Candy_ Chapter 5
Flora X Riven Modern Day AU
"What a pathetic crybaby, and you dared to tell the teacher on me?", Musa had heard a girl say.
It was 2018, the girls were 11, and middle school had started for awhile. Musa was on her way home when she heard strange noises coming from behind the institution. Curious, she went over.
"Oh? You don't want to listen? I'll make you listen-"
The raven-haired girl's eyes shot wide. She knew Brittany had it in her, but to go so low? She took off her headphones and walked over to get a better look. Her mother would just have to wait.
In the middle of the horde stood Flora. Musa had been in the same class as the girl since, well, forever, but they never really talked. She had tried a few times, but gave up as soon as she realized just how shy the brunette was. But now things were different. She had closed her eyes and had put her hands on her ears. You didn't need to be a genius to see that Brittany's remarks had had an effect.
"What are you doing?", Musa started as she got out of her hiding place.
Brittany turned over in shock, before smirking. The girl guessed she must have at first thought she was a teacher.
"Oh, well if it isn't Miss Chopsticks."
The other girls giggled in echo, as thought it was funny.
"That's the best thing you could come up with? If you've got no brains I suggest you at least find yourself a heart. Oh, wait, I forgot, first get yourself a life."
The girl shrugged.
"Look who's talking. You're the one with no life."
By now Flora was looking over, her big hazel eyes emerald green under the sun. In them Musa saw hope.
"For all I know I'm alive."
Brittany looked shocked, but then sneered.
"Because I'm dead, maybe?"
"No, but you will be if you ever touch her again."
Her tone was friendly, but firm.
"Well, look who's having fantasies about killing me. That wouldn't go well with Miss Sterling, would it? Now I suggest you shut up."
She started to walk away, her friends following her.
Normal girls would have let it be so, they would have wanted to stay out of trouble, but Musa wasn't a normal girl. She had pride. It was one thing to lose a fight, another to have the opponent pity you.
She opened her mouth, ready to fire back, when she felt Flora tug on her shirt sleeve.
"Don't. They're not worth it."
Musa smiled, took out her headphones, and gave them to the girl.
"I can't have that.", she said.
"You'll need them more than me."
And before Flora had time to protest, she was running off.
Nobody knew what happened that afternoon, only that the next day Brittany came back with a broken nose. It looked pretty bad, too, but she insisted that she fell down the stairs when anybody asked. At least the girl had some pride.
Since that day, though, she would never touch Flora near Musa again. That didn't really mean anything since the girl often called in sick. Often, as in really often. She was away from school a quarter of the month, and everyone wondered what she was up to, running away after class as though she was late to her job. But Musa never told anyone. Not even Flora, who grew to be her best friend.
That's why it was even a bigger shock for the girl when everything happened.
She had fights with Musa, those she did, but the only person that understood, the only person that cared, the only person she'd think would stay… walked away. She didn't know what to think, and just stared blankly at the raven-haired girl's silhouette as a readhead put an arm over her shoulders.
"Are you okay?", Flora heard someone ask.
She reluctantly turned over to find Stella.
Her lips moved, but she just couldn't get herself to let out a word. After a few seconds she just ran away, far from the questions she didn't want to answer. All eyes were on the girl, but nobody cared to call out after her. To tell her to stay.
The problems wasn't that the brunette felt sad, powerless even. The problem was that she felt guilty for it. Many people had it far, far worse than her, yet she was the one behind the building, bawling her eyes out.
She felt guilty for hating her past. She felt guilty for hating her now. She felt guilty for running away from that future she just didn't want to deal with. She felt guilty, useless. Pathetic. Maybe her mom was right.
"You're just ungrateful."
"You're making a big deal out of nothing."
"You're so spoiled."
But was it really a crime to not be dying, but to wish you were? Life could be so unfair.
Light rain started pouring, joining in the tears of the teenager.
This wasn't even about Musa anymore. The girl's words had only been the last straw to the brunette's perfect image of life crashing down.
She felt awful, and awful for feeling awful. But the worst, to her, wasn't the tears falling down her face. It was the fact that simply nobody cared.
Flora hated that feeling. She had everything. Right? Why was she a mess like this? A crying mess that can't stand for herself. A burden, a mistake that keeps getting pushed away. She kept becoming her biggest enemy. How does one run away from oneself without… well.. ending it all?
Flora thought about it. She was never really happy. Sometimes her luck was better than others, and for a few minutes she would feel pure, hectic ecstasy. But then all would come crashing down and she'd had to live on with it, replying "I'm fine"s to people that didn't even care.
She put on Musa's headphones, that she had on her at all times, and put In Bloom full volume. Soon the device got drowned in water. Flora threw them accross the street. Nobody gave a damn. Why should she?
The girl coughed. By now the rain kept getting stronger, until her honey locks straightened out. She shivered. A small part of her wished for someone to run up, sit with her, in silence or in chatter. For someone to be there for her, to say they cared, they really did. That they would never leave her, physically or emotionally. That'd they'd runaway if that was her wish. That they'd stay.
But Flora also knew that life wasn't a fairytale. Far from it, really. For a moment she just stayed there, in the pouring rain, regaining her composure.
She felt shivers running up and down her spine, but her cheeks were burning with fire. Her eyes were cried into puffiness, as she just let it all out. All those years of running away from conflict. All those years of saying she was fine. She was tired. Sick and tired.
Never did she expect someone would actually go up to her.
"Hey, Laine, we still have to work on that assignment.", a voice said.
Flora looked up. In her eyes was hope, but not the same kind as when she looked up to Musa years ago.
No, she had changed. Really changed. Not just on the surface as last time, but deep down. She scowled, then smiled.
The brunette remembered reading somewhere that from hope came change. She didn't believe in that, no. Not one bit. From hope came even greater disappointment. Crisis. Tears. Denial, even. But then, finally came change.
"You coming or what? Do you expect me to do your part, too?"
The girl stood up, as he put an umbrella over her.
Flora couldn't take it anymore, she trapped him into a hug, smiling through her tears.
It felt like tears, it felt like regret, it felt like rebirth.
"What the-", the boy started, taken aback.
"Thank you, Riven. Thank you so much. So, so much.", she said as she felt the boy loosen up.
He didn't save her from danger. He saved her from herself. Unintentionally, maybe, but maybe was, after all, an easy word.
Yes, the girl had an excuse for being the way she was, but an excuse was only part of running away.
And that day Flora Laine promised herself that she would never run away again. Not from her problems, not from her feelings. Not from life.
"You count on continuing for long?", suddenly asked the magenta-haired boy. His words were harsh, but Flora couldn't stop herself from smiling at his softer tone.
"No, just a little while longer."
The boy could feel his shirt getting wet, and not from the rain.
What he didn't see, though, was Flora's smile.
And to think that a few days ago she had thought he was frightening.
