(violet's outfit for this chapter)
Violet followed Ramona and Lola down the stairs to the kitchen. They had a sleepover the night before which is why Violet and Lola had stayed over at the Fuller's. Violet had to admit she now counted Lola as a close friend and Lola wasn't as bad as she thought the girl was. Violet's attention was drawn to Fernando when she realized he was wearing a short pink robe that she assumed was Kimmy's.
"I don't even wanna know." She muttered. At this point she shouldn't really be surprised and she should just expect something crazy to happen at the Fuller's.
Kimmy, who wore a long black robe that Violet assumed was Fernando's, smiles at the three girls. "So how was the sleepover, girls?"
"Best sleepover ever!" Lola grinned.
"We didn't fall asleep once!" Ramona smiled widely.
"That's a lie 'cause I fell asleep by 2." Violet admits with a shrug. "It was still a blast though." She chuckled, smiling with amusement as Romana and Lola squealed with excitement. She went to sit by Ramona and Lola at the table where DJ sat at the end by Tommy.
The back door opens moments later and Jimmy walks in. "Hola, Fulleritos, Tanneritos, Violetrio, Fernandoritos." He pauses. "Now I want Doritos."
"Same." Violet confesses. She groans. "Jimmy, why did you mention Doritos?" She whined.
"Hey, uh, Jimmy, I noticed your beat up RV is still in front of our house." DJ speaks up. "Just how long are you gonna be parked here?"
"That's up to Steph. All I know is that my heart is parked here forever." Jimmy smiled at Stephanie.
"Awe." The four girls at the table awed in unison.
Stephanie chuckles, looking nervous. "No 'awes', okay? This is not happening."
"I got you a gift." Jimmy pulls out a dream catcher out of a bag. "It's my dream catcher. I don't need it anymore. All my dreams came true that day we had our first kiss." Everyone awed once again at his sweet words and gesture.
Stephanie shakes her head. "Stop with the 'awes'."
Jimmy put away the dream catcher and then hands out a box of treats to Stephanie, whispering, "Can we go out, please?"
"You know, half of me wants to say, 'no, thank you', and the other half of me also wants to say, 'no, thank you'." Stephanie replied.
Jimmy looks hopeful. "How about that third half?"
"Cute but not that smart." Violet muttered with a chuckle.
"Well, the third half wants you to get a math tutor." Stephanie responded.
Jimmy smiles. "Well, all the math I need to know is that you plus me equals happiness." Everyone awed again as he left the house.
"Oh, I say go for it." DJ encourages. "Jimmy Gibbler is so sweet and thoughtful."
"Yeah," Kimmy furrows her eyebrows, looking confused. "He's really the black sheep of the family."
Stephanie walks down stairs to her room as Max walks into the kitchen/dining room. "I have an announcement about my school project. To show that one kid can make a difference, I'm going to save our natural resources and respect our animal friends by becoming a vegetarian, starting right now." Then he notices bacon on the plate Fernando held. His eyes lit up. "Ooh, bacon." He picked up a piece and took a bite.
"Max, you do know bacon comes from pigs?" Kimmy said in confusion.
"I don't mean to embarrass you, but I believe you're thinking of ham." Max spoke.
"Kimberlina is always right." Fernando chimes in. "Bacon comes from pigs."
DJ shrugs. "I'm afraid it's true."
Max rolls his eyes, glancing at the last part of the bacon piece he had. "Well, then, I guess it's goodbye bacon. I'm sorry, old pal. It's not you, it's me." He put the piece back on the plate Fernando held and walked over to take a seat at the table.
"Good luck." Fernando tells him. He grins. "No one can resist my bacon." He turns around to walk back to the kitchen island, stopping when he noticed something. "Oh! A penny." When he bent over to grab it, everyone immediately turned around and covered their eyes since he wasn't wearing anything underneath. Kimmy rolled her eyes, walking over to Fernando and hits him, giving him a scolding look as he stood back up.
"Hey, sports fan, gotta carbo-load before practice. Coach's orders." Jackson said, walking down the stairs wearing football gear.
"Oh. Why are you dressed up like a football player?" DJ asked curiously.
"Because I tried out for the team, and guess what? I made it!" Jackson grins. "Ta-da!" He pauses before he changes his tone and fist bumps the air. "I mean, boo-ya! Yeah, hit it right there." He then went by the girls, high fiving them and went over to high five Tommy as well. "Yeah, Tommy, let's go, okay." Violet smiles, finding it sweet as Tommy high fived Jackson. Jackson then leans on the table, glancing at Lola with a smile. "So, Lola, I guess you'll be cheering for me on the old griddle iron?"
"I think the term is 'gridiron'." Lola corrected.
"Whatevs. Just as long as you're cheering for me from the balcony." Jackson smiled.
"You mean the stands?" Lola raised her eyebrows at him.
"Whatevs." Jackson shrugged again and walked away.
"Jackson." DJ calls out to him, walking over to him with a fresh mug of coffee she just finished making. "Why didn't you tell me about wanting to play football? Because you'd get all freaked out, and then pretend it's fine, and then yell at me for it."
DJ looks hurt by that and she shakes her head. "I wouldn't get all freaked out. And I am fine." Then she raises her voice. "Why wouldn't you ask me for..." She pauses as she realizes what she did. "Oh, okay, I see what I did there."
"Don't worry, mom. I'll see you after rehearsal. I mean, practice." Jackson corrected himself, putting his helmet on as he left the room.
"Okay, maybe I am being a little overprotective." DJ sighs, sitting down at the table. "I mean, what are the odds that anything bad will happen to Jackson?"
