Our Past ; Mattheo Riddle

the afterparty

Val, feeling confident after a successful first ride back (and getting dirt in that bitches face),  struts into the slytherin common room. Her nose is met with the strong scent of liquor and cigarette smoke, mostly coming from a corner where Theo is distributing his fresh supply. As she makes her way into the party, people left and right are congratulating her on the race; seemingly, the news had already spread. Although she appreciated the compliments, there was only one person she was looking for praise from. As she scanned the party for Mattheo Riddle, she was dissapointed to see someone else approaching her. "I heard you did well on the track today" a certain tall gryffindor says, looking her up and down. "Freddie, you were the last person I expected to see at a slytherin party tonight, much less a welcome back party you knew I would be at." She says, with a suprised look on her face. "You know I can't stay away from you. Did I mention how good you look tonight?" He smirks, clearly confident in himself. "I hope you know that you're the LAST person I'm looking for a compliment from." She replies, even more confidently than he was when approaching her. "Still looking for Riddle then, I assume?" Fred glares away from her. "There he is, but... probably not how you're going to want to see him." He looks at her again, sensing tension that is surely about to arise. "What do you mean?" Valeria responds, turning her head. "No fucking way" she says out loud. She assumed, if anyone, Mattheo would be all over her, but instead, her eyes are met with his mouth all over Scarlett Brown. "It's fucked up. Are you still interested in him?" Fred asks, genuine concern painting his expression. "Not anymore." She responds, trying to sound disinterested. "Hey Freddie, you should come take a shot or two of fireball with me." She suggests, smiling. "Hold on a second. About a minute ago you didn't want to be seen in public with me, and now you want to go take shots?" He questions. "I'll make it three?" She offers. "Let's go." He smiles back, and they make their way over to Theo, who's been the obvious dealer for the night. "Hey Theo." She smiles, knowing exactly what she's doing. "Hey Bella. What are you doing with Weasley?" He questions. "Oh, Freddie? He's my date tonight. Right?" She looks up at him. Hesitantly, he nods at her, and then Theo. "Care to hook us up with a shot or three?" Fred asks, turning back to Theo. "Only because you're with Val." He responds, handing Fred three drinks and Val three more. "To your return." Fred says, holding his drink up. "Absolutely." She smirks, chugging down her first shot. "No chaser?" He says, looking suprised. "I don't get affected by that anymore." She responds, shrugging. "Don't worry. Just at parties." She says, but he can sense a little insincerity in her voice. "Should we go dance?" he offers. She nods enthusiastically, taking his arm and making their way to the dance floor. They make their way into the crowd. As they got more and more comfortable with each other, Fred got touchier and touchier, which honestly, Valeria didn't mind. She needed the distraction from Mattheo, who was probably in the corner with that bitch Scarlett. She decides that at least for now, Fred is the perfect distraction from any feelings she had for Mattheo. 

Theo makes his way over to Mattheo, worried about not having seen his best friend all night. He finds him with Scarlett Brown, a girl he knew for fact Mattheo found to be an idiot. She was sitting close to him, and his arm was around her while he was manspreading on the couch. A cigarette hung from his lips while Theo was approaching. "Where have you been all night?" Theo asks, drawing out his words. Mattheo could tell he had been drinking. "With Scarlett. Why?" Mattheo responds nonchalantly. Theo sees right through this, knowing he doesn't give a single fuck about Scarlett. "Okay. What's happening right now? Scarlett, I'm gonna be so for real right now, you're pretty and all, but you're definetly not his type. I KNOW his type." Theo says, obviously drunk and winking at Mattheo. "Scarlett, he's drunk. Ignore him." Mattheo says, looking at her. "Is that how you see me?" She responds, offended. "Well..." Mattheo responds. "Bye." Scarlett says, obviously hurt, standing up and going to find a circle of friends. "Okay, now that she's gone, let's talk." Theo says, sitting down next to Mattheo and disregarding any of what had just happened. "What about?" Mattheo replies. "Have you seen Val tonight?" Theo asks, turning to him. "No, I haven't. Theo, I'm trying to keep my mind off of her. You know that." He replies, taking a sip of the drink sitting next to him. "I think you might change your mind about that if you look over at the dance floor." He responds, sparking Mattheo's curiosity. He turns towards the dance floor, but can't spot her in the crowd. "Where is she?" He says, obviously worried. "She's dancing with someone you're not going to be happy about, and she's been drinking." Theo replies, also concerned. "Where did she get a drink? She knows that it's not good for her." He says, the stress growing on his face. "I might have given her one..." Theo says, ashamed. "Just one?" Mattheo glared. "Or three. Who's counting at this pointm, anyways?" He responds, the carelessness clearly present in his body language. "How many have YOU had?" Mattheo says, looking at the state of his best friend. "One... five... nine..." He begins counting on his fingers. "Oh my god. Put your hands down, I don't even want to know." Mattheo shakes his head in disgust. Theo is about to respond, but they're interrupted by shouting from the dance floor. "Fred, go home. You're obviously drunk and not thinking straight." Val says, screaming. "No way." Theo says. "Mattheo..."

