Don't save me

Date | 21st of March 2022
Time | Around 9am
Surroundings | People are on their way to class. There is a somber atmosphere, because Nick died three days ago.
Attire | A white button-up shirt, and a marine blue dress over, a baby blue bumper jacket with flowers on the sleeves, knee high socks in a black colour and ancle boots

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It was hard to understand how the world could keep moving. That Friday was already three days away. Three days since she had seen how Nick had gotten his heart brutally pulled out of his chest. She knew that anyone would understand why she wouldn’t want to go to school. Aaron had even asked if she was sure, but she felt like she was suffocating in her room, that she almost hadn’t left after it had happened. She hated the feeling. Helplessness. Anger. Sorrow. She wanted nothing more than to just be numb to the feeling. And right now, it almost felt like it, as she a little absent minded stood by her locker and pulled out some of the books she needed for her first lessons. That was when she heard a sound. Someone was harassing one of the other students. Normally she wouldn’t care. Keep your head low and survive another day. That was a lesson you had learned rather quick, after she had been in a cult for three years of her life. But there was just something that woke in her. A building, almost explosive anger. She threw her bag down on the ground and ran towards the bully that was laughing in the poor kids face. She shoved him off him. “How awesome you are, huh!? You a big piece of trash! Utter shite really!” she roared at him, only to walk towards him and shove him once more, so hard that the student fell on his ass looking at her. Then she turned her head and glared at the friend that had been helping the bully harass one of the students. “Come on it was just for fun!” he tried to laugh and reached out to grab her. Lara quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted it around, forcing him down on his knees and hit him hard against the jaw. “Is that fun what you call fun, bullying other people!? Huh? I hate people like you, just thinking you can walk around trying to be better than other people, when in reality you are nothing but horse eating shit heads” she growled feeling how her leopard was having a really hard time repressing its anger right now. She hit him again, not even noticing the blood that formed on her knuckles after she had broken the skin on them and the persons nose had started to show the affect from her treatmeant.

Being back was… Very, very odd. Everyone looked at you with big eyes and furrowed brows and Riley most of all just wanted to go home. Everyone knew Riley Walker, because they knew the other Walkers who have made sure that the family had a name on the school. So, everyone knew that the Riley Walker that had started at the academy had been a female, and certainly not the mid transitioning Riley. He had been getting most things done and honestly only believed that he needed more testosterone and to get the god damn top operation somewhere where the look was prioritized.
One would almost think that Riley was trying to crawl into his locker as two bullies had walked up to him and started to provoke and harass. He did everything he could, to simply ignore what they said, but the things spoken got to him, and eventually he spoke up. How old was Riley? If one only heard the voice, one would believe he was fourteen, the way his voice cracked all the time, being hoarse and seemingly full of emotions he couldn’t really contain. At one point One of the bullies grabbed onto his shirt and sadly also the straps of the binder. It took some of the breath from Riley and he could only really stare into the eyes of the bully with a look that clearly didn’t want to show vulnerability but screamed of hurt. After a shake or two, someone budged in and shoved the bully off. A huff left Riley who for a moment leaned against the lockers to fell his heart and lungs galloping, gasping from the crushing feeling of both the binder, dysmorphia and anxiety. He could hear how someone was standing up for him and eventually he corrected his eyes to the girl with the long hair who beat one ass after the other. He could see how people gathered and hear how someone called for a teacher. His heart skipped a beat and he quite impulsively teleported himself in front of the female, facing her. “Hey, watch it-” but he never really got any further as the person who she had been in the middle of beating up, tried to lash after her, resulting in Riley getting the smack on the side of his face. It rung in his ears, and he closed his eyes for a moment before he turned around. That was it.
He grabbed the bully’s shirt right in the front and pulled him closer to hit him, and control where the fucker moved. His hits were much like the girl’s hits. Filled with anger to the brim. Enough was enough. The bully started to whimper and the one who had been leading it all crawled towards the teacher that got through the crowd. “The two of you! Detention, right now!” he shouted but it didn’t make Riley stop. The teacher moved over and forced Riley off the bully. “And every break for the next month.”
Riley clenched his jaw and as soon as the teacher left he looked towards the girl. And dried some blood that had splatted off his chin.

