𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐒 | mattheo riddle

ten 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐓𝐘 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒

・・・❦・・・

THE MORNING AFTER felt surreal, like a foggy dream clinging to the edges of reality. vanessa’s mind was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions as she moved through her routine.

last night, she had not only kissed mattheo riddle but also had sex with him. had she lost her mind? the memory was both a thrill and a burden, a tangled mess of desire and regret.

was it a mistake? maybe. but she decided to push the nagging thoughts aside and live on, knowing full well that a romantic relationship with riddle was way out of the question. perhaps, at the very least, they could stop hating each other so fiercely. perhaps this was good. mattheo was somehow different last night. he was much softer and more caring. maybe he finally had shown her his true side. maybe he didn't hate her as much as he always showed.

izzy and her were walking to the great hall for breakfast and izzy’s high voice droned on about something boys-related, but vanessa couldn’t focus on her chatter. she had trusted izzy about her night with mattheo, extracting a solemn promise that she wouldn’t breathe a word to anyone.

izzy, however, seemed more excited than concerned, chatting away about vanessa’s "wild night" while vanessa’s mind was elsewhere.

breakfast in the great hal, that waa filled with almost every student of hogwarts, was a blur of noise and movement. vanessa picked at her food, her appetite nonexistent. she looked over to where mattheo was usually sitting with nott, malfoy and pucey. the boys talked about something but mattheo was conspicuously absent. her eyes kept drifting to them, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"nessa, are you even listening to what i'm saying?" izzy’s voice cut through her reverie.

"huh? yeah, sorry. what were you saying again?"

izzy sighed dramatically. "i was saying that you deserve someone way better than blaise. he’s such a jerk. and now that you’ve had your fun with mattheo, maybe you can find someone who’s actually good for you."

vanessa forced a smile. "yeah, maybe". she knew that there would never be anything serious between her and riddle. they wouldn't work.

the conversation moved on, but vanessa’s thoughts stayed stuck on the boy. she couldn’t shake the memory of his touch, the way his lips felt against hers, how good his fingers felt on her. the way his brown, guilty eyes had looked at her with an intensity that both thrilled and terrified her.

potions class was next, and vanessa walked there with a sense of determination. she would talk to mattheo, clear the air. maybe they could at least be civil. she hated it when it was awkward between two people.

as the lesson began, she stole glances at him, expecting some sort of acknowledgment, but his eyes never met hers. instead, he looked distant, his complexion grey, and his expression lifeless. an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. something was up.

professor slughorn was droning on about the properties of the draught of living death, but vanessa could barely focus. her mind kept wandering back to mattheo, trying to decipher his cold behavior. when the teacher announced a five-minute break, vanessa seized the opportunity. she took a deep breath and walked over to where mattheo sat with theodore nott.

"can we talk?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

mattheo didn’t even look up. "that's not necessary," he replied coldly, turning back to his conversation with theodore.