Risk: Chapter Fifteen
Once again, the portal appeared in the middle of the night.
Rose groaned at its appearance. Sure, she needed to get back to her own time, but Erwin's trial would be starting up in the next couple of days, and she was anxious to know the outcome. However, it seemed her own duty had called, and she needed to take care of business.
Practically crawling out of bed, she entered the white light, tucking herself in and preparing for impact. Instead of landing on her bedroom floor, like she anticipated, she landed straight onto her bed. That was rather lucky. She hadn't brought anything with her the last time she'd traveled since she was with Levi, and they kind of left in a hurry.
Her phone, still fully charged and plugged in, lay on her desk. She checked it for the time: Friday, almost five o'clock. So she had the weekend to recoup, that was nice, at least. And since she was still technically injured – though, she had an extra day to heal, though no one would know that except her – she could milk that a little to her advantage.
Glad to be in pajamas already, and feeling so very tired, she decided it was alright to begin doing just that and crawled under her blanket, instantly closing her eyes and falling asleep.
She dreamed of fighting titans, and a sword wielding hero. She dreamed of flying in the air with said hero, holding onto him and never letting go –
Waking up suddenly, she pushed over to her desk to see what time it was: just past midnight. Her heart felt light, remembering her little dream, and she couldn't help but feel warmth cover her cheeks at the thought of it.
She knew who it was about, and something about that embarrassed her. Thankfully, it would be her little secret.
Shoving her phone aside, she got back into bed and forced herself to sleep for just a few more hours, if only to just pass the time. Her uncle wouldn't be home, more than likely, and even if he was, he himself would be fast asleep from his hard… work. So she wouldn't have anyone to talk to. And she was sick of doing homework; she had to be caught up with the two subjects she'd been doing by at least two weeks. Unfortunately, she was already behind in her writing class, having missed two classes thanks to her… incident.
But being shot was a good enough excuse to have some make-up days, right?
She would ask her professor about it later.
She didn't do anything the whole weekend. She got a plethora of texts, even from strangers – classmates alike who were checking up on her and had gotten her number from Bunni. She reassured them she was fine, that she would be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed come Monday, that they had no reason to worry. She appreciated the attention, but still.
She was even on the local news, and news stations had called her uncle, mostly, to get interviews with her. But she didn't want to get in front of a camera and talk about her heroics. She wanted all of this to die down and people to let this go.
However, when Monday rolled around, that proved to not be the case.
There was a banner on the lawn with 'God save the Queen' and a picture of her photo ID plastered next to it. Her entire being filled with chagrin at the sight of it; it wasn't a flattering picture, to say the least. Rolling into the parking lot, she found that there was a nicely decorated spot near the front – literally with her name on it.
What was going on?
She decided to utilize this little perk, however; parking here was a nightmare, and if one could find a good spot even mildly close to the campus grounds, you'd be good off.
"There she is!" she heard someone call as she exited her car, pulling her backpack from the passenger seat as she did so. She turned around, eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, looking around for the voice in question.
The first person she saw was Bunni; she would have breathed a sigh of relief, if not for the crowd of people approaching along with her.
Rose met them halfway, crossing the street quickly and heading straight for Bunni, trying her best to ignore the people behind her. "What is going on?" she dared to ask.
"Are you joking? You're a hometown hero, Rosie," answered Bunni, reaching around to hug her friend. Then she pulled her around so she was facing the crowd. "This is her, everybody!"
There were, unfortunately, news casters among the throng, and they came forward first to talk to her, their microphones at the ready. They all asked questions at once: How are you feeling? What made you do what you do? How did it feel being shot? Did you know the shooter?
Rose shook her head at all of them, looking between them all with wide eyes, like a deer in headlights. She completely froze up; she didn't know what to say. She glanced back at Bunni, silently begging for help. Thankfully, her friend seemed to take the hint, and pulled one of the microphones to her own lips to say, "She's not going to comment now. She hasn't even had breakfast yet."
"After eating, will you make a statement?" One of them asked, rather eagerly. They all waited in anticipation for an answer.
"N… No, I'm sorry." Rose hurried passed them and through the crowd toward the campus coffee shop. Anything – anything – to get away from them. Even Bunni. She seemed to be egging this on to some degree, for some reason. Well, Rose kind of knew why: she liked attention. But to use her for that kind of annoyed the shorter woman a little bit.
