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𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞

chapter sixteen:
I'm on my guard for the rest of the world,
but with you, I know it's no good !

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EVERYTHING HAD MANAGED to go wrong.

The only good thing that had come out of going to the El Rey was that Miss Jenn had a genius idea to go back to East High and put on the show in the gym. So Violetta, her mind totally elsewhere, had helped to move everything back in the cars they had brought.

Her mind couldn't escape what had happened. Ricky, almost cheating on Athena, the girl he had been in love with for years, with his ex. She literally didn't understand where that had come from. Sure, Ricky and Nini had claimed that nothing actually happened, but them getting close to it was bad enough. She couldn't believe the stupidity of Ricky and how he had torn up the best thing he had ever had. And no, Violetta is not biased, Athena is just the best person. Even people who didn't know her well could attest to that.

Violetta avoided Ricky and Nini like the plague as they started to set up everything in the gym. Her mind was solely focused on Athena and her heart was filled with worry. She could only imagine what she was going through at the moment. Seeing the love of her life about to cheat on her . . .

Just the thought of it made Violetta incredibly angry. She wanted to go check up on Athena to make sure she was okay, but Violetta knew her best friend. Athena was probably locked in her room sitting at her keyboard and would just ignore all of her texts anyways. That's how it always was when Athena was sad. So Violetta just sent her a quick text saying that they were now putting the show on in the gym and saying that she would come visit her later.

Slowly, each member of the cast started to leave the school. Ricky was first, a determined look on his face — Violetta could only presume what that was about. Violetta also wanted to leave, but she could tell that EJ still wanted to talk to her, even after she pleaded for him not to say anything back at the El Rey. And since he was her ride (like always), Violetta knew that he wouldn't take her anywhere unless they had a conversation.

Infuriating, yet endearing.

So there Violetta sat on the floor of the hallway in East High, her knees tucked into her chest. Her phone was in her hand, absentmindedly scrolling through Instagram. She didn't focus on any of the posts, though. As she said before, her mind was totally elsewhere, solely focused on the wellbeing of Athena and the incident at the El Rey.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of her. Violetta's eyes trailed up from the jeans to the plaid shirt of EJ, who was staring straight down at her. She locked her phone and placed it down beside her on the ground.

"Good evening," Violetta greeted.

EJ let out a small laugh as he sat down next to her, stretching his legs out in front of him. "Good evening, V."

"I'm ready to go home when you are."

"But I want to talk to you."

"I know," Violetta replied. "It was worth a shot, though."

"We don't have to talk if you don't want to," EJ told her.

"No, we can." Violetta adjusted herself so that she was sitting up a little straighter against the lockers. "What's on your mind?"

"I should be asking what's on your mind. You blew up on Ricky not too long ago — which was good, I mean he deserved it, but . . . you looked like you were about to cry, too."

Violetta nodded slowly. "Because I was." She sighed. "The worst thing in life is seeing Athena hurt. It sounds cheesy, but . . . that girl is like my platonic soulmate. It's always been me and her, and we understand each other like no one else. Seeing all of her dreams get crushed so quick . . . it's like I felt her pain."

EJ bumped her shoulder with his. "And that makes you a good best friend. You also stood up for her, which makes you even greater." He paused for a moment. "Do you think she's doing all right?"

She shrugged. "Not sure. 'Thena tends to shut people out when she's upset, including me. The only people who can get her to really talk sometimes are me and Ricky, but look how that ended up. She's not responding to me, so that means I have to go to her house and physically drag her out of her room if need be."

"I, um, I actually texted her," EJ admitted, making Violetta look over at him. "We're not close or anything, but she means a lot to you, and you — uh . . . you mean a lot to me."

Violetta couldn't help the way her heart started to beat against her chest. Her? Mean a lot to EJ? So much that he texted her best friend to ask her if she was all right? So much for her trying not to like him a couple months ago, because EJ Caswell managed to blow her expectations straight out of the water.

