his eyes darting from the watch to herself, and each time, she averted her eyes to the floor and rubbed her arms, consoling herself, absentmindedly brushing over the many scars littering her skin.
Luther grew just as stressed as the both of them, resting partially on the dumpster edge, before shouting, "we have a minute left!" He pounded his fist on the lid and she moved away, cringing at the loud noise and covering her ears.
Violet knew this wouldn't work. She shook her head, glancing over at the briefcase in Fives other hand as his eyebrows remained knitted in distress.
"What's going on guys? Are we going somewhere?" Klaus mumbled hoarsely from the ground, and they all ignored him as he sat himself up, stretching his arms out like he'd awoken from a heavy hangover.
Still, there was a small feeling in her gut that maybe Klaus had been possessed, but the more she thought about the minor details, the sadder she grew.
Violetta.
A part of her knew that it had been Ben. She would have to grow the courage to ask Klaus about it later.
"It was a simple task. A simple task!" Five ranted in frustration, his voice getting higher as he paced more and more. "All they had to do was be here-"
Violet hated how aggressive his voice was getting and couldnt help but let out a little pleading, "Five," that made his tirade pause for a moment. He then continued pacing, eyes closing, before he turned to face her with his hands out towards her.
"I'm sorry, okay?" He said tensely, beginning to talk quicker and quicker. "I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry I hurt you and I'm sorry I scared you. I'm sorry I was a fucking asshole-"
She opened her mouth to cut him off, eyebrows pinching together, but he shook his head.
"I was scared, alright? I was scared that if i'd seen you a second earlier or if you didn't react in time that I'd have done something awful to the only person I've ever loved in this shitty world and I- -I just- I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if anything had happened to you, and you have to understand that, because I don't know what I'll do if you dont."
He spoke so quickly with such purpose that it made her head spin. She searched his eyes, speechless, as he pleaded for her to understand and she could see that haunted look in his eye that she had seen before, this time amplified.
She, of course, could not think up a single world to say. But there was a warmth spreading across her heart.
He clenched his fists, looking away. "I was hoping to do this when everything was fixed, but that just isn't happening because everyone else is fucking incompetent-"
She stepped closer to put a hand on his arm and he stared at her as she tried to force her own apology past her lips. She was concerned for him, for how he was acting. She'd never seen him so worked up.
"All they had to do was be here." He said, staring into her eyes, breathless. He didn't know exactly why he was saying all of this to her instead of into the air, but he knew she would be the one to listen. "Didn't have to fight a giant sea monster, no-"
"-five," she tried again, practically mouthing the words as her voice failed her. "I-"
His eyes glanced to where he knew there had been bruises on her arms and he shook his head, distressed. "If you even think about apologising after-"
"-uh, Five?" Luther suggested awkwardly. "Maybe you should calm down."
The boy ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "Did they have to fight an army of mutants? Nein." He paced away from Violet who could do nothing but watch him in worry, her hands wringing together.
His words ran a loop in her mind.
He came to a stop and looked right at her again. "It was handed to us on a silver platter." He complained, extending his hands out.
"Could you just yell a little softer?" Klaus placed a hand on his head and shut his eyes. "My head is killing me."
So many things were happening at once Violet fought the urge to cover her ears and close her eyes.
"Listen to me you useless puke bag," Five shouted as he marched over. "We just blew our chances to save the world!"
A sudden high pitched warning sound filled the air, making them all look at the briefcase in Five's hand.
He scoffed, looking down at it in dismay. "Goddammit!" He shouted as he threw the thing away into the air.
They all watched a warp of blue light envelope it as it disappeared, the high pitched whine turning to a tense silence.
"We were that close," Five scratched the back of his neck, turning around. He let out a long exhale. "That close."
Violet watched him cautiously, wanting to go over to him but not having the courage to do so.
Luther walked back over to them. "Now what?"
There was a single pause.
"Now nothing, Luther, alright?" Five shouted as he turned on the spot, not knowing what to do with himself or where to direct his anger. "Make your peace with God."
"What? What about Allison and Vanya?"
"Screw them both! They should have been here." He kicked something hard against the dumpster and she shifted on her feet, rubbing the scar on her palm.
"What about Diego? Something must have happened to them."
"Screw Diego, alright? Screw everybody!" Five seethed, glancing momentarily at Violet who was watching him closely. "We were better off by ourselves in the apocalypse!"
Violet tried to get closer to him but he kept pacing away, so enraged he couldn't stop himself moving.
"You know what? Its every person for themselves now!" He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "How about that?"
He went to head inside, leaving them staring after him.
Violet was the only one who moved to follow him. She ran after him before the door slammed.
He heard her footsteps behind him but only turned to face her at the top of the stairs. She looked up at him, pausing with her hand on the rail.
So many things she wanted to say, but no time to say it.
"I know." He said after a heavy moment, eyes softening for a fraction of a second. He nodded at her. "I know, okay? You don't have to try and say it."
Her shoulders sagged in relief and she swallowed thickly. He knew she was sorry and that was all she needed.
He moved away from her quickly, and she stared longingly after him as Luther ran in from behind her. She followed after Five to avoid the large man.
Five stormed into the bathroom, midway throwing his bloodstained blazer off, and she put a hand on the door as it shut in her face. The lock turned and she
"I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this." She heard from behind the door.
"What? Five? Come on!" Luther sighed from behind her.
Violet considered cloaking and phasing through the door but hesitated. He knew she had the ability to. He knew she could if she wanted to.
Softly, hesitantly, she rapped her knuckles on the door instead.
She heard a faint sigh from within.
Troubled, she decided not to barge in on his privacy and opted to wait for him to come out and explain what they were going to do now the briefcase situation was bust.
Luther sat on the couch, defeated, and Violet sat herself down on the floor with her back to the door.
The strain in his voice as he'd apologised to her ran laps in her head and she could do nothing but repeat his words internally because she knew he had meant them. And the usual Five wouldn't have expressed any sign of vulnerability in front of any of the others, but time had been running out and he had put his heart on the table and oddly enough, it spoke volumes, even after how he'd acted previously to her.
Despite the fact he had terrified her before, she couldn't hold onto the rage for too long. Because they didn't have time for her to be holding grudges and she didn't like the cold feeling it left with her.
It had been awful, yes, but they had both fucked up monumentally. It wasn't one sided at all.
She wanted to be angry at him but just... couldn't.
She swallowed and rubbed her palms over her thighs.
He had been scared of what he might have done. He could have killed her. If the situation was flipped... she knew she couldn't live with herself either. The only difference being that she would be forced to, and Five wouldn't come back from death like she could.
She shoved the thought away and looked down at her lap.
She had never heard Five so frantic, so frustrated with himself yet so sincere.
And only then, as she waited in the heavy silence sat with nothing but her own thoughts, did she realise he had said he had loved her.