Young God [GirlxGirl]

11. Side Effects

Tell me what you want to hear // Something that will light those ears // Sick of all the insincere // I'm gonna give all my secrets away // This time, don't need another perfect lie // Don't care if critics ever jump in line // I'm gonna give all my secrets away // Secrets, OneRepublic 

"I guess it didn't go so well."

Violet continued to sit by the edge of the pool for several minutes after Blake had dropped the bomb that was her ultimatum and walked away, watching but not processing the ripples she made in the water as she kicked her feet gently back and forth, hearing but not listening to the sound the small waves made as they crashed against the tiled walls. Her mind was on Blake, and of all that her best friend now expected from her. Violet was so deep in thought she'd barely noticed Ash had spoken until she came and sat down right next to her, choosing to face Violet rather than the pool.

"What, you weren't eavesdropping?" Violet asked dubiously, knowing full well that Ash could have listened in on very word had she chosen to.

"No. But the fact that you're both now on opposite sides of the house pretty much says it all, don't you think?" Ash explained. "So, did you tell her everything?"

Violet sighed. "No. But she wants me to, and she said that if I don't start being honest with her then she can't be my friend any longer." Violet didn't even want to entertain the possibility of never being friends with Blake again. Since they'd met, Blake had saved Violet more times than she cared to count, and Blake didn't even know it. "What would you do?" She asked Ash, desperately searching for some miraculous answer. After all, Violet valued her secrets much in the same way she valued her relationship with Blake, and she wasn't about to just reveal everything without properly thinking it through.

"Well..." Ash tossed a pebble into the pool and watched it sink, considering her answer carefully. "I wouldn't want to lose a friend like Blake if I was ever lucky enough to find one. Besides, if you tell her what she wants to know, it'll prove whether or not she really is as good a friend as you think. But listen Vi, this isn't a decision I can make for you. I can't tell you what you should do - only you can do that."

"I know that." Violet shivered as she started to feel just how cold the water of the pool was, and pulled her knees up to her chest. "It's just that I haven't exactly been making very good decisions lately."

"Hey, I don't know about that. I mean your decision to help me when I first fell was pretty wise." Ash grinned, prompting an eye roll from Violet.

"It's not like I had much choice in the matter." Violet argued.

"Please." Ash scoffed. "We both know you wanted to. In fact, if I remember correctly, you were blushing like a bride from the second you laid eyes on me." She teased arrogantly, and suddenly Violet was back to wanting to hate her, though she never seemed to be able to.

"I was not blushing. I don't blush." Violet denied adamantly, though even in that moment she was frantically trying to repress the image of Ash's exposed body as it had been that night. Trying, and failing. Once more, to her complete frustration, she felt colour creeping into her cheeks and groaned internally. She wished that, just once, Ash wouldn't have such a hold over her emotions.

"Don't worry about it, cupcake. You would't be the first." Ash laughed as she rose to her feet. However, just before she left, she leaned in and whispered one last thing into Violet's ear. "I doubt you'll be the last."

As Ash walked back up the steps towards the house, Violet tried not to feel too hurt by her words, wondering how she was able to go from sweeping Violet off her feet and waltzing in the middle of the street to the self obsessed arrogance that seemed to be Ash's default. What she didn't know was that Ash was more than aware of what she was doing, and what she was doing was making sure neither of them got too attached to the other.