Love At First Fight

Chapter Twenty Six

A/N: There's Jake off to the side----}} What? Don't know who Jake is? Sounds like you're going to be getting a new character this chapter.

Violet

"You wanna taco 'bout it?" I ask holding up a small gummy taco.

"Nah cause it's nacho business," Miles laughs as he throws a nacho shaped gummy in my direction.

I giggle at our play on words, happy that I've finally managed to pull Miles out of his glum. He was upset for a long time after getting back from his disaster date. He took an hour long shower and I waited outside patiently for him to finish. He didn't want to talk at all once he came out, but I convince him that if he didn't talk to me than I would bother him for the rest of his life.

So, even though it was already pretty late by the time we got back, we decided to have an impromptu movie night. It started out awkward, neither of us wanting to talk after the little argument that we had before he left for his date. But as we began to get into our regular LifeTime movies and really began to appreciate the atrocious acting, the air between us cleared up.

It's almost three in the morning now and we've broken out the snacks. Miles broke into his dad's mini fridge, knowing that he wouldn't really care if we stole a couple of beers from him. I don't bother drinking any, already knowing good and well the negative effects that alcohol can have on people. But I don't bother Miles as he drinks from his bottle, knowing that he's hurting even though he doesn't really want to show it.

We don't talk for a long time, laughing here and there at something cliche that happens in the movie. Pretty soon though the movie is ending and I'm turning down the TV, turning to look at Miles who's staring at his beer bottle as though he knows that it's time for us to talk.

"You were right," he sighs softly as he sets his beer off to the side. "I shouldn't have went on that date."

"No, you shouldn't have."

"You told me so."

"I told you so."

"I don't know what I was thinking," Miles leans forward and drops his head between his legs. His voice comes out muffled as he continues to speak, distress still evident in his tone. "She's been mean to me the entire time that I've known her. She just seemed... more genuine when she talked to me about going on this date. Like she actually wanted to do it."

"There are bad people," I say bluntly. As Miles' best friend I know that I'm supposed to know how to comfort him, but in situations like this I feel absolutely helpless. "She just happened to be one of them. She doesn't deserve you."

"How come bad people always end up with what they don't deserve?"

"I..." Miles lifts his head up and looks at me, his eyes red. "I don't know."

"I like to be optimistic, ya know?" He reaches up and rubs at his nearly dry hair. "About people. I know that you don't believe me when I say that people can change, but why shouldn't they be able to?"

"People with ill intentions provide nothing but ill promises," I say. "They can't help what they're born to be."

"No one is born to be a bad person Violet," Miles rolls his eyes at me. "Choices change people, different life paths craft who a person is going to be."

"You sound like every post that I've ever read on Tumblr."

"I'll take that as a compliment."