Chapter Text
The first hour of school ended, and as expected, the recess bell rang, signaling recess, and with it, a swarm of students swarmed toward the cafeteria.
"Cafeteria!" Riley shouted as soon as the bell rang, haphazardly throwing her things into her backpack.
"Remember, this week we have a 'healthy' menu" Robby reminded her, walking beside her as they weaved through the crowded hallway.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... salad, bland rice, and sad chicken" she muttered dramatically. "but the important thing is the chocolate cake. I'm not missing it!"
"So what are you doing lingering?"
Riley didn't answer immediately. Her eyes wandered toward one of the building's side hallways. There, where students and teachers didn't dare to go, two very special people often met.
"I have to make a detour... I want to see my favorite couple!" she whispered with a knowing smile.
"Oliver and Alice?" Robby asked worriedly, stopping abruptly. "Riley, we already talked about that. Those two... They're dangerous!"
"Because no one understands them!" she said, crossing her arms. "They're like those characters who are cold and hard on the outside but soft and tender on the inside. They're in love, and the world hates them for it"
Robby stares at her in disbelief at the way she defended a potential soap-eating psychopath and a fucking demon as just misunderstood people, when the entire school knew perfectly well that if it were up to those two, they'd burn down the school with everyone inside.
He was about to try to convince Riley to simply forget about seeing that pair this time and go to the cafeteria to eat, but she wasn't listening anymore. She'd turned the corner with the energy of a little dreamer in search of her OTP.
After walking down that desolate hallway, she had reached her destination, that door so feared and avoided by everyone at school.
Alice's room.
The first thing Riley noticed when she arrived was that the door was ajar, which was odd since it was always closed.
Cautiously, Riley approached the small space to get a better look inside the room.
Then, she saw them.
There, in the blackness of the room's interior, Alice and Oliver were snuggled up as if the entire world didn't exist beyond them.
Alice rested her forehead on Oliver's shoulder, who was playing with a lock of her hair.
Anyone who saw them would be stunned to see those two being... a normal couple showing affection, even impossible to believe, except for Riley.
It wasn't the first time she'd seen them like this, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Seeing them together filled something in Riley's soul. It wasn't just that she thought they were cute or adorable.
No, it was the way they looked at each other, the way they stood together, and the way they displayed their affection.
Everything about them gave the impression of a couple defined not only by affection or attraction, but also by the devotion, attachment, and unconditional love they conveyed to Riley, or however she could interpret it every time she saw them.
Plus, the fact that Riley shipped them and these two were dating made her as happy as a fangirl who sees more of her ship canon.
Oliver caressed Alice's face as she looked at him, and then, without warning, they kissed.
"AAAAAA!" Riley shrieked, unable to control the volume of her voice, betraying her presence to the lovers in the room.
The sound was high-pitched enough for Alice to open one eye, and Oliver turned toward the noise, seeing the little girl with pigtails from the doorway.
"Ah... you again" Alice murmured softly.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and a strange force seemed to suck Riley into the room.
The little girl rolled across the floor until she was at Oliver and Alice's feet. The brown-haired girl looked at her seriously, while the white-haired boy looked at her more calmly.
It wasn't the first time the couple had caught the little girl spying on them during their intimate moments, and it had happened so many times that they didn't even bother getting angry at her anymore.
After all, she was just spying on them. It could be worse if she were a little girl obsessed with Oliver and wanted them to separate so she could have him for herself.
Which, thankfully, wasn't the case.
"Riley, were you spying on us again?" Oliver asked, amused.
She just looked at them with a pained look as her got up from the floor.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt! You guys are just so ugh! SO CUTE!" Riley squeezed her cheeks, keeping herself from jumping. "Also, I came to see if you were okay. How's your day going? Have you kissed more times? Are you planning a date?"
"Normal. Boring classes and more annoying people than I can stand," Oliver shrugged.
"I couldn't tell you much when I'm always in this room," Alice said.
Riley just nodded after listening to each of them, then remained silent for a few moments, not knowing what else to say.
...
She felt like a nerd who finally decided to talk to the cool kids, and now she had no conversation topics beyond how much she loves seeing them together.
So instead, she pulled a small piece of paper out of her backpack and held it out to them.
"I made you something" she said shyly.
It was a drawing with markers, a bit clumsy but charming: Alice and Oliver hugging, with hearts floating around them and the phrase "OLICE FOREVER!!!" written in pink letters and skulls around the edges.
Alice and Oliver stared blankly after seeing that drawing. They didn't know how to feel about it, much less what to say, but they knew they had to since Riley was looking at them with those bright eyes, waiting to know what they thought.
"Uhh, very... nice drawing" Alice said, taking the drawing between her fingers.
"Really?!" Riley asked, her smile growing a little closer.
Alice frowned slightly before putting a hand on Riley's head to get her to move away.
Riley took it as a caress and couldn't help but purr like a kitten, surprising Oliver and Alice.
"Wow, did you just purr?" Oliver asked, impressed.
"Oh yeah, I sometimes purr when I get my head stroked, especially by people I like!" Riley replied, smiling.
"And you like me? I understand that about Oliver, but what about me?" Alice asked, puzzled.
"Why not? You're really cool, Alice" Riley said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
They both fell silent again, especially Alice. Besides Oliver, no one dared to approach her for... obvious reasons, so Riley's words left her perplexed.
After a few seconds, Alice finally cleared her throat to speak.
"Thanks, I guess... although you should go" the brunette said in a serious voice.
"Yeah... I'm sure your friends are waiting for you, and today was the day we had that chocolate cake you said you liked so much" Oliver added, helping Alice a little as she left.
Riley opened her eyes in panic.
