━ NEUROSIS ━
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE.

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AS THE NIGHT CONTINUED, everybody seemed to remain in high spirits. Food was eaten, drinks were passed around, any conversations to be had were lively. And everyone was extremely thankful. Because for the first time since they became stranded, the group didn't have their potential doom filled fate running around their minds.

Violet turned around, walking towards Lottie with the two drinks she had retrieved. She jokingly curtsied once she reached her, presenting the drink.

"Here you go ma'am." Violet grinned. "The finest cup of... what is this again?"

"So chivalrous, aren't you?" Lottie took the cup and chuckled. "And it's berries, Vi. Well, fermented berries."

"Sorry, what? Fermented berr—" Violet paused, her face contorting at the word. After a moment she let out a sigh. "Ah whatever. I'm past caring at this point."

The Crawford girl took a swig of her drink before turning her attention back to Lottie. Although when she took note of the slight scrunch in the girl's eyebrows as she looked down at her cup, as if she was deep in thought, Violet pursed her lips and placed her drink down at the side of her.

"Everything okay?" Violet checked.

Lottie hummed before smiling softly, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah. Well... I just..."

Violet frowned and outstretched her hand, running it up and down soothingly against Lottie's arm. She tilted her head down slightly so she could catch Lottie's eyes.

"What's going on in that pretty mind of yours?" The Crawford girl asked gently. "Is it the bad feeling again?"

Lottie shook her head. And despite the thoughts circling around her brain at the current time, she couldn't help the warmth which clutched her heart at Violet's words.

Because even though right now it wasn't the case, the potential situation of Lottie's visions, her dreams, her dark thoughts, would easily deter others. But when it came to Violet? None of that ever came into the equation. She asked her question with nothing but true care, pure affection and protectiveness.

There was no judgment, no malice. Not with Violet. Never with Violet.

"It's not that, I promise. It just, feels weird... celebrating and partying... after what happened to Laura Lee." Lottie explained sheepishly. "I'm enjoying myself, but, I don't know it just feels... wrong? Like, maybe we should do something, for her? It's a buzzkill I know—"

"It's not a buzzkill, Lot." Violet reassured. "I'm with you, okay? Whatever you wanna do, I will too. Do you have something in mind?"

Lottie smiled, squeezing Violet's hand in appreciation. "Yeah, I think so."

She allowed her hand to fall from Violet's and moved further towards the rest of the group, clearing her throat in announcement of her next words. Although when nobody seemed to hear her, everyone not breaking away from whatever they were doing, Lottie let out a sigh.

Violet's eyes narrowed as she looked around at them all, a twinge of annoyance pricking her body at their unknowing ignorance. With a roll of her eyes, she too stepped forwards.

"Hey!" The Crawford girl called out sharply. "So, how about everyone shuts up for a sec?"

Everyone soon placed their attentions upon Violet from the sound of her raised voice, their faces piqued with curiosity at the sudden interruption.

Violet hummed, her lips adorning a satisfied smile. "There, much better. Thank you."

"What's wrong?" Van asked. "Is everything okay?"

Violet nodded her head towards Lottie, gesturing for the others to listen to her. Lottie smiled at Violet, mouthing a small Thank you, before turning back to the rest of the group.

Lottie let out a breath before speaking up once more. "We should... have a moment of silence for Laura Lee."

Ben was the first to reply, having no objections to the idea. "Yeah. Okay."

The rest of the group easily agreed to the suggestion, all of them nodding their heads in agreement. How could they not? They may have been distracted with Doomcoming, but the loss of their friend was still heavy amongst their hearts.

Everyone remained silent for a few beats, their heads drooping in a somber remembrance of the girl who was taken from them too soon.

Violet joined Lottie's side quietly and laced her hand with hers. Lottie turned to look at the girl with a soft smile, before resting her head on her shoulder.

After a little while Taissa spoke up, raising her glass. "To Laura Lee."

The others were quick to join in, all raising their glasses as a final homage to Laura Lee.

"So," Natalie shrugged, gazing around at them all. "What now?"

Jackie grinned. "Now, we just need a DJ to pump up the volume." The joke managed to pull a few light chuckles, although Violet simply just rolled her eyes.

"Oh she's hilarious, isn't she?" Violet remarked sarcastically into Lottie's ear as she tilted her head down towards the girl.

Lottie let out a quiet chuckle, briefly turning her head more into Violet's shoulder to hide her amusement.

"What we need is a slow dance." Misty chimed in, her hopeful eyes focusing on nobody but Ben.

