Chapter 21: Heartache

The room fell silent as Riven widened his eyes. There was only pure disbelief and shock on the faces of the onlookers. Musa's friends however had completely different expressions and those being of anger. The blown looks on their faces had been replaced a long time ago. The boys backed away from Riven, knowing that they girls would kill them after they'd finished with their magenta haired friend. For a moment, everyone's attention went to the door which had just opened to reveal a fuming Stella. She hadn't walked far with Andy, so had heard what Riven had said.

She marched over to Riven and flashed him a spiteful look before striking with her hand. Riven's cheek reddened as his head turned to the side. He knew he deserved that. He also knew he deserved so much worse.

"You asshole!" Stella screamed. She was hurt because her best friend would've been hurt. "You're such a jerk!" She kicked Riven on his shin. "How could you do such a thing? Did you get what you wanted? Are you happy now?" Tears leaked out from the side of Stella's gold eyes. "You will burn in hell! Was hurting her part of your plan? She never did anything to you! I bet you thought it'd be funny, right? Well, I hope you're laughing when I'm finished!"

Bloom and Tecna quickly pulled Stella away before she had a chance to spring onto Riven and beat him till he was black and blue.

"No! Get off me! Let me at him!"

"Stel, calm down." Bloom stroked Stella's hair and pulled her in for a hug. The blonde sobbed, imagining the pain her friend would be in. As a best friend, it was her duty to keep Musa away from bad guys and protect her. She'd done the opposite. And she would never be able to forgive herself for that.

Riven didn't know what to do or say. His eyes lowered to the ground in shame. That way he avoided the hateful glares that came from the rest of Musa's friends who were also struggling to restrain themselves.

"Girls, let's leave," Flora said firmly and turned around to the exit.

"Wait," Stella whispered and pulled away from Bloom. "Where's Musa?"

"Musa's here." Everyone turned to face the source of the voice. It was Andy, who had just come out of the women's restroom carrying a limp Musa in his arms. "She's drunk out of her mind. I found her lying on the ground. I don't think she heard anything."

Riven stood from his stool upon hearing the latter sentence. He had hope now; hope that could allow him to fix his mess. He started to walk over to Musa but Layla blocked his path.

"Stay away from her," she hissed and waited till her group of friends and Andy had exited the casino with Musa. Then she turned on her heel and made way for the exit.

"Layla, wait!" Nabu called and rushed over.

Layla turned around with a hurt expression. "No, I don't want to hear anything…You knew? All of you knew?" She glanced at Riven's friends looking disgusted. "Forget those guys. I never expected this from you, Nabu. I can't believe you would let something like this go ahead. I don't even know you."

"Layla…" Nabu trailed off, knowing that she wouldn't listen. He'd never anticipated that Riven's lie would affect him. He turned back to his friends; they all knew they were wrong. Nabu saw that in their eyes.

Andy laid Musa on her bed and pulled the cover over her. He thought he was drunk, but Musa was almost unconscious. It wasn't a bad thing though, since her world hadn't come crashing down.

"Well, what do we do?"

"What do you mean, Bloom?" Flora asked and sat herself down on Stella's bed, from where all the girls were looking at Musa pitifully.

"I mean, what do we do next? Do we tell her or not?"

"Think about it logically, would you want to know in a situation like this?" Tecna asked the girls.

"I don't know? If I was in Musa's shoes, I'd think everything was perfect. I wouldn't want it to end," Stella answered.

"Yeah, but would you want to waste your time with a fake? If she found out now, it would hurt her less than if she found out in a year's time," Layla reasoned. From the armchair, Andy nodded. All he wanted was for Musa to feel the least amount of pain possible.

"Her heart would break no matter when she found out though." Flora frowned.

"So you're saying that she shouldn't find out and just continue living a lie?" Layla asked in disbelief.

"That's not what I meant."

"We have two options. Let her live a beautiful lie or the painful truth."

"I don't think we have options, Tecna. She needs to know!" Layla argued.

"Layla's right."

"No. There has to be another way!"

"There isn't Bloom!" Stella exclaimed, raising her voice. From the bed, Musa moaned and tossed. This caused Stella to bite her lip and quieten down.

