Sacred Silence | A Tom Riddle Story

26: Friendships.

That night, Siobhan waited for Florance in their shared dorm room. The other Ravenclaws were out on this Saturday night, but Shiv knew that Flo's usual plans involved a long bath and a couple of hours of reading in bed.
She was wearing a set of black silk pyjamas, and her curls were pulled back in a bun. She fumbled around with the fabric of her sock as she sat on the bed, nervously waiting.

The door creaked open, and Flo's long blonde hair came into view.
'Shiv,' she said, not a trace of anger in her warm voice.

Shivs blue eyes met her green ones. Her warm expression was too much. All of a sudden, Shiv started to cry.
Tears fell from her lids and flooded her cheeks.
Florance didn't hesitate a second to rush over and kneel before her. 'Hey.. Shiv.. ow, it's okay..'
She placed her hands on Shivs knees and looked up at her with concerned eyes.

'I'm so sorry, Flo.. I've been having a really tough time, and I am not used to talking to people about things, I just.. I'm so sorry.' Shivs voice was shaking as she tried to force herself to stop crying. She felt embarrassed and relieved at the same time.

Flo climbed up beside her on the bed and wrapped her arms around her. Shiv let her head drop on Flo's shoulder and closed her eyes, tears now just silently falling down her face.

'Do you want to try and talk about it?' Flo asked softly, and she rubbed her back lightly.

Shiv felt uncomfortable, but forced herself to open up. So she told Flo almost everything. A brief summary of her relationship with her parents, what had happened over Christmas break, and finally, about her kiss with Tom. She left out the specifics of their research together, though.
Florance listened to everything, only nodding once in a while and never removing her arms from around Shivs shoulders.

Shiv finished her story and looked down, ashamed. After a while, Flo responded. 'You kissed Tom Riddle?' You could hear the grin on her lips without seeing it.
Shiv lifted her head from Flo's shoulder and buried her face in her hands. 'I did..' she mumbled reluctantly.

'Well, was it good?' Flo asked, and Shiv finally looked up at her.

She felt her cheeks burn. With a big sigh, she quietly mumbled, 'Yes..'

Flo wrapped her arms back around her and chuckled softly. 'Oh Shivvy.. You're so fucked.'
Shiv laughed in return. Yes, she was.
They spent the next half hour discussing what was happening between Siobhan and Tom. It felt good to talk about it with another girl her age. To ponder over small details like the way he had grabbed her waist before their kiss. Florance didn't judge, she just seemed interested and curious. It felt nice, almost normal.
Normal, if you left out the part where she was developing feelings for a psychotic dictator in the making.

'Well you're not the only one fucking up..' Flo murmured after a while. Siobhan raised her eyebrows and turned on the bed to face her friend. She had a vague idea of what was coming. 'Anthony?' She asked.

Flo nodded slowly and looked down at her hands. 'We kissed in the library last week.. after I helped him with his next transfiguration essay. Gosh I hate myself, but he's so fucking..'
'..hot? Yeah, I get it.' Shiv finished. She had the exact same thoughts about Tom.
It was very typical of the two of them to be interested in these guys. Florance had a weakness for boys with slightly tan skin and buzz cuts. Siobhan liked them thinner and tall.
The two girls looked at each other before bursting out in laughter once more. They had to laugh about it. If they didn't, the only other option was to worry.

'But Anthony is with Rosalind, right?' Shiv asked, a frown forming on her face. Anthony was definitely not the best fit for a monogamous relationship, but he had only ever slept around when he and Rosalind broke up for a few days. As far as Shiv knew, last week they were still together.