Candy- Chapter 4
Flora X Riven Modern Day AU
Then the weekend came. Flora, who didn't have any plans, was laying on her bed, and kept staring at her phone. She expected Musa to at least have enough of a heart to text her back, but the word "read" was here to stay.
The brunette rolled over. Why, she thought. Suddenly, her phone rang.
Unknown sender: Hi, Flora.
"Who are you?", the girl replied.
A few seconds later her phone rang again.
"Helia :)"
Flora shrugged. She didn't remember giving him her number. She was far too shy.
Well, the girl thought, maybe he got it from Musa. A small smile lit up her delicate face.
"Hey."
"What are you doing?", he replied soon after.
"Nothing much. You?"
"I have art class in fifteen mins. Thought I could chat with you for awhile, since you keep appearing in my thoughts anyways. :)"
Flora felt her cheeks flaming.
And they talked. On and on. For a second Flora thought this happiness would never stop. She wouldn't let it, anyways. Not that the girl could do much. She chuckled. Maybe that was love. Wanting to do anything, even though it isn't possible.
That's when she heard thumping sounds from downstairs, alongside a vase breaking. A sight echoed. Not again.
Flora walked down hurriedly.
"So, young lady, you want me to trust you after that?", cried out her mother from the kitchen, face reddening from rage.
Miele was face to her, in tears.
"I didn't know. I didn't know it would take so long to get back. I thought I would be back on curfew. I didn't know-"
"So you go somewhere like that without even telling me? What's your phone for?! Maybe buying it was a mistake too?!"
Miele's eyes went blank as the woman grabbed what was nearest to her. It happened to be Flora's tea set, which the girl had just cleaned. Mrs. Laine had a habit of throwing things when her temper shot up, and nothing near her hand reach was an exception.
"No, mom!", Flora rushed to her side, pulling the china over.
Eyes full of rage were waiting for her.
"And you dare to come here? Coming back so late yesterday, you were lucky I was too tired to deal with ungrateful girls like you!"
That's when the teacup touched the ground, breaking into a million pieces. Tears fell down immediately, joining the debris. The sight of the small flowers drawn onto the cup broke Flora's heart.
"Do you even remember what this means to me?", she murmured, pain in her eyes.
Like a shotgun the girl ran off, not even caring to look back. Away from this room. Away from this house. Away from this life.
Just for a little while, she thought. Let me be nothing just for a little while. No one. Not Flora Laine. Not her who has my fate.
After soaring until her lungs burned and her sweat wet her hair, Flora fell down. She couldn't keep up with the wind. At least not anymore. For a little while she stayed there, on the ground, calming down as her breathing evened. That's when she heard sobs. They weren't coming from herself, that was certain. She wasn't that deranged. The brunette looked up, as the sound of tears intensified.
Maybe she had nothing better to do, maybe she wanted to talk to someone who would understand, maybe she was just curious. So she walked over. It wasn't very far, anyway. No. But sometimes someone could be so near, yet feel miles away. That's how Flora felt about her mom.
"Are you okay?", the girl asked, as she recognized the silhouette of a boy, seating on a bench. He had a large hoodie on, so she couldn't see much of him, but she did see the pain.
At the sound of her voice she saw him shiver.
"It's all right, you can tell me."
She sat across him as his shoulders straightened up. Now they were back to back. She could feel his pain through the mere physical touch. That was maybe why she was good with plants. Empathy. Even from silence.
"You know, it's not gonna help if you just keep it all to yourself.", the girl added. She knew how skeptical it was seeing how she herself never talks about her feelings, but it was so much easier when other's problems were the matter.
"You wouldn't understand.", he whispered. It was a sad tone, which his voice made feel like dark chocolate.
The brunette smiled sadly.
"Maybe I would."
Silence.
"If I tell you my problems, will you tell me yours?", she asked.
She felt the boy loosen up.
"Maybe."
So she started talking.
