I got a few reviews and PM's from you guys asking for another scene with Musa and Riven before he gets put under Darcy's lock and key (as if he's not under it already). So I think you guys will be happy with this. Besides, I did want a few more scenes between them than the show provides, since they needed to develop a relationship and the show never really shows that. (Which was why i had them run into each other in an earlier chapter). Also I just wanted to point out that the girls hardly ever see the guys in the season. I mean really! I dunno maybe they have dates when we're not watching.
Pushing the Envelope
"Ugh, you can't be serious!" Musa said agitatedly. Professor Wizgiz had just announced that there would be a quiz that would count as a major assessment and it would also expel those students that didn't pass. "A little heads up would have been nice, I mean the day before!" She complained. The quiz was tomorrow and they were giving very little notice.
"These rules come from all the way up there," Wizgiz explained as he nervously packed all the books from his desk into his suit case, as if her were scared the girls were going to start a cat fight with him. Musa could imagine that happening, and chances were that he would lose and it wouldn't be so bad since it might postpone the quiz. "There is nothing I can do, but urge you to review the material and get a good night's sleep,"
"So wait, they will just kick us out?" Ali asked as she walked over to Musa's desk and dumped her books on the desk next to Musa's.
"Well, if we study then they will have no reason to kick us out," Musa knew how much Ali hated those people that were super optimists, she wasn't dark or anything, more of a realist, and kind of a bitch.
"Yeah, so not going to happen." Ali said sitting down and looking at her nails. "I mean I have to go to dance till like ten tonight, let me tell you the team isn't doing so great since you left,"
Musa had quit the dance team after everything that happened with Karen, since she was a year ahead of Musa she had a lot more power in the team than Musa did and Musa really didn't want to be anywhere around her. But, from what Ali had been telling her, the team wasn't doing so good without her. Musa couldn't help but smile when she heard the news, but she wasn't surprised. She was usually the one who helped the girls that couldn't pick up the routine as quickly with their steps and without someone to do that, it meant longer practices for everyone. "That sucks,"
"Oh you are just loving this,"
"I am not,"
"Oh, yes you are. You suck at lying" Ali claimed. "We need to hurry up and bring Karen down so things can get back to normal, I mean I loved dancing but she is one eight count away from getting her ass kicked,"
"Try to control yourself," Musa said as she got her books and followed Stella out of the room and into the hallway.
"I can't believe we have another huge quiz," Musa complained as she and Stella walked back to the dorm. It was clear that they needed to study, but the chance of being kicked out of Alfea was going to make it impossible to really concentrate.
"Can they really kick us out?" Stella began to bite her nails, which was a clear indication she was nervous since she never ruined her manicure unless there was something big happening. "I mean just for not passing one quiz!"
"I guess they could," Musa thought out loud and then looked to Stella who looked like she was about to be sick. "But hey I guess I could donate a new potions lab and you could give a new computer lab and get back in," Apparently the joke didn't go over so well with the princess of Solaria, because she same nauseated look didn't seem to leave her face. "Just kidding Stel…. Don't worry we'll study all night,"
"Good because I cannot get kicked out again!" Stella complained loudly as she opened the door to their dorm. "I mean Prince Sky and I are finally making some progress, I mean he is a great kisser and he's totally sweet. I can't leave again – oh hey look something came for you," Stella said when she picked up a letter that was sitting on the coffee table in the common room. "Maybe a pathetic love note from a heartbroken prince," Stella said handing the letter over to Musa, who had taken a seat on the couch and pulled out every book and note that she had ever taken in Wizgiz's class.
"Doubt it," Musa said bitterly as she took the letter and began to open. "He's probably too busy sleeping with some random girls," Musa then opened the letter and read it through. "Ugh I think I would have rather had Daniel sending me a letter,"
"Why whose it from," Stella asked as she sat down next to Musa and flipped through a few pages of the notebooks that Musa had laid out. "Hey do you think there is going to be any triple spell casting?"
"I dunno," Musa said not really listening to Stella. She continued to read the letter and then finally put it down with a frustrated sigh. "My aunt wants to have lunch…today,"
"Wait – the same one that basically told you to suck it up when you and Daniel broke up?" Stella asked and grabbed the letter to read it for herself. "You should go and spill something all over her,"
"I don't think that will go over too well," Musa sighed and looked back at the letter and rubbed her head. "First the quiz, now this, and I still have to meet with Ali about a few things later. I am starting to get a major migraine."
