"Stop calling me that!"

I wish that had actually been what they were talking about because that sounds badass as hell. Getting attacked by some dude? I DON’T THINK SO MOTHERFUCKER

Calliope’s stony grey eyes stared right at Riley, as if trying to read her from just what she saw. There was an abundance of silence in the room for a good few moments before Calliope’s eyes closed and her fingers laced together. “Would it be too much to ask of me if I wanted to know more about you? Of course, anything you’re willing to share. I know so little about you.. How about this? If you share just one thing with me that you think will help me get to know you better, I’ll give you one question to ask me about anything at all. My deepest darkest secrets, my credit card number. You name it.” 

“Not at all, I suppose,” she finally spoke, before teasing, “However, giving away your credit card number to someone may not be the best trade off, y’know?”

She thought for a moment. What exactly could she tell Calliope? Sure, there was two things she really didn’t want to tell her, but…

“When I was really little, I had a dream to be a famous musician,” she spoke, turning back towards the goth, “To play for people not only as a career choice, but also for the fun of it all. Play for broadway. Play in a band. I don’t know; they both sound like a blast.”

She gave a laugh and shrugged, “But that’s what happens when you’re born into a military family, huh? Not that I mind. I’m proud to follow in my family’s footsteps.”

 However, Calliope wrinkled her nose when Riley continued to talk. “You don’t.. have to do that though. If you want to be a musician, then be a musician! Do what makes you happy, you know? This life is yours to make of it what you will, you can live it the way you truly want, or live it for someone else. That’s your decision, of course, but..” she smiled tenderly, “I’d love to go to attend a concert and hear you play something.”

The raven haired girl tilted her head to the side, imagining Riley in different bands and different genres of music. She could imagine herself as a groupie for the grungy red-headed guitarist, traveling with the band, performing a different kind of “show” in private...

She mused for a moment at Calliope’s disagreement, before saying, “Well, you might be right... But at the very least, it could be something I pick up after I get out of service, I suppose.” A lot of military members of her family usually did nothing after they got out of service. But Riley did have to admit that she wanted to be more than just a veteran when she got older.

She turned to face Calliope, noticing her spacing out. The redhead tilted her head slightly and asked, “Are you oka--” but quickly had to hide an amused smirk when the goth snapped out of it.

Calliope’s stony grey eyes stared right at Riley, as if trying to read her from just what she saw. There was an abundance of silence in the room for a good few moments before Calliope’s eyes closed and her fingers laced together. “Would it be too much to ask of me if I wanted to know more about you? Of course, anything you’re willing to share. I know so little about you.. How about this? If you share just one thing with me that you think will help me get to know you better, I’ll give you one question to ask me about anything at all. My deepest darkest secrets, my credit card number. You name it.” 

“Not at all, I suppose,” she finally spoke, before teasing, “However, giving away your credit card number to someone may not be the best trade off, y’know?”

She thought for a moment. What exactly could she tell Calliope? Sure, there was two things she really didn’t want to tell her, but...

“When I was really little, I had a dream to be a famous musician,” she spoke, turning back towards the goth, “To play for people not only as a career choice, but also for the fun of it all. Play for broadway. Play in a band. I don’t know; they both sound like a blast.”

She gave a laugh and shrugged, “But that’s what happens when you’re born into a military family, huh? Not that I mind. I’m proud to follow in my family’s footsteps.”

- You love to talk…but to the right people. You know when to be reserved and play the background. Other times, you’re a loose lips, talking machine. You delight more in people who are like-minded because of the common interest and relatable aspects.

- Thinking before you speak is something you try to adhere to when you communicate. For one, you don’t want to look like a fool and for two, you can easily detect bullsh*t when you become more of the listener.

 On the counter of her white vanity, her make up was lined up a long with lotions and perfumes all on top of white and pink doilies. Her bed sheets were a cotton candy pink color with white frills along the bottoms and around her pillow were a few stuffed animals (Hello Kitty, My Melody, Build-A-Bears etc.) Her closet door was also open and if Riley decided to look in, she would see a clear divide in the clothing that hung there, the right side all black and the left side (sparse due to her many gifts to Jasten) all pastel and pink. On the floor, her shoes mimicked the same pattern. 

“Uh yes, actually. I’m trying to get them off the filthy floor as soon as I can. Assistance would be ideal.” Cain said in a slightly calmer voice.

“Then assistance it is,” she replied, as she bent down to begin picking them up alongside the hypochondriac. At the very least, she’d learn more about what to look out for when it came to Cain.

“Oh of course it’s not. I was actually trying to make my way to the kitchen so I could retrieve a glass of water.” Cain said.

This wasn’t entirely a lie. He was trying to get a glass of water, just not from the kitchen. Now it looked like he wasn’t trying to crazily dry swallow them in public.

“And in the situation I was in previously, I needed them immediately.” he explained seriously. He hoped Riley wouldn’t ask any questions.  He continued to collect the spilled pills from the ground before staring at them in his hands.

She mused for a moment as she continued to help gather them, musing aloud, “Oh, that’s right. You’re sickly, right? At least, that’s what I heard.” She conveniently left off that she heard that from Starr. Or at least that Starr implied it.