"When I was about two, my father passed away. I don't even remember him, except the fights he had with my mother about me. They often turned… violent. After the funeral, my mom went back to her young spirit. Maybe she felt liberated from the chains of marriage. Maybe she just liked not having scars every time she said no.", the girl started. She then paused for awhile, regaining her breath.
"Soon after… she started seeing people. There was this one guy, who she was really fond of. That's when she had my sister, Miele. I still don't know the father, but I do know that he didn't care enough to see her even once. My mom's attitude wasn't really different from him, only she had to care. So she did. A bit badly, yes, but by then she felt broken, I guess.
She never really wanted to settle for this. We were like chains to her. I ruined her marriage, Miele ruined her love life… Maybe we all were… mistakes."
By then the girl felt her eyes get wet. She sniffled, looking down.
"Today, she threw my favorite tea set on the ground. It was… the last thing I ever got from my father. I did everything to keep it brand new. I did everything to be the perfect daughter. The perfect friend. The perfect person. But now everyone's leaving me. Maybe I just am not enough to make people care."
Loud sobs echoed. Flora felt the boy shiver again.
He handed her a tissue.
"I should feel thankful, but why do people keep pushing me away?"
The boy looked up.
"Whenever you feel down, just remember… an angel is guarding you. When everything reaches an all time low, it can only get better. Believe me.", he whispered.
He then got up, walking away.
"Hey, you didn't tell me your secret!", the brunette cried out between sobs.
No answer.
She got up to protest, but the boy was already gone.
Flora walked over slowly to where a second ago he still stood. On the ground she saw her "long" lost pen.
Millions of thoughts starting racing into her mind all at once, but she was far too tired to think. Her feet could barely support her, her brain needed some time to digest all that had happened. And her heart, well, Flora just didn't know. Did she even care? She looked up to a sea of stars, sighing.
Then her phone rang. "You okay? You haven't replied in awhile."
"Weren't you having art class?", by then the tears had dried.
"I told my parents I didn't feel so well. I was too worried since you didn't reply. Are you okay?"
A smile washed away the girl's tears.
"Yeah. Don't worry."
"You can always tell me if there's anything on your mind."
"Anything?"
"Yeah."
So she did, starting from the start.
Though, somehow Helia's comforting words didn't make her chest feel less heavy like the mysterious boy's did.
Maybe it was just timing, Flora thought.
Maybe was an easy word.
Sunday felt like the soft rain after the storm. Flora's mother had woken up early, for once, and brought the girls to get ice cream. She apologized. Like always. She promised to not let anger get the better of her. Like always. She drowned the girls in gifts. Like always. Maybe on the surface Flora and Miele felt like they were happy again. Life was normal again. But once this starts to happen every few weeks, it's hard to remember that you're not a burden. Because in their hearts the word "mistake" was already carved in too deep. And not just by Mrs. Laine.
But then, who cared. Not even the girls themselves. Yes, reality was painful. So why not be happy with what they had. Maybe they were just used to pushing pain away and putting up a front. That's maybe what happens when you grow up in a sea of denial.
"How pathetic.", girls used to say to Flora at her old school. The worst isn't when people say you are something you know you aren't. It's when they say something you know you are. Or at least think so.
"She's too shy to ever answer, huh, poor baby. Wanna call daddy? Oh, right, you can't!", they used to go on, giggling.
Flora would put on her headphones. Those Musa gave her when they first met. And she'd listen to songs that were just for her. Not classical ballads that wouldn't cover the snide remarks. No, rock. That's when she discovered Nirvana.
But came the buckets of water. The hair pulling. Those weren't as easy to ignore as mere words.
Sometimes the brunette still had nightmares about afternoons passed behind building A.
That's when she would sneak out to buy candy. She loved the feeling of the sugar rush, it was her very own heroin. Somehow they made her forget. She sighed. Oh, how she wanted to forget. But she couldn't. Another sigh. What was up with that?
