Dance with a Devil

"Hey, uh, John?" Violet called, dusting an imaginary spot on the wall, spending all morning trying to think of a way to tell him of her plan.

"What?" John's voice rang from the living room.

"Um, you wouldn't mind if I invited like two people over today, would you?" She had asked Garrett and Eric to come over just so John could have better company than just her. Plus, the two people he was closest to was Eric and Garrett, so why not?

There was a silence that followed. Violet muttered, "Uh, oh," before John appeared in the doorway of the foyer, where she was, and he stared at her, confused.

"What did you do?" he asked.

Violet shrugged her shoulders. "I just invited a couple people over. Just two, I swear. Don't hate me?"

John rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

"Wait, seriously?"

John shrugged his shoulders. "You already did it, so whatever."

Violet put a hand on her hip. "I spent all morning trying to figure out a way to tell you this and all you have to say is fine? You're okay with this?"

"Sure."

Violet suddenly beamed.

"Oh, no, don't–" John started.

"I'm so proud of you, John Cornelius," Violet cooed, pressing her hands to her heart. John rolled his eyes and tried to hide back the chuckle. He went back into the living room and Violet laughed, feeling a giant weight lift off her shoulders.

Eric and Garrett came when Violet texted them the okay. They rang the doorbell and Violet practically skipped to get it. She kissed Garrett on the lips and when Eric leaned in to get one for himself, Violet rolled her eyes and he feigned hurt, but laughed as well.

"Where's John?" Garrett asked, looking around. His eyes landed on the mural on the wall in front of him.

"That is cool," Eric said, following his gaze.

Violet beamed. "Thanks!"

John came into the foyer, which Violet didn't expect at all. He looked at his two friends and said, "Hey."

"John!" Eric exclaimed, slightly cautious.

"Hey, John," Garrett greeted.

Violet looked between the three of them and she rolled her eyes. Whenever she got excited, there wasn't a filter to what came out of her mouth. So, she said,

"You guys are so awkward."

All three of them turned to look at her with unamused expressions.

"We're tryin' here," Eric muttered.

"Come on," Violet scoffed. "You guys are three best friends. Act like you haven't seen each other in months, or do something. The whole point of you guys hanging out is to fix your friendship. Now, I need to use the restroom so when I come back out, y'all better be best friends again." She glared at the three of them and dramatically walked out.

She chuckled to herself and went into the restroom. She stared at herself in the mirror rather than using the restroom for its obvious purpose. John was actually growing. He was turning into the man that Violet would actually try and become friends with, rather than being a complete douchebag, like he used to be.

She couldn't contain the excitement and pride that filled her heart.

Violet exited the bathroom and she suddenly stopped when the door at the end of the hall came into her line of vision. The forbidden room, again. Since the sinful kiss, Violet had avoided John, altogether, but she had completely forgotten that she actually tried to break down the door.

Violet sighed and entered the living room, where the three boys were. They were actually bonding. They were talking about Becca, Eric's girlfriend that Violet had never heard of before.

"Whoa, wait," Violet said, upon entering the room and listening to bits of the conversation. "Halvo, you have a girlfriend?"

Eric was smiling and he nodded his head.

"One month today," he said, proudly.

"One mo–one month?!" Violet exclaimed, plopping down on top Garrett in an armchair. She turned to her boyfriend and said, "Why didn't know of this?"

Eric shrugged his shoulders and he grinned.

"She's great. You'll love her, Vi."

"No, I'm actually mad that I didn't know about this," Violet huffed. "Cecilia and I are drowning in all the testosterone in our group. We've needed another girl for a long-ass time and you've kept her hidden from me for a month? Once I become best friends with her–Becca, is it?–I will make her do things to you."

Eric and Garrett burst into laughter and John rolled his eyes.

"I've been waiting for the moment you finally got a girlfriend, Halvo," John said, clapping his back. "I was starting to think you were gay."

"Me, too," Garrett agreed.

"Same," Violet said, jumping on the bandwagon.

Eric glared at the three of them.

Violet was emitting rays of joy from her body because the whole thing was turning out better than she had planned. John was being social, Eric was being himself, and Garrett, despite harboring slight feelings of jealousy, was doing his best trying to let John back in.

It was working out perfectly.

Violet was getting out ice cream for all of them in the kitchen when she suddenly heard music coming from the living room. Garrett walked in only a second later.

He kissed her on the cheek and hopped up onto the counter.

"What's happening out there?" Violet asked, curiously.

"Halvo is showing him a new song," Garrett explained. "Hey, listen," he changed the subject. "Your sister called me this morning, asking if we got the invitations to her wedding."

"Oh!" Violet exclaimed. "They've set a date? Why didn't I know about that?"

Garrett shrugged. "I dunno. I asked her about the date though and she said it's in February."

"Oh, wow," Violet said. "That's sooner than I expected."

The music got louder and Violet felt the smile on her face grow wider, as if that were even possible with how much she was smiling already.

