Candy- Chapter 8
Flora X Riven modern day AU
00000000000

That night, when Flora went back home, she felt many things. She knew her words were hard for Riven to take in, but she also knew it was for his own good. He had taken her out of her denial, and she wished for him to open his eyes, too.

The brunette didn't like the fact that it felt like she was forcing him to change, but was it really bad if it was all for the better? Teenage hood sure left a lot of questions unanswered.

"Flora.", welcomed Miele as soon as the girl closed the door behind her.
"Oh, Miele. What's up?"
Her little sister looked down.
"Mom's out for the week. She said it was about work."
A small pause.
"Do you really believe that?", chuckled Flora sarcastically.
"No", her sister smiled back.
"Same. Anyways, did she care to make dinner?"
The girl already knew the answer to that.
"Spaghetti?", she asked.
"Yeah, thank you, Flora."
And the young girl went back upstairs.

Sometimes Flora felt like Miele was walking away from her. Pushing her away. But she also knew that she had a part to play in it. It had been a while since the two sisters did anything together, and even their small garden had started to wither.
The girl sighed, before going upstairs herself.

After going into her bedroom, Flora quickly changed. Dressed in an oversized T-shirt and sweatpants, she walked down the stairs, still thinking about the previous incident. What would Helia think? A small part of her wanted to text him, but she somehow couldn't get herself to do it.

"Miele, can you help?", she cried out, walking into the kitchen.
Soon the girl came over, looking bored, and, Flora noticed, tired.
"Here, you can take out the pasta and find the sauce while I boil the water."
"Okay."
"Oh, by the way, Miele. Are you alright? You look tired.", she continued, filling up a wok with tap water.
"It's nothing."
Flora nodded. She wished for her sister to open up to her more, but then she couldn't force her to talk. Trust needed time, and she hadn't given the younger girl a time of her day since a while, now. That, she right now regretted more than anything. The girl sighed.

Soon after they were eating in silence, to Flora's dismay.
She thought about all the times Miele had wished to talk to her, but she pushed her away. She thought of all the no's that could've easily been yes's. She thought of their past relationship going through winter. But, even the coldest winters are followed by a heartwarming spring. Right?

"Miele, do you want to watch a movie? It's only 8."
Her sister looked up, surprised.
"A movie? Like me and you? On a week day?"
"Yeah, a movie, you choose.", smiled Flora.
Somehow she didn't care about being responsible anymore. She had sorted herself out, it was time to regain her sister's affection.
"Well, umm, okay."
"I'll do the dishes tomorrow. Come on."
She put down her fork, and pulled her sister over.
Faced to the TV screen they could still feel each other smile.
"Thanks, Flora. I missed this."
Nobody knew just how much that meant to the girl.

0000
"Now, goodnight, little sis.", said Flora affectionately as she tucked Miele in.
They had finished watching the third Harry Potter- again -, and it was bedtime already.
"Goodnight, Flora."
"Sweet dreams.", and she turned off the lights, walking towards her own room.
Flora smiled, before sighing silently. She could feel another night of insomnia coming.

Well, she thought, I could always count to a thousand. Just as she realized just how stupid of an idea it was, her phone rang.
"Hello.", was on the screen. Flora saw that it was from Tecna.
"Hi, what's up?"The brunette typed fast. The girl was her favorite out of her new friends.

"Have you and Riven finished the Chemistry assignment?"
Her smile faded instantly.
"We worked on it."

"Oh. I suggest you ask Miss Griselda to change partners."

"Apparently, he's done some pretty messed-up things."
"?"

"From Stella."
"Oh. She got it from Bloom, I presume?"
"I suppose so."
"Then there's nothing to worry about."

Bloom was known for thriving on rumors and gossip. She reminded Flora of butterflies, but also why she hated butterflies.

Recently she had a newfound obsession with backstabbing her brother, whom she 'never got along with', and it started to get to everyone's head.
People who used to admire him for his brains now only saw him as some kind of bloodthirsty monster, and this new reputation brought nothing but more hate and isolation from the boy towards the world. The funniest was that nobody even had proof about any of her claims.

Now that her mind was on a certain magenta-haired student again, Flora felt even more awake. She was tired of her thoughts racing, and just wanted to find peace in sleep. Obviously, she couldn't.

11:03.
11:15.
11:26.
11:42
11:59.
Midnight.
The girl kept rolling and rolling over her bed, until eventually she fell.
She decided to take out her iPods, and listen to some music.

We had seasons in the sun, but the world that we reached were just starfish on the beach.

After awhile, Flora felt blue. This was a song her father used to play many, many years ago. She suddenly felt a rush of inspiration as she searched for her notebook. It was always healing for her to let out her inner ghosts on a piece of paper.
But it was nowhere to be found.

000000000 A while ago 0000000
"What's this?", Riven had thought as he was preparing to leave the cafe.
On the table still stood a notebook. Pink, with flower prints and smiley stickers. The boy easily guessed who it belonged to.

He let out a small smile - that he soon repressed - before putting it into his backpack.
He would just have to give it back to Flora the next day. Hell, it was a good excuse to talk to her. He mentally slapped himself. Wasn't he the one thinking it was better for him to keep his distance?
That's when he remembered.

"Shit!", the boy let out, before rushing out. Everyone was looking at him, but now wasn't the time to care.
He quickly ran over to Temple Street, where he should have been at a few hours ago.
That's when he heard screams from across the street. Bloodsucking screams. They were coming from a garage he knew all too well. His own garage.

"What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about?"
Oh, no.
"What do you mean you didn't mean to hurt her?!"

Riven took out his keys, before sprinting in, holding his breath.

The scene before his eyes froze him to the core. There she was, hanged to the ceiling, her eyes bloodshot and her hair tainted red.
"Musa."