'𝐀𝐦 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐬?'

'what are you doing on Christmas?'-(34)

Though the two of them had gotten back into the habit of talking to each other again, they both couldn't help but feel guilty. They both blamed themselves for what nearly happened. Something about it made Marcy feel like she couldn't bare to stay away from him. Now that she knew what nearly happened was because he did like her, maybe she did feel the same way. Or maybe she's just accepting that one person at this shallow school could possibly like her. She did spend some of her time on her own though. When she did, she wasn't consumed with thoughts about family problems, which was a first. She thought of Mattheo. The memorable things they'd done together, and yet, her mind still continued to wonder to when they nearly shared a kiss. As much as she wished to get past it, she couldn't let it go. Something about that moment made her stomach fill with butterflies. She didn't know why or what is was that made her feel that way. But she'd only ever felt like that once before, and it ended up being a complete waste of love. Love she should've saved for someone else.

She went to sleep that night and she didn't have her usual recurring nightmare. She dreamt of their kiss. But how it would've happened if they had kissed. It made her feel happy inside, like it was something she'd never think would happen to her. Especially with Mattheo riddle, he just didn't seem the type to like 'the freak of the school'. Or maybe she underestimated him completely. She woke up with fright. Did she....no, surely not. She couldn't...like him, could she? No. Yes. Maybe. She was indecisive. Unsure of what to think. Being with him made her forget about every little imperfection. Every flaw. Every detail of her pathetic little life. Everything she had a problem with disappeared into thin air when she was with him. She felt...free. she didn't have to isolate herself. She didn't have to live up to the expectations of others. And she certainly didn't have to be something she wasn't around him. He liked her for who she was.

She was unsure of everything now.

How was she supposed to face him with all of these mixed emotions. She always overthought every little detail, and as soon as someone shows a little bit of interest, she normally messed it up and was left with nothing good going for her. Now she had a caring little group of friends, plus draco, and Mattheo. Mattheo stuck out from the rest. Something about him just seemed...different. like he was one of those friends that you want to spend every second, of every minute, of every day with. Is that weird? In her head, she knew it sounded weird. She knew she was weird. But what if these weren't just feelings? What if this was exactly what she expected it to be?

*a few weeks later*

It was the 13th of December now. Nothing had yet occurred between the two of them, not anything out of the ordinary anyways. They still hung out. They still studied for exams. They were still themselves. Mattheo would constantly find himself distracted by her smile, she didn't do it often, but when she did, he felt of burst of happiness inside of him.

Marcy:"you're suppose to be studying." She looked up to find his eyes already fixated on her.

Mattheo:"how am I suppose to study when you're sat there drooling all over me?" She couldn't tell if he was being serious or whether he was joking, but it made her feel so exhausted flourished, but she tried to hide it all.

Marcy:"I. Am. Not." She smirked and looked away trying to hide the flourished red in her cheeks.

Mattheo:"liar." He smiled and she saw his eyes squint at her with a joking hint in his smile.

Marcy enjoyed every moment that they spent together, she hadn't actually seen Sophia that much at all lately. She was always busy, which is weird because she rarely had detentions and she never really had any plans throughout her week, as they'd normally do things with each other. But she hadn't been around much at all, and Marcy began to question what she had been up to. And whilst Sophia was not around alot of the time, she spent that time with mattheo. They couldn't seem to find the words to explain what was going on between the two of them. They were friends. But somewhat, a little bit more than that. But she was nervous that if she did decide to say anything, it might ruin what they already had. So she didn't do much of anything that would signal to him that her feelings for him, had in fact changed. That's when she found herself asking a him something that she'd never asked anyone before.

Marcy:"hey, mattheo?.....what are you doing on Christmas?" She felt the words slipping out of her mouth before she could control what she was actually saying.

Mattheo:"let me check my calendar. Oh yes, just as I suspected, absolutely nothing. Why?" He obviously had no intentions of going home this Christmas, which gave her the perfect opportunity to ask him.

Marcy:"because I wondered...if maybe...you wanted to come round and....meet my brother?" He was the first person she asked. Well, second, but she seemed close enough to him to open up to him about her brother. It had been over 3 months now and she could feel herself getting closer and closer to him with each day they spent together.

He felt his heart sink. He knew she'd never let anyone meet her brother. But why him of all people?

Marcy:"you know what, forget I asked, it was a stupid question." She thought it sounded like a dumb question to have asked, maybe he did in fact have plans, that why his reply was delayed. Or maybe he was unsure of how to answer?

Mattheo:"it's not stupid at all. I'd love to." His face lit up with a smile. Sophia hadn't been around to talk to in a while. She only ever saw her during lessons, and even them, they barely talked. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd done something to make her barricade herself away from her?

Marcy:"really?" Her eyes slightly widened with a hint of happiness. She had incited someone else to do the same a while ago, but they didn't exactly keep their mouth quiet about about.

Mattheo:"I know it means a lot to you, and I'm rather intrigued to find out about him. He's seems like quite the little troublemaker." He joked. Though in reality, it was actually quite a spot on observation.

Marcy:"you have him completely sussed and you haven't even met him yet." She loved that he was questionate about her family. Although she wasn't fully prepared to explain why everything in her life ended up the way it had done, she was really excited that he wanted to meet Teddy. Teddy had always wanted to meet some of my friends, and after the last ime, he wasn't too impressed. So hopefully he would approve of Mattheo, bit she shouldn't be too worried. Mattheo was extremely kind and caring, Teddy should get along with him swimmingly.