"Yes there is, Stella. There's always another way."

Stella sighed. "I don't think lying is going to help anything." The girls gave each other uneasy looks. None of them wanted to be the one to drop the bombshell.

"If one of us told her, surely Musa would be more hurt," Tecna stated.

"She may not even believe us," Flora added. The girls nodded slowly.

"We could get Riven to tell her?" Stella suggested with a sheepish look.

The girls scoffed upon hearing the idea. "Would he?" Layla scrunched up her face.

"I think he's done enough." Flora tightened her hand around her top in anger. "Besides, how do we know she'll believe him? She'll probably think he's joking. After all, she's in love with him."

"This isn't solving anything…" Tecna grumbled, stating the obvious. She was frustrated, as were they all.

"I have an idea," Andy piped up suddenly. "Why don't we use the situation to our advantage? Riven's obviously going to be staying away from Musa now, so what if we made her believe that he's not interested anymore? You could also threaten Riven to say a few things to push her away. After everything he's done, it's the least he can do to fix this. Then eventually, his behaviour would make her end the relationship. That way, she won't get hurt."

"It's not a bad idea."

"Yes it is, Bloom. Won't Riven's sudden change in behaviour seem strange?" Tecna narrowed her eyes as she posed her question.

"And she will be hurt! She believes she's found the perfect guy, it would kill her to lose him." Stella's eyebrows crinkled in sadness. There didn't seem to be a way out.

Layla dropped her head in her palms and groaned. "Can't we just leave it? You know, go with the flow? Let fate decide for Musa."

"Maybe that's best." Flora stood up and went over to her resting friend. She sat down besides her and put a hand of her arm, silently consoling her.

"But don't our own decisions and actions shape fate?" Tecna inquired. The girls just closed their eyes and gave up. Nothing they could do would solve the problem, they'd established that.

"I think-"

"Flora? Flora, are you in there?" Helia called out from behind the door.

The brunette looked at her friends, questioning whether she should respond or let alone speak to Helia.

"Please Flora. Can you and girls come to my room? Riven wants to explain."

A bitter yet amused laugh escaped Layla's mouth. "By explain do you mean lie? He can't make it sound better. Seriously, you guys have some nerve!"

Helia shut his eyes and breathed out. "Please. Just come. Give him a chance. What he wants to say will surprise you, it surprised me."

After getting looks from the girls, Layla gave in. "Fine, we're coming. I can't wait to see what this jerk has to say."

As the girls filed out of the room, Stella stayed back with Andy. She instructed him to stay by Musa's side and not let her out of the room if she woke up.

Sky let the girls into Riven and Helia's room. Then he led them to an empty bed where they were seated. Riven sat opposite them on his own bed with some of his friends sitting beside him and the rest standing to his sides, including Brandon who was back from the hospital. The girls waited for him to start.

"I don't know how to say this…" Riven started, murmuring.

"Spit it out!" Layla ordered, getting angrier by the second.

"And just to let you know, sorry isn't going to cut it," Stella added, equally, if not more angry.

"I never planned on apologising," Riven retorted. "I admit that I was putting on a façade and I admit that I planned to play around with Musa…"

"I don't see how this is helping." Layla furrowed her eyebrows.

"What I mean to say is…I didn't think I'd fall in love with her but that's what happened. When I accepted it, I did realise that I was jerk for planning such a game. But I'm not sorry, because without my dumbass plan none of this would've happened. I wasn't ever planning on leaving her, or I wouldn't have taken things so far. I love her. I truly do."

The girls absorbed the new information silently but were still suspicious.

"How can we believe you?" Flora asked, softening up a little.

"I don't know. All I know is that I'm not lying. Just look at Musa, she's perfectly happy. Have I hurt her in any way? No. I think that speaks for itself."

"We believe you."

"Wait, we do?" Stella looked at Bloom, blinking in surprise. Bloom shrugged in response. She didn't see a reason not to believe him. The little bit of evidence was enough for her, and maybe for the other girls but it definitely wasn't enough for Stella.

"I don't see why we shouldn't believe him? The evidence he's given backs up his claim," Tecna explained, supporting Bloom in the process.

"What about you Layla? Do you believe him?" Stella looked at Layla, hoping that her chocolate haired friend would back her up.

