This is a pivotal chapter in my story and there's a lot that happens in it, so just watch me for the changes and try and keep up.
God I love Back to the Future.
Chapter Twelve – Truth or Dare
Red Fountain was not as unified as the students at Alfea or even Cloud Tower were. The fairies and witches were a tight nit group who bonded together – mostly over their hatred of each other – but Red Fountain did not have that harmony. They were piled together in a school that had a curriculum which challenged them against each other not only in traditional academic studies but also in actual combat, so it was only natural that that tension spilled over into strong and often violent rivalry.
But there was one night every year, where the students of Red Fountain forgot their differences and their disagreements to join together to celebrate a magnificent event in their schools social calendar; the annual Vampirean Secret Fashion Show, the finest lingerie fashion show staring the most beautiful models in the universe including the nine vampires dubbed the Dark Angels. (1)
"Dude, hurry up or we won't get a good seat," Brandon stressed, bouncing on the ball of his feet in pure excitement. "C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!"
"Would you settle down? The models aren't going anywhere," Sky reminded his friend, but he didn't hesitate to follow Brandon to the door. They were all heading to their grades common room to watch the fashion show with the other juniors, while the rest of the school would be watching it from their own common rooms. Sky and Timmy slowly followed after their bounding friend, but as they passed their neighbours open door, Sky paused.
"What are you doing?" Brandon cried in anguish, noticing that his prince had stopped. "Miranda's waiting for me!"
"Oh stop it already," Sky ordered before turning his attention to the room he had stopped outside of only occupant. "Hey Helia, you coming to watch the show?"
"What show?" Helia asked, looking up from his notebook. All day he had heard guys going on and on about some show that was being screened that night, but he couldn't of the life of him work out what it was that had them so worked up.
"The Vampirean Secret Fashion Show," Sky answered.
Helia's cobalt eyes widened in surprise. That was no the answer he was expecting. "A fashion show?"
"It's a lingerie show," Brandon corrected, running back to Helia's door and sticking his head in the room. "Don't tell me you've never heard of it."
"Er . . ."
"Alessandra, Selita, Miranda, Heidi, Karolina, Adriana, Marisa, Izabel, Doutzen. Do you even know who these legendary women are?" Brandon asked in the same kind of tone one might use if they came across someone who didn't know the sky was blue. In the halls of Red Fountain, the boys may struggle to name the top ten most influential heroes in history, but anyone of them could tell you the name, height and secret indulgence of any of the nine vampires that were lucky enough to be names one of Vampirean Secret's Dark Angels in an instant.
"Ignore him," Sky advised Helia. "He takes this show very seriously."
"So you coming?" Timmy asked, but before Helia could respond, a fifth member joined the conversation.
"What the hell is taking you guys so long?" Riven demanded to know, striding down the hallway. "Move it, people."
"We're convincing Helia to come," Sky explained, ignoring his friends' order. Riven's attention and impatience instantly shifted to the art student who was still seated in his room.
"Well what are you waiting for, Ossacip? Let's go."
"I'm really not that interested, guys," Helia confessed, but before he could suggest that they go on without him Riven broke in with a comment of his own.
"How can you not be interested? How you seen these vampires?"
Helia gave Riven the best imitation he could do of his fathers 'not impressed' look. "The whole thing's a bit derogatory, don't you think? I mean, these women are parading around in their underwear – "
"Lingerie," Brandon corrected again.
" – for our entertainment and we're expected to believe that we live in an equal society?"
"Okay, first of all, if I wanted to have a debate over women's right, I would have picked a fight with Layla. And secondly, the Vampirean Secret Fashion Show is not derogatory; it is art. They are not just parading around in underwear. The accessories they put on to go with the underwear they're wearing cover a lot more than most fairies at Alfea wear when they transform into their winx form," Riven argued. "And also, if you don't go tonight, you'll be completely out of the loop for at least the next two months and people will start questioning your sexuality."
"Riven!" Sky scolded. That was no way to invite someone to watch the show. Helia was having a hard enough time fitting into Red Fountain without Riven being an ass to him. If he was in Helia's position, Sky would refuse to go just to defy Riven's arguments.
"What? They will."
"Are you serious?" Helia questioned.
"Yes. Do not underestimate just how seriously we take tonight," Riven warned. "Chances are, we'll be making reference to this show for the rest of the year."
"Well, now you've got me intrigued," Helia admitted, closing his notebook and getting to his feet.
Sky's eyes widened. "You're kidding me?"
"My father's a politician," Helia reminded the prince. "I've learnt to make my judgments based not only on my own ideals but the arguments and reason of others."
"Reason?" Brandon repeated. Never before had he ever heard of Riven being described as someone with reason. "That's ironic because normally Riven's reason is discussed with his fists."
"Can we go already?" Timmy asked, stopping this discussion from becoming a fist fight before it happened. "The show's gonna start soon."
"Do the girls over at Alfea get into this show as much as the guys here do?" Helia asked as they made their way towards the common room.
"Yes and no," Sky answered. "I know some of them like Stella watch it every year, but they don't exactly mark it on their calendar like some guys here do. Bloom told me tonight that Stella's planned a big girls session over at Alfea for tonight. Apparently they plan to sit around talking – no doubt about us – while eating junk food or whatever and then they'll watch the show. You know, typical girls night in."
