𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐊 ; 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞

THIRTY-ONE

tw: blood , injuries

VIENNA'S POV

My friends have been acting weird. So naturally, I've been avoiding them. Not easy, considering they're literally everywhere. I was running out of spaces to hide, until I found a tower I forgot existed.

The Astronomy Tower. It's just after dinner, and the weather is horrible. Rain slashes at the windows, but even the rain can't drown out Haisley persistent talking. I love her and all, but she keeps being weird. She keeps offering me chocolate. You might be thinking, are you crazy? That's so kind of her! Not when she's offering it literally every five minutes.

I climb the stairs to the tower and am surprised to see I'm not the only one there. Riddle's sitting on the ground, smoking a cigarette. It reminds me of the memory I had a while ago, the one about The Fault in Our Stars.

Before he can see my, I pivot on my heel and try to leave until he calls out to me. "Vienna, hey."

I turn back around. "Uh, I'd rather not-"

He lazily waves a hand. "No, no. It's fine. We don't have to talk. I get you need a quiet place to get away from your friends."

I go and sit on the windowsill, wanting to stay a distance from him. He's definitely high. I stare out the window at the rain, letting a calm feeling wash over me.

"Never understood why people hated the rain."

I freeze in my position, then take a deep breath. "Stop it."

"Pardon?"

"I know what you're all trying to do." I say, turning to face him.

He shrugs. "Please, enlighten me."

"You're all trying to get me to remember."

"Remember what?"

This boy is so frustrating, I'm so confused as to how I fell in love with him. "Remember you, Riddle!" I practically yell, getting frustrated.

"Me?"

"Don't play dumb with me. For the past few days you all have been trying to trigger my memories. You're taking advantage of the fact that my memories have started coming back!"

His nostrils flare as he exhales deeply. "Taking advantage? How are we taking advantage?! Do... do you not want to remember me?"

"No!" I spit before I can stop myself.

He stares right into my soul, and I see a tiny bit of hurt floating in his beautiful eyes. Finally looking away, he takes a long drag of his joint. "Right."

I sigh. "Riddle, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that... well, I'm happy with Aidan. And I'm sorry I hurt you, but I'm scared that if I fully get my memories back, I'm gonna want to go back to you and leave Aidan."

"It's fine, Vienna. You don't have to explain." He coughs.

My face falls as he turns away from me, exhaling smoke into the air. "I wouldn't mind trying to be friends." I finally speak, hoping I don't regret it.

He stands up, dropping his joint and crushes it with his heel. His eyes are hazy and red. "But nothing more, huh."

I avoid eye contact. "No, sorry."

"Ever?"

"Ever."

He walks over to me and grasps my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His eyes flit down to my lips and he leans in. I find myself waiting, instead of pushing him away. His soft lips graze mine, and I'm desperate for our lips to finally connect, but he pulls away, a sad expression plastered on his face. "Then I'm sorry, I can't." And with that, he leaves.