A shift in fate | Mattheo Riddle

Six

"Don't." His voice was low, deadly serious.

I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head. "Don't what, Mattheo?"

His fingers twitched against my skin, his body rigid with restraint. "Don't fucking test me right now."

A slow, satisfied smile tugged at my lips. Gotcha.

I held his gaze for a moment longer, letting my smirk deepen. He had practically admitted it—maybe not in words, but in the way his body tensed, in the fire blazing behind his eyes. I had him right where I wanted him.

So, without another word, I pulled my wrist free from his grip and took a slow step back. Then another. My smirk never wavered. Neither did his glare.

"Goodnight, Riddle," I said, my voice dripping with amusement. I turned on my heel, striding toward the door with purpose, knowing full well his eyes were still burning into me.

"Fucking hell," Mattheo muttered under his breath.

I smiled to myself but kept walking, refusing to give him the satisfaction of turning back.

As I made my way back to the dorm room, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, seeing three messages from Jane that made me stop in my tracks.

V, what is taking so long?! – 3:38 AM
HELLO??? Spill the tea, girl. – 3:52 AM
WAIT, ARE YOU FUCKING????? YOU TOTALLY ARE. – 4:09 AM

I stared at the last message, my cheeks burning. I quickly typed back, my fingers shaking from laughter and a bit of panic.

JANE, OMG WHAT???? We did NOT 'fuck' 😭 I'm on my way back now. 

I hit send, rolling my eyes at her over-the-top messages as I continued down the hallway. As I reached the dorm door, I braced myself for her interrogation.

I pushed open the door to our dorm room, and sure enough, Jane was already sitting up in bed, arms crossed, a smug smirk plastered across her face. Her eyes practically sparkled with mischief as she watched me walk in.

I let out a tired laugh, shaking my head. "Jane, it's bloody late. Go to sleep."

She scoffed, tossing a pillow at me, which I barely dodged. "Oh, hell no. You are not walking in here at four in the morning after sneaking off to meet Mattheo Riddle and expecting me to just sleep like nothing happened. Spill. Every. Single. Detail."

I sighed dramatically, tossing myself onto my bed. "There's nothing to spill."

Jane gasped, sitting up even straighter. "You're lying. I know you are."

I rolled onto my side, burying my face in my pillow to hide my grin. "I swear, Jane."

"V," she warned, dragging out my name. "You met up alone in the Astronomy Tower in the middle of the night, and you're telling me nothing happened?"

I peeked at her from behind my pillow, my lips twitching. "...Depends on what you mean by nothing."

Jane let out a high-pitched squeal, grabbing another pillow and smacking me with it. "I knew it!"

I smirked, propping myself up on my elbows. "Alright, alright... we did have a hot make-out sesh."

Jane's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "NO. WAY." She practically launched herself across the bed toward me. "You did not—V, are you serious?! You made out with Mattheo Riddle?!"

I bit my lip, holding back my laugh for a moment before finally cracking. "Just kidding," I said, grinning. "Nothing like that happened."

Jane gasped, shoving me so hard I nearly fell off the bed. "You absolute bitch, don't play with me like that!"

I was full-on laughing now, shaking my head. "Sorry, sorry! But honestly, we didn't even come close to that. We actually got into a huge fight."

Jane's playful expression shifted into something more serious. "Wait... what?" She frowned. "Was he really that pissed?"

I sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted all over again. I flopped back against my pillow. "Oh, you know... just him being a complete asshole and calling me a slut for kissing Cedric."

Jane's jaw dropped. "He what?"

I nodded. "Yep."

"Oh, I will be murdering him first thing in the morning."

"Believe me, I'd love that," I said, letting out a small laugh. "But you can't say anything to him about this, Jane."

She huffed, crossing her arms. "V, come on. He doesn't get to talk to you like that and just walk away unscathed."

"I'll handle it myself," I assured her, giving her a small, tired smile. "But thanks, Jane. Really."

She let out a dramatic sigh, but I could tell she was relenting. "Fine," she muttered. "But if he so much as looks at you the wrong way again, I'm hexing him into next week."

I laughed. "Noted."

Jane yawned, finally sinking back into her pillows. "You stress me out," she mumbled sleepily.

"Trust me, I stress myself out," I replied, pulling my blanket up to my chin.

As the room settled into a comfortable silence, I stared at the ceiling, my mind still racing.

I turned onto my side, pulling my blanket tighter around me. It was my first time actually falling asleep in my dorm, and a small part of me was scared—scared that I'd wake up back in my cold, dull bedroom, realizing this had all just been some wild, elaborate dream. That I'd open my eyes and be right back where I started, just me, my boring reality, and none of this.

I let out a slow breath, my heart still racing from everything that had happened tonight. It was insane to think that just this morning, I had woken up in my dormroom for the first time, buzzing with excitement, still trying to process that I was actually here. And now? I'd already lived through a full day of absolute chaos—a party, truth or dare, Mattheo losing his goddamn mind over me kissing Cedric, sneaking out in the middle of the night, nearly fighting with Mattheo Riddle in the Astronomy Tower.

I should have been exhausted. And I was. But my brain wouldn't stop replaying everything. The way the castle felt alive around me, the way I had fit into this world so seamlessly, like I had always belonged here. This was everything I had dreamed of, everything I had scripted. And yet, it was already proving to be so much more than I could've ever expected.

I smiled to myself, my fingers gripping the soft fabric of my blanket. I'm really here.

But then my thoughts drifted back to Mattheo—his dark, furious eyes, the tension radiating off him, the way he had looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered and the thing he hated the most all at once.

I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut. Don't think about him right now. Just sleep. I literally scripted everything, it will be okay.

And eventually, despite the whirlwind in my mind, the weight of the day finally caught up to me, pulling me under into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Authors note: Hope you liked this part, lmk! Also,I mini-shifted AGAIN last night?! IEEE I've been making so much progress lately!