Breathless [ Malfoy & Riddle ]

2. the girl he loves

Elizabeth was dependable and hard-working. Kind. Caring. She was sensitive as well. But she never wanted to associate with Slytherins.

She always saw the Slytherin's as an enemy to Gryffindor. She'd always notice Malfoy bullying Hermione, Harry, and Ron.

The girl would also notice Tom doing the same.

But Draco Malfoy and Tom Riddle were not friends. They were like the enemies within their own house. Both wanted to be the leader of Slytherin. Which was more chaotic than ever. The two were spotted fighting physically more than once.

But they did share traits.

Both Tom and Draco had a girl in bed every night. They were both known as unsympathetic. No heart. Instead a rock in the place of where their heart should be.

And Elizabeth knew this.

Since her first year, she did everything to avoid both of them. She was successful for 5 years. But she lost all that hard-work when she fainted in front of Draco the other night.

"Hello there," Tom closed the book he was holding, "Who are you sneaking away from?" he whispered.

Elizabeth gulped.

Tom patiently waited for her to answer him. He tilted his head to his side and smiled at her. But it wasn't a sympathetic one. It was a cruel smile.

"Who did you sleep with?" he asked. But the way he asked was requiring Elizabeth to answer him. "Probably Malfoy," he guessed, "Only the girls who sleep with him try to sneak out. The ones that sleep with me never want to leave." He bragged.

Elizabeth started walking away, not answering him. Feeling embarrassed to have her name next to Malfoy. She reached the door and right when she was opening the knob, Tom started talking again.

"The girl he loves is midnight," he started reading out the book he was holding, "like the blue of the sea cradled by the moonlight. The girl he loves is verdant, the very green of the hill kissed by the summer delight..."

Elizabeth eased. She was lost inside the words Tom was reciting. His voice calmed her down and distracted her from Malfoy.

"...The girl he loves is coral, as pink as the roses that grow in his mother's garden. The girl he loves is crimson, red like the autumn leaves that lay abandoned-"

Elizabeth recalled this poem. It was written by Nikita Gill. She continued from where Tom left off.

"The girl he loves I can never be," They both said it at the same time. When Tom realized she was intending to continue reading it, he closed his book again and started walking towards her.

"Because he is allergic to violets. And violets are too much like me." Elizabeth finished and took a deep breath.

Her body was glued to the door. The side of her face was cold due to the door being cold next to her. She felt Tom's presence right behind her.

He reeked of freshness. His chest gently touched her back. It felt as if the entire sea stood behind her. The smell of the sand and ocean filled her nose.

"Do you believe in it?" Tom leaned towards her ear and made his voice repeat in Elizabeth's brain.

"Believe in what?" Elizabeth murmured back.

"Love."

"Don't you?"

"No."

Elizabeth turned her body to face his face as he stared back at her. Tom's hands were on his side, but when Elizabeth looked down he held her chin and made her look back up to him.