Dance with a Devil

Garrett stared and Violet didn't move a muscle for she was afraid that any sudden movement would cause something drastic.

"Um, what?" he said.

Violet sighed. "Technically, John kissed me, but it was still a kiss. I'm so sorry, Garrett."

"You kissed," Garrett repeated. Then, he scoffed and repeated again, "You guys kissed."

"Garrett--"

"Are you kidding me?"

Violet stopped herself. She had no means of defending herself because it was a sinful kiss. She basically cheated on her boyfriend whom she loved very much. The guilt was weighing in even more now.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Garrett muttered, pushing past her and going into the bedroom. Violet followed him and when she closed the bedroom door behind her, he turned around to face her and said, "You hated him. I knew that you would never fall for John because you two never got along and now whatever fucking thing happened with him and his family brought you two together and you kissed."

Garrett closed his eyes and he sighed. When he opened them again, he asked, "How? How did it happen?"

"I, um, I got angry at him and started yelling and tried to breaking down doors and then he just kissed me. It was short and it didn't mean anything, Garrett--" Violet explained, quickly adding the last part but Garrett cut her off.

"I thought that being away from each other would be good for us because it would be like our problems would fix itself, but it just made it even worse."

Violet felt the tears prick her eyes. She whispered, "Un-pause?"

Garrett nodded. "Un-pause."

He looked at her again and said, "I felt so fucking guilty because Rachael stood in our apartment but you kissed John. And you made me feel like complete shit--"

"I KNOW!" Violet exclaimed. "I know that it was extremely hypocritical of me but I feel so guilty about it, Garrett! It was a mistake--"

"Was it?" Garrett asked. "Was it a mistake because last I checked, he built you a library."

Violet sighed. "He didn't build me a library. I influenced him!"

"It's basically the same thing. He's clearly--"

"No, Garrett, just stop!" Violet exclaimed, unable to take it anymore. "Kiss or no kiss, I love you."

"Yeah, I love you, too," Garrett nodded, his expression softening just slightly. "But if you didn't have an ounce of feelings for John, you wouldn't have gone back to him. I know you, Vi. You stay away from the people you don't like and there was only one person who was on that list and that was John."

"So, what?" Violet asked. "What do you want me to do?"

"It'd be a douchebag move to tell you to never see him again because he's my best fucking friend and my bandmate. I don't really know," Garrett said. "Just...just give me some time."

"We can't keep avoiding this, Gare," Violet sighed. "It'll just keep coming up."

"I know," Garrett nodded. "But I don't know what to do, Violet. I love you unconditionally--"

"No, you don't," Violet cut in. Garrett raised his eyebrows at her and she felt this sudden urge to defend herself because Garrett wasn't the only victim.

"You don't want to get married to me because your idea of it is so shattered because of Rachael. You compare everything I do to Rachael!"

"No, I don't!" Garrett exclaimed.

"Maybe not everything, but marriage, Garrett?" Something was fueling in Violet that she didn't expect or want to come out, but it was anyways. "Marriage is a huge thing to be reluctant on."

"Violet, we're young," he said. "And I'm just not ready for it just yet!"

"Yeah, I'm not either but I had this perfect future planned out for us, but you said these exact words, 'Marriage. Not thinking about that for like, a millennia.'" she lowered her voice a couple octaves and glared at him.

"Oh, and John is going to give you that perfect future and marriage?" Garrett scoffed.

"No!" Violet shrieked, exasperated. "God, Garrett, this doesn't have anything to do with John! We kissed, we forgot about it. Nothing more!"

"I can't forget about it," Garrett shook his head, backing away towards the bathroom. "My girlfriend made out with my best friend, who is also ruining my life because he refuses to come back to our band. Fucking perfect, right?"

He slammed the door shut behind him and Violet groaned, loudly. She would apologize profusely for kissing the wrong man, as long as she had Garrett again in the end. She's never loved someone as much as she loved Garrett–he was her first love.

