Lexi

It had been few days since our last encounter, and I’d been thinking of him. Thinking about our last conversation, how his grey eyes looked as he watched me. I shook my head, trying to shake the thoughts away. I looked down at the food in front of me, my mind a little distracted as the people sitting near me talked. Every so often, I’d glance towards the other end of the table, where I could see Mattheo sat with his best friends. 

Wait a minute what am i thinking? Mattheo Riddle? good looking? Ew no. I hate him he's...he's so...so ughhh I don't know. I continued to stare at him, admiring how good his long brown hair looked, and how the black hoodie he was wearing made him look even more attractive. I found my gaze linger on his face, tracing his strong jaw line and how the light hit the right side of his face. He was so damn attractive, it actually made my chest tighten and my stomach flutter. Wait- no. God!! I needed to stop myself from thinking these things.

I tried to focus back on my friends talking, but my eyes kept being drawn to him. I mentally cursed myself, annoyed that I kept staring at him. As I kept looking, he glanced my way, our eyes locking for a second. I quickly look away, my cheeks flushing at the fact that he just caught me staring, which made my annoyance increase. For some reason though, a tiny part of me wished he would come over here and talk to me. That he’d come over here and sit next to me, and talk to me and ask me how I was. But I knew that would never happen, nor should I want it to happen. I pushed the thoughts out of my head, and continued listening to the conversation my friends were having. 

I glanced over again, my eyes immediately locking with Mattheos again. This time however, he held my gaze, a curious look in his eyes. I felt a shiver run down my spine, feeling his gaze on me and the intensity of it. He was looking at me like he was studying me, trying to figure something out. I quickly averted my eyes again, my cheeks feeling a bit hot again. Damnit. Why was I reacting like this. 

A look at my friend and excuses myself. After leaving the great hall I head to the Slytherin common room. God only knows how badly I need to get out of there. At least put some distance between us for my sanity's sake. As soon as I left the Great Hall, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. It felt good to be away from the stares, and most of all, away from Mattheos intense gaze. I hurriedly walked down the halls towards the Slytherin common room, wanting to get there as quickly as possible. I needed time alone to clear my head and rid myself of the thoughts and feelings surrounding Mattheo.

I finally reached the entrance to the common room, quickly giving the password before walking in. I looked around, and luckily no one was here right now. Most of the students were still finishing up dinner, so I had the room to myself for a bit. I walked in, immediately walking over to the couch by the fireplace and sitting down, letting out a sigh and leaning my head back. I sat there for a few seconds, just soaking up the silence. My mind was still racing, and my heart was pounding rapidly. I couldn’t get thoughts of him out of my head. Why was I thinking about him like this? And when did I start finding him attractive? No! I shouldn’t find him attractive. He was a jerk, egotistical, rude and selfish. There was no way I should find him attractive. But even as I told myself this, I couldn’t get his stupid face out of my head.

I let out a frustrated sigh, and ran my hands through my hair, trying to calm myself down. It felt like my mind was at war against itself. One part of me despised Mattheo, and yet another part of me was slowly starting to…like him. Ugh, the very idea seemed absurd and insane. It was Mattheo for God's sake, the last person in the world I was supposed to have a crush on.

My mind was swirling with thoughts and emotions, and I just wanted to find some way to quiet the internal conflict. After a few minutes of sitting there in silence, I heard shuffling and the quiet sound of footsteps approaching. I looked up, and to my absolute horror, I saw none other than Mattheo himself making his way over. Was the universe against me or something. WHAT I EVER DO TO YOU?!?!? I quickly looked away, not wanting him to see how his presence made me feel. I could feel him get closer and closer as he walked over, before finally stopping a few feet away from me. I could feel him staring down at me, but I kept my gaze averted, not wanting to look at him.

The silence between us was thick and heavy, neither of us speaking or making a noise. I continued to look down at my hands, waiting for him to say something, anything. The longer the silence went on, the more anxious and uncomfortable I felt. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke up. "Why were you staring at me during dinner?" His voice was low, almost a whisper. But there was an edge to it too, a hint of annoyance. I swallowed, the sound of his voice sending a shiver down my spine. I still didn’t look at him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me flustered and unnerved. So I do what I can....I shrug.....

"I wasn't trying to i was looking at something else, then I spaced out" He let out a scoff, and I could hear the disbelief in his voice. I could practically hear him rolling his eyes

"Cut the bullshit. Stop trying to lie. We both know you weren't looking at anything else, and certainly weren’t spacing out"

I kept my gaze locked on my hands, my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Damnit, I knew he wouldn't believe a word I said. I knew he was going to call me out and press me, that was the type of person he was. After a few seconds of silence, I spoke up again

"Why do you care so much if I was staring at you or not anyway?" There was a hint of annoyance in my voice, my frustration starting to get the better of me. Why was he bothering me about this anyway? It's not like I'd been watching him the entire time, or staring intently. I'd gotten distracted for a few seconds while watching him, but it's not like it had been that bad. Plus, it was no business of his what I was doing or watching. Just as I was about to say something else, I heard him scoff again.

