Shrinking Violet

chapter seven

"You remember your first love because they show you, prove to you, that you can love and be loved, that nothing in this world is deserved except for love, that love is both how you become a person and why."
- John Green

***

"Sam, can we please slow down?" I panted. For some reason I agreed to go on a run with Sam after school, in spite of the fact that she was nearly a foot taller than me.

"Lulu, come on! We're going slow already."

"Yeah but I thought you wanted to run at a pace where we can talk to each other. I can't talk at this pace. To be honest I can barely breathe."

"You're such a baby," Sam sighed. Nevertheless, she slowed down, and I no longer felt like I was going to collapse.

"Damn it! I forgot to talk to Violet!" I said. I felt so bad. I had meant to ask more about Sam, but Violet had distracted me at the photoshoot.

"It's no big deal! I actually texted her last night," Sam said.

"Oh! What'd you say?"

"Well I was just really forward. I asked if she'd be interested in hooking up."

"Well that definitely is forward. What'd she say?"

"She said she'd be down."

"Well yay! That went smoothly!" I tried to be excited for Sam, but for some reason, it was really hard. "So do you want to just hook up with her? Or something more?"

"I don't think I like Violet. Or I don't know. I don't think I do now. Either way, it's casual at the moment, subject to change I guess." I wish she gave me a definite answer, but I was glad Sam didn't want to date Violet, just because it'd probably end up being awkward between all of us.

"Would you have believed me if I told you at the beginning of this year that you'd be hooking up with Violet Miura?" I asked, reflecting on the strangeness of the past couple of weeks.

"I'd have probably laughed. Both of us are really slumming it this year," said Sam.

"Sam! Don't be rude. Does popularity even mean anything at a school as small as ours?"

"No, but we're allowed to state the facts! Also, I think I'd probably still be a cool girl at public school. You on the other hand are definitely too much of a freak," Sam teased.

"Bitch!"

"If we went to public school, I'd still find some way to harass you into being my friend."

"How sweet," I said sarcastically.

"Wait returning to the topic of slumming it, I want to hear more about your date with Eli!"

"It was nice! Honestly really uneventful. We went to the Ugly Duckling after the photoshoot and played board games while eating poutine. Then he drove me back to school, so I could get my car and go home."

"Any more... action?" Sam winked.

"You're ridiculous. He kissed me backstage before the photoshoot and then in the parking lot before I left."

"Lulu this is huge! Kissing Eli on Halloween was your first kiss. And now you're on your third."

"That's not true! Marcus Steiner, freshman year."

"That so doesn't count. Marcus was dared to kiss the cutest girl in the room, and he walked up and kissed you. Then you pushed him away and stormed out, if I'm remembering correctly." I frowned.

"Fine, I concur. This is all new territory for me! What should I do?"

"Honestly Lu, I don't even know if you have to do anything. Things are progressing really naturally. You two are actually really sweet together."

"Samantha Halvorsen! Are you going soft?"

"Only when it comes to you." I smiled. We heard a loud rumbling approaching us. I groaned. The cross country team was practicing, and they were running towards us. Sam and I stepped on the sidewalk.

"This is a nice surprise," Eli said, stepping away from the herd of cross country runners. He stepped forward to hug me.

"Don't! I'm gross and sweaty," I said in a warning voice. Eli laughed.

"I'm gross and sweatier!" He retorted and hugged me anyways, despite the fact that I didn't hug him back.

"You two are sickening," Sam complained. We ignored her.

"What are you doing after this?" Eli asked.

"I was thinking of showering and then going to the library to get some work done. Wanna come with?"

"Interested in the showering part..." Eli said with a grin. I rolled my eyes. "I'll come to the library with you. Meet you there after practice?"

"Johnson, stop flirting and catch up!" Coach Perez yelled. I blushed. Eli bent down to kiss me quickly before running to meet the rest of his team.

"Gross!" Sam yelled.

"I apologize on behalf of Eli," I said.

"Too bad, because I'm scarred for life." Sam started to sprint.

"Where are you going?" I yelled.

"I'll race you home!" Sam yelled back. I groaned. Sam's house wasn't far, but the road from here was almost entirely uphill. I took off running, already feeling my legs starting to ache.

***

Author's Note: I feel like this was kind of a slow chapter, but I also like how the Sam/Lulu heart to heart chapters sort of anchor the book and allow us to get what Lulu is thinking & feeling without big blocks of internal monologue.