Darling, || Tom Riddle

chapter 12 - easy

A/n when the story's finished, come back to this chapter ;) ALSO THANK YOU FOR 2K READS. I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!! Shorter chapter because the Masquerade Ball needs to be separate!!

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Crimson stomped over to Tom who was engaged in a conversation with Slughorn. The sound of her heels hitting the floor caused the pair to look up.

"Professor, do you mind if I steal Tom?" She asked in a fake, sweet voice, pairing it with a fake, sweet smile.

"Not at all, have a good evening." Slughorn waved to them both and found other children to pester. Tom, on the other hand, stared at her - waiting patiently for what she was going to do or say.

"Outside. Now." She growled, causing Tom's lips to twitch upwards. He was impressed by her declaration of authority, however he knew it wouldn't faze him which is why he was amused. He nodded at her and brushed past her into the corridor.

"Are you fucking okay? Like genuinely, are you well!"

Tom stayed silent, the fiery glint in her eyes telling him she wasn't finished and my goodness, she was not.

The tight grip on her wand wasn't missed by Tom, his eyes flickered between her hand and her eyes as he determined her following moves. She pushed it against his neck, again amusingly as she was significantly smaller than him, but it didn't faze him, in fact, he didn't even blink. His lack of reaction threw her off for just a mere few seconds, allowing Tom to switch positions and push her against the wall. His wicked grin caused her to gulp "you were saying, darling?"

"I-" she took a breath "you are a sick person. And I don't know who hurt you- no I know you had a shit childhood and your mother fucked up and your father fucked up but that doesn't mean you have to, too."

She reached for his cheek and when he didn't move, she lay her hand flat on his skin, caressing it "why do you hurt people? What satisfaction does it bring you? Your friends, your own friends who follow you for some blind and inescapable reason get treat as if they are the enemy when in fact, they are your closest ally."

She scolded herself for not reacting in the angry, headstrong way she had hoped but maybe all he needed was a bit of her emotions. He looked into her eyes and she clenched every muscle in an attempt to not falter his intense gaze.

"Just stop this shit, stop hurting people who care about you. And fuck, I know we aren't friends, we don't know each other but hurt me - don't hurt them. Theo is my family, closer to me than my own so hurt me, Merlin Tom, hurt me in every way possible but don't hurt them."

"Okay." He said.

"W-what?"

"I said okay."

She gaped at him, what was happening? And when he leaned into her ear, her heart stopped beating. "But don't expect me to go easy on you."

Her body shuddered and she let out a whimper, although being completely hypnotised, she didn't fail to notice the flicker of light shooting across his empty eyes when she let out that inhumane noise. He cleared his throat and she snapped out of her trance. "Don't you ever raise your wand at me again, understand Crimson?"

Fuck, the way he said her name was enough to make her wet.

She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts but then nodded, unable to speak. She was petrified. Not because of his empty threats, not because of his past actions but because of the lack of emotions that he possessed. Not one thing breezed across his face, not even anger or hatred. He was empty. A pit of nothing. And that scared her the most.

"I must get back to the party but I enjoyed our chat." He grinned and moved away from her "have a good evening, Miss Ivy."

Plastered on the wall, she watched him retreat back into the office in which she took the time to recover her nerve.

She walked slowly back into the party and caught Theo's eye, who looked almost as petrified as her. When Tom came in alone, he thought of the worst because even though he saw him as a friend, he knew of his capabilities. Theo ran towards Crimson but he tried to make it seem normal, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.

"Merlin, are you okay?" He sighed with relief as he embraced her.

"Mhm, I'm okay."

"Did he hurt you?"

"He wouldn't dare but he won't hurt you again."

"He will, but it's okay."

"If he hurts you, I swear-"

"Shhh, let's take you back to your dorm, we'll be having another late night tomorrow."

Theo guided her back to her dorm and helped her into bed.

"He won't hurt you Crimson, I promise."