Ultraviolet [F.Freeman]

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚎𝚗: Awkward

"Violet! Hey, Violet!" Freddy calls as he runs over to the girl, who is on her way to class. "You haven't answered my calls. What's up?" He asks. "Nothing's up. I'm fine." She lies, holding the straps of her backpack.

She avoids eye contact with the boy. "Oh, Uh, okay. Do you wanna maybe come over later? We can work on the—"

"I can't." Violet cuts him off. "Why not?" Freddy inquires. "My mom needs me home." She explains. "Why does she need you h—"

"Freddy, can you please stop showering me with questions that I don't wanna answer?" She snaps at him. His eyes widen. "Sorry." She apologizes with a sigh.

"I just— I need some space." She admits. "Can you at least tell me why?" Freddy asks. "No. I'm sorry." She sighs, entering her classroom.

"Violet, I— damnit."

"Violet, someone is at the door for you!" Her mother calls from downstairs. "Tell them I'm not here!" She responds.

"It's Freddy!"

Violet rolls her eyes, getting up and walking down the steps. She opens the door, being met with with the curly headed boy. "I was really worried about you, so..
I got you these." Freddy says, handing her a pack of M&Ms. "Why are you here? I said I needed space." She sighs, looking down at the candy.

"I actually came to invite you to dinner with my family. I mean, I had dinner with yours. It's only fair, right?" He smiles. "I can't—

"You should go, honey." Marta cuts in. "What? But, Mom—" Violet begins. "It's good for you. After everything that's happened yesterday..." The woman trails off.

"Why? What happened yesterday?" Freddy asks, his smile dropping. "Look, can we not talk about this right here?" Violet says.
"Yeah, just.. can you please come over? We'll have enough time to talk before dinner." Freddy takes her hand, looking into her eyes.

"Yeah, okay." She nods, looking down at the ground. Violet turns back to look at her mother. "It's alright, hon. Go. Talk to him. It's best if you talk to him rather than me." Marta encourages with a sad smile.

Freddy nods at the woman, then intertwines his fingers with Violet's.

Freddy and Violet sit down in Freddy and Billy's room. "Where's Billy?" Violet asks curiously. "He went to go buy some snacks. He'll be back by dinner." Freddy responds.

It goes silent. "Now, can you tell me what happened? Are you okay?" He asks worriedly, placing his hand on top of hers. She looks to him and sighs. "I thought you forgot about that part." She lightly chuckles.

"Yeah, well I've got the memory of... of whatever animal has the most memory." Freddy smiles. Violet manages to crack a smile as well.

"It's my dad. His office was attacked." She explains, looking down at the ground. "Is he okay?" Freddy asks. Violet's eyes begin to tear up, and when she looks up at him, a tear streams down. She shakes her head no.

"First Sunny, now him. I just got scared that  if I got too attached, I'd lose you." She sobs. "Vi, you're not gonna lose me." Freddy wraps his arms around the girl.

"Freddy! Bring Violet down for dinner!" Rosa calls from downstairs. Violet sniffles, wiping away her tears and tidying herself quickly. "Are you sure? You don't have to stay if you don't want—"

"No, it's alright." She sends him a sad smile. "Okay." Freddy nods, taking her hand and bringing her downstairs, where they take a seat at the dining table.

"All hands on deck!" Victor says enthusiastically. All the kids except billy and violet put their hands in the middle. "Thank you for this family, thank you for this day, thank you for this food, I'm sorry Billy's hands on vacay." Victor says, eyeing the blue eyed boy.

"I see where you learned how to make terrible jokes." Violet whispers to Freddy, causing him to laugh. They all begin eating their food. Violet feels many eyes on her, so she looks up.

"So, Violet. I hear that you and Freddy have been hanging out a lot lately." Rosa says with a smile. "Uh.. Yeah." Violet smiles.

"Are you and Freddy dating?" Darla asks out of the blue. "Darla, honey, that is none of your business." Rosa says kindly.

"No, it's alright." Freddy nods. "And yeah." He smiles to Violet, Who begins feeling very uncomfortable. "Big news in philly." Victor begins. "We've got a new costumed hero. I've even seen videos of him and Ultraviolet teaming up together. He's doing good."

"Yeah, but... is he though?" Eugene asks. "Oooh. Controversy! Into it. Share with us your perspective, Eugene." Victor exclaims. "This isn't gonna end well." Violet whispers to the boy beside her, who nods in agreement.

"Just saying, he's what? Charging people's phones? I can do that... with a plug." Eugene says, shaking his head in disapproval. "Preach!" Victor says.

"Pedro, any thoughts?"

"Costume's stupid." He shrugs, earning a few laughs. "Big white cape like he's getting married or something."

"What if he didn't get to pick his costume? Did you ever think about that?" Billy speaks up. Rosa nods. "You're a specialist, Freddy. What do you think?"

"Yeah, Freddy. Let's manage to see the positive." Billy says, glaring at the boy. "Well, I think it looks like he doesn't have gratitude for what he's been given." Freddy states.

"Freddy, stop." Violet whispers. "Very specific! Alright!" Victor nods. "Maybe to this superhero gratitude doesn't mean having to be clingy." Billy argues.

"Clingy? Wow! Interesting take." Freddy says sarcastically. "You know, maybe sometimes a superhero just wants a  little 'me' time." Billy states. "You know, 'me' time can also be construed as pushing away his family."

"Freddy, please. Just stop." Violet says, yet he continues to ignore her. "Family? Is that what they are now?" Billy asks. "It's a classic symptom of superhero syndrome coined by German psychologist, Heinrich Devon... German something, where superpowers become an all consuming narcotic." Freddy adds.

Violet sighs, setting her head down on the table. Billy rolls his eyes, then stands up from the table, walking back upstairs. "Son, we're still eating dinner." Victor says, only to be ignored. "What he needs is a sidekick!" Freddy calls.

"Name one cool sidekick!" Billy yells back. "I'm gonna... I'm just gonna go home." Violet says, slowly standing up. She was a little angry at Freddy, but didn't want to cause a scene.

"No, stay. You can sleep over if you want." Freddy grabs onto her wrist. "No, that's okay." She shakes her head, pulling her wrist away. "Can I call you later?" Freddy asks. "No. I probably won't be able to pick up." She shakes her head, then turns to look at Victor.

"Thank you for having me. My mom wants me home. Goodnight." She sends him a smile, before walking out.