🌹𝙿𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

🌹𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝚂𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝, 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝, 𝙵𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏

🌹𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚜: 𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛, 𝙷𝚞𝚐𝚜, 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝, 𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚙𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝, 𝚃𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚆𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝙵𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛, 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗, 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚢𝚞𝚕, 𝙳𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎.

Heading into the rose maze, Riddle, donning his dorm leader garb, observed the sights, taking in the beauty of his dorm, while also seeing Ace and Trey painting the roses red. One thing had him arching his eyebrow, where was the Prefect? He often times sees you painting the roses along with everyone else, despite not being part of Heartslabyul. Riddle said there was no need for you to do it since you weren't apart of the dorm, but you answered with a kind smile, saying you enjoyed doing it plus it allowed you to spend more time with him and the others, making Riddle blush, yet hid it from your eyes. His first plan was to ask Ace and Deuce if they were aware of your whereabouts, heading towards them with his signature cape flowing behind him.

"Hello Ace and Deuce, I see you are fulfilling your duties." Riddle said, small smile adorning his face. The duo both looked up and answered with a "Yes Dorm Leader" as they put the paint brushes down. "I have noticed that the Prefect is not with you. Do you perhaps know where they are?" He spoke in an authoritative tone, but his eyes were filled with concern. Ace only shrug his shoulders, having no clue as to where you may be, yet Deuce, actually put his head up, conjuring his thoughts to remember where he saw you last. "I may have seen them heading to the school library after class. They were very somber today during lessons as well. I had ask them if anything was wrong, but they only brushed it off, saying they were fine." Riddle took in everything Deuce said, noting it down in his mind to head to the library. "I see. Thank you Deuce and Ace. You may continue painting the roses." The duo gave Riddle a nod, going back to their duty, as Riddle turned away from them, heading to your location.

**School Library**

The library was empty, only thing that was active was the floating books that would fly above the shelves. Riddle entered inside, eyes scanning for your presence, yet he was not able to spot you anywhere. "Maybe they are in the separate study rooms?" Riddle thought, as he ventured further into the library, making sure to check all the rooms, quickly but thoroughly as he would not want to disturb others in the rooms. Every room he checked was empty, only thing inside them were empty desks and piles of books, where could you be? "Sob........sob...sob." Crying sounds had reached Riddle's ears, shocking him as he turned in the direction where the sound was coming from, almost sprinting. He reached the door, opening it slowly, light shining from the entrance to brighten the darken room.

There you were, sitting on the floor in the dark study room, head pushed into your legs, as your arms wrapped around them. Gray eyes widen at the sight of you, as Riddle approached you slowly. "Prefect? Are you alright?" He spoke in a soft tone, extremely worried about you. Your lack of response only worried him more, panic building up in him. Unsure of what to do, Riddle sat next to you, back touching the wall. He was going to wait patiently by your side, waiting for you to tell him whatever was wrong. He wanted to provide comforting support, but his lack of knowledge towards it made him hesitate. Grasping his long cape, Riddle gently threw it behind you, its length wrapping across your shoulders.

A few minutes had gone by, with the both of you sitting in silence, until you finally decided to break it. "You...don't need to...stay here, Riddle." You spoke, words muffled against your legs. "I'm staying here because I want to. You have told me before not to abide so hard on rules and be my own person, doing what I desire most, and what I desire right now is to remain here next to you, until you tell me whatever it is that is troubling you." Tears began to fall faster, listening to his heartfelt words, as your head lifted up, allowing him to see your tear-stricken face and red eyes.

"I..........Crowley spoke to me this morning, saying he is almost close to finding my way back home." Riddle's head tilted slightly, "I suspected you would be elated that the Headmaster has managed to find a way back to your own world." Shaking your head, you looked away from Riddle. "I'm not." Riddle's words were softer when he spoke again. "Why?". Emotions bubbled up inside you, until you finally erupted. "I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK IF IT MEANS I'LL NEVER SEE ANY OF YOU EVERY AGAIN!!!!" Riddle jumped at your outburst, yet still remained seated next to you, as he watched you rant. "YES I HAVE DESIRED TO HEAD BACK HOME, BUT AFTER EVERYTHING, MEETING YOU, ACE, DEUCE, CATER, TREY, CHE'NYA, THE OTHER DORM LEADERS, VICE DORMLEADERS, THE TEACHERS, GRIM. I'M JUST SUPPOSE TO SAY "GOODBYE"?! NO!!" The tears rushed out of your eyes like a waterfall, hands flying towards them as you started to cry again. "I..........I have made so many memories here, met so many amazing people, even befriended them. I love and care for you all so much, I don't want to lose that....I don't want to lose you."

Silence remained in the air, atmosphere tense after that. A hand grabbed your wrist, pulling you towards them. Riddle's arms wrapped around you, squeezing you tightly against him, your head nestled on his shoulder. His hold on you was so tender, his hand rubbing circles on your back to calm you down. "I'm sorry." His voice cracked, heart broken upon hearing you. "I had no idea the amount of anguish you were dealing with, and I'm sorry for not noticing it until now." Whispered words reached your ear, as his warmth was spreading all around you, easing your pain slightly. "I, myself, have dreaded the day you would depart from this world. You have helped me a great deal, knocking me out of my tyrannical ways, even risking your life when I overblotted. Your kindness and selfless actions have touched me deeply.

Slowly, your arms wrapped around him, returning the hug, as you continued to cry against his shoulder. Riddle smiled at your gesture, motioning you closer. "I swear to you, Y/N. If there is a way to link both yours and my world together, I, Riddle Roseheart, will find it. It will be okay, I promise." His arms slowly went to your shoulders, pushing you back, tear stricken face in his line of sight. Fingers gently wiped away the last tears that fell, his gaze so soft it could make your heart melt. "Thank you, Riddle." Your lips upturned in a smile, despairing feelings vanishing away like magic. "There is no need to thank me. I'm just glad you are feeling better."

Grasping your hand, Riddle stood up, pulling you up along with him, exiting the study room, making your way closer to the library's exit."Come along with me. Trey had experimented with a new recipe for strawberry tarts. As the Housewarden, it is my duty to taste them to deem them worthy for the next Unbirthday tea party." He was back to his stern role, but you could see the sparkles in his eye when he talked about the tarts, making you laugh. "You just want to eat the strawberry tarts with me, don't you?" Riddle stammered, cheeks engulfed in a pinkish tint, "W-well, according to Rule 89-You must not eat the Queen's Tart's without permission, so I'm permitting it this time with you accompanying me." He spoke matter-of-factually, but you could see his true intentions. "Okay-okay." Squeezing his hand, you continued to walk along side him. A squeeze was returned back as the two of you headed back to Heartslabyul.

-END-