Formidable // Sally Face (2)

T e n

Violet was the first to get out of bed when Sal's blaring alarm clock went off at 6:30 AM. She wanted to take a shower. Last night had left her hair a sweaty, tangled mess that only good wash could fix. 

It was nearly impossible to keep herself from replaying the events in her head, especially once she'd stripped herself bare to get in the shower. She didn't want to get herself flustered. It would be awkward enough for Sal to notice, let alone all of her friends at school. 

With her mind no longer clouded by lust, Violet's thoughts returned to the Super Gear Boy. She hated lying to Sal. She tried to remind herself that he technically lied to her first by keeping things hidden from her, but it wasn't the same. When she came to him with questions, he always came clean. But she blatently lied to him. 

Now that she'd made a discovery on her own and returned home unscathed, she couldn't help but wonder if Sal would finally trust her enough to involve her in his investigations. Maybe he'd be impressed by her success and her ability to hide it so well. 

Fat chance. He'd be too worried about what could have happened to her. 

With a frustrated, but disappointed sigh, Violet stepped out of the shower, shivering at loss of warmth from the water. Her legs still felt a bit weak from last night. It was almost tiring just to stand at the sink and brush her hair. 

Suddenly, she noticed a darkened patch of skin on her neck. Frowning, she leaned closer to the mirror for a better view. It was a bruise.

Hickeys were one thing that Violet was familiar with. As a high school student, she saw at least 50 of them per week. She never could have imagined that she'd be one of the many people walking around school with one. Or...was that a second one? 

What was everyone going to say? Everyone was going to know what she did. And since it was practically common knowledge at Nockfell High that she was dating Sal, everyone would know who gave these to her. Her friends were never going to let her live this down. As for Travis, she didn't even want to think about the reaction he would have.

These things were nasty. They were nothing like the light bluish-yellowish ones everyone else had. No, her hickeys were a deep cherry red with flecks of black and blue scattered across them. There was no hiding them. 

Now panicking, she grabbed her cell phone from the stack of clean clothes she'd brought for herself to change into. 

Riiiiiiing...Riiiiiing...Riiiiiiing....Riii—

"Hello?" The sleepy voice of Ash came through the phone. She must have just woken up.

"Ash, I don't know what to do!" Violet told her in a panicked whisper. 

"'Bout what?"

"There's...you know! On my neck!"

"Wait, there's what on your neck?"

The girl huffed, poking at the bruises in the mirror. "You know! L-Like...hickeys!"

"Hickeys?!" Ash's voice perked up at this. Violet could already see the wide grin that surely spread across her face upon hearing the news. "From Sal?"

"Ash, they're really bad. I can't go to school like this!"

"I didn't know you two were fooling around. When did this start?" The brunette pried, eagerly.

"Ugh, Ash! Can you help me or not?"

She laughed. "I'm not sure if I can, but I know someone who can. I'll meet you in the girls' bathroom at school."

> > >

By the time Violet finished getting ready, Sal had moved to the couch in the living room to wait for her. He was playing the Super Gear Boy with a rather confused expression on his face. Violet prayed that he was just working on a difficult puzzle and that he hadn't noticed that someone used it.