"Which in my mind means that they'll all eventually strip down to their bras and panties for a pillow fight," Brandon added.
"That's because you have a perverted mind."
"Never boring," Brandon grinned impishly as Riven's phone started to go off. "Somebody loves you."
"It's a memo," Riven told him once he had pulled out his phone. "I didn't even know I had that function on my phone."
"Then what do you have a memo for?" Timmy asked.
"It's Darcy's birthday today," Riven informed the other boys in an indifferent tone of voice. "She must have programmed it in last year."
"Darcy?" Helia questioned and as soon as the word left his lips he noticed Timmy, Brandon and Sky all tense. Riven, however, stayed surprisingly unfazed.
"My psycho ex."
Helia knew he should have just left it at that, but the question formed itself on his tongue before he could stop it. "Isn't Darcy one of the Trix Sisters?"
"Yeah, like I said: psycho."
"Well tonight is not a night for witches, it's a night for vampires," Brandon said quickly in a rather obvious attempt to change the subject.
The junior common room was completely packed and although Helia would admit that he had his doubts about this fashion show, by the time they reached the second half of the show he found himself becoming quite intrigued by it all. It was actually pretty fascinating to consider that a show like this could stop an entire school and maybe even more amazing that the common room could hold them all. Sky was certain that everyone in their grade was present, but as the vampire Miranda marched down the cat walk wearing a nine million dollar diamond bra that always signalled the end of the show, the prince realised that someone was missing.
"Hey Sally, where's Jared?" Sky asked since Sally seemed to know everyone else business.
"I dunno," Sally admitted after scanning the room and realising that his classmate was indeed missing. "He had to go over to Alfea today and I haven't actually seen him since he left."
"What did he have to go to Alfea for?" Brandon questioned, catching the conversation while the rest of the room was focused on the models.
"Well he foolishly took your advice on writing that article about Alfea instead of writing about Jamie and his cheating girlfriend – which by the way would have made a much better article – and he went over there to do some research or something," Sally answered and Brandon felt this guts twist slightly in dread. "And I'm not sure, but I think he may have had a date or something."
"With who?" Brandon tried not to growl.
"I dunno, but if you give me a day or so I can find out, although I have a feeling that your girlfriend may have been involved. Maybe that's why he didn't want to write about my idea. He can't exactly name and shame a cheater if he's one himself, and he's doing it with your girlfriend under the guise that he's researching an article that you suggested. The level some people will sink too."
"I highly doubt that Stella's cheating on me with Jared, so if you don't mind, could you just drop it?" Brandon asked in a tone of voice that indicated that he'd better not hear another word about this topic – ever – or else Sally was going to pay. Sally held his hands up in surrender and swore himself to silence, thinking that he had hit nerve by suggesting that Brandon's beloved girlfriend would be unfaithful to him, but in actual fact Brandon was more mad about the fact that Stella had completely ignored everything he had said to her when she had first thought up the possibility of setting Musa up with Jared and had gone ahead with it anyway. He bet she hadn't ever asked Musa beforehand if she wanted to set up.
"You alright, man?" Sky asked, noticing that Brandon's brown eyes had narrowed dangerously and he was clenching his teeth tightly, a clear indication that he was becoming furious.
"Oh, I will be," Brandon assured his prince. "Right after I have a few words with a certain Princess of Solaria."
Brandon did not go to Alfea looking for a fight, or at least he hadn't planned to. But after a day of stewing on the idea, Brandon couldn't deny the fact that he wouldn't exactly be displeased if a bit of conflict did occur. He had tried baiting Riven before he left to try and get it out of his system, but in typical Riven style, the normally argumentative teen wasn't in the mood of a fight that afternoon, proving that Riven wasn't always conscious of how difficult he could be. So unfortunately it was a very touché Brandon who ended up walking through the gates of Alfea that fateful afternoon.
He found the princess lounging on her bed with the latest issues of Vanity Fairy, Magical Fashion and Teen Fairy strewn around her as she flipped through the pages of Fabulous, the fashion magazine that Stella had done her summer interning at.
"Oh, hey Brandon," Stella greeted him when he walked into her room, but it was obvious her mind was still on the magazine that was in front of her. Turning the magazine around, she held up the page for Brandon to see. "You should see the new winter range that's coming out this season. Aren't they the cutest? I should really put a request in the Ms. Faragonda to try and get an extension built on my wardrobe. This tiny little wardrobe makes it impossible to hold all the clothes you want. It puts such a restriction on shopping."
"You have more closet room than all your friends combined," Brandon pointed out stiffly, folding his arms across his chest. See, even now it was all about her. She wasn't even paying attention to him.
"It's still not enough. There're just too much good fashion out there and not enough room to store it or events to wear them too," Stella commented, flipping through the pages of her magazine again. A silence fell over the room as Stella continued to focus on the pages in front of her and Brandon continued to glare at her, but it took a few minutes to pass before Stella noticed it, forcing her to lift her eyes from the pages and blink at her boyfriend. "Is everything okay, Bran?"
