IN

Y/N and Mattheo Riddle have always been… something. Not best friends. Not enemies. Not secretly pining since they were twelve. They’re simply two people who happen to run in the same Slytherin circles. They talk sometimes. They joke sometimes. They sit near each other at parties. They occasionally smoke together outside the castle. Nobody thinks they’re going to get together. Honestly? Neither do they. And that’s exactly what makes everything so fucking complicated. Because somewhere along the way, without either of them noticing, they become interlinked. Their moods affect each other. Their attention gravitates toward each other. Their jealousy appears before their feelings do. And neither of them has the slightest clue why. something changes. Not dramatically. Just… slightly. Mattheo starts noticing Y/N more. She’s walking through the corridor? He notices. She’s laughing with Theodore? He notices. She’s leaning against a wall talking to some Gryffindor boy? Oh, suddenly Mattheo has somewhere else to be. Except he doesn’t. He walks right past them. Slowly. Casually. Like he absolutely isn’t listening to every fucking word. Y/N starts doing the same. Mattheo flirting with someone? She suddenly becomes fascinated by the portraits. Mattheo laughing with another girl? Suddenly she’s got somewhere to go. Mattheo catches her staring once. Their eyes meet. Neither looks away immediately. There’s a tiny pause. Then Y/N rolls her eyes. Mattheo smirks. And they continue walking. Neither understands what just happened. Their jealousy gets worse. But because they’re not together, they both feel ridiculous for being jealous. Y/N catches herself thinking: Why the fuck do I care who he talks to? Mattheo thinks: Why the hell am I pissed off about some random bloke making her laugh? They both come to the same conclusion: They don’t care. Except they obviously fucking do. At parties, they’ll end up on opposite sides of the room.