A History Of Violence - Violentine AU

Chapter Seven: On The Town

Violet sat at the group's usual booth at Grimes' bar. She rhythmically tapped her fingers on the table, Marlon was telling a long winded anecdote about a camper being chased by a skunk last summer, but Violet's thoughts were elsewhere. She looked over at the bar to see Clementine, the brunette noticed her and gave a smile and a wave. Violet returned the gesture, feeling a warmth in her chest. She tentatively sipped her Pepsi before Louis tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hello, Vi?"
"What's up?" She asked.
"I said, are you going to introduce us to Clementine?"
"When she finishes her shift, sure." Violet shrugged, downing another mouthful of Pepsi.
Violet looked over at Clementine again, waving to catch her attention. Violet mimed tapping a watch and then shrugged, Clementine held up five fingers on her right hand. Violet nodded and gave a thumbs up, prompting a silent laugh from Clem.
"You should ask her if she wants to come camping with us." Brody said.
"Really? You guys would be cool with that?" Violet asked, somewhat shocked.
The group had always been very exclusive about who was allowed to attend their camping trips, so exclusive in fact that nobody from outside their friendship group was invited.
"Sure, why not? She seems cool, plus it'll give us an excuse to embarrass you." Louis smirked.
"Ah, there it is." Violet said with a roll of her eyes.
She continually checked the clock on the wall, the time seeming to move at the speed of molasses. When Clementine walked over to her table with her coat on, Violet was elated and stood up almost immediately.
"Hey." She smiled softly.
"Hey." Clementine said, stifling a giggle.
"Hey!" Louis interjected loudly.
Violet rolled her eyes and turned around to face him.
"Clementine, these are my friends. That's Louis, Brody, Omar, Asim, Marlon and Ruby."
They all greeted Clementine who did the same.
"Hi Clementine. We haven't been formally introduced, I did say hi to you when we were at the bar that night though." Louis said.
Clem furrowed her brow for a moment before her eyes lit up in recollection.
"Oh yeah! I remember you, you talked about my eyes."
"Yep that's me, the eyes guy. I prefer Louis but whatever works for you." He smirked.
Louis leaned on the table slyly and put a hand to his chin.
"So, Clementine. Tell us.."
"Sorry Lou but we really gotta go, see you guys later." Violet quickly cut him off, motioning with her head for Clementine to follow her.
"What was that about?" She chuckled as they left the bar.
"He was definitely gonna try to mess with you. Or mess with me through you. He does that a lot, especially with new people."
"He sounds like fun." Clementine said sarcastically.
"He grows on you, like mould." Violet chuckled.
They traversed the streets of downtown Atlanta, lit by the artificial glow of street lights and LED signs. There was a chill in the air, Violet was glad she brought a coat. Clementine seemed to have learned from last time and wore a warm, wool sweater under an overcoat.
"Where are we going?" Violet asked, rubbing her hands together to warm them.
"We are going to get some food, I haven't eaten since before my shift."
She noticed Violet's attempt to warm her hands and gave her a sly smile. Clem took hold of Violet's hand and threaded her fingers through Vi's. Violet's face went hot, she instantly became worried about the strangers surrounding her. They were probably judging her, calling her all sorts of names in their head. She was sure they were all hiding their distain behind neutral expressions. Violet tensed up, Clementine took notice and stopped walking.
"Are you okay?" She asked, glancing over at her.
"Yeah uhh...I just.." Violet rubbed her arm, trying to find the words to explain.
"Was it the hand thing? Do you want me to slow down?" Clementine asked apologetically.
"No, it's not that. Just...you know how people can be right? I've had them come up to me before, yell in my face. It's not fun, and I wouldn't want any of that directed at you." She cast her gaze downwards.
"You know what?," Clementine leaned in, "fuck them. I like you, I want to hold your hand and there's not a damn thing they can do about it. And if anyone says a word to you, I'll break their nose." She gave Violet a genuine smile.
"Okay, that sounds good." Violet chuckled.
They continued their walk, turning down a side street and stopping at a small diner in amongst various other restaurants and stores. The window at the front had a menu taped to it next to a poster that informed her of a missing cat by the name of 'Squirt'.
"This is my favourite place to eat." Clementine excitedly announced as they pushed open the glass door, sounding a bell above it.
"Clementine!" A gruff voiced man greeted from behind the counter, startling the customers who were trying to eat their food in peace. He looked to be in his late fifties sporting a shaved head and rough stubble.
"Hey Pete, how's it going?" Clementine waved at the man.
"All good on my end, how's AJ?"
"Really good, he's at home with the sitter."
The man nodded before shifting his gaze to Violet.
"Who's this?" He asked.
"This is Violet. Violet, this is Pete." Clementine introduced the two.
"Pleasure." Pete said, extending his hand for Violet to shake.
She reluctantly let go of Clementine's hand and shook Pete's. There was quite the juxtaposition between Clem's soft hands and Pete's calloused ones.
"Nice to meet you." Violet said, nodding her head.
"Now, to business. What can I get you ladies?"
Clem looked over at Violet to ask what she wanted.
"You can order for me, you know the menu." Violet said with a shrug.
"We'll take two of my usual, plus a side order of chicken nuggets and a couple of drinks." Clementine said without hesitation.
"Comin' right up." Pete said, disappearing back into the kitchen.
They took a seat opposite each other at an empty table near the door.
"Who's he?" Violet finally asked the question that had been plaguing her since they arrived.
"Pete's an old friend, he knew AJ's parents." Clementine said, cracking open the can of soda she had bought.
Violet placed her elbows on the table, clasping her hands together in front of her.
"So uhh...have you dated a girl before?" Clementine asked uncertainly.
"I've only ever dated girls." Violet replied.
Clem nodded.
"Have you dated many girls?"
"Nah, just two, Ada and Minnie."
Clementine nodded, sipping from her can.
"I've only dated one person before you, a guy."
"Oh yeah? How did that go?" Violet asked, leaning in with a smirk.
"He was kind of an asshole. Not to me, but like, to everyone else. It got to a point where I just didn't want to be around that, so I broke it off."
Violet had half expected a story about Clementine's ex cheating on her or something horrible along those lines.
"How did it end with your exes, if you don't mind me asking?" Clementine said, with an uncertainty in her voice.
Violet bit her lip. She could barely remember Ada, but the whole painful experience with Minnie was still relatively fresh in her mind. She didn't miss her per se, but she was still sore about being walked out on so abruptly.
"Well I don't actually remember what happened with Ada, it was like sophomore year, so a long fuckin' time ago. Minnie though, that happened last year. We went out for over a year, then she joined the army. When she got back she just, walked out on me."
Violet shrugged, feeling slightly awkward.
"Shit, that's fucking horrible." Clementine said emphatically, leaning closer to her.
"Yeah, it kind of was. But whatever, it's in the past." She dismissed.
Violet scrutinised Clementine's features up close. Her caramel skin, her hazel eyes, the curls that fell out from under her hat, dangling in front of her eye. Running the risk of being slightly terrifying, she could have stared for hours. The melancholy feeling from remembering Minnie faded away, replaced by a warmth in her chest. She seemed to get that a lot lately, every time Clementine smiled at her.
She leaned forward across the table and kissed Clementine, catching her off guard. When she pulled away, Clementine's eyes were wide and she had a grin plastered on her face.
"Whoah..." she laughed.
A hand moved into view, placing down a tray between them, containing a pair of burgers, two servings of fries and a plastic basket of chicken nuggets.
"Enjoy." Pete smiled before leaving the table.
Violet bypassed her burger, guiding her hand straight into the nuggets. It had occurred to her on several occasions that she probably ate chicken nuggets far too often. She enjoyed them too much to quit however.
"Wow, you really do like nuggets, huh?" Clementine smirked, unwrapping her burger.
"Definitely. If I was on a desert island and had to pick one food, I'm picking nuggets any day."
"Wouldn't you like, die? I don't know how nutritious nuggets are." Clementine chuckled.
"Actually you're probably right, maybe don't let me pack for any trips." Violet said, taking another two nuggets.
Her joke prompted a chuckle from Clementine.
When they finished their meal, Violet knew now why Pete's diner was Clementine's favorite place to eat. The two of them strolled around town without any goal in mind, they simply talked. Eventually, they made their way back to Grimes' bar to where Clem's car was parked.
"Well I guess I'll see you soon?" Violet said, leaning on the hood of Clementine's car.
The brunette looked at her, clearly confused.
"Are you going somewhere?" Clem asked.
"I was gonna go catch a bus home, why?" Violet was now as confused as Clementine looked.
"Wait, you seriously thought I was gonna make you catch the bus? Hop in, I'll take you home." She chuckled, opening the passenger door for Violet.

