how it feels to be alive {tom riddle}

forty-four: light and dark

LIGHT AND DARK

Lucia was awoken by a stream of dazzling sunlight piercing through the thick green curtains of the four-poster bed. It took her a second to take in her surroundings, especially the green hue that engulfed the small space.

Her cheek was against Tom's chest, slowly rising and falling with each of his breaths. He was still asleep, which was quite unusual considering he was usually the first awake. However, he supposed this wasn't the most dramatic change she'd seen in Tom.

Luckily it was a Saturday, so there was no rush in getting up. Lucia recast the muffliato on the small space, as she heard the rustling of covers as others in the dorm turned over in their beds.

She lay her head so she could look at Tom subtly, his aristocratic facial structure reflecting the light beautifully. His face was totally relaxed, with no tense in his jaw or lines in his forehead. She wished she could see him like this all the time.

They were both completely naked still, legs intertwined and breathing in sync. Lucia wouldn't have minded staying there forever.

"It's rude to stare." Tom mumbled lightly, his eyes still closed but his mouth turning up at the corners slightly into a smirk.

"How did you know?" Lucia asked in shock, considering she hadn't seen him open his eyes once so far that morning.

"You underestimate me, Lucia." He fired back, his dark eyes that were strangely bright in that moment fluttering open to look at her.

She had moved to have her chin resting on her hand on top of his chest, her hair tickling his skin lightly.

"How did you sleep?" She asked with a light smile.

"I am inclined to believe that that was the best sleep I've ever had." Tom revealed, bringing his hand to run through her hair from the back, both its colour and smooth texture was like golden honey dripping from his fingers.

"Me too." Lucia said in agreement, enjoying the prickles that ran down her neck from his touch.

A buzzing sound came from Tom's draw beside his bed, and Lucia stiffened.

"Is that my phone?" She asked in confusion.

"I was meaning to give it to you, but I didn't think it would work in the castle anyway." Tom explained, leaning to reach outside the curtains and into the draw for the device.

He placed the phone in her hand as she sat up and turned it on quickly. Tom's hands wrapped around her waist as she sat, obviously irritated she'd severed contact with him in the moment.

Muggle technology really didn't work inside Hogwarts unfortunately, but you could get a glitchy kind of picture of the screen on more advanced devices such as mobile phones.

There were many messages and missed calls from her friends, which she hurriedly looked at to ensure she hadn't missed anything important.

Mel had texted many times with messages addressed to Tom, considering last she'd know he was in possession of Lucia's phone.

Mel: Hi Tom, Have you been in contact with Lucia yet? I'm worried about her being so far away at boarding school in the state she was in when I left her.

Mel: Hi Tom, Can you post Lucia's phone to her by mail? I know you care about her andI need to see if she's alright, I don't want her to do anything stupid.

Mel: Hi Tom, I wouldn't tell you this if I wasn't worried for her safety, but Lucia has had some addiction and mental health issues in the past and I'm worried what's going on between you guys at the moment could trigger a relapse. I don't think they monitor them well at her school. Call me if you can.