"Oh, so now you're willing to spare a second to focus on me, huh?" Brandon asked with a bit more bite than had originally been intended.
"What are you talking about?" Stella asked, putting the magazine down and focusing on the irritated specialist. She couldn't remember doing anything to upset her beau, so she couldn't for the life of her work out why he was acting this way.
"I talked to Jared today," Brandon informed her. "Apparently he and Musa had a date yesterday."
"Yeah," Stella said with a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately it didn't end up working out between them. Sometimes I just don't get Musa at all. I mean, Jared was sweet and charming and okay, so he did go through a little stage where he was spelled and tried to destroy us, but that's never put Musa off before. She even got pissy with me for no reason, saying that I was like out of line or whatever."
"Didn't I tell you that would happen? Didn't I tell you people don't appreciate it when you mess with their personal lives? Did you even listen to a word I said?"
"Yes, Brandon, I did," Stella said in such an offhanded way that it gave Brandon the feeling that she was only saying it to stop him complaining.
"You're lying."
"I am not."
"Yes you are. You didn't even listen to a word I said. You were so caught up in playing match maker that you didn't even consider Musa's feelings at all. I told you not to do it but you went ahead and did it anyway."
Stella sighed in frustration and looked up at her boyfriend, irritation burning in her honey eyes. "Look, Musa didn't end up liking Jared in that way since she's still infatuated with Riven so it's not like you have anything to worry about. That prick will still get the girl even though he's done nothing to deserve it."
"This isn't about Riven. It's about the fact that you absolutely refuse to listen to anyone about anything," Brandon said sharply. "It's always got to be your way, no matter what the cost."
"Oh that is not true," Stella instantly rejected. "So I may have gone ahead with the whole Musa and Jared thing without you liking it. Big deal. Musa's not interest. End of story."
"No, not end of story. My point is that you didn't listen to a word I said the other day. You know, about how Musa wasn't going to like you arranging her life for her. Did you even consider that what I said might hold some relevance? Seriously, sometimes it's like you don't even listen to me."
"I listen to you," Stella said. "I asked for your help when you bought those shoes the other week."
"Stella, they were shoes. And you didn't listen to me then either. I told you to get the white ones and you got them in cream," Brandon reminded her, his temper quickly slipping out of control.
Stella subtly rolled her eyes, and the squire could tell that she wasn't at all interested in what he was saying and just wanted to find a quick solution to it so she didn't have to deal with it anymore. "Look, I'm sorry. I'll try and make more of an effort to listen to what you say from now on."
"Stella, I know you're just saying that to shut me up. I'm not an idiot so don't treat me like one. I'm not the one who had to repeat freshmen year, remember?"
Guilt slammed itself hard into Brandon's guts as soon as the words left his lips. Stella did not like to be reminded about any part of her first attempt at freshmen year, especially the part where they told her that even though all the other fairies in her grade would be moving up, she would have to stay behind and go through the year again. Even Riven knew not to mention that particular topic to her face, but Brandon had been so angry and so frustrated with her that he had completely blanked on that fact.
Stella's eyes narrowed dangerously as an anger he had never seen on her before ignited. Scrambling to her feet, Stella stalked over to the door and ripped it open. "I think you should leave."
"Oh that's convenient. Order me out when things aren't to you liking."
"What is your problem, Brandon?" Stella asked, her voice dripping with venom. "So I set Musa up on a little date with Jared. Big whoop. If anything it should be Riven here bitchin' to me about it, but he's not. It's just you. Why are you even so upset about all this? It's not like you're the one dating Musa. So tell me Brandon, what the hell is your problem with all this?"
"My problem is that you're a self-centred, spoiled little brat that makes me feel as though everything has to revolve around you. Newsflash Stella; I'm a part of this relationship too and I don't like being ignored. Is this how you treated your other boyfriends, cause it's royally sucks."
Stella blinked and stared at him for a beat before he eyes narrowed and an irritated look crossed her face. "Oh, I see what this is really about. You're wondering if I treated my other boyfriends – all of whom were princes – if I treat them the same as I treat you. Gods Brandon, you can be such an idiot sometimes."
"And yet out of the two of us, I'm not the one who blew up a potions lab."
Slap!!
Brandon flinched violently as Stella's open palm connected with his cheek. He knew dragging up the potions lab was low, but he was so angry he really didn't care how badly he hurt her feelings.
"Get out," Stella ordered in a low growl.
"I'm going!" Brandon snarled back, storming out of her room and headed for he levi bike, ignoring Bloom and Flora when he passed them in the hallway.
"I-I . . . I'm sorry, I still don't get it. What the hell happened?" Sky asked Brandon, completely confused by how the argument between the perfect couple of Stella and Brandon could just happen like that that afternoon. "Do you even know what you were fighting about?"
"Yes," Brandon told him sharply, but then he fell silent as he pushed his dinner around his plate with his fork. He could feel Sky staring at him with the same kind of look his father used to give him when he knew he was lying. "Sort of."
"Well then can you fill me in cause I'm still confused," Timmy said. "Is this about the Jared thing?"