The next day, Flora had the biggest shock of her life when she heard her doorbell ring at 7AM. Could it be Musa? For it had been a long time since the two girls had walked to school together.
That morning had started off very normally: bunny slippers, hair brushing, chamomile tea and hot shower. Flora was putting away her cereal bowl when it all happened. The girl's mind raced, as she went to open the door.
"Hi, Flora.", said… Krystal?
Flora didn't know what to say. She didn't hate the girl, for sure, but she didn't like her either. So, she just stood there, a surprised look on her face. She was still tired from Saturday.
"I was wondering if we could walk to school together?"
The normal Flora would have mumbled through her words, she would have refused, she would have thought the girl was out of her mind.
But, weirdly, Flora didn't feel inclined to refuse at all.
If Musa could have such a great time without her, then she, Flora Laine, could too. So she accepted. She had nothing holding her back anyways.
"Wait a second, I'm fetching my jacket and let's go."
"Yay.", replied Krystal, smiling.
Flora wondered if it was genuine. Maybe they could be friends. After all, they had similar interests.
She put on her pink jacket, and walked over.
"So, how's your relationship with Helia?", the lavender-haired girl asked, stunning Flora.
"Emm, he's nice.", she replied, embarrassed.
"Anything else?"
What was that about? Like she was going to tell her about their late night chats?
"Well, I'm thinking about joining the, emm, ecology club. There's nothing more between us. I think."
"Good.".
"Do you… like him?"
Small silence.
"No, I don't. I don't see why you're asking me that."
The girl straight up looked offended, as though the mere thought of her liking the blue eyed poet felt disgusting to her.
"Oh. Sorry. My bad."
"Right. So I heard you liked ecology", Krystal stated, changing subject.
"Yes, I like helping nature. I have a small greenhouse where me and my sister Miele plant fruits and veggies. I also used to do protestations, even though I leave once they get violent. Though, I'm still not sure about the club."
"I see. Well, I don't think our club is for you, anyways. You're too much of a… pacifist, in lack of a better word."
"Oh."
Krystal smiled. Oh, how Flora hated that smile. How could she offend people so much with that sweet tone of hers?
They continued to walk, in silence this time.
"Hi, Krystal! And Flora. You came together?", asked Helia as he saw the two girls walking over.
Flora opened her mouth to reply.
"Ye-"
"Yes, we did. Helia, I just have to show you my new botany essay. It's about roses.", suddenly exclaimed Krystal, cutting her off.
Flora looked down.
"Oh, right.", Helia answered.
"Yeah, let's go. Bye, Flora!"
And they went off, leaving her alone in the silence of her own thoughts. Again.
Oh, Helia!
Flora rolled her eyes. What was Krystal's problem? Yuck.
She shrugged it off, popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth and started walking to class.
Yes, Krystal annoyed her, but it wasn't an excuse to be late. Especially for Chemistry. No, Miss Griselda would absolutely murder her. And not in a I-shoot-a-bullet-coz-I-want-you-dead way. More of a psychopathic watch-you-in-pain-then-slowly-kill-you-with-a-chainsaw way. Flora shivered just thinking of that. She did watch a bit too much of true crime videos. But hey! They were quite interesting.
Just as the square of milk chocolate melted onto her tongue, though, the girl arrived at the classroom. She was a few minutes early, so she walked over to Musa so that they could talk a bit before class. Maybe they could catch up, too.
"So you don't know?", Musa was saying.
"No, I really don't. Why would I lie to you?"
Yes, that was Bloom. Flora sighed.
Deal with it, she thought.
"What are you talking about?"
The two girls looked over.
"Oh, Flora. You didn't see already?"
"What?"
The girl hadn't payed much attention to the class, only looking over at her friends.
"Riven's got a black eye and wounds everywhere. I even heard he broke his right hand."
"It's true.", Bloom cut in, "He couldn't even eat this morning."
Oh?
"Poor him.", Flora remarked, looking over.
