So High School ft. Adam Cole | Chapter 7
A/N: Back from a little hiatus! Won't be posting every week as work has started up again and chapters need to be written, but this is something I'm determined to finish! Hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think :)
It had been almost a month since Violet saw Austin. She’d had an amazing break – a Christmas where she got Starbucks gift cards, a new tennis racquet, a digital camera from her aunt in Toronto, and a white MacBook from her parents to replace her clunky desktop in her room; a New Year’s skiing in Whistler her family; and a flight back to Philadelphia with an email from St. Anne’s to her parents that she had aced all her midterms. Despite all her good fortune, she couldn’t help but be constantly reminded of the last thing that happened between them before she ran off into her house.
The kiss.
Was it a mistake? She wasn’t entirely sure. Most of the time, she didn’t think it was. It was what she wanted to do in that moment. Plus, he had kissed her back. He hadn’t pulled away before her. That must have meant it was what he wanted in that moment too, right? It occupied her mind more than she wanted to admit, and not exactly at the most opportune times, either: during her AP Government midterm when she was trying to remember the specifics of the Bill of Rights; during her AP French midterm when trying to compose a paragraph about the novella they’d read in class; at dinner with her parents at a restaurant in Whistler after a day of skiing.
It wasn’t like they’d gone radio silent, though. They had texted. Violet started it.
[12/25/2006] 10:52am merry christmas 2 u and ur family austin! <3
[12/25/2006] 10:55am
merry christmas 2 u too. hope ur midterms were good
[12/28/2006] 7:24am off 2 whistler 4 me & the fam!
[12/28/2006] 8:01am
have a safe flight
when r u back?
[12/28/2006] 8:05am jan 5
[1/1/2007] 12:05am dunno if u will get this but happy new year! i’m so happy we became friends this year :-)
[1/1/2007] 12:05am
happy new year, vi
dunno if u will get this cuz ur in canada
hope we can spend more time 2gether this year
[1/3/2007] 4:17pm
miss u vi
can’t wait 2 c u when ur back
[1/5/2006] 8:50pm just landed in philly! such a long travel day just got ur texts from the week i missed u 2 i’ll c u monday on the bus right?
[1/5/2007] 8:55pm
welcome back!
i just got ur text too
of course u will
can’t wait
***
Violet was basically vibrating in her seat for how excited she was to see Austin on the bus the first Monday morning back at school. She didn’t even care to get back to St. Anne’s, and that was shocking for her to say, because she genuinely liked school – she only wanted to see him. She wondered if he was as excited to see her as she was to see him.
When he finally climbed on the bus, a smile automatically spread across her face, large and wide and excited. When he got sight of her, an identical smile spread across his face. He rushed over to her, and without knowing what her body was going to do next, she got up from her seat. They hugged each other forcefully, like people who hadn’t seen each other in months or years. “I missed you,” were the first words out of Austin’s mouth.
“I missed you too,” she repeated, pulling away from the hug so they could settle into their usual seats. She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. God, he even smelled good. She could smell his cologne even through his coat and layers of clothing. “You have to tell me all about your break. How was it?”
“My break? My break was boring. I stayed home and played video games all day. What about your break? I want to hear all about it.”
Violet couldn’t hold back as she spent the entire bus ride into Lancaster telling Austin all about her break. The flight to Toronto then Vancouver, then the car to Whistler; skiing down Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains day after day; staying at the cutest ski chalet; having dinner at restaurants in the village. Austin ate up every word, barely even blinking as she spoke on and on. He missed the sound of her voice. He missed how glossy her brown hair was. He missed seeing her red nails. He missed everything about her and he was so fucking happy to have her back in Manheim.
Violet kept yapping even as they got off the bus and walked towards Lancaster West. She was telling him some story about almost crashing into some woman while skiing before she stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh my god, I almost forgot! I got you something!” she exclaimed.
“You what?” Austin asked, watching her as she swung her backpack around.
“My mom and I went into this consignment store while we were shopping one day in Whistler, and I saw something that reminded me completely of you—”
“—Vi, what are you even—”
“—And so I just had to buy it! Look!” she exclaimed.
