Monsters are usually faceless |t.r.|

Ch. 3 - He loved the sound her heart made when he broke it

    He starts spending time with her. At first, no one notices. They study together at the library. They partner up at Potions. They go on walks near the lake. He starts seeking her companion in the most natural ways. And he is charming, hell knows. He is polite and handsome, the perfect combination for a girl with a romantic heart.

    He is winning her over, day by day.

    By the end of the month, he has done a very dangerous thing. By the end of the month, he has become important to her.

    And what do we do with things important to us? How do we keep those who matter the most? We keep them protected. We keep them close. We open our hearts wider, we make it easier for them to live inside us, safe and sound.

    She offers him her heart, thinking it was the most beautiful part of her.

    But for Tom Riddle, hearts are just fists with blood.

[...]

    The girl makes a new friend.

    The girl makes a new friend and she's happy. She's happy because he's nice and pretty and all the girls want him but he chose her. He laughs at her jokes, he listens to her complaints. He hugs her sometimes, he puts his arms around her neck like he cannot contain the joy that she is actually his friend. He could have gotten any girl he wanted but he chose her. It's his part of the friendship that elates her, the choice. He finds her first, he talks fast and with enthusiasm, he smiles at her from across the room.

    She doesn't know about his family. She doesn't know about his past. She doesn't tell him about hers either. They keep those parts to themselves. They save some secrets for the inside of their skin. Those secrets will never see the light of day. They will never dance against their tongue. They hide them in between the gaps of their friendship. They're friends in any way that matters.

    She is happy.

    She is happy and he is a liar.

    Because he's not nice or pretty or soft, he's dark, handsome and deadly, he sleeps with killing curses under his tongue and he sharpens his knives with every promise. He laughs at her jokes and then wishes to slit his own throat so this sound will never escape his lips again. He listens to her complaining but all he hears is kill me kill me kill me, I'll make such a beautiful corpse. He puts his arms around her neck but he's a snake, his not hugging her, he's a python, sizing her up to eat her alive.

    He did choose her, however. That part is true. He chose her for dark, twisted reasons. He chose her because she made herself the perfect victim. The perfect sacrifice.

    The girl makes a new friend.

    The girl makes a new friend and he's not a friend but a python.