Delicate Pulse | Violentine

Backbone

(Heads up: sexual themes)

The pacing back and forth, the nail-biting, the weird outburst of jazz hands, it can only mean one thing.

Brody has an idea and she'll combust if I don't ask what it is.

I groan, dropping my book. So much for reading. "Just say it."

She lets out a bloodcurdling squeal. "A sleepover!"

I shudder and slap my hands over my ears. "Brody, you broke one rule. You can't expect to get away with murder now."

She scrambles onto her top bunk, swinging her legs over the edge. "I know we can't but wouldn't it be nice to have a girl's thing? A girl gathering?"

"And just where do you think-"

"We can have it right here," she cuts me off, gesturing to our tiny dorm room. "We could get the pillows and blankets and-"

She gasps, leaping down to the floor with a loud thud. "Violet, we could make a pillow fort!"

I squint at her. Sometimes I wonder if I'm still asleep or I somehow slipped into a coma. Her excessive excitement always made me feel lightheaded.

"Please," she whines, falling onto her knees. Her hands balling into a praying fist. "Plleeassseeee."

UGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

"Fine," I mumble. "But you are not braiding my hair."

She rises, blinking erratically and cupping her face. "Okay! This is great!"

"Not like it would be any different than usual," I mutter. "We all sleep in the same room."

"Oh, no, I was thinking of inviting the twins and Ruby too, ya know, the girls?"

"I thought you hated Minerva," I snort.

A rush of pink surges across her cheeks. "I do not! I just don't like the way she treats..."

Trailing off, her cheeks glow a shade darker. "Uhhh...treats school like it's just a game, haha! Okay, well, um, I'll invite Ruby and Soph and you can go invite Minerva and Clementine."

"Don't you want to invite your best friend Clementine-"

Before I can finish, I watch Brody dart her ass out the door. I get up, calling out to her. "What time Brody?!"

Her voice travels the hall. "2 o'clock! Meet you back here! I need to grab some things."

Of course, she already had this entire thing planned out, didn't she?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It didn't take me long to find Clementine. She was exactly where I thought she would be.

I had an impulse to turn around and walk the other way. Not that I hated her or anything. Things were just...complicated. This morning made that clear.

We were trying to hold back laughter, for the sake of Brody and the rest of the whole dorm. It was way too fucking early to be woken up by two idiots cackling over stupid stories.

"He refused to see me," she sighs, sweeping her wild dark hair away from her eyes. She was lying on her chest, her head balancing on her folded arms. "I guess putting bugs in his pillow scarred him for life."

I lean back against the drawers, knees to my chest. My face hurt from smiling. "What did you say his name was again? Duck?"

"Nickname from his dad or something," she snickers, glancing up at me. "It's not like we can talk though, you're a flower."