Layla stirred. "Well, he hasn't hurt Musa, that's true and he's also made her happy. It's the happiest I've ever seen her."

Stella turned back to Riven. "So now what, huh? Where are you planning to go from here?"

"I-I don't know," Riven admitted.

"So you're going to carry on as you are and just disappear when your holiday is over?"

"I said I don't know!" Riven snapped.

The boys nodded at each other and decided that it was about time they stepped in. "Why don't we all go grab some drinks at the bar?" Nabu suggested, hoping to lighten the atmosphere.

"I'm up for that." Flora pat her thighs and stood up. The other girls also stood up and filed out the room, followed by the boys.

Stella was appalled at how quickly the girls dismissed the issue and accepted Riven's explanation. She hadn't bought it for a second. Wanting answers, she decided to stay back. Just as Helia was about to exit his room, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him back inside.

"Whoa!" Helia cried and steadied himself once Stella had let go.

"You're Riven's best friend, right?" Stella asked him, narrowing her eyes. She had her finger stuck out and was pointing at him.

"Sadly."

"Good. Then you can tell me if what he's said was true! And you better not lie because I'm sure you know better than to mess with me!" Stella stomped forwards, backing Helia into the wall.

Helia gulped and then smiled a little. He felt his knees go weak after looking at the vicious blonde. "Uh. Y-yes. Yes, it is all true. He does love Musa, I swear."

Stella backed off a little. "Were you part of planning his game?"

"What? Me? No way! I was the one who was against it! The guys threatened me so I wouldn't tell anyone, and Riven forced me to do stupid things, like steal Musa's diary so he could impress her!" Helia blurted out in fear. He turned his head to the side and closed his eyes. "I knew it was wrong so I refused to do anything after getting trapped in your room and hiding! Please don't beat me with your heels!" Helia finished, begging out of fear.

Stella's eyes looked as if they were about to fall out of her sockets. "WHAT?"

"What?" Helia asked, opening in eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows and carried on cowering in fear.

"I'm going to kill you!" Stella charged towards Helia and pushed him hard against the wall after ripping him off it.

"Please don't! Help! Someone please!" Helia cried in desperation as Stella began kicking him on his shin.

"You're equally as bad as Riven! How could you let him invade someone's privacy and let him use someone for fun?"

"I'm sorry!" Helia apologised. He was starting to get more and more terrified of her rage.

"You will rot!" Stella tightened her grip around Helia's collar.

Just as she was about to punch Helia in the stomach, she was stopped by someone who grabbed her arm. When she turned to see who it was, it was no one other than Flora, who had come looking for her boyfriend. "Stella, what do you think you're doing?"

"He helped steal Musa's diary to get information so Riven could impress her!" Stella hissed.

Flora gasped. "Helia…" she spoke in a disappointed tone. "I can't believe what I'm hearing. I thought you just knew about the plan, I never thought you would do that!"

"It wasn't just me, Brandon helped get it most of the time." Helia didn't care if he was snitching on his friend; he just couldn't let himself fall in Flora's eyes. She was everything to him.

Stella raised her eyebrows. "I'm glad I stopped dating him!"

"Let's just forget about this," Flora concluded.

"Yes, let's. If the guys find out, I'll be dead."

"Well they're never going to find out. Right, Stella?" Flora looked at Stella, hoping that she'd agree.

"…Right."

"Thank you." Helia breathed out in relief. "By the way, I am truly sorry."

Stella just looked away and then walked out of the room.

"Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" Flora inquired as soon as Stella had left the room.

"I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about."

Riven waited, crouched down next to a vase table, near Musa's hotel room. He was waiting for Stella to leave with Andy, so that he could see Musa. It only took a few minutes till he got what he wanted so he quietly snuck into the room with the spare key he had. He paused once he shut the door behind him and gazed at his girlfriend. She lay limply on the bed with only her head and arms, which were clutching the sheet, out of the covers. Slowly, he approached and sat down on the side of her bed. Whilst holding her hand, in his head he apologised for having her be a part of his game. He hoped that she would never have to find out; he wouldn't be able to bear the sight of her in pain because of him. Leaning down, he planted a kiss on her forehead. Musa's eyes began to flicker as soon as he pulled away.

