You Promised Me→♡•°Tom Riddle°•♡

Chapter 37

(to the stars) the moon pleaded:

stay.

☆

Faith stared at Tom, eyes alight with the reflection of the stars. He loves her. It felt like the only thing in the world that could truly mean a damn thing to her right now. She smiled, moving in to kiss him briefly, pulling away but keeping her forehead on his as she whispered, "I love you too."

They were most truthful four words she had ever uttered.

The world around them seemed to fade away for that moment; it was background noise, irrelevant. Because right now, it felt to Faith like they were the only two people to exist, here together, holding each other, with an unspoken intimacy that she had once feared she'd never find.

She couldn't imagine ever being scared again, not now, while he loves her. Not while he held her, gentle and tender. Not while they had each other.

The two stayed intertwined for the rest of the night, laying on the observatory floor and staring at each other; even the stars seemed less interesting to Faith than Tom. She studied his face as they talked, about anything and nothing, eyes tracing every detail of his skin. The few moles (one on his cheek, one near his left eye), the soft rose of his lips, that curled into a gentle smile as he talked, the deep brown of his eyes, the shadow of his eyelashes on his cheek, the way his jaw cut sharp and his hair fell onto his face as he lay on his side.

Faith smile and moved the peice of his hair away from his eyes, his gaze steadily on her. "Don't let this inflate your ego, Tom, but you really are beautiful,"

He laughed slightly, eyes never leaving Faith, "Too late." He leaned in and kissed her gently, and then sat up, a brow rasing at the sight of his watch. "We've been here for hours. I think our brief escape may have to end,"

Faith sighed, sitting up and resting a head on his shoulder,"Don't remind me."

Eventually, fingers intertwined, the two may their way back to the Silvers' Manor, apperating back into the guest room. There were still muffled sounds of chatter from the party, which eased Faith's nerves. Surely nobody had even noticed their disappearance. She grinned at Tom.

"Well, I must say, I'm liking this new 'rebellious' Tom Riddle. I mean, running away? Breaking into locked buildings?" She grinned playfully.

Tom rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his lips, "There's nothing new about that."

Smiling, Faith stared at Tom "A secret rebel, huh? I like it,"

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, turning to grab a jacket, putting it on. Faith tilted her head.

"Where are you going?"

He smiled a gentle smile, a spark of pride in his eyes, "We haven't exchanged Christmas gifts yet. I need to retrieve yours."

Faith scoff and smiled "Retrieve? Where on earth do you need to go this late to get a present?"

Shrugging with a smile, he walked towards the door, turning to look at her, "That's a secret. I won't be long." With that, he disappeared around the corner, leaving Faith blushing and smiling more than ever as she sat on his bed, waiting.

"Where have you been?" A voice made Faith snap out of her happy daze, her face going stern when she realised her brother was standing at the doorway. He looked almost worried, which confused Faith, "None of your business, Axel."

He shook his head, his face stern. "You were with Riddle, weren't you?"

Faith rolled her eyes, "Yeah, no shit sherlock. Why do you care?"

Axel paused, pursing his lips and looking around to check the coast was clear before approaching his sister with serious eyes and a hushed voice, "Faith, he's not who you think he is."

His serious demeanor set Faith on edge. She'd never seen Axel this...concerned, before. She shook her head, pushing away the unease. What does Axel know about Tom? Nothing. Faith and Tom understand each other. They know each other, in a way others don't. "Don't start with this again, Axel. Whatever lies you're about to tell me, drop it. Can't you just let me be happy for once?" Faith frowned at her brother, who stared back at her in a way she hadn't seen in years. Like he was her brother again. Like they were kids again.

He shook his head in desperation. "You- you don't get it. His friends, Malfoy and tye rest of his gang were here tonight, and I overheard....some stuff," He frowned, and Faith furrowed her brows. He sighed, eyes genuine. "Did you ever give him any of our books?"

Faith blinked. Axel was certainly acting strange. Books? She thought back to the start of the year. She had lent him books...about the castle. It'd been how they started talking often. "I- what does this have to do with anything?"

"He was using them to find a secret chamber, wasn't he?"

Faith shook her head, her mind whiring, "I don't know? Why?"

Axel lower his voice and stared, "Slytherins chamber. That's what he was looking for. The basilisk."

Faith paused for a moment, before scoffing a laugh, "Seriously, Axel? From the stories? That place isn't even real."

He glared at her, "I heard Malfoy whispering about it. It's real, Faith. And Riddle is dangerous."

Faith glared back at him now, her amusement fading away, "You're lying. It's not like you care about me being in danger. You haven't for years. All you want to do is make me miserable, like the rest of our family." She scoffed bitterly, shaking her head, "You just couldn't stand to see me happy for once, could you?"

Axel furrowed his brows impatienly, "What? I'm not lying, Faith. Whatever you think of me and my friends, Riddle is worse. He's using you, Faith. Don't you see that?"

Faith stared at him, angry, as she stood up from the bed, "Get out. You're a liar, a fucking vampire, Axel. Like everyone is this house. Sucking out all the hope from the world until I have nothing."

He stood up too, angry, "I'm trying to protect you! I'm-"

"Too late!" Faith shouted, eyes misting with angry tears. Her voice quietened as she glared at her brother. The boy who'd left her all alone, for too many years. "Too fucking late."

Axel stared back, seemingly realising he's not getting anywhere. He scoffed and shook his head. "Fine." With that, he turned and stormed away.

Faith stood in place for a few minutes, wiping away her tears. Fucking Axel, ruining a perfect night. She slumped down at the foot of the bed, sitting on the floor with her knees at her chest. Axel was wrong. He was just set on her being miserable.

Her eyes flickered over to Tom's suitcase, which lay next to her, slightly open. She tilted her head, peaking inside slightly. And there, amongst clothes and rolls of parchment....lay a book.

Curiosity got the better of her, as she reached inside, taking the leather-bound book in her hands. She vaguely recognised the spine. It must have come from her family library. She frowned, a sinking feeling in her chest as she held the cold leather. Axel is still wrong.

She flipped the book around, reading the cover. Her heart dropped. The world crumbled. Beacuse maybe Axel hadn't been wrong.

"Secrets of the darkest art."