Bunni's life was also in danger; why not ask her questions about the incident?
She made it to the shop by the skin of her teeth, people stopping her every few seconds to ask if she was okay, to ask how it was to be shot, to congratulate her on her heroism. The campus coffee shop was, surprisingly, a little empty, and no one had followed her in.
"Want me to buy you something?"
Rose was about to lose it with all these questions. She turned to snap, but saw it was just a gentle soul, a genuine person asking a genuine question.
He had to be about five feet eight inches, with shaggy brown hair and deep brown eyes behind a set of cute wire glasses. She recognized him then as Jake Hawthorne. Why was he talking to her? Wasn't he one of the more popular boys on campus? He was on the basketball team, she knew that.
"Uh… you don't have to do that," she finally said, waving her hands in protest.
"Didn't you, like, get shot?" Oh, boy, here we go. "Come on, I think it's the least I could do for you. For saving the school and all."
"I didn't – " She grimaced at that statement, putting her hands on her hips. "Is that why everyone is crazy? They think I saved the whole damn school?"
"You kind of did," he said with a chuckle. "Come on, let me buy you breakfast. I promise, I won't make it weird."
Though he was being insistent, he wasn't being pushy like everyone else. She appreciated that, it was kind of a solace away from the chaos she seemed to have created for herself. "Thank you."
She'd chosen a muffin and a cold brew, something small so it wouldn't hurt anyone's pockets. He initially said he would buy her anything else she wanted, but she insisted that was all she wished to eat. "Alright, if you say so, Queen for a Day."
"Oh, please don't call me that."
Jake full on laughed at that. "You know, you're not like most girls. Most would be basking in this much spotlight."
"Yeah, I'm… good."
When breakfast was ready, they took to a table close to a window. She was kind of surprised he was still hanging around her. She wasn't exactly the popular type; she had friends, sure, but she wasn't the type of person to hang around athletes or cheerleaders.
"You don't have to hang with me, you know," she finally said, nibbling on her muffin.
"Yeah, but I want to." He leaned back a bit, as if to fully observe her. "I've actually wanted to for awhile, but never got the courage to."
That almost made her choke. "What? Why?"
"Because… you're one of the nicest people I've ever met. Do you not remember me?"
Had they met before now? Embarrassingly enough, she didn't remember if they had. She shook her head at his question.
"You serve me, and mostly my grandpa, a lot at that diner you work at. Tim?"
"Oh, I know Tim. I love Tim," she added with a smile. "He's so sweet. I'm sorry… about your grandma." Tim had lost his wife a few months ago, and the diner was one of their date places. So sometimes, Rose would be Tim's "date", sitting and talking with him if it wasn't busy while he ate, she would even have her break with him and thus be able to eat alongside him.
"Thank you. And… he loves you too. He talks about you all the time. You're one of his favorite people; he looks forward to his diner dates." He winked at her. "And I appreciate you indulging him."
"It's not indulging, I really like his company. He's… really lived a life."
They talked for what seemed like forever, and before long, it was time for her to go to class. She waved good-bye as she threw away her trash, but he stopped her, grabbing hold of her wrist. "Actually, I have a question. Don't think this is weird, okay?"
Rose tilted her head a bit, confused, but listened anyway.
"So you know that the homecoming game is coming up in a couple of weeks, and then there's the dance afterward. Do you… want to go with me?"
Rose blinked, trying to comprehend what he was asking. Her? To the homecoming dance? Wouldn't he rather go with a cheerleader or something? Finally, with a smile, she said, "Sure, I'd love to."
"Great. Why don't we meet back here later to discuss, I don't know, outfit colors?"
She couldn't help but laugh at that. "Yeah, let's do that."
The portal didn't show up for a week. Then the following.
During that time, Rose had asked – practically begged – the administration to take the signage down at the front of the campus round-a-bout, but did say she appreciated the parking spot, and due to her injury it helped out a lot. So they allowed her to keep it – for the semester.
At least she would have a good parking spot for the next few months.
She had gotten closer to Jake during her time in her own timeline. He was truly a sweet man; a few months younger than her, so he was still eighteen, but acted older beyond his years. He read classic literature and was studying history, like Bunni, so he knew who she was. Before long, they all were hanging out, and Bunni was begging Jake for a date to the homecoming dance so they could all go together.