"So are you going," Stella asked once again as she mindlessly flipped through more of the textbooks that were laid out, it was obvious that she wasn't paying much attention to the words on the pages, but she continued to focus a part of her attention to them.
"I dunno," Musa admitted and then stood to meet Flora and Techna who had just walked into the dorm and over to Mirta. "So any progress on turning her back?"
"Okay I came across this spell last night," Everyone gathered around Flora and Mirta, who was still in pumpkin form, and watched as hopefully she turned her back into a person. Stella had even gotten up from her spot, apparently her panic over the quiz had lifted. "Let's see if it works. Mist of marrek, power unfurled turn this pumpkin back into a girl,"
"That sounded like major reak not mist of reek," Stella complained at the smell that began to diffuse all over the room. It smelled horrible, like bad eggs and when the smoke cleared it showed that the spell didn't even work.
"Yeah I don't think it's working," Flora said sadly as she put her hands down and looked over to Mirta disappointed.
"Well you know, witch on witch spells are very difficult to break," Techna walked over to Flora and tried to help her out, she had been working on the spell for awhile.
"Yeah but this is Flo, plants and vegetables and stuff are supposed to be her thing," Musa exclaimed not realizing how rude she sounded, she had her aunt on the brain and she was still deciding whether she was going to see her or not.
"You try it Miss lets just dump her in a patch," Flora began getting defensive.
"I will! And that was Stella wanted to plant her," Musa mocked, in her defense if was Stella who had suggested putting Mirta in a little patch, but Musa was pretty sure that Stella was just kidding about that. "Sorry Flo, I know you tried,"
"It's okay," Flora said as she walked over to her books and looked for some more spells. "I think I should give it a rest for awhile, I mean Wizgiz's quiz is tomorrow,"
"Can we please not talk about it!" Stella asked as she walked back over to the coffee table that was stacked with books. Musa looked to Stella as she made her way to the door and rolled her eyes, she had more mood swings than a pregnant lady. "Hey Musa where are you going?"
"Lunch," Musa grabbed her bag and walked out the door. She figured she would give her aunt at least a little bit of her time, besides she knew that if she didn't then she would get a huge lecture from her dad about being more respectful to her family, even when they were in the wrong. This was probably Galiena's attempt at a truce.
Musa walked out of the school and saw that there was a limo parked in the front. She noticed that there were flags on both ends of it which meant that it could bypass a few parking and other motor vehicle laws (1) and she noticed that the flags were the flags of the Harmonic Nebula. Musa sighed when she saw it, her aunt had sent her this not to make it more convenient for her, but so that Musa didn't walk or worse take as bus.
So, Musa walked straight past the limo and boarded the bus that was headed towards Magix.
The restaurant that Galiena had chosen was actually one of the ones owned by Penelope's father. It was very exclusive, but the food was to die for. Upon walking in, Musa kinda hoped that she would be walking in on some surprise party that they had decided to throw for her, it wasn't a stretch, they had thrown her many parties before. It would be great to walk in and see all of her old friends and her new friends talking and having a lot of fun together, it would have been a nice alternative to lunch with Galiena.
But it still made Musa wonder if in her little fantasy, Daniel was there amongst her friends. If she were thinking this before spring break and the breakup, he would have been there, but now it was different. And if he wasn't there would some of her other friends not be there as well. She tried not to think about the impending rift that was bound to materialize after their break up. Musa kept pondering the thought when she heard her aunt's voice breaking her out of the concentration.
"You didn't take the limo darling," Galiena asked when she saw Musa walk into the restaurant. She stood and smiled politely as she waited for Musa to make her way to their table. And Musa could feel a small pounding in her head, a common occurrence when she was around her aunt. "Aw, I really didn't want you to walk all the way here,"
"Oh I didn't," Musa said with the same fake smile that helped her endure all her conversations with her aunt. "I took a bus," Musa knew that it would make her aunt cringe to know that Musa had taken public transportation, and it did.
For the next twenty or so minutes, the two sat silently eating the food before them. And this time Musa was careful to mind her manners. She didn't know why her aunt hadn't even broached the reason she was here, at least the real reason. Her letter had said that she wanted to work out some of the animosity that had risen during spring break. But her aunt was way too proud to ever apologize to her, so what was this really about. Musa knew that there was something brewing and it would be best to just get it out there and get it over with than keep pushing to see what happened next.
"So what is it exactly that you want? I mean other than being a royal pain," she sniped. She had a lot to do today and the last place she wanted to be was here. She knew that the quiz that decided her fate was the next day and she was feeling oddly at ease about it. She knew she was just kidding when she told Stella that they could buy their way back into the school, but she probably could. It worked for Stella, and she had better grades than Stella did, but still. Maybe it was because she had been doing fine in the class all year, if she could do well all year then she could do well on this test too.
