Never be the same again*

I'm yours

If the concert had gone great, the same could not be said for the collaboration with the witches. The Trix had taken over the second piece of code, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of both the Winx and the Cloud Tower witches.

"You still need to tell me what happened to make you act sour with the witches!" Aisha asks her as she enjoys a serving of chips.

She, Musa, and Flora had gone out to have lunch together. Musa sips her drink and bites into her muffin before uttering a word.

"Even the walls know that I really liked Riven in my first year..."

"And you still do..." Flora specifies with a giggle.

"Yeah... anyway. I really liked Riven but at the Day of the Rose, he was hypnotized by Darcy. When Stella told me about it I didn't want to believe her thinking it was one of her usual tricks to make me jealous."

"Typical Stella!" Aisha affirmed. "And then?"

"Stella wasn't kidding: I had gotten mad at her, left Alfea to go to Magix to cool off, and...well I caught Riven in a club with Darcy. And they were clearly flirting, but she had hypnotized him."

"What a bitch!"

"Aisha!" Flora calls her back.

"Mmm Aisha is right. Plus, Icy and Stormy had caught me making fun of me. I couldn't see any more in anger and slapped Icy in the face. For this affront, the Trix sicced all the other witches on me. And nothing, the rest you can imagine how it went..."

"We had to rescue her, otherwise she would have met a horrible end!" Flora exclaims remembering that terrible confrontation.

"And Riven?"

"Better not talk about that..." she says rolling her eyes.

"But the night went well, didn't it?" asks Flora.

"Uh-huh...just fine. Riven let's just say away from your stares, he's a softie. He gets all proud and tough in front of you because he's afraid of being judged."

"Let me tell you, he may be handsome and sweet, but he's such a jerk!" concludes Aisha making the two laugh.

***

"There's no point in keeping playing the part of the one who doesn't care anyway, who doesn't care about anything, etc." Sky teases him while downing a sip of lemonade.

Riven looks at him huffing, then looking away and eating a piece of his sandwich. Brandon clears his throat and takes the floor.

"Her father bought you the romantic dinner, let's call it that. You've gone out with her so many times before, stopping by after work to bring her a few slices of cake or to say goodnight. You phone her all the time, you've taken it out on Jared. I mean, let's get this straight: you and Musa are together!"

"We're not together! And that's fine, I like Musa! But we're dating!"

Sky, Timmy, and Brandon sighed: Riven had finally spilled the beans! Brandon had been carrying that bug ever since he suggested he buy her flowers to make up with her after Stella's awkward version of the bottle game.

"You need to step up, man!" Timmy adds . "Musa is a good girl and you have a lot in common!"

"Hey, take it easy there, Casanova! I want to make sure she's okay with me. I think she's had some trauma in the past but she hasn't wanted to tell me yet... At first she was terrified every time I touched her..." he sighs.

"Then take your time, don't hide though. We all know by now...just in case, get that romantic Helia to help you!" Sky laughs.

The others laugh too, while Riven looks at them puzzled, but they were right: what was the point of denying the evidence?