"No. Jared was just the straw that broke the camels back," Brandon spat, shovelling a big forkful of spaghetti into his mouth.
"When did Jared get a camel?" Lex, who was sitting next to Timmy, asked. He had been listening to Sky, Brandon and Timmy conversation over dinner. He really didn't understand what they were talking about, but he had never let that stand in his way in the past.
"Lex, shut up," Brandon ordered as soon as he had swallowed his mouthful of dinner and Lex instantly complied without insult. That was one of the great things about Lex; you could say anything to him and he wouldn't be offended by it. That was probably why he was still friends with Riven.
"So what happened with Stella?" Sky asked, trying to get Brandon back on track.
"She's just so self-centred," Brandon told them. "It's infuriating. She never stops to consider others and she can be incredibly rude, even to her friends. I am I only one who's noticed this?"
"No, but that does allow you to rub the fact that she failed her freshmen year the first time in her face," Sky pointed out. "Two wrongs don't equal a right."
"Save it," Brandon spat, shovelling another forkful of food into his mouth.
"Brandon – "
"I said 'save it'," Brandon repeated around his dinner.
"She's your girlfriend!" Sky reminded his friend firmly, not caring that he didn't want to talk about it. "Do you remember that? Stella is your girlfriend. This is the same girl who caused you to lose interest in all the other fairies you were chasing in freshmen year. This is the girl that you followed to Earth, Sparx and Cloud Tower for. This is the girl that you gave a ring too at the beginning for the year and who you told her you loved her only a few months ago. Do you remember all that?"
"Sky, I'm not an idiot."
"Then why are you acting like one?"
"Er, Sky . . ." Timmy tried to intervene, but he could not string together a decent sentence to even distract them from what they were currently discussing. All he could do was look between the two Eraklyains with a feeling of dread building up inside of him.
"I may be acting like an idiot, but that doesn't change the fact that Stella's a self-centred, spoiled princess and she always will be," Brandon snarled, glaring at his prince.
"You can't call her that," Sky told him. "She's a princess."
"So? You're a prince but I'm not going to hesitate to tell you that I think you're a lofty, pushy snob who likes to stick his nose in places where they really don't belong!"
Sky's blue eyes darkened. "You've crossed a line there."
"Sorry," Brandon grumbled, but Sky knew that he was only saying that because he had to. However, years of training for the day he inherited the throne had taught him to keep his temper in check and his mind focused.
"Maybe you should be saying that to Stella," Sky suggested.
"No."
"Then at least apologise."
"Sky, I don't know if you're aware of this, but saying 'you're sorry' and saying 'you apologise' means the exact same thing!" Brandon pointed out, his voice getting steadily louder.
"Not if you're at a funeral (2)," Lex told them all helpfully, pushing his dinner around his plate with his fork. "Believe me."
"Lex," Brandon said after a long moment of just staring at the short student in a mixture of disbelief and confusion. "Go away."
"Okay," Lex grinned cluelessly, getting to his feet and moving off to finish his dinner at the table where Toby and Sally sat.
Timmy rolled his eyes at the stupidity of one of his classmates and returned his attention back to stupidity of another one. "Brandon, we're not saying that you have to be the first to apologise if you don't want to, but do you really want your relationship to get ruined this way? You know how stubborn Stella is. She's not going to be the end it if she feels she doesn't have to."
"So I have to forgo my pride just for some spoiled brat?"
"What are you forgoing exactly?" Helia asked, speaking for the first time since he had sat down to dinner.
"What?" Brandon asked rudely. He still wasn't sure how he felt about Helia, and he got the feeling that he did exactly approve of this outsider dealing with his personal matters.
"What are you forgoing exactly?"
"My pride."
"But does your pride have any relation to your argument?"
"Yes."
"What?"
Brandon opened his mouth, but no response came out.
"I get the feeling that it has little to do with reason and more to do with the childish notion of who's going to back down first," Timmy said, a sly grin tugging at the corner of his lip.
"I got that feeling too," Helia noted.
"Well . . . I . . . Shut up!" Brandon snapped.
"He's got a point," Sky told his best friend and he knew that Brandon didn't like it. The squire slumped in his seat and scowled at his dinner. He hated to admit it, but Helia had made a pretty good point. The argument between him and Stella had nothing to do with an actual topic and all to do with pride and stubbornness. Stella refused to admit that maybe she shouldn't have tried to interfere with Musa's love life and Brandon refused to apologise for the vicious way he had attacked her over it. "I mean, what would have happened if Musa ended up liking Jared more than Riven and they started dating? Would you have broken up with Stella out of protest?"
"No, I wouldn't have too because if Musa had ended up liking Jared more than Riven and they started dating, Riven would kill Jared."
"Oh, Riven is not that aggressive," Sky objected, earning several sceptical looks from the others sitting around him. "I admit that he does have a temper – I know better than anyone – but it's not like he goes out looking for trouble." There was a short pause as Sky considered when he had just said. "Well, most of the time he doesn't." There was another pause. "Well, this year he hasn't."
