retrospective || riley hayes life's riddles fic

the new kid, and what his deal is

cw/homophobia,bullying, sex-reference/sexual activity/self-harm reference, suicide-reference, use of homophobic slurs

riley pov
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A few weeks passed with nothing actually remarkable happening. The "ruthless" (to quote Octavia) bullying continued, Dylan getting the majority of it. Andre and Forrest seemed to not only be distancing apart from each other, but me too. I felt like I was stuck. Stuck right in the middle of disaster - Andre and Forrest, are both stubborn assholes. What happens when two stubborn assholes are best friends? They fall out, and then are too damn stubborn to admit defeat and talk to anybody who might also be in correspondence with their former-best friend. 

I sat in the library, staring at a book. I wasn't reading it. Not really. Well, by definition, yes I was - but the words weren't registering. 
It would be an understatement to say Andre and Dylan were less than subtle. Despite the bullying continuing, Andre and Forrest weren't doing it like they usually did. There was no jeering or giving each other amused looks. They were just being... well, assholes. It didn't look like either of them enjoyed it anymore. Or, maybe they never did enjoy it, and now they're just too tired to pretend to. 

Self-loathing. 

I tried to focus on the words - it was something about magic, something about demons, something about angels----I flipped back to the contents list. 

1. What is Magic?
2. Different Magic Variations
3. Genetics and Inheritance
4. Demons; Summarised
5. Angels; Summarised
6. Growing Up With Magic (PART ONE)
7. Growing Up With Magic; Affects and Mental-Health (PART TWO)
8. Parenting a Magic Child (PART ONE) 
9. Parenting a Magic Child 

"Just leave me alone, Riley."  I stood at the kitchen door - he was standing on the other side, pushing his back onto it - it wouldn't move. I kept trying regardless. "I'm sorry. Can we talk about it, please?"
"Okay," he said - I smiled with relief, before he continued, "And what will you say?" 
My smile dropped. "I--..." 
"You'll look at me like I'm some kind of monster again, won't you?" I could hear the weight in his words - he was trying not to cry. "I won't! You're not any kind of monster. You're----"
"I'm WHAT?" He demanded. 
"You're just--- you! You're you. You're not a monster. You're you! I-I- I'm sorry. Aiden please let me in---" 
I heard him shove something against the door. I pushed, but it still wouldn't move. I could hear his voice getting further awake as he spoke, "Y-You'll just give me that look again." 
"I don't think you're a monster." 
"Okay." 
"Will you let me in?"
I heard a drawer opening. "What are you doing?" I asked, pushing on the door again. Aiden didn't reply; the drawer closed again. "I'm going home." 

"What? But-- it's late, dad's probably asleep, how will you get home?"
"I'm not six, I can walk home."
"It's dark! That's not safe. There're creepy people who could--" 
"Who could what?"
"Hurt you!"
"Wow, you actually care?" I could hear his voice clearer - he was next to the door again. He stood on the other side, barely any distance away from me. We faced each other, but we couldn't see one another. 

Outside, the stars glistened lightly. They danced about in the sky - not a care in the world. 

A star held out his hand, offering his first dance to his company - she accepted, smiling warmly. The radio clicked on, buzzing a merry little tune. She laughed, twirling around him. He smiled back at her, his hand firmly on her waist. In a satisfyingly ordered jive, they looped on all through the night; warmly embracing the sky. "I wish for nothing more than to spend an eternity with you," the first star says softly to his lover. 

"And I, you," she whispers lovingly.

My hands stay firmly on the door, staring absently at its wooden surface. Aiden must have gone. He'd gone completely silent. And I thought I'd heard the door opening. But I heard it open twice. Had he gone out then back in? Or had he just gone out, and I was hearing things. Or had he not left at all? My mind span faster than light.