"Is John playing with him?" Violet asked. Garrett peered his head to look and he nodded.

"You know, he misses it," she said, in a low voice. "The Maine. The music. All of it."

"Then why doesn't he come back?" Garrett asked, harshly. "We need him, and he is throwing away all of our lives because of some stupid fucking thing that he did."

"Hey," Violet turned around, facing him fully. "He's trying. You know that–what do you think I have been doing these past few months?"

"Stop defending him," Garrett snapped, hopping off the counter and leaning against it, across from her. "He's being a fucking baby."

"Garrett, you don't know what he's going through–"

"Do you?" Garrett countered.

"No," she shook her head. "And as much as I want to know, he's obviously getting better. Garrett, please don't be mad. If it were you, you'd be in the exact same situation and you wouldn't want one of your best friends and bandmate to call you a 'fucking baby'. Garrett, he's your friend. Just...support him."

Garrett sighed and he nodded his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. "That was mean and you didn't deserve it. I'm just...impatient."

Violet pulled her boyfriend into a kiss and said, "I know you are. And, I'm trying, okay?"

Garrett shook his head. "No, don't put the blame on yourself. Don't you dare do that."

She sighed and handed him a bowl of ice cream and said, "Eat this, will you? I have to pee."

Garrett chuckled and nodded his head, kissing her on the lips again. Violet passed by Eric and John in the living room and gave John a thumbs up when his locked with hers. He rolled his eyes but continued strumming the guitar as she went to the restroom again.

When she came back out, she stopped again. Except it wasn't the forbidden room that was beckoning to her, it was Kennedy's old bedroom–the one she slept in the night that she found Rachael at her apartment with Garrett. There was a curtain draped over where a door should've been and she wondered how on earth she didn't notice that earlier.

Violet furrowed her eyes and just as she was about to pull open the curtain, she heard a,

"You don't want to do that."

She spun around and found John standing behind her.

"John? What is this?" she asked, her hand still on the curtain.

"It's not entirely finished," John said.

"What is it?" Violet asked again.

Eric tumbled in, with his guitar in hand, and he was looking for John, but when he saw the two of them facing each other, he went,

"What's going on?"

Garrett soon followed when he realized that nobody was near him. He furrowed his eyebrows at Violet and John and his eyes found her hand bunching up the curtain that was covering the doorway.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Violet..." John's eyes were only on hers. She was slightly afraid of what it would be behind the curtain, especially with everyone staring at her the way they were. Her eyes locked with John's and he didn't look as angry as he would've been if it were the other room, so it couldn't be that bad right?

Violet opened it and turned around to see what was inside. She gasped.

It was a library. Shelves upon shelves filled every single lining of the room. None of them had books because John was right, he wasn't finished building it, but it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She spun back around to face him.

All three of the boys were in the doorway, peering in. John was the only one watching her.

"It's a library," she said.

John nodded his head.

"You built a library," she repeated. "Why didn't I notice this before?"

John shrugged his shoulders. "I had it emptied a few weeks ago and I didn't start with the shelves until Saturday." The day that they kissed.

"Oh, my God," Violet was awed. "This is so beautiful."

"You inspired me," John said. Violet looked at him. She didn't even notice that Garrett was looking between the two of them. She only saw the man who basically built a library in his house in her honor.

"I can't believe you did this," she said, walking out.

"Me neither," Garrett mumbled. He took Violet's hand in his own and whispered about going home so they could watch How I Met Your Mother reruns and just be together.

"Yeah, I should go, too. I have a hot date with Becca," Eric grinned.

John said his goodbyes to them. Violet told Garrett to wait by the car and she would be there in a minute. He hesitated for a brief second but he obliged. Violet cleaned up around the kitchen and when she went into the living room, where John was, she said the only thing her mind could conjure,

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

John looked up and nodded his head.

She was just about to leave when she turned back around and launched herself at him, hugging him. John was caught completely off guard but she felt him pat her back and pull away. He had mixed emotions on his face.

She smiled at him and left.

Garrett drove them home in silence. Violet didn't mind because all she could think about was that library. She couldn't wait to help John fill the shelves with books. It could be their thing–book collecting or something.

When they arrived at their apartment, Violet was ready to change into her pajamas and cuddle up on the couch while watching her favorite show, but Garrett stopped her by saying,

"What's going on between you and John?"

She froze. It took her a moment to regain herself and when she did, she slowly turned around to face him.

"What?"

"He build you a library," Garrett scoffed. "How can there be nothing going on between you two?"

"I, uh–" Violet couldn't think of the words to say. It caught her off guard.

"Violet?" Garrett looked confused and worried at the same time. He was praying nothing was going on and that it was all in his brain.

She had to say it. She couldn't hide from it anymore because she knew that she minute Garrett saw the look shared between her and John, and the fact that he built her library, Garrett would know that it wasn't just friendly business between them. It was something more.

Violet took a deep breath and she said, finally,

"I kissed John."