Ben swallowed nervously at the suggestion, quickly looking away from Misty and down at his drink as if it were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

Awkward smiles were sent towards the Quigley from the rest of the group. It was crystal clear to the others as to why Misty gave the idea, whether she was aware of that or not, they didn't know. But one thing was for certain, Misty had no plans to give up on her attempts to win Ben's heart.

It was always awkward to watch whenever it would happen, strange even. But still, they all couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the pining girl. Even Violet didn't have the heart to tell Misty it was clearly never going to happen.

After all, Violet had a inkling that Misty wasn't exactly Ben's... type, when it came to a partner.

Luckily, it wasn't long before the awkward silence was broken. The sound of soft melodic hums coming from Lottie grabbed everyone's attentions, and they moved their gazes towards her.

Taissa seemed to recognize the song Lottie chose to hum along to first. And thanks to the berries giving the girl a little dutch courage, she decided to sing the first line.

"There used to be a graying tower..." The Turner girl began, interrupting herself with a tipsy chuckle. "...Alone on the sea." She set down her drink and grabbed Van's hands, pulling the girl along to dance with her.

Van let out a laugh, but didn't reject the invitation. It wasn't long before she too joined in."You became the light on the dark side of me."

The rest of the group followed suit, sauntering to the space which had now been designated as the dance floor. The air was soon filled with laughter, along with the sound of everyone singing along to the song, in many different pitches.

Lottie turned to face Violet, keeping a hold of her hand. "Violet Crawford... may I have this dance?"

Violet pursed her lips and let out a sigh, pretending to be in deep thought. Although she couldn't keep the facade up for long, as her smile easily broke through. "Oh absolutely you may."

With a wide smile, Lottie pulled Violet along to where the others danced and sung.

Violet raised their intertwined hands above their heads as they moved towards the rest of the group, twirling Lottie under her arm. Once they reached the others and came to a stop, she pulled Lottie's back against her and allowed her own arms to wrap around Lottie's waist, her chin resting atop the Matthews girl's shoulder.

Van and Taissa— who were still deep in song next to the two girls— took note of their added presence. As the next line of the song approached, the tipsy couple pointed to Violet and Lottie, prompting them to join in.

The pair both laughed at the invitation, yet showed no objection. Violet lifted her head from Lottie's shoulder, dramatically clearing her throat in preparation before joining in with the others boisterous singing.

"Baby! I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray." The four girls sang along together. All of them were just as energetic and playful as the other. Although Van seemed to take the prize, for her over the top dancing couldn't be matched. "Oooh, the more I get of you the stranger it feels, yeah."

Van let out a cheer as she looked towards Violet, breaking her singing, yet the song continued through the rest of the group around them. "Damn Crawford, where have you been hiding those lungs?"

Violet chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm pretty sure that's the berries talking Van."

"Wha—" Van gasped, feigning offence. "It is not."

Taissa smirked. "Oh it definitely is."

"Woah, excuse me." Violet fixed her gaze on Taissa, playfully raising a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not as tipsy as Van." Taissa teased with a shrug.

"Are you hearing this?" Violet asked between chuckles, craning her head to look at Lottie. "I'm being violently attacked."

"I am." A slight grin formed as Lottie spoke. "And as your Lottie, well, it's outrageous. Naturally."

"Naturally." Violet nodded along, pursing her lips. "And as regular Lottie?"

Lottie turned her head, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "Regular Lottie finds it hilarious."

"Oh my god." Violet groaned, taking a step back and removing her hold from Lottie, now clutching her own chest. "I've been shot. You've wounded me Matthews."

Lottie let out a laugh at her words and turned around, deciding to leave the others to their singing. She reached out for Violet's arm and pulled her back into the close proximity in which they were before.

"You're forgetting... that I'm your Lottie first." Lottie shrugged, draping her arms over Violet's shoulders. "So technically, what I said doesn't actually count."

"Psh, whatever." Violet jokingly scoffed, turning her head away from the Matthews girl. "Talk to the cheek, Judas."

Lottie hummed, her lips twisting into a soft smirk as she looked at Violet. She rolled her eyes playfully and moved her hand to lightly grip Violet's jaw, turning the Crawford girls head so she was facing her once more. Without uttering another word, Lottie simply pulled Violet closer and met her in the middle, planting her lips upon hers.

After a few seconds Lottie pulled away, her gaze instantly meeting Violet's. "Better?"

Violet rubbed her lips together, them tugging up after a few seconds into a grin. "I don't know."

