XOXO, Violet by Ginger Li
16Wesley
Icouldn’t remember when I’d last felt nervous about coming to school. Maybe kindergarten? While I’d never been the brightest of students, school generally came easy to me. Besides math, classes weren’t too hard. Teachers tended to give me the benefit of the doubt, guys wanted to be my friend, and girls, well, I always knew what to say to get them to like me.
I was smooth. Confident. It also didn’t hurt that I was over six feet tall and had cheekbones that could cut glass.
Well, according to one of my previous girlfriends.
And yet, I dreaded setting foot on campus come Monday morning.
At first, I thought it was because Christmas was next week, and Ophelia and I were spending the holiday at home. Alone. Mom was still working in Japan, while Dad had to fly to Michigan for a project. Yeah, it was terrible, but like always, my sister and I would make it work.
Whenever our enormous house felt too empty, I threw a party, as nothing made me feel better than surrounding myself with people. And yet, whenever I began planning the event in my mind, I had to come clean to myself. A party wouldn’t cut it this time because I wasn’t feeling antsy about my parents’ absence; I was upset over what happened between Violet and me.
Saturday night had been one of the best nights of my life. I’d taken a chance on bringing Violet to Mo’s. All my previous dates had wanted to eat at fancier places, but something told me Violet was different. Her expression when she saw the secret garden proved my instincts were spot-on. She’d admired every plant and flower and savored every detail.
And, thankfully, Julian had gone easy on the hot sauce. He always snuck an extra bit of heat into my meal “to train my taste buds.” But even he must have known how important this date was because he’d made my burrito mild.
Gagging in front of Violet would definitely have set the wrong tone for our date.
Everything had seemed to be going well. We’d joked around, and I’d opened up and told her things I’d only ever shared with Asher. And our kiss? Well, it had never been my intention to kiss Violet. I’d just meant to wake her. But when she opened her eyes, I swear it was like one of those movies Ophelia forced me to watch. There was only Violet, with the stars in her eyes and the sweet curve of her lips.
Our kiss was perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
Before Violet said a word, I’d already seen the change in her expression.
“There’s something I need to tell you. About the kiss and Chase, actually. You see, I like—”
Heck yeah, I’d interrupted her. I didn’t need to hear the rest of that statement.
Violet had liked Chase since ninth grade. Four years of unrequited love. And here I was, naive enough to believe that I could erase all those feelings with a fish burrito and a hidden garden. Chase was her dream guy, while I was just someone to practice on.
Monday passed in a gray blur. On Tuesday, Ophelia had her annual doctor’s visit. True to his word, Dad took her in, and I’d spent the entire morning glancing at my phone, waiting to hear how it had gone.
“Earth to Wesley.” Olivia waved her hand in front of my face during lunch. “Are you okay?”
“Just peachy,” I mumbled.
“Really? You’ve been kind of quiet lately.” Olivia studied me with those sharp eyes of hers. As a songwriter, she was always watching people, searching for inspiration. I wondered what kind of song she’d write about Violet and me.
One about heartbreak, I’d guess. Taylor Swift fans would undoubtedly eat it up.
“Just thinking about Christmas,” I said, not looking in Asher’s direction, knowing he’d see straight through my lie.
“What’s everyone doing during winter break?” Ash asked. “My family’s staying in town since Mom and Brian both have to work.”
“Grams is taking us camping on Christmas,” Piper said. “But maybe we can all hang out the following week.” She rested her head on Asher’s shoulder, and a sharp pang of longing hit me square in the chest as I remembered how it felt when Violet did the same with me.
Olivia pulled out her phone. “Violet just shot me the details for that girl’s sweet sixteen in February. They want us to play a few songs and Micah to DJ.”
Violet’s name caught my attention. “She texted you?”
Olivia looked up from her phone. “Yeah. Vi helps book our gigs. We’ve got three lined up before May.”
Wow. No wonder Violet was so tired. School, YouTube, YouCon, tutoring…and booking gigs? That was enough to push anybody to exhaustion.
“How is she, by the way? Is she good?”
Piper caught my gaze. Shoot. I changed my expression into one of mild disinterest. “I mean, I haven’t seen her around.”
“Violet’s still busy with work,” Piper said. “But she’s okay.”
“Maybe you should text her,” Olivia added. “See how she’s doing.”
Thanks, but no thanks. I didn’t want to talk to her about Chase.
After school, Asher came over to shoot some hoops.
“I never got a chance to ask you. How’d studying go with Violet?”
I made a face.
“That good, huh?” He passed the ball to me. “What happened? Did you tell her how you felt?”
I took a shot and missed. “I planned to, but then she mentioned liking Chase.”
Asher winced. “Ouch. Not something you want to hear.”
I retrieved the ball and slumped down on the curb.“Exactly.”
“What will you do now?”
“Nothing.” What could I do? Violet made her preferences glaringly obvious.
“If that’s the case, let’s get you sorted out.” Asher grabbed the ball from me.