"Then what is he doing now?" Helia asked, looking at a point beyond them. Following Helia's eye line, the three students quickly spotted Riven standing not too far from where they were sitting, 'talking' with Kane. The boys couldn't overhear what was being said, but Riven was smirking viciously and Kane's face was turning a shade of red that clashed horribly with his red hair and his hands were clenched into fists by his side.
You could practically smell a fight.
"Shit," Sky hissed, pushing his chair back with a loud scrap on the mess hall floor tiles and getting to his feet in order to delay the inevitable showdown between his two classmates for at least a little bit longer. Ever since freshmen year, Riven and Kane had rubbed each other the wrong way. They were both so similar, not just in appearance but in attitude as well. They were both hot blooded and headstrong and unfortunately they just tended to clash with each other. Saladin had really made a mistake when he had made them roommates, and all the tension that existed between them reached boiling point as Riven continued to push Kane's buttons. Before Sky could get anywhere near then and drag Riven away for them, Kane cracked. Pulling his arm back, Kane let his fist fly and connect soundly with Riven's jaw.
For there, it was on!
Ignoring the sudden pain that had erupted on the left side of his face, Riven put his head down and rugby tackled Kane around the middle, sending the two of them crashing into the table behind them. The table was durable enough to stand the impact, but the dinners sitting on top of it weren't. Plates, cutlery and drinking glasses all went scattering and chairs toppled over as the students sitting at the table scrambled to their feet to get clear of the fight that had unexpectedly dropped into their dinner. The mess was suddenly alive with motion and sounds and student everywhere tousled to get a better view and shouts of 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' egged Riven on as he repeatedly smashed his fist into Kane's face.
Pulling his legs up between them, Kane kicked Riven off of him resulting in Riven almost falling when his shoes slipped on the titled floor that was now covered in spaghetti pasta and sauce that had either been knocked to the ground or dropped when the fight started. The former thief managed to keep his feet, but the slight distraction was enough to allow Kane to grab someone's dinner tray and slam it down forcefully onto Riven's head. Dazed but not distracted, Riven lashed out with one of his long legs, but the slippery floor almost resulted in him falling as well as Kane, so the two red heads just settled for trying to punch each other in the face and ribs until Jacob stormed in and ripped them apart.
"Quit it, you bastards!" Jacob ordered, gripping the pair by the scruff of their shirts and pulling them apart. "You wonna box? Then get the hell out of my mess hall!"
"What the hell is going on here?!" a rough voice demanded, and the crowd of spectators parted and made way for a furious looking Codatorta. The combat instructor took one look at the two boys in Jacob's gasp and the mess they were standing in and his expression darkened. "You two, follow me. Now!"
Throwing each other a filthy look, Riven and Kane followed Codatorta out of the mess towards Saladin's office where they were to spend the next hour getting grilled by their headmaster. By the time it was lights out, the irritated cleaning staff finally finished wiping up the last of the spaghetti that had found its way onto the floor, Kane had returned to his room and made a declaration to no one was allowed to so much as mention the name Riven in his presence and Riven had snuck off into Magix where he would remain all night, refusing to answer his phone when his friends tried to contact him.
The sun woke Riven up long before he wanted to. His eyelids were heavy with the weight that always seemed to follow a night of heavy drinking and his body was stiff after spending the night on the streets of Magix instead of the soft bed that was waiting for him back at Red Fountain. However, as long as that bed was in the same room as Kane, Riven would choose to sleep on the streets any day.
"Stupid Kane," Riven grumbled, flinching at the brightness of the morning sun. If it hadn't been for that ass, Riven would never have been out drinking last night. Blinking, Riven surveyed his surroundings and after a few moments, his brain was finally able to register the fact that he had somehow found his way onto the roof of one of the many buildings Magix had on offer. Riven had always been drawn to rooftops since they had acted as a perfect highway for his as a child whenever he had need to move through the city quickly, but he couldn't remember climbing onto this one last night let alone when he passed out. The last thing he could remember was after pick pocketing a bunch of unsuspecting donors, he had used his fake ID to sneak into a pub for a few drinks.
After that, everything got a bit blurry.
"Coffee," Riven mumbled, his tongue feeling thick in his mouth. "I need coffee."
Forcing himself to stand, Riven steadied himself as the world spun around him. His legs felt weak beneath the weight of his body, his hands trembled and the urge to throw up was almost over whelming. Riven couldn't believe that this was pretty much exactly how he started each day for most of last year.
Once he was confident enough that he could make it down to street level without killing himself in the process, Riven made a slow decent down the fire escape to the ally way below. Like all ally ways, this one smelt of a mixture of wet dog and a dumpster on a hot day, but even in his delicate state, Riven wasn't fazed. Digging through the pockets of his jeans, Riven pulled out a wallet that didn't belong to him and looked to see if it still had any money in it. Once that was deemed to be successful, Riven glanced at the ID before removing the cash and discarding the now empty wallet.
"Well, Julian Baxter, looks like the coffee's on you."
On Sundays most people liked to sleep in, but Helia wasn't like most people. Instead, every Sunday Helia would get up early and make good use of the quiet and the solitude while everyone else stayed in bed. Normally he'd head into Magix so he could see the usually busy city quiet for one morning a week. Plus it gave him a chance to get his fix of a good herbal tea since Red Fountain didn't provide a very wide selection.