“My father use to run an organization to find cure for stomach cancer,” he explained, lowering himself back down on to the bed. “Well, more…gastric cancer, but it is less asked of ‘huh?’ when you just say stomach. Unfortunately, he died…of what he wanted to stop… Oh, did I tell you this already? I, ah…repeat myself sometime.”

More than one second chance… “That is a dream… If I can come back, then I will do better for my team!”

She shook her head, arching an eyebrow, “I knew your father died, but you didn’t tell me of the rest of this, honestly.”

me: they are probably just being nice, they probably do this with everyone

someone: [asks me on a date]

me: it’s not a date, it’s just a friend get together thing, probably.

someone: [confesses their love for me]

She listened, as she had promised to do whenever Riley spoke to her, hand shoved into the pockets of her over sized jacket. When her eyes focused on the red head’s her heart stopped for a moment before continuing to beat. And then, it stopped again. More violently, for a longer period of time. The pale girl’s face went a deep, deep red in surprise and nervousness when Riley finished speaking. Cute? R-Riley thought she was.. cute? And.. That’s why she couldn’t look at her?? 

When Calliope began to giggle, Riley’s eyes widened. Was it how she said it? Or–

She was happy? Taken aback by that, Riley had scrunch her features to hide her reddening face. So in response to being cute, she acted even cuter.

“I suppose so.. Well.. Jasten came to my room not very long ago. I consider him a friend.. and so I told him about me. One thing led to another, I dressed similarly to how I’m dressed today and.. he just reacted so positively.. Then, I dressed him up in some of my pink clothes, decided he looked absolutely darling, and gave him most of them. I figured that he looked good in them and if I didn’t have them around me anymore then.. I wouldn’t have a reason to keep holding on to something that didn’t make me happy. So, I decided to just.. be me! Except.. I’m not really different. I can just.. blend into the night a little easier!”

“You’re right, I doubt clothes necessarily change a person,” the cadet agreed as she crossed her arms and nodded, “Perhaps make you feel a lot more comfortable if you’d consider that as a change.”

She stood there for a moment. Calliope had asked her that earlier, but Riley never gave her an answer, did she?

Well, she came this far.

Pulling his legs to his chest, he leaned his head down and sighed. “I just want to help anyone I can, since nobody was there to help me.” He smiled slightly, finger tracing the fabric of his bedsheets, hating the design. “I want to become a doctor for that reason, but I hate science and math… Isn’t it ironic?”

Lowering his eyes, he picked up on the discomfort and mumbled an apology, not entirely sure what he’d done wrong but still felt the need since he’d done harm. “Do you think a child at home could…?” He stopped himself, laughing off his question before he could finish. Impossible.

However when he mentioned he wanted to be a doctor, she looked surprised for a moment. “Wait, back up. You want to be a doctor?”

Following the line of thought from heroes to Phoenix’s unsaid sentence, she nodded, “Yes, I do. Everyone has the chance to be a hero, as long as they remain a good person, Phoenix.”

“Y-Yes, I want to become a doctor,” he confirmed, avoiding eye contact. “When I was young, I wanted to become a dancer, singer, or actor; but Okaa-san did not find those suitable and shot them down. When I turn thirteen, though, I found out about being a doctor and how I could help so many people! I could earn money, save my family, and help other along the way.

“I know it is hard, but…but I want to help as many people as I can. That is why I came here, too… If I had won, then I would have been able to afford college… Well, there is still a chance to come back, right? I can look forward to that chance, and I will be happy for person chosen, if it is not me.”

Riley telling him he could be a hero, though, made his smile return to his face. One day, he wanted to meet someone who thought he was a hero. “If I could meet a person who consider me a hero, then…I would die happy, you know?”

“That’s right; this competition isn’t over yet, Phoenix,” she confidently agreed, “So who knows? You might get your second chance. In more ways than one.” Shr shrugged.

Riley’s silence made Calliope want to lock her door and throw herself on her bed with a loud screech into her pillow. Just as she was about to thank Riley for her time anyways, she flinched as the cadet’s voice raised in a way that Calliope had never even heard.

“Normal?” She…

Calliope felt a nervous shudder run down her back as she noticed Riley’s eyes examining her so… thoroughly, or so it seemed. And just as before, she couldn’t look at the gothic girl from beginning to end and Calliope had to try her best not to let out an annoyed sigh. What was it? Why wasn’t she able to be looked at by the one person who she wished looked at her more than anyone else??

She listened, as she had promised to do whenever Riley spoke to her, hand shoved into the pockets of her over sized jacket. When her eyes focused on the red head’s her heart stopped for a moment before continuing to beat. And then, it stopped again. More violently, for a longer period of time. The pale girl’s face went a deep, deep red in surprise and nervousness when Riley finished speaking. Cute? R-Riley thought she was.. cute? And.. That’s why she couldn’t look at her?? 

When Calliope began to giggle, Riley’s eyes widened. Was it how she said it? Or--

She was happy? Taken aback by that, Riley had scrunch her features to hide her reddening face. So in response to being cute, she acted even cuter.