Violetta (Violet) Jackson has big dreams. None of which happen to include sitting in detention for a week straight for a lab disaster that wasn't even her fault. That's all thanks to Will Hawthorne, his friends (one of whom she unfortunately used to...
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Will drove me home that night, the quiet hum of the truck and the light patter of rain on the windshield the only things puncturing the still, silent air as he drove us past the small downtown and though to the other side of Oak Point, where the apartment was. The quiet between us was different from before, though. It felt more like a welcoming fire that you could warm yourself by, rather than the tense, awkward kind of silence that hung around when you least wanted it. Despite Will keeping his hands on the wheel, I could still feel them around mine, my skin tingling from the touch.
We hardly met another car on the way home, and the dark streets were sparsely populated by streetlights. Every time we passed by one, the whole car lit up for a split second, and Will's face came back into focus: tousled, curly blonde hair resting on his head, eyes silver in the reflected glow, the shifting shadows outlining his profile. He caught me looking more than once, a small smile darting across his lips every time, making my heart lurch before he snapped his gaze back to the road.
It seemed as if neither of us quite knew what to say just yet. What happened that night was certainly new, and from Will's initial reaction, I doubted that he had seen it coming, either. Then again, from his sideways glances at me when he thought I was looking away, he didn't seem to mind. For a moment, it crossed my mind that it felt just as new as unexplored as when Ethan and I first started dating — only, I hoped, this would not fade away to just another memory, long stored away in my mind to prevent further heartache.
This thought made my heart sink a little, dampening the fluttering in my chest ever so slightly as Will pulled into the parking lot just under the apartments, rolling to a stop just by the stairs.
"You alright, Sunshine?" He asked me, as if detecting my sudden shift in mood.
I looked over at him. How is it that you can do that? How is it that you can read me so well? I wanted to ask him, but I don't. Instead, I gave him a small smile as I nodded. "I'm okay."
His eyes roamed over my face. He didn't call me out on my half-lie, but he kept the truck in park, letting the silence settle back over us for a few moments.
"So, I guess you know about my nickname as well."
The corners of my lip twitched. "Yeah. I remember Ethan telling me about it once."
"The bastard. Of course he did."
I laughed, and Will glanced over at me, grinning, looking relieved despite his feigned annoyance.
"I'll admit, though, it was an appropriate nickname," he said, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back. "Just like Sunshine is."
I snorted. "Right."
"And to think that a fire in the chemistry lab started it all."
Something tugged at my chest as he spoke the words. I watched him as he sat back in his seat, looking as peaceful and calm as ever, a small grin on his lips as he looked ahead, lost in thought. He probably was remembering the way we were both chucked into Ms. Dunham's office, the way we were interrogated and threatened, and then the way that I inexplicably burst into the office the next morning, confessing to the whole lab disaster that was most certainly not my fault.