"I don't care. I just think it's weird that you're so obsessed with me that you have to stare at me all through dinner. Can’t seem to keep your eyes off me, can you"

He said it with such a smug tone, I already wanted to punch him in the face. I clenched my fists, anger and annoyance bubbling inside me. Obsessed with him? Was he delusional or something? My eyes finally met his, a defiant look in them "I am NOT obsessed with you. The only reason I happened to look your way was because you were in my line of sight. I barely even watched you, I was just distracted" He raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile plastered on his face. I hated that smile, it made him look so smug and arrogant, "Distracted, huh? Distracted by what? What was so fascinating that you just had to stare at me for several minutes?"

I clenched my jaw, gritting my teeth slightly. Why was he so relentless about this? Why was he always so infuriating? "It's none of your damn business. But since you're so eager to know, I was actually staring at the window behind you". He chuckled, a cocky smirk on his face. I clenched my fists tighter, resisting the urge to punch him in the face "The window, huh? Right, cause that's so much more interesting than me. Can't say I blame you though, I am rather handsome after all" he said, arrogance practically dripping from his voice.

I rolled my eyes, an annoyed scoff leaving my throat, "Oh please, your ego is bigger than you are. Who do you think you are, the worlds most handsome man? Get over yourself"

"Oh my dear Lexi, there's no denying that I'm the most handsome guy at this school. Everyone knows it, it's a fact." He said it so matter-of-factly, I wanted to strangle him. He was so cocky and arrogant, it was infuriating. I just wanted to punch the smug smile off his face, or shut him up. So I did 

My hand acted on its own accord, pulling back before launching forward and connecting with his cheek with a loud smack. I heard him let out a gasp, followed by a low curse. He stepped back, a hand lifting to rest on his now reddening cheek, his eyes on me. There was a look in his eyes, shock and anger, mixed with something else I couldn’t put my finger on. Silence fell over us, the only sound coming from the fireplace crackling away. Neither of us moved or spoke, just staring at each other. His eyes were still full of anger and shock, with something else in the mix. A few seconds later, he spoke up, his voice low and tight "Did you just slap me?"

I held his gaze, not backing down. I knew what I’d just done, and I didn’t regret it one bit. It felt pretty damn satisfying to slap that cocky and smug look off his face. I squared my shoulders, tilting my chin up slightly defiantly "Yes. I slapped you. Problem?"

His jaw clenched, a muscle in his jaw twitching. I could practically see the annoyance and anger radiating from him. He was pissed off, and there was no denying it, "You have some nerve slapping me like that. You think that just cause you’re a girl, that I won’t hit you back?" Oh shit...i forgot this is Mattheo riddle. Not some random person, no he'll fucking murder me.

He stepped closer to me, a dangerous look in his eyes. Fear and anxiety settled into my stomach, but I refused to back down. I stood my ground, meeting his gaze with a defiant look of my own. This probably wasn’t a good idea, I knew by the look on his face that he was furious, and a part of me worried he’d hit me back in retaliation. He took another step closer, only inches away from me now. I had to look up slightly to hold his gaze, but I refused to look away. The tension between us was thick, and I could practically feel the anger just rolling off of him. For a brief second, I wondered if I should just apologize and back down, but my pride wouldn’t allow me to back down now, even if he was going to do something in retaliation. I swallowed, mentally preparing myself for whatever was about to happen.

He was so close that I could smell his cologne, a woodsy scent that was oddly intoxicating, Oh come on Lexi nows not the time to be thinking about how good he smells, I mentally scold myself. He was also close enough I could see his eyes more clearly now. They were a dark grey color, almost black, and they were filled with anger and annoyance, with something else I couldn’t quite make out. I could feel his breath on my face, and his grip on my chin was tight, but not painful. We stood there in silence for a minute, just staring at each other, with his hand still holding my chin and our faces only inches apart. 

He continued to hold my chin, his eyes locked on mine. My heart was hammering in my chest, his proximity and the intensity of his gaze making me feel all sorts of emotions. I felt frozen in place, unable to move or look away. I was so close to him, I could feel his breath on my face. I wanted to say something, anything, but the words were stuck in my throat.  I could barely breathe, my heart racing a mile a minute. For a moment, I thought he was going to close the distance between us, to do something that would change everything. But then he suddenly let go of my chin, taking a step back and breaking the tense moment. 

He stepped back, running a hand through his hair as he let out a frustrated sigh. His eyes were no longer filled with anger, but more like a mixture of annoyance and confusion. He ran his hand over his reddened cheek, where I'd slapped him, a frown on his face. "You really have some balls on you, hitting me like that. You’re either really brave or really stupid" he said, shaking his head slightly as he looked down at me.

I folded my arms across my chest, a challenge in my eyes. I didn’t regret hitting him, even if he was a bit intimidating. I wouldn’t let him intimidate me "Maybe it’s both. Or maybe I just don’t care" I shot back. "I’m gonna go with the latter option" he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. Despite my defiant stance, I could see a glimmer of what I thought was respect in his eyes. He was impressed by my audacity, even if he didn’t want to admit it.