𓏲 ˖ ִ    𝓓ON'T BLAME ME  ⊹ ݁
⟡   a violet love story  ៸៸
꒰        ❛   protective   ❜       ꒱

          ▌MAEVE TRAILED BEHIND her four bestfriends. the five of them washed over with guilt and anger as they kept their heads low, walking through the bar and down to the basement.

her boots echoed along the narrow concrete hallway that led to the basement. the murmur of voices grew clearer with every step, drawing her closer to the wooden door.

her small hand gripped the cold metal handle, the other pressing against the thick oak as she slowly held it from closing behind the group. violet's eyes immediately found maeves, her gaze softening for a moment before quickly returning to the three figures before her as maeve came down the stairs.

"vander learns none of this," violet said sharply, her tone brokering no argument. she flicked her gaze between them, making sure they understood the gravity of her words.

mylo casually propped his feet up on the small table in front of them, unfazed. "no worries there. powder took care of the evidence," mylo replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm and irritation.

maeve sat on the arm of the couch, in between the pink haired girl, the small, blue haired sister, her legs open slightly, one hand resting comfortingly on powders back while her other hung over her knee, her head towards mylo as she shot him a pointed look.

"i tried, okay? you don't get it!" powder flung her hands into the air, her frustration evident. "you're older, you're bigger... it— it isn't fair." she stammered, pulling her knees tightly to her chest as she finished defending herself.

"so, stick with us. take a punch or two." mylo leaned forward, his tone gruff, his hand being thrown towards the kid, but before he could continue, maeve mirrored his movement, leaning forward, her eyes low and her voice sharp. "she's a kid. cut her some slack, yeah? weren't you the one getting your ass beat?"

mylo rolled his eyes out of spite, sinking back into his seat as he sat under her gaze, clearly feared by her sudden defensive movement.

violet watched maeve with a soft look, a faint sigh of relief escaping her lips before her body tensed again at the sound of the basement door creaking open once more. vander stood tall as he looked over the 5 kids, noticing them suddenly becoming quiet as he entered the room. 

violet's hand rested against her head, her gaze pulling away from the gruff man to focus on the small movements maeve made with her hands instead. powder tucked herself tighter into her knees, her small frame trembling, while maeve continued to draw gentle circles on her back, offering what little comfort she could.

"everyone alright?" vander's voice broke the silence as he descended the small wooden steps, each footfall heavy and deliberate.

"never better," Mylo muttered, his tone thick with sarcasm and anger.

"good." Vander exhaled, pausing as if to measure his next words. "i don't suppose you can explain why I'm hearin' about an explosion... and a foot chase topside?"

"five children fleeing the scene," vander added on, circling behind the couch where powder had curled up.

vander's gaze flicked to the group, stopping himself in between maeve and violet. "absolutely no idea what you're on about" maeve's voice had a kick to it, sarcasm and false confusion dripping like honey.

"what the hell were you thinking?" vander asked defensively, awaiting an answer from one of the five kids.

"that we can handle a real job." violet answered, her eyes ripping away from the floor as she now looked up at the father figure.

"a real job?" vander repeated, disbelief flooding his tone.

"we got our own tip, planned a route, nobody even saw us," violet pressed, her words growing more heated. "you blew up a building," vander shot back, throwing his hand in the air.

"that wasn't—" Violet began, but he cut her off.

maeve shifted uneasily, her leg bouncing faster as tension built. she mindlessly grazed her finger over the sharp pain she suddenly felt on her bottom lip, then froze when she felt the blood.

"and maeve," vander's voice pulled her attention back to him, "even you could've stopped it. both you and vi need to take care of these kids." he let out a small, weary sigh, rubbing his forehead.

"where'd you even get this tip?" he asked, looking back down to violet.

powder spoke up from behind her knees, her voice small. "we just... heard it at benzo's shop."

maeve's gaze snapped to powder, noticing the girl's fear more than ever. she reached out, brushing a hand over her blue hair in a gentle attempt at reassurance.

"from who?" vander's voice was firm.

"little man..." Powder looked up briefly, eyes filled with uncertainty.

vander sighed deeply, frustration clear in the sound. violet's fist clenched as she pushed herself up from the love seat, her movement quick and purposeful.

"i took us there. if you want to be mad, be mad at me," she said, stepping closer to Vander, stopping just in front of maeves leg.