Glorious Jean (3) was on one of the best coffee and tea houses in Magix and at this early a time on a Sunday morning it was no where near as crowded as it was on any other morning. In fact, apart from Helia, the only other occupants of the store was a man who was completely engrossed in his newspaper, a lady who was rewarding herself with a coffee after getting up early for her morning run and a girl who was yet to order anything and instead spent all her time talking to the boy behind the counter and stealing the marshmallows that were used in hot chocolates when he wasn't looking (4).
So when the doors to the shop open, Helia had to look up from the notebook he was sketching in to see who had joined them, and he was surprised to discover that it was actually someone he knew.
"I need coffee," Riven put simply as soon as he had made it to the counter. "Coffee, with extra coffee, then more coffee on that followed by a double shot of coffee. And then more coffee."
"Okay?" the boy behind the counter said in an uncertain sounding tone of voice. "I'll try my best."
"Good luck," Riven wished him before burying his face in his arms as he waited for his order to be made. When his coffee was finished, Riven took one small sip and then physically flinched at the powerful brew.
"Too strong?" the boy who severed him asked.
"No, that's perfect," Riven gasped, throwing several notes onto the counter. "Keep the change."
The boy's eyes widened. "But that's over fifty dollars!"
"Yeah, what can I say? I'm a good tipper when I'm hung over," Riven shrugged, grabbing his drink and moving off with it.
The Red Fountain student did not look his best this morning, Helia noticed. He wore the same clothes as the night before and they were stained with various bits of last nights dinner that had ended up everywhere during the fight with Kane. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin was pale as if he was about to be sick. The left side of his face had a faint bruise on it from where Kane had landed a punch, but other than that there was no evidence on Riven's body that he had been in a fight over the last twelve hours or so.
"Hey," Riven greeted weakly when he spotted Helia sitting at one of the tables. The art student replied with a polite nod of his head, but he couldn't think of anything to say to the burgundy haired specialist since the two of them had next to nothing in common. Luckily, Riven wasn't looking for any conversation. Collapsing into the seat at one of the tables the coffee shop had on offer, Riven buried his face in his arms in order to hide his delicate eyes from the bright sun. The table he was seated at was close enough to Helia's so that the pair could talk to one another if either of them could come up with anything to say to each other, but at the same time far enough away so that there was no actual obligation for them to speak if they didn't want to.
Which was exactly what they did.
As Helia watched his classmate suffer silently, it suddenly occurred to him how he and Riven were complete and total opposites. Helia had descended from a long and impressive family history that he was rather proud of while Riven couldn't even tell you his fathers name and seemed to put a lot of effort into completely ignoring the fact that he even had a family in the past. Helia had lived a very comfortable life while up until a few years ago, Riven had had to scrounge and steal for every meal. Helia had strong ideals and believed that fighting was not the answer. Riven, however, rarely let his morals stand in his road if he wanted something and his hand was just as quick to draw his sword as his temper was. Helia's pacifistic views had always clash with Riven's willingness to fight, and from the looks of it, the two of them were never going to see eye to eye on that matter.
Helia could recognise Riven as exactly the kind of person who made Helia feel unwelcome at Red Fountain based on their conflict of opinion, but as his grandfather always used to say to him as a child; 'It's the challenges in life that make you strong, so don't put them off for too long'.
"So, did you have a big night or something?" Helia tried to instigate a conversation with the boy he was so different from. Riven lifted his face out of his arms and frowned as he tried to recall what he did the night before.
"I dunno. I think so. I woke up on a roof that I don't remember climbing onto so I guess I must have, which is kinda annoying since I swore that I wasn't going to drink to the point where I couldn't remember for the rest of the year," Riven repented. He took another sip of his coffee and again the taste was powerful enough to make him shutter. "Well, at least it wasn't the only stupid thing I did last night."
"Yeah," Helia agreed softly, recalling the fight between the two red haired roommates. "So what are you going to do know? Are you and Kane still going to share a dorm?"
"Doubt it since we can barely stand being in the same room together."
"Does that mean that you'll move back in with Sky and the others like you did last year?"
Riven though about that possibility for a second, and then shook his head no. Or at least, as much as his delicate head would let him. "Nah, we're gettin' too big for the four of us to live in a room that size. I dunno. I'm sure something will work out."
Silence once again resumed as Riven tried to get his coffee down while Helia was left with his thoughts.
Helia had felt self conscious ever since he had transferred to Red Fountain, not only because of his pacifist beliefs but because he wasn't really close to anyone in his grade like the others were. Even though Red Fountain was a very social school in terms of everyone talked and got along with everyone else to a degree, the students did tend to travel in packs. They'd stick with their squads both in and outside of class and had formed impenetrable bonds with their roommates, with of course a few rare exceptions like what happened with Riven and Kane. Saladin had offered Helia a single room which at first Helia had been grateful for since it acted as a sanctuary for him where he could escape from the stressful world that was high school. But now he was starting to think that excluding himself from the forced socialisation that came with having a roommate and Helia was getting the feeling that he had missed an opportunity to make himself feel accepted in his class.