"You mean a lot to me, too," Violetta responded softly, giving him a small smile, which made his cheeks flush a light shade of pink. "And thank you for checking up on Athena. She needs as much support as she can right now, even though I think Ricky's going to her house."

EJ's eyebrows raised. "Is she going to forgive him?"

"If he tries hard enough, I think so. Personally, I wouldn't, but she has a soft spot for Ricky. If he tells her what I think he's going to tell her . . ."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think Ricky's going to tell Athena that he loves her," Violetta announced, making EJ's eyes widen. "Yeah, I know. But if my predictions are right, that's going to be the way he gets her to forgive him. And something tells me that he's not just saying it to say it. I think my words to him and the love he's had for her for years have been eating him alive."

"Wow," EJ commented. "That's . . . heavy."

"Tell me about it. And lucky me, I'm stuck in the middle of it all. Speaking of that, could you actually take me to Athena's house instead of mine? Please."

"Sure."

After a very uneventful and quiet car ride (EJ knew Violetta had too many thoughts in her head) with some old 5 Seconds of Summer songs playing softly in the background, EJ dropped Violetta off at Athena's house. She waved goodbye to him as she walked up the path and opened the door without knocking or anything — typical.

"Hey, Vi," Artemis greeted casually from the kitchen, because the Blakes were just used to Violetta walking in — after all, she practically lived there with how much she was over.

"Hey, Artie," Violetta responded, taking one of the cookies off of the plate that sat on the kitchen counter. "Athena upstairs?"

"Yeah. Ricky was just over, but he left a little while ago. I was seriously debating punching him in the face."

"You should've, and I would've loved to see it."

Artemis grinned. "I know you would've. She's just in her room if you want to talk to her."

Violetta nodded. She started to climb the stairs while biting into her chocolate chip cookie and ended in front of Athena's door. Violetta knocked and heard a faint come in, so she entered. She was immediately met with the sight of Athena in a sweatshirt and sweatpants with her hair in a messy bun. Athena was standing at her dresser and closed one of the top drawers, finally looking over at Violetta. Violetta frowned. The girl's face was blotchy and her eyes were puffy and rimmed with red.

"Oh, 'Thena," Violetta said, striding across the room and pulling her into a tight hug. "How are you?"

"I'm doing all right," Athena answered, hugging her back for a moment before letting go. "Just a little heartbroken and confused."

"And you have every right to be."

Athena shrugged and sat down on her bed. "I just don't really understand."

Violetta sat down next to her. "Trust me, I don't either. But uh, Artemis told me Ricky was just over. What happened with that?"

Athena paused for a second and looked down at her hands, making Violetta raise an eyebrow. "He — uh, he told me that he loved me and has loved me our entire lives."

Oh, she was so right.

"Huh," Violetta stated. "And how'd you react?"

"I told him that I loved him back," Athena revealed.

Violetta exhaled for a moment. "'Thena, I'm going to tell you something that you're not going to particularly like."

"Why do I already know what you're going to say?"

"Because we're always on the same wavelength. Listen, I know you love Ricky and I'm so glad you told each other, but . . . the wound of what happened today at the El Rey is still fresh. It literally happened hours ago."

"I know," Athena said quietly. "The scene of them on that bench . . . it just keeps playing in my mind like a broken record."

"Exactly," Violetta agreed. "I think you forgave him too fast. You need more time to process what happened."

Athena then placed her face in her hands. "Oh God, Vi, I'm a mess. I don't know what I'm doing."

"I don't think any of us knows what we're doing, sweetheart. It's like I told EJ — everything is up to the universe."

"Then why is the universe telling me Ricky and I are meant to be together? Literally everything that happens, we're always pushed back towards one another."

Violetta placed her hand on Athena's back and rubbed it softly. "You need to give yourself some time, 'Thena. How about we just have a night to ourselves? You and me, yeah? We haven't had one of those in a while."

Athena picked her head up and looked at her. "As long as we can watch The Last Song."

"Oh, deal."