"I know you don't want to see me right now, but we can at least be civil," Galiena said politely and quietly trying not to attract anymore attention. It was clear that she was not too excited about introducing the conversation either. "Besides I am the one that should be angry at you, you had me thrown out of the palace as if I had broken in,"
"Well you certainly weren't welcome," Musa said obstinately, she was not going to drop the grudge she had towards her aunt even if she was making an effort to make up for her past transgressions. Musa knew that it was only an act. "So what is so urgent you need me on such short notice? I mean a few hours notice is a little rude…." Musa said with a tone mocking her aunt's serious attitude.
"Alright, that's enough lip out of you," Galiena scolded. "I am your aunt after all and you should respect your elders no matter what,"
Musa held her tongue and decided to let her explain herself. She was right, she did deserve a little respect and Musa knew this had to be somewhat important if she had made the trip all the way to Magix to talk to her instead of just calling. "Alright," Musa said in a more relaxed tone. "What do you need?"
"Well since you asked so nicely," Galiena smiled a wicked smile as she imitated Musa's tone. "You know that the Royal Charity Ball is in a few days and it is at the Luxe Ballroom in Magix and I wanted to give you some – ,"
"I'm not going to the Charity Ball," Musa interrupted knowing there was an agenda behind her aunt's visit. There was no way in hell she came here to patch things up, she always had an alter motive for everything she did.
"Yes you are," Galiena pressed on and refused to let Musa get a word in. "You are expected there and I know that you haven't been feeling up to it since the little argument you had with Daniel, I know how you feel, believe it or not I had my heart broken when I was young,"
"Oh I don't doubt that at all," Musa said under her breath angrily. Was she really here to make her go to a ball where her ex would be there? She had to know how uncomfortable it made Musa, especially if she had been though the same thing when she was younger, something Musa didn't doubt. "and we didn't have an argument, we broke up,"
"Yes well anyway, I was talking to Dutchess Amber Riley and her son William will be attending. Poor boy has been so busy over at Chilton Academy(2) that he hasn't had the time to find a date for the event. You do remember William don't you?"
"Yes….vividly," Musa groaned. William was definitely not a bad looking guy, actually he was pretty handsome, but a totally royal ass. He was the typical prince that expected everything to fall into his lap and the kind of girl he wanted was the kind that wouldn't mind being 'seen and not heard'. He wanted the kind of girl that Musa's aunt was trying to turn her into, someone who would sit politely on her throne and plan parties. And of coarse have lots of heirs to the throne and teach them to be the same royal robots that their parents were. In short, he was pretty on the outside and a nightmare on the inside. "And I know where you are going with this – ,"
"Good then you will agree to be his date to the ball," Galiena said excitedly. "That is perfect and this way your heart can heal from everything that has happened recently," she finished as she reached her hand over to the other end of the table and took Musa's in a sympathetic gesture, that only served to piss off Musa further.
"I already told you, I'm not going," Musa was going to stand firm on this. She didn't want to see Daniel at all, nor did she want to be forced around other people she didn't like. Besides, she had better things to do with her time, like finding out why the witches were constantly after them or why she couldn't seem to get her mind off of Riven.
"Musa please," Galiena said her voice becoming firm once again. "Your father wants you to be there. And he asks so little of you, he wanted to be here in person to insist you go, but he is in Crescendo with the King Alexander at a meeting. Pity Crescendo can only be an ally, I mean a joined kingdom would have been so perfect…"
Musa's jaw tightened when she heard what Galiena was getting at and the headache that she had earlier was starting to come back with more force. She knew it would be really hard for Galeina to grasp since she had such high hopes for her relationship with Daniel, but Musa really didn't want to think about it. "Dad didn't mention anything about it when I talked to him so are you sure it isn't you that wants me to go?"
