Violet Sparks

Violet was cursing to herself under her breath as she rushed down the hotel’s hallway. She was running late for her business conference, and if she missed this, she missed out on a huge job opportunity. But as fate would have it, she was never meant to go to the meeting, despite having flown a long way to get to Paris. If she would have gone, she would have got a promotion in an office job she hated, had to move to Paris to live in a tiny apartment, and she never would have met Jimmy, who changed her life for the better.

She hit the elevator button multiple times with fury, wishing it would hurry up. As she rechecked her watch, the stereotypical ‘ding’ of the elevator sounded and the doors whooshed open. Violet entered the elevator and stood on the right side, facing the doors and not looking twice at the man who was also in the elevator with her. Moving to hit the ground floor button, she noticed it already was pressed, so stepped back to her place.

“Hi,” the person next to her said. Violet glanced at him and noticed that he stood at well over six feet tall, was as skinny as ever, and despite seeming a bit scary with his Gothic vibe, he still appeared to be cheerful.

“Hi,” Violet said back before looking back at the line the doors made where they met.

“In a rush?” the man spoke again, his voice so chirpy it was almost unnatural.

“Very,” she replied, trying to ignore him. She was going over her presentation in her head, making sure she could remember the key points.

“I’m not,” he said as Violet felt her stylish bun that her long brown hair had been swept up into, checking it was still alright. She let out a little sigh once she realised it was fine, then rested her hand back at her side, watching the numbers slowly count down. She regretted asking for a room so high up in the skyscraper. Sure, the view was astonishing, but now she was late and suffering through awkward silence and uncomfortable attempts at having a conversation with an overly-friendly stranger. “Wanna know why I’m not?” Violet rolled her eyes to look at the man.

“Why not?” she breathed, giving in to him with the thought that it wouldn’t be as unpleasant if she contributed a bit more. Besides, it would make time pass quicker…

“I’m meeting my best friend to go shopping with him,” he answered and she giggled a little.

“And that’s supposed to be a bad thing?” Violet questioned, remembering that he was a guy as soon as she said it, and that males were not keen on shopping.

“Well, he’s a bit of a girl sometimes, but when it comes to shopping… Especially in foreign countries… It’s horrible. There’s nothing he won’t try on, nothing that isn’t essential as a souvenir of the country, no hair product he doesn’t need, no eyeliner he doesn’t have enough of… It’s never ending!” The man hooted with laughter once he had finished.

“Eyeliner? Seriously? You’re talking about your male best friend, right?”

“Yeah. He’s not gay, I swear!” the outgoing stranger told her and they shared a laugh.

“Maybe you should find a new best friend…” Violet commented. “You know, a less gay one so you can go drink beer instead of shop with him.”

“Brian is not gay, believe it or not!” the man exclaimed as he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his black jeans. They fell into silence as Violet didn’t know what to respond with. “Argh, I hate elevators… Soooo boring…” He appeared quite hyperactive, she thought. They had been in the cube for such a short time…

“I hate them when they make me even later than I need to be…” Violet groaned as she looked back up at the numbers. Only another thirty to go… Suddenly there was a crunching sound, then a bang of metal hitting another piece of metal. The elevator jolted viciously and both of the occupants were knocked down onto their backsides as the lights went out.

“Oh crap, I offended the elevator gods…” the man moaned in annoyance and the emergency lights came on, dimly lighting up the small cube.

“I am so in trouble when I get to work…” Violet sighed as she moved towards the control panel. She strained her eyes to find the emergency help button in the faint light, and once she found it she pressed it. “Hello? We’re stuck in the elevator! Help us!” There was no reply. Violet sighed as she sat back down, tucking her legs under herself so the stranger couldn’t see up her skirt.

“I’ve seen horror movies about this. It never ends well…” the guy commented as he pulled his long legs up to his torso, hugging his knees as he stared at the doors.

“Oh shut up…” Violet whined as she rolled her head back against the wall.

“Sorry…” he said sadly as he reached into his pocket to pull out his cell phone. He dialled 911 and gave the details to the operator, claiming that the emergency help button wasn’t working. Once he hung up he looked over at the woman who was now hugging herself and staring at the ground. “Help’s on the way…”

“Okay…” she mumbled. She was feeling on edge now. Before, if the man started being too creepy, she could easily get off at the next floor, but now she couldn’t. She was trapped with him. Like he had said, this never went well in the movies…

“What’s your name?” he called out after a few minutes of both of them remaining quiet. The man hated silence and was always the one to break it within his group of friends.

