Words are Words (Dan Smith - Bastille Fanfiction)

Chapter 37

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When I was 15, my parents decided I had to go to a support group because of how I was acting. And the fact that it wasn't 'normal'. It was the same each week, they make you state your name, where you're from, and what, in their choice of words, was wrong with you.

I'm Violet. I'm 15. I'm depressed.

I had been there that many times that the moment I sat down in that same wooden chair with the cracked leg, I swear, I heard Julie, the councellor/leader of the group whatever you want to call it -  sigh to herself in disappointment. I wasn't getting any better.

The discussions were always long and tiresome. The same old story...be strong, fight the bad thoughts blah blah blah. I'd heard it all before. It's like...'just be happy' and I'm miraculously cured.

Because I attended these support groups so many times, I didn't have to state the same old name crap like the other newcomers. Not like the ones that turned up for a one day trip because their mother encouraged, or forced, them to go. Not like the kids who had to stand up and say their illness to the group.

Not like Jake.

I remember the day perfectly, to the last detail. It was the only day I was actually feeling sane, because that day my mother promised we could get an ice cream afterwards. Only if I spoke to someone new, that is. Whatever. I was 15, I wanted that ice cream.

I heard the newcomers sit down, the anxiousness they felt of their first day filling the room as I stared out one of the rusty windows, my elbow resting on the ledge, taking interest in anything apart from the place I was in. It was a dullish day, the sky grey in colour.

"Sorry, is anyone sat here?"

I turned around abruptly, my eyes catching his. Those dark eyes. Almost black. He wore dark denim jeans, frayed at the edges, and a Green Day T- shirt. His hair was shorter, still blonde, but definitely shorter.

He held the chair at the back, waiting for my answer as I snapped into reality, moving my burgundy coloured rucksack to let him take it's place. I then went back to what I had previously been doing, staring into the outside as I tapped my fingernails on the window ledge.

I took a glance at him as he sat there, looking nervously around the room at the new people gathering into a circle. He fidgeted with his hands, his adam's apple becoming prominent as he swallowed.

"5 minutes and then we'll start." Stated Julie to the group, giving me a pityful smile.

"Hi. I'm Violet." I put my hands under my thighs, leaning forward a little, holding no emotion in my voice.

"Wow." He didn't state his name, surprising me. I furrowed my brow and breathed in.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just love that name. And you're really pretty by the way." His confidence surprised me, from just his body language, you'd think he wouldn't like this.

My eyebrows were raised again as I huffed and urged my eyes to the side, moving a piece of hair away from my face. I looked out the window again.

"You don't agree?" He asked after a few seconds.

"Hmm?" I still faced the opposite way.

"You don't agree. That you're beautiful?"

I paused, turning my head around and shaking my head from side to side.