this is kind of written completely for fun. heh. don't know where i'm going with this yet.

When Fred meets Violet Parr for the first time, she's not what he's expecting at all.

His dad tells him that the Parrs are an old family friend who's staying for the summer, because apparently his old friend Bob Parr has some sort of work conference here in San Fransokyo and Stan's offered him a place to stay. For some reason, Heathcliff is oddly excited about having the Parrs over.

Whatever. As far as Fred knows, they're probably one of his dad's super-rich friends. He hopes they're not too stuck-up like some of the other families, though.

But when the Parrs arrive, Fred has to do a double-take.

Whatever he's expecting, it's definitely not this completely ordinary, normal family standing in front of him.

"Stan!" Bob Parr all but yells, and he grips Fred's old man in a bone-crunching hug that Stan just laughs and wriggles out of expertly, like he's used to it.

"It's good to see you too, Bob," he says, and he turns to the tall, brown-haired woman: "And you, Helen. Lovely as usual."

"I see your charm hasn't faded a bit," Helen says, and she smiles.

"Course it hasn't," says Stan. "Now, my wife's still enjoying the family island, but this is my son Fred." He motions for Fred, who moves up and grins goofily around at them.

Bob Parr looks like a big, friendly guy, and Fred likes him immediately. Helen Parr looks pretty friendly too, with a warm smile, and next to her is a round-faced toddler. Behind the toddler is a short blond boy who's maybe a few years younger than Tadashi's brother Hiro, and next to him –

Fred thinks he might just forget to breathe.

She's pretty. Like, kind of unconventionally pretty, but definitely pretty. She's got long dark hair held back with a hairband, and she's got large, round eyes in a narrow pale face, and she's dressed simply in jeans and a sweatshirt.

His mind's made up. He has to know this girl.

She tells him her name's Violet. He tells her it's a pretty name. She raises her eyebrows in surprise.

"It is kind of, like, a pretty name," he tells her.

Violet just smiles, shakes her head. "You don't get around with girls much, do you?"

Fred grins at her. "Guilty as charged," he says, and holds up his hands. "Which, by the way, I really don't understand, you know. How can anyone, like, not want to date this fine specimen of a human being standing before you now?"

She laughs, then, and he thinks it's a wonderful sound. Even better than listening to his friends chatter, even better than the shrieking and the roaring in some of his favourite movies, even better than listening to his friends talk a load of science junk he doesn't understand at all.

And then suddenly, a horrible thought comes into his head: "You don't have a boyfriend, do you?"

Violet looks over at him, amused. "I used to. We broke up a few months ago."

"Oh." Fred pauses, and then offers: "Sorry?"

"For what?" she asks. "You didn't know him. Besides, it was a mutual thing. Spending two and a half years together is no joke."

Violet's face softens, just slightly, as she thinks of Tony Rydinger. She'd definitely never expected their relationship to last for so long, a relationship that began when she was just fourteen. But they'd gotten along well, they'd cared for each other. They still do. It's just that they care for each other as friends, now, and that's about it.

She doesn't really mind. Tony's a good friend.

"That's a long-term relationship," Fred says.

Violet just shrugs. What's she supposed to say, to this strange guy in the baggy clothes and the shaggy hair? He's Mr Lee's only son, she knows, and she guesses he's pretty nice, but she really doesn't want college-age guys making a move on her. Even if he's failing at it, and badly.

(She thinks it's kind of cute, though, in a weird way.)

"Hey, you want a tour around San Fransokyo?" he asks her, suddenly. "Or are you, like, hungry? Because there's this café my friends' aunt owns. It's totally cool. And they've got really good donuts."

Violet can't help but smile. "Okay, sure."

His face lights up. "Really?"

She can't help it – she laughs again. "Yes, really."

It's just the two of them, because Fred has introduced Dash to his huge video game system and Helen says she'll take care of Jack-Jack. Violet doesn't miss the wink her mum sends her as Fred waits for her to walk out the door, before following her.

She has to scoff. Helen's been trying to find her another boyfriend since she broke up with Tony. It's not like Violet needs a guy in her life. That's total bullshit. She's perfectly happy single. And while Fred is undoubtedly nice, he's not really her type.

He brings her to a place called the Lucky Cat Café, where he heads straight for a huge group of people sitting at the table.

Violet, of course, has already memorised the route to the café and has absorbed the city – part of what she's trained herself to do. She takes in the counters, the brown-haired woman behind them, the tables and the customers and the carefully-displayed pastries, and she looks for the best hiding places, the best look-out, the best way of escape.

She does this quickly, efficiently. And then she turns to the group of people that Fred's headed over to.

There's a large African-American guy who's smiling easily. There's a tall, blond, skinny girl with bright pink spectacles. There's a short Asian girl with a purple streak in her hair who's snapping her bubblegum. And then there's a kid, maybe a few years older than Dash, who looks so wonderfully at ease with this group of college kids.

Violet blinks.

"Violet!" Fred calls, and she makes her way over, finding a smile. He turns to his friends: "Guys, this is Violet. She's, like, my dad's friend's daughter. Staying for the summer. Violet, this is Wasabi, Honey Lemon, GoGo and Hiro."

"Interesting names," Violet says, and she smiles at them. "It's great to meet you guys."

"It's amazing to meet you!" Honey Lemon gushes, and Violet has to hold back a wince. Honey Lemon reminds her of a couple of overly-preppy girls back at school. Not that she dislikes those kind of girls, exactly; she's just never gotten along with them particularly well.

"I've got some advice for you," Wasabi tells her. "First of all, don't go too near Fred. He hasn't done laundry in months."

"Hey!" Fred complains. "I'm, like, totally wearing a new set now, man."

"You? A new set of clothes?" GoGo raises an eyebrows. "Is the world ending yet?"

Hiro laughs. "Did you do it for her?" he asks Fred, and gestures at Violet. It's instantaneous; his face goes red immediately.

"No," Fred says. But Violet can tell he's lying, and she doesn't know whether she wants to slap her forehead or blush furiously.

"So, Violet," Wasabi asks her, "how old are you, anyway?"

"Turning seventeen," she tells him. "Going for my last year in high school."

"Cool!" Honey Lemon says. "Have you thought about what college you want to go yet? Have you considered the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology? Because it's amazing! We can totally show you around!"

Violet grimaces: "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not that interested in stuff like that."

GoGo snaps her bubblegum again, and Violet thinks she's about to open her mouth and say something, when someone stumbles across to their table: "Oh, man, sorry to keep you guys waiting!"

Violet turns, then, and she sees a tall boy who looks vaguely like Hiro, with a baseball cap pulled over his head.

Her heart flips over inside. Just a little. Because damn this boy is cute.

"It's about time," Hiro grumbles.

The guy just chuckles sheepishly; and then his eyes rest on her, and he smiles widely. "Hey."

She finds her voice. "Hi."

"Oh, this is, like, Violet, my dad's friend's daughter," Fred says to him. "Violet, this is Tadashi Hamada. He's Hiro's older brother."

"So, you're stuck with this guy, here?" Tadashi asks her, his eyes bright, his grin still there. "I think I you have my pity."

"Well, pity's always greatly appreciated, of course," Violet says, and she smiles back at him.

Okay, maybe she'll take back what she said about not wanting college-age guys hitting on her. Because this guy doesn't seem so bad.

comments?

(this is on my delete-with-no-warning list, by the way, since it's written on the spur of the moment haha)