It's not surprising at all that the first place on campus Violet went when she got the chance was the library. There was going to be a some catching up to do, even though she'd managed to keep mostly on top of her work during her brief hospital stay. Having had enough of silence for once, however, she was sitting on the steps outside the library - she might as well enjoy the last few nice days before the cold started to bite.

She turned the page of the book in her lap. A chance breeze caught her scarf and tried to make away with it, but she snatched it back in time and wound it snugly around her neck, bringing her shoulders up and nudging it up to her chin. According to Violet, she wasn't actually cold until her lips started to turn blue.

So she'll be fine for another five minutes or so.

Keye was meandering about the campus purposelessly, shivering a bit (being a sensible person, he wears long sleeves in summer and short in autumn. Go figure.).
He spotted Violet and grinned broadly, trotting over to take a seat next to her.
"Hey. Haven't seen you around in a bit."
Forgive his tactlessness, he simply doesn't know.

"Hm?" She raised her head quickly, startled, but she smiled brightly at Keye when she recognized him.
"Oh, hi! ... Yyyeah, I've been, - busy, I guess you could say." She shrugged a shoulder, and set her book aside, not bothering to bookmark her page. "What've you been up to?"
She was using a falsely cheery tone, but it was barely apparent. She was glad to see him, after all.

"Oh, you know. Not too much. Class and stuff. When I didn't see you around, I thought maybe you were still mad at me. I'm glad that's not it."
He wrapped his arms around his knees, shuffling his feet, fidgety as usual.
"What've you been up to? I mean. Um. Besides busy."

"Um..."
Might as well say it sooner rather than later.
"Well... " she went on, in a pleasant, conversational tone, "I got shot. That was something of a - an experience."

His jaw dropped.
"Ah--I--oh my god. Wh...I mean, how did th...what happened?"
He was utterly flabberghasted. He'd get around to being extremely pissed at whoever did it in a minute or so.

Violet's been wanting to spill this to someone. She'd rather like a second opinion.
"Well, see... You remember that - that goddess?" She twined her fingers together in knots. "She showed up at Dave's one night when I was over,... made us play a game... she put one bullet in a gun, and made us take turns poitning the thing at each other and pulling the trigger." Violet unknotted her fingers, and mimed a shot with her hands.
"Long story short, I lost the game."

There was much stunned blinking.
"That sounds like Russian Roulette, I've played that...but that's backwards, you point the gun at your own head..."
He stared blankly at Violet for a moment, then added in an eerily calm, cheerful tone,
"I am going to kill that fucktard."

"No. You're not." Violet frowned. "... He didn't do it on purpose,... I could just as easily have shot him."
She's purposely neglecting to mention that she knows that Dave had made a deal with the goddess and hadn't told her until too late. That would just make Keye angrier, and she'd prefer that didn't happen.

"But you didn't shoot him," Keye replied stubbornly, "he shot you."
Logic? What logic?
"...I won't kill him. I won't kill him very much, anyway."

"But he didn't do it on purpose!" Violet protested again, "And he'd asked her and she'd said she'd leave me alone if--"
Ahhh, shit.
...
Changing subjects now!
"...Anyway. Could you have done any different, in his place?"

"He. Asked. Her."
Uh-oh.
"On second thought, I think I will kill him."

"No. No killing."
Violet sounds more like she's scolding a naughty puppy for chewing on furniture than she sounds like she's telling Keye not to murder someone. Not that she actually thinks he would kill Dave, though she expects he would beat him up pretty badly.

"Fine."
He wasn't mad at Violet, just...mad in general.
Besides, he'd already thought of a loophole.
Nothing was stopping him from scaring Dave half to death, after all.
Now that he had that figured out, back to Violet.
"...sheesh. Are you okay?"

"Wh- oh, yeah. Doesn't even hurt anymore," Violet shrugged, relieved that he (seemed to have) dropped the idea so easily. She tapped lightly at the spot where the bullet had gone in - it was going to leave a nasty scar. "Went right through, didn't hit anything important. I'm fine."

Hesitantly, his hand followed hers, brushing lightly against her shoulder.
"My god. That...Violet, that's scary." he put his hand back across his own knees. "I...god. Please be careful. Try not to let that happen again."

"It's not like I had a choice, you know."
And now surfaces the part of her that feels she ought to still be angry with Dave. One, he lied (or didn't tell her the whole story, which amounts to the same thing). Two, he shot her (which she knows wasn't his fault). Three - ..well, three was that he was just... stupid.
She mostly sure that it's really alright, but something in all of this just doesn't add up for her.

He flinched.
"I know. Sorry. I just meant...sorry. It just...scares me, is all."

"Yes, well..." Violet shook her head, sighing. "...It scared me too."
She cast a sidelong glance at Keye, then edged over and (gasp!) leaned on him, letting her head tip onto his shoulder.
"...I know he'd never have done it on purpose," she said, frustrated, "It's just,... something doesn't feel right."

"It could be that whole bullet wound thing." he grinned wryly, putting his arm loosely over her shoulders.
(She's a friend, remember, not a girl.)
"If there's anything I can do, I'd...um. Be glad to."

"Heh... I know you would. Thanks," she gave her head a little shake.
And for once? She's going to say what she actually thinks. "I know he's not all good,... or all bad,.. but you're making me wonder if this is worse than I've made it out to be..."

"Because, y'know, my reactions are usually real normal." he said, half-teasingly. "I just...it really pisses me off that...well. I'm sure he meant well. But. We did warn him not to, didn't we? And he did anyway, and that almost got you killed, and that gets me real pissed."

She grinned faintly. "Yeah, I know. I should probably have been more angry than I was when he told me, but I didn't have the energy. And I know he'd never have done it if he had a choice, just, I keep wondering if there was another way this could have come out." She frowned. "...I'll break up with him if you think I should."
Violet really takes her friend's opinions to heart, doesn't she.

He winced, biting his lip. That, he didn't feel comfortable with.
"Listen, uh...that's not my decision to make."

"No..., I know it's not." Violet smirked. "I just wish it was. It'd make it so much easier."
Because it'd be nice, sometimes, to have someone make her decisions for her.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." He stared thoughtfully into the middle distance for a minute.
"...listen, it sounds stupid, but I'm not the sharpest tack ever...so it's always helped me to actually write out a list of pros and cons. Things look a little clearer on paper."

"Yeah,... yeah, I'll do that," Violet nodded, sitting up - which meant, not leaning on him anymore. "It might help me figure all this out. Thanks."

"No problem. I--you have my number, right? You can call me anytime. And make sure that you do, if things start to make you really uncomfortable or get scary or anything; I'll take care of it."

"You-..." she frowned slightly."You know, I don't,.. I don't think I do have your number. Or I forgot it. D'you know if you're listed in the telepone directory...?"

"Dunno...do they list mobile phones? Here, do you have any paper on you? I'll write it down. I can't believe I've never given you my number."
Shaking his head, he began to rummage in his pockets for a pen.

"I don't know, I never checked," she shrugged, coming up with a crumpled but usable scrap of paper. "Here."

He bent over, flattening the paper out on the concrete, and began slowly and very carefully to write, his brow furrowed with concentration.
He sat straight again, holding the paper out to her.
"There."

"Thanks," she said, taking the paper and staring at it a moment to commit it to memory in case she lost the paper before she could put it down in her (rarely used) address book. She tucked the scrap into her pocket and tossed him a quick smile. "So, now,if I get shot again - which I really hope never happens - I can call you."