It felt good, nice even, to just get her frustrations out this way. She didn’t even think of the trouble that she would get in. She just wanted to show someone, that she was strong enough. That she was done just sitting back and not helping when she could. Tears had sprung from her eyes, and she hadn’t even noticed that the person that she had actually tried to protect tried to stop her.
Lara blinked when someone teleported in front of her, reminded that she had once been able to do that. Before she had died.
She had let go of the person that she had hit, only to see how he tried to lash out after her. Only to hit the werewolf instead. Breathing heavily, she felt how pain was vibrating through her hand. Her eyes just followed along with how the person that had been bullied kept hitting the other. Blood that splashed from the fist connecting the nose. The whimper he made to make him stop, but there was no mercy. She didn’t even try to pull him away, feeling like the jackass deserved every bit that there was coming to him.
Then the teacher came and pulled the werewolf off him. Lara looked at him, as he told them that they were facing detention every break for the next month. She didn’t even care, she only found it unfair that the two they had beaten up wasn’t facing detention. There was a part of her that wanted to speak up, but no words left her. She turned her gaze towards the werewolf and blinked a little as he dried some blood off his chin. Looking up she saw Selene coming running towards them. The female werewolf widened her eyes as she saw how the two from her pack was standing there partly covered in blood. “For fuck shake” she cursed under her breath, as it was her job to keep students from attacking each other. “Well, you heard him, off you go” she hissed, but before they could walk off her hand found Riley’s shoulder “Are you okay?” she whispered, not believing that Riley would have acted out if it hadn’t been provoked. Then she would let them go off to the detention room, while she cleaned the mess they had made up.

Lara had grabbed her bag on the way to the room she threw it against one of the chairs that she sat down on. Her head hit the table in front of her. “I’m sorry I got you into trouble” she mumbled, knowing she hadn’t handled the whole situation rather well.

Riley could almost hear Selene come running towards them. Riley’s eyes immediately sought to the ground, feeling ashamed of what he had done. He wouldn’t have been acting out like this he had transitioned, he was certain. The low curse that left Selene only made him roll his bottom lip under his front teeth, biting it a bit. He was going to be hearing from this. They were told to get going, and Riley was about to do so, still trying to dodge Selene’s gaze. As soon as he felt Selene’s hand on his shoulder he stopped and turned towards her, unwillingly looking up at her. “Not to be rude, but does it look like it?” he whispered back maybe a little bossy. But when would it seem logical that Riley would be okay when he was partly covered in blood?

He closed his locker and followed the dark haired girl to the detention room. He grabbed both a block of paper and a pen before he walked down to sit on a stool. He placed one elbow on the table and the other hand grabbed the pen and he slowly started drawing, looking up when there was spoken. “You didn’t get me into trouble. I did,” he mumbled still with signs of the teenage voice. He tried to clear his throat a little. “Thanks for standing up got me, though,” he added and let his eyes shifting from her to the paper.

She slowly titled her head towards him, letting her cheek rest against the cool tabletop. You could feel how it wasn’t really wood, but there was some kind of plastic feel to it. Her dark, almost black eyes noticed how he had been drawing before she had spoken to him. A small smile formed on her lips, as he assured her that she wasn’t the one getting him into trouble. Lara still felt like she had, but she was glad he didn’t mind it. Or her, for that matter. To be honest, she didn’t think all that much about his voice. She was still a little to work up, to even notice his smell.
Letting out a sigh she leaned back up, placing her palms against the table instead. “Yeah, well... I’ll do it again if anyone else tries to pick on you, even though I hope it won’t happen” she mentioned, blinking a little before turning her head towards the back beside her chair. “That they bully you again, that is” she hummed, giving him a small smile. “I’m Aurora by the way” she added “I started in January” a pang of pain formed in her chest, when she was reminded yet again about Nick, and how he had been the one to greet her and show her around at the Academy. Shit, maybe she should have taken a couple of more days at home.

