Poor violet, violated for a rhyme.

“He’s a ghost?” She asked in confusion. “Surprisingly not the weirdest I have ever heard.” Annie smiled and nodded before carefully handing Oliver over to Violet.

“Yeah, so am I.” Violet smiled, as if it were a normal occurrence. She gently held Oliver, reaching out with her free hand to shake his own little one. “Pleasure to meet you, Oliver. Properly now.” She laughed. “He’s so cute!”

“No, I can’t say I have. Well, apart from my parents, but that’s a different kind of love. I actually haven’t had anyone love me in any other way than maternal, and I don’t think I’ve ever loved anyone in another way either. Apart from maybe my best friend, Annie… but she died. What about you?” Jean replied, her brows furrowing at the description of these Harry Potter books. “Oh, busy man… does his best friend not mind?”

“Bullshit... you’ve never had someone have a crush on you, ask you out, fall in love with you? Had the whole “young love” deal? Even I have, and I’m not exactly a good candidate for a girlfriend. Oh shit, I’m sorry to hear that.. but hey who knows, she could turn up here. I’m here and I’m dead.” Violet laughed, although she became aware as soon she’d said it that talking about her friend was probably not the greatest idea. “Me? I had a boyfriend. His name was Tate, kind of short-lived. The romance, I mean.” She didn’t know the half of it. “No, his best friend is too busy getting off with their other best friend.”

“Violet, huh? I wouldn’t have pegged you as that. You seem more of a Betty or Millicent even.” Heather simply shrugged, glancing around the area. “Doesn’t seem too bad, but it’s not like I missed it or anything. It’s not that hard. I’m Heather, one’s a cheerleader, the other is a wannabe. That’s how we’re identified. Do you not have any other friends called Violet?”

“I seem like a Betty or Millicent?” She repeated, wondering if she’d heard her right. “Yeah, no. Betty’s too old... reminds me of Betty Boop a little too much.” Violet narrowed her eyes in confusion, but couldn’t help a grin. “That’s your identification.. a name, a cheerleader and a wannabe? Jesus. No, I’ve never actually met any other Violets. Why do you get to be called Heather?”

“I HAVE TO ADMIT, the clothes here are much more comfortable and having a beard is acceptable. Who could complain?”

“Here? Are you from another planet or something? You don’t look like an alien, but then again who knows what aliens look like. You know, real aliens.”

“I’m not going to leave you, Tate. Even if you do piss me off, you’re stuck with me.. I’m not staying in this creepy shit hole by myself.” Violet had done so in the past, and no harm had come to her. She knew all too well that her statement was just a ploy to keep him near her - to keep him close. At the mention of her family, she couldn’t help but nod. Although she wasn’t one for emotion, especially when it came to her family, she did miss them. And she wouldn’t deny the few tears she’d cried at night for them, especially her mom. Even though she seemed older than her years, she was still a little girl wanting her parents to hold her hand and tell her everything would be alright. “My family will be fine without me, and I’ll be fine without them...” She had to remain strong, whether for her image or for yourself. “I’m not going to die in England, Tate. Not until I’ve been in the dungeons.”

        ‘ does that happen often to you? ‘

“No, because I’m hella pro at this game. You need to practice, dude.”

“Um, there’s scissors in the kitchen... wait, why do you even need them? And what’s Marco’s organization?”

“Some weird animatronic creature. Yeah, they tend to jump out at you if you don’t shut the doors in time or the vent.”

“No, they don’t.” She tried to keep a friendly manner about her tone, but she couldn’t understand why this girl was against others being happy.. unless she’d be hurt. “I don’t believe there should be a day dedicated to it, because I think if you love someone you should show them everyday… but I don’t think ruining their Valentine’s day is very productive either.” She shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t..”

“Have you ever had someone show you that they love you everyday? It’s got to be exhausting.” Violet couldn’t speak much on the concept of love. The closest thing she’d had to having any sort of affection for someone was when it came to Tate. Come to think about it, her entire love life consisted of him. “Harry Potter is about a boy who’s a wizard. Fights some evil dude, goes to school, fucks his best friend’s sister... the usual.”