"That is because your father didn't even know about the ball until I told him about it last night," Galiena seemed to have an answer for everything and that meant that Musa was probably not going to be able to get out of going to this one. "Honestly, there needs to be someone around the palace to remind him of these things, and since you have made it clear that you do not want to embrace your royal heritage, it is up to me. But even I can't keep up with everything, my social calendar is also very full,"
"First of all," Musa began finally being able to get a word in. where did she get off thinking Musa didn't like her life. Sure being of noble blood had a lot of downsides. But it wasn't like she would wish she was someone else, being royal had a lot of perks as well and she wasn't so high up on her high horse to deny that she part took in them. But she didn't like the unwritten rule that said that her life would be dictated to her by someone else. "I like my heritage just fine, it's just I'd rather make a few decisions on my own without having to consult the royal advisors on every move I make,"
"Well wake up angel!" Galiena exclaimed raising her voice to match Musa's. "You get to live the life others only dream about and you complain about the minute details! You should know that a princess' destiny is not her own. You must do what is good for not only you but your people and sometimes that means overriding something that might make you happy,"
"No! That is how you see it," Musa retorted. Her aunt made it seem like if Musa didn't do exactly as she was told the entire kingdom would go down in flames. Her political decisions could be completely separate from her personal ones. She didn't need to marry a prince for the good of the kingdom, as long as the ruling family knew how to run the kingdom, everything was fine. "I can be a perfectly good queen without having to give up my freedom thank you. And don't try to make it seem like you have noble reasons to do the things you do. 'To help my people' Please! You want me to be with Daniel because it will make the family look good. And if I am with someone below my status, you get embarrass you and that's why you never want it to happen."
"Lower your voice," Galiena commanded as she looked around the room and noticed that she and Musa had attracted some unwanted attention. "You certainly know how to create a scene. And if you must know, you have to be with someone of your status for your own good! Do not act like you know everything, because I have been through it all before and all I am trying to do is protect you!"
"Please," Musa said lowering her voice. "You don't want to protect me, you want to make me someone I'm not. And protect me from what? The scary ladies in ball gowns? I think I can handle myself,"
"You have no idea how horrible things can turn when you do things like date beneath you," Galiena adjusted her position in her seat as if the whole subject was making her uncomfortable. "You see everything with rose colored glasses, but it isn't as simple as falling in love with someone no matter his rank. There is a reason I warned your father about marrying beneath him, the world you live in can tear relationships apart and leave you alone and miserable if you aren't careful!"
"Oh and you would know," Musa said rolling her eyes and crossing her arms as she leaned back in her chair. "You are like palace Barbie… well like her grandma, but still. If I am going to take advice about this, it definitely won't be from you,"
"You'd be surprised what I've gone through," Galiena said in a hard tone. She then stood up and politely put down her napkin and put on her sunglasses. "I expect to see you at the ball,"
Musa sat there absolutely astonished. It was normally her to storm out of a room after an argument with her aunt. And what her aunt had said and the things she had left out spoke volumes. What did she mean that she had been through things that she couldn't comprehend? Musa had a hard time picturing her aunt with some guy that wasn't a prince let alone being heartbroken when it didn't work out. Maybe she had said it to make Musa feel bad about yelling at her. Whatever the reason was, it got Musa thinking.
She didn't want to be thinking the subject of marriage any time soon, but would it come down to her having to listen to her family for protect herself from whatever Galiena was talking about? Musa sat there contemplating it for a few minutes before getting up herself and walking out of the restaurant herself. That was a more than eventful lunch.
She decided to walk back to Alfea instead of take the bus; she could use the time to think about what she was going to do. What her aunt had said was getting to her and she didn't know why. It wasn't like she was in a relationship with anyone, so why did it matter so much to her right now? She continued to walk along the streets of Magix and she hardly took notice to the things around her. It was like the bustling city wasn't there, she was so lost in her own thoughts she might as well have been in a cave, she probably wouldn't have noticed.
Her lack of attention to what was going on led to what happened next, and looking back at it, Musa would have found this to be comical, but now she was just annoyed. Musa was making her way through the city when she heard someone say something to her. "You know it's not very polite to ignore people, you'd think that a princess would know that…"
Musa looked up to see Riven standing in front of her with that same smirk that made her stomach to back flips. She could only guess that he had said some snide comment to her and she was to preoocupied with her thoughts to notice. Musa had no idea why but staring up at the man that made her question even the most stable of relationships that she had, still made her pulse quicken and her heart skip a beat. Musa had to remind herself of everything he had done so she wouldn't be so taken by him. But even though it didn't show, she was taken by him. And for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. "I wasn't polite to you was I? Oh well I think I'll live if you don't like me," Musa spat out when she finally found her voice.
"Why do I have a hard time believing that," Riven said inching close to Musa until he was dangerously close to her face, he had even bent a bit just to get to eye level with her. His smirk on his face grown which clearly meant that he was enjoying messing with her mind, but Musa would not let him get the satisfaction of knowing he had an effect on her, even if he did still make her knees weak.
