She Saved Me | Tom Riddle

Friends

Hey!!! I'm back, woo! I really liked writing this chapter and I hope it was worth the long wait

Listen: A Close Friend from the fantastic beasts soundtrack
(You'll know which part that fits)

Or perhaps in slytherin you'll make your real friends..

13| friends

A few days after their venture out, Tom found himself growing more comfortable in the Merin household. He, surprisingly, felt different about his place with them after speaking to Lizzie. It took him time to process the mere thought that they like having him around. He was familiar with being unwanted and now that someone did, he was left confused.

The atmosphere around the Merins is drastically different from what he knew. He was hated by the other children at the orphanage, long before he gave them reason to. He was nothing but a freak to them, too different from them. He was a burden to those running the orphanage. But that all changed when he turned eleven. He wasn't a freak; No he was special, better than the rest of them. He made sure they knew that. Once at school, he finally felt like he was where he was meant to be. He wouldn't allow anyone to ruin it. No one was going to push him around. He wanted their respect, he wanted them to fear him. And fear him, they did.

He was perfect to his professors, he made sure he was. He made sure he was envied by other students. His reputation was perfect, spotless. And it was all to hide what was underneath. He cared little about inflicting pain on those he deemed deserving. He rarely praised those who he felt were worthy. Because, in his eyes, no one was. Back then, he felt he didn't need 'friends'. They served no purpose for him and gave him no benefit. He wanted followers, those that would listen to him. He chose each of them for a specific reason. They were his pawns, his way of expanding his power.

But now, now he didn't have them. He was once again the odd one, the freak. He considered expressing an interest in friendship towards others this time around, but that would be difficult. Perhaps his relationship with Ava could be considered friendly or perhaps not. Ava. Her sweet persona was almost enough to change his heart, almost. He knew though, her warm and open personality held something else inside. Something so fierce, he could almost feel it. He was curious to find it. For the life of him, he could not figure out how she ended up in the house of serpents. Then again he didn't quite know her. Did he want to? Would he benefit from letting her in?

Now there's a thought. The lovely Ava Merin friends with the infamous Tom Riddle. What a shock that would cause.

Sighing, Tom ran his hand through his hair. Laying his head against the headboard, which he was leaning on, he closed his eyes. He came up to his room with the intention of resting, but his thoughts wouldn't stop. When he escaped to the refuge of his silent room, Ava was preparing for guests. He didn't know who she was expecting, but left her to it anyways. He gave the excuse of wanting to be out of her way, but he knows she didn't believe that. She invited him to join.

Should I bother? Just to sate my curiosity of course. They might be useful to me later.

Listening for other sounds in the house, he couldn't hear anything suggesting that her guests were there. Frowning, Tom sat up from the headboard and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He ran a hand through his hair again to fix any misplaced strands. He stood and straightened his shirt, brushing out the wrinkles and walked to the door.

Stepping out he hesitated upon hearing voices. He could identify Ava's, but the others were new. He could identify two separate voices, one male and one female. They sounded young. Closing the door to 'his' room, he soundlessly made his way down the stairs. Following the direction of the voices he found his way to the sitting room. Sitting on the love seat next to Ava was the girl and the boy was seated in the armchair across from them.