"Riven?" Musa said in a hushed tone.

"Do you feel better?"

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Not really. My head still hurts. What even happened to me?"

"You drank a bit too much while dancing, and collapsed."

"Oh. Did you bring me here?"

Riven paused. "Uh. Yeah."

"Sorry for ruining your night."

"No. Don't apologise. I ruined it myself."

"What do you m-"

"What are you doing here?" Stella boomed as she burst into the room. She stood in the door way with her hands on her hips and a furious look in her eyes.

Riven stood up and backed away slightly as Stella strode over to him.

"Musa! Glad to see you're awake. Now please excuse us." Stella smiled in Musa's direction before grabbing Riven and dragging him out of the room.

"I just wanted to see her!" Riven told Stella whilst trying to push her hand off his arm.

"I don't care, Riven. It's too soon after I told you to stay away!"

Musa had heard what they'd said and couldn't help but have confusion cloud her brain. She wanted to know what was going on and what had happened to make Stella behave differently. With curiosity getting the better of her, she tried to prop herself up on her elbows in order to get up, but felt incapable of doing so. As she fell back onto her bed, she heard Stella shouting just outside of the room. By now, it was clear to Musa that something bad had happened and it appeared to be Riven's fault. Struggling, she sat up just as Stella walked back into the room.

"How are you feeling, M? You look much better."

"Fine," Musa lied. "What's going on? Why were you shouting at Riven?"

"What are you talking about, darling?"

"Stel, I know something happened."

"Nothing happened! Just get some rest." Stella beamed, taking a seat on Musa's bed.

Musa pouted and crossed her arms. She refused to make eye contact with her friend. Stella rolled her eyes at her friend's childish behaviour. She was already angry with the events of that night and Musa wasn't helping the cause.

"Stella, just tell me!" Musa snapped and turned to face Stella. Then the two had a staring contest until their eyes had narrowed to slits. It was only then when Stella became exasperated and threw her arms up in the air.

"Fine! Riven played with you, Musa! He found your diary and decided to use you in his game! Then he stole it, time after time, so he could impress you! How else did he know exactly what you liked and exactly what you wanted in a guy? You couldn't have thought it was a coincidence! He pretended to be perfect but in reality, he's not! He put up a mask and fooled you! He didn't take you out because he genuinely liked you, but because he wanted to use you for a laugh! It was all part of his plan!" By the time Stella had finished putting out the truth, she was standing at Musa's feet with a red face. Meanwhile, Musa sat, unchanged by what Stella had said. It was almost as if she was deaf and hadn't heard a word. "It's all a lie, Musa! It's all a lie…" Stella trailed off, crying.

Seeing tears tumble down Stella's cheeks made Musa's eyes water and soon, tears were sliding down her cheeks as well. Though, she wasn't sobbing like her blonde friend, she was just numb and still. Stella crawled over to her and wrapped her in a hug, but even then Musa didn't move. Her lips just parted as more tears left glistening remains on her cheeks.

"No…" Musa whispered.

"Yes!" Stella wailed, pulling Musa closer. "I'm so sorry!"

"No! You're lying!" Musa cried, parting from the embrace.

"Believe me, I wish I was."

Musa shook her head and then pushed the covers off herself and ran out of the room, her headache and body pain suddenly gone. She ran down the corridor, two flights of stairs and out of the hotel. Riven's magenta hair was visible to her as she approached the bar next to the pool. She halted a few meters behind him and watched as he laughed and clinked glasses with his friends and her own.

"At least something good came out of it!" Bloom exclaimed and then proceeded with gulping down her drink.

"Yeah, Riven's personal enjoyment!" Brandon sniggered, joking.

"Well, I got to admit, it was pretty fun! I never expected getting so much amusement from it!" Riven played along and laughed with the rest of the group.

Musa had figured out that they were talking about what Stella had told her. The words of the boys didn't hurt her as much as the words of Bloom did. Had her friends known about Riven's plan? Her head reeled with questions. At least now she knew that what she'd been told was true.

There was no feeling of numbness.

There was just heartache.

Only heartache.

There you have it, chapter 21!

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