"plus, you're the one who always says we have to earn our place in this world," maeve added, her voice rising in defense as she turned her gaze upward to meet Vander's.

"i also told you, time and time again, the northside's off-limits," vander countered, stepping forward.

"oh, come on, vander! you did the same damn things when you were younger. why are you being so dramatic?" maeve stood her ground, facing him now, frustration boiling in her chest.

"we stay out of piltover's business," bander snapped, leaning forward between violet and maeve.

"why? they've got plenty, while we're down here scraping together, coins," violet shot back, disbelief lacing her words.

"when did you get so comfortable living in someone else's shadow?" maeve's eyes flicked to violet as she added on, the words hanging heavy between them.

the others looked up, shocked by the sudden shift in the conversation. mylo, claggor, and powder exchanged glances, waiting for vander's reaction.

"everyone out," vander commanded, his voice cutting through the tension like a knife.

the others stood first— mylo, then claggor, and finally powder— each giving maeve a look before leaving. the room fell silent, the space thick with the unspoken.

"sit down," vander ordered, his voice hard.

"nah," maeve replied flatly, her defiance clear.

"i'm fine." violet shook her head, but her stance softened. "sit. down." vander's voice was gruff and stern now.

the two of them scoffed slightly, violet ultimately giving in and sitting down as maeve just stood at the arm of the chair. vander walked over, sitting himself down on the wooden coffee table infront of vi, a rag in his hand.

"those kids look up to you two," his voice gruff as he spoke, violet leaned back in her chair, her face twisting with irritation.  "yeah, i know," she replied, letting out a heavy sigh, her hand resting on her cheek.

"you know, but you don't really know." vander rolled his eyes before looking back at the teenagers infront of him. maeve scoffed, glancing over at the wall before walking off. vander shot her a look of confusion, then turning back to violet.

the sound of maeve's heavy boots echoed through the room as she walked away, gripping a rag tightly in her hands that she picked off the hook.

"when people look up to you, you don't get to be selfish," vander said, his tone hard. "i'm not—" violet began, but was immediately cut off.

"you say run, they run," vander continued, giving examples. "if she says swim, they dive in." he nodded toward the girl next to them, now dipping the rag she held in the water.

"you say light a fire, they show up with oil," he added, gesturing to the door, where the younger kids were clearly eavesdropping.

"but whatever happens, it's on you. and it's on mae."

violet let out a quiet sigh, her gaze falling to the ground, unwilling to meet vander's eyes.

meanwhile, maeve stood in front of a cracked mirror, its surface littered with stickers from powder's artistic touch. her face close to the glass, bent over the sink infront of her. she winced as she tugged the towel over the cut.

her mind spacing out as she stared into the mirror, her face slowly becoming more and more empty and distorted.

this wasn't something that was unusual. she didn't recognise herself, she never did after the incident years ago. vander and violets conversation drowned out as maeve continued trying to find herself in her reflection.

"i'll take care of it," the sound of vanders loud footsteps getting closer towards her caused her to snap out of it.

"no more, maeve. it doesn't solve your problems." he gently lifted her hand by the wrist, revealing the cut and bruised knuckles, blood barely and slowly dripping down.

he released her hand and stood there, his gaze steady. "i had to defend them somehow, vander, okay?. i stopped it, i made sure everyone was okay. they were getting their asses beat," she snapped, anger rising in her chest as she stared up at the man, her eyebrows furrowed.

"and i'm proud of you, but no. more. got it?" vander's voice was firm, but calm, looking down at the brunette girl. "fine," maeve muttered, barely holding back her frustration.

vander nodded, turning and walking away. he gathered some items, dropping them into a sack before heading up the stairs, leaving the two of them alone.

