𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒐𝒚 | mattheo riddle

24 | the kind side

Sunday 19th November 2023
5:48 pm

When I first got that letter from my parents, my hands couldn't stop shaking. I shoved it into my bottom drawer and never opened it. I couldn't bare to - I didn't have the guts whatsoever. My heart pounded, my head spun and I couldn't go sleep for the rest of the night.

That was the first time in months since my parents even bothered to contact me, and I was too scared to find out what they wanted from me... especially since what happened with my brother. It was at this exact age the same thing happened to him... and it resulted in him not being here anymore.

Apart from that disturbing experience, Theo's been speaking to me like normal, and Riddle's been shooting daggers at me like normal, knowing that he's told me about what Theodore did. But that's another thing I can't cope to do - I can't even bother asking Theo about it since it'll just break my heart further...

Plus, we're not even 'together' anymore, so would it make a difference? I guess not... but I really wanted to find out who he cheated on me with, and when it actually happened.

But the thing is, the only person who knows about it is Riddle. He knows about Theo, and he knows about the letter my parents sent me... which is fucking annoying since he's the person I hate the most.

Riddle and I haven't spoke much, apart from the quarrels we've had every training session after school at six for the past week... and in around twenty minutes I'll be meeting him again for training.

I don't know why I decided to run the club everyday. I guess it's beneficial in a way, since it's keeping me fit too. I'm not as athletic as I used to be, so this practice is doing me good, and unfortunately it's doing Riddle good too.

He's picked up on a lot of the moves quite fast.

Suddenly, there's a knock at my door so I head over and unlock it, groaning when I see Riddle stood there, dressed with a puffer jacket, black gloves, and a beanie over his curly locks.

Why does he look... good?

"What's up?" I ask.

"Get dressed in something warm." Is all he says, and before I can speak he says, "No questions asked."

He closes my door for me, leaving me intrigued. I decide to go along with whatever he has planned, and put on my uggs, white beanie and north face jacket. I also wrap a wooly scarf around my neck. I put my white gloves matching with my beanie on my hands, and remember to touch up my makeup. I went for the cold girl look today, to match the vibes of the chilly weather outside.

I open the door and find Riddle still there, this time leaning against the wall with his phone in his hands. He looks up at me when he realises I'm here, his eyes light up.

"Shocked you listened." He states.

"Appreciate it whilst it lasts." I say, and walk down the stairs with him following me from behind.

"Lead the way." He sighs and I laugh a little. Over this past week I've realised that being nice to Riddle sometimes makes him less annoying, so I've decided to do just that. I'll treat him nicely for now, until he says or does something that will piss me off again.

We make it through the common room, earning stares and whispers from the few people that are there, and then stroll through the hallways.

"Let's race." He says suddenly and I look up at him in confusion.

"Oh okay-"

"One two three go." He says suddenly and I squeal as he suddenly sets off, and I try my best to catch up to him, eventually the both of us running side by side as we sprint through the corridors. The breeze hits my face and adrenaline runs through my blood as I begin to laugh.

I attempt to nudge Riddle to push him off his track, and he yells. "Oi!" With that, I manage to beat him by a couple of metres when we reach the gates of the castle. We stop and try to catch our breath, both of us laughing. "You cheated. I'm not having that." He states.

"Sucks to suck." I shrug.

"Suck my-"

"Don't." I state, with a serious expression on my face as I cover his mouth with my gloved hand.

We finally make it out of the castle, and I finally feel the cold icy air hit my skin. "I love the winter season."

"Because of Christmas?" He says and I nod with a smile. "Weirdo."

"Oi. How do you even know that?"

"Wild guess." He shrugs, and carries on walking, a bit to fast for my liking.

"Where are we even going?" I ask and realise when we approach the Black Lake. It's frozen over, and the full moon's light shines down on the ice, making it glimmer and sparkle... looking as if it's something out of a fairytale. "Oh my... I've never seen it like this before."

"That's because they don't let students come out when it's frozen. It's too dangerous." He explains.

"And you've brought me here, because?" I look up at him and he sighs.

"I don't know why I do half the things that I do Jaya. So don't even bother asking me because I don't know myself." He breathes out, and for some reason it makes me laugh.

"That's funny."

"No it's not."

"It really is." I smile.

"Come sit here." He says, and I follow him and watch as he sits in front of one of the trees on the icy ground, giving a perfect view of the landscape before us. I sit beside him and breathe, the hot air from my lungs forming a cloud with the cold air outside.

"I guess no training today, huh?" I ask and he nods.

"We needed a break. It's Sunday." He states.

"How considerate of you Riddle."

"Jaya..."

"Mhm?"

"I don't want you to call me Riddle anymore." He tells me and suddenly my heart sinks, instantly realising what he means, and understanding where he's coming from. Even though he's annoying all the time, I'm sympathetic enough to listen to this one wish.

"Okay Mattheo." I reply and he looks over at me, his face lighting up. He rubs the top of my head playfully and I laugh, whacking his hand away.

"Jaya." He says and pauses for a moment as if to think about whether he should continue speaking. "Did you open the letter your parents sent you?"

My stomach flips.

"I... I didn't. It's gonna sound really dumb but I was too scared." He nods and looks down, picking up a rock from the ground and then throwing it across the ice. I watch as it slides quite far across the slippery surface.

"You should open it."

"I know I should, but I can't... and it's not like I can get anybody else to do it for me because nobody else knows." I shrug, my voice shaking slightly at the thought.

"I'll do it." He says and I look up at him confused.

"Why would you do it?"

"I have a kind soul." He shrugs. "And I'm nosey."

"Right." I chuckle a little. "Would you actually though?"

"Mhm. I don't mind."

"Thank you... Mattheo."

He grins and looks down, his face turning red.

Handsome.