Corruption of Ambition | Sejanus Plinth

Fifteen

"You mean with the games and all the tributes dying?" Sejanus asked.

That had not been what Riyana had meant. She had been referring to Arachne, Diana, and Apollo, all people she had grown up with, people she shared her last conversations with only a week ago, now lifeless in coffins. She had thought of the ones helping in the mockery of the deaths of district children, instead of the truly innocent lives lost and that would only continue to lose. That was the difference between her and Sejanus.

She had wanted to be angry at Sejanus. He had grown up alongside the twins as well, and they were some of the few students to not find pleasure in making his life miserable. Could he really overlook their deaths for their indifference towards him?

"No." Riyana said, harsher than intended. Feeling guilty, she immediately back peddled, "Yes, that too. Just, I mean the twins are barely cold, just buried. Just seems wrong to just be going on so soon."

Sejanus grabbed her hand and held it in his lap. "I can't give you a real answer for that. There's really never a time that it will be okay to go on, you just have to."

"That's stupid." Riyana complained, kicking a small rock on the steps. She realized how childish she looked when she saw the new scuff on her shoes.

"Wouldn't you want people to continue being happy if you died?" Sejanus asked.

Riyana stared at him as though he had just asked the most absurd question she had ever heard. "Absolutely not." She exclaimed.

Sejanus chuckled and shook his head. "Okay, okay. You're the exception. Personally, I'd want you to still go out and live your fullest life even if I wasn't there to be part of it."

Riyana pulled her hand away and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well I would not, I would simply never leave my apartment and rot away." She told him, not caring that she was pouting over a hypothetical scenario.

Sejanus shook his head, "Well that's no good."

"Then you better not die." Riyana declared, nodding her head with more authority than the situation called for.

Sejanus shook his head, still smiling at her. He leaned in and kissed her softly, he let his lips linger for just a moment, feeling their warm breaths mix, before pulling away and whispering. "Fine, I won't die."

Sejanus stood up and held out a hand, "We better get back inside." He said as he helped her to her feet.

The rest of the party went by as they always did, rather boring and slowly. Coriolanus using the word "dreadful" to describe these events was not misleading. She had spent the proceeding hours going in between dancing until her heels began to bleed and partaking in the same recycled conversations with guests.

It was nearly midnight when her father told her they would be heading home and to say thanks to the hosts. She had no interest in saying a word to the president nor Aiden, but she would not leave without saying goodbye to Andromeda.

"Oh dear, heading out already?" Andromeda asked And Riyana walked up, with Sejanus on her side.

Riyana nodded, "I'm afraid so."

Andromeda grinned, "Alright, alright, I understand. You two have much more fun things to do tonight." She winked.

Riyana could hear Sejanus' breath hitch beside her and she was not sure if it was from shock or laughter. Riyana gulped, trying to suppress the laughter wanting to escape her own throat.

"I saw you sneaking away earlier, just like me in my younger days." Andromeda went on, her tone becoming dreamy.

Riyana could hear Sejanus' stifled laughs and she kicked him in the ankle. "We really do have to go, unfortunately. You know my father, he'll be counting the seconds until we're in the car."