Riza Chronicles: Book 1

Nothing and Everything

You know how, in movies, they make everything stupid bright in order to distort the scene? How, even with everything laid out in front of you, you can only make out basic shapes; and only a few details? That's how everything was for Riza. 

She knew exactly where she was, however. There was this little cafe that she and her friends used to visit almost religiously. It was stationed right next to a library, the two businesses were practically merged, so it was an ideal place for the four nerds. Even without the others to accompany them, it became almost a tradition to pick up a few books and then stop by the cafe for a muffin or a drink. The occasion was made better with company, and it had become a regular meeting place for the group. 

It was hard to make out many of the details around her, but she could easily navigate through the building with her eyes closed. Riza had stationed herself at one of the outside tables. She was glancing down at the blinding pages of an unknown book, with some unknown drink--most likely iced chai-- sitting in her hand. All of her problems seemed to be nonexistent. It was...peaceful, almost. Even without being able to read the words of her chosen novel, the bluette was already lost in her own fantasy world. 

Her bliss was immediately destroyed when two stick-like objects jabbed themselves into her sides. The girl was forced to respond with a terrified yelp, and the act of almost dropping her drink. Her face growing red, she violently turned around to face her attacker. 

Three people stood behind her. The brightness of the atmosphere made an attempt to hide their identities, but she knew the three so well that she was able to identify them just by their silhouettes. Two of them were laughing uncontrollably, while the third was just smiling awkwardly; trying her best not to do the same. 

Still, even Riza couldn't help but smile. Placing her drink down on her chosen table, she playfully swatted at her attacker; the shortest of the bunch, Mari. "You're a bunch of jerks." The bluette snickered. 

"Oh come on, you love us." Her twin cackled. 

"But that sound you made--oh my shit..." Mari wheezed. 

"Yeah, yeah. Assholes." Riza retorted. Normally, she was shy and awkward. But, around these three, she felt as though she was able to be more loud and carefree. There was no holding back, and no need to just stick to the background. It was a nice change of pace, in all honesty. 

Seira stepped forward at that moment. She reached forward, and lightly tapped the bluette's head with her fist. "Come on, nerd. We're going to be late." 

"I vote Riza drives!" Kai piped up. 

"I second that!" Her cat-like friend grinned. 

"No way!" The teen protested. "You guys know I hate driving... Kai, why don't you do it? Or why can't Seira?!" 

"Because we all hate it too." Her twin shot back. "Besides, it's your turn anyways." 

Poking the girl's arm, the redheaded Seira smiled reassuringly. "Oh come on, Riza. It can't be that bad. You're super careful about it, too. And we aren't going that far. What's the worse that can happen?" 

Yeah... What's the worse that could happen...? 

~#~#~#~

"Riza, are you awake?!" 

Gasping, the girl shot up into a sitting position. She had gotten up so fast that her vision darkened for a moment; white spots began dancing across her vision, and dizziness smacked her in the face along with a minor headache. It took her a moment to realize where she was. 

The hotel...right. 

The day before, the group had left the hospital rather quickly after Riza had returned from her friends' room. Seeing as though the girl had gone through a lot in just the short time that they had known her, it was decided that they would camp out at one of the many Hotels that took up residence in YorkNew City. The bluette, of course, got her own room; although it was connected to the suite that the guys had gotten a hold of, just in case she needed anything.

It had taken her quite a while to fall asleep. For awhile, she was pretty sure that sleep would never come. But apparently it had and... And she wished that she had gotten a chance to sleep a little while longer. 

Sighing, Riza threw the covers off of her. She was dressed in a simple t-shirt and sweats; clothes that she had gotten from a store across the street. They weren't exactly silk pajamas, but were just as comfy in her opinion. Standing up, the girl yawned and made her way over to the door. The culprit who had woken her up, Gon, was once again knocking relentlessly on her door. On the other side, she could hear Killua yelling at him. His argument was that "if she wasn't awake, then she certainly was now," but his own loudness was just as bad as his friend's. 

Still, it was nice to wake up to a bit of excited energy. It was annoying to a certain degree, but it held it's own friendly notions. Even if Riza had to hold back her own bloodlust for being woken up (yeah, she wasn't a morning person). Opening the door, she tried to look as awake as possible; even though she wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed. Smiling softly, Riza tilted her head to the side slightly. "Good morning." 

"'Morning!" Gon piped up excitedly. 

"Yo." Killua joined in. 

Grinning like an idiot, the green-clad kid rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Come on, we're gunna go get breakfast! And Kurapika said that he might have an idea about how we can find out more stuff about your memories!" 

Caramel eyes widening slightly, the teen gaped at the child in front of her. All of her exhaustion immediately faded away, and Gon's excitement began it's job of infecting her as well. "Really?!" 

{Guess who's not dead! Kind of... *sigh* I'm so sorry... I knew what I wanted to write, but I couldn't find the words or motivation.}