I can now confirm that this story will be ending soon. There probably won't be more than sixteen or seventeen chapters but, hey, that's still a new record for me. Happy reading!
Harry turned Quinn around before she could reply, checking her up and down for injuries. When he caught the amused look she was giving him, he took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He knew, logically, that she was fine. That didn't mean he wasn't worried about her. He wanted her to enjoy her stay in Auradon and being knocked over by strangers hardly counted as pleasant. Quinn patted his cheek, gently moving him toward Evie. Getting the hint, the pirate backed off to watch her handle the interaction on her own.
"Please excuse my brother," Quinn said politely, "It's nice to meet you too, Riley." She looked past him, at a sign that said Morphilogus Ward and frowned at him. "Were you affected by the disease," she asked, scanning him for signs of fatigue, "They don't tell you to rest for no reason, you know." As she surveyed him for anything that could be a result of ignoring his bedrest, Quinn took the chance to take in his appearance. Sandy blond hair complimented lightly tanned skin, the presence of lean muscles apparent as she lifted his arm to check his pulse. He was, she realized with a start, attractive.
Riley chuckled. "Nah, a friend of mine's visiting his parents and I thought I'd tag along," he told her, grinning as she eyed him critically anyway, "You're new 'round here, right?" Blood-colored waves slipped over her shoulders as she nodded, giving him a suspicious look. He held his hands up in defense. "I just thought you might want a guide to show you around."
"Actually—"
Jabbing an elbow into Harry's ribs, Evie smiled widely. "You're absolutely right, Riley," she said happily, ignoring both of her companions as they looked at her weirdly, "Quinn's never been to Auradon, you know, villain kid and all." She lightly shoved her oldest friend in Riley's direction before taking Harry's hand as she started to tug him away. "I was going to give her a tour, but I just remembered that I have a couple of dresses to deliver," she fibbed smoothly, "Could you show her around after she's done the check-ups?" She took off before Quinn could protest or Riley could give a reply, dragging Harry along with her.
"What're ye doing," the pirate asked sharply when Evie finally slowed down, "I thought ye wanted Quinn and Jay te—"
"Of course I do," Evie replied, hands on her hips, "But in case you missed it, Jay's not exactly made an effort to talk to her since we went to negotiate with her and at this rate, she'll fall out of love with him before he makes a move."
"What makes ye think she loves 'im?"
"She's still angry," she explained with a sad quirk of her lips, "She wouldn't be angry if she didn't feel anything."
Outside the Morphilogus Ward, Quinn shook her head in amused bemusement. "I have weird friends," she said lightly, making Riley laugh, "But it does appear as though my tour guide has abandoned me…" The sentence was left hanging as she gave the blond a coy smile. He laughed again and opened the doors for her.
"Then allow me, my lady, to take over the sacred duty of showing you around Auradon," he said courteously, bowing deeply, "It would be the greatest of honors if you permitted me even a second of your delightful company." The blood-haired girl laughed, curtsying playfully as she passed him. Riley followed her into the large room filled with beds between crisp, white dividers. Two neat rows of beds stood along the walls and he followed her to the first one on the right. "Quinn, this is Nathan," he introduced, "Both his parents were badly affected."
Quinn smiled carefully to the family before looking at the clipboard laying on the table between them. She nodded as she read their symptoms, making note of what to look for. She turned her gaze to Naveen. "Would you mind giving me your arm?" At Riley's smile of encouragement, the king held his arm out for her. The whole ward was silent, everyone watching her as she checked his pulse and rubbed her fingers up from his wrist to the crook of his elbow before once again nodding to herself as she wrote the results down. Next, she placed a hand on his forehead, holding it there for a moment before writing her findings down. Quinn repeated the steps on Tiana and when she was done she looked over her papers before smiling at them. "I'm happy to announce that your fever has gone down significantly and that the… clammy skin is gone," she said pleasantly, "Unfortunately, both of your pulses are a little high, so you'll need to stay for a couple more days, just as a precaution in case it's caused by something other than lingering effects of the disease."
Smiling kindly at Quinn, Tiana quirked her eyebrow at her son. "Why don't you come to check us again when Nathan has left," she asked playfully, "He has been driving us mad."
Laughing, the red-haired girl turned to Nathan. "I'm sorry, but to give your parents a proper diagnosis, I need them in neutral conditions." Riley winked at her as he grabbed Nathan and showed him out. When he returned, Quinn smiled at the royal couple. "I'll be back when I'm done with the others," she promised, "If your heart rates have lowered enough, you'll be good to go in the morning." They nodded gratefully at her and Quinn felt strangely proud as she moved on, happy to have been of use.
Riley watched, entranced, as Quinn worked, repeating the steps she had gone through with Naveen and Tiana. Some of the nurses lingered with him, observing what the healer from the Isle was doing. It was fascinating to watch the professionalism she exuded, clearly well-versed in her craft. When they reached Beast's bed, Riley was surprised to see King Ben there with his parents. Mal, Auradon's beloved queen-to-be, stood behind him, a hand on his shoulder.
"Your Majesty," Quinn greeted respectfully, smiling at Beast, "Hold your arm out please." Repeating the same steps she had been doing for the better part of two hours, she wrote down her findings and compared them to earlier records of his health. She frowned. "Forgive me," she said gently, "Your records show that your blood pressure has been unusually high for some time, and according to these files you were prescribed medicine for this, yet there have been no apparent changes." Tilting her head, Quinn eyed him critically, Ben and Belle doing the same. "Sir, have you not been taking your medicine?"
Beast flushed. "I… may have forgotten."
