𝘛𝘙𝘖𝘜𝘉𝘓𝘌. Eli Moskowitz

twenty four

HAWK'S parents ended up loving Violet. She was pretty sure his parents, especially his mom, were just happy to have someone who genuinely liked their son, since he'd been so afraid of being unloved before.

Just as she was leaving, Mrs. Moskowitz gave her a hug and said something that she hadn't stopped replaying in her head since.

"Thank you, really. I could tell you were a good one when he came home one day happier than I've seen in a long time. Thank you for loving my boy."

When Violet heard the last part, she froze and sputtered out that she wasn't actually sure if she was in love with him. Wasn't it too early to tell, anyway? They've only been dating for a couple months.

But Mrs. Moskowitz just gave her a knowing smile and replied, "I can tell."

That was it. No in-depth explanation on how she could tell. Just "I can tell."

"Well, I can't tell," Violet groaned frustratedly, falling backwards onto her bed dramatically.

For the past two hours since she got back from karate practice earlier, she had been doing extensive research on being in love and even took a bunch of "Am I in love?" quizzes. And she still was unsure.

So, she called someone that could help her. Hopefully.

"Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up," she mumbled, bouncing her leg. "Finally," she sighed in relief as Miguel's face appeared on her screen.

"Well, hello to you too," Miguel said, shocked at how stressed out his friend seemed.

"Look, I'm in the middle of a crisis right now, and I'm in desperate need of your help."

"What's wrong?"

"Okay, so you know how I had dinner with Eli's family yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, did it go badly or something?"

"No, it went fine. Great, actually, his parents loved me," she stopped, remembering how Miguel trying to meet Sam's parents went horribly. "Anyways, when I was about to leave, Eli's mom thanked me for loving her son. And then, when I told her how I wasn't sure if I was yet, she just said, 'I can tell.' Like, what does that mean? How can she tell? Because I would like to know!"

Miguel's eyes widened in shock. "Woah."

"Yeah, woah."

"Okay, well, what's the problem?"

"Wh-what's the problem?" Violet stumbled. "The problem is that I don't even know if I'm in love with him. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like him a lot, but love? I don't even know what love is supposed to feel like! What if it turns out that I just really like him, and then I tell him I love him, but I actually don't? I'll be a liar, and then I'll feel horrible about it!"

"Violet," Miguel said calmly.

"Yeah?"

"Take a deep breath." She did. "Exhale. Okay, now keep going."

"Right, thanks," she said, much less frantic than before. "Anyways, I don't know what to do. I did a shit ton of research— I even took a bunch of those quizzes!"

"You know those quizzes aren't actually real, right?"

"I know!" Violet exclaimed. "But I'm desperate right now. I mean, I know people can fall in love fast. My parents said that they just knew after a few weeks. How can you just know?"

"Because it's a feeling, Violet. Love is a feeling. You know when you feel it."

Violet paused, "That . . . actually makes a lot of sense. I don't know why that never registered in my mind."

"Because you've been panicking," Miguel laughed.

"But how do I know if it's the feeling?"

"Just . . . pretend you're saying 'I love you' to him, and if it feels right, you do. Trust me on this."

"That sounds really stupid, but it also makes sense," Violet smiled. "Thanks, Miguel."

"No problem," Miguel nodded. "Wait! Before you go, is that why you were so out of it at practice today?"

Violet gave a sheepish look.

"Yeah."

"Are you serious?! Hawk kept asking me if I thought something was wrong with you! It was getting annoying, to be honest."

"Oh my god, wait that's so sweet," Violet gushed.

Miguel's face scrunched in disgust. "Nope. I'm not doing this. Go confess your love to a picture, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" He left the call before she could reply.

Violet unlocked her phone and went through her photos until she found one of her boyfriend. It was one she took the night before when they were cuddled up, watching The Goonies.

Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself. Violet stared at the picture and imagined it was really him.

"I love you."

The room was silent for a minute, until:

"Holy shit, I love him."