"I dunno, maybe you're just stupid," Musa said just keeping the desire out of her voice. Why couldn't he just like her and not be a backstabbing jackass! As if she hadn't had enough of them in her life. She knew she shouldn't indulge him in a back fourth conversation, but she couldn't help but take the bait, she was getting angrier by the second. "I mean all signs point to that now don't they,"
"Ouch, I'm being civil so why can't you be," Riven asked in the same annoyingly innocent tone, but with the smirk that Musa couldn't look away from. "I thought we were friends,"
"Cut the crap and leave me alone," Musa said as she began to walk away only to be followed by Riven. It was clear that he was trying to get a reaction out of her, but Musa needed to stay away. She knew a part of her was enjoying the attention from him, she had wanted so bad for so long, but she refused to acknowledge it. He was bad and that was all that mattered.
"Hey, hey, hey," Riven cooed pulling her back close to him as if he could tell that he was having some type of effect on her. "Come on, let's talk. You know you miss me,"
"Actually, not so much. Leave me alone," Musa said firmly looking him dead in the eye and seeing nothing. Like she was looking into the eyes of a porcelain doll.
"I think that maybe you like it," Riven said not moving any further away from her. Inside he put his hand on the side of her face mocking tenderness. "Maybe you want me around, admit it Musa, I'm having some effect on you," he said in the same vain voice she was used but this time she saw his eyes finally come alive. It was as if something had shaken him awake all of a sudden since the last time she saw him he was a practical zombie. Musa hadn't even thought of the possibility that it was her stirring up feelings inside of him and it was her that he truly wanted.
"And I think that maybe you're full of it," Musa said her tone becoming bitchy and mean. She then clenched her jaw as she pushed his hand off her face. If he wanted to play with fire, she would make sure he got burned. Even though she still felt very strongly for him, she couldn't just overlook the fact that he had betrayed everyone that had been close to him and be had chosen the side of evil. Not to mention he had no problem helping Darcy and her psycho sisters along with half the witches at Cloud tower to ambush her. "No, I'm pretty sure you're full of it,"
"I don't understand why you're being so mean," Riven put his hand on his chest as if Musa were hurting him and began to mock Musa further, after noticing that he was getting on Musa's nerves. "I mean you're starting to hurt my feelings,"
"That's not all I'll hurt if you don't get your hands off of me," Musa warned trying to pull her wrist out of Riven's grasp, unfortunately the fallen hero had a firm grip on her wrist and Musa could only struggle under his power.
"Excuse me miss," Musa looked away from Riven to see that a random guy had actually some to her aid. He looked like he probably went to Red Fountain since he looked like he was a teenager and he was standing up for her so he obviously had some training in chivalry. "Is this guy giving you trouble?"
Musa couldn't help but smile at this guy who was standing there, he had the same dark hair as Musa and a pair of soft honey eyes that reminded her of Stella's, just less intense. (3) He seemed sweet and Musa liked the attention from someone else, who wasn't trying to hurt her. "Oh trust me," Musa said confidently as she quickly pulled her wrist away from Riven's hold and gave him a stare that made it look like she pitied him and by . "I can handle this one," The guy nodded and then began back on his way.
"Well go ahead Musa," Riven said pulling her back close to him, it seemed like he wasn't the least bit phased by the fact that someone else had injected because they were worried about Musa's well being. He had let go of her wrist and instead put his arm around her waist and then moved his mouth to her ear and whispering the rest. "Handle me,"
Musa's heart was racing at the close proximity she was with Riven. She could feel his hot breath on her neck and it was so obvious that he was trying to get her to break, but she wouldn't let him win. But, she couldn't deny how excited he got her or how he could fill her with desire by simply putting her close. "Or better yet, I'll handle you," He finished with a smirk.
