Sometimes Fate Works- Chapter 1.
(Flora X Riven Modern Day AU)
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It was just another morning at Gardenia. Flora woke up with a slight headache, put on her bunny slippers, and started to make some tea.
Some people couldn't last a day without their iced americano. Well, for Flora Laine, you could say it was tea that kept her going.
She even had her own set, which she kept in her bedroom.
After putting on the kettle, Flora brushed her hair. Her waist length honey locks fell softly on her delicate shoulders as she counted to one hundred. By then, tea was ready. She took a sip, savoring the minty mixture.
"Flora, have you seen my yellow jacket?", suddenly a voice echoed in the corridor.
Flora, who was used to her usual 6AM silence, nearly dropped the floral teacup she was holding.
"No, Miele, but something tells me it's in your clothing cabinet."
"Very funny.", her sister replied.
"I know right."
The girl snickered while closing her door.
Then she quickly got dressed, putting on the clothes she carefully picked out the night before.
"Floral chemisier, denim jeans, pink hairband and my new Converse, perfect for the new trimester."
And she was off.
Oh, how special that trimester would be. Not really. No, how special that year would be.
"Flo! How was your summer?", a girl with short purple hair and red iPods asked Flora, as she walked over to her.
"Oh, Muse, you say that as thought we haven't texted each other ten hours a day, seven days a week. My mom even had to confiscate my phone because I didn't get enough sleep, remember?"
The girl was responsible enough for her age, but she was still a teen.
"You have a point."
"I often do."
The two girls echoed in laughter. It was nice to see each other again after two months of loneliness.
"Well, you haven't changed, Flo. Anyways, I want you to meet someone!"
"Who? Please tell me it's not a boy?", Flora asked, excited but scared.
"No! You know the Bloom I was talking about?"
"The one that went with you to camp?"
Flora hated her from the second Musa spammed her with messages about the girl.
"Yeah, she's moving here."
Karma? Flora was sure to never sneak out at night to buy gummy bears again. Amen.
"So she'll be with us?"
"I… do want us to all hang out together."
Oh, how Flora hated the gummy bears right now.
"You know how I am with strangers, Musa."
It would have been a good excuse if it wasn't true.
"You can act the way the you are when you're with me. There's not much difference."
"Musa, I've known you since preschool. There is, actually, a difference."
"One is a small sum."
Technically, one gummy bear could still make your day. And elevate your risk of having diabetes. Depends on how you see it.
"Have you ever heard of negative numbers?", Flora smirked.
"Was it the class where I asked you to let me copy your homework or was it the class I skipped?"
"Well, for sure, it was the class you failed."
They both smiled.
"Bingo."
"Hey, Musa!"
Flora froze. She was too busy joking that she didn't realize a redhead girl had joined them. The girl in question had big, blue eyes, but her arched eyebrows washed away all the innocent on her face. Oh, no. Hell no.
Flora looked down. Did she look okay? Was the chemisier too formal? Was her hair frizzing up? Maybe she should have put on makeup? She had no excuse since Sephora went vegan. No, she needed to be strong.
"Flo? You here?"
Reality, here we come.
"Oh, yes, Musa. I was thinking about something. Go on."
Act natural. Act natural.
"Kay, anyways, here is Bloom. Bloom, Flora, my best friend since Leo DiCaprio started dating girls half his age."
"Not that long.", the brunette corrected, playing with her hair.
Bloom chuckled.
"Well, hi, Flora."
"Emmm. Yeah. Yeah. Hi, Bloom."
That was decent, especially since the only other way would have been running away. And man, was Flora tired of running away. Plus, she still had that headache from sneaking out. Ugh, fuck gummy bears. Not literally. That'd be creepy.
Even creepier was Bloom's gaze. Baby blues were supposed to be calming, Flora's psychologist always used to tell her that. It was even the reason why she got a goldfish, except it was blue. Is that even a goldfish? Ugh, it did die in two weeks.
Well, anyways, if water could be lit, the oceans in Bloom's eyes were on fire. Poor fish, Flora thought. She should never have subscribed to PETA. Even out of pity for That Vegan Teacher. It did feel nice to get her mail box spammed, though, for she wasn't very popular.
After a small, awkward silence, Musa and Bloom started chatting happily. It was about some new fringe curlers, which Flora knew nothing about since she didn't have one.
"Emm, Musa, do you mind if I just go to find my locker first? You know I'm not good at finding things."
"Yeah, sure. See ya at lunch!"
"Bye."
And she ran off. Why did it always end in running away?
After wandering without a purpose for a while, Flora took out her notebook and started to write. All that insignificance she felt, all that mess that was in her heart seemed so clear on paper, like a crystal ball that reflected back her true self. Someone she never really showed to anyone, except maybe Musa. She wasn't even sure about their relationship anymore Maybe Leo was going to fall for a 40 years old? How funny.
Suddenly, she felt a soft breeze go through her hair.
"Mint and chamomile?", she heard a voice ask.
Flora looked over, surprised.
"I meant, your shampoo.", said the boy.
"Oh, oh, yeah."
"I have the same."
"Ah."
That's when the girl realized standing in front of her was the handsomest boy she had ever met. It wasn't a model handsome. It wasn't a TikTok handsome either. It wasn't even a fancy restaurant and Saint Laurent suit handsome. No, it was a walk in the forest bare feet at three AM, looking up to a sea of stars handsome.
"Hi, I'm Helia Stanford.", the boy smiled.
"Emmm. Well. Ah. I'm Flora. Flora Laine."
May we fuck gummy bears again?
"You're a writer?", he asked, pointing at her notebook.
Flora's soft lips suddenly felt numb. After staring into his midnight, no, 3AM blue eyes for a few more seconds, she came back to her senses.
"Oh. It's, emm, nothing. Just a journal."
"Well that's something. You're the first person I meet, except my grandfather, who isn't allergic to paper."
"Well, emmm, I do see it's impact on trees, but have you ever visited a, emmm, Apple factory? All that gas, is far worse."
Another thing Flora couldn't live without- ever- was nature. She grew up in a small town, and, to her, the best feeling in the world was when she would lay down in the grass and listen to birds sing. Songs that were just for her.
"Right? I did, actually, go to one of those. Are you, maybe, interested in ecology?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say I have done much, but yeah. Nature, emm, matters a lot to me."
"Then you should join the ecology club.", he grinned.
"Yay, emmm. I will think about, aaah, it. Bye."
And, this time, Flora went to her locker for real.
She was just writing into her journal about what had just happened when a boy walked over. The girl was so caught up that she didn't see him coming.
"Hey, you, move it."
Flora looked up, her eyes wide. It wasn't going to happen again, right? No, that was ridiculous.
"Move it, I said! You blocked my locker, I'm going to be late!"
"Emmm, sorry, yes."
The short brunette ran off immediately, her heart beating fast. Maybe it was out of fear, maybe out of surprise, or maybe just because she didn't like the boy's vibes. No, she wasn't going to let herself go through it again.
Only after she ran off, she realized she had lost her pen on the way.
"Hey, you dropped your pen!", Flora heard echo in the corridor.
But she wasn't going to go back. No matter who he was, the boy had frightened her. He wasn't midnight walk and starry skies like Helia was. He meant thunder, lightning, troubled aboves.
Oh, how she would never forget that boy.