"Forgotten?" Belle glared at her husband. "This nice girl here seems to imply you have never taken your medicine," she remarked sharply, "And since I didn't even know you were supposed to be taking any, I'm inclined to agree with her."
"I've always had high blood pressure," Beast insisted, turning to Quinn, "It comes with the temper, you know?"
Sighing, Quinn made a note on his clipboard before handing it to Riley. "Wait here."
The group looked after her as she moved over to a small kitchenette in the corner of the room, pulling something out of the pouch resting on her hip. She came back a few minutes later, holding out a jar to Belle. "This is a special tea blend with cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger," she said giving Beast a stern look, "Please see to it that he drinks one cup in the morning and one before he goes to bed." Belle nodded, she too narrowing her eyes at Beast. Quinn shook her head as they squabbled quietly, sharing a small smile with Ben. "Considering that his blood pressure is a previous issue, I'll allow that he leaves tonight," she told him, "If he drinks his tea." The king nodded, rolling his eyes at his father's half-hearted protests, and Quinn moved on to the next patient.
"You know," she said as she walked out of the ward with Riley, "You Auradonians aren't all good." The blond gave her a curious look, lips twitching as he fought a smile. "Still too sugary sweet," she elaborated, "But there seems to be some spice in you too if Belle's treatment of Beast is anything to go by."
Riley laughed, steering her in the direction of the stairs. "Glad to know you're coming around to us," he quipped, "Now, how about a tour of Auradon Prep?"
"Actually, I'm exhausted—" Quinn smiled when he deflated slightly— "But maybe you could walk me to Evie's?" She was surprised by how much she enjoyed Riley's company. He asked her questions about her shop and life on the Isle responding in kind when she asked about his life. But no matter how pleasant he and their conversation was, there was still a part of her that doubted him. The same part that reminded constantly filled her mind with the empty words that Jay had uttered. She couldn't help but wonder if Riley's words were empty too. He was nothing like Jay, there was no denying that. Jay… he was suave and seductive in his charm. Riley was playful and teasing in his. The blond smiled and offered her his arm. After a moment of hesitation, Quinn accepted it.
"What do you mean you left her at the hospital?" Jay was fuming. He'd been aware of the fact that Quinn was visiting Auradon, of course. Evie wouldn't keep that from him, especially not since they were both aware of how perfectly persistent he would be in hounding her until she told him what he wanted to know. He hadn't been aware that Evie had planned to just leave Quinn, unattended, at the hospital. "You can't just leave her there alone!"
Rolling her eyes, Evie sipped her hot chocolate. "She's not alone," she replied, "Riley Radcliffe was kind enough to show her around." She lifted her mug to her lips again to hide the smile that broke free when Jay froze almost imperceptibly in his seat. Feigning ignorance, she frowned at her friend. "Where have I heard that name before?" Jay growled something under his breath and Evie leaned closer to him. "What was that?"
"He's the strongest guy on the Tourney team."
"Right," the blue-haired princess said, snapping her fingers, "He's that non-prince half the school goes mad for when he's on the field." Behind Jay, Harry shook his head in exasperation. The pirate, for all his bottled up resentment concerning how things ended between Jay and Quinn, wasn't at all agreeable with her scheme. Evie suspected it had something to do with the fact that he'd rather see Quinn die single. He jerked suddenly, dropping his own mug of hot chocolate. Both Evie and Jay frowned and moved over to the window to see what he had seen before he could stop them.
Jealousy coiled in Jay's stomach like Maleficent's thorns had around the castle in which Aurora had slept. Quinn was heading to the house, laughing with Riley Radcliffe. He watched as the blond jerk kissed Quinn, seriously considering giving in to the dark urge to steal her away to a place where only he could reach her. So what if it was a barely-there kiss on the knuckles? Quinn was his. The thought brought Jay to a staggering halt. Quinn was his. Not anymore. Before he could back away from the door, which he hadn't even realized that he'd gone to, it opened.
Quinn came to an abrupt stop as she suddenly found herself face to face with Jay. They hadn't been as close since the last time he kissed her. Unbidden, the memories of his lips and hands on her were brought to the forefront of her mind. She didn't even realize she was leaning closer to him until she heard his whisper of her name. With a start, she took a step back, her heel catching on the threshold. She was falling, for the second time that day, only she felt no pain of the landing this time around. A strong arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, keeping her steady. Her body reacted strongly to the familiar feeling, her hands moving of their own accord to settle on Jay's upper arms as her breath escaped her. Not because he was holding too tightly, not as a result of almost falling. No, she felt as though she couldn't breathe because of the feeling of safety that engulfed her. Quinn felt tears sting in her eyes as she was confronted with the dilemma she had been actively avoiding since the barrier came down. She didn't want to forgive him. She didn't want to alienate him. She knew, in her reluctantly accepting heart, that she hadn't felt safe on Riley's arm. Sure, she hadn't been unsafe, but it didn't compare to what it felt like to be wrapped in Jay's embrace. She cursed how she had fallen, literally, for both boys. But only one had caught her.
The already confirmed couple watched their friends with a bated breath. Harry almost wanted to look away when Quinn stepped back from Jay, unwilling to witness the epic fight that was bound to break out. He'd seen the acceptance on his best friend's face when she realized that she couldn't avoid the confrontation anymore. The pirate pitied them both for their inability to fall out of love with one another.
"Riley is everything I could ever want."
Jay was crestfallen, her words like claws tearing him to pieces.
"So why the hell can't I get you out of my mind?" Tears streamed freely down her face and Quinn made no attempt to stop them. She was vaguely aware that Evie was crying too but her focus remained solely on the former thief who walked around with her heart in his hand.