Tom Riddle - Downfall

Chapter 16: Dada

Later that day, we have Defense against the dark arts. Short Dada. I sit between Kim and Sebastian as the professor talks in front.
Professor: "You will work on a topic in groups of two, which will be graded. I will announce the topics at the end of the lesson."
As I'm watching the professor lecture in front of the entire class, I quickly glance over at Kim and I raise my eyebrows to her slightly, indicating that I'm wanting to pair up together for this assignment. Kim also notices my gesture, and she quickly nods her head in agreement, signaling that she would like to pair up with me as well. The two of us have worked together enough times to have developed a great understanding and communication between each other, so pairing up together for this assignment should go very smoothly.
But then the professor says: "This time, however, I will assign team partners so that the class is a bit mixed."
I roll my eyes because that means that I can't work with Kim this time. The professor lists the team pairs..
Professor: "Sebastian and Orion. Kim and Daphne. Lucia and Tom.." he continues. My eyes open widely, and I look over to Kim as I hear that Tom will be my teampartner.

The professor's decision to pair students randomly results in an unexpected pairing between me and Tom, and the idea of working alongside him on this assignment suddenly seems like it could be a challenge. Kim and I look at each other for a moment before quickly glancing back to the front of the room, as the professor continues to announce the other teams of students. I'm now wondering how this assignment will go. I know that Tom has good grades at Dada but still, I'm not sure if he's really that kind of a teamplayer..I don't look over to him..I don't want to see his reaction to this. I'm honestly scared he will be angry that he has me as his teampartner..

After class, Tom and I are walking over to the professor who looks at us laughing. "Ah yes, yes. You two will complement each other perfectly. Your theme is... changes during the transformation to a werewolf. " I nod and walk outside the classroom and start talking to Kim. However, I can see that Tom is just standing a few steps away, looking slightly awkward and just waiting there for me. I'm not sure what to say or do now since I had already been paired up with Tom for this assignment. But before I can say anything, Tom suddenly speaks up to us.
"Hey." He says in a low and soft voice, seeming a bit hesitant and unsure now.
"Hey," Kim smiles and leaves us alone. "See you later, Lucia,"
I smile at Tom. "I hope you're not angry beeing my teampartner.."
Tom looks uncomfortable as he stands there, and Kim leaves the scene. But when I ask him if he's angry about being my team partner, he laughs a bit softly.
"Oh, no, that's... alright. Yeah, it's fine. I'm just a bit surprised, really, that's all." He says to me in his usual soft and low voice, but this time I can see that he's still a bit awkward around me. He seems rather unsure how to act or what to do now that we are suddenly team partners now.
"Wanna meet at the library? For doing research? I have honestly no idea of werewolves." I smile at him. Since we fell asleep on the couch, he makes me a bit nervous when he's around. I have no idea why. Also, I can see the looks of the other students seeing us together. This annoys me. I can't understand why they're scared of him..
I suggest meeting at the library to do some research, and Tom simply nods at me softly and walks along with me as I walk. He also seems to have no idea about werewolves and their transformation, but he's at least ready to learn and do the work. Tom is also aware of the attention that the two of us are attracting now, as he can sense the other students looking at us two as if We were some sort of suspicious duo.
"Yeah, the library sounds good. We should actually start working on this soon." Tom says to me softly.

Back in my dorm, Kim already waits for me. She smirks at me. "What?" I ask, smiling.
Kim looks back at me with a big grin on her face, and she replies excitedly now.
"Oh, I just have to know, so you're actually working together with Tom? I mean... after what happened?" She's speaking softly and whispering the last part as she looks at other students who are nearby and could potentially overhear her. She's also grinning at me as she asks me this, as if she's expecting me to give an exciting answer.
"Nothing happened?" I laugh, and Kim raises an eyebrow "Okay okay. I mean, we had some special moments together in the last weeks but I don't know what to think about him.."
"Special moments?" Kim tilts her head at me now, still looking at me with curiosity and trying to figure out what exactly I mean by "special moments. " She also seems a bit confused as to how I feel about Tom now, given that we have been spending a lot of time together lately and we both fell asleep together the other day.
"Well, he's a bit strange and unpredictable at times, but I don't think he means harm. He's not bad or evil, if that's what you're worried about?" Kim says softly to me.
"I mean Kim, be honest. Did you ever see him talk that much before me? He is definitely strange and I'm sure he has a lot of secrets but he.." I pause for a moment thinking about something."Before the party, he came so close to me, and my heart was racing like hell. Everybody is scared of him, but for some reason.. I'm not. " I look at Kim Full of expectation waiting for her reaction
"No, I... I agree. He's... different with you. In the way that he acts and in how he carries himself, he can definitely be considered strange. But... also... it feels like there's something more to him, something that's hard to define. You're right. He definitely carries a lot of secrets, though, but he's also a very... well, a very interesting character. There's something... captivating about him." Kim says.