"Oh no! That's right! Thanks for reminding me!" she exclaimed, turning around and heading for the exit. "Bye, guys! See you later! I love you so much! Be happy and give each other lots of more kisses!"
And with that, he ran out, closing the bedroom door, leaving the couple alone.
"That girl is fucking weird" Alice finally said.
"Yeah, she is... but hey, you have to admit, that makes her kind of adorable" Oliver commented, running his hand over the brunette's shoulders.
Alice just rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help but stare at the drawing Riley had made for a while longer before putting it in her pocket.
The cafeteria was full, with the noise of students chatting among themselves while eating their lunches. Riley stood in line, swinging her backpack and waiting for her turn.
"Please, let's have some cake. Please, let's have some cake..."
She received her tray with rice, chicken, some salad, and... when she got to the dessert section...
She came across the dreaded sign:
'Chocolate Cake: SOLD OUT.'
"...no way" she whispered, almost on the verge of tears.
Dejected, she walked to her table, where Ruby, Skell, and Robby were already waiting for her.
"You're finally here!" Ruby said when she saw her arrive.
"There's no cake..." Riley said, dropping the tray as if it were carrying stones.
"Relax" Ruby said with a mysterious smile. "Rooby already told us you were going to spend time with a certain 'couple' so I saved this for you."
She took out a small plate with a piece of chocolate cake and placed it in front of her.
Riley's eyes lit up like a constellation.
"Gaps!! Ruby, you're my hero!" Riley shouted, hugging her immediately. "Oh, I love you so much!! You're the best!"
"Don't scream so loud, Riley" Skell said, lowering his head.
"You went to see Oliver and Alice... And what you were most worried about was running out of cake?" Robby asked, serious but incredulous.
"I'm still surprised you always come back in one piece every time you go see them" Skell commented before taking a bite of his chicken.
"Oh, come on, don't exaggerate. Oliver and Alice aren't that bad. They wouldn't hurt a fly!" Riley replied, frowning slightly as she began to eat.
Ruby, Robby, and Skell rolled their eyes at that. They sometimes wondered if they were talking about the same Alice and Oliver they knew, because that pair would definitely do more than hurt a fly.
Still, they didn't say anything else, especially because with Riley... it was hard to make her see things as they really were, and maybe it was just as well.
"So... how was the first period of school?" Ruby finally asked, trying to change the subject.
"Inspiring!" Riley said with a big smile.
"And did you write anything?" Skell asked as she finished her salad.
"Yes! Look, I'll show you! It's a love triangle!" she replied, reaching into her hoodie pocket.
She took out her phone, opening the notes app... But, in her excitement, she opened the wrong file.
Instead of the note she'd written about Zip, Claire, and Engel, what appeared on the screen was the title: "Different from each other: Ruby x Skell."
The park was quiet that afternoon.
The sun filtered through the leaves, tinting the grass and flowers gold, which Ruby watched with a smile. The gentle wind lifted the pink ribbon on her screen.
Beside her, Skell walked silently, his hands buried in the pockets of the black sweatshirt he was wearing. His steps were slow and measured. The hood slightly covered his face, but Ruby knew that, even if he didn't admit it, he was enjoying the walk.
They stopped at a bench by the lake. Ruby sat down first, watching the ducks swimming in the water. Skell, on the other hand, stood for a few seconds, as if debating something with himself.
Then, without saying anything, he sat down next to her and, after a brief pause, took something out of his pocket.
"Here" he said, in that deep, low voice that rarely broke the silence.
Ruby turned her head, curious. In her hand was a small keychain: a stuffed bunny with long ears and a body covered in soft pastel colors.
"I saw it in a store and thought... it was your style" he added, without looking directly at her.
Ruby took it carefully, her fingers stroking the soft fabric, and her eyes began to sparkle.
It wasn't an expensive or elaborate gift, but coming from Skell, the boy who never bought anything for himself, the one who seemed to live in another world, he had seen an object full of colors... and had bought it with her in mind.
"Skell..." His voice was low, but he smiled. "It's perfect"
He shrugged, trying to downplay it, although the tension in his jaw betrayed that he feared he hadn't guessed right.
Ruby, without thinking, leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I love it. And I love that you think of me that way"
Skell didn't respond immediately, but his breathing slowed, calmed. His hand, a little nervously, slid down to intertwine his fingers with hers.
The keychain was caught between their palms, like a small colorful bridge that united their hearts, no matter how different they were.
When the group finished reading it, there was a silence so thick it could have been cut with a spoon before Ruby and Skell turned to the little girl with pigtails.
"WHAT THE HELL, RILEY?!" they both shouted in unison, their faces flushed red.
Riley just raised an eyebrow, confused, and then looked more closely at her phone screen, seeing that it had put another fanfic she'd written a while back in its place.
"Ah... hehe, wrong fic" she muttered with a nervous smile.
"You wrote us a romance fanfic?!" Ruby asked, embarrassed.
"We're not even like that!" Skell protested, though his red ears betrayed him.
Robby, on the other side, chuckled as he sipped his juice.
"It was just a narrative experiment! Character exploration! IT'S NOT REAL!" WELL, IT COULD BE, BUT—!
"RILEY!" Ruby and Skell shouted again, not wanting to hear any more.
"My hands only write what my heart feels..." the little girl with pigtails emphasized again, before looking at them with her best smile and her best puppy eyes. "And my heart says you'd make an amazing couple"
"Just... don't do that" Ruby murmured, not wanting to continue arguing, especially since they were in the cafeteria.
"Okay..." Riley replied, grumbling under her breath.
And so the group sat silent at their table, with only the noise of the cafeteria's dining room accompanying them.
But it didn't last long before Riley opened her mouth.
"So, putting that aside... Did you like what I wrote?"
"RILEY!"