Violet pressed her body against the bathroom door and she said, "Garrett, please come out! I will forever be sorry for kissing John. I'll do anything to make it up to you."

"Just...go away, please, Violet? I–I need some time..."

Violet closed her eyes, trying not to burst into tears, and she did as he wished. She went into the kitchen and grabbed her car keys out from her purse and left Garrett alone in their apartment as she drove away.

So many things were rushing through her mind. Ways to make it up to Garrett, ways to fix their relationship and get it back to normal, ways to get John and Garrett to make up now that the cat was out of the bag, ways for everything to go back to how they used to be. Violet wanted a better life, not a changed one. Everything was changing right in front of her eyes.

And before she even knew it, she was in front of John's house once again.

The little voice in the back of her mind was screaming at her to drive away but she stared at the one story house in front of her. It was John's sanctuary, his home sweet home. It was the place that he only allowed Violet to enter and then today, by a miracle of God, he let two other people in.

Garrett wanted his life back–especially The Maine. The band was so close to breaking up, everyone could feel it already. John was so close to going back to them, Violet wasn't going to give up now. Some things needed to be sacrificed, and if her and Garrett's relationship would end up how she would hope, then it would fix itself. They would overcome this. Love knows no bounds, right?

Violet stepped out of the car and walked in, despite intruding. John was nowhere to be seen so she yelled out, "John!" in case he would've shot her with a gun (if he owned a gun) if she hadn't.

John came out of bedroom with a confused expression.

"What're you doing here?"

Violet sighed. "Shit happens, right?" she raised her eyebrows at him.

John was staring at her, wearing nothing but sweatpants. He looked like he was going to go to sleep despite it being barely sundown.

"Want a drink?" he asked.

Violet shook her head.

"I shouldn't be here," she said, suddenly.

John raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you?"

She looked at him and sighed, leaning back against the foyer wall that she painted over.

"I don't know. I'm strangely drawn you, John. I mean, I have Cecilia to talk to and everything but you, I don't even know. I don't need to talk to you, you'll just somehow help me out anyway. I really shouldn't be here but you're the only person I can handle right now," Violet shrugged.

"Okay," John said.

"Okay," Violet repeated, nodding.

John continued to stare at her, wondering what happened. Violet stared back at him, strange feelings washing over body. She didn't feel guilty about being there, she didn't even miss Garrett anymore. She felt safe.

"Wanna watch How I Met Your Mother?" he suggested.

Violet cracked a smile.

"I'd love to."

The two of them plopped down on the couch and John turned the TV on and put on How I Met Your Mother. Violet wasn't even paying attention to what episode it was, her mind was everywhere. She wondered what Garrett was doing right at that moment. She also wondered what he would do if he found out she was at John's.

"But if you didn't have an ounce of feelings for John, you wouldn't have gone back to him."

She glanced at the boy next to her, who's eyes were glued to the TV. He glanced at her, too, when she didn't look away, and raised his eyebrows.

"What?"

Violet shook her head. "Nothing."

They went back to watching the TV.

Everything was unraveling in front of her eyes and Violet didn't know how to stop it. All she could do was sit next to the man who was ruining her relationship with her boyfriend, while in turn, mending his own life, and watch a comedy TV show about a bunch of friends living in New York.

Violet ended up nodding off and her head rested on John's shoulder, faint images flashed in front of her eyes as her eyes slowly closed. Sleep sounded like a nice alternative to facing reality and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

Violet awoke only once in the middle of the night and she found herself on the couch, still, however John's arms were around her. She glanced up but could not move much because both of their bodies took up the entire couch. John was fast asleep as his head rested just above hers, his legs hung over the arm rest of the couch, and his arms perfectly entwined around her small frame. She could hear his even breathing in her ears and it was soothing.

She was asleep again, in John O'Callaghan's arms, and it felt like the most normal thing in the world.