Chapter three should be up in a few days. Promise.

Chapter 2

Speechless

The stars were beginning to litter the sky. Musa gazed at them as they sped along the deserted road. She didn't know where they were headed, but it was somewhere in the countryside. It had to be, for they had just passed downtown Magix. Though she didn't ask exactly where. After all, he did tell her to stop asking questions. The notion crossed her mind, however, just to spite him. Let him surprise me, she thought, tightening her grip around Riven.

There was nothing spoken between them in the hour they rode. Yet for Musa, the time seemed to fly. She wanted to be like this for an eternity, holding onto the one she cared for so deeply, even if it was in silence.

It was all too soon that they stopped, for Musa anyways. She heaved an exasperated sigh voicing her displeasure.

"I guess we'll stop here for now." Riven finally broke the quiet, removing the helmet from his head.

Musa nodded and mimicked his action. Gazing around her she took in the place that he had taken her. The moon shed enough light to make their surroundings visible. It reflected off the running water of the stream to the left, making it all the more majestic. The clearing was surrounded by a heavily wooded forest. The shadows cast among the trees were ominous, yet somehow inviting. Why had he chosen this place? Again, she did not voice her query.

Riven dismounted the bike, setting his helmet on the seat. "Are you gonna just sit there all night?"

Musa shook her head. She stood as well, placing her own helmet next to Riven's. She had gotten used to his bad attitude in the previous year. It helped her to handle it better knowing it was just a mask he wore.

Taking off her shoes and rolling up her pants legs, Musa made her way to the water's edge. Cautiously she stepped into the crystal liquid, the mud at the bottom working its way between her toes. She turned with a smile in Riven's direction. He was watching her, that bittersweet stare on his face.

"Are you gonna just stand there all night?" the faerie asked, throwing his question back at him. But she did it with a grin and hands on her waist.

Riven continued to stare, his bottom lip protruding slightly. "No."

"Come here then. No use standing around like a sourpuss," her tone was cheerful. It was slowly cracking his shell.

He moved toward her, arms crossed across his broad chest. "I'm not a sourpuss," he murmured, voice barely audible. And as he reached Musa, his greeting was a cold, wet splash. And another. And another. The boy held his arms up to protect his face from the onslaught of water.

"What the-" he started, wiping the fluid from his features.

"Sourpuss," was the reply.

A glare flickered across Riven's eyes. "I'll get you…"

Musa laughed. "You can try."

It was in that moment hands found themselves around her ankles. Her feet were pulled from under her, sending her into the chilled creek. A cascade of water fell around her as she hit the earth beneath. It soaked her, making her hair fall limp and stick to her face. A cackle reached her ears, and she opened her eyes to find Riven nearly doubled over in laughter.

Azure orbs narrowed in contemplation. Though only a moment passed for her to take action. It took less than a second; nowhere near time enough for him to think before Riven found himself face down in the stream.

It was Musa's turn to jeer. Her hands on her knees, her body shook with the giggles that overcame her.

And strangely, the sound of his mirth floated to her ears. "You got me."

Musa stopped, and stared at him in an almost dumbfounded sort of way. He was laughing? Had she finally gotten him to show his true nature?

Yet that same tart façade over took his face. "What?"

"N-nothing," again she stammered, blushing. For some reason, she couldn't keep her eyes off his, no matter how much she desperately wanted to hide at that moment.

Riven stood, water dripping from his hair and clothes, the muscles of his chest showing through the damp white of his shirt. He sat on the bank at her feet, elbows resting on his knees. His head turned upwards, purple hues focusing on the stars above.

The tinge of red on Musa's cheeks deepened. The way the moon hit his body, the stream under his feet… It was a perfect picture. If only I had a camera. That way it would last forever.

She knelt beside him, placing her hands in the grass behind her and tilted her face skyward. After a moment, she laid backwards, lifting her arms into the air. Drawing pictures in the sky with her fingers, Musa connected the stars.

"What are you doing?" Once again, Riven shattered the hush.

"Making new constellations…" Musa sighed. "See? That one's a treble clef. And there's a guitar with an amp. And then there's you, ready to rock out."

"So I'm rocking out, huh?"

"Of course."

"You know what I see?" Riven said, pretending to trace his own picture in the heavens. "A bunch of white dots."

Musa propped herself on one arm and leaned herself in his direction. "Where's your sense of imagination?"

"It got lost during child birth." It was a serious sounding statement.

Musa smiled, yet kept her eyes on the stars.

Riven, however, had changed his attention to Musa. Indigo eyes scanned the girl, absorbing her.

Musa cocked her head, cutting her eyes towards him. "You know, if you want to kiss me, you can."

Riven's features contorted in a look of shock. "Who said I even wanted to kiss you?"

A small growl emerged from Musa's throat. "You are so totally difficult sometimes. It's amazing that I even put up with-"

Musa never finished her thought, for their lips met in a soft, tender kiss, cutting her short. Riven pulled back slightly, yet a breath would have made them touch once more.

"Happy now?" His voice was a whisper.

"No…" Musa replied, wrapping her arms around his neck in a gentle embrace. She closed that minute distance between them. A moment passed before they broke apart once more. Blue locked on purple, and pink lips tilted upward in a smile. "Now I am."

And that smile was returned, along with the rumbled words of, "Me too."