𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭, ᵐᵃᵗᵗʰᵉᵒ ʳⁱᵈᵈˡᵉ

chapter 7

tw: matty lover era???

may 20, 1994
the end of the school year drew closer and closer by the minute. charlotte was excited for a summer of relaxing, hanging out with her friends, and swimming. she spent her time between classes daydreaming about all the amazing things this summer would hold, and her walk to potions was no exception. she thought of mattheo, too. always. he was on her
mind constantly, in fact, she couldn't remember a recent time where she wasn't thinking of him.

charlotte was ecstatic. with the end of the year so close, people had begun throwing summer parties, which were always fun. she loved the summer drinks, loud music, and the warm weather. in fact, the slytherins were hosting a party, tonight. as she walked into potions, charlotte dreaded doing actual work. she wished she could just skip to after class and go to the party. she sat down at the desk she shared with mattheo, and waited for him to arrive. as usual, he had taken to arriving a few minutes late, due to his ribs. it made charlotte happy that he had told her, that he trusted her.

they had gone through a lot together, and even though he still refused to admit they were friends, she knew they were making progress.

today, they had to make a vial of dreamless sleep potion. it was easy to brew, with charlotte was grateful for. as mattheo stirred the cauldron and she chopped all the ingredients, charlotte let her mind drift back to the party. she was excited to dance with her friends and play party games.
she was pulled from her throats when she
heard someone clear their throat.

"are you going to the party tonight?" mattheo asked, looking at her expectantly.
charlotte nodded and smiled slightly, "are you?"
he laughed and nodded, "maybe we could, i don't know, go together?"
charlotte felt her lips pull up into a smile, "yeah," she said, "i'd like that."
he nodded and turned back to the potion. they worked fast, much faster than the other pairs, in charlotte's opinion, because they worked so well together. she loved about mattheo. in the beginning, she hated it, hated him, but now, everything had changed. they were friends, or something, as he preferred to say. and now, they were going to a party together. a party.

before she knew it, class was over and she was going back to her dorm to get ready. she put on her queen vinyl and got to work. she walked over to her closet and pulled out a black skirt pansy had given her and a light pink tank top she had bought earlier in the year. since the party was summer themed, she figured it would work well. she pulled them on and started doing her makeup. soon enough, she was completely ready. she was about to leave her dorm when a knock came from the door. tentatively, she pulled it open to reveal mattheo standing there, holding a bouquet of pink peonies. charlotte smiled widely and took them from him.

"come in," she said, stepping back from the door to allow him to come inside. the notes of Queens "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" floated in the air as she watched him look around her room. she had light green walls adorned with posters of her favorite bands and pictures of her and her friends. he smiled slowly, looking at the pictures of her as a child, laughing with her dad and remus.
"are you ready?" he asked her quietly as she put her flowers into a vase.
she nodded and without thinking, extended a hand towards him. after a long moment of waiting, his warm hand curled around her cold one, and she stepped out of the comfort of her room, with mattheo right behind her. she guided him down the stairs and into the throng of people drinking and dancing in the slytherin common room.
"do you drink?" he asked as they passed the area where a selection of different magical and muggle alcohols were stacked.
"do you?" charlotte replied.
"yes," mattheo said, and reached out to grab a cup and pour some Vodka in it. charlotte laughed and grabbed a white claw, opting to still drink, but not get absolutely wasted.

once again, as hours passed and the party quieted down, they ended up in a circle. this time though, they had chosen to play truth or dare. this time, different from the last time she had sat in a circle at a slytherin party, mattheo sat firmly to her right, where he had been for the whole party, right next to her. when it was pansy's turn to ask, she turned to charlotte.

"truth or dare?" she said, smiling .
"dare," charlotte replied, laughing.

pansy's dare had been to take  four shots of firewhiskey, since she knew how strongly charlotte detested it. it was funny though, watching mattheo watch her with mirth in his eyes. when theo's turn to ask came around, he turned towards mattheo.
"truth or dare?" he asked, a devilish look in his eyes as he looked between mattheo and charlotte.
"truth." mattheo answered flatly.
charlotte knew that mattheo wasn't really interested in parties or games like these, but she appreciated that he was here anyway, playing, being here, with her.
"who's your best friend?" theo asked with a mischievous grin.
charlotte looked toward mattheo in interest. what would he say? how would he answer? he looked down at her as she looked up at him, and she felt her heart tug. he smiled at little, almost like he could read her mind. he was gazing at her with an expression so unmattheo-like and genuine that it seemed like he was hoping that whatever he was thinking would pop into her brain too, like he wanted her to share his thoughts, and whatever he was feeling, with her. his smile widened and he turned away from her and looked back to the circle of people around them.
"don't have one." he said with a laugh, before looking back to charlotte again. it felt like he was trying to tell her something with all these looks and laughs and gestures, but she couldn't decipher it, not now, not when his gaze on her was so heavy and the firewhiskey was sloshing in her veins, seeming like it was making her lose her grip on reality with every minute that went by.

when everyone started leaving the circle and going to their respective rooms, mattheo stood up and offered charlotte a hand. he pulled her up and led her to her room, when they got there, he guided her into her bed and draped her covers on top of her. he turned to leave, but she reached out and grasped his hand between hers.
"don't go." she said, the firewhiskey taking most of her common sense.
"charlotte-" mattheo started to say, before she cut him off.
"please don't go." she said again.
he sighed loudly and sat at the edge of her bed.
"okay." he said with a nod, "i'll stay."