Austin watched as she dug through the small pocket of her backpack, only to pull out action figures, still in their packaging. Except it wasn’t just any old action figures, and it wasn’t just regular packaging – the action figures were of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, two of his favourite wrestlers, and the packaging made it known that they were exclusive Wrestlemania X-7 editions. His favourite wrestlers for his favourite match – the one that really made him want to be a wrestler in the first place. “You didn’t,” he deadpanned, thoroughly shocked.
“I don’t know if I can even call them vintage because they’re only, like, four years old,” she said. “But, well—do you even like Stone Cold and The Rock?”
He couldn’t believe the coincidence. The happenstance. What were the chances? “They’re my favourite. They—Vi—this match at this Wrestlemania is the reason why I even want to become a wrestler.”
Violet’s eyes lit up. “No way!”
“I can’t believe you found something like this!”
“I’m glad you like it.”
Austin hugged her. Just wrapped his arms around her quickly, and tightly, and hugged her like she’d just brought him the Holy Grail or something. Physical contact between the two of them in front of Lancaster West. “You’re the best, you know that?” he asked.
“I’m really not. It’s just something that made me think of you. And like, I know how much wrestling means to you.”
Austin didn’t want to pull away from the hug. He didn’t even want to go to school anymore. All he wanted to do was ditch and spend the whole day with Violet. They’d talk all day. He’d talk to her more about pro wrestling and how he envisioned his future. He’d tell her his entire plan. Maybe he’d get to kiss her again. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Violet,” he settled on saying instead.
“You’re welcome,” she smiled. She didn’t pull away.
___
“And next on the announcement docket, Lancaster West will be hosting the regional basketball quarterfinals this Friday after classes as their team faces off against the visitors, Murray High School from Elizabethtown. Students from Lancaster West will be in the cafeteria all this week selling tickets for $10.”
___
“Austin’s friends will be there too, right?” Harper asked.
“We don’t want to be your guys’ third and fourth wheel,” Abigail winked playfully.
“Shut up,” Violet smirked at them. “Yes, his friends will be with us. I think it’ll be really fun. What about our ride after?”
“My cousin says she has no problem driving you back to Manheim if it’s dark cause we decide to do something after. Your parents are allowing you to stay out, right?”
“Curfew’s at midnight.”
___
Violet applied her mascara in one of the girls’ washrooms at St. Anne’s with butterflies in her stomach. Her, Harper, Abigail, and Abigail’s older cousin Serena were getting ready together before walking over to Lancaster West for the basketball game. Austin was going to meet them with his friends before they watched the game. “Does it look good?” she asked, looking at Harper for validation.
Harper stopped applying her lip gloss momentarily. “Looks great, Violet. Makes your eyes pop.”
In grade 9, Harper was the first person to compliment Violet on her heterochromia and how it looked so cool, making her much less self-conscious about it. Since then, she hadn’t worried as much whether people got weirded out by it, and wasn’t as scared to apply makeup that highlighted her eyes. “Thanks. Can I borrow your lip gloss?”
“Trying to look good for Austin?”
“No,” Violet deadpanned, but couldn’t help the smirk that overtook her face. She’d already told Abigail and Harper this past week about the kiss before Christmas Break. They sounded like guinea pigs as they squealed about it, and were totally excited about something, anything happening with Austin since Violet spoke so highly of him. It was a night and day difference compared to what she had to go through before midterms. Thank God she had Abigail and Harper on her side during all of it. “But…is my outfit okay?”
Jeans and a Hollister top – was there anything else teens were wearing? “You look good, don’t worry.”
As Violet took out her digital camera and took a candid photo of everyone in the mirror getting ready, she felt her phone buzz from inside her Coach wristlet in-between her legs. Once she took it out, she saw the text from Austin. R u guys on ur way? gym is already filling up. “Let’s finish up and then let’s go! We’re going to be late!” she announced to everyone.
Only a few minutes later, they had their coats on and were out the door, hurrying towards Lancaster West. There were teachers taking their tickets once they got into the front entrance, and Violet could see Austin waiting with his friends in the foyer. When he saw her, he smiled, and a shiver ran down her spine. The first thing they did when they got close was hug. They were the only two that knew each other, but it was becoming more of an automatic reflex now than an action that required any thought. After Austin made quick introductions to his friends Trevor, Jack, and Connor, they made their way to the makeshift concession stands for some popcorn.
