𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜... | ᴍᴀᴛᴛʜᴇᴏ ʀɪᴅᴅʟᴇ |

11.

11. tea
• • •

"THANK YOU FOR JOINING," Hermione said as I walked in. She, Ron and Harry were sitting in front of everybody in front of a fireplace, I only saw Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindors, not a Slytherin in sight.

I made may way into the crowd, getting some questionable faces from the students. I understood why, I wasn't exactly what they would describe as 'trustworthy'. I spotted Tanya in the back, looking bored until she saw me.

"Hi," I smiled lightly.

"Hey," she replied. I barely had any chance to really talk to her, I had spent late nights with Conan and she always woke up early, and in Divinations we only every talked about school. "Where do you keep disappearing at night?" Tanya questioned while Hermione was saying something.

"I hang out with a friend," I replied vaguely. I know she didn't share my opinion with Conan, she didn't like him and I didn't want to disappoint her.

"Oh," she said sadly. I panicked, worried that I hurt her feelings. "I miss talking to you and watching musicals."

"We can hang out after this, if you want," I blurted out, not even thinking about my other friends. A smile crept on her soft face.

"That'd be nice." I loved her face. Her eyebrows were always flawlessly plucked and her eyes were wide and brown, matching her curly brown hair. Though she didn't have any sharp facial features, her round face looked adorable, matching her personality. "I was going to the tea shop, want to come with?" Tanya suggested.

"Thank you," I whispered appreciatively.

After Harry won the hearts over of everyone in the room, we all lined up to sign a sheet titled 'Dumbledore's Army'. Neither Tanya nor I knew what we were writing our names down for, we weren't listening, but we did it anyways. As soon as I finished jotting down my name, Tanya grabbed my hand, pulling me along. Her touch sent butterflies in my stomach, making me smile and skin tingle.

"Do you like it?" My eyes snapped to hers in confusion as a blush formed on my cheeks.

"What?" I mumbled.

"Tea?" A heavy sigh escaped my lungs.

"Yeah, I don't mind it. Chai is my favourite, especially when it's iced," I answered. "What about you, what do you like?"

"Apple cinnamon. It's only for the fall though which is why I drink so much of it during this season. Probably more than I drink water," she replies with a smile. I wanted to melt into a puddle. We entered the small tea shop and sat down in the corner. "I probably like apple cinnamon as much as you like musicals," Tanya laughed as the tea and pastries arrived at our table.

"I love musicals," I practically moaned as I took a bite out of one of the pastries. "This is so good." She smiled with pride as if it was something she baked.

"Tan, honey!" My head snapped up with worry as I licked the frosting off my lips. Was she seeing someone? Should I care? so have Conan after all. I breathed when I saw an older lady walk towards our table. She had a cute half apron wrapped around her waist and a modest light blue shirt. "You brought a friend I see," the woman smiled. Nerves jolted through my body.

"Mom, this is Edith. She's my roommate and friend," Tanya introduced with a large smile. A small knot of jealousy formed in my stomach, it always happened when I saw a girl with a proper and loving mother.

"Pleasure to meet you," Mrs. Reynards greeted with a pearly white smile.

"Likewise," I replied softly.

"My mom runs this place," Tanya said with pride, making me choke on my tea.

"Really? Congrats, Mrs. Reynards, it's truest amazing," I quickly complimented. She smiled brightly as if this shop was like another child. If only my mother smiled like this. My phone suddenly began ringing in my pocket, scaring me. I looked at the caller ID and my eyes went wide.

"Sorry, I'll be right back." I dashed to the bathroom and answered. "What the fuck, Van?" I asked breathlessly.

"I asked if I could call you, but I was too lazy to wait." I could hear the smirk in his voice. "Are you able to FaceTime right now?"

"No. I'm out. Why are you calling exactly?" I huffed, hating that I left Tanya without an explanation.

"I don't know, I wanted to hear your voice," Van simply said, "and I'm bored. Dad's out so I'm home alone. I wish you were here. Remember that night?"

"Not the right fucking time," I scolded.

"Are you okay? You seem on edge."

"Yeah! I was just talking to my friend's mother who owns this fucking tea restaurant and then I had to leave because you called. And the start of this school year kinda is fucking with my mind and I also fucking miss you but I'm confused because I don't know if what we did was serious or if when I see you again it's just going to be a thing we just do. I feel like a whore."

"Why do you feel like a whore?" Van asked calmly.

"Because I nearly fucking slept with someone I just met!" I don't know why I was shouting. I guess I just needed to get everything off my chest, I could never yell at Z.

"Listen, if you're worried about me caring about what you do, I don't care. I'm fine with us just hooking up." There was another huge thing I needed to say but I was scared. As much as I wanted to keep it a secret, it was exhausting.

"Van?"

"Yes, snowflake?" I wanted to cry, the nickname made it worse.

"Promise you won't get mad," I whispered.

"Why would I get mad? I don't care what you do," he replied simply. "But I promise."

"I've only told two people, so please just keep it a secret." He muttered a soft "mhmm" before allowing me to continue. "I'm... I'm gay."

"Wait. What? Like 'I only want to fuck girls' gay?" Van asked confused.

"No, no, I like guys too. I like both. Do you mind?"

"Why would I fucking mind? It's not like I can change your sexuality. If your worried about support, I'm here for you. Who else did you tell?"

"My sister. And my best friend. My parents don't even know. Well, I told my mother but she's a fucking drunk." I sighed, shoulders sagging. "Thank you so much Van. I've got to go now, but I miss you. I can FaceTime later tonight if you want."

"I'd like that. Thanks for telling me, Eddie. Have fun drinking tea."

• • •
my headphones died. i'm sad now bc i didn't bring my other pair. (#camping)
this chapter was a whole roller coaster
idk why i made her shout but wtvr 🫶🫶
also for my little queer buddies out there, just know that there are people that support you, and here is always a safe space 🩷🩷🩷
if you could be anyone you wanna be, who would you choose?
(#jennaortegaandzendaya)
——>

i wrote these side notes like a month or two after i published these-