clumsy | l.h.

fifteen

"am i more than you bargained for yet?" - Sugar We're Going Down / Fall Out Boy

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-Violet-

"Violet, I need those shots in by the end of the day. Don't forget." I heard my supervisor's voice yelling from across the room.

I sighed, quickly scribbling the reminder down on my already full list of things to do. My already tiny desk was covered in files to be copied or faxed, and photos to be scanned. I just needed to keep telling myself this was all temporary, until I could land myself a real job opportunity. For now, I needed the experience, even if it was soul-crushing.

On top of all of that, I felt worry prickling in the back of my mind. It had been two weeks since Christmas, and Luke had been acting weird ever since. He never explained why he called me that day, and any time I brought it up he just brushed it off.

Before I could dwell on it any longer, one of my coworkers breezed by, dropping another pile of papers on my desk, "Copy these for me when you get a chance."

I groaned, putting my head in my hands. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice, "Uh oh, I know that look."

My head shot up, meeting eyes with Luke, who had a wide grin on his face. I furrowed my eyebrows, "Luke? What are you doing here?"

He held up a plastic bag filled with Chinese takeout containers, "I brought you lunch. I figured we could step out for a second and eat. I'm starting to think maybe now isn't a great time, though."

I shook my head, sighing, "Well, I wish you would have called first instead of just showing up here unannounced. You know how busy I am while I'm here, you could have checked in first."

Luke's smile faded into a frown, "I tried calling and texting you, Violet. Excuse me for just trying to do something nice and surprise you."

"Well I'm trying to work, I'm not looking at my phone. I don't need you to surprise me, Luke. It's a nice thought but it's really unnecessary, and you're just distracting me from the ridiculous list of things I need to do." I turned back towards my computer, hoping he would just leave.

Luke scoffed, "Look, don't get upset with me just because you're subjecting yourself to this torture. This is your choice, and you don't get to take that out on me."

My head snapped in his direction again, "Luke, quiet down. Seriously. This is not the time."

His voice continued to get louder, "No, you don't get to shut me down right now. You can't just make my feelings invalid like that. I'm just trying to reach out and do something right, and you're trying to turn everything around on me. You can't blame me, and make me feel like everything is my fault. It's not fair, and you don't get to do that anymore.

Confusion started to set in now, somewhat replacing my anger. I didn't know how this fight had escalated like this, but it needed to stop. A handful of heads in the office were turned towards my desk, and I could see my supervisor starting to look up from his own desk.

I gave Luke a final look with narrowed eyes, speaking through clenched teeth, "Luke, go home. We can discuss this later. Please."

He rolled his eyes, "It's always all about your feelings, Violet. Never mine."

He dropped the takeout bag on my desk, quickly turning around and storming back out of the office. The sound of his footsteps echoed in the silent office, and I could feel everyone's judgmental eyes on me.