I stared at my friend in disbelief. “And how do you plan to do that?”
“You’re the Wesley Stirling. Pull out your phone and scroll through your contacts. Let’s get you another girl.”
I clenched my jaw, annoyance filling my gut. Sure, I hadn’t expected hair-braiding and chocolate, but Ash was being surprisingly callous. He knew my feelings for Violet. How could he just tell me to find someone else?
I grabbed the ball from his hands and glared at him. “That’s a stupid idea. I can’t just find myself another girl.”
Asher took a step forward, challenging me with his eyes. “Why not? You’re always looking for something easy and fun. This whole thing you’ve got going with Violet is clearly not. Why’s it different this time?”
I tossed the ball back at him. Hard. “Don’t be a douchebag. You know why it’s different. Violet’s not like other girls. I really like her.”
Ash tossed the basketball in a perfect arc, and it sailed through the net. “Glad to see you’ve finally come to your senses. So how do you plan to get your girl?”
Jerk. He’d purposely riled me up just to make a point?
And I had no idea.
When Wednesday night rolled around,I cobbled together the beginnings of a solid plan. Violet might like Chase, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t still be friends. And I was determined to use all my knowledge about the opposite sex to be the very best friend a girl could want. By the time I was through, Chase would be nothing but a distant hipster memory.
Ophelia sat on my bed and tried peering at my phone. We’d just got home from dropping something off on Violet’s front steps.“Did you text her yet?”
“Wow. Someone’s interested in my love life.”
Ophelia fell backward onto my bed, her blond hair sprawling everywhere. “I have to be. Not like I have anything better to do.”
I arched a brow. “How about your homework?”
“Finished it already. I did my assignments right after I got home. Have you finished your homework yet?”
Okay. The girl had a point.
“Come on, Wes. Just text her already. This waiting’s killing me.”
With a grin, I began texting away.
Me: Look outside your door.
Violet: ??
Me: On your front porch. I left something for you.
She didn’t respond,which I assumed meant she’d run downstairs to check.
A minute later, my phone vibrated. Violet requested a video chat. Ophelia placed a hand on my shoulder, as if expecting to be a part of the upcoming conversation.
I loved my sister, but here was where I drew the line. I shot her a sideways glance. “Out.”
“Fine.” She stood and backed toward the door. “But I want details later. And none of this PG stuff.”
Seriously? I had no idea what she thought was going to happen. My phone buzzed again, and my fingers itched to pick up. “Fine. Whatever. But no listening outside.”
“Sure, big brother.” Ophelia made obnoxious kissing noises as she left the room.
I answered the incoming call and saw Violet sitting on her bed, wearing an oversized sweatshirt that read, “It’s not hoarding if it’s plants.” She held up a box. “What is this?”
“Go on, open it.” I grinned, but inside, I felt the tide of nerves rising. Would she like the gifts I’d chosen?
“This feels like my birthday.” Violet tore off the giant bow Ophelia had insisted on wrapping around the box. After lifting off the lid, she carefully unfolded the tissue paper inside and pulled out a fuzzy brown scarf with bears printed all over.
“It’s a bear scarf to go with my jacket.” She let out a squeal and tore open the plastic wrap, then looped the scarf around her neck. “I love it.”
Beat that, Chase.I saw how cold she was during our date. If I couldn’t hold Violet in my arms again, at least my scarf could keep her warm.
“There’s something else in there too.”
Violet pulled out a smaller tissue-wrapped item. A gasp escaped her lips when she found the two green kintsugi pots laced with gold. “I can’t believe you got these for me. Thank you.” She hugged the pots to her chest. “These are the best gifts ever.”
“Good. I’m glad.” I cleared my throat. “How are you? I haven’t seen you since Saturday.”
Violet shrugged and lowered her gaze. “I’ve been busy.”
Look at me, Violet.Please.
“My precalc exam went well,” I said, desperate to get back to the way things were. “Mrs. Lamb threw us a few curveballs, but thanks to my amazing tutor, it was nothing I couldn’t handle. And Ophelia’s fine. Her test results all came back normal.”
The ghost of a smile graced her lips. “I’m so glad.” Her eyes darted to the other side of her room.
Micah’s face appeared onscreen, and he tugged at Violet’s bear scarf. “Is this new? It’ll go perfect with that bearskin jacket of yours.”
“I know.” Violet rewrapped the scarf around her neck. “Wes got it for me.”
Micah looked at me and grinned. “Good choice. So, are you coming on the twenty-sixth?”
The day after Christmas? “What’s happening then? Another succulent class?”
Micah shook his head. “It’s Reyes Family Game Night. You and your sister should come. I’m surprised my sister didn’t already invite you.”
Violet’s gaze fell, and I had a sneaking suspicion that she hadn’t planned on telling me. Pretending that it didn’t hurt, I gave them both an easy smile. “Thanks. Ophelia and I would love to come over. And you’d better bring your A game, Violet. Because I play to win.”