Ultraviolet

Chapter Thirty-Five: Second Sight

I tried to go back to sleep, but my excitement was uncontrollable. Nothing in particular crossed my mind, I just soaked in the euphoria of this intense weight simply falling off my chest and the happiness of not sitting in paranoia. Of course, I still realised that going home wasn't an option now. The sherif and Wilkes might not pose a threat anymore, but Quinton was still out there. My shackles still remained, only looser with a longer chain. Still, this was a good thing.

Finally giving up on sleep, I pulled myself out of bed and dressed in tracksuit pants and a hoodie. I'm sure I looked terrible, but I was cozy. Hadeon was still awake and scrolling through his phone.

"I wanna go for a walk." I smiled. "Wanna join?"

I turned my back to write a quick note to Jess in case she woke up while we were gone as Hadeon got changed behind me. We walked out in front of the bar and I looked up and down the street.

"Where do we go?" I thought aloud.

"You're the one who wanted to go on a walk." Hadeon grumbled. He often grumbled.

"I guess I'll just wander." I sighed.

We turned left, away from the centre of the city. Cold, bitter breeze swept up my hair. It was quiet here. Faint sounds of car horns traveled from behind us, but the further we walked the more muted they became. Soon these sounds were taken over by the rustling of the trees and a bird chirping gleefully from the roof of a brownstone.

I pulled out my phone and clicked on the camera app, angling the phone to take a picture of the brown bird. I managed to take a couple snaps before it took to the air and flew away.

"You like taking photos." Hadeon noted. I nodded, placing my phone back into my back pocket. "Why?"

For the first time, Hadeon asked a question without it feeling like an interrogation.

"I don't know." I pondered. "When I was fourteen, I had an Instagram account just for pictures of things I thought were pretty or interesting. Any time I crossed a house with a lot of character, or a flower I'd never seen before, or even just a nice view from somewhere, I took a picture and posted it."

Leaves crunched under my feet as I thought of how exactly to explain it.

"I just think that there's so many pretty things in the world, that people don't appreciate or they even find them annoying. I feel like if I see the beauty in something that other people ignore, I have duty to appreciate it and share it with others who might appreciate it."

Hadeon's lip twitched, almost pulling itself into a smile. Only he wouldn't let it.

"Then I started thinking that maybe there's even more things that have hidden beauty. Things that I am under-appreciating. So then I started taking photos of everything and anything, all it took was a reminder than my phone was in my pocket, and I'd be taking pictures. I feel like there could be beauty in anything. I don't know, you probably think I sound like an idiot." I dismissed.

Hadeon turned to me, his dark eyes boring into mine.

"I don't think you're an idiot." He insisted honestly. "But sometimes... sometimes the world is just that. Ugly."

"Well, look at me," I instructed, stepping up ahead of him and turning around to face him. "You know now that I moved here because of... complications back home. Moving out here was forced upon me, I had no other option. But, I bet you never realised that because I tried my best to be happy and find happiness. Some of the ugliest things in life lead to right here, right now. And where would I be without my safe haven, the city of Boston? And where would you be? Without a friend like me to go on walks with?"

"Who knows?" He humoured. "Maybe I'm, dare I say, even better with you here."

I grinned appreciatively, his words bordering on a compliment, something I had fantasied about since my first couple days in Boston.

Originally, I had wanted a compliment because I knew it would kill Hadeon. He had thought there was nothing notable to compliment me for, so I wished to prove him wrong and make him admit it. Now, I don't know. I think part of me needs him to see me, and to see more. I wanted him to appreciate me, to something beautiful hiding behind my ugly.

We had stopped walking, and now faced each other in silence. I tried not to, like really, really tried. But, helplessly, my eyes flickered down to his lips. My heart begged me to lean up on my toes and meet them with my own, my own wanting ached in my stomach. But this time my brain won, and I lurched away and continued walking.

Hadeon, initially startled, caught up to me, his brow furrowed so tightly they were practically knitted into each other.

I don't know what I was feeling. I barely knew Hadeon. I had the information to decipher that he was a good person, but I didn't know him. He was still a mystery to me. I didn't know what he liked or disliked, I didn't know his past or his history, I didn't know the type of girls he was used to... or even if he liked girls. Hell, I don't even know his age!

"How old are you?" The question came out louder and more accusatory than I had intended. "I'm just realising that I don't know all that much about you."

"I'm twenty-two." He answered.

"Twenty-two?" I challenged. "You act much older. My estimate was between twenty-five and thirty." I added, only partially joking.

"Thirty?" He scowled. "You thought I might be thirty?"

"Like a young thirty." I reasoned, trying my best not to laugh at his offended expression. "No I just- I didn't know. You looked a lot older when I first met you." I explained. "Maybe it was the clothes."

"Yes, some clothes do have a tendency to make you look ten years older or younger."

"Like you're one to talk about misleading assumptions!" I laughed. "You thought I was an assassin."

"I believe that was Quincy's theory." He muttered. "A stupid one at that."

"I could be!" I argued. "I could be playing the long game. Maybe I am just waiting for you to let your guard down than- BAM! Sword through the heart."

"Your weapon of choice is a sword?"

"Yes!"

"Well, you know what?" He asked. I nodded, encouraging him to continue. He looked into my eyes yet again, a smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes that made my stomach do backflips. "You could murder me anytime, Violet."