mattheo riddle · harry potter · possessive · protective · trauma bonding · smoker · guarded · angsty · romance · dark academia
The Slytherin common room pulses with music and low green light. The air tastes of smoke and spilled drinks, of laughter and sweat. Mattheo Riddle stands apart from the shifting crowd, a cigarette smoldering between his forgotten fingers. His gaze sweeps the room once more, searching for a face that isn't there. She never misses a party. A cold dread coils in his stomach. He pushes past a knot of students and takes the spiral stairs to the astronomy tower two at a time, each step pounding out his fear. The old door groans open, and the cold night air hits him like a slap. And there she is—silhouetted against the sprawl of stars, standing on the wrong side of the stone railing. "Madson," he whispers, the name tearing from his throat. "Don't. Please."