Dance with a Devil

"No."

Violet put her hands on her hips.

"Come on. I'm gonna start calling you names."

John sat on the couch, unmoving.

"No."

"One time!" exclaimed Violet. "Just this one time! Please!"

John turned to look at her with an unamused look on his face. She had been at it for twenty minutes already and clearly, she wasn't going to let it go–not this time, at least.

"Seriously," she continued. "It won't hurt! I'll be right next to you the entire time, I swear. Just come with me to the grocery store for ten minutes, and we'll be out of there in no time!"

Violet was practically begging on her knees–she was willing to go on her knees anyway if it meant that John would finally leave his house in three months. She was so close, she could feel it. John wasn't a recluse, he was the social butterfly. He needed to be that social butterfly again.

"Why?" John asked.

"Why not?" Violet countered.

John groaned. "You are too fucking much, Violet."

"Look who's talking."

"I don't want to go," John said, sternly.

"John, you're not agoraphobic and nor are you a fucking baby," Violet rolled her eyes. "Just man up and come with me! If it means having a chat with Zeus," her eyes flickered down towards his crotch area. "Then by all means, go for it."

"Jesus fucking Christ," John stood up. "Fine."

"What?" Violet started grinning.

John stared, unamused. He wasn't going to repeat it again.

"YES!" Violet shrieked and gasped as the same time. She pulled him up by the arm, excitedly, and practically pushed him out of the door. She did it! She got him to do it and with only a few words!

John was grumbling the entire ride over to Fry's. Violet was so excited about this new step that she didn't even care. She didn't even notice how nervous he suddenly became when they got to the parking lot.

"Okay, we need milk, cheese, steak, potatoes, and Arizona Iced Tea," Violet said, naming off her mental list as she unsnapped the seatbelt and opened the car door.

"Arizona Iced Tea?" John repeated.

"They're delicious!" Violet exclaimed in defense.

Violet beamed at him as he fell into step with her and stuffed his hands in his pockets. The automatic doors opened for them and Violet already knew where to go first. John followed her.

Violet was finally starting to see John's discomfort being there with her. She rolled her eyes–he was being a baby about it. It was just people. Nobody was going to hurt him, and if anyone were, it would be her.

"See?" she said, looking around. "This isn't so bad, right?"

John shrugged.

"Oh, come on. Admit it," she nudged him. "You miss it."

"Right, I miss Fry's, the grocery store," John scoffed.

Violet rolled her eyes. "Very funny. No, I mean the outside–being around people. I mean, we've always been told of how people need other people in order to survive. Like in Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, have you read it?"

John shook his head.

"Oh, well, it's about this guy named Chris McCandless," Violet explained. "He had a nice life and stuff until he finds out a secret about his family and decides to get away by journeying to Alaska. He meets all these cool people along the way that would have potentially been practical family figures to him, but he leaves them. He ends up in Alaska and he survives for four days there without any human contact. He dies in the end and everyone that he knew was so shocked by it and they were saddened and all. I mean, if Chris had kept in touch with everyone he knew, he probably would have ventured back to civilization, but because of his hatred and grudge towards his family and everyone, he let himself die."

They reached the refrigerators and Violet opened the door, taking out a gallon of milk.

"Did you just ruin the ending for me?" John asked, taking the milk from her, feeling more comfortable now.

"It says on the front cover of the book that he's dead!" she exclaimed. "I gave away nothing."

John rolled his eyes.

"No, but seriously, John," Violet said, seriously. "Don't end up like Chris McCandless. You are far better than him."

"You really think so?" John said, quietly.

Violet touched his arm. "Of course."

"Why?"

Violet was caught off guard for a second from the question. She didn't expect him to answer but she answered in the best way that she could,

"Because as much as I hated the old you, that was the person who accomplished great things. He deserves better than staying inside a tiny little house for the rest of his life. No matter what happened, John, you will always deserve the best you can get because you work hard for it. You believe in it and you really love it..."

They were standing in the middle of the cereal aisle, staring into each other's eyes. John was staring at her, disbelieving, but Violet was completely sincere about everything that she said. Their faces were so close to each other.

"Violet?" She jumped and spun around. It was Kennedy. He was holding a plastic bag full of apples. His eyes traveled from her to John, and Violet practically saw it in slow motion–his eyes lit up, a smile formed on his face, and he opened his mouth and exclaimed,

"John?!"

