Young God [GirlxGirl]

15. Actions Speak Louder

You're a shooting star I see // A vision of ecstasy // When you hold me, I'm alive // We're like diamonds in the sky // Diamonds, Rihanna

"Do you want to tell me what the hell that was?"

Moments after Violet kissed Matt, the two of them found themselves standing at the foot of the steps behind the stage waiting for Nate to finish his set. Matt remained, understandably, confused about what had happened, and Violet had yet to offer a satisfactory explanation.

"Just drop it." Violet mumbled, caring less about Matt's state of mind. She lowered herself onto one of the wooden steps with a sigh, placed the final cigarette in her pack between her lips, and proceeded to light it. As she exhaled deeply, a breath of wispy smoke escaped her mouth. For a brief moment, the smoke was illuminated in the bright lights of the stage, a swirling concoction of blues and purples. And then it faded.

"Drop it?" Matt sounded incredulous. "I saw you today for the first time since you left New Jersey; the first time since our break up. And now, not a few hours after you could scarcely look at me, you're kissing me like... like no time has passed. I deserve an explanation, Violet."

Violet looked up at Matt with an expression of - what Matt assumed was - boredom. She took another drag, a long one, before she leaned forwards and rested her elbows on her knees.

"I'm sorry I kissed you." She offered half-heartedly. "I can absolutely promise you that it won't happen again. Besides, it wasn't even about you." She crushed the empty packet of cigarettes in her fist and tossed it into a nearby can.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Matt asked. "You kiss me and expect me to believe it's got nothing to do with me, or with us?"

"Believe whatever you want to believe, Matt. It's the truth." Violet assured him, not enjoying the look of doubt on his face. "I'll admit, I didn't exactly know how to feel when I first saw you, but I was probably too eager to give you a second chance. And honestly, after how we left things back home, do you really think I'd be waiting to jump your bones the first chance I got?"

Matt looked down at his feet. "No. But, if it wasn't about me, then who? Were you trying to scare off a guy or something?"

Violet huffed a laugh. "If I were trying to scare off some guy, I wouldn't need to use you to do that." She guaranteed him. She'd dealt with enough creeps at the club to know how to take care of herself. "I guess I was just trying to prove a point to somebody."

And she'd definitely done that. Violet recalled the looks on the faces of both Blake and Ash after she broke off her kiss with Matt. Blake looked shocked beyond belief. And Ash, well, Ash kept up her usual appearance of uncaring indifference. Although Violet could have sworn she felt a glimmer of hurt emanating from her. But in all honesty, she wasn't entirely sure which of them that feeling had actually belonged to. After all, Violet had expected at least some kind of reaction from Ash, but all she'd done was turn her eyes back to the stage. So in that respect, that emotion could have come from either of them, or perhaps both of them.

Before Matt had a chance to inquire further about the matter, a surge of applause and cheering erupted from the crowd and Nate walked off the stage and down the steps with an ear-to-ear smile on his face. When he saw Matt waiting at the bottom, his smile softened slightly.

"Nate, that was freaking amazing man!" Matt exclaimed, clapping his friend on the back and moving swiftly on from his conversation with Violet. "Your talent is like, inhuman."

"Really?" Nate cleaned the lenses of his glasses on his shirt and returned them to his face. "It looked to me like you were far more interested in Violet's mouth."