Boundless | Mattheo Riddle

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 (𝟓)

Mattheo Riddle

The Slytherin common room looked totally different by the time Theo and I pushed through the entrance.

Music thumped through the air. Someone had set up this huge table along the far wall, already stacked high with bottles, enchanted cups, and trays of sketchy-looking snacks.

It was chaos, pure and simple. It was home.

The moment we walked in, a cheer went up, loud and wild and real. Hands slapped me on the back. Bottles were shoved into my hands. Someone, probably Daphne, tried to jam a ridiculous pointed party hat on my head, which I quickly batted away with a grin.

I let myself fall into it.

Let the noise and the people and the overwhelming flood of belonging wash over me, scrubbing away the two years of crap I'd dragged back with me.

Theo, Blaise, and Enzo were relentless.

They didn't give me a second to brood or hang out in a corner like some ghost. They dragged me from one drinking game to the next: flip cup, wizard's roulette, firewhisky races, each more ridiculous than the last.

Blaise almost set his eyebrows on fire trying to show off with a flaming shot. Theo lost three rounds of truth-or-dare and ended up in nothing but his undershirt. Enzo kept slurring some complicated chant that was either a song or a very bad hex.

And for a little while, I laughed. I actually laughed.

But then came beer pong.

The table was massive, hovering a few inches off the ground, enchanted to wobble just enough to make shots harder. Cups gleamed at both ends, filled with something that looked seriously dangerous.

Blaise threw an arm over my shoulders, grinning wickedly. "Time to prove you're still one of us, Riddle."

I grabbed a ball and smirked. "You're going down, Zabini."

But as I lined up my shot, something caught the corner of my eye.

Ollie.

She was across the room, tucked under Sebastian's arm like she belonged there.

The sight hit me harder than any curse could.

Sebastian stood way too close, fingers playing with the ends of her hair, his smirk sharp and cocky like he knew exactly what he had — and exactly who was watching. Ollie wasn't smiling, though, not really. Her eyes flicked up, met mine, and guilt flashed through them like lightning.

I faltered, the ball slipping from my fingers with a clumsy bounce.

Blaise laughed loudly. "Oi, mate, you alright?"

I forced a grin, heart pounding. "Fine. Just warming up."

But I wasn't fine. Not even close.

Sebastian caught my gaze, his smirk widening into something taunting. He lifted his drink toward me in a mock toast, then kissed the side of Ollie's head like he was staking his claim.

My blood boiled.

Theo noticed right away, his jaw tightening. He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Don't let that tosser get in your head."

Too late.

Blaise clapped his hands, dragging everyone's attention back to the game. "Alright, alright! Mattheo versus Sebastian. Let's settle this like men!"

Cheers rose, the crowd forming a ring around the table. I grabbed a ball. Sebastian grabbed his.

We stared each other down, the tension crackling like dry wood about to burn.

The first few rounds were brutal.

He made a shot, and I made one right after. He laughed loudly, and I smiled coldly. Shot after shot, cup after cup — neither of us missing, neither backing down.

The room around us blurred into noise. It was just him and me. And Ollie, standing stiffly at the edge of the crowd, watching like her life depended on it.

Finally, Sebastian wobbled. His next shot bounced clumsily off the rim of the last cup, splashing the drink everywhere.

A roar went up.

I inhaled slowly, centred myself, and tossed.

The ball flew in a perfect arc, slow and sure, dropping cleanly into the final cup.

The crowd exploded.

Theo whooped, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me like a rag doll. Blaise shouted something totally obscene. Enzo pounded on the table until it nearly tipped over.

Sebastian stood frozen, face flushed with humiliation and rage.

I just smiled thinly, sharp as broken glass.

Without a word, I turned my back and walked away.

— 

Hours passed in a haze of celebration, but I kept my distance. Watched. Waited.

And finally, when the party thinned out and the music dropped to a low, drowsy hum, I saw her slip away toward the far end of the common room.

Alone.

I followed without thinking, weaving past the drunks and couples wrapped around each other in dark corners.

She stood by the window, arms wrapped around herself, staring out into the black water of the lake.

"Ollie," I said softly.

She stiffened, then slowly turned.

The shadows caught the lines of her face — stubborn, proud, and still heartbreakingly familiar. Her eyes were red-rimmed but dry, her mouth pressed tight like she was holding back a million words.

We stared at each other for a long, brittle moment.

"You shouldn't be here," she said finally, voice low.

"Maybe not," I admitted. "But here I am."

Her shoulders dropped a little, like some invisible weight cracked under my gaze.

"Why now, Mattheo?" she whispered. "Why come back after all this time?"

I stepped closer, every nerve ending screaming with the risk, with the possibility.

"Because," I said, voice rough and real, "I couldn't stay away anymore."

The hurt in her eyes hit me like a blow.

"You left," she said. "No goodbye. No warning. You just—" Her voice broke. She swallowed hard, forcing the next words out. "You abandoned me."

"I know," I said. "I know, Ollie. And I swear to you, if there'd been any other choice—"

"But there wasn't, was there?" she cut in, eyes blazing. "There never is, with you."

Silence hung heavy and sharp.

I could've lied, spun some story to make it easier on both of us.

But I didn't.

"I missed you every damn day," I said, voice almost shaking. "And I'm not going anywhere again."

Ollie stared at me, every inch of her vibrating with things she wasn't saying.

And even though some boy was waiting for her across the room, and even though I had no right to ask anything of her... Hope still flickered in my chest.

Fragile. Dangerous. Real.