how it feels to be alive {tom riddle}

fifteen: fling

FLING

trigger warning: mentions of addiction

The following days were much like many Tom and Lucia had spent together, with time spent watching muggle television from their beds and leaving the hotel occasionally to get food.

This was becoming a kind of routine, where neither wanted to face what was to come. One event of which was Lucia's impending return to Hogwarts.

Lucia had promised to meet with her friends Mel and Darcy, of whom Tom knew from the bar. Tom had insisted he'd rather stay at the hotel than come with Lucia, which she was somewhat happy about considering she hadn't been able to spend time with her friends since his arrival.

Lucia put a pair of black jeans and a light green, silky tie up shirt, pulling her hair back into a high ponytail.

She got an Uber to an urban looking bar, with advertisements for fancy cocktails and DJs playing the coming days lining the outside walls.

When she entered, she saw Darcy and Mel already at a small table with drinkss in hand.

"Hey! So sorry I'm a bit late, the traffic was horrific." Lucia said to announce her presence and leaned in to hug both the girls who looked up smiling at her.

"Hey! Girl, don't even worry. We started drinking already though, I hope you don't mind." Mel assured, raising her half empty glass. Her dark, voluminous hair was cascading down her shoulders, which were covered by a blue shirt paired with a black textured skirt that complemented her dark skin tone beautifully.

Lucia sat down and ordered a martini from the bartender, who gave her a charming smile and wink which she chose to ignore.

"So what have you two been up to? Alannah's birthday feels like so long ago." Lucia asked, placing her phone on the table face down so they had her full attention.

"Well I've started my new internship at the publishing agency. It's been incredible, the way some of those people's minds work is fascinating to witness." Mel explained.

Lucia was always the youngest amongst her friends, preferring spending time with those of a higher level if maturity.

"That sounds amazing, I'm so happy you've decided to follow that pathway. You just wouldn't have been happy in the law degree." Lucia assured, happy to hear positive news.

The bartender sat a glass in front of her and she thanked him warmly.

"Yeah, I'm really happy I went that way too. I don't think I would have ever done it without your encouragement though. So thank you." Mel responded, alcohol slightly affecting her, but her words were genuine nonetheless.

"How about you, Darc? What's happening with uni?" Lucia steered the conversation to Darcy, taking a big sip from her drink.

"It's going really well. It's actually where I met Patrick, who you would have seen at Alannah's. I'm finding the course so enthralling, even if I am drowning in readings half the time." Darcy chuckled, running her fingers through her brown hair. She had on a dark mesh shirt with black leather-looking pants, accentuating the paleness of her skin.

"That's so good." Lucia responded, "Patrick seems great."

"Yeah, I'm so lucky to have found him. It's nice to be with someone you can actually have a decent conversation with, you know?" Darcy explained, "How about you Lucia? What's been going on with you and Tom?"

Lucia chuckled, taking another sip from her drink. "Well to be honest my life has been a bit of a mess lately. I finally moved out of home, but I'm just in a hotel for now since I'll be going back to school soon." Lucia explained. She had always told her muggle friends that she attended a boarding school far away, and surprisingly most of them didn't ask a lot of questions.