“Violet. You?”

“Jimmy.”

“Thanks for calling 911, Jimmy,” she said, bringing her eyes up to meet his.

“No problem...” Jimmy smiled peacefully at her and it was then that she realised he meant no harm. Jimmy was genuinely a nice person. He had a good heart.

“Distract me. I don’t wanna think about death as we sit here waiting for it,” Violet pleaded.

“Sure,” Jimmy beamed at her. “Wanna bitch about my friend and question his sexual orientation?” Violet snickered a little, and that was all that Jimmy needed. He picked her up within minutes, telling joke after joke, bringing her back into a more stable and calm mind frame, which is what was needed in the current situation.

After an hour and a half, sounds could be heard of worker men from outside the elevator, and inside it, it was becoming a sauna. Sweat dripped down both of the occupants faces as they continued their conversation. It became more in depth as they learned more about each other, easily getting to the point where they could call themselves good friends, despite the fact they were strangers moments ago.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” a male voice called from somewhere above.

“Yeah!” Jimmy called out when Violet didn’t. She was feeling too exhausted from the heat.

“We’re doing the best we can! This is a really tricky situation! One wrong move and we could send you plummeting down the shaft!” the man shouted to them, causing them to share a panicked expression. “We think a circuit shorted and sparked and then damaged some of the cables! It’s gonna take another hour for some essential equipment to arrive, but we’ll have you out of there in no time! Just hang on in there!”

“We’re gonna die…” Violet said weakly as Jimmy pushed himself off the wall, tugging at the bottom of his shirt and pulling it off. His long sleeves had hidden his tattoos that covered almost his entire top half, the one on his neck being noticeable to Violet once his long black hair had been moved by the shirt.

“I promise I won’t perve if you take yours off too… It helps…” Jimmy told her, so Violet agreed to shed her blouse. Once she had done so, she wiped her face with it, soaking up all of the sweat. Her exposed skin felt cooler than before, and she was grateful for his advice. Slowly, the conversation continued, both of them keeping their eyes away from the other one out of respect. Out of nowhere, there was a large clunking noise from below them, sending panic through their veins as the elevator moved down a bit.

“If we die… I just want to say thank you, Jimmy… for seeing past my bitchy comments at the start and… for giving me a chance… You’re a good guy…” Violet breathed heavily as she closed her eyes. The heat was so intense it was almost unbearable, and there was barely any oxygen remaining in the small space.

“Thanks for listening to my ramblings…” he said back to her before wiping his brow. Another thud was heard and the elevator jolted a bit more. “And we’re not going to die today… I can feel it…” His reassurance was nice for Violet, but she wasn’t too sure whether or not she could believe him. After a loud squeak, the elevator fell a bit more before stopping roughly and slamming both of their heads into the walls. But after that, the elevator continued to move down smoothly. Cheers from outside of the elevator were heard and Violet and Jimmy looked at each other, grinning widely.

“We’re gonna be okay…” she whispered as the cube grinded to a halt, the doors opening onto another floor of the hotel. There was a worker man waiting for them and he helped Violet out first, then gave Jimmy a hand. They laid sprawled out on the floor, enjoying the cool breeze together, for a few minutes before getting up and drinking the water that had been provided for them.

“I think I’m taking the stairs from now on…” Jimmy joked as he sat up, his smile as wide as ever. Violet agreed as Jimmy got out his cell phone again, making Violet ponder about why he hadn’t had it out the whole time when they were trapped. “I wonder what Brian will think about that…”

“He’ll probably think you’re just so desperate to not go shopping with him that you’d fake a crazy story like that,” Violet added, making them both laugh.

“So true…” he sighed as he stood up, lending Violet his hand after to pull her up gently. “It was nice meeting you, Violet.”

“As it was for you, Jimmy,” she said back, their hands still touching.

“I know you probably wouldn’t give it to the weird stranger in the elevator with you but-” he began.

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes, I’ll give you my number,” Violet smiled, making Jimmy smile too.

“You’re a true friend; you’re reading my mind already…” he chuckled before they exchanged numbers. After saying their goodbyes, Jimmy went downstairs to meet his friend and Violet went upstairs back to her room. There was no way she’d ever make it on time to her conference, but she didn’t care. Simply put, the near-death experience and meeting a great person had changed her. She saw things differently now, and she was glad.



