Mattheo Riddle One Shots

Like We Were Nothing

¡Request!

Warnings: angst, betrayal, heartbreak, emotional manipulation, swearing, unhappy ending :(

Words: 534

The castle felt colder than usual.

Maybe it was the way your footsteps echoed too loudly through the dungeons. Maybe it was because you hadn't seen him in two days—no late-night meetings behind the Slytherin common room, no whispered promises in the library stacks, no stolen kisses between class periods.

Mattheo had gone quiet.

But you hadn't expected this.

You weren't even trying to find him—you were just heading back from your Potions study group when you saw them through the enchanted glass window of the Astronomy Tower stairwell. He wasn't trying to hide it. His hand was curled around hers—your best friend's. He was laughing. She leaned in close, all blush and flirty smiles, and he let her kiss his cheek.

You froze.

It was like someone had hexed you in place. A thousand emotions surged through you, but none of them could make your legs move.

You waited until they disappeared upstairs before you turned and ran.

⸻

It took him three hours to find you.

You were tucked away in the abandoned corridor on the fifth floor, the place where he first kissed you—right after your duel with that Ravenclaw prefect. You'd been bleeding, half-smiling through the pain, and he had told you he liked you better messy.

You'd thought it was charming, then.

Now, his voice just made your stomach turn.

"Why'd you run?" he asked, stepping into the dim light, like he hadn't just torn your heart out in front of you.

You didn't look at him. "You really gonna act like you don't know?"

Mattheo sighed. "If this is about lunch, that wasn't—"

"Lunch?" you cut him off, voice shaking. "You're calling it lunch?"

He rolled his eyes. "It was just lunch. She asked, I said yes. Don't make it a thing."

Your mouth dropped open. You were too stunned to cry—yet. "She kissed you."

He shrugged. "Yeah. So what?"

You stood up, fists clenched. "So what? You told me I mattered to you. That what we had was real."

"It was," he said, too casually. "Still is. But we never said we were exclusive."

You blinked. "Are you serious right now?"

Mattheo stepped closer, trying that charming smirk that used to make your heart race. "You're overthinking this. You're always in your head, love. I like you, yeah? But she's... fun. She's easy."

The words hit like knives. You recoiled.

"And I'm what?" you whispered. "Just your secret? Your backup?"

He frowned. "Don't be dramatic."

But you were already pulling away, hands shaking. "You don't get to call me dramatic when you're the one who kissed my best friend like I was nothing."

For once, he didn't have a retort. Just silence.

You stared at him, heart breaking open in your chest. "You know what the worst part is? I would've forgiven you. I wanted to believe you still cared."

Mattheo tilted his head. "I do—"

"No, you don't." Your voice cracked. "Not enough."

You turned to leave, but his voice stopped you one last time.

"You'll come back. You always do."

You didn't answer.

This time, you didn't.