"Please Riven, better men than you have tried and failed," Musa said confidently a she pushed him away and rewarded him with a hard slap across his face. She seriously doubted Riven did this with all the girls he had ever met so there had to be something about her that he found intriguing had to still have some type of feelings towards her, if he had any feeling left in him at all. But, that was a good reference point if she wanted to hit a nerve, since all of her efforts so far seemed to be fruitless. Not to mention that he had a girlfriend! Sure Musa was no fan of Darcy, but she was sure that the witch wouldn't be too happy to see her boyfriend all over someone else. Besides, Musa knew how it felt when someone was being deceitful. "So there's no way Darcy's little lap dog could do it,"
"I think you'd be surprised," Riven continued not at all phased my Musa's insults. "Pleasantly surprised. And it seems like you know you would,"
Musa looked to see the monster he had become, there was a time she had thought that Riven's rude behavior was just a cover for something else going on in his life, but now she saw the real person underneath all of it. She almost felt pity for him since he had lost the trust and friendship from some of the noblest guys at Red Fountain. "You should scurry back to your master, I mean she must be so worried, her puppy dog doesn't even have his leash on right now,"
By the look on Riven's face, it looked like Musa had finally stuck a nerve and now that she did, she could finally get the upper hand in this little confrontation, if you could call it that. "I mean seriously Riven, someone so high strung like you is letting someone else make all the decisions. It's interesting that's all,"
"Aww, it's cute how you think you kno-,"
Musa kept going, knowing Riven would only slow down her verbal attacks. "Seriously Riven, I am trying to figure out just why you are so messed up. Ditching the only people that made you look good or hanging out with someone who's probably going to get you killed. What's wrong hmm…? Mommy didn't hug you enough?" Little did Musa know that she had hit the nail straight on the head and for the first time since he had began dating Darcy, Musa saw emotion finally lit up in his eyes, only for a brief second.
Riven remained silent, there was nothing he could say. He was finally seeing all the bridges that he had burned and it looked like there was no way of rebuilding them, suddenly a sharp pain came across his chest and stopped any attempt at a retort back.
This sort of thing had happened before when Musa got too angry at someone, she would continue to drill into someone until they were left feeling the way she was. It was hardly a good way to deal with problems, but it was one good way to get everything off your chest. Musa stopped herself for a second before starting again, she was sure she never wanted to see his despicable face ever again, even if she was strangely attracted to him.
She began to walk away angrily and finally Riven made no attempt to stop her. But, when she got a few more steps away from him she figured she could finally get Riven to leave her alone, which was the one thing that she really needed the most. "And Riven, you are no where near good enough to even talk to me, so next time you're about to run into me, keep walking,"
Musa kept walking through Magix not sure how she was feeling. She had so much to think about and she still couldn't get over the fact that she felt something towards Riven. He had just acted like a complete ass and she still felt an attraction. What is wrong with me! How could she possibly feel anything but hate for him, he had done everything possible to push her away, he betrayed everyone, and now he was harassing her. God she needed her head examined.
And what was worse was that this was just one of the problems that had piled up today. Aside from getting back to Alfea to study for a quiz that decided her fate, she had to plot against a backstabbing friend, find a way to get over a guy that was all wrong for her, and try to get out of going to the ball where she would most likely see the latest guy that was all wrong for her. But, she figured that it could be worse, she could be a pumpkin.
That night, when Musa returned from her meeting with her aunt and the run in with Riven, Bloom and the girls were sitting around the coffee table in the common room looking at an envelope that Bloom had found in the hallway after bumping into Professor Wizgiz. Stella was about to ask Musa about the lunch, but when she saw the label on the evenlpe she became more interested in that. "Okay, I'll say it. I think this is a golden opportunity. And I'm sure we can make it up later with good deeds or something. So I'm gonna open it," Stella reached for the envelope that sat in the center of the table before Musa stopped her.
"Stella don't!" Musa scolded. The envelope held the answers to the quiz that they were all going to take the next day, the one that even Stella had been stressing about. "We don't need to cheat, I mean come on we studied and I let you use all my notes. We'll be fine for the quiz,"
"If professor finds out you cheated then you will definitely get kicked out of school," Techna reminded. The consequences were steep, but still it was worth considering.
"Yeah well I'm gonna get thrown out anyway," Stella said as she put her face in her hands frustrated. "When I bomb the test,"
"Yeah but think about your conscious," Flora said as the voice of reason once again. But, while they were debating with Stella, Musa was thinking about opening the envelope. She would have to be stupid not to, the test was incredibly important and if they bombed it then they would get kicked out. Stella did have a point and if they cheated then they had a chance at not getting caught. She could just study for the rest of the night, but Musa knew that she wouldn't be able to concentrate, with everything that happened today, it would be hard for her to concentrate.
"My conscious just wants me to get a good grade!"
"This is bunk, Bloom," Musa said lashing out at the only person she could think of. But., it was the only thing worse than not deciding to use it or not would be if they didn't use it and get caught with it anyway. "You should have left that envelope in the hallway where you found it. Not only is it too much temptation, we could get busted for just having it here."
"You're right, I know," Bloom agreed. "What should we do about it?"
"Okay I got it! What we'll do is only read the questions, that way it' not cheating," Stella said proudly as if she had just found the cure to a epidemic disease. She must of known that it was just as bad as reading the answers, but it was clear that she was desperate and this was a way out.
