Snippet #2450553

The dark trees that passed by me as I jogged down the blackened street blurred with the soft lighting from the lights nearby. It was as if I were actually running as fast as I could, despite only having been jogging slightly, so as not to hurt my currently crippled friend. My vision was almost hazy from all the worry and running that had taken place just moments ago, but I was determined to get her back. I knew Charlie and Sam had to be not far behind us, which gave me more courage, as my friends always did in times of hardship, so I used that as my fuel. Violet wasn't alone, and neither was I...

"I'm... a hero." The sound of Violet's voice suddenly hit my ears, almost surprising me, even though I had only just practically begged the girl to say something. I looked down at her face, which was half covered in shadow and the other in moonlight, with the occasional extra lighting from the streetlamps we were passing by. "They won't mess... they... fuck, Nate, they won't fuck with Briton anymore. I... fucked 'em up harder than they did me, all right. I did it, didn't I?" she said, in clear pain. I merely looked back and forth between her and the road ahead as she spoke with a pained expression. I absentmindedly shook my head and gave out an incoherent grunt before my attention was pulled back to her face once more as she repeated herself, only in a smaller voice. "I did the right thing, didn't I?"

Those words made me furrow my eyebrows as I took in the meaning behind what she was saying. She just wanted to be useful. To help her friends when they were in need. I couldn't say with honesty that she didn't do the right thing, but I couldn't entirely commend her for it either... Holding her gaze for a few seconds longer than before, I looked back ahead again.

"I don't know..." I said, finally. I paused for a moment before continuing, balancing my thoughts on her question with that of the current situation. "What you did was stupid, but... I don't think it was 'wrong'." Giving the empty air a quick smirk at the irony in my own words, I berated myself in turn. "Then again, what I did was pretty damn stupid, too..." I gave her a final look as I knew the party was drawing closer to us upon noticing the lights. "You just did what you thought needed to be done, and I can't fault you for that..." Giving the small girl a warm smile, I squeezed her shoulder affectionately, finally looking back up at the front lawn of the house the party was being held at. A sigh of relief escaped my lungs as I slowed to more of a power walk upon seeing a new set of flashing lights; an ambulance. Good. What wasn't good, however, was the police car that was also flashing its lights just beside the ambulance. I already predicted this, but it still sent a shiver down my spine at the thought of what might happen to my remaining friends that were still inside that damn house... Of course, this was a small town, and there was only one car with two officers present, so at most, the likely scenario would have been a simple breaking up of the party, resulting in many teenagers who were obviously far too young to be drinking being forced to flee the scene. Good thing our local law enforcement was generally rather lenient over small stuff like this. But that was just the small stuff...

"Over here!" I shouted at the paramedics, finally coming to a halt just past the front lawn. Of course, that was when Violet tapped my shoulder as gentle as a small child might have done, stealing my attention once more. I merely smiled wryly at her protests of going to the hospital as she couldn't even fully get out her speech regarding how tough she was. "Tough you may be, you're still made of flesh and blood." I said in response just as the paramedics rushed up to meet me, taking Violet out of my arms, save for the one hand she managed to keep tightly clutched with my own, pulling me along with her as she was strapped into the stretcher. Before they loaded her into the back of the ambulance, however, Violet managed to mutter a single request.

"Come with me." she said. Don't wanna be alone in a fuckin' hospital when my parents get there..." All I could do was smile at her and rub my thumb on the back of her small hand as she pleaded with me, finally resulting in me telling her what I had already planned on doing.

"Of course I'm coming with you." I said without hesitation. "If I don't, then who's gonna stop you from trying to escape?" Giving her another smile, I turned my head to the paramedic beside me, giving him a look that said "It's alright, isn't it?", upon which he simply nodded and continued with loading Violet into the ambulance, followed by me, still holding onto the girl's hand. Now sitting down on the small bench-like seat that was beside Violet's stretcher, the doors slammed shut beside us. The paramedic who was also sitting in the back along with us was going over his routine care for the injured as Violet and I continued holding hands. The ambulance didn't waste any time leaving the party, and it wasn't long before we were in motion. I looked down at my friend, who was looking back up at me in turn. I let my gaze fall to the floor as I decided to scold her somewhat after all.

"Hey..." I began, my voice soft, unlike how it was only a few minutes ago. "I know I said that I couldn't fault you for what you did, but..." I paused, looking back up at her, worry clearly on my face. "You're not...a super hero, Violet... You're a 17-year-old girl who shouldn't be..." I paused again, remembering we weren't alone as I eyed the paramedic before blinking back to Violet. "...taking matters into her own hands all the time. I understand that you wanna help the people you love, but there are just some problems that one person can't hope to solve on their own..." What I was saying, despite instantly sounding rather hypocritical to myself, was true. But the difference between what I did and what she did was that I wasn't alone when I made my mistake. I had Oz to help me in case things got especially nasty. She was a young girl who was alone with two violent guys-- guys who made it an effort to take whatever they want, whenever they wanted it, and without any regards to other people and their wishes. If it hadn't been for Briton seeing her go off with them; Sam chasing after her before I did; Charlie following after me... Who knows how bad it would have been. "You can rely on your friends to help you, Vi... Trust me when I say...you're not alone..." I said with a smile as I gripped her hand more firmly. "Alright?" At the time, I didn't realize how ironic it was for me to be feeding someone else such a line. However, the insight that came with it would one day reach me... Only...in the form of another person's words. Someone truly important to me... But we've still got a ways to go before that particular moment.