She [Tom Riddle]

thirteen

"Go on then, tell me everything." Celeste said, still looking away from Tom.

Tom sighed. "The bet, it was true. We always played that game, not just on you, but to the other girls as well, including Lavender Brown. And when they picked you, i didn't think of anything else. I knew it would be easy to get into you, just like the rest. But turns out, i'm wrong. Not because you're hard to get, but because you're not worth to be played by us, especially by me. So i decided to stop playing."

Celeste cried silently. This time, she turned to face Tom. He couldn't see her clearly. She stood in the dark. "That's evil, what you did to me and Lavender. I want to forgive you and give you another chance. But on the other hand, i know i don't deserve this."

He walked closer. Enough to finally saw her face, covered in tears. He felt uneasy by the time he saw her face. He did that to her. To the person that trusted him the most. He wanted to embrace her, but how dare he? "Celeste, i don't care. If you can't forgive me, i deserve that. But hear me out, hear the confession that i about to make."

Celeste wiped the tears away. "Another one?"

"The most important." He said.

"Go on then." At this point, she was ready for everything.

"I never tell anyone else about myself, but right here, right in this moment, i'll tell you everything about me. So ask me. Ask me anything you want"

Everytime the universe gave her a single reason to hate Tom, he would always be there to gave her million reasons not to. Everytime she told herself that she needed to stay away from him, he would always be there to hold her.

She didn't need him to tell his miserable life. She knew how painful it was for him. All she ever wanted was for him to be a friend for her. To tried his best not to hurt her. Maybe even tried to love her the way she did. But she knew now. He didn't understand. He would never understand.

Too painful to let go, but too foolish to forgive.

"Tom, i have feelings for you, right before christmas. But i heard what they say, i saw what they've been through, so i decided to throw away all my feelings for you by being friends. It was really hard, but it had to be done."

She needed to let everything out.

"I know that there is some part of you that wants to feel love, real love. To me, you are not a monster, or a heartless boy. To me, you're just a lost boy, who needs someone to guide him. And i know you never meant to hurt anyone. Including me."

He never knew what regret felt like. At this moment, he felt something inside him. He felt like he wanted to slammed himself to the wall. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was. He wanted to hug her. Hell, he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to ease her pain. He wanted to glue back her broken heart. As selfish as it sounded, he wanted her to forgive him. He needed her back. He didn't want to let go of her.

Celeste once again turned her back on Tom. This was her first heartbreak and she never thought it would be this painful.

This wasn't what Celeste wanted. She wanted to end up with him. But she knew, the more she forced it to happen, the more she would get hurt. The more he would broke her heart.

Tom stepped in front of Celeste. He placed his hands on her cheeks slowly. She looked up. Their faces were inches away. He took her breath away, every single time.

"No worries, Tom. We're friends. And friends fight sometimes. I forgive you. And i'm sorry too." Tom wanted to say something but Celeste said it first. She was scared that he would say something that hurt her.

He was surprised. He wasn't expecting that. So what did he expect? He couldn't fathom himself. So he hugged her. And there they were, lost in their own thoughts. When he let go, all the tears on her face had gone. The smile came back. It made Tom smiled too.

"Celeste, i'm sorry."

As weird as it sounded. He said his very first sorry. A sorry that actually means something.

That night, truth had been told, and once again, feelings had to end.

Most importantly, everything between them were clear. They loved each other too much. Almost like an addiction. But she knew that no future holds for them. And he knew he would hurt her over and over again even though he never meant that to happen.

~