“You look really nice by the way,” Austin said to her quietly as they stood in line with so many other students. Abigail, Harper, and Serena were already in conversation with Trevor, Jack, and Connor since Serena was wearing a Fall Out Boy tee, so Austin felt it was a good opportunity to say it now.
“Thanks,” Violet couldn’t help but blush. “You think it’ll be packed in there?”
“Oh God yeah. Basically our whole school is here.”
A small part of her wondered if they’d see Beth. She knew a lot of girls were at the game too, because St. Anne’s girls went to school events for any school where there were boys. She almost wanted to ask, but she didn’t want to know the answer. She stayed silent as Austin ordered popcorns for everyone, but she swept in and paid for them before he could reach for his wallet since he bought the St. Anne’s girls their tickets. She made sure to take out her digital camera to take pictures and document the night – everybody hammed it up for the camera, which was amazing and made for some great photos. When they made their way into the gym, Violet was shocked by how packed it was, and how loud it was. They climbed the bleacher stairs and almost reached the top until Connor saw some of their other friends and made everybody scoot their way in. There were so many people already that everything was tight. And, well, Austin wanted to make sure Violet didn’t slip or trip or fall, so he placed his hands on her hips as they wiggled their way through, leading the way. When he saw her trying to hide her smile, he knew he’d done the right thing. Violet gave her camera to someone who took a few great group shots of them, and when she looked at them on her camera’s screen, all she could look at was Austin’s smile and his arm around her waist.
There was so much energy in the room when the basketball teams came out, but there was more energy between Austin and Violet that either thought possible. They were loud and screaming during the first and second quarter, with every basket garnering cheers from the crowd. But then Violet would brush up against him. Or their hands would touch as they raised in the air after a three-pointer. Or she’d lose her balance on the bleachers and he’d have to put his hands on her waist to keep her steady. A smile would appear on her face, and then a smile would appear on his face, and it was like everything was meant to be; like they weren’t supposed to be anywhere else besides Lancaster West High on a Friday night cheering on a basketball team in the regional quarter finals.
During the half-time, the gym was still buzzing but everybody was moving around, rushing to the bathroom or going to get more popcorn. Austin could see a lot of his teachers around, and some even brought their spouses or kids. Harper and Jack had escaped to “go get some more popcorn”. Abigail and Serena had seen some other girls from St. Anne’s and went to talk to them, and Trevor and Connor followed them like puppies. Violet was talking to him about what they could do after the game.
And then Austin saw her. Beth.
She was staring directly at him and it almost instantly made him feel unsettled. But then he realized she wasn’t actually staring at him, more so that she was staring at Violet, which only made him more unsettled.
“—Anyway, all I know is we can’t go to Livvy Eaton’s party.”
“Why not?” he asked, focusing his attention back on her.
“I know Beth will be there,” Violet revealed. “I really don’t want to see her. I know she’s here tonight and I’m happy I haven’t caught her yet.”
“Don’t worry about her,” Austin said. “She’s just jealous of you.”
“I’ve managed to avoid her at school all week,” she said. “Has she—has she still been texting you?”
“I don’t know. Jack showed me how to block her number. But even if he hadn’t I’d just be ignoring her.”
“You mean you don’t want the ego boost of a constant barrage of texts to hook up with you?” Violet joked.
“No,” his tone was serious but he said it with a small smile, “I have everything I want right here.”
Violet stopped. Her smile left her face once she heard the words, but upon her actual understanding of what he was saying, she smiled again.
He didn’t ask. Maybe he should have but he didn’t. But as they sat on the bleachers waiting for the second half of the game to start, he kissed her. It was quick, just like last time, but it was the same as the kiss before Christmas: the other responded, which meant the other wanted it too. Now they each had one kiss to their name. When he pulled away, Violet was already smiling. “Was that okay?” he asked.
Violet had been rendered speechless. All she could do was nod.
