two can keep a secret,

chapter thirty-two.

Lilith.

"That's my property. Pay up, Riddle."

He groans and starts counting his fake Monopoly money.

We decided to try and take Minnie's advice. By that I mean she forced us to shake hands and say an oath. No, I'm not kidding. It was something along the lines of "I will try to get along with Mattheo Riddle, even though he annoys me."

Just because we're trying doesn't mean we are completely succeeding. We snap at each other more than not.

So now we're sitting on the floor playing Monopoly on the table.

"How much do I owe you?" he asks, flipping through his hundreds.

"Well, I have two houses on there, so that's an extra hundred. One fifty, I believe."

He sighs and hands me a hundred, then grabs a fifty and hands that to me too. I add them to my stack as he flips me off. I roll the dice and start to move my piece.

"This game isn't fair," he grumbles, counting out his money. I'm beating him big time.

"That's what you said about Uno, and Skip-Bo, and the Game of Life, and Candy Land, and Guess Who, and Connect Four, and Chess, and Jumaji, and Trouble, and Chutes and Ladders, and Scrabble, and—"

"Okay, periodt is not a word."

"Yes it is!"

"No, it isn't! There isn't supposed to be a T at the end! You're adding letters to get more points!"

"It's a word!"

He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. "We aren't getting into this one again."

"You're just mad because I keep beating your ass," I say, pointing at him. He shakes his head. "See? Now you're mad because I'm admitting that I beat your ass in every single game we've played."

We were bored out of our minds and needed to do something. Riddle suggested that we go to his dorm if I was really that bored and I told him to fuck off. So, we've been playing board and card games since after dinner, and it's almost midnight, which means it's almost Christmas.

The very few kids that were down here have gone to bed. I think they got tired of the two of us bickering over the rules of these games. We've been alone down here for almost an hour, and we haven't stopped bragging every time we win something in these games.

I shipped everyone but Riddle's presents out by owl yesterday. They should all have them when they wake up.

And the hot chocolate keeps coming. Every time we finish a cup.

"I think you're cheating. There's no way I can't win at these," he says, rolling the dice. He moves his piece and lands on the go to jail spot. He stares at the board for a solid ten seconds while I try to not laugh.

He puts his finger under the board and looks away, flipping the board in one motion. I start laughing, as much as I really wish that I don't. He shakes his head, trying to not smile because he's still pissed. I have to hold my stomach because I cannot breath.

I grab my wand and move it at all the pieces and the board. They all clean themselves up and are put back to where they were supposed to go. I calm myself down and grab my hot chocolate, taking a sip of it.

"Shut up," he says, grabbing his hot chocolate.

I put my free hand up. "I said nothing."

"Your eyes say it all."

I shrug and take a sip from my cup, putting my head back on the couch cushion.

The bells chime and we both look at each other.

"Merry Christmas, you fuckface," I say, taking a drink from my hot chocolate.

"Merry Christmas, bitch."

I set my cup down and stand up. He looks up at me and raises a brow. I point at him and start walking towards the stairs. "I have something for you. Just— don't move."

I hear an 'okay' as I disappear up the stairs and slip into my dorm. I rifle through my bag until I find the small wrapped box.

When I get back down to the common room, he's standing behind the couch he was in front of, in front of the window to the Black Lake. He turns to me as I stop in front of him.

"I don't know why I got it," I say, handing it to him. "I just thought," I trail off, looking at the ground while shrugging.

He raises a brow at me but takes the box from me anyway. He lets the wrapping paper drop on the ground and opens the box. He stares at the ring for a few seconds before looking up at me.

I shrug again. "Yeah, I know. I just saw it and thought that you might have liked it, so I got it."

A smile dances over his face as he looks back down at it. "Thank you, Snape," he says, putting the ring on his right index finger before closing the box and putting in in his pocket.

"I got something for you too." I look up at him and raise a brow as he grabs a small box from his other pocket. He hands it to me. "I don't know how to wrap anything."

I take the box from him and open it, staring down at the bracelet. Half of it is a silver bar, with small emeralds on it. The other part is metal and has a small circle on it, keeping the ends together. It shines in the light, making it more beautiful than it already is.

"Holy shit." I don't even know if the words come out. "Can you put it on me?" I ask, looking up at him. He's already looking at me. He nods and takes the box from me, taking the bracelet out. He slides it onto my right wrist and tightens it just enough before putting the box back in his pocket. I stare at it on my wrist because, oh god, it's beautiful.

"Lilith."

I look up at him as he says my name.

"Mistletoe."

I don't have time to look up before his hands are around my waist and his lips are on mine. My hands go to the sides of his face, and the kiss deepens.

I feel the electric feeling all over again. And I can't get enough of it. I can't get enough of him.

And I hate it.

But if I hate it, then why does it feel so good?