"Ugh," he grumbled, "Stairs."
He got up from where he sat and grabbed his crutches, shooting them another smile. "Thank you for the meal, it was delicious."
Aliana's father chuckled softly and went to stand to help, but was ushered back down by her mother. "You're welcome, my dear. Welcome to the family!" She said happily, smiling and flicking a blonde bit of hair out of her eyes.
Riley gave them a wide smile. "I appreciate it, thank you."
It took him a couple of minutes to shuffle and shimmy his way up the stairs, and about 5 more to make it to Aliana's room. He reached out with his crutch and tapped against the door.
Aliana sat at her desk and just inhaled slowly, shutting her eyes. She needed to focus on her studies. She put a smile on her face and started doing some homework her tutor gave her. It was some difficult algebra questions, but she was interrupted a few minutes later by a knocking at the door. She stood and hurried over, answering it with a soft, "Hello there".
"Did I scare you down there?" he asked, a small grin on his face. "I know y'all don't hear people that talk like me very much."
Aliana brushed some of her blonde hair behind her ear and looked down at her feet. "I suppose you did. I'm just not… not used to someone else." She laughed softly.
"Aw, c'mon," he said, rolling his eyes in a joking manner. "I'm hobbling around on one leg. What could I do?"
Aliana covered her reddening cheeks with a small little giggle. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry. You're just new and I'm not used to meeting new people."
"So you don't ever go outside? Never take walks?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Well… sort of. I go out with mum to the garden or… I don't like going out to the town." She didn't like everyone looking at her.
"And why is that?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Well… it feels like everyone just looks at me. And I don't quite like that." Her cheeks reddened more and she curled her fingers together.
"Hm," he said, shrugging in response. "I could see that. I got used to it after a while."
"Well, I mean, of course you did," She murmured shyly, her cheeks reddening a little.
"Mind if I come in?" he asked, "These crutches aren't very comfortable on my arms."
Aliana nodded hastily and stepped out of the way. "Of course! I'm sorry I made you stand, you can sit on my bed if you'd like." She hurried across her very blue room to try and fix up the sheets on her four-poster. Her room was sort of a mess, with clothes here and there, some pens and books basically making their home around and under her desk.
"Thank you," he said, half-shuffling over to the bed and sitting down. He let the crutches fall to the floor and rolled his shoulders, wincing slightly.
"I never knew how uncomfortable they were," he complained.
Aliana sat back at her desk, shutting the book carefully over her work. "I'm sure you'll get them off soon," She tried to assure, but she knew it would be fruitless. He wouldn't be able to do what he loved anymore. She had cried when she learned about what happened to him from her parents.
"It's nowhere close, actually," he said with a sigh. "Haven't even started physical therapy. I doubt it'll ever fully heal, either."
"O-oh." Aliana fell silent, biting her lip and looking down at her feet. "I'm sorry, Riley. It must feel terrible." She didn't want to give him pity or anything, but she couldn't help it.
((Shit, I completely forgot about this. Would you like to reboot it?))
(yo literally what? uhm yes hold on)