Riley bit his lips a little. Feeling every texture with his tongue gliding carefully over the bottomlip while he bit it. She wouldn’t mind doing it again. He knew very well what she meant, but it bugged him that she believed there might be a chance of it happening again, because it only made him self think about how it might happen again sooner or later. He didn’t want help. He could fight back. He would fight back. He didn’t need no girl to save him. He was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard her speak again and he looked up. She had started in January. Wait, had she presented herself. Shit. Riley why the fuck didn’t you listen?
“Ah, new girl,” he said nodding a little. “What was your name again?” he wondered, even though he was positive that she had presented herself. He moved a little around on his chair and ended up facing her more while he drew. “I’m Riley. I just got home from an exchange trip in the Netherlands,” he said nodding a little. He had picked up how she had looked upset earlier when he had tried to stop her, and somehow, he believed he could see how she was still upset about something. What was it?

She couldn’t help but chuckle, and somehow the way that he hadn’t been listening, brought her out of her downward spiral into thoughts that she would rather not visit. “Aurora” she presented herself again giving him a soft smile, as he then told her his name. Wait, Riley, exchange trip to the Netherlands. “You’re Rose’s twin, right?” she said with a small smile “Aaron sort of adopted me, you know, Elisabeth’s son” she added feeling how the smile on her lips grew. “Which would make me a Shaw now, I suppose” she added, letting her fingers dance over her cheek before she pushed some of her wavy long hair behind her ear. It was still weird thinking herself as someone that had a family, and not only that she was being introduced and slowly ran in the circles of a pack. It was, overwhelming at times. Now she didn’t really know the story of why Riley had been taking some time off. But she had gotten the impression that everyone in the family had a hard time coping with the fact that their older brother had died. Or not died, killed. If there was something she understood, then it was the loss of a sibling. It was like a whole that was never being filled. And now, someone close to her had died once again. Maybe it was her, and she should just stop being around people? Just like Riley, Lara started drifting off, into her own mind where a dark whole slowly swallowed her.

Aurora. Like the Disney princess with a dress that changed colors because the fairies couldn’t agree. No matter which tale you listened to, all of them were awful. Did this Aurora also have an awful story? You’re Rose’s twin, right? It made Riley swallow a lump of fear. Was Aurora going to point out how she had always believed Riley had been a girl? “Yeah,” he mumbled, almost sounding embarrassed, even though it really wasn't the case. Jesus, he didn’t really want this conversation right now. But when she spoke about Aaron, he looked up and furrowed his brows a little as she mentioned how it was making her a Shaw. “What- Why haven’t I heard of you yet then?” he said furrowing his brows even further. Truth was, there was so many things that they had needed to update Riley with, that Aurora hadn’t been a top priority, just like other members who had either been thrown out or joined. Riley was tempted to ask Aurora what her story was but was afraid that it would actually be awful. “Hey, Aurora?” he mumbled, not letting his pen stop at any moment. “Do you need a hug?” he wondered and looked up from his drawing, making his hand stop.