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THINGS MIGHT'VE STILL been rocky, but they started to head in the right direction. Rehearsals were going a lot smoother in the gym than they were in the El Rey, and all they needed to do was their finishing touches. Not to mention, Ricky and Athena were slowly getting back to where they used to be, even though some tension.

As for Violetta and EJ . . . well, Violetta thought that EJ was acting a little weird. Every time she would try and talk to him, he would avert his gaze to the ground and get a little shy, which was not like EJ at all. It started to make her wonder — and no, she is not narcissistic — if he liked her back. Now, Violetta was the type of girl who knew what she wanted, and if she liked EJ, she just had to go for it. But that was easier said than done.

They had just finished the last play rehearsal before the show, which was kind of bittersweet. Violetta was so excited to show everyone their show, but she would definitely miss all of the fun they had at rehearsal. All the singing, all the dancing, all the jokes they shared, all the bonds they made . . .

Speaking of bonds, Violetta currently sat in the front seat of EJ's car. He was driving her home after a long rehearsal, the two of them a little delirious and prone to laughing because they were tired. The show was starting tomorrow, which meant they had to get as much sleep as possible . . . but that didn't stop EJ from taking the long way home.

"Drop everything now, meet me in the pouring rain," Violetta sang as EJ turned down her street, him laughing at her singing. "Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain."

"'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile," EJ added as Violetta pointed to him.

She chuckled at him as he pulled up in front of her house. EJ put the car in park and shut it off, making Sparks Fly stop playing. Violetta frowned a little at that but shook her head. She definitely had to go to sleep — she could feel herself getting more tired by the minute. Especially after screaming multiple songs in the car.

"Thanks for the ride," Violetta said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"No problem," EJ replied, but he was quick to stop her when she opened the door. "Hey, let me walk you to your door."

Violetta's eyebrows knit in confusion. "Uh, okay."

The two of them got out of the car. They then started to walk up to the path in slightly tense silence, looking up at Violetta's empty house. Violetta and EJ climbed up the steps and stopped on her front porch, the sensor light turning on, enveloping them in a warm glow. They turned to face each other.

"So . . ." Violetta began. "Had lots of fun walking me up to my door, huh? You could've just stayed in your warm car, it's freezing out here."

EJ shook his head. "No. I — uh, I wanted to do something, but . . ."

"Do something?" Violetta repeated, letting out a small laugh. "Like watch a movie? Because I would love to, but I'm really tired—"

"No," EJ cut in. "No, not like that."

"You're acting weird," Violetta commented. "Are you all right?"

EJ scoffed. "Screw it."

And without any warning, he placed his hands on either side of her face and pressed her lips to hers.

Violetta immediately froze. Well, she was not expecting that.

Go for it, her own voice echoed in her head.

She quickly recovered from her shock. Her eyes fluttered shut and she placed her hands on his arms. She pressed up onto her toes in order to get a little closer to him. His lips were warm against hers in the cold air, igniting her nerves on fire. Violetta's mind was spinning, her heart was racing, and her stomach was fluttering. As mushy and cheesy as it sounded, that's exactly how kissing EJ Caswell felt.

The two then pulled away from each other, even though they didn't want to. Their faces remained close to each other, and they both opened their eyes slowly, staring at each other in adoration. EJ kept his hands on Violetta's face and she kept hers on his arms. None of them said anything for a long moment — they just continued to stare at each other like something beautiful had just happened, which it had.

"Goodnight, V," EJ whispered to her.

Violetta blinked, her voice just as quiet. "Goodnight."

She lowered back down so her feet were flat on the ground. Violetta dropped her hands, but EJ kept his on her face for a little longer before letting go. He took a step backwards, his eyes still on hers, before he turned and descended down the steps.

Violetta watched as he left, her eyes even trailing after his car as he drove away on the street. She didn't even care that it was cold outside, because EJ had managed to make her feel all warm from that kiss.

And deep down she knew that things would never be the same.

∘ ₊ ✧ ──── ✧ ₊ ∘

WELL IT HAPPENED YOU'RE FUCKING WELCOME

bruh sparks fly is literally their song shut up