The Dragon Stone ↣ Riven ↢

31: That's What Friends Are For

"Fine," Rose said as she nodded her head. "Let's get to it then."

-

After parting ways with Beatrix, Rose tried to be as quiet as possible as she rounded the corner into the fairy hall. It was already late since she'd spent hours with Beatrix combing through books, but it hadn't all been for nothing. Just like Rose, Beatrix suspected that the ancient fire fairy cave could give them the answers they were after but while Rose was perfectly content continuing her search through books, Beatrix wanted to pay the cave a visit. They argued about whether or not to go for the better part of an hour and they eventually came to an agreement. If actual proof could be found of the cave being the center of everything that was happening, they'd go, but until then, the cave was off limits. After all, Rose still remembered how Professor Green had warned her of the dangers of the cave that day they were there.

Thus far, working together with Beatrix wasn't as bad as she'd imagined it to be and though she still wasn't really a fan of her, it had felt good to just be able to talk about it with someone. Rose realised she was lonelier than she cared to admit to herself and part of her was grateful for the company.

She rubbed her tired eyes while walking and after her vision cleared, she thought her brain was playing tricks on her. Even in the dim lighting her eyes recognised him. Riven. His back towards her as he was leaning against the wall.

Rose blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't imagining it, but as he was still there, her heart made a little leap. The weight of how much she'd actually missed being around him pressed heavy on her chest and it took all of her willpower not to run over to him and hurl herself into his arms.

Just be quiet or you'll both be in trouble, she reminded herself.

As she almost reached him, he suddenly turned around and it wasn't hard to notice that his expression went from curious to surprised. His eyes quickly glanced back down the hall before meeting Rose halfway.

''What are you doing here?'' Rose whispered softly as they'd gotten close enough.

She'd expected him to pull her close, give her a hug, maybe even a kiss but his body language was distant as he looked like he was fumbling for words.

"I--'' he started but was interrupted by the creaking sound of a door opening.

Rose watched as Darcy appeared in the entrance and while her brain was trying to make sense of Riven waiting out here for her, Riven quickly grabbed her hand and dragged her along behind him.

"Didn't think this was a two-man job but whatever works for the two of you,'' Darcy said in an amused tone as she held out a book.

This time, it was Riven who grabbed it. "It wasn't planned like that and a simple 'thank you' would suffice."

His tone was harsh and cold and seemed to change something in Darcy's behaviour. She was desperately trying to get on his good side and the hair flick accompanied with an overly sweet "Thank you." made Rose clench her teeth in annoyance. This wasn't the first time she'd gotten all flirty with Riven and the way she was looking at him left her with an uneasy feeling. Jealousy.

Stop that, Rose chided herself inwardly. She was just being overly insecure. Right?

As the door closed again, Riven turned back to Rose. "Lent her my book today, but I really needed it back for my first class tomorrow morning. She said I could only pick it up after eleven," he explained with a shrug.

"Oh,'' was all Rose managed to get out as she shifted uncomfortably on her feet. He still seemed distant, and it was making her nervous. Something just felt off between the two of them. Maybe this was her own doing. She was blocking him out, putting next to no effort into trying to spend time with him. He deserved more than that.

"Are you mad at me?'' she questioned softly as she avoided looking into his eyes.

The little laugh that escaped his lips came unexpected, but a warm sensation rippled through her body as his arms quickly wrapped around her and pulled her close. "Of course not. Why do you ask?" he chuckled before cupping her chin to make her look up at him.

"It feels like you're mad at me."

"What?'' Riven responded, surprise clear in his voice. "Why?"

"I don't know. I just thought you were being a little distant and..." Rose trailed.

As she tried to turn her head away, his grip on her chin tightened a little. "Don't look away. Talk to me."

The authority in his tone made her want to throttle and kiss him at the same time and she released a sigh of defeat. "I guess I'm just a little mad at myself for not making enough time for you and I just miss you a little and I just thought that maybe you might be a little angry with me for not reaching out to you as often."

The words came out like a soft ramble and her cheeks burned hot from how uncomfortable she was. Was she being silly? First, she just practically ghosted him and now she's whining about it to him.

"Babe, you're fine. We're fine," Riven started, though the sadness in his voice contradicted his words. "Though, last week I asked if you were okay and you said yes."

He paused.

"I know you lied. Whatever is troubling you, you obviously don't want to talk about it so I've been trying to give you space but I want you to know that I'll be here when you're ready."

His words seemed so understanding, more so than Rose believed she deserved and it made the knot of guilt in her stomach tighten. Her thoughts and feelings were once again a jumbled mess and it wasn't until his thumb wiped across her cheek that she realised a tear had slipped from her eye.

"Thank you," she mumbled, her voice a bit shaky. "And I'm sorry but I—"

"You don't have to explain. I just hope one day you'll trust me enough to talk about it."

His words stung like the edge of a sharp knife and her heart gave a painful twist. She did trust him. Or at least she thought she did, but then why couldn't she just tell him what she was struggling with?

Noticing how torn she was inside, Riven pulled her a little closer, his lips hovering over hers for a few seconds before softly pressing down. His loving gesture made the uncomfortable tension leave her body and the familiar feel of him still managed to melt her insides.

For a long moment, Rose lost herself in his touch and it wasn't until he drew back that she realised they were still standing in the hallway. But it didn't matter. They were together.

His hands had moved up to cup her face and his eyes searched for hers. She knew he was about to say something, and when he did, his voice was pleading.

"Just promise me you won't put yourself in danger."

Oh god. Could she promise him that? Everything about this situation seemed dangerous but she decided she owed him at least that bit of comfort. So she nodded.

"I promise."

***

I'm finally back!!! So sorry for not updating, but it's been crazy busy and I also caught the flu. The good news is that I'm all done with my exams so I won't keep you waiting as long for the next update. Also, over 7k reads! Just insane <3 Thanks for sticking around and for reading, commenting and voting ❤