Rio's World by Rayna Felicia - HTML preview

“Okaaay then,” she made a popping sound with her mouth, “I’ll just go see where Mikes gone to.” Rio tried to make a quick escape.

“Rio.” It was a quiet, but firm call. She turned to face him with her best ‘I'm innocent’ look.

“Yeah?” she asked brightly and (she hoped) innocently.

 

“Oh don’t give me that look! Bebop? Really?! Now her voice is going to be haunting my mind the whole day! And it’s-" he grabbed her wrist to look at her watch, "It's ten o’clock! In the morning!”

“But- but Jakeyboo...”

"What?!" he demanded, flinching at his newfound nickname.

 

Rio was trying to keep a straight face as she said, “I thought the song was quite… creative. Didn’t you?” Before he could lash out, she continued, “By the way, what did she say that had you ducking under your covers?”

 

“Oh My GOD, yeah!! You noticed that? She was like ‘I didn’t know your chest was so perfect, my name would fit perfectly if you tattooed it across, and I love your PJs’... WTF? I swear Rio, that chick ain’t normal.” He said shaking his head.

 

In between her giggles that had openly escaped, she said, “I knew she wasn’t the first time she declared he love for YOU!”

Jake smiled reluctantly, “Hey, I'm irresistible!”

“And modest.” Rio sarcastically added.

“And modest.” He agreed.

 

Rolling her eyes she told him to hurry up and get ready for breakfast. She plopped onto his bed and suddenly, Jake, right into her ear, whispered, “FYI, the next time you plan to set Bebop on to me, just remember, you’ll be waking up to your lover, Victore.”

"Aww man, way to kill the mood J."

 

For some reason, apparently beyond Rio's understating, the guys had taken to teasing her with Victore. Behind his back, of course. Even though the two of them barely exchanged a few words, Jake just had to tease her with Victore once for the wild rumors to start and from then, it had just caught on.

 

"Ohhhh, have you met Aiden? Like, did you talk to her?" He asked from the bathroom while brushing his teeth.

"The new cheerleader? Yeah… you haven't?"

"I didn't even know she was in our school. No, I spoke to her. Love her, so chill."

"Yeah, she just recently transferred. She's leaving midway through the tournament though. I heard she’s starting university early."

"Huh."

"That's it? Huh?"

"Shut up. I'm brushing." With that he closed the bathroom door.

Rio knew something was up, but didn’t bother to press on. Jake would tell her in his own time. Jake took his time getting ready, going as slow as he possibly could just to frustrate Rio. When they finally made it to the dinning hall, there were fifteen minutes left before the buffet finished. Even within those fifteen minutes, it was a wonder how much food Jake could scarf down.

Coach Carl came up to them, looked around at the cluster of clean licked plates, and didn’t look surprised. “Okay, I want none of you entering the court today,” he was going to continue but didn’t bother when he got a chorus of:

“Sure coach.”

“Cool.”

“We weren't going anyway.”

"What!? What am I going to do the WHOLE day?!"

"It's fine Coach, we'll keep Mike busy."

 

Throwing them an infamous ‘Oh God, why am I stuck with these idiots?’ look, Coach gave up and ambled off.

 

It was funny to see their blubbering, sorry faces when some went back for (lost count of how many) more servings and discovered that the food had been taken away. Roobin kept glancing towards the entrance, and at around the 50th time, he finally saw four dark suited huge bodyguards.

 

As soon as they walked in, everyone in the dining hall, even the chatty cheerleaders, automatically became silent and turned to look at them. Expecting to see CJ, they were all surprised when the bodyguards stepped aside and in walked- Justin Chase. Although he was the one of the more popular uprising super stars, Justin had the tendency of getting the worst publicity. Like a volcano eruption, the dining hall blew up as everyone stepped over each other to breathe in the same air as the young pop star. Rio, Jake, Roobin and Victore stayed rooted to their seats.

They weren’t going anywhere. After about a minute, however, Roobin's resolve faltered and the weak betrayer jumped up to join the noisy crowd. So much for team togetherness. Rio thought. Rio looked over, but Victore didn’t seem like he was getting up for anyone, and as for her and Jake, their famous comedy act was imitating male Justin's exaggerated baby-ish voice.

"Lets get out of here" Jake mouthed, and just as they were about to make a run for it, one of the body guards announced, “Everybody involved in the…uh basketball tournament please Wait HERE. The rest, please clear out NOW.”

