how it feels to be alive {tom riddle}

ten: goosebumps

She immediately brought her arms up to cross them over her chest, "You are so dead."

His smirk only grew as he walked further into the shower, allowing the cold downpour to rain over his bare back without so much as flinching.

Lucia stepped back away from his determined look, but her back hit the cold tiles of the back of the shower.

He reached up and took each of her hands in his, pulling them away from her and leaning forward to gently kiss her neck.

His lips were warm against her, a stark contrast from the icy droplets that littered her skin.

"Is this okay?" He asked against her skin.

"Yes." She managed to reply in a shaky voice.

Instinctively, she leant her neck to the side to grant him further access, and he pressed his body against hers.

He kept kissing up her neck, all the way up to the sensitive spot below her ear.

"Are you awake now?" He whispered in her ear, continuing his gentle assault, one hand coming to hold her neck with gentle pressure to keep her still.

"Yes." She gasped.

Despite the cold water still running over them both, the atmosphere began to feel hot. Very hot.

She reached her hands up to thread them in his hair, as he continued back down