Mattheo Riddle - Imagines/OneShot

Spiral

Word Count: 897

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The air in Diagon Alley felt too thick, like the very cobblestones were whispering his name. Every corner, every shadow reminded me of him. The way he leaned against the store shops, lazy and dangerous. The way he said my name like it was both a challenge and a prayer. Mattheo Riddle had a way of owning the air I breathed, even when he wasn't there.

Which is why I said yes when Pansy offered escape.

"Come on, love," she'd said, linking her arm through mine. "One night in the Muggle world won't kill you. And maybe it'll make you forget."

Forget. As if that were possible.

Still, I went. I had to. I knew if I stayed in the wizarding world any longer, I'd end up at his door. Again.

And I couldn't. Not when I had Callum.

Callum Avery was everything Mattheo wasn't. Callum is kind, steady, uncomplicated. He laughed easily, never raised his voice, and looked at me like I was something soft, something precious. He made sense. He made life simple.

So why did simple feel so suffocating?

The club was nothing like Hogsmeade pubs or the elegant hush of wizarding soirees. It was loud. Chaotic. The music thrummed in my bones, lights strobed across dancing bodies, and Pansy pulled me deeper into the crush of it all with a grin that dared me to let go.

It was going great. I let myself go, trying to forget the one thing that was keeping me back.

I laughed with her. I swayed to the rhythm. I let Callum's face flicker in my thoughts, reminded myself of his warmth, his easy devotion. He was the one I should be thinking of.

Then the song shifted.

The beat slowed, the lyrics pouring through the speakers, and it was like the air itself tilted. The room blurred. All I could hear was that voice in my head—not Callum's, but his. Mattheo's.

The way he whispered "mine" when no one else could hear. The way he said goodbye like it was temporary, like he never meant it.

Suddenly I wasn't in the club anymore. I was in the Slytherin common room, my back pressed against cold stone, his hands bracketing my body, his breath against my ear.

"You'll come back," he had said once, dark eyes burning into mine. "Even if you don't want to. It's inevitable. You'll always come back. And I'll be here waiting."

And Merlin, he was right. Because standing there in the middle of a muggle club, surrounded by lights and strangers and the safe escape I begged for, I felt it all over again—the ache, the fire, the pull.

Pansy's voice was in my ear, urging me to dance, to let go, but my body was frozen, my heart thundering to a rhythm that had nothing to do with the music.

Callum's face was fading from my mind. And all I could see was Mattheo. Always Mattheo.

Before I knew it, I was pushing past strangers, through the heavy doors, out into the night.

The cool air hit me like a shock, sharp and desperate, but it wasn't enough. My chest heaved and my pulse pounded in my ears. Then–

Across the street, in the flickering light of a lone lamppost, I saw him.

Mattheo.

Leaning causally, shadows wrapped around him like he belonged to the night itself. His eyes seemed to find mine instantly, piercing, consuming. For a moment, I couldn't breathe.

I took a step forward.

Then another.

The world seemed to bend, pavement rippling beneath my feet, and just as I neared, he vanished.

I stumbled, heart hammering, scanning the street. And there was was again—closer this time, leaning like he'd been waiting for me all along. My legs moved without a thought, chasing him across the uneven sidewalk, weaving through empty streets.

But every time I thought I could reach him, he flickered, gone. No where to be found as if he was like smoke curling through my fingers. My chest ached and my mind spun. He's here. He has to be here.

"Y/N!" Pansy's voice cut through the night. My name, sharp and frantic, grounded me for a moment. I turned, breathless, and saw her jogging to me, coat flapping behind her. "What are you doing?!"

"I gasped, pointing shakily across the street. "He's here! Mattheo–he was—"

Pansy grabbed my shoulders, steadying me, and I nearly collapsed into her. "Y/N, look at me. There's no one there."

"Yes, there is!" I insisted, panic rising. "I swear! He was leaning against the post! I saw him, I—I was going to–"

She shook her head gently, brushing hair from my face. "No, love. He's not here."

I swallowed, tears prickling the corners of my eyes. My heart still thundering, I glanced back at the empty street, the shadows twisting where he had just been.

I pressed my face into my hands, shaking with the need to chase him again, to reach him, to confirm he was real. But even as I listened to Pansy's words, I felt it in my chest: the pull, the ache, the ghost of him, relentless and perfect.

And I knew the truth I couldn't escape: no matter where I ran, no matter who I tried to love, a part of me would always see him. Always chase him. Always belong to him.

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Obviously inspired by TSITP, haha. BUT OMGGGGG I can't believe I didn't start watching it sooner. I binged watched it in like one week

Also, so sorry for not updating. I haven't had any inspo or time to write but I just came up with three different drafts. Yay me

Stay Beautiful <3