 

“This can’t be good.” Anslo voiced Rio and Jakes thought. He hadn't been so crazy about Justin either. Like a brave troop, Anslo had just gone to hold Cherry back from getting trampled.

 

“Even though CJ was supposed to be your celebrity, he called on Justin to take over for him,” The grumpy bodyguard continued.

 

“Until when?” Victore growled. Wow, looks like even he was worked up about this… deep down.

 

“He is now your promoter for the whole time period. CJ sends his apologies.” He replied, unruffled by Victore's aggressive tone.

 

The majority of the teams’ groans were unheard over the roar of cheer by the squad. Most of the team, unimpressed, turned towards each other and started talking. Roobin on the other hand, looked slightly horrified by the replacement.

 

“That’s all we needed,” Jake wasn’t having a good day.

 

“Tell me about it! Justin? Really? They do know we want to get good publicity right?” Rio continued, completely unaware that Justin was in listening range.

“And you think I’d give bad publicity, girl?” The smooth voice behind her countered.

"Oh snap." She murmured under her breath.

 

She turned around and, looking straight into his eyes with a steely glare replied, “Oh NO! Absolutely not! I just say things like this for FUN! You must simply do WONDERS with all the GREAT publicity you have! From one crazy rumor stating you to be a dog in disguise to another saying you have your mom secretly singing for you behind the curtains, it's been quite an achievement according to me.”

There were a few snickers (by the amused team) and a few gasps (obviously the cheerleaders). Justin, not used to listening to such unique ‘praise’ about himself, was taken aback by Rio's directness, but recovered in a quick second.

 

“Well, looks like that hasn’t stopped my records from being number one on the charts, sweetie.” Came his cutting reply.

Rio gave him her sweetest smile and returned, “Just goes to show that bribery goes a long way now days, huh?”

"You- you don't know anything about me. But you? Shouldn't you be in the kitchen somewhere?"

 

"Say wha-?" Not being in complete control of herself anymore, Rio lunged towards Justin, going for his throat, but Victore grabbed her by the waist and held her in place. In a second, Justin’s manager, Tony, was by his side pulling the pop star away.

"Shouldn't YOU-"

"Justin, since all your fans are indeed females, I suggest you don't go on insulting their kind. And stop chasing the only one that isn't following you around." Victore interceded, quickly cutting Rio off.

 

Jake quickly carted Riona away to prevent the humiliation. It was only Justin's first 5 minutes and so Jake felt he had to spare him… this time. He knew that once Rio started, it took a whole army to stop her.

 

Rio was still annoyed. She didn’t really know why she had snapped at Justin. She certainly didn’t plan to, but she couldn’t have backed down. She did regret lashing out now, as she remembered Justin's stunned look. Add to that, the uncomfortable, disapproving looks Jake was giving her wasn’t helping her conscience. Rio was just glad Jake hadn’t said anything yet, and that was the thing she loved best about him. He knew how to deal with Rio at all her various moods. They walked in silence, automatically heading towards the indoor court.

 

Forgetting that the coach warned them not to come in, Jake knew that a game of basketball always sorted Rio's mood out. She seemed calmer already and so, being brave he tried, “So, ‘sweetie’, looks like you’ve made a new friend… or fan I should say.” Looking at Jakes cautious face made her want to smile… just a bit. Noticing her struggle to stay angry, he took advantage and continued, “Actually, I wasn’t talking about Justin, although it applies for him too. I just happened to notice the look of admiration and awe Victore was giving you.”

 

“Such! An ass!” Rio laughed. They were outside the gym when their hearing instantly tuned in to the sounds of many balls bouncing, along with Coach Carl’s commanding voice. They peeked around the locker rooms and from the small window and saw a bunch of guys they didn’t know, trying out for basketball, with THEIR Coach.

Not wanting to be seen, they crept away, hunching down while slowly walking backwards… Very Ninja-ly.

 

Rio however, with her amazing luck, walked right into… Gravity dude.

Now, further away from the gym, she straightened up to give him the full effect of her exasperated glare. “Of course! Why did I even bother to look at who it was? This day just keeps getting better and better by the minute!”

“Oh my word. My apologies! I assure you, aye had no idea that this was the crawlers lane. Absolutely none!” He replied, a very amused expression on his face.

 

"GREAT. Well, now you know."

Still a bit tantrum-y, Rio rolled her eyes and started walking away while Jake, all of a sudden his day looking much brighter, stayed back to talk to him.