The car's right wheel mounted the curb as Clem turned into Violet's driveway. She brought the car to a stop and put the parking break on.
"Thanks for the ride, and for tonight." Violet said with a smile.
"Don't mention it. I don't think it can compare to where you took me though."
"Who cares? You were there and that automatically makes it just as good."
Clementine's face went hot, a smile instantly spread across it.
"Do you...wanna come inside?" Violet asked, holding the back of her neck.
"Definitely."
Clementine nodded and followed her up the path to the door.
She wasn't quite sure what had lead to it, but it didn't take long before they were against the wall kissing each other. Clem felt Violet begin to explore her mouth with her tongue. She ran her fingers through Violet's blonde hair, inviting her to continue. Violet threw off her jacket and Clementine did the same, she was no longer operating on logic, only feelings. Violet broke off the kiss and moved her lips onto Clem's collarbone. She let out a soft moan, pulling the blonde's shirt over her head and discarding it on the floor. Violet reached for Clementine's belt, undoing the buckle and working the zipper of her pants.
Suddenly, Clem's heart dropped. In a brief moment of lucidity, she remembered AJ at home with the babysitter. It was already late and she had told the teenager that she would be home soon, AJ would worry if she was late.
Clementine gently grabbed Violet's wrist, stopping her from going further. The blonde looked up at her with a confused expression.
"I'm really sorry Vi... but I can't tonight. AJ's at home with the sitter and I...." she faltered, feeling awful.
She wanted more than anything to continue, Clem was worried that Vi would take this as meaning she didn't like her.
"I get it, don't worry." Violet said sincerely, to Clementine's surprise.
"Really?"
"Yeah, of course. You're a good mom, y'know." She smiled.
"Thanks. That means a lot."
Clementine zipped her pants back up and took her coat from the ground.
"We can finish this later." She said, winking at Violet.
"I'll hold you to that." Vi chuckled.
She gave Violet one last kiss, less ravenous than the last few.
"Talk to you tomorrow?"
"Definitely."
Clementine got into her car and backed out of the driveway, turning back into the road that led to the city.