─── 🎀･:*˚🏍️
irl & istagram !
⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★⋆

sarah

the bar smells like citrus and salt and something sweet burning in the air, like caramelized sugar on the edge of a glass. i lean against the counter, my sparkly dress catching the low amber light, pretending i know exactly what i'm doing. the bartender smiles when i laugh at his joke—something about tourists and limoncello—and i laugh too hard, maybe because the vodka's hitting a little harder than i meant it to.

he slides another glass toward me. i shouldn't. i know i shouldn't. daddy would kill me, papa would stage a whole intervention, harry would look at me like i'd grown another head. but the drink sparkles, and i feel warm and unbreakable for the first time in weeks.

the music hums low, couples talk too close, and i think for a moment i could be someone else—a girl who doesn't still sleep with a stuffed wolf named moon. yes you will notice there is a common theme with me, and yes i'm that predictable.

"careful, sweetheart," the bartender says, grinning. "that one's stronger."

"i can handle it," i tell him, trying to sound worldly instead of seventeen-and-two-weeks.

he laughs and turns away to another customer. i spin the straw in my drink, watching the ice collapse. my reflection looks flushed, hair a golden blur from the blowout i begged sienna to help me with. maybe this is what being grown-up feels like—glittering and dizzy and entirely fake.

i don't see him until i stumble. someone jostles me, the heel of my shoe catches the bar rail, and the world tilts. i fall backward—straight into a solid chest, the scent of smoke and soap and something darker filling my lungs.

hands catch me. strong, calloused. familiar.

"easy, wolfy," a voice murmurs against my ear.

i freeze. i'd know that voice anywhere.

i twist around, and there he is—mattheo riddle, half-shadowed, hair a mess, sleeves rolled to his forearms, that stupid smirk tugging at his mouth like he's amused by my entire existence.

"get off me," i hiss, or try to. it comes out more like a whisper.

"technically, you're on me," he says. "but don't let facts ruin your pride."

i push off him, wobbling a little. he doesn't miss it. his eyes flick down to the half-empty glass in my hand.

"how many of those have you had, princess?"

"enough to not care that you're here," i mutter.

"that so?" he signals the bartender with two fingers. "then i'll have whatever she's killing her brain cells with."

"don't copy me," i snap, even though my words slur around the edges.

he grins. "it's a bar, not your diary. everyone can drink vodka."

i glare at him. he looks infuriatingly good in the golden light—loose black shirt, chain glinting at his throat, eyes sharp even when they're tired. i hate that i notice. i hate that i always notice.

"what are you even doing here?" i ask, pretending my pulse isn't in my ears.

"vacation," he says simply, taking a sip from the drink the bartender sets down. "positano's got great views."

"you mean girls."

"that too." his smile crooks. "didn't expect to find you in one of those views, though. alone, no less. bold move, little gryffindor." i don't know why he calls me little, i'm a rather tall girl, unlike sienna. but then again he is still taller than me.

i cross my arms. "i'm not alone."

"oh?" his eyebrow lifts. "who's the lucky bloke?"

i glance toward the man who'd been sitting beside me earlier. he's halfway across the bar now, paying his tab. still, i point at him. "him."

mattheo glances over, unimpressed. "the one that just left?"

"he's... coming back."

"sure he is." he takes another drink, eyes dragging over me with lazy amusement. "you're a terrible liar when you're drunk."

"i'm not drunk," i protest.

he laughs softly. "right. and i'm a hufflepuff."

"you're awful."

"you've told me." he leans in, voice lower now. "more than once, if i remember right."

the room feels smaller, the noise dimmer. i can smell the alcohol on my own breath, the salt from the sea drifting through the open doors. i should move away, i know i should, but i don't. there's something magnetic about him when he isn't sneering, when his voice drops like that—like he knows exactly what he's doing to me.

"you shouldn't be here alone," he says, quieter.

"i can take care of myself."

"clearly," he murmurs, eyes flicking to my empty glass.

i want to say something sharp, but the words blur together. the room sways just a little, and he steadies me with a hand at my waist. my skin burns under his fingers.

"you're so annoying," i mumble.

"you're adorable when you're trying to insult me."

"i'm not adorable," i say, glaring up at him.

he smiles. "no, you're trouble."

for a heartbeat, neither of us moves. the world hums around us—music, laughter, the soft crash of the sea outside—but it feels distant. it's just him and me and the taste of vodka on my tongue and the way he's looking at me like he sees through every version of the girl i pretend to be.

i swallow hard. "you should go back to theo, i'm sure he is who you're with here."

"took him back to the villa already," he says. "he wasn't feeling great."

"so you came back here to what? brood?"

"drink." he tilts his glass. "maybe find a distraction."

i roll my eyes. "of course."

his smirk softens just a little. "don't worry, wolfy. not you."

"good."

"unless you keep looking at me like that."

"like what?"

"like you might kiss me just to prove you wouldn't like it."

i laugh—too loud, too nervous. "you wish."

"yeah," he says, voice low, "maybe i do."

the air between us shifts, thick with everything we'll never admit. i step back first, because i have to.

"goodnight, riddle."

he watches me, unreadable. "get home safe, lupin-black."

i nod, turn toward the door. the night air hits my face like a wave, cool and clean. somewhere behind me, i hear him order another drink.

and for reasons i'll never say out loud, i wish he'd followed me.

note to self: be very careful what you wish for, because sometimes you get what you want, it's just not what you had imagined.

SARAH RECENTLY ADDED TO THEIR STORY !

replies
private dms

mattriddle
didn't know u were planning
to post my souvenir on ur story, wolfy

sarlupinblack
what the bloody hell
are u talking about

mattriddle
the little lace thing hanging there
thought it looked familiar
fits better on u tho

sarlupinblack
u are actually disgusting
also why are u even
replying to my stories

mattriddle
because u posted them, princess
and because i forgot something in ur room

sarlupinblack
what

Penny Speaks
hi loves,

— too excited not to post, next chapters probably only after this week of my midterms

— u guys already know im either super active or a ghost so yeah, enjoy loves <33

— also for some reason writing matt and sar is so much fun, and don't worry si and theo aren't done yet, they'll have like three filler chapters before the epilogue