MATT STURNIOLO IMAGINES

If Karma's Real, Hopes It's Your Turn

It had been a long day. It was a long week, honestly. I was in the middle of a grueling finals week, barely keeping my head above water with all the assignments and exams piling up. But it wasn't school that was on my mind. It was Matt.

I don't know what it was, but lately, he'd been off. More distant and short with me than usual. We'd been close since freshman year, spending most of our time together, but something changed recently. It wasn't anything obvious—just little things. He'd cancel plans at the last minute and stop responding to texts for hours, and when we did hang out, there was an underlying tension in the air that neither of us had addressed.

The worst part was I couldn't figure out what had happened. It wasn't like we had a falling out or a huge fight. But the way Matt was acting lately felt like something was brewing beneath the surface, and I wasn't sure if I should try to fix it or just let it be.

That was until the night everything came crashing down.

I had gotten home late after a long study session at the library. I knew I had texts waiting for me, but when I opened my phone, my eyes immediately locked on Matt's name. I hadn't heard from him in a while, and this was the first message in hours.

Matt: "I've been avoiding you, I know. I don't want to make things weird. But we need to talk."

I froze, my stomach sinking. My first instinct was to text him back right away, to ask what he meant, to ask what was going on. But I knew Matt. He wasn't the type to open up easily, especially if he was feeling guilty about something. I decided it would be better to wait until we were in person.

But as if the universe was conspiring against me, the doorbell rang just as I set my phone down. I wasn't expecting anyone. When I opened the door, there stood Matt. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and his eyes didn't meet mine at first.

"Hey," he said softly, his voice almost unrecognizable to me.

"Hey," I replied, stepping aside to let him in. "What's going on? You okay?"

Matt didn't respond immediately. He walked inside and sat down on the couch, sighing heavily as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. I sat across from him, giving him space but also waiting for an explanation.

"I've been messing up," he said quietly, looking down at his hands. "I've been avoiding you, acting like everything's fine when it's not. And I'm sorry for that."

I couldn't help the frustration that started building up in my chest. "You don't need to apologize. But if something's wrong, you could tell me. You know I'm here for you, right?"

Matt's gaze lifted to meet mine then, but it was fleeting. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed again. "I know, but I didn't want to make things weird. I guess it's too late for that now."

I frowned, trying to understand where this was coming from. "Matt, if you're upset about something I did, just tell me. I can't fix things if you don't say anything."

Matt hesitated for a long moment. "It's not you. It's me," he muttered. "I've been avoiding you because I realized... I've been an idiot. I've been holding back something I should've said a long time ago. And now, I don't know if I even have the right to say it anymore."

I couldn't take it anymore. His words didn't make sense, and the tension was suffocating. "What are you talking about, Matt?"

He finally looked me in the eye, his voice barely above a whisper. "I've liked you for a long time, Y/N. Like, a long time. But I've kept it to myself because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I didn't want to mess things up. But it's been eating at me, and now, I've pushed you away, and I don't even know if you feel the same way."

My heart stopped, and I could feel the blood rushing to my head. Of course, I'd always known Matt was special to me, but hearing him say those words, hearing the vulnerability in his voice, made everything suddenly feel like it was crashing down around me.

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could get the words out, my phone buzzed on the table. It was a message from one of our mutual friends, Clara.

Madison: "Did you hear what happened with Matt and Sophia? Apparently, she's been all over him lately."

I froze. I didn't know what to feel, but suddenly, I couldn't stop my mind from racing. Sophia had always had a thing for Matt, and now that he was suddenly pulling away from me, was it possible that she had swooped in? Was that why he'd been acting so strange?

I looked back at Matt, feeling a mix of confusion and betrayal. "Sophia?" I asked, my voice unsteady.

Matt's face dropped, and he shook his head quickly. "No, no. It's not like that. I haven't been—"

I cut him off, my voice sharper than I meant it to be. "Then what is it? Why did you pull away from me all of a sudden? I thought we were friends, Matt."

He looked as if he were struggling with something, but before he could respond, I added, "I get it. If you like Sophia or someone else, that's fine. But don't make it sound like you're the victim here, Matt. Don't act like you've been this perfect friend when you've been pushing me away for weeks."

Matt's face flushed with guilt, and I saw the hurt in his eyes. I didn't want to hurt him, but something inside me snapped. My own emotions, all the unanswered questions, the lingering tension—it all came pouring out in that moment.

"You've been avoiding me for weeks, and now you want to tell me you like me? If karma's real, I hope it's your turn now, Matt. You can't just keep doing this and expect things to magically go back to normal."

I regretted saying it the moment the words left my mouth. Their weight was heavier than I had realized.

Matt stood up abruptly, pacing back and forth in frustration. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know," I said quietly, my voice trembling. "But it's not just about you, Matt. It's about how I feel, too. I'm tired of being confused. I'm tired of the games."

The room fell silent. Matt seemed to be processing my words, and I realized that I hadn't just hurt him—I had hurt myself, too, but I couldn't take it back. Maybe it was just time to let things be.

"Y/N," he said softly, his tone apologetic. "I'm sorry. I know I messed up. If you want me to stay out of your life, I will. I just... I just needed to say it. I didn't want to lose you without telling you how I feel."

I met his eyes, the pain still there, but the sincerity in his voice softening my anger. "You didn't lose me yet, Matt," I whispered.