"Oh come on Stella! How is reading the questions not cheating!" Flora scolded.
"Forget this, I'm hitting the books," Musa decided and yawned. She knew that there was an all nighter staring her in the face, but she did want to get some sleep. She figured she could buckle down for a few hours and get some actual work done, but she was still running the entire afternoon through her head a million times. "And then hitting the hay,"
Musa walked into her room and set out a bunch of her books onto her bed. She began to read the third chapter in her transformations book when she heard a ring coming from her phone. Musa looked around her room for a few seconds and couldn't seem to find it. "Ugh, you can't be serious," Musa said to herself as she stood up and began to follow the sound around her room. Finally, she found the phone right before the person calling her could hang up. "Hello,"
"Hey, got your text," Annabelle said. Musa had sent her a text asking if she was also going to be going to the charity ball in a few days, since she was still decideing if she should go or not. She didn't want to go and if it was completely up to her, she wouldn't. But, she knew not going would be a major slap in the face to her aunt, who basically had a melt down of her own at lunch and Musa was not sure she wanted to be pushing the envelope this much when it came it pissing her off. "I'm not going,"
"Seriously…." Musa was disappointed to say the least. She figured it wouldn't be too bad if someone she could talk to would be there, but she wasn't going to be too comfortable if she was there alone, or worse if she was there alone and her aunt set her up with someone. "Crap, and my aunt had like this crazy melt down at lunch, so I think I have to show up to this one,"
"Melt down?"
"Yeah she went on this huge rant about how she is truly trying to help me," Musa began as she recalled the bizarre turn of events at lunch. "Then she was like ' you have no idea the things I've been through and I am trying to protect you from the same thing happening to you' It was really weird, I mean there is probably some secret part of her past nobody know," Musa said still unable to grasp that her aunt might have a huge secret. She was sure she had some, but not a big one that caused her to flip out like she had at lunch. "So I kinda want to avoid that happening again,"
"Sorry, but you know you don't have to be there too long," Annabelle added trying to make Musa feel better. "And why don't you bring someone there. A cute red fountain boy perhaps…what about that one that you liked – ,"
"No," Musa quickly cut her off before she could finish. She knew who Annabelle was getting at and that was definitely not going happen. While Bloom and the girls knew why Musa wanted nothing to do with Riven, the twins and Leslie only knew that he was a jerk. And since Musa hadn't brought him up for awhile, they thought maybe things had blown over and maybe she was back to liking him, even though she never really stopped. "Don't even start with that,"
"Sore subject?"
"You already know it is," Musa quipped. She knew she had explained how infuriating Riven could be to her friends. But she was still so angry about today, mostly at herself for liking him, but at him as well. How could he even live with himself knowing everything he had done. "I can't believe that guy, he's such a – a – a… I don't know! I just really hate him!"
"Sounds to me like the opposite is true," Annabelle pointed out knowing she was only going to further upset Musa. But this was so grade school, girls and boys acted like they hated each other when they actually liked each other. "Before you yell, think about it,"
"It doesn't matter," Musa said giving herself no time to think about what she had just said. She was not going to admit, ever, that she still liked Riven or that he made her heart race by just looking at her. She was so embarrassed about her feelings and there was no way that she was going to admit them. "He's the biggest ass in the universe, you won't even believe what he did,"
"I'm sure I will," Annabelle asserted. "So…what did he do?"
Normally Musa would have just given her a quick synopsis of what happened. Something like 'I saw him and he was rude and that's it'. But for some reason he had really gotten under he skin today and she had no one else to turn to. She could tell Stella or Flora about it, but she knew that they would bring up the chance that she still liked him and she didn't want to put herself in that predicament. Not to mention telling Annabelle was like fool proof. She wasn't a big gossip like her sister so Musa didn't have to worry about word getting out and she wasn't going to get on her high horse and give her advice like Leslie. She would be a good listener which was exactly what Musa needed.
"Well, I think you acted admirably," Annabelle said after Musa finished her twenty minute testimonial on the event and her thoughts. "I would have kicked him in the groin instead of the slap, but hey we all have different styles. Main thing is, now he knows to leave you alone. That's what you want right?"
No, Musa wanted a lot of things, but that wasn't it. She didn't want Riven to act that way, she didn't want him to be the person he had become over the past few months. She wanted him to be the guy that had rudely yet generously, given her a ride back to Alfea when she got caught in the rain when she had wondered into the enchanted forest. She wanted the Riven that had sniped at her and her friends during their time in the swamp, she would take him over this new, zombie Riven any day.
