LES || matt sturniolo ( ✓ )

𝟎𝟏𝟕. stay away from vivienne

CHAPTER 017 -
╰┈➤ ' stay away from vivienne ' ೃ⁀➷
「 real life 」

─ real life ☾

MATT LISTENS TO THE SOUND of vivienne's footsteps fading into the distance, but he can still feel madeline's arms encircling the back of his neck. his hands slowly drop from her waist, and he stands there, his expression blank and devoid of any emotion.

madeline must have been waiting for vivienne to be completely out of sight, as her fingers begin to exert pressure on the back of his neck, gently tilting his head down. "did you forget what i said?" she whispers, her voice barely audible. "stay away from vivienne." as she pulls away from him, she shoves him backward, creating a physical distance between them.

he stares blankly at her, his brow furrowed in frustration, and finally responds, "it's not my fault if i have a class with her."

madeline's eyes flash with anger. "but it is your fault she came out yelling after you, isn't it," she spits out, her tone sharp and accusatory.

matt keeps quiet, feeling a surge of frustration and helplessness. he knows it isn't his fault, but he also understands that saying anything right now would only escalate the situation further.

matt let out a heavy sigh, feeling a large mix of guilt and rage swirling within him. "i can't believe you're making me do this to her," he murmured, his voice laced with frustration.

"it's for the better," came madeline's response.

matt knew deep down that it wasn't for the better. despite the rationalizations, he couldn't shake the feeling that this course of action was only causing harm for both, him and vivienne.

madeline hooks her arm through his and they begin to walk, but her bright smiles to passersby are clearly forced. despite her efforts, anyone who glances at matt can see the misery on his face. he makes no attempt to conceal it, it's plain for all to see.

she glanced over at him with a defeated expression and let out a groan, "at least smile"

matt didn't even bother to look back at her, instead he muttered, "no," and continued shutting her out, ignoring any further demands. his gaze shifted to chris, who was busy shoving books into his locker, and matt seized the opportunity to make his escape. "let's go over to chris," he suggested, pointing in chris's direction.

he doesn't listen to what she has to say and once he's over to his brother he leans against the lockers besides him. madeline rolls her eyes and it's obvious she doesn't want to be there so she plants a kiss on matt's lips, matt stays still, doesn't even kiss back and watches her huff and walk off.

chris let out a mocking laugh. "healthy thing you've got going on with her," he remarked with a scoff.

annoyed, matt retorted with a simple, "shut up."

"i heard you and viv fought," chris said with a knowing look.

"how do you know that? it literally happened a few minutes ago," matt replied, clearly surprised.

"you wanna tell me why you're with madeline?" chris smirked, clearly enjoying the situation.

matt shook his head in disbelief and let out a frustrated huff.

"then i'm not telling you how i know," he shrugged, not wanting to engage in the conversation any further.

matt hurriedly pushed past chris, his heart pounding with fear that he might accidentally reveal the truth about why he was with madeline if he stayed there any longer. with every step he took, his mind raced with thoughts of what he had said to vivienne. he didn't want her to leave him alone, and he knew that her brother's suspicions about him were wrong. matt was not a bad person, and he needed vivienne to know that.

suddenly, a sharp, piercing pain shot through his shoulder, causing him to instinctively reach for it as he doubled over. as he looked up, he was startled to see the last person he ever expected to encounter at that school again.

rio's gaze pierces right through him as vivienne's head hangs down low. matt is left wondering if she told rio what happened. he can't even process anything as rio fades from his sight. the thought crosses his mind that he might now have both of the thorn siblings hating him.

as a hand abruptly clamps down on his shoulder, matt is startled and instinctively straightens up, ready to express his gratitude. however, his surprise turns to disbelief as he is confronted face to face by kai. matt is rendered speechless, grappling with the unexpected turn of events as he realizes that he has encountered the two people he despises most in the span of just five minutes.

"hey matt," kai said, flashing a smile, but his voice was laced with a hint of cruelty, "looking a bit hurt there."

"you think?" matt retorted with a huff.

"who is that guy, the one walking with vivienne?" kai inquired.

matt couldn't help but roll his eyes in amusement as he listened to kai claiming to care about her, while not even being able to know who her brother's is. it was clear to matt who truly cared and understood her. "if you genuinely cared, you'd know it's her brother," he retorted, wincing as the pain in his shoulder started to fade.

ignoring matt's remark, kai casually remarked, "doesn't seem like he's too fond of you."

matt let out a chuckle. "if he met you, i'm pretty sure he'd hate you more than he hates me," he said with a smirk.

kai's face turned serious as he reached for matt's shirt. "stop trying to be funny, matt," he snapped. "i know what's going on with you and madeline. i suggest you stay away from vivienne."

"you're not the first person who's told me that today," matt retorted, shoving kai off him. "take your own advice."

evie speaks
should've put a tw for kai