She blinked a little, looking towards him as he spoke her name. She hadn’t even heard about the fact, that he had mentioned that he hadn’t heard about her. Lara would have understood why. There were so many things going on in the pack, because of the Russian werewolves running around. Not that it had done them any good, since they had killed people either way. “Yeah?” she mumbled, seeing how he was still drawing. Then he asked if she needed a hug. For a moment it felt like her heart had stopped beating, as her eyes locked with his.
She blinked again, and looked away, hoping that the tears in the corners of her eyes wouldn’t show. “I –“ she cleared her throat, and looked down at her hands, before the slowly folded into fists as she tried to calm herself down. Tears started gliding down her cheeks. “Sorry” she tried to laugh it off, as she wiped them away. A smile formed on her lips, even though it didn’t seem genuine. “You don’t have too, I’m a mess these days, not something you have to concern yourself with” she answered, knowing it wasn’t really an answer. But she was afraid that if she hugged someone, she would just let her guard down again. Especially so quickly after everything had happened. And she had sworn, she couldn’t let people in again. She had even thought about just leaving, she did that every day. Knowing the longer she stayed the harder it would be to actually do it.

Riley immediately noticed how she almost stopped for a moment, as if his suggestion had taken all of her air away. He noticed how her eyes glistened. He raised a brow as she cleared her throat. He noticed how she folded her hands into fists. Had he pushed a button he should’ve stayed away from, or did she in fact just really need a hug? She apologized, and  his eyes widen a little. What was she apologizing for? Her tears reflecting the light in the room? Nah girl. That’s not how it works.
He quickly looked towards the door to see if there were any teachers coming in or approaching before he got up from his seat while she spoke. He placed himself in front of her table and held his hand out for her. “Everyone’s a mess,” he replied. If she took his hand he would guide her out of her seat and invite her for a hug.

She had grown soft. She could feel it. It took far less to get under her skin, than it had done before. Before she had started at the academy again, everyday had been planning how she would best disappear. Then she had agreed to give it a chance and get into a normal routine again. But then she had met Nick, and he had completely turned everything around. She had let someone in, in a way that she had never been able to before. Now that he was gone, she had absolutely no idea how to be herself again. It was like pieces of her was missing. Like an uncomplete puzzle that would never be able to be put together. Then Riley got up and walked towards her seat. Telling her that everyone was a mess. She blinked a little again, letting out a shaky breath of air as he put a hand out in front of him. For a moment she just looked at it, before her eyes turned towards his. With a small hesitation she finally put her hand in his warm palm. He was slightly taller than her, and even though he was around same small frame. She could feel a sense of safety fold around her, as she a little hesitant place her head against his shoulder. As a wave washed over her and tears welled up in her eyes again, which made her hug him a little closer to her.

He could see how everything was working either really slowly or really, really fast. But he let her take her time and clearly time had been what she had needed, because she took his hand and he managed to get her out from her seat. He could feel how she had dried her eyes, but it didn’t matter to him. She put her head on his shoulder as she got into his embrace. He folded her arms gently around her. As soon as he felt how she tugged him closer he held his breath. “Aw, shit…” he mumbled and rewrapped his arms a little tighter around her. “Hold on, dearie,” he spoke softly to her and the next moment they stood outside underneath a tree. He didn’t let go of her. “I thought you might want some fresh air,” he whispered and slowly caressed her back.

For a moment she thought he might push her out of his embrace, if she had taken more than he was able to give. Not that she knew that Riley had been born with female body parts. But sometimes, people did something even though they might not be comfortable with it. Then he told her to hold on. And for a moment she didn’t understand. But as a tug formed in her stomach, she knew that he had teleported them out of the room. She had missed the freedom of being able to do that. Now she was always hungry, for something that couldn’t be sated with normal food. It sometimes made her wonder if it had truly been an angel that had saved her.
“Thank you” she whispered and repositioned her head a little. Closing her eyes as she felt a couple of tears escape her eyes. “It’s a neat trick” she added, feeling how her lips tugged up into a smile. “and you’re a great hugger by the way” she mumbled, with the next exhale it was like her shoulders sank as she completely relaxed in his arms.