 

Deciding to take a walk to get out of her ‘irritated’ zone, she started heading out, and saw Victore, going in the same direction.

 

"Hey… Thanks for umm, backing me up in there." Rio said awkwardly.

 

"Get over yourself. That wasn't an -I got your back- thing." Without even glancing at her open mouthed, shocked look, Victore rudely walked out of the hotel doors.

 

A second later, Rio recovered and, now even more irritated, she huffed off in the opposite direction.

It took her a while, but eventually, the beautiful scenery and the surprisingly clear pale sky did her good as she managed to cool off and get into a better mood…

 

 

Chapter 3

 

The rest of the day went by in complete laziness considering they were an official basketball team. While they were all watching TV in Rio and Mishone's room at night, Jake remembered, “By the way Rii, I found out what the coach was up to in the court today.”

 

“Mmmm really? How?” She mumbled sleepily. They were lying down on their stomachs on Rio's bed and Riona, basically had her head in her hands as an attempt to keep it (her head) up and not snooze.

 

“Your gravity guy-”

 

Rio quickly interrupted, “Ugh, Jake! Not another one. I don’t w…” And just like that, mid sentence she was out.

Inwardly laughing at the shock she was going to get tomorrow, Jake detached her hands and quickly slipped a pillow under her head. He tried to make her extra comfortable because he knew that she could never sleep well. He was the only one that she told details about her nightmares to. He got the chills just thinking of it…

 

ß She was running, her basketball jersey was soaked in the childs blood. A small boy of 10 years old. He had protected her. And now, she was running. She hit something hard and fell. Someone's breath was on her face. She could feel it. Rio was now in a box. They were keeping her in a small casket type box. But she wasn’t dead. She was suffocating. It was dark. The boy! The boy was suddenly next to her telling her not to worry. He yanked her favorite necklace off her neck and used the sharp part of it to carve a hole in the coffin. Just like before, he was there, finding a way to save her. Suddenly, the coffin door opened and- ß

 

“Rio!!!” Mishone had finally managed to shake her awake. But she still couldn’t focus. She was miles away.

 

“I-I'm sorry, but you were screaming and-and you fell so hard! I didn’t know w-what to do.” He seemed terrified.

She looked around and realized that she was on the floor between the two beds, sweating and breathing heavily. She focused in on Mishone’s face and then looked at her watch.

 

2:17 am.

 

“I’m so sorry Mishone. Umm…You couldn’t sleep because of me.” Rio was trembling at how real the nightmare was.

 

She assumed that she must have fallen on her hand because there was a throbbing pain above her wrist on her presumed birthmark. It was a weird shape that looked like four tanned fingers holding her wrist with the little finger bent outwards.

While Rio was occupied with staring at her hand, Mishone was still giving her a look that should only be reserved for mental retards.

 

“Go to sleep, I won’t wake you up again.” She assured him.

 

She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore anyway, being blessed with five hours in the first place. The silence in the room allowed her thoughts go back to the little boy.  Since she was too chicken to just sit in the darkness on her own while Mishone slept, Rio decided to go out and walk around.

Digging out her iPod, she plugged it in, washed her face and, without a plan, walked into the dimly lit, yellow corridor. She immediately regretted her decision because nothing was worse than the shadows. The loud music blaring into her ears didn’t really help either. It wasn’t a distraction enough and she could still think…about things…that might jump out of the shadows and she really didn’t want to.

She needed someone to talk to, about something… anything to distract her. Suddenly, Victore appeared in front of her out of thin air. The loud music had drowned out any sounds of footsteps or the door and Rio jumped out of her skin when he was suddenly in her face.

‘Talk about a quick delivery.’ She thought.

 

“Victore!” She screamed a bit too loudly, trying to hear herself over the music.

“SSSHHHHHSSH!!” he automatically reached over to cover her mouth, but at the last minute, he checked himself and dropped his hands. She pressed the pause button on her iPod and yanked out the earplugs before she looked at him. He was a mess too, but she couldn't help wondering how he still managed to look so good… much better than her messy state at least. His clothes were crumpled as if he had just thrown on his hoodie and sweats. His hair was ruffled and sticking out at various angles and there were dark circles masking his eyes- Eyes that were peering into hers with such fierceness, she couldn’t look away. His eyes were tired but they seemed to be screaming something at her. She felt a slight shiver ripple through her body.

Victore, look away, she silently willed and, after about a minute, he did. Glancing down at her right (birth marked) hand holding her iPod, he gave her one last beseeching look and disappeared into the shadows.