Jake managed to hook her up, thankfully, with one of his friends. The man seemed nice enough, if a little stand-offish. But he didn't seem like a gun-toting idiot, so he checked a huge box in Rose's book.
Jake and Rose decided on navy blue, and she really cut it close with finding a dress. She wanted to thrift it, to find something classy yet cute. Finally, after the third thrift shop she'd gone to with Bunni she found something: a dark navy blue dress with a bright blue gem embedded in the center bodice, with slits on the side and a slit on the right leg. It showed a lot skin – and a lot of cleavage, more than she had ever felt comfortable with – but she wanted to make an impression.
She had to admit, she had grown to like Jake. He would visit her at the restaurant, even when his grandfather wasn't there. He even came to her house once, meeting her uncle – at her behest. That was a rather awkward hello, but it still went off without a hitch for the most part.
Still, part of Rose liked her own hero just a little more, though she didn't want to say so out loud. But how often would she see him? And more importantly, did he even care about her back?
The night of the dance, Jake picked her up in his car. How he dared to come into her neighborhood at night, she couldn't fathom, but he did, and she hurried into his car, ordering him to lock the door as soon as she was inside. They took off immediately after her seatbelt was on, and something about all the dramatics made them both laugh.
When they arrived, he told her that he had to go out on the court, which she understood; he was one of the players, after all. Before they separated, however, he did give her a once-over, stating how beautiful she looked. His cheeks even turned a little red, she'd noticed. She didn't think she had such power over any boy, and she couldn't help but think about the fact she really liked that.
In the stands, Bunni was already sitting there, waving her over. She made her way over to where all the basketball girlfriends sat, feeling sort of out of place. But they welcomed her with open arms. One of them did make a comment on the scar on her side, obvious thanks to the slit open on either side, indicating where she'd gotten shot.
"I still can't believe that happened to you," said the bubbly blond on the bleachers below her. "And you lived. That's crazy."
"Yeah, crazy," Rose commented flatly, not wanting to talk about this at all.
Bunni changed the subject, noticing Rose's affect. "Isn't Jake the cutest?"
"Oh my gosh, yes," said another girl. "He usually plays so hard-to-get. Rose, how did you snag him?"
"I just… talked to him. Like a normal person."
"Oh, but Jake's not a normal person. He's, like, going to go pro one day."
Was that true? Was he truly that good at his sport? Maybe Rose should support him and come to more games. That would also prove how much she liked him, too, right?
After the initial game, they moved on to the other gym, which was brightly decorated into an ocean paradise. Could one still tell it was a gym? Sure, but it was still nice looking. Lights were dimmed, twinkle lights seemed to take their place, decorations were on-par with the theme. It was nice.
"This is cute," Rose commented.
"Wait until they set off the confetti cannon. I hear they do that every year." Jake smirked at that, then steered her toward the snack table.
They danced a little, talked a lot, and ate some. Then it was time to announce the Homecoming King and Queen. Rose was hardly paying attention when it was announced that she, of all people, had been chosen for Queen.
She didn't go on stage at first, not even believing she'd been chosen at all. She looked around the room, then to Jake. "Go on up there, Queen. You deserve it."
Tentatively, she accepted her crown, and she danced with the King – a basketball player she didn't recognize. He asked her a few questions about the incident, and she decided to answer them without complaining or showing chagrin; this was supposed to be a lovely night after all.
The confetti cannon went off while they were dancing, and Jake was right, it kind of changed the atmosphere of the room, if only a little bit.
By the end of the night, she was wearing Jake's jacket, and dancing the night away. Though she was missing her other friends and Lily, part of her also didn't want this night to end.
But all good things must come to an end, and soon Jake was dropping her off at her house.
"Thank you," she said, starting to take the jacket off.
"Keep it. It looks good on you."
There was something lingering in the air, she could feel it, but Rose couldn't put a finger on what. Instead, she leaned over, kissed his cheek, thanked him again, and exited the car, warning him to immediately lock it once she was out.
Once Jake was gone, she went inside her apartment complex, though as soon as she put her hand on the door, she felt it – that pull.
Shaking her head, she sighed, slowly opening the door to reveal what she knew what was on the other side. She stared at the portal for a moment, resenting it. But then she remembered how she mildly felt earlier that night – that she missed Hange, Lily… Levi, even.
So, with a sucked in breath, she stepped through.
