#softer side

“How do you know I don’t go to parties?” 

“You’re not the only one who’s people watched this year,” his wink caused an immediate flush to your cheeks. “You can get ready with Pansy, then you can sit by us the whole time. It’ll be fun, we’ll drink, play games. Theo will ask you to smoke and you can deny him, it’ll be the best of times.” You gnawed on the inside of your cheek, contemplating your decision. The longer your thought the closer Mattheo was bringing his face. Closer and closer and closer until his nose was pressed against your cheek. He knew your answer before you could even say ‘yes’, knowing the grin on your face meant he won and you would be going. He stood triumphantly, letting out a slightly too loud cheer and being shushed by Madam Pince. He kissed your cheek, letting you know he’d see you at the party as he and the other boys ‘needed to finish some planning’.

You did your best to continue to study, even for a few hours. But your nerves about the party were too loud. You decided to find Pansy, seeing if she’d spend a little extra time helping you get ready as this was your first party in a long time. She was more than excited, practically destroying her dorm room with flying dresses, tops, and skirts. She finally landed on you wearing an emerald green pleated skirt, a little shorter than you normally wear; falling just above mid-thigh. Your top was a black crop top with two delicate strings criss-crossing around your abdomen and tying in the back. She had you accessorize with a dark green velvet choker and a gorgeous silver snake ring. Pansy argued that you should wear heels but thankfully she let you opt for shiny black doc martens. 

You looked yourself over again, doubt clouding your brain. Pansy encouraged you, telling you how good you looked and how much Mattheo would be drooling over you. You pushed your doubts aside, entering the party with Pansy hand in hand as she led you to the rest of the group. Mattheo greeted you with a kiss, whispering in your ear about how breathtaking he thought you looked in the Slytherin house colors. He brought you down to the couch with him, draping your legs over his lap. You all talk and joke together, playing some games and drinking. You needed a refill, so Pansy agreed to go with you, both of you agreeing to grab some drinks for some others. You were surprised how well the night was going. Until it wasn’t. 

“Can you believe who Mattheo’s been spending time with all night?” You stilled at the drink table, listening now to the conversation of the girls behind you. “Oh god, yes. Little mouse of a girl, that Ravenclaw. I mean, what does he think he’s going to accomplish?” You were seething now, Pansy noticing your change in demeanor. You made eye contact with her, her eyebrows raising as if to ask you what’s wrong. You opened your mouth to answer, but then you heard the girls voices again, mocking you and Mattheo, talking poorly about him and his intentions. You couldn’t take it. 

You turned around, grabbing the main girl's shoulder. “What the bloody hell is your problem? Have you ever even had one conversation with Mattheo or do you just pine for him from afar like a loser?”  You'd forgotten about the drinks, hands at your side clenching and unclenching. Pansy was behind you, arms crossed and smirking. The girl scoffed, “Do I have to? Everyone knows how he is.” 

“You have no idea how he is. You don’t know the first real thing about him,” you were doing your best to stay calm, but you could feel your anger rising. One more thing, just one more ignorant thing out of her mouth and you weren’t going to be able to control yourself. The smirk that formed on the girl’s face told you that she thought her next words were going to make her seem like she knew it all, “You think because he gave you a few hickey’s that it’s your job to defend him now? Do you even know the number of girls he’s done that to? You are not special to him. He’s a prick, always been a prick, always will be a prick. Honestly we’re doing you a favor leveling out your expectations right now.” 

And there it was, your boiling point. You turned your head slightly, speaking to Pansy now, “Do me a favor, Pans?” She nodded her head, confused by the smile forming on your face, “Go get Mattheo, maybe Theo too while you’re at it.” The girl across from you gave you a mocking pout, “What’s wrong? Need big bad Mattheo and friends to come defend you, feeling bad now?” You closed your eyes, pinching the bridge of your nose as you tried to contain your laughter. The girl clearly confused by your response. You took a deep breath, opening your eyes and making direct eye contact with her, “God no. Pansy’s gonna go get them for your sake. Because they’re going to be the only one’s strong enough to stop me from beating the shit out of you.” 

The girl opened her mouth to respond, but your fist was already connecting with her nose. She doubled over in pain, and you used this as an opportunity to throw her down to the ground. You pushed her back to the ground, kneeling over her chest as you took swings at her. You had to give her some props, she really did try to fight back for a moment, pulling at the strings of your top and trying to grab at your hair. You laughed slightly at her efforts, which probably made you look slightly more crazy than you already did to the crowd that was forming around the both of you. You got one more good swing in before you were being lifted into the air, the same familiar scent of lemon and patchouli filling your senses like this afternoon. 

The girl was lucky Mattheo was so strong, because you were thrashing against his grasp but he still held you like you weighed nothing. Your adrenaline and anger still high as ever, not wanting to be done with the fight, “Mattheo you let me down right now, she deserves it.” You felt him chuckle against your back, “No way, princess. Parties over for you. You keep thrashing around and you’ll make me have to use a binding spell on you.” You slumped immediately, making him laugh again. He carried you to his dorm, finally setting you down once you exited the hall. He led you to the bathroom, where he lifted you back up to have you sit on the large countertop, hands settling on either side of your thighs, “Now, you wanna tell me why I just witnessed my innocent little Ravenclaw in a fight that easily rivaled one I would get myself into?” 

You averted your gaze, looking down at your hands in your lap. Your bruised and bloodied hands. You wanted to feel awful, but her words played in your head again, “She was being a cunt.” You mumbled your response, causing Mattheo to tilt your chin up, forcing your eyes on his, “Come again, darling?” You sighed deeply, speaking more clearly this time, “She was being a cunt.” Mattheo was laughing again. You were glad he found this whole situation so amusing. “While I don’t doubt that, do you mind telling me exactly what happened to earn her the title?” He took one of your hands in his, grabbing his wand with the other. He started waving his want over your injured knuckles as you explained to him what happened. How you overheard them talking about you, and what they thought his intentions were. How you told them to shove off, then they told you that you were just another girl to him. Which, you clarified, was fine if it were true, but that he did not deserve to be talked about that way just because they were jealous of you being the current girl gaining his attention. 

Mattheo finished mending your hands, then did a quick once over of your face and neck to make sure you didn’t have any other injuries before he responded. “You know, usually I’m the one getting mended, kind of a nice change to be the one taking care of somebody.” You blushed as he continued, “You're not just some girl to me, y/n. Not just another name on some list I have in my nightstand. You're different. Special to me." You looked at him with wide eyes, not quite expecting those words to be told to you. He cupped your face, thumb rubbing your cheek gently before placing a kiss to the other side.

"You seem to have this habit of defending me, y/n. Why do you get so mad when someone talks bad about me, love? You know most of what they say is probably true.” You shook your head, “It’s not true. Not the Mattheo I know. Not my Mattheo.” He hummed at your words, “Mm, your Mattheo. I like the sound of that.” You giggled slightly, pushing his shoulder, “You know what I mean. Just- I see a different side of you.” He nodded, dimples on full display as he came to stand between your legs, “Yeah, you do. But there’s another side that I’ve just been dying to show you.”