*TW- violence*
The following week was hell. Every single chance he got Mattheo made me miserable. With an attempt to stick to my promise to yourself, I did my best to ignore him but eventually I started retaliating as normal when he continued. Despite being enemies for years, our relationship with him had never been this bad. When he wasn't berating me in person, he was constantly in my thoughts, his insults cutting deeper than ever before.
A month into the school year and I had already had enough. The year I promised myself would be the best had already become the worst. I didn't know why he had suddenly become so much harsher but it only made my hatred for him grow.
We were in potions, the last lesson of the day. The rivalry with Mattheo was really wearing on me and I was ranting to Pansy. I had been filling her in with everything Mattheo had done over the last month so she knew how sick of it I was.
"I just, we've always hated each other but Mattheos never been this bad before. It's straight up cruel"
"Aria, don't forget Mattheo's the son of Voldemort"
"Yeh I know, but it's like he's flicked a switch and gone from hateful banter to making it his mission to make me want to off myself. I know Mattheos his son but I just never thought he'd go this far yknow".
Just as I finished my sentence he walked into class, his cold demeanour sending a chill up my spine. He sat at the very back of the classroom.
"Fucking hell, I think we said his name too many times and he just appeared" Pansy whispered to me "the guys like fucking beetlejuice"
I sighed and ignored him completely for the start of the lesson. The professor stared speaking and explaining what potion we would be making today. After around 10 minutes we were allowed to collect our ingredients. Pansy went to get them while I set up your cauldron. Things were going smoothly, Mattheo had pretty much left my mind as me and Pansy worked together. But that all took a turn when I was adding an ingredient to my potion and Mattheo purposely bumped into me. The ingredient spilt into the potion and it bubbled too much, burning your my. I angrily spun round, slapping Mattheo round the face.
He froze but seconds later i was pinned to the wall, his hand around my throat. The entire class went silent and Pansy gasped, clapping her hands to her mouth. Mattheos hand squeezed my throat tighter, cutting off my airway more. His eyes starred daggers into mine and he didn't speak but i could see just pure anger in his face. The professor was yelling at him and making their way across the classroom. But before they could get to us, I kneed Mattheo hard in the stomach making him loosen his grip and groan. The professor made it to us, separating me and Mattheo with a flick of their wand. Pansy ran over and helped me up as I gasped for breath, quickly getting me out of the classroom.
Pansy helped me back to our dorm, helping me dress the burns on my hand and making sure I was okay before leaving. The minute she left tears streamed down my face from the shock but also built up emotions. I hadn't cried once over the year because of Mattheo but this crossed a line. The look of anger and hatred in his eyes was etched into my memory and the feel of his hand on my throat. It was the first time he had put me in real danger. Despite my hatred for him, in that moment I wanted nothing more than to get along with him so I wouldn't have to go through this. I wanted this rivalry to end.