 

 

Ψ§ She almost saw me! She was looking in my direction and almost saw ME. Thank god Victore’s freakiness distracted her. I can’t let her see me. Can’t let her know I’M watching. What’s happened to me? I never thought being with her after all these years would affect me this way. I must NOT get involved. § He frantically thought as he watched her from a corner. § The consequences are too disastrous. Especially now, when she’s become even more gorgeous, her personality even more amazing, her smile even mo-NO! Stop! As soon as she leaves, I’ll go. Till then, I’ll keep an eye on her… For her safety. § He tried to reassure himself. § Thank God for Victore. He stops her from finding out… He distracts her without realizing it. § Ψ

 

 

 

Mishone woke up to the sound of the TV. Quite sure he had switched it off, Mishone turned to look at Rio, but saw Jerricho and Mike having a tug of war for the remote instead.

 

“Shoo ya akhy?! What in the hell are you two doing here?” Mishone said slipping into the little Arabic that he knew although he wasn’t really as surprised as he should’ve been to see them here. They were bound to find a way to get into the room on their own by now.

“Yo, Misho, where’s Riona?” Mike, having lost the battle, asked.

Double-checking the floor, Mishone yawned and shrugged “Bathroom?”

 

“Nope, not there. What’d you do with her bro?” Mike wondered.

 

“Shipped her off back home! What the hell d’you think? I keep a friggin’ GPS on her or what?” Mishone snapped.

 

"Not, much of a morning person?" Mike observed.

 

Right then Anslo walked in, looked around and asked, “Sup guys, Mishone, where's Rio? Oh, and have you seen Cherry? Can't find either of em.”

 

“Yeah, Mishone,” Jerricho, thoroughly enjoying himself, asked. “Where IS Rio?”

 

“Screw you guys.” Mishone stomped off to the bathroom.

 

“I don’t get it." Said Anslo, not involved in the joke. “Whatever, I'm going to go check with Jake.”

 

Just as they were on their way to the dining hall, Victore called out, “Jake. I found her.”

 

"Who? Cherry?" Anslo asked eagerly.

 

"No. But I do know that Cherry's in the dining hall." Victore informed him.

 

Jake walked into the common room to find Riona curled up on the couch with her iPod, still playing, loosely held in her hands. Some cartoon was dancing around on TV, but Rio was fast asleep.

 

“I don't think you should wake her up for breakfast. She didn’t sleep well last night.” Victore voiced.

 

“Mmm, I’m not sure- wait how’d you know she didn't sleep well?” Jake asked suspiciously. But before he could reply, Justin made the decision for them.

He sauntered in screaming, “Hey, I LOVE this show!!” turned the volume up to ear blasting level and, aware or not, jumped onto the same couch Rio was on, making it shudder. Startled, Rio's eyes snapped open and saw Justin studiously ignoring her and stupidly grinning at some fugly half dinosaur half girl on the screen.

 

“Jake!” Rio screamed, still staring at Justin, wide-eyed.

 

She hadn’t seen him at the door yet but just knew he’d planned this. She turned around and saw him… with Victore.

 

"Joy. Revenge times two." She mumbled.

 

Just before she got mesmerized in Victore's eyes again, she tore her gaze away and moved on to glare at Jake.

 

“Ohhh you complete ass! Jake, you said the next time I set Bebop on you, and then you do this?!”

 

“What are you saying?” He asked, confused, but then Rio saw the change in Jake's face as he realized how funny the situation.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Victore staring at her with a small smile on his face. Jake was now pointing at her with uncontrollable laughter and blubbering, “I didn’t even know! And-and then, hahahahaha you- whoohahah!” Looking at Jake, Rio couldn’t help but to smile.

 

“NOOO!!! DORNEY, forget KEN, he’s NOT RICH!!!” Justin exploded, getting on his knees and clawing his face.

 

"Looks like Mishone has 'weird freak' competition." Rio commented, nodding towards Justin as she walked out the door and headed for the stairs.

 

Even Victore gave a small genuine smile for that one.

 

As for Rio and Jake, their day started in complete laughter…

 

Later in Rio's room, Jake constantly harassed her while she was getting ready, complaining, right outside her bathroom door, about how he missed breakfast yesterday. They reached downstairs just in time for the Coach’s announcement-

 

‘Whoa, wait a minute, what is gravity dude doing at our table?’ Rio thought, scowling over at the guy who’d made himself comfortable right in the centre seat.

 

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