That's when she realized this was oh too familiar. Violet eyes from across the street. Blood.
She got back to her senses.
"Girls, Griselda'll be here soon. I'm going to go back to my seat. See you."
"Okay, Flo. Lunch?"
"Yeah.", the brunette murmured as she walked over to her seat.
As usual, her deskmate seemed in a bad mood. But this time in his eyes she didn't see anger. She saw something quite as passionate, but only softer. Worry.
The girl's fast mind started pacing. She guessed it was probably about that girl.
"I won't let you hurt her."
Somehow Flora felt like it must feel very safe to have Riven by your side.
That's when the teacher walked in.
The brunette turned around. It wasn't any of her business anyways.
During the class, the good-hearted girl couldn't stop noticing how Riven winced in pain every letter he traced. Around the middle of the lesson, even he must have given up, because he put down his pen, and stopped trying altogether.
That's when Flora had an idea.
She focused two times more than during other classes, trying to bring to life the words of Miss Griselda, and then put them on paper. She would just have to print a copy after school and offer it to the boy. That was, if he accepted.
But Flora knew he would, since, even though he could be aloof and moody, he still cared about his grades. She could see that, as a good student herself.
—-
Soon it was lunch time. Everybody was hurrying to the cafeteria, and even Flora, who usually had a slow demeanor, quickened her pace and ran to the building.
Oh, how hungry she was since she stopped her midnight gummy bear feasts. Sooner or later she would have to make the same mistake. Fall back into the endless cycle. Yes, sneaking out risked her her life, but, oh, those yellow ones were to die for. Maybe not literally. The saddest part was that she wasn't so sure anymore. Days like that she felt like peace of mind was priceless. Maybe.
As she walked into the building, the brunette's eyes searched for Musa. Everywhere. She was half expecting the girl to have saved her a seat. Oddly, though, she couldn't find her.
At first, Flora thought that music class was maybe taking a bit too long to come to an end, but soon got proved wrong when other people from Solfège 101 walked into the cafe.
She sighed. She wanted to believe. She really did.
Just then, to her biggest surprise, a bunch of girls came over to her table.
Flora recognized them. Two were from Krystal's class, and one she had seen in Chemistry before. They usually sat with the ecology club, but, Flora guessed, it wasn't because they cared too much about recycling.
"Hi!", a tall, pretty blonde girl started.
She had a friendly expression, but her aura felt imposingly glamorous.
"May we sit at your table?", her friend, a girl with beautiful black curls and a dashing complexion, continued.
Flora could feel herself get transported into a 90s teen movie.
"Yeah, sure. Emm, why not.", she replied.
"Thanks! I'm Stella Hollister by the way.", the blonde smiled, sitting down.
"Aisha McQueen. Nice to meet you.", the sporty looking girl continued.
"Tecna Smith.", the blonde gave the third girl a push, "Ah, enchanted."
Then there was an awkward pause.
"And may we have the pleasure to know your name?", suddenly asked Stella, taking out her salad.
Flora smiled. Would this bud of a friendship bloom?
"Flora.", she replied, "Flora Laine."
Three smiles were thrown at her.
"Flora Laine. Something tells me we're gonna be friends."
"You know what, why not?"
Our flower was tired of being shy, she had been thought rain, snow, thick and thin; she could look the sun in the eye. She really could. Could she?
"Flora!", she suddenly heard a voice call out.
She knew that voice. Musa.
"Flora!", the voice went again. It sounded tired and desperate.
This time the girl turned over.
It was Musa, followed by Bloom.
The latter shot the Asian girl a glare, to which she frowned, then looked down.
"I came to tell you to leave me alone. I've had enough of you. You're pathetic, so just get a life."
Flora dropped her sandwich.
Pathetic. She was nothing but pathetic.
Her eyes went blank. Oh, Musa, what happened to you?
What she didn't know was that a pair of eyes were watching them. A very angry pair of amethysts.
