When Violet Meets Black

"It's not guaranteed that this will work but I have high hopes."

I looked at Mrs. Dee and nodded. Like what she did on my Earth, there was a five feet metal ring across her and she was still solving the equation she needed to achieve the mass and speed that it needs to be successful.

"I found a substitute for a heavy-duty hand wavium that can directly manipulate spacetime and constructed the ring for better outcome."

Mrs. Dee has been working hard to make the portal work and I give her that. I, at least, have to support her even if I wasn't that much of any help. Her lab wasn't that big but the space was enough for her to work on.

"It should work by the time I charge this with an accelerator. We'll find out tomorrow."

After leaving Mrs. Dee's lab, Mark told me to meet him at a local park. I wasn't prepared when he told me that we were going somewhere else and I was more surprised when he brought me to a beach. He grabbed my hand as we both walked through the wooden bridge that leads to a cute hut in the middle of the ocean.

I looked away and saw the beautiful blue ocean and the mountain across the shore line. It was a beautiful day to move on from a tragic event that happened to my other self. "It's so beautiful here." The feeling I got was so light and it was relaxing. I have never felt so relieved from everything that happened to me recently.

"I'd be spoiling the surprise if I told you to meet me here." I turned to him and smiled when his phone suddenly rang. "Hello? Black? I am helping Violet. Sab Resort. Okay then. See you." He turns back to me and I give him a questioning stare. "Ally and George. They told me to meet and talk about finding the real Black."

We stayed in the cottage for a few minutes talking and enjoying each other's company when a familiar voice spoke. "So this is not dating?" I turned around and saw Ally handing me a cup of a drink I wasn't familiar with but often saw it drank by them. They both send us suspicious glares but I shake my head convincing them that they just misunderstand. "So any signs of Black?"

Mark shrugs.

The four of us ended up talking about different things because of George. He started talking about his life and how he hides his real self from his family which I understand because lying just makes things worse. "What about you Mark? You and Black were a thing before right?" Ally asked.

"What about it?" He replied.

"What do you think of Violet?"

He turns to me and stares. My heart raced and I didn't know what to expect. "I think," he paused. "She's okay." He wheezed.

Ally scoffed in disagreement like it wasn't what she wanted to hear. "Okay, my ass. Don't give me that answer Mark. Don't tell me the way you look at Violet is not something. That's exactly how you looked at her before she was Black."

Mark looks down and shakes his head. "I know that Ally."

"So?" George leans closer as they continue interrogating him. "Just admit it. You like Violet."

"Guys, stop—"

"I do like Violet because she's the Black I loved," Mark looks at me and I was frozen, cheeks heating up from shame. After the staring game, the teasing starts and I couldn't look at Mark in the eyes ever again.

LAST family dinner with my family on this Earth, and I better make it count. Mother still doesn't look okay after losing father. Mint looked like she was doing a great job trying to hide the pain we were both still feeling.

When dinner was done, I sat with mother in the couch. I hug her from the side and rested my cheeks over her arms. "Please don't give up on me. No matter how hard it may be, please don't ever give up on me."

"Of course not, sweetie. Why even would I give up on any of my children? They're the only ones I have now." Her fingers ran all over my hair.

I shake my head and smiled. "I'm gonna miss you so much, mom."

"Sweetie..."

I pulled away from her and smiled before I ran up to Mint's room. She looks at me confused as I approached her. She was busy with her laptop but she stops and diverts her attention to me when I sat by her bed. "Working on a new song?"

She nods. "I feel really emotional so it's fair to write a song about losing a father."

I smiled. "You're really talented, Mint. One day, you will be able to show your talent to a massive crowd and I'm gonna be so proud of you. You and I, we need to take care of mother now that dad's gone and Blue's far away from us, okay? Let's not make things harder for her already."

She frowns at me. "Okay? Drama much, Black?" She leans back to her chair.

I chuckled. "I'm just saying in case you forget." And in case, Black comes back and she's naughty and bratty. Mint can at least take care of mother when she can't do it which I know she really won't.

"It's working. IT'S WORKING!"

I lit up in and saw blue light, the cosmic strings spinning in a speed of light. I turned to Mrs. Dee in glee. "You made it. You really are amazing Ms. Soliven."

I turned to my friends and they all looked so sad. "Do you really have to go?" Ally asked so I hold both of her hands. "What if Black doesn't come back? What if she comes back and we won't like her now as much as we liked you who is her from a different universe?"

I chuckled. "You all were fine before I got here."

"But it's different now."

"We're gonna miss you." George pouts as the three of us hug each other. I never realized how attached I got with the people I met here. Saying good bye has always been the hardest thing to do and now I was about to leave something that grew close to my heart.

"Will you congratulate myself when you get there?" Mrs. Dee said and I chuckled nodding my head.

"Now, leave before I shoot you in the head."

I froze from my position and slowly turned around only to see myself in a different and drastic hair color in bright pink. She points a gun at my direction. At that instant, Mark pulls me to his back and faces Black instead. Now that I was actually looking at myself from a different universe, I have never felt so threatened.

"Black, put the gun down."

She just smirks. "Seriously, Mark? You replaced me over someone like her? How cheap of you. And did you honestly think that a person who looks like me would give you the same feeling I gave you? How low of you?"

The tight grip Mark had on my hand was the most comforting feeling I've ever felt in my life but I push him aside and faced my Earth B self. "I am leaving, Black. But let me tell you one thing," I tried to smile at her despite, my knees shaking. "You have the best people around you."

"Now leave and cut the crap."

I turned around and still see the blue light from the ring that Mrs. Dee built for me again. I was about to step in when Mark stopped me. I looked at him and his eyes were sad – or at least that's what I wanted him to feel. He wasn't saying anything. He was just looking at me. "I'm really happy I got to talk to a Mark without feeling uncomfortable." I said holding his hand that stopped me from going through. "I'll cherish my times here for the rest of my life. But this time, I need to go home – to my real family."

"You don't have to go,"

"But I have to and Black's already back, everything will be back to normal again." I smiled weakly. "It's like she was never gone, right?"

He shakes his head. "You can always come back here if it doesn't feel like home there. You will always have another place to go to. Okay?"

I nodded and smiled. I was about to go but he stopped me again.

"And I know you said I rejected you in your Earth but," he stops and looks at me. "Let me like you in your Earth, Violet. If liking you would stop you from going back..." He looked down sighing. "I know you care about your real family despite everything you've been through so I doubt you'd stay for me."

Mark...

"If I like you here, I'm sure I'll like you there too. Please..." He glanced back up to me. His eyes staring intently. "If I can't have you here, I can at least have you back there."

I smiled at him. "I'll try."

"Don't try. Do it. I'll wait for you to come back here. I'll wait for the end to be us."

Black babbles inaudible noises in the background. "Just get the fuck out now, yeah? You identity thief. I'll kill you if you don't leave right now. Good bye, Violet. See you never."

The moment I stepped inside the portal, a loud gun shot fired so I turned and saw Mrs. Dee already down the floor bleeding – Black smirking as she points her gun to Mark as my sight begin to blur, and the voices were almost gone. "NO!"