Lottie quirked a teasing brow. "You don't know?"

"Mhm." Violet's gaze flickered down to Lottie's lips. "I think you'll have to try again."

"Oh I'm sure you do—"

Whatever Lottie was about to say was cut off, for it seemed as if Violet decided she had waited long enough. The Crawford girl slid her hand to the back of Lottie's neck, pulling the girl in for another kiss. She allowed tightened her grip ever so slightly, smiling against Lottie's lips at the sound of a quiet sigh escaping the girls nose.

As Violet pulled away, she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the blush creeping up on Lottie's cheeks. "You doing okay there Matthews?"

Lottie nodded silently, a faint hum bubbling in her throat as a response. It seemed she couldn't bring herself to get out any words. How could she? All she could focus on was the Crawford girl in front of her, allowing her hooded eyes to dance across her face.

Violet followed Lottie's eye movements with a faint smile, her chest warming at the sight of clear adoration proudly gleaming within Lottie's gaze. She brushed away the stray strands of hair from her face with a grin before parting her lips in an attempt to speak up once more.

However, she soon became distracted by the sight of something a few feet ahead. Well, someone. Violet's gaze flicked over Lottie's shoulder and her eyes instantly locked with Jackie's.

The Taylor girl's eyes were already set upon her from over Travis' shoulder, her arms wrapped around his neck as they danced together. Violet briefly looked at the pair's position, and as if on auto-pilot her face twitched a little at their close proximity, before she could even stop it.

Before she could even question why it did that in the first place. It never did that before. So, why now? What changed?

As she glanced back towards Jackie, who's eyes never wavered from her, she couldn't help the furrow in her brows at the sight. The Taylor girl looked nowhere near as enthusiastic as she sounded when talking about the idea of dancing with Travis. She was distant, distracted.

Violet quite decipher the look behind Jackie's eyes as the Taylor girl gazed at her. But whatever it was, it wasn't fake, it wasn't whatever new version of Jackie had been around for the last couple of weeks. It was real. It was raw.

Maybe Violet might've been imagining things, but it almost seemed as if there were a twinge of... sadness behind her eyes as Jackie watched her.

As she watched and her and Lottie.

"Hey, you okay?" Lottie asked gently.

"What?" The sound of Lottie's voice pried Violet's eyes away and back to her. The Crawford girl cleared her throat. "Oh, um, yeah. Everything's fine, Lot."

Lottie seemed to pick up on Violet's distraction and she looked over her shoulder, following Violet's previous line of sight. The moment her eyes reached Jackie, watching as the girl averted her eyes the moment Lottie turned, her previous smile fell slowly.

She swallowed thickly at the sight, trying to ignore the way it made her stomach churn. The way it instantly ignited a spark of jealousy.

Because Violet may not have known, but Lottie did. She knew why Jackie was looking at her. What she felt. What she silently yearned for. Her and Jackie were similar in that sense, for there was a time when Lottie secretly looked at Violet that way too.

But where they differed now, is that for Lottie it was no longer a secret. Lottie got what she wanted, what she had longed for. She was Violet's, and Violet was hers.

And she'd be damned if she let Jackie ruin that for her.

Lottie let out a breath, working up a tight-lipped smile before turning back to face Violet. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's just... shitty, that's all. What they're doing to Nat." Violet rolled her eyes at the thought. "I don't understand why she's doing it, she doesn't even like Travis—"

"Because she's an awful person, Vi." Lottie's found the complaint slipping out. "You of all people know that well enough. And being out here clearly hasn't changed that. It's just who she is. She uses people."

The bubbling annoyance at the situation only creeped back in at Lottie's words. Maybe she was right. Maybe this is all Jackie would ever be.

Lottie kept her eyes on Violet, watching her intently as she thought to herself. By the light scrunch of her brows, it was clear Violet was more frustrated with the thought of Jackie than ever.

"Yeah... you're right." Violet sighed. "Sorry Lot, I shouldn't have even thought about it."

"Don't apologise, Vi. You know you can talk to me about anything." Lottie reached up, placing her hand on Violet's cheek. "Besides, it's okay to feel... angry, with someone."

Violet nodded at Lottie's words, her tense shoulders relaxing. It was almost as if Lottie's words served as a green light, a push, for her annoyance with Jackie to further.

And Lottie would be lying if she said she didn't have to bite the inside of her cheek to suppress a triumphant smile.