“No biggie,” he mumbled to her. He wouldn’t mind for them to just be quite if she needed that. He knew that it could be very comforting simply to listen to someone else’s heartbeat. It was a feature one got from being carried by their mother.
She complimented his ‘trick’ and it made his lips curl a little by each end. He wanted to tell her that he wouldn’t mind to show her how much of a trick it could be, but no words left him. His heart picked up a bit of speed by mentioning that he was a great hugger. For a short moment, he wondered if it was his binded chest – if it was the volume or the lack thereof. Would he still be a good hugger after a top operation? “Yeah… I’ve been practicing,” it was the only thing that could really leave him. Even though she seemed to relax, he made sure to still hold her close, even though he could feel it in his arms.

“It really is, though” she told him, when he was mumbling that it wasn’t a big deal. To her it was. It wasn’t everyone that would even notice that the person that they had been sent to detention with had been a bad mood. “You have?” she chuckled, inhaling and then exhaling.
Her eyes opened and looked at the scenery from her position by his shoulder. She wanted to say something, but at this point she didn’t really know what words she could say. It all seemed to die on her tongue just as she was about to part her lips. It wasn’t like she even knew him all that well, what if she told him too much. Or if she said something that would somehow seem offence to him? “I swear, I’m not normally like this” she finally said, because when it came down to it, all she really wanted was for him to know, that she wasn’t usually this pathetic. “I lost someone close to me not that long ago, and, well, it seems to be affecting me more than I thought it would” she said, somewhat truthfully. At least then he knew why she was being the way she was.

He pulled on a little crooked smile as she asked if he actually had practiced hugging. “Yeah, I mean... Doesn't everyone have a giant dinosaur-teddy they practice hugging?” he joked softly. They stood for a moment and Riley took his time to calm every nerve. His breathing slowed and he simply let his eyes inspect everything around them – also keeping an eye out for whoever might want them in trouble. “Hm?” A soft hum left him as she said she wasn’t really like this. Well, this might not really be her normal conditions, was it now? Even though she had been the one budging in, he believed that she wasn’t really the type to simply fight and get in trouble – but who knew?
“I’m sorry about that,” he said and once again rewrapped his arms around her to make sure he held her close enough. He took a deeper breath in while thinking about his words. “I guess it just means that you loved them more than you wanted to admit to,” he spoke softly. “Losing someone… No matter how close… It always hurts,” he tried to explain. He after all knew people who had lost someone who they weren’t really that close to, and it threw them completely off the hook. “I’m sorry for being realistic, but it’s always going to hurt. You’ll always miss them,” he licked his lips a little.

A giant dinosaur teddy, now that sounded like something she needed in her life. Something that could just be waiting in her bed that she could snuggle with, when it seemed a little lonely at nights. Maybe she should just come to the terms that she would just be alone forever. That wouldn’t be so horrible, now, would it? “I’m sorry too” she whispered, because she was. All she ever felt these days were the hurt and pain that carved at her soul and heart. She chuckled a little, when he theorized that, she had loved Nick more than she wanted to admit. That too, she had wanted to kiss him that day, tell him that she loved him and wanted to be with him. But things just turned out differently.
She shook her head a little. “You don’t have to be sorry about that, I would rather have someone tell me how the thought things are, instead of trying to tell me something they thinks I want to hear” she concluded, it was refreshing that Riley just said things as he saw them. Then she slowly got out of his arms, looking at his face. Her fingers glided over his jaw. “You are still covered in his blood” she whispered, letting her eyes move while she started removing some of it as good as she could without water.

A little curve appeared on his lips as he heard how Aurora chuckled with his theory about how she might’ve loved the person more than she had believed. It seemed like he had guessed somewhat right, even though the words he spoke wasn’t that much theory, it was experience. He remembered when he had always been picking stupid fights and said to himself that he hated Romeo, and God, how he regretted that. He had truly loved his older brother, and now it was already more than a year ago. It still hurt. It still wreaked havoc in waves. Spreading like rings in water.
She liked that he was blunt, which was good, but truly it was just things that he had wished someone had told him when he was getting the news about his brother. True things. He looked down at her as she pulled a little out of his embrace, slowly letting go of her but not completely, just in case she changed her mind and wanted a longer hug. Riley stood completely still with eyes locked on hers as she touched his jaw. What the hell was that. Oh Jesus. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it as she mentioned that he was still covered in blood. He felt how she rubbed her fingers a little against his skin. Completely flabbergasted and questioning his sexuality he took a step away and teleported away.