Riven might not be Helia's first choice for a roommate, but the burgundy haired specialist knew how Red Fountain worked and had a strong connection with Prince Sky, Brandon and Timmy, all three of whom were people that Helia felt slightly comfortable around. And then there was Riven's close – though slightly unsteady – involvement with the Winx Club, which was something that Helia couldn't overlook.
"You could always room with me, that is, if you wanted to," Helia offered before he had a chance to over think it and change his mind. Riven looked up at the art students, his violet eyes wide with surprise that quickly narrowed into suspicion.
"Why would you make such an offer?" Riven demanded. "We have virtually nothing in common. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is the longest conversation the two of us had ever had, so why would you offer to share a room with me? Especially after you saw how I treated the last roommate I had."
"Fine, forget I said anything," Helia snapped, a bit annoyed that his kind offer had been so rudely thrown back in his face.
"Nah, you had a reason for offering your room to me and I wonna know what it is."
"I said forget it," Helia repeated, trying to focus on the sketch he had been working on before Riven had entered the coffee shop, but Riven had never been one to give up just because someone asked him to.
"No, tell me; why did you offer to share a room with me?"
Helia's patience broke at that point. Putting his pencil down, Helia lifted his blue eyes to glare at Riven directly. "You really want to know? Fine. As I'm sure you don't need to be made aware of, I'm not exactly fitting in at Red Fountain, and you're someone who knows the ropes at that school so figured I could use that to my own advantage. Satisfied?"
Riven stared at the long hair art student for a moment, turning over what Helia had said in his mind, before nodding. "Fair enough. I'll do it."
That was not the response Helia was expecting. "What?"
"I said I'll do it," Riven repeated.
"Did you not listen to a word I said? I'm using you for my own gain."
Riven started to laugh weakly. "You really don't know me at all, do you, Helia? I grew up in a city where anterior motives and selfish agendas were expected of people in everything they did. It's selflessness and charity that I don't trust. What you're demanding is perfectly rational to me."
"I'm not demanding anything. I – "
"Sure you are. You're offering me a room but in return I gotta show you how to survive in a place like Red Fountain. It's equivalent exchange; something for something else. It's only fair."
Helia could deny that Riven had a point, but it still didn't sit well with him. "Perhaps, but you don't have to make it sound so conniving and underhanded."
"It's what's expected of me," Riven shrugged. "But I wonna ask you something; why'd you even transfer to Red Fountain to begin with? The first day I met you, you were completely against everything that Red Fountain represented and now you're a student there? It doesn't add up."
"I just figured it was time to broaden my views on life and discover what it is about heroics and bravery that my grandfather is so passionate about."
Riven didn't buy that for a second. "Don't give me that bullshit. You said that heroics and bravery never appealed to you and you've been happy enough living out the past few years without knowing what makes Saladin tick."
"Well I'm sorry if you don't believe me, but that's the truth."
"Uh-huh. So it has nothing to do with a certain Alfea fairy?"
"Of course not," Helia lied, but Riven didn't miss the faint colouring that entered Helia's cheeks at the accusation. But he decided not to push the matter. After all, the guy had just offered him a chance to get out of rooming with Kane.
"If you say so, man," Riven said, returning his attention to his powerfully strong cup of coffee.
"So what's been going on between you and Musa?" Helia had to ask, causing Riven to choke on his coffee. "Is there something happening with you two or am I just imagining things?"
"I really don't have to answer that," Riven said as soon as he had recovered.
"Sure you do. Equivalent exchange, remember? I told you why I transferred to Red Fountain, so now you have to answer one of my questions."
"You didn't tell me nothin'."
"I did, you just didn't believe me. Now tell me; what's happening between you and Musa?"
Riven glared at the other boy, before averting his gaze out one of the windows with a schooled expression and shrugged. "I dunno. She's kinda hot, I guess. But it's not like I care what she does or anything."
"Uh-huh. If you say so," Helia mocked what Riven had said earlier.
"Anyway, you think you can convince Saladin to let you room with a delinquent like me?" Riven asked, desperate for a change of conversation.
"Of course I can," Helia answered confidently. "You think you can turn this pacifist into a socially acceptable Red Fountain student?"
"It won't be easy considering I tend to specialise in destroying people's social stances, not advancing them, but I reckon I can pull it off," Riven nodded, extending his hand to finalize the deal.
"Alright, you're on," Helia agreed, accepting Riven's hand and shaking it.
"He's still not answering his phone," Sky told Brandon and Timmy after trying to call Riven for what would have been the hundredth time since he had snuck off the night before. "Maybe we should go look for him."
"Dude, you know Riv; if he doesn't want to be found, you sure as hell ain't gonna find him, and that goes double when he's in the city," Brandon reminded his prince calmly for his place lounging in his desk chair. "Just relax. He'll get back when he gets back, and there's nothing we can do till then."
"You're taking this rather calmly," Timmy noted. It was in Brandon's nature to behave like a mother hen in regards to his friends, and he tended to take it a little further when it came to Riven. Brandon liked to help people and Riven had a tendency to push help like that away, so Brandon's dedication to save his friend from himself had become rather extreme.