Years later, Jimmy was having a tough time choosing between two girls. One he had known for ages and had always been close to, and the other was a newer friend, but of the same quality. But there was something that set the girls apart. He just couldn’t tell what it was, and consequently what girl was better for him. Matt knew how troubled he was by it and set him up on two romantic dates with each girl, but they both went equally as good. Jimmy was still distressed with the situation so Matt sent him to the bar one night by himself, saying he’d join him later. But he didn’t. Instead, he sent the two girls in, one by one, to hopefully force a decision out of his best friend.

The first girl went in, shared a beer with him, chatted away as always, then left like Matt had ordered her to. Then, the newest addition to the family went in. The same happened, but this time, she touched Jimmy’s hand. And then he felt it. There wasn’t just a spark like how there was with the first woman… There were millions of sparks… There were millions of Violet sparks…

“I want you,” Jimmy blurted and Violet met his eyes.

“What?” she stuttered, not having any clue about what Matt had set up.

“I have been confused for as long as I can remember, not knowing who I thought was better for me, but I know who it is now, Violet. It’s you. I love you. Please be mine,” Jimmy continued, taking Violet by surprise. She hesitated as she gazed into his handsome bright blue eyes, searching for honesty and love, and she saw it. He was telling the absolute truth. He really wanted her…

“I would love to be yours, Jimmy…” she said. They shared a lovingly tight embrace before Jimmy planted a huge kiss on her lips, having wanted to do that for years.

“Let’s run away!” he exclaimed and Violet froze. “I’m serious! Why not do something together that’s completely crazy and spontaneous?”

“Because that only happens in the movies, and they aren’t real! It’s insane, Jimmy!”

“And so am I! I’ll pay for it! Where do you want to go? How about Hawaii? I’ve always wanted to go there!” Jimmy continued, hardly aware of what his new girlfriend was saying.

“Uh, that sounds great… But-” Violet began to reason with him, but he didn’t want to hear it.

“Less thinking, more doing!” Jimmy shouted as he jumped up. Pulling Violet behind him, he ran out of the bar, got in a taxi and, after popping home to pick up a few essentials, went straight to the airport. He bought two seats on the next flight, boarded the plane not long after and then Violet could no longer argue.

“You are seriously the most excitement my life has ever had,” she giggled as the plane started moving slowly out onto the runway. “I mean, I meet you and I almost die trapped in an elevator. Then, in the years we are friends for, I see some of the most craziest shit ever, and do things I’d never ever think of… And now, you’ve just asked me to be your girlfriend, and now I’m on a plane to Hawaii… It’s just… incredible… Jimmy, you are incredible, and I love you.” Jimmy beamed uncontrollably.

“Oh, I really made the right choice,” he grinned before kissing her a few times. Holding hands, they leaned back and took off to their spur-of-the-moment holiday destination…



“You know, when Brian and Johnny taught me how to surf, I never thought I’d be doing it in Hawaii,” Violet commented as she ran up to Jimmy. She had just been for a little surf while Jimmy watched from the shore, claiming to be working on his tan.

“Neither did I! How about you go back out there and I’ll test out this underwater camera?” he suggested and she frowned.

“Uh, I don’t think Zacky’s camera is an underwater camera…” she said quietly, but Jimmy dismissed her observation.

“Come on! Let’s go take pictures that’ll make everyone jealous!” Jimmy shouted before bouncing down the beach and splashing wildly into the water, wading out quite far. Violet followed and paddled her board out to where her boyfriend was floating. “Do something cool, babe. Make me proud!” Then Jimmy disappeared under the surface. Violet waited for a wave to pass before she pushed hard to get herself under the water too, swimming as far and as deep as she could. As the cool water rushed past her, Violet briefly reminisced on her life and the huge positive impact Jimmy had made on it. He was truly one of a kind… When she resurfaced, she was grinning broadly and her heart was filled with amazing indescribable love feelings unlike any she had ever felt before.

“How was it?” she questioned him once she had swum back to Jimmy’s side.

“You looked fabulous, my dear,” he beamed cheerfully. “This will make everyone so envious that they don’t run away as well!” The new couple shared a laugh before kissing. Violet’s feelings were still present, swarming around in her body.

“Jimmy?” Violet asked quite softly. She was surprised when he managed to hear her, despite the loud waves crashing around them.

“Yeah?” he replied, looking her straight in her eyes with love.

“Don’t leave me?”

“I never will, Violet. I promise,” Jimmy said with his characteristic friendly smile. “I love you way too much to even consider it for a split second... You are my millions of sparks inside my heart that keep me alive…”



The picture Jimmy took.