All Over Her

Chapter 15: Truces

Once Ziggy fully processed the whole story, including last night, she was expectedly livid.
"EUGH and to think I thought he was so sweet to you! I outta talk some sense into him."
"Calm down Zig, it's fine."
She paced around the room, making me a little dizzy.
"It's not fine! You trusted him and he goes off and calls you drama?? Oh that Mattheo Riddle is going to have some words from me as well. Him and Cedric. No one should have broken up that fight last night, shoulda let them tear at each other. That would've saved you loads of time."
"Ziggy, you're more angry about this than I am. I'm over it."
"Over it? It just happened! Jamie, do you want me to do anything? Seriously, I'll do something. I'll tell Cho about Cedric and.. And I'll tell Enzo to tell Mat-"
I cut her off, "Absolutely not, I don't want you putting yourself in a position where you talk to Enzo." Her face looked relieved.
"Not after what he did.. Look, it really is fine. I'm over Cedric, the moment I saw him with Cho. Really I didn't even consider getting serious with him until last night."
She flashed a sympathetic look at me.
"I promise. Now go on and shower, we need to get to the quidditch pitch in thirty minutes and you're nowhere near dressed." I said, pushing her towards the bathroom.
"Fine, fine."
She walked into the bathroom, letting me fall onto my bed. I rest for a moment when little taps come from the window.
I grab from the owl, another black string. I hadn't gotten one all week so I was curious.
'I admire you. Not just your beauty but your wit.'
I actually quite liked this one. The others I felt were cliche, but this one was cliche in a way that was catered towards me. I smiled to myself. I still wondered who this mystery admirer could be. Why didn't they want to reveal themselves after all this time? Sending notes anonymously. I find charm in the discreteness of it though. I liked feeling like this person was all for myself. Even if I didn't know who they were. I snapped myself out of my daydream, picking up a quick pace to get ready for try-outs. I'd say it's more of a formality though, since the only position that needs to be filled is keeper, which Ron is going for.
But Cormac McLaggen is trying against him, an agile one. I have faith in Ron though, at least I hope my faith isn't in vain. McLaggen is a downright git. I put on my quidditch uniform, I was number one. Ziggy is three, Fred and George were five and four, Harry is seven, Ron will hopefully be two, and Ginny is six. I reflect what the team would look like in my mind and I think we will do more than great this season, based on what I've seen.
Gryffindor likes to be the last team for try-outs. We use it as an intimidation tactic since we know for a fact the other teams will be watching. As I passed by the stands I caught glimpses of who's watching. I should classify him as a stalker by this point because Mattheo was right there, sat at the Slytherin stand, popcorn in his lap. I knew I wasn't going to be going lightly on the intimidation.
As we all stood around, I waited for Harry to begin talking on what maneuvers we're running today. He pulls me aside.
"J, I wanted to ask you. Well we all decided that we think you should be the captain this year. Zig and I told everyone how much we worked over the summer but that you got farther than any of us."
"Shit are you serious?" I asked excitedly. "Don't mess with me right now Harry."
He patted me on the shoulder, "Not messing with you, what do we do today then?"
He said it loud enough that now everyone was staring at me.
"Well, everyone is watching us today so I think we should focus on our defense. Especially since McLaggen and Weasley have to try out for keeper. We want to keep our offense as discreet as possible to throw them off when it's actually time to play."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
"Great, let's play then."
In a rush we were all suddenly on our brooms. I was mostly observing Ron and Cormac and as of right now they were doing pretty evenly but Ron seemed a bit more nervous. I swooshed by Hermione in the stands, who looked particularly focused on Ron. I went round, making sure everyone's playing cleanly. As I zoomed I passed by the Slytherin stands, catching a glimpse of Mattheo, who's gaze followed my direction.
In anger, I flew faster, avoiding being near him as much as possible. I expected him to start heckling us at any moment. As I continued I noticed McLaggen missed a shot, quite unexpectedly as well from the look on his face. I looked back at the stands, where I saw Hermione very subtly smiling to herself. The confucius charm I assume. If McLaggen were anyone else I would have said something, but seeing as how disgusting he's been acting around Hermione, I'll allow it to pass me.
The game came to its eventual finish, with Ron having a better track record than Cormac.. No surprise there.
"Good game everyone, I am pleased to announce that the new Gryffindor keeper is.. Ron Weasley." I announced.
Everyone cheered, except McLaggen of course, who had a very clearly sour expression on his face.
"Alright everyone, get back to your dorms, first practice is next week."
Ziggy went up to me, "I noticed that Riddle was in the stands, do you want me to stick by you in case he comes up?"
"No it's cool, go back to the dorm and get changed, I'll meet you there in a bit."
Everyone walked off, leaving me a bit exacerbated from all the excitement. I wiped sweat off my forehead and neck, taking a breath as I started to walk.
"You did good out there." Mattheo said.
"A compliment? Without an ounce of sass? Riddle, dare I say you outdid yourself." I told him.
"Let me be genuine for once will you." He said annoyed.
"There he is. I should go, I wouldn't want to upset you before your nap time." I said pouting at him.
"Off to go see Diggory?"
"That's your business why?"
"Am I not allowed the luxury of curiosity?"
"Not when it concerns my plans."
I continued to walk off.
"But are you though?"
I signed, "I'm not seeing Cedric. Full stop."
He looked at the ground, a slight smirk escaping.
"What, here to say you were right?"
"When you put it like that, it wouldn't be so bad to say that."
I rolled my eyes and tried to get away, picking up my pace.
"Cassandra wait-" He ran up to me.
"Don't say my name."
"Can we have a truce?"
I stopped, "Why."
"My marks in potions aren't where I want it to be.. And I remember how well you worked with the Amortentia, so I wanted to ask you if-"
"You're asking for my help?"
"Simply put, yes."
"Why would I help you?"
"Because you're my partner in class."
"I don't owe you anything Riddle."
He looked at me deeply, "Mattheo."
"Excuse me?"
"Call me Mattheo. I'm not fond of my surname." His eyes looked sincere, his voice serious.
"Mattheo." I said his name, flowing out of my mouth smoothly. I've never said his name out loud before. Well, not when I was really listening.
"I can come tomorrow after class."
I thought for a second. He didn't have his usual demeanor, maybe he really did want help. But I couldn't ignore the years of annoyance and anger he's thrusted upon me. But maybe a sign of maturity on my part will be a marker for him as well. While I could be petty and reject his need for help out of spite, something in me was telling me I shouldn't.
"Alright. Yes that works."
He smiled, "See you then Cassandra."
He began to walk off, "Cas."
"Huh?"
I yelled, "CALL ME CAS, MATTHEO!"
He yelled back, "SEE YOU THEN CAS!"