During my several-month long healing, not much happened. Let me start by going over my education first. Maka, being the #1 student in Stein's class, was assigned as my teacher. We had lessons beginning at nine in the morning (Maka had a strict 'no-kissing' policy. At least, until my work was done.) As for my health, I had physical therapy in the afternoons. I thought that I'd be up and running as soon as the poison passed through my system. I was terribly wrong. Mira Nygus focused on getting me out of the wheelchair and onto crutches, then to using a cane, and, finally, walking. It took a long, long time, but I'd usually set goals like 'my Irish-ass is going to be on crutches by Christmas' and push myself as hard as I could to reach those goals.
I have to admit, Ma took it relatively well when she came to visit and saw me on crutches, grinning ear-to-ear with pride.
I took to reading manga during my spare time (I couldn't go to school, as there was no ramp; only those giant stairs.) Soul took good care of Kylie, though, and when she ran for track, he was there when I couldn't be. When Kylie joined track, I threw on my best 'that's great!' face, but actually felt immensely depressed. Why? Track was a sport mainly using your legs. And the more she was able to walk, the more I felt distanced from her. Add that to the fact that Kylie was rarely in the house that I had difficulty leaving (due to the shoddy ramp we'd made on short-notice), so I didn't see her much anymore.
But now, it was a new month, and I was able to walk normally, so I had to go back to school. I stood in front of the stairs, and I took a deep breath. I'd fallen and broken part of my arm when I was on crutches and thought I'd be able to get up them, and got a small scar on my elbow from where the bone slightly ripped through.
"Hey Riley." Maka smiled, kissing me on the cheek. "Do you think you can manage the stairs?"
"Yeah." I said. "If not, I get a cool new scar. Win-win, right?" I chuckled nervously, and took my first few steps. Today was going to be a loooong day. Ah well. I had my steamin' hot girlfriend Maka, my platonic friendship with Crona, and my little sister Kylie. 'Course, I couldn't look Stein in the eye again. I shivered.
"Are you okay?" Maka asked worriedly.
"Nah, I'm fine." I said.
"You should've stayed home, Riley. You've only been on your feet for a few days."
"It's been five days. And besides, I'm fine." I gave Maka a hug, ignoring the cat-calls of other students. I felt Maka hug me back, and put her head on my chest, probably to listen to my heart-beat. "Don't worry so much, Maka. I'm great as long as you're around."
"That's a bit corny."
I shrugged, smiling. "I can't help it."
K
I saw Riley hugging Maka, and decided to wait until they stopped hugging before walking up to them. Soul was standing beside me, his left hand in his pocket and his right hand holding mine. There was a lot of talk when Soul and I began dating, because every girl wanted to go out with Soul, and I could completely understand. 'Course, he was mine now :)
"Do you ever wonder if this'll get awkward?" Soul asked.
"What will?" I asked, hugging him. He wrapped his arm around me, other still in his pocket.
"Us dating. I mean, my Meister going out with your Meister and big brother." Soul said.
"I don't care if it gets awkward, I'd stay with you." I said.
Soul smiled his famed half-smile. "I would too, Kylie. It isn't cool to run out on someone when the going gets tough."
I kissed Soul on the cheek, and looked to see if Riley and Maka were still hugging. When I saw that they were walking up the stairs, Maka holding Riley's hand, I began walked towards them and said "Hey Riley!"
Riley turned, and smiled. "Hey Kylie."
"I didn't know you were leaving home early." I said.
"I decided to take a walk." Riley said.
"Where?"
"The track."
"Was it a run or a walk?"
"Err...a run."
"You ran? After being unable to walk for eight months?" Kylie asked.
"It seemed shorter than eight months." Riley said. His sense of time, obviously, had not improved. "What've you been doing?"
"You saw me every day." I said.
"Not for long. I couldn't cook dinner, and that ramp freaked me out. Whenever it creaked I'd go faster, afraid it'd fall apart." Riley said.
"What happened to that ramp, anyways? I woke up and it was gone."
"I burned it."
"What?" Maka asked.
"I dismantled it, then burned it." Riley admitted.
"How did you manage to run, dismantle a ramp, and burn it before school? Not to mention destroying that ramp without waking me up." I said.
"You're a heavy sleeper." Riley shrugged.
"Riley, why did you do all of that stuff?" Maka asked, obviously worried for Riley. She'd been with him every step of the way, even when I wasn't there.
"I needed to test if I could walk right." Riley said.
"Why do you seem so nervous about walking up these stairs, though?"
"I had some freaky nightmare last night. I mean, worse than a normal nightmare. It woke me up at five in the morning, so I was just wracking my brain for something to do. And, y'know, destroying that freakin' ramp was first on my list." Riley said. Maka put her hand on his shoulder.
R
"What was the dream?" Kylie asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it." I said. I only remembered small bits of it: Eruka, Medusa, some hellish version of the DWMA, and Maka attacking me. That last part was the worst part in my mind. "Let's go to class." I said, smiling. Stein'd probably make me fight someone, to see if I recovered, and I really wanted to fight using Kylie again.
A/N: As you can see, I used a smiley face for the first time in one of my fanfics. So, for that small window, I'm revoking the 'correct spelling and grammar' rule.
-MN1