With little warning, Abigail and Serena came back. Harper and Jack came back and Harper asked to borrow Violet’s lip gloss. The timer expired and both teams made their way back onto the court, with the crowd going wild when the Lancaster West boys came out. The gym was just as loud as it was in the first half after every basket made. Violet would still brush up against him. Their hands would still touch as they raised them in the air after a three-pointer. The giant crowd would stomp their feet to intimidate the Elizabethtown players during free throws and it was so forceful it would shake the bleachers. Violet would get nervous and lose her balance but Austin was always there with his hands on her hips to steady her. He’d leave them there a couple seconds too long. Eventually, they stayed there. A giant smile was on Violet’s face the entire time, and a giant smile was on his face the entire time, and when it was all said and done, Lancaster West High beat Elizabethtown Central 78-70.
***
The group didn’t end up going to any St. Anne’s party – Connor was able to wiggle his (and their) way in to the party with the basketball team, at the point guard’s house in Lititz. It was a bit crazy considering the big win, but everybody was having fun and getting along. Josephine Kominsky made it to the party, along with some other girls Violet got along with (who wouldn’t want to be partying with the winning team?), and Beth wasn’t in sight, so she was happy. She appointed herself to be the official photographer and got so many good shots of everyone. But the best ones she got were of her and Austin, who only left her side to get her drinks. They were much more touchy-feely than before, than even the game. Harper and Abigail got along great with Austin, which made Violet even happier. They talked and joked for so much of the party, despite her and Austin not being able to stop being close and touching one another.
Inevitably, part of the conversation shifted to college talk. Now that they’d gotten their midterms, their guidance counselors had been setting up appointments all week to speak about colleges and programs in preparation for next year. Violet explained how her guidance counselor called her in to confirm her UPenn, Georgetown, or Boston University for speech language therapy.
“Does Lancaster West do that, too?” Abigail asked innocently.
Austin and Connor both chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve seen my guidance counselor since the first few weeks of freshman year,” Austin revealed.
“And the only reason I see mine is because he’s also the baseball coach,” Connor added. “He can brag that he’s trying to get me a scholarship to Temple for it.”
“Ours have, like, lists of colleges, programs, residences, scholarships – oh my God, and we can’t forget alumni – everything in these binders and on their computers,” Abigail went on.
“So what would yours say?” Connor asked.
“Bryn Mawr for pre-med.”
“That’s it?”
“I’m a legacy there, so yeah,” she chuckled. Life was so easy when you were a legacy. “What would yours say?”
“Temple or Penn State. Baseball scholarship. Economics. You?” he nodded towards Harper.
“UPenn, NYU, or Brown for pre-law,” Harper revealed. “You?” she nodded towards Austin.
Violet held her breath slightly. She knew he didn’t want a lot of people knowing about the pro-wrestling ambitions. It was a very personal thing for him. That’s why she was shocked as ever when all he responded with was, “Pro wrestling.”
She watched as Abigail and Harper furrowed their brows in confusion. “You mean like Olympic wrestling?” Abigail asked.
Leave it to Abigail to have the exact same reaction that Violet did in Francesco’s when Austin first told her. Violet couldn’t hold in her smile, especially after the quick eye contact Austin made with her. St. Anne’s girls were so alike. “No, not Olympic wrestling,” Austin clarified. “Pro wrestling. Like the kind on TV.”
He was displaying confidence on the outside, but on the inside, Austin was scared as hell. He’d just revealed one of his biggest secrets – one that was very, very much out of the ordinary for so many of his friends who were thinking about college, let alone private school girls whose only option it was to go to college. Not to mention that Harper and Abigail were Violet’s best friends. He wanted to impress them, he really did, because he knew how girls worked. If they didn’t like him or thought he was a dud, they’d let Violet know about it.
When it clicked for the girls what he meant, both their jaws dropped. “No. Fucking. Way,” Harper deadpanned.
“That is sooooo awesome!” Abigail followed up.
Austin let out the breath he was holding. So did Violet. She knew the girls would be like her, and have a similar reaction as when she was told, but it was still a big moment. “You’re gonna be on TV?!” Harper asked.
“That’s the dream,” Austin smiled. “There’s a lot of training involved first, but—”
“That is honestly the coolest thing I’ve ever heard,” Abigail interrupted innocently, looking to Violet. “Seriously! How many people can say they know a famous pro wrestler? How many people can say they know someone on TV?!”