The Crawford girl tilted her head, kissing the palm of Lottie's hand on her cheek before intertwining it with her own. Just as she was about to speak, Violet cut herself off. She closed her eyes for a brief second, her face scrunching slightly.

Lottie frowned, picking up on the action. "What is it?"

"I don't know, I just," Violet opened her eyes and looked around, seemingly returning to her normal state with a confused expression. "I felt fuzzy for a second. Weird."

Lottie's gaze bounced around Violet's face in a light concern, trying to pick out anything out of the ordinary. "How about we go sit down—"

"No, how about we get another drink?" Violet suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.

Lottie bit the inside of her cheek, her brows scrunching softly as she debated the suggestion.

"It's nothing Lot, don't worry." Violet brushed it off with a quiet chuckle, sensing the Matthews girl's concern. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Are you sure?" Lottie checked once more. "What if you're getting sick or you've eaten something—"

"I'm not getting sick." Violet assured. "And besides, I've only eaten Mari's stew just like everyone else. The others are fine, you're fine."

Lottie nodded a little at the point made, though she was still slightly worried. This was Violet after all. Hell, she'd be freaking out if the girl got a paper cut. "I know, but..."

"But nothing. I'm okay Lot, I promise." Violet took Lottie's hand, placing a soft kiss against her knuckles. "Come have another drink with me, please?"

The action drew a smile out of Lottie. And already any willpower she had found itself flying out the window at the sight in front of her, the girl watching Violet looking at her with those puppy dog eyes, the faintest peak of her signature grin gracing her lips.

"Okay, fine." Lottie relented. "But tell me if it happens again, okay?"

"Yes ma'am." Violet saluted jokingly before grabbing Lottie's hand and tugging her along. "Now come on, I can hear the berries calling my name."

⋆༺♱༻⋆

IT HAD ONLY BEEN around an hour or so, in which had passed. And in that short space of time, the mood had begun to shift.

The atmosphere still remained joyful, although there was something about it that felt different. It was giddy, they were all giddy. Relaxed, yet somehow shrill laughter buzzed throughout the air at absolutely nothing.

Whether most of the group were aware of the change in tone, the answer was pretty grey. But it seemed as if they didn't even care to question it. For they were way too blissful to let any lasting thoughts enter their brains.

Violet looked around at the group between heavy, lasting, blinks. She couldn't quite put her finger on what was transpiring. All she knew was that her vision seemed to be fluttering in and out of some strange fuzziness, as if her body was pondering crossing the line of sober or not.

She figured she'd had one too many cups of alcohol, just how it seemed like that was the case for the others. Who knew fermented berries could make you feel so... odd?

"Vi." Lottie's voice pulled the Crawford girl from her thoughts.

Violet turned her head to the side to look at the girl sitting next to her, humming in acknowledgement. Lottie nodded ahead of her once she received Violet's attention, gesturing for her to look at whatever she had seen.

And what a strange sight it was.

Taissa, Van, Mari and Akilah were all grouped up, hysterically laughing as they looked towards the Turner girl.

"Guys, doesn't Tai look like a tree right now?" Van giggled, pointing to her girlfriend.

"She kind of does." Akilah mumbled.

Mari took in her surroundings with wide eyes. "Or do the trees look like Taissa?"

Violet's face scrunched in utter confusion at the interaction. "What the hell are they talking about?"

"Trees." Lottie chuckled at her own words. "It's funny."

Violet refocused her attention on Lottie once more at the mellow tone of her voice. She watched as Lottie languidly played with one of the paper flowers she gave her earlier, a lazy smile gracing Lottie's lips as she did so.

"Hey," Violet cooed, gently brushing away a few strands of Lottie's hair so she could see her better. "You okay, Lot?"

Lottie lifted her head to look at her, the girl's smile instantly widening at the sight of Violet as if she hadn't been there the whole time. "I'm okay, Vi."

"Are you sure?" Violet double checked. "You seem a little... out of it."

"I'm just happy, that's all. I'm here with you." Lottie replied. She took a moment to look at Violet, her gaze softening. "You're so beautiful."

Violet chuckled softly at Lottie's words. She was pretty sure the Matthews girl must've been drunk like the rest of them, but still, the comment sent a warmth throughout her chest.

"You trying to make me blush, Matthews?" Violet grinned.

"Always." Lottie nodded proudly. "Did it work?"

"Always." Violet replied easily.

Violet looked around at the others once more, this time noticing Shauna stood by herself a little further away. She pursed her lips at the sight, picking up on the look of turmoil on the girl's face.

And also the lack of a certain Taylor girl who usually wouldn't be too far away.

