Small Towns Don't Forgive - Violentine Slasher high school AU

Chapter Nine: Cabin Fever

Violet leaned against the wall of the old brick toilet block in the park. It was the same one she used to tag when she was younger. She'd grown out of that now, but the wall still bore the marks of her youthful rebellion - albeit lazily painted over.
The sun beamed down from above and the chilly wind whipped at her hair. She took a drag of her cigarette and watched the glowing tip burn down towards her fingers.
She exhaled a wispy cloud of smoke that got caught by the wind and dispersed.

"Look out!"

Vi jolted in the direction of the shrill voice just in time to see the soccer ball sailing towards her head.
She jumped to the side and the ball flew past her, landing on the grass. It bounced once, then lost momentum and sadly rolled to a stop.
A tiny boy, who couldn't have been older than five, jogged across the park towards her.
She picked up the ball and held it out for him when he got closer.

"Sorry." The boy mumbled guiltily.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Vi smiled, "that was a pretty good kick."

His face lit up as he took the ball.

"Why are you smoking?" He asked point blank.

"I don't know." Vi shrugged.

"It's bad for you, you should stop."

"Yeah, I probably should." She chuckled.

"Alvin Junior, what are you doing, come back here!" A woman by the playground called out.

"Okay, mom!" The boy called back, then he glanced at Vi "see ya."

"See ya later alligator." She said with a little wave.

The boy giggled and ran off back to his mom.
Vi leaned back against the wall only to see Clementine walking up the path towards her.

"Looks like you're making friends." The brunette quipped.

"You know me, social butterfly." Vi smirked, rolling her eyes.

She stamped out her cigarette and pushed herself off the wall.

"Sorry I'm late." Clem said, "I like your jacket."

Vi glanced down at the oversized denim work jacket she was wearing and smiled.

"Thanks. Reminds me, I still need to return yours." She admitted.

Clem waved her hand airily.

"You can keep it for a while, I barely wore it. Plus I think it looks better on you."

Vi's giggled sheepishly and her cheeks went hot. She tucked her hair behind one ear and grinned stupidly.
Jesus she was being obvious. She needed to pull it together.
Clem's smile at her antics certainly wasn't helping in that regard. Eventually Vi composed herself enough to talk again properly.

"You ready to go?" 

"Yep, let's."

The girls followed the cement path through the park and back out onto the sidewalk. The good thing about living in a town this small was that almost everything was within walking distance.

"So, why are we going to the library?" Clem asked.

"I figured if it's there's a cabin out there, there's probably some kind of record of it being built. If anywhere in town has something like that, it's the library." Vi explained.

The library stood in the centre of town where it always had. Built in 1926, the building closer resembled a cathedral than a library. Arched windows and ornate wooden mouldings, all topped off with a pointed spire on the roof. It was a relic of its time.
Vi pushed open the wooden double doors and the hinges screamed with the exertion.
Entering the library was like stepping into a crypt. Eerie silence blanketed the whole place, not even the turning of pages or the hushed whispers of patrons could be heard.
They approached the ancient desk, getting the attention of the equally ancient librarian.
She peered down her nose through the round glasses clipped onto her sweater with a string of pearls.
Vi conjured up the most polite voice she could manage and cleared her throat.