"You just gotta keep it cool."
"Hey Timmy, do you have those notes on the origin and principals of the Ideina Formation that Javelin printed out?" Riven asked, sauntering into the room like he didn't have a care in the world. "I can't find my copy."
"Where the hell have you been?!" Brandon suddenly raged, leaping to his feet and glaring at his friend like a furious and frustrated parent confronting a rebellious teen who had stayed out after curfew. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been? First you're fighting with Kane in the middle of the mess like a bar room drunk and then you disappear all night with nothing so much as a phone call? I should – "
"Ground me?" Riven said before rolling his eyes. "Seriously Brandon, get off my back. I got enough to deal with. Timmy, those notes?"
"Yeah, okay," Timmy nodded, digging through the notes on his desk.
"What were you thinking?" Brandon demanded angrily. "You've got a zero tolerance policy on you. Saladin could kick you out of Red Fountain over this, so what the hell were you thinking?"
"I don't know. It's a complicated combination of the position of the moon and probably a lack of fibre in my diet," Riven told him sarcastically.
"Riven," Sky warned.
"Hey, Kane threw the first punch," Riven reminded them. "I just took that as an excuse to hit him back."
"Yeah and now Saladin has an excuse to kick you out of Red Fountain."
"He's not going to do that. Timmy, those notes?"
"I'm looking," Timmy assured him. "How do you know?"
"What?"
"How do you know Saladin's not going to kick you out?"
"Because he said he wouldn't," Riven said simply, but the looks he got off his three friends informed him that they wanted more. "I get to stay provided I volunteer to help Codatorta with the end of year stock take and I have to help out Jacob with dinner duty every second night."
"Why every second night?" Sky asked.
"Because every other night Kane's in there and Saladin thinks that it's best to have a bit of distance between the two of us."
"Well, that's not really going to work, now is it?" Sky asked, feeling as if he was the only one to notice the massive flaw to that plan. "I mean, you two are roommates. What are you going to do about that?"
"Oh, don't worry about," Riven shrugged off as Timmy finally handed him the notes he had originally came in for. After glancing over them, Riven turned to leave. "Thanks Tim. I'll give 'em back soon as I'm done with 'em."
"You could always move back in here with us," Sky offered, causing Riven to pause his exit so he could stare back at the prince sceptically. "I mean, if you wanted to."
"Don't be stupid, Sky," Riven instantly shot down. "There is no way in hell they'd be able to fit four people in a room this size even if I was desperate enough to even consider it."
"Well, we managed it in freshmen year," Sky reminded him, a little insulted that Riven had so swiftly rejected their help.
"Yeah, and it was hell."
"It wasn't that bad," Brandon said softly.
"It was bad enough for me to completely reject the very thought of doing it again," Riven responded pointedly.
"Well then what the hell are you going to do about Kane?" Sky snapped angrily.
"I told you; don't worry about it," Riven said again. "It's already been arranged for me to move in with Helia."
Sky blinked. "What?"
"Does Helia know about this?" Timmy had to ask.
Riven nodded. "Yeah. It was his idea."
"What?" Sky said again.
"When did you start talking to Helia?" Brandon asked. Apart from attending the same school, Helia and Riven had absolutely nothing in common with each other. They hardly ever socialised with one another and had only ever exchanged a handful of words with each other, and yet all a sudden they were planning to become roommates.
"This morning," Riven answered simply.
"And you somehow managed to charm him to share his room with you in one morning?"
"No. We argued for a bit and then decided on it," Riven explained. "Now can I please go and make a copy of these notes or are you three going to continue interrogating me?"
"Um, no," Sky stammered, a little lost for words. "Go if you want."
"Finally," Riven breathed irritably, exiting the room and reading as he walked.
"Huh," Sky grunted after Riven left. "Riven and Helia. Well, I wouldn't have seen that coming in a million years."
"It is a bit unexpected," Timmy agreed.
"It's so not gonna last," Brandon said before letting out a laugh. "But it would make a pretty good TV show. Riven and Helia; the original odd couple."
And with that, they all returned their attention back to completing their homework.
(1) Vampirean Secret Fashion Show is obviously a take off of the Victoria Secret Fashion Show that they hold once a year. I personally love that show. First time I saw it was actually when I was in hospital on morphine or whatever they give you to make you loopy, and it gave a little extra something to the show. I also watch Supernatural that night, which is even more fun on morphine. But if you haven't seen the show it's well worth watching. The clothes/underwear are incredible and I so want a set of the angel wings they wear. My favourite model is Miranda. She's from Australia too
(2) One of my favourite comedians is a guy call Demetri Martin who does heaps of really funny jokes, usually with a guitar. One song is called Sames and Opposites and that's taken from a line in it
(3) Glorious Jean is a very unimaginative take on a coffee chain in Australia (any maybe other parts of the world too, I'm not sure) called Gloria Jeans
(4) That's me! I'm the girl who steals marshmallow from the guy behind the counter who's my best friend
See, I told you I was gonna bust up Brandon and Stella. Perfect is just too damn boring. And just because I didn't hit the Jared button now doesn't mean I won't do it later. To do it now would be just too . . . expected.
TBC.