"Yeah," Musa said to Annabelle after a pause. "That's what I want,"
"Good, now be that assertive attitude when William tries to feel you up at the ball,"
"Not funny," Musa complained forgetting all about the ball for a second. It was the one thing that she really needed to make a decision on, but she really didn't want to go. "I'm not going,"
"Going where?" Asked a new voice. When Musa looked up she found that the voice belonged to the Princess of Solaria. She had walked in with a few books, probably after a few failed attempts at trying to get the envelope. "Oh sorry didn't know you were on the phone. I'm just gonna sit here and – yea,"
"Just go, we both know you will anyway and report back," Annabelle commanded. "I'll let you study, Don't want to get you kicked out of Alfea….or do I?"
"Okay, bye Anna," Musa hung up the phone and walked over to Stella and pulled out some flash cards that she could use to quiz herself on some spells that she needed. "You know, if we quiz each other on every other chapter we can probably get a lot more material covered by morning," Musa suggested.
"So where aren't you going," Stella asked, slamming a book closed and focusing her energy on Musa. "And how did lunch go with you aunt and is one related to the other, I mean this wouldn't be the first time she forced you to do something you didn't want to do, right?" Stella said in one breathe, leaving Musa very impressed and a little confused.
"Lunch was interesting," Musa said honestly mentally checking off that question from the list of questions Stella had just fired at her. "And she wants me to go to some charity ball in a few days, and I really don't wanna go,"
"A ball! How fun, why wouldn't you wanna go?" Stella asked proving that she was the exact opposite of Musa. While she thought balls and galas were fun, Musa had grown to dread them. "You have to go!"
"I dunno, it's not really the biggest thing on my agenda right now,"
"It should be,"
"You sound like my aunt,"
"She's a smart lady," Stella demanded. "Come on it could be fun, I'll come with and I'm sure the girls would be free too. You should go, you're the one who said that you needed to make peace with your aunt earlier today. This would be the perfect way to do that,"
"Daniel is gonna be there," Musa said as she crossed her arms around her chest, sure that she had given Stella the one reason that would get her out of going to the ball.
"Even more reason to go!" Stella exclaimed happily. "You have to go and you have to look amazing! You can totally make him jealous and make him regret even looking at someone else! Come on you have to!"
The back and fourth went on between Musa and Stella for another hour or so before Musa told Stella that they were either going to study or Stella was going to have to leave the room. They finally got down to studying, but Musa ended up falling asleep on her desk and Stella fell asleep across the room with her book in her face.
Hours later, Musa was woken up by the sound of her door flying open and a frantic Stella yelling. "Griselda was just here! She just sent Bloom to Faragonda's office to talk about answers to questions," Stella said running into Musa's room and interrupting her conversation with Annabelle. "We're so busted,"
They bombarded her with questions about what happened in Ms. Faragonda's office, scared that they were all going to be expelled from the school. But, Bloom had different news to share. "I had nothing to do with the envelope, it was about my sleeping in class. They didn't even know about the envelope or the answers,"
"Really, so what should we do about the envelope now?" Musa asked once again. Now that they were sure that nobody had any clue about the envelope, they had a better opportunity; they wouldn't get caught nearly as easily as they thought.
"Start studying because we're going to pretend that it doesn't exist," It was probably the best idea since they had already been studying for awhile and the they probably knew more material than they thought, plus the chance of getting caught would be a distraction either way.
The rest of the night consisted of fighting temptation, something Musa had become rather acquainted to in the past months. Bloom and the girls had decided to hide the answers in the kitchen so that none of the girls could access it. But, in the middle of the night they had all succumb to the temptation of cheating and they all stumbled upon each other trying to get the envelope for themselves.
Not that it mattered, after they all decided not to look, they went to bed. The next morning Professor Wizgiz told them that the envelopes were all a test and that it was just ploys to see who would cheat and who wouldn't. Clever, but Musa was not at all amused since she had actually stressed and studied for the test.
But for now, it was nice to not have to worry about much.
1. This is actually true. There are some diplomatic vehicals that don't have to obey traffic laws if they display their diplomatic flags. I mean they can't do anything crazy, but they get good parking…
2. A reference to Gilmore Girls, Rory went ot chilton academy for high school
3. Hmm... the description of this boy seems to be very similar to the way Jared looks... hahaha i thought he needed a cameo
Next up – nightmare monster!
xoxo,
princessm