"Fuck," John cursed.

"You–you did it!" Kennedy exclaimed to Violet. "You got him out of the house?!"

"I–" Violet started but she was cut off by the look on John's face. He stared at her, suddenly remembering the whole reason why she was with him in the first place.

The guys sent her there.

"I forgot," John said, stepping back. "You're just following orders." He turned on his heel.

"John!" Violet sighed. "John–wait!"

She glanced at Kennedy, who gave her an apologetic look, and then started after John. She kept calling his name and once he slipped past the double doors, Violet had to set down all the things in her hands and run after him.

"John! Stop!" She caught up to him.

"Everything you've ever said is supposed to get me to open up or some shit and get me back to The Maine and all that stuff that doesn't matter to me anymore," John's eyes were blazing. "I cannot fucking believe I forgot that you're only here because of them. And I fucking believed some of your shit, Violet! That's all it is–absolutely shit."

"That's not true!" Violet exclaimed. "I meant every single word I have ever said to you!"

"You are their fucking soldier, Violet. You're just following orders. Do you not fucking understand that I don't want to go back to them?!" John shouted.

"WHAT ABOUT YESTERDAY?!" she shrieked. "When you said that you missed music! It's all waiting for you, John! You don't have to start from scratch again!"

John shook his head. Violet groaned and she didn't let him speak. She said, "We just took a step forward and now you're taking two back. Please, don't make this an issue, John. I'm only trying to help you."

"This was a mistake," John shook his head, making his way towards the car.

"Coming here or having me around all this time?" Violet asked. John stopped. He sighed and he yanked the car door open.

"Keys," he commanded. Violet sighed, almost obeying, but then she shook her head.

"No."

John stared.

"You left your house, John." Violets shrugged. "That is such a big accomplishment that I'm not going to back down anymore. We're done with the baby steps. You can either walk home, which is a good five mile walk, or you can stay here until I'm done."

Violet felt proud of herself that she stood up to him. She was done babying him and he needed to finally start being a better John. He wasn't very close but he was closer than he had in been in months.

John slammed the car door shut and he turned, walking away. Violet felt herself smile as she watched his retreating back until he was just a tiny speck in the distance and she went back inside Fry's.

Violet arrived back at John's house, carrying the groceries, and she found John drinking a beer amongst a bunch of beer cans on the ground. She looked up at him and sighed.

"Get out," he snapped.

"John," Violet set the grocery bags down and sat down beside him. He wasn't completely drunk, that was for sure, but he was angry.

"I don't understand you," John shook his head. "For the past few years that I've known you, you've hated me. I was a jerk to you. Now, you won't leave me the fuck alone and I don't know if you're doing it because of who you are or just because you were told to do so."

"It's both," Violet answered. "Tim and the guys wanted me to do it and I said no, at first. You're right, John, I hated you. You were the biggest douchebag on the planet to me. But, you're hurting. That is why I continue to do this. I don't have to do this anymore. Garrett even told me that I should stop, but I'm not going to and you know why?" Violet waited for some sort of reaction but didn't get one so she continued, "Because you're not really that douchebag. That's a facade and I see that now. You're a much better person than that and I hope that I can bring that person out in you."

"Do you really believe that?" John questioned.

Violet nodded. "I do."

John stared at her, trying to find something that would ruin the whole thing (like it did last time), but Violet was serious.

"You're the only person I can trust, Vi," John said, quietly. "You're all I've got."

"I love The Maine, John, and I want them back together, but I'd rather it be the real you than the fake one I've known for so long," Violet stood up, shrugging. "I don't care about the past anymore–I'll help you get through it. So for now I'm not going anywhere."

She took the grocery bags in her hands and gave John the best smile she could muster and went into the kitchen to put them away. She went through the living room again and lingered for a second before she pondered on whether she should leave or not–despite what she said earlier. But she meant that in a figurative sense that she would always be there for him. And anyways, John probably wanted to kill her at that point.

"You're leaving?" John's voice sounded just as she took a step towards the front door. She turned around and saw him standing up, a dark shadow cast over his face but she could tell his loneliness.

John certainly had a strange way of showing his emotions.

Violet shook her head and shrugged, offering him a smile.

"I said I wasn't going anywhere, didn't I?"