Girls restroom

Riley appeared in the middle of the girls restroom, and one would have thought it was the busiest hour, because screams immediately unfolded which made Riley realize how he wasn’t used to visualize the boys restroom and therefore quickly ran out of the restroom and directly into the teacher that had put him to detention. “Frick-” he whispered and quickly started running from the teacher. “Move! Get out of my way!” he yelled as he pushed his way through students. He grabbed another students books and threw them into the air – hoping for some kind of distraction before he teleported once again.

The tree

He almost ran into the tree but got his hands up to stop him. He was panting and gasping and it had only been a moment where he had been gone. “Oh Lord,” he said and leaned forward, putting his hands on top of his knees. “We should probably head back,” he muffled and pointed in the direction he believed Aurora stood in. He just had to catch his breath for a moment.

She hadn’t done it more than a few seconds. Or so it felt like. When he was suddenly gone. Her hand hung in the air, as it was no longer holding a jaw and fell down her side. She felt pain, it started just underneath her fingers. Almost a stabbing feeling. As if small needles were penetrating the skin sending the pain further up her arms. It grabbed her chest. Pressed from the side and almost threatened to squeeze the air out of her lungs. Aurora blinked for a moment, just standing there not knowing what to do or say. She didn’t have her phone on her, as it was still in the room where they had been sitting because of their detention. Had she done something wrong? She had too, right? Stupid, she always did something wrong.
Placing her arms around herself, she felt how goosebumps glided over her arms down her back. Almost as if her hair on her skin was pressing up against the clothing she was wearing. For a moment she thought about just walking back towards the school. Then she turned around and walked over and sat down by the tree. Eyes looking straight in front of her.
Then she felt how her lips pulled back as she tried to fight back the sadness from breaking free. Not that she was successful, and a soft cry escaped her lips before she started sobbing. Aurora pulled her legs towards her chest and buried her face against her knees. Then she heard a small pop, the smell of Riley and then his voice. What? Blinking a little confused, she raised her head and turned it around. He was on the other side. Panting against it. “Riley?” she asked, even though she knew it was him, she couldn’t stop his name from leaving her lips.

Riley heard his name and looked up in the direction of where he was certain that she would’ve been. Slowly he straightened back up. He could smell that she was the only one there still, and therefore he moved around the tree until he found her. He furrowed his brows. “Aw shit,” he hurried over to her and sat down on his knees in front of her. “I’m terribly sorry I shouldn’t have done that,” he said. Now, he had known what to do before, but now he didn’t even know if he was allowed to put a hand on her shoulder, but he did it a little hesitatingly. “I really don’t want you to get into any more trouble, so I’m taking us back, alright?” his eyes shifting from which of her eyes he looked at. This time he wouldn’t do a thing before he was certain whether she wanted to stay out of the classroom or get back and not get in trouble.

Blinking at little, she tried to muster a smile. Not that she was sure she was even remotely successful. It wasn’t his fault, so she didn’t understand why he was apologizing. There was probably a good explanation. Like, not touching peoples face unless they tell you it’s okay. “It’s okay” she whispered, feeling and hearing how her voice was strained because of her cries. Then she nodded, as he placed a hand on her shoulder and told her that he was taking them back. So, Aurora closed her eyes, took a last breath in of the cold spring air. Then they were back, where they had talked. “Thank you, for coming back” she said, placing one hand over her chest. Her hand grabbed the other arm for a moment, before she moved it towards her face and dried away the tears that had been falling down her cheeks after he had left. Her eyes glided towards the door as it seemed like someone was going to open it. But then the person thought against it, and they weren’t interrupted. “Seems like there wouldn’t be more trouble after all” she mumbled, walking towards the desk she had been sitting by and sat down once more.

