Rikan

Chapter 7

"Michelle! Are you crazy? You're going to get me in trouble more than I am now!" Rikan said.

"I don't care. Your parents are not allowed to do this to us. If they get away with this, it will be the end of our friendship."

"Michelle..." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "You know that my parents would never do that. I wouldn't let them do that to us either, even if they wanted to."

"Well either way, you do not deserve this grounding. It isn't your fault! It's never your fault!" She screamed. "Ugh! I hate your sister. I don't understand why she allows this to happen."

"Michelle, I think you need to calm down." He said as he reached for her flailing hand. She pulled it away from him.

"Don't try to stop me, you can't. And you won't." She said. He felt her harsh glare upon him, and it made him feel very uneasy.

"Michelle..."

"You can't persuade me otherwise, Rikan. I've learnt that I can't trust anyone in this world. Only you." She said. "And I won't let anyone take the only person that I trust, out of my life."

The redhead continued to stare at him, but he eventually began to hear her cry. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if trying to hold her shattered soul together. She turned her gaze to the leather seat of the hover. "I'm sorry, Rikan. I can't do this anymore. You mean everything to me, and I can't let you get hurt. I'm sorry." She mumbled.

A small smile grew on his face as he scooted closer to her. He put a hand on her shoulder and stared at her mesmerizing red curls. "Michelle, what did I tell you yesterday in the forest?" He paused, waiting for an answer from her. When she didn't answer, he did so for her. "I told you that I'm a survivor. I'm Rikan. I'm able to take care of myself."

She shook her head. "Don't you see. That's why I'm scared."

He frowned at his best friend. "Wow. I can see that you have a lot of faith in me."

"No! Rikan, please don't take it that way. It's... It's complicated." More tears slipped from her eyes.

"How so?" He grumbled, angrily.

She took in a shuddering breath. "It's just that you were raised differently than me. I was raised with the wild, you were raised with the rich society. I have more survival skills than you."

"That doesn't make this situation any better."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I just want to protect you." She mumbled.

"But I don't want you to get hurt Michelle! I'd rather die if that means that you're safe."

"No. That's torture to me. I can't live without you!" She sniffled. "Don't you see? I cried myself to sleep last night because I was worried about you! I can't live my life without you!"

"Michelle..."

"What?!" She said as she stared out the window, back turned to him. He wrapped his lanky arms around her, wrapping his best friend into a hug. She turned around to face him, wrapping her arms around him too. "I can't lose you..."

"You won't." He looked down at her and smiled. His vision began to clear more, it was more crisp. He blinked a couple of times, and it all came back. He gazed into Michelle's brown eyes, his smile growing larger by the second. She pulled back, suddenly frightened that he could see her.

"Rikan..."

"My vision is back!" She smiled now too.

"Really?! That's great. That means that I don't have to lead you out of this hover and into the Thorne household. That would've been a struggle." She giggled and he laughed with her.

"You'd probably make me walk into a wall."

"It's called true friendship." She smirked at him, as she wiped away the tears that remained on her cheeks.

"I thought you said earlier that you want to protect me?" She froze and he noticed some colour in her cheeks.

"I... Uh... Meant to protect you from any dangers other than me." She covered up quickly.

"Is that so?" He asked and she nodded her head in reply. "I guess the same rules apply to me then." He smirked. Michelle hesitated and began to back away.

Rikan was faster though as he began to tickle Michelle. She laughed and screamed at the same time. It was pure torture to her, but he loved it.

"Rikan!" She screamed. "Stop it." Tears leaked from her eyes, as she was laughing too hard. She rolled off of her seat and onto the hover floor, taking Rikan with her.

They laughed with each other on the floor, but neither of them dared to move. The prince's arm was casually draped around her stomach, her back turned to him. The laughter faded eventually and all that was left were smiles on their faces.

"It's quite comfy down here? Don't you think?" Michelle suddenly piped up. Rikan chuckled.

"Yeah." They laid with each other, peacefully until the hover came to a stop.

"You have arrived to your destination, Michelle Kesley. Thank you for choosing the hover services." A robotic voice spoke.

Michelle groaned. "I don't want to get up. I just want to sleep."

"Michelle, we have to get up. The Thorne's are going to wonder what a random hover is doing in their front yard." Rikan chuckled.

"Mom! Just let my sleep for a few more minutes!" She protested. At that moment, Rikan realized that she fell asleep. Unconsciously, she grabbed his hand and pulled her closer to him, as if he was her blanket.

Rikan didn't resist. He hugged her closer and let her sleep. She needed the sleep, especially after her confession of crying herself to sleep the night before. It was a long night for both of them, and she must've barely of gotten any sleep.

It was almost night now anyways. Despite his injuries, he was comfortable on the hover floor with Michelle. He smiled to himself as he drifted off to sleep, with a sleeping Michelle in his arms.