Violet got to her feet, placing a kiss on the top of Lottie's head. "I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

Lottie watched Violet stand up, confused at the sudden movement. "Where are you going?"

"I'm just gonna check on Shauna." Violet informed. "Favourite aunt duties and all."

The Matthews girl hummed in amusement before asking, "You'll come back though, right?"

"Of course, Lot." Violet smiled warmly. "I won't be long. Stay here, okay?"

With that, Violet made her way through the others and over to Shauna, the rest of the groups laughter filling her ears as she walked by.

She frowned a little once she reached the girl, taking a mental note of how Shauna was clearly deep in thought. "Everything okay, Shipman?"

"Oh, um, yeah." Shauna muttered, scratching the back of her head. "I just feel weird. That's all."

Violet's eyes narrowed slightly, unconvinced. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I just..." Shauna looked around briefly, as if she was avoiding Violet's eyes. Though the moment she met the girl's gaze, her questioning, yet concerned gaze, she let out a sigh. "It's Jackie."

Violet gripped the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "What's happened?"

"She, uh..." Shauna paused, and it was long enough to cause Violet to look at her once more.

"She what, Shauna?" Violet asked. After a few seconds of still receiving no answer, the Crawford girl looked around in search of Jackie. Although after having no sight of the girl— or a certain Martinez boy— Violet's chest tightened, fearful of the potential answer she expected from her next question. "Where is she?"

Shauna's lips twisted nervously. "She's with Travis. They went back to the cabin."

Violet ran her tongue over her teeth, trying her best to push away her bubbling annoyance. "Of course she is."

"I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't listen." Shauna explained, a sudden guilt forming behind her eyes before she asked, "Maybe you could—"

"Me?" Violet scoffed. "You want me to try and talk to her?"

"Well... yeah?" Shauna practically winced at her own suggestion. "I've tried everything Vi and all she does is just shut me out."

"And what exactly makes you think she'll listen to me?" Violet furrowed her brows. "She's shut both of us out Shauna. And honestly? I'm fucking sick of her shit."

"But—"

"But nothing. She's exhausting, Shauna. And I'm done caring." Violet let out a wry chuckle. She clapped her hands together as if she'd made her closing argument, nothing but pure sarcasm lacing her next words. "So, yeah, I hope she has a great night! I'm sure Travis will be amazing."

Violet attempted to walk away, but before she could turn around Shauna grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Violet, please." Shauna's voice was quiet. "Please just talk to her."

"Why?" Violet's face scrunched in distaste. "What's the point?"

"Because I'm worried about her." The girl explained, a silent plea behind her eyes. "Listen, I know she's been acting... off, with both of us. And what she's doing with Travis is fucked up but... I— I'm really fucking worried about her. What she's about to do— I... it's not what she really wants. I know it's not."

"Shauna I don't think it's a good—"

"Please, Vi." Shauna asked once more. "I'm sorry for asking you, I really am, but I— I can't deal with this anymore. I just... I need you to talk to her. Please."

Violet stared back at Shauna, biting the inside of her cheek as she mulled over her request. There was something about Shauna's words, something about her tone, something about the look in her eyes. It was as if there was something more to it, something unspoken. And whatever it was, Shauna knew.

The Crawford girl ran a hand through her hair, briefly glancing down at Shauna's stomach. Which honestly, she wished she hadn't done. Because it made it a lot harder for her to remain stubborn. It was clear the whole Jackie situation was stressing Shauna out, and given her current situation, even more stress wasn't something the girl could afford to let affect her.

It wasn't just her health she had to worry about anymore. And if by Violet talking to Jackie meant that whatever the fuck was going on would stop, if it meant that she'd finally stop making Shauna feel like crap, finally stop putting more stress on her, then... she'd do it.

Violet let out a groan. Stupid aunt duties. "Fuck, fine."

"Really?" Shauna blinked, almost in disbelief.

"Just..." Violet glanced over her shoulder, her eyes landing upon the Matthews girl. "...Tell Lottie I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Yeah, of course." Shauna nodded. "Thank y—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Violet grumbled as she turned on her heel. "You're lucky you're pregnant, Shipman."

And without another word, Violet headed off into the woods, heading straight for the cabin.

⋆༺♱༻⋆

[ AUTHOR'S NOTE ! ]

i was going to try and include the rest of doomcoming in this chapter but then realised how much actually happens, SOOOO the rest will be finished in the next one, sorry for it being so dragged out lmfao.

[ not proofread! ]