“Speaking of death. Do you reckon if we die here we actually die?” It was a stupid question, one of which she was sure she already knew the answer to. But she was tired of all this serious shit. If Violet was going to attempt to move forward from the past, even if only to save herself some lonely nights here, she had to not think about the tragedies that took place back in the murder house. Although her death was certainly up for discussion - adapting to the life of a ghost was actually becoming, dare she say entertaining. “I mean...” She placed a hand against her chest, feeling the faint thump of her renovated heart. “I’m alive again, are you?” She didn’t wait for a response, before pressing her other hand against his torso. “Oh, what if we die here.. and then we appear back in the murder house? Or would we be ghosts here? I don’t know how it works, but we should be careful.”

“Oh, I remember you. You’re the girl who told me this is Hell… you were wrong. There’s no fiery pits and outdated fashion here… well, almost. I’m Heather, I don’t know who the fuck Madison is.”

“Yeah, that’s me. Violet, for future reference. You sure about that? You haven’t been here for awhile, how do you know this place hasn’t gone to shit?” Violet laughed. “Ah, yeah. Heather with the friends who are also called Heather.. some confusing shit there.” 

“I doubt you have a boring life!” Annie reassured Violet with a smile. “Yeah, you honestly look sixteen so yeah, I will go with that.” Oliver giggled and smiled at Violet. “I will ask him, thank you Violet.” Annie smiled and gave her side hug since she was still holding Ollie.

“The most excitement I’ve had is finding out my boyfriend is a ghost.” She paused. “Ex-boyfriend.” For now. “Can I hold him?” She asked, gesturing to the child.

“You did?” She questioned, but his answer didn’t really matter. The night she died was a blur, and something she’d rather not think or dwell on.. she didn’t even realize that was the night her life ended until a few days later. It was hard to believe that reality even existed any more, with them both standing here with beating hearts and warm hands. “Good, because I’m not going to let you leave me alone here. If you do, I swear to god, Tate.. I will kill you myself.” She supposed she couldn’t really stop him if he tried to, but she thought she’d voice her attempt to frighten him with an empty threat that she could never go through with. “We just need to focus on the present. What happened in the murder house.. we need to let it go for now. If we’re to survive this.”

“So.. Hell sucks and good ol’ Jesus is taking forever to get back to me, because clearly I was shoved up Satan’s ass crack by accident. That’s why I’ve returned… well, not of my own accord, but whatever. I’m here and I’m starving, so please tell me you have some left over Valentine’s day chocolate or candy?“

“Great to see you’re back, Madison... Heather? You’re one of them, right? Unfortunately I don’t have any left over, but I’m sure you’ll find something in the kitchen.”

But I can’t forgive you. The statement had lingered in her head as soon as she had uttered her love for him, with one of their last memories together playing on a loop inside her poor broken mind. Desperately she tried to rid the image of them standing in her old bedroom, and focus on the present. She couldn’t let that point in their history disrupt whatever kind of reconciliation this was. As she kept telling herself, right now she needed Tate. She needed some sense of familiarity mixed with normality. In the murder house, seeing him had been a regular occurrence, something she had grown used to - even after the events that led to her mother’s death. She wasn’t ready for him to disappear just yet. “Don’t do anything stupid here, Tate.” She lessened her hold on him, leaning back to cup his face, and stroke at his skin ever so gently with her fingertips. “We can die in this place. Don’t die on me.”

For the first time in forever she’d felt a warmth radiate from them both - being alive again had it’s advantages. She’d always wondered what it would have been like if her and Tate could have been a real couple. Now that they were here, they could do the things Violet had always wanted to. Explore, take a trip to the record store, go and see some shitty local band play... this could be a second chance, although she refused to voice this claim before figuring out his state of mind. Giving him a gentle squeeze, she rested her head against him and closed her eyes. He felt safe, she felt safe in his arms. “I love you, Tate." The words rolled out again before she had a chance to stop herself. This scene was all too familiar to her, it made her remember the way it used to be - remember the feelings and the emotions she felt whenever his arms were protecting her from the dark corners of the house. The moments before she had found out she'd been dancing with the devil the entire time.