"shit," maeve muttered under her breath, clenching her knuckles. she walked over to the coffee table and grabbed the green glass bottle that held the mysterious liquid that could, what vander claims, 'heal any and all injuries'.

violet caught her wrist before she could do anything with it. "y'know that's gonna get infected, right?" she said, nodding toward maeve's lip. maeve shrugged, clearly still fuming.

violet snatched the rag from maeve's hand, pulling her down onto the table in front of her with surprising strength, her grip tight on maeve's wrist.

maeve did what she was being moved to do, small butterflies broke out as she watched violet pour the liquid onto the rag.

the tension in the room was thick. violet moved closer, pressing the rag soaked in the liquid against maeve's lip. 

maeve raised her leg onto the table, bracing herself with her shin, but pulled back slightly as violet began to treat the cut. sharp, painful sensations pulsing through her mouth.

through the sting, maeve's eyes never left violet's face, watching the focused look on the pink haired girl as she worked. violet's concentrated expression only made maeve more aware of the connection between them.

just then, mylo burst through the door, rushing down the stairs with a exhale and then slumping onto the couch. maeve and violet exchanged eye contact before the brunette stood up, murmuring a soft "thanks."

"she's a problem," mylo's voice interrupted the silence, causing maeve to freeze in her tracks. "who?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"powder. do you remember what was in that bag?" he tossed a ball against the wall, catching it as it bounced back.

"mylo, i'm really not in the mood for this—"

"the biggest payout we've ever seen, and she just lost it," mylo cut violet off, continuing his endless game with the ball.

"she made a mistake," violet said, rubbing her temple with an immense amount of irritation.

"name one time she hasn't," mylo scoffed, rolling his eyes, annoyance dripping from his tone. the bounce of the ball was causing maeve to go insane.

"grow up, mylo," maeve snapped, catching the ball as it bounced off the wall and turning to face him. her face screwed with annoyance.

"oh, come on, maeve! she's always messing things up. she's constantly jinxing us, making everything harder," he said, as if his excuse solved everything.

maeve threw the ball back at him with force, "she's young. she doesn't know what the hell she's doing, but she will. cutting her out of everything won't help her get any better at what we do. you don't get that, do you?" she scowled, pointing at the door.

mylo groaned, irritated. "don't bullshit me. we were twice the person at half her age." he didn't seem to be listening to a word she said, just continuing with his ball game.

maeve looked down at him with disbelief, a scoff left her mouth as she sat herself down on the couch opposite to him.

violet let out a sigh. "you know what, mylo? you're right. there's a bunch of things powder can't do." maeve's face shifted, shock and confusion replacing her anger.

"you don't have to tell me twice," mylo agreed, smirking, which only made maeve's frustration grow.

powder wasn't just some kid; she was maeve's little sister. they'd grown up together, had each other's backs through everything. maeve would protect her, no matter what.

powder looked up to her, as much as she loved violet, sometimes powder would appreciate maeve more. maeve would constantly take time out of her day to make sure powder had someone to hang out with, or make new art projects with.

thats what powder loved about maeve, that she would always be there for her no matter what the situation was.

"like, complain about everything," violet started, glancing at maeve. maeve's eyes widened, realizing where this was going.

"and brag nonstop," violet added, standing up from her seat, catching the ball with her hand as mylo threw it, the same way maeve did just minutes ago.

"okay, okay, i see where this is going," mylo muttered, starting to back up into the couch.

"pick fights with the group when we need to focus." violet stepped forward, her voice rising. "and tell strangers on the street that we got a 'nice haul'?"

"i— i didn't mean to—" mylo stammered, leaning back into the couch some more as if trying to escape violet's impending wrath.

"powder's my problem. mae's problem. got it?" violet pointed at maeve, then at mylo, making it clear where her loyalty lay.

"your problem is never knowing when to shut up. but I'll help you with that. you ready?" violet's tone was sharp, her face a picture of seriousness as she pointed to her own scowling face.

"you see this look?, this always means it's time to shut up." she asked, poking her finger into mylo's chest when the words 'shut up' left her mouth.

maeve's eyes gleamed with amusement as she watched violet lay down the law, enjoying the fear spreading across mylo's face.

"but... i—" mylo started, but violet simply pointed at her face again, making him freeze.

when he tried to speak again, violet shook her head violently, continuing to point towards her face with her two hands. then, with disbelief, her expression changed, throwing her hands up in the air, leaving mylo groaning in defeat.

maeve giggled at the situation. violet scare the shit out of everyone was honestly her favourite thing to watch, her favourite way to entertain herself.

violet walked back over to her seat, looking over at maeve when they both shared a look. small smirks rising on their faces as they just looked towards mylo.

━𝓩𝑶𝑴𝑩𝑱𝑺  .  .  .
wait okay.
maeve is gonna change so much and shes gonna be such a complex character omg

✵