"The boy who's middle name is literally clumsy?" Violet chuckled.
"You mean the kid who twisted his ankle getting the mail?" Ramona asked.
"You mean the kid who sprained his arm making his bed?" Max deadpanned.
"I saw him trip on confetti once." Lola cut in.
"But I think if he really pushes himself and tries hard enough, he could be good at it." Violet added with a smile.
DJ looks hopeful by her words, smiling a little. "You think so?"
"I hope so." Violet muttered. She was worried about her best friend joining the football team. She knew how violent football can be and she didn't want him to get hurt. But if this is what he wants to do then she will support him no matter what.
****
Later that day, Violet found out the real reason why Jackson tried out for football. He tried out to try and impress Lola and she wasn't surprised he would do something like that. She had to admit she hated the pang of jealousy she felt when she found that out. Later that day, she and Ryker also hung out together. Lately she realized that she was losing feelings for him and that she was having feelings for Jackson. Her feelings for Jackson were starting to become more obvious than her feelings for Ryker. She wanted to tell him but she was scared. She didn't want to break his heart and she was also scared to tell him because she was afraid Ryker wouldn't want to see her anymore.
So when they met up at the park after school, Violet was nervous. She was sitting on the swings as she waited for Ryker to arrive. She smiled when he walked over to her.
"Hey, you." She said.
"Hi." He smiled back at her and he sat down on the swing beside her.
"So, um, can I talk to you about something?" She asked, taking a deep breath.
"Of course." He said, nodding his head.
"You know that you are the greatest guy ever, right?" She started, taking another deep breath.
"I feel like there's a but coming." Ryker spoke.
Violet chuckles a bit and smiles nervously. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I really am, but I'm starting to have feelings for someone else. And I feel like my feelings for you have went away and I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Vi." Ryker replies. "I have been feeling like I've been losing feelings for you too. I was just too scared to tell you so I'm glad that you took the first move with that." He jokes, laughing along with her. "So, let me guess, the person you have feelings for is Jackson?" He smirked.
Violet blushed and nodded. "How did you know?"
"Well, I've been noticing that you were talking about him a lot more lately and I also notice the way you look at him. It's obvious." Ryker responds with a small smile. "I gotta admit, I'm upset about breaking up with you 'cause you're literally so amazing, but I can tell you really like Jackson. And I'm pretty sure he likes you too. Maybe you should tell him how you feel."
"You really think so?" Violet smiled, her cheeks flushed.
"Yeah. I'll support you and cheer you on. And if Jackson is too dumb to do anything about it, give me a call." Ryker said jokingly with a grin.
Violet laughs and rolls her eyes. "Shut up."
Ryker smiles and leans forward to kiss her cheek. "I'm gonna miss you, Vi."
"I'm gonna miss you too." She told him.
"Now, c'mon, let's hang out one last time before we break up. You're paying though." He grinned, earning a playful glare from her.
"You wish." She laughed, getting up and following him out of the park.
Violet's phone rings and she looks at it, grinning when she sees a text message from Jackson.
JAX: Hey, Vi. Want to hang out tonight? Maybe we can go to the movies?
She grins, biting her lip. "I take it that was from Jackson." Ryker commented after seeing her reaction, chuckling a little.
"Yeah. He wants to hang out tonight." Violet murmured.
"So are you gonna tell him?" Ryker asked her curiously.
"I don't know yet." Violet sighs, putting her phone in her pocket and smiles at him. "Right now I'm with you so let's go get some ice cream or something."
Ryker smirks, chuckling. "You're paying, right?"
"In your dreams." She laughed, shoving him a little.
They walked out of the park together, smiling and laughing as they talked about whatever came into mind.
They were only friends now and they were perfectly okay with that.
****
Violet ended up agreeing to Jackson with going to see a movie. So she met up with him at the movie theater, smiling when she spotted him. Jackson grins when he sees her. "Hey." He greeted.
"Hi." She smiles back at him. "So, what movie are we watching?"
"Whatever you want." Jackson replied with a smile and her heart skipped a beat at that.
She smiles at him. "Let's go with a comedy."
"I like that idea." He agreed.
Violet and Jackson get popcorn and drinks together before heading inside. They picked the seats near the back. As the movie starts, Violet takes a sip of her soda, glancing over at Jackson who was eating his popcorn. She couldn't help but stare at him, smiling a little as she admired him. He glanced at her and chuckled a bit.
"What is it?" He asks.
"Nothing, it's just that you're really cute." She said without thinking. She blushed when she realized what she said and she mentally slapped herself. "I mean-"
He smiles. "You're really cute too."
"Thanks." She said, smiling at him.
They continue watching the movie, their hands occasionally touching. They didn't pull away and let their hands stay touching. Violet could feel the butterflies in her stomach, smiling a little. The same happened with Jackson when their hands touched and finally he made a bold move, slipping his fingers through hers and holding her hand. She blushed at this, biting her lip as she smiles.
They spent the rest of the movie holding hands and even after the movie, they kept holding hands as they walked out. They both had smiles on their faces as they talked on their way home. Violet was having so much fun hanging out with him and she was falling more for him. She knew she was in trouble. What she didn't know is that he was starting to fall for her too.
****
Later that night at the Fullers, it was time for Tommy's first ever haircut. Fernando claimed it was another thank you for letting the Fullers stay there even though they weren't letting him stay there, he just somehow always got in and wouldn't leave. He had explained how sometimes the baby cried during the haircut and how that's okay. But it turned out in the end everyone else but the baby cried as they all took videos of Tommy's first haircut.