Val had been dancing with Fred for at least an hour, and was starting to get overwhelmed by all the people and the alcohol in her system. "Fred, I think I'm gonna go" She says, trying to make her way out of his grasp. "Val, stay and dance with me." He pleads. "I'm not feeling the best, sorry." She apologizes, and tries to move out of his arms once again. His grip on her waist gets firmer. He leans down and whispers "You aren't going anywhere. Not when you used me all night to get Riddle's attention. It's my turn." His tone turns cold and serious. "Fred, you don't mean this. You're not like this. I'm not doing anything with you." She says, getting serious and trying not to sound scared. "You're going to regret using me tonight." He says, getting louder. The music gets quieter, and all eyes are on Fred and Valeria. "Fred, go home. You're obviously drunk and not thinking straight. Don't think for one second that I'm going anywhere with you. I'm probably the best fighter you've ever seen." She's trying to be intimidating, but...

Mattheo stands up, his cigarette and drink falling to the floor. People question him and tell him not to leave, but he pays attention to none of their complaints. His eyes are focused on Valeria and Fred, who are surrounded by people watching their argument. He makes his way through the crowd, people moving out of their way knowing he would eventually be there. "She's not going anywhere with you, Weasley." He interrupts, coming between the two of them. "And why not?" Fred responds, getting more and more angry. "She's my girl, and you'll be gone the second you lay a hand on her." He responds, walking towards Valeria and putting his arms around her waist, bringing her close to him. "It's gonna take more than that to keep her from my dorm tonight." Fred yells. "I would kill you in a fucking minute, Fred. It would take me one hit. You'll be gone tonight, and I won't have a single regret. Is this really how you want to go?" Mattheo responds, not loosening his arms around Valeria for a single instant. "I'd like to see you try." Fred challenges him. "Val, go find Theo. Have him take you to your dorm." Mattheo says, turning his focus to her. "Fine." Valeria says, walking away from him. She doesn't find Theo. As much as she doesn't want to admit it to herself, she wants to see Mattheo fight on her behalf. And cleaning him up after...

Mattheo punches Fred, knocking him back a few paces. Fred swings at Mattheo, and obviously, misses. Mattheo punches him clean in the face, pushing him down to the ground. He kneels down, and swings, making each punch. More blood is on Fred's face with each hit. "As long as I'm alive, you will not lay a single hand on Valeria Payne, let alone look at her. Remember this unless you want a repeat of tonight. Are we clear?" He states. Fred nods, unable to speak due to the pain. Mattheo knocks him out with one last punch and stands up. The crowd around them goes silent. "This goes for all of you. Val is better than every one of you, she knows it and you better know it too." He says, wiping the blood off his face. "I'm done with this bullshit." He leaves the crowd and makes his way out the door to his dorm. Valeria sees him, blood dripping down his face and his knuckles, and knows he won't be able to take care of himself. That used to be her job. "God, he's irresponsible." She says to herself with a smile. With that, she follows him up the stairs to one of their favorite places, his dorm room.