Dance with a Devil

She saw him from across the street while sitting in her car, waiting. She stepped out of her car and she waited until he crossed the street. He smiled as their eyes locked and when he approached her, they walked, side-by-side, until they reached the inside of the bakery. She could feel the tingles shoot up and down her arm as their hands just barely touched. The smile on her face was permanent and she could see him glance at her in the corner of her eye.

"Violet," he said, in a low voice, pulling out her chair.

"John," she said back, sitting down.

He sat across from her, the smile still on his face and his eyes twinkling as they locked with hers.

"Hi," Violet said, feeling her smile widen.

"Hey," John said, leaning in and reaching across the table to touch her hand. She felt the tingles again and placed her other hand on top of his.

"How was your day?"

John shrugged. "It was okay. Your, ah, ex couldn't look me in the eyes."

Violet withdrew her hands and leaned back in her seat. She broke the gaze and she sighed. She heard John sigh, too, and say, "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I just feel terrible."

"He's Garrett. He'll be fine," John said, taking her hand in his again. "He'll find someone better than you, Violet. He'll find someone that'll do what you did for me, maybe even better. If I can, then he can."

"You think so?" Violet asked.

John nodded. "I know so."

"So...us," Violet said. "What about us?"

"What about us?"

"I spent over two years hating your guts and now I'm in love with you. I'm not so sure my brain has caught up yet, but I might go into shock sometime soon."

John let out a laugh and he rolled his eyes. "Take it from my point of view: Turns out I've been in love with my best friend's girlfriend for much too long. Oh, and she hated me. Icing on the cake."

Violet laughed. "Is it real? Us, I mean," she said, seriously. "I know that we've established that we love each other and all, but what if you wake up one morning and think, 'I don't think I'm in love with her anymore,' and you fall in love with someone else?"

"I don't see that happening," John said, simply.

"You don't?"

John only shook his head. Violet waited for him to say something, but when he didn't, she sighed and slumped back in her seat. It had only been a week since she told him she loved him, and nothing felt different. She expected the sun to be brighter and the sky to be bluer. She just woke up and everything was the same. It was as if nothing had changed at all.

"Violet," John sighed. "Don't you get it? I became someone that I despised. I succumbed to the lowest level of my being and I almost threw all that I had away. God, even my cousin, who didn't know you existed until she saw your picture in my wallet, knew you'd be the one to change me. You changed me. You devoted that tiny ounce of compassion you had for me to make me this guy. How can someone not fall in love with you because of that?"

Violet smiled and she pulled him in and kissed him on the lips.

"Okay, you've convinced me. We're perfect," she grinned.

John laughed and rolled his eyes. "We'll be okay. And so will Garrett."

Violet nodded. "Good."

The two of them stood up. Violet saw it now–the difference in their lives. She could see it in the future that she and John would stay together. They'd bicker. They'd fight. They'd even cry. But they would always find their way back to each other. No matter how much she loved Garrett Nickelsen, she'd love John O'Callaghan in a different way. He was her prince.

"Hey, wait," Violet said, just before they left. John waited by the door as she strode over to the counter. The blonde girl looked up from the register and recognized her and said,

"Hey!"

Violet smiled. "Listen, Florence, I want to thank you for your advice. Choosing the man that stole my heart–it's good advice."

Florence smiled back and said, "You've chosen the right man?"

Violet nodded her head. "We're happy."

"What about the other one?"

Violet shrugged. "I know him better than anyone else. He'll be fine. We'll all be fine and we'll all be happy."

Florence grinned. "Well, I'm happy for you! I'm glad my lack of romance experienced brain actually kind of helped you out."

Violet grinned and said her goodbye before she joined John again, who took her hand in his. She felt those tingles shoot up and down her arm again and she nodded her head as the two of them walked through Tempe together. She was happy and she knew that those months she put towards John were worth it.

He would always be her prince.

Sure, no romantic fairytale really existed, but they did live happily ever after.