You : Tom Riddle

21: His Soft Side

[tom's pov]

After Victoria left, I went back to reading my book.

She'll be fine. I thought. Will she?

･ﾟ✧magical time skip･ﾟ✧

The next day, I went to Potions, as usual. I sat in my seat by the wall. From the corner of my eye, I could see some girls giggling. I mentally rolled my eyes and opened up the study notebook. One of the girls walked over to me. Olive Hornby.

She was feeling all giddy and jolly. She had curly, gold hair, and bangs that covered her forehead. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Hi, Tom!" she said, excitedly.

"Hello," I said, not looking up from my book. "I wasn't aware we're on a first name basis."

She shifted her feet, nervous for some reason.

"I was wondering..."

Well, this is going to be interesting. I thought. I looked up at her and flashed a smile. She was suddenly lost for words.

"I.. um..." She stuttered to make out what she meant to say.

"I was wondering if you could go to the ball with me!?" She shouted, finally saying what she had in mind.

"I already have a date," I informed her plainly.

"Oh, um... well, that's ok..." she said awkwardly and walked back to her friends. Her friends looked at me and I waved at them with the fakest smile I could ever give anyone. Their eyes softened, affected by my smile though they couldn't help but wonder who I was going to the ball with.

Clearly, they didn't know me at all if they couldn't even sense a fake smile. Victoria would've been able to know.

The lesson started and I noticed she was still missing.

She's probably running late again. I thought.

Five minutes passed by.

And another.

Then, thirty minutes passed by.

It's been forty minutes since the lesson started and Victoria hasn't come to class yet. I started to wonder where she could've been.

"Maybe she's in the Room of Requirement." I thought.

･ﾟ✧magical time skip･ﾟ✧

After the lesson was over, I made haste to the room of requirement. I double-checked to see if I was alone before entering the room. I looked around and was disappointed to see she wasn't there. I went to the Great Hall.

Perhaps she's there. I thought.

Once I entered the Great Hall, I looked around for her. I didn't see her anywhere, so I did the one thing I could do. I went to go talk to her friends. Although, I only saw the redhead. What was her name? Oh right, Molly Prewett. I reluctantly walked over to her. She was surprised to see me.

"Where's your friend?" I asked.

"Oh, she had a family crisis so she'll be absent for a few days," Molly said.

"I meant Victoria."

"Oh, my bad. She said she wasn't feeling very well so she stayed in bed all day. She's probably still in bed, that silly girl."

I nodded and walked away.

"You're welcome!" I heard her shout.

[victoria's pov]

･ﾟ✧flashback to last night･ﾟ✧

I ran into the common room and dashed to my dorm. I ignored anyone who tried to knock on the door. Luckily, Lily and Molly were busy with their boyfriends so I could get some alone time to myself. I jumped on my bed and covered myself with the fluffy blanket.

"Perhaps I should excuse myself tomorrow," I said to myself. "I do have a lot on my mind..."

･ﾟ✧end of flashback･ﾟ✧

It was currently night. Molly told me she would be with Arthur for the rest of the night, sleeping under the stars. Hopefully, when the time comes, I will have a happy relationship like her and Arthur. They made a great match and I secretly hoped they would get married in the future.

Anyway, since both my roommates were gone, I had the room all to myself. The room was dark, except for the dim moonlight poking in from the small window. Suddenly, there was a rustle.

I turned around and saw Tom emerging from the shadows. My eyes widened.

"How did you do that-?" I questioned him.

He ignored me.

"Why have you been in bed all day?" Tom asked.

"I haven't been in bed all day. I had to get up now and then," I said.

I heard Tom sigh. "Stop playing smart, Victoria. Why weren't you at your classes?" he asked.

"I have a headache," I said, which wasn't far from the truth. "And it's contagious so, go away."

He ignored me, walked over to me, then crouched down until his eyes met mine.

"No."

He pushed me over to make some space then laid down next to me on the bed. He faced me, locking his eyes with mine.

"Tom, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Let me stay for a bit."

"And why should I?" I asked.

"Because you love me."

I was taken aback by his response.

"When did I say that?" I asked.

"You didn't. I just know."

"And how's that?"

"I know because if you didn't love me, you would've reported me to the Ministry already," he said plainly. "No one in their right mind would stay if they weren't you."

I didn't argue against his answer. When I didn't answer he said,

"See? I told you so."

I felt flustered and closed my eyes to get some sleep. He did the same. A few minutes of silence passed by, I noticed he kept on shifting around.

I decided to wrap my arms around him to keep him from moving. I could feel his figure tense up for a few moments, but eventually, his body softened and he faced towards me. He pulled up the blanket so that we would both be covered by the soft sheets. I knew this would be a memory I would never forget.

"You were right, Tom."

"About what?"

"I do love you."

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