She said that it was okay, and he had to fight the urge to tell her, that I wasn’t okay. Riley shouldn’t have run off like that because it was truly the worst way to handle anything. He shouldn’t just tug his tail between his legs and run off like some vagabond. It was incredible, because he had even told himself that he really had to man up and show everyone how much of a man he truly was, and a minute ago he fled because he was questioning his sexuality. Brilliant. Why the hell hadn’t he been thinking about that? Okay, maybe he had, but never really thought about it being that important. It was more important just to feel comfortable in one’s own body, right?

He teleported them back into the detention room, sitting on the floor between the tables. He noticed how she put a hand on her own chest and how she dried away tears. Oh, how Riley just wanted to comfort her. He didn’t like seeing anyone sad, and Aurora had definitely an awful story, just like the Disney princess, without even knowing all of the story.
Riley quickly looked towards the door as it seemed like someone was about to enter, when suddenly it seemed like the mind was changed. He furrowed his brows a little. He exhaled deeply and let his head fall a bit. All of rushing around had really been getting the best of him and he truly just wanted to go home now. “We were quite lucky,” he whispered before he got up from his position on the floor and turned towards her. “I might have run into the teacher in the hall,” he said leaving a short chuckle looking down at his feet while he walked towards the seat where he had been drawing. His eyes ran over the drawing and analyzed it. Criticizing it. He wished to continue their conversation, but somehow, he also believed that he had messed something up by fleeing like he had done.

Pulling out some books and a notepad she started getting ready to work on the homework that she had needed to do for today. But hadn’t really had the time nor heart to actually focus on it. She looked up when Riley told her, that he had run into the teacher in the hall. Her brows furrowed, as she tried to connect the dots, to why he had been running around in the halls. Her tongue glided over her lips, while her fingers grabbed around the edge of the notepad. Feeling the rough surface of the paper against her skin. “Why were you running around in the halls?” she asked, rather straight forward, while one of her brows glided up as her expression turned into a questionable one. Well, he had just teleported away, and he could of course have gone anywhere. But the halls seemed rather weird to teleport to or was that her own opinion. Especially if had been because she had done something to freak him out.

Riley had his eyes on his drawing when he heard Aurora’s question. It made him stare for a little moment with a slight panic. What the hell was he going to reply to that? He couldn’t just say that he had teleported into the girls’ restroom, that would make him seem like such a perv, when he truly just didn’t know how the male restroom looked like.
“Well I was a little confused, so when I exited the restroom, I bumped into him,” he replied shrugging a little. It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was some kind of truth. He let his fingertip run along the edge of the drawing before he sat down. “So, I might be looking at more detention,” he said raising both his brows shortly in a quick movement, not that pleased about his own actions. He bit his lip a little thoughtfully and tried to think about a way to get rid of the blood that had been splattered on him. The mere thought of having to wash the drops off his clothing was also killing him, since it would leave him sitting in his binder washing, and Riley wasn’t yet that comfortable walking around in only a binder at home.

Restroom, alright. What, why had he teleported to the restrooms? Her confusion didn’t get any less, as she looked at him while he explained that he had bumped into him and that he might now look at more detention. “Oh, okay” she decided just to say, not wanting to push him into telling her more than he felt comfortable with. He didn’t know her that well after all, and maybe that short moment they had shared together, had been nothing more than that. A moment where he had seen that she needed a breather and she had been upset. She should really stop with putting more feelings into things, it always left her standing as the only one getting hurt because she hadn’t read the signals right. Just like with Howie, and even more so with Aleks. Aurora just concluded that she wasn’t really all that good at dating, and with what had happened to Nick, she should just stop it all together. She started reading in her books, and after a while her hand moved to scribble down some of the key notes that she needed to remember from reading.