Harper went on and on about how much her younger brothers loved wrestling. Abigail asked Austin all about the wrestling team at Lancaster West and if that was good training for what he would have to do on TV one day. They were so incredibly genuine, Violet wanted to cry. Instead, she smiled the entire time – smiled as Austin nodded along to all the pro wrestlers Harper could name thanks to her brothers, smiled as Austin answered all of Abigail’s questions, smiled as she could see the twinkle in his eye as he knew he was winning them over by just being himself.
***
Since Lititz was only a ten minute drive to Manheim, the group stayed extra late before Violet, Austin, Connor, and Serena piled into Serena’s car to get home for curfew. Serena dropped Connor off first, then asked Austin where he lived.
“Serena, can you actually go to The Berries first?” Violet asked.
“I thought you lived in The Berries,” Serena furrowed her brows from the driver’s seat.
“I do. Can you just drop us both off at the corner?”
Violet could see Serena smirk. “As long as you promise me you won’t get your tongues frozen on a pole. I don’t want a lawsuit.”
Serena did as she was told. Austin didn’t really know why Violet had requested it, but he had a hunch. “I never thought I’d be able to get three St. Anne’s girls excited about pro-wrestling,” he joked as he watched Violet watch Serena drive down the street.
When Serena’s car was out of sight, Violet turned towards Austin. She had a look in her eyes he could see right away. It took maybe half a second for her to get close to him. No words were said, because both knew what was going to happen. Each had one kiss, so now both had to get another. They were standing under a streetlight.
When they kissed each other, Austin knew he hadn’t felt anything like this before. He’d kissed other girls, sure, but none of them could hold a candle to what he was currently feeling kissing Violet in the middle of winter under a streetlight in Manheim. Violet, too, hadn’t felt anything like this before. She’d kissed other boys, sure, but none of them could even compare to what she was currently feeling as she kissed Austin at the corner of her street under a streetlight in their small town. A part of her thought she was in a movie; that this wasn’t her life and that maybe it was somebody else’s. But when he kept kissing her, and she kept kissing him, she realized that yes, this was her life. It wasn’t just a single kiss anymore, given before midterms or during the intermission of a high school basketball game. There were many kisses now, big and small and everything in between, kiss after kiss after kiss as she felt Austin’s hands on her waist through her coat, pulling her closer to him.
Neither of them knew how long they’d been kissing for, but when they finally pulled away, it was only so they could catch their breath. Violet looked into Austin’s blue eyes, their breath visible in the crisp night air. “That was okay, right?” she asked.
“God yeah,” he responded. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”
She couldn’t help but smile at his admission. “Don’t say a word.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
“Our secret?”
“Our secret.”
Austin was about to go in for another kiss when an alarm started going off on Violet’s BlackBerry Pearl. Her eyes widened. “Oh my God. I gotta go. That’s my two minute warning.”
“Violet—”
“—I’ve gotta go—”
“Vi—”
She had wiggled out from his grasp. He was desperate for one more kiss, but she was already down the street. “Safe run home!” she called back to him without stopping.
He stood under the streetlight, dumbstruck.
***
Austin was already in his hospital gown and gurney, trying not to pay attention to the work around him that the nurses and others were doing to prep the surgery. Violet was still beside him, holding his hands. “It’ll just be a few more moments, Mr. Jenkins,” one of them said.
“Take all the time you need,” he said. He was scheduled for a 9:00am surgery and it was still only 8:45.
He could feel Violet squeeze his hand. “Don’t be nervous,” she whispered. “It’s going to be fine and—”
Before she could finish her sentence, the door to the room opened and Dr. Bridges walked through. “It’s time, Austin.”
Austin looked over to Violet. “I’m gonna be in the waiting room,” she whispered.
“I love you.”
She leaned down to kiss him. “No matter how much I say I love you, I always love you more than that,” she said before standing up, making eye contact with Dr. Bridgers. “Take good care of him.”
“Oh, I will.”
“You don’t want to have to answer to her. Trust me,” Austin quipped as he was pushed out of the room. “She’ll get ya.”
Violet made her way to a seat in the waiting room, one close to an outlet. She opened her messages app and began composing a message about him being in surgery to the most important people: his parents. His brother. Her parents. Kyle. Chris. Kenny and Hazel. The Massies. Harper. Abigail.
And now, she waited.
