The Glow of Rivals

Chapter 1 - A Change

IVAN

I trudged up to the door to my apartment, every muscle in me aching. Scratches and bruises covered what was showing of my arms. There were also some on my face. My heart was burning with hatred. My uniform was covered in dirt. I took my key out of my book bag and inserted it into the keyhole, turning the lock back. To my surprise, the door was already unlocked. I opened the door and stepped inside, taking my shoes off and propping my book bag up against the wall. "Ria? You here?" I called, putting the key back in my bag.

"Yep!"

She came running to the door from the kitchen, to my left. Her curly red hair was put in pigtails, as always, and her bright greens eyes were filled with enthusiasm, also as always. As soon as I saw her, my heart filled with warmth. She had an aura of warmth and joy that always seemed to be radiating off of her. She had a wide smile until she'd taken a second to look at me. "He beat you up again, didn't he?"

"Don't sound so worried, it's nothing I can't handle." I walked up to her and gave her a hug. "Why're you here? Shouldn't you be at your apartment doing homework?"

"Yeah, yeah, but I finished my homework early and wanted to see you. There's nothing wrong with me wanting to see my cousin outside of class too." She gently pushed away and turned around, calling over her shoulder, "I'll go get the first aid kit," before running off.

I laughed. "Ria, it's okay, really."

"No it's not!" Ria called from the bathroom. She came back with the first aid kit in one hand, gently grabbing my hand with the other. "Come on, let me help you."

I rolled my eyes with a sigh. "Fine."

She sat me down at the dining table in the kitchen and began tending to my wounds. I looked away at a picture on the wall, one she had drawn that I'd asked to keep.

"Why were you out late again?"

"Because I was studying."

"If he's going to beat you up everyday when you stay late, why do you keep staying late?"

"Because studying is more important than a few wounds that'll heal after a few days."

And because I won't let him cause me to fail, I remarked in my thoughts.

There was a pause.

"What's he beating you up over again?"

I groaned. "Some grudge from when we were in middle school."

"Oh, right. The one about you not helping him, right?"

"Right."

There was another awkward pause, but it was broken due to Ria gently pressing a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol on a scratch on my left cheek, causing me to wince with a small grunt.

"Sorry." She bit her lip guiltily, continuing to work on the large gash of a scratch. She put some gauze on it to cover it and used surgical tape to keep it in place. "How'd you even get this?"

"Slid against a wall, got cut on a sharp edge of a brick. I think."

"You think?"

"Well, I can't be too sure since it's all kind of a blur now... I just remember it starting to bleed after I slid down the wall of the building sideways."

"Outside?"

"Yeah."

"You shouldn't stay late anymore."

I stayed quiet again.

Ria sighed. "I'm guessing no matter what I say, you're still going to stay late doing various things." After another moment of silence, she sighed again. "You should really be more careful. Figure out how to stay away from him. This has been going on every day for three weeks now."