Riven's evening had been filled with Anya's animated storytelling which he found himself laughing at occasionally. Her fiery spirit shone brightly as she spoke about a recent incident in her life.
"Can you believe he said he'd be seeing other people even after we wed?"
"No, he didn't!" Riven gasped eyes wide.
"Oh yes, he did! So! I was like, 'Fuck it all! Let's call off this fucking engagement!' and I walked out on him and his parents without sparing them another glance. It was epic!" Anya concluded her wild tale, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She looked proud, as if she'd just shared the most interesting thing that has ever happened to her.
Riven's lips curled into an amused smile. "Oh wow! That's so fucking badass! Good for you!" he exclaimed, giving her an enthusiastic high five. His hand clapped against hers with a satisfying smack, and her laughter bubbled up again.
"I know, right? I was way too good for him, anyways!" she said, giggling and Riven nodded eagerly, grinning.
"Yeah, you definitely are! You dodged a bullet with that one, trust me." he said genuinely, and Anya's smile widened, her cheeks flushing bright pink.
As the conversation wound down, she glanced at the clock, her smile softening. "You know," she said cheerfully, "it's been so fun talking to you, I didn't even notice the time."
Riven leaned back, stretching his arms behind his head. "Honestly? I feel the same way. I've got a feeling we're gonna get along just fine," he said with a wink, causing her to giggle.
Yes, this is it, Riven thought, feeling a strange warmth in his chest. Anya was just the distraction he needs right now. She'll do just fine!
Soon enough the evening had faded into night, and Riven parted ways with his new friend. Before he left the dinning hall, he started feeling a dull ache in his chest—nothing sharp, just enough to make him uncomfortable. He decided to head back to his room and take a quick shower, hoping the hot water would soothe whatever was wrong with him.
Back in the room, he moved swiftly stripping down and stepping into the steaming embrace of the water. The warmth hit him like a balm, loosening his tense muscles and calming his restless nerves. He sighed contentedly, closing his eyes, letting the heat wash away the day's stress.
"Phew! The hot water hit the right spot!"
Riven muttered after a while, rinsing away the lingering fatigue as he finally stepped out of the shower, feeling refreshed and more at ease. He grabbed a towel, dried off, got into his night clothes and stepped out of the bathroom already planning to turn in early.
But just as he made it into the room, he spotted Vaelorian standing near his bed, back turned. The younger boy blinked, surprised. Vaelorian was usually gone before he woke up or back after he'd gone to bed —he's such a weird dude.
"Dude, you're here?" Riven blurted out, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. He paused for a beat, then added, "Why are you back early?"
Vaelorian turned, a lazy smile on his face, eyes glinting mischievously. "Where else would I be?" he said teasingly, voice smooth as silk. "Was I supposed to stay out all night?"
Riven rolled his eyes, feeling a mixture of annoyance and curiosity. "Beats me," he said, shrugging. "you usually come back when I've gone to bed and leave before I wake up. Where do you always go to anyways?"
Vaelorian's grin widened. "Sounds like you miss me when I'm not around," he teased and Riven scoffed.
"In your dreams!" he snapped, turning away, but the flush on his cheeks betrayed him.
Riven didn't notice it but Vaelorian's eyes darkened at his words but the older boy played it casually leaning against the wall. "Only if you know what you do in my dreams." he thought then shook his head violently, reminding himself that, this is not the time to daydream.
"I have other things to do besides training you, you know?" He decided to answer Riven's initial question.
The younger boy nodded taking In the information as he brushed past Vaelorian and sat on his own bed. That's true. The Commander did say Vaelorian was their combat specialist... Riven's eyes suddenly widened when he looked up.
"Dude! Why do you always strip in front of me?" He exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Vaelorian.
Vaelorian chuckled mischievously, "You say it bothers you but I see how you look at me every time." he said smirking and just like that he disappeared into the bathroom leaving Riven blushing madly.
"Damnit!" Riven cursed softly under his breath.
Damn him. Fucking damn him! Seeing Vaelorian shirtless—god, it did something to him. At first, he'd told himself it was just an annoyance—jealousy, maybe—because Vaelorian was more fit, more good looking? But now? Now, he was starting to think—fuck—maybe Vaelorian was kind of hot? Nope! That's fucking impossible. He hates the guy. There's no way he'd ever think about him like that. That's what he kept telling himself. Whatever this was, it had to be just exhaustion from training or sleep deprivation.
It's definitely sleep deprivation!
He groaned flopping onto his bed, pulling the duvet over his head, trying to drown out the chaos inside his mind. Sleep. That's what he needs right now. Sleep would fix this, right? Sleep would make everything go away. But sleep refused to come. His mind spun with more questions. Why? Why does it bother him so much? The images of Vaelorian's smirk and that muscular body haunted him. His heartbeat sped up just thinking about it.
Finally, exhausted and frustrated, Riven sat up. This was pointless. Sleep wasn't coming. What is wrong with him? If this feeling is not hate, what else could it be? A week ago he thought the guy was nothing but pian in his ass, has that changed? Could it be that he was starting to see Vaelorian in a different light? Someone more than just the goodie-two-shoes trainer he hated? Nope! Absolutely not! He's pretty sure he still hates the guy. Riven clenched his fists. Whatever this strange feeling was, it was just his mind playing tricks because he hadn't gotten laid in a while.
He stared at the ceiling, feeling the weight of the night pressing down on him. "Just sleep." he whispered. "Tomorrow's a new day. Tomorrow, I'll wake up and everything will be normal again."
And with that, Riven finally closed his eyes, desperately hoping that sleep would bring clarity—or at least silence—to the chaos inside his head.