tattoos together, mattheo riddle

04 - izzie the wizzie

                                           irl, messages

ISABELLE GROANED AND rubbed her eyes, sitting up and sliding out of bed. she shuffled to the mirror, rubbing her eyes again as her reflection came into focus—along with the pile of clothes on the floor. 

"oh good, you're awake," a male voice drawled.

her head snapped up. in the mirror, her eyes locked with mattheo's. her breath caught as she took in the bruises and cuts on his face.

"oh my god! your lip is swollen," she gasped.

"and bleeding," he added with a grin.

he stepped closer, standing just behind her, his eyes fixed on her reflection. she turned around and brushed her fingers over the cut on his lip. he winced.

"let me clean you up," she said, grabbing his arm.

she led him to the bathroom and grabbed the washcloth from the towel rack.

"sit," she directed, pointing to the toilet.

he followed her, lowered the seat cover, and sat down with a smirk.

"care to tell me why you look like you were run over a truck" she said, running the washcloth under warm water.

"maybe i was." he joked.

"teo," she scolded, wringing out the towel.

she stepped closer to him and pressed the towel lightly to his lip. he hissed softly but stayed still.

"last night, cormac took pictures of us and then posted them," mattheo explained, leaning back against the toilet tank. "he told us to get a room, and, well, a bunch of people agreed with him. so this morning, me, draco, theo, and blaise went to kick his ass. cormac got a few good hits in, but trust me, he looks way worse."

isabelle paused, the washcloth hovering near his face. "were you embarrassed?" she asked quietly.

his brows furrowed. "what makes you say that?"

"you kicked his ass over an instagram post. it makes it seem like you didn't want those posted. like you were embarrassed." her voice was softer now, a crack in her usual confidence.

"i could never be embarrassed of you," mattheo said firmly, his gaze steady. "but just because i don't care what people think about us doesn't mean i'll let cormac run his fat mouth about things that don't involve him." he sighed, leaning towards isabelle. "i kicked his ass for you. because what we do is nobody's business but ours."

"i don't need you fighting my battles, teo. not anymore." she said, her voice steadily.

"i know you don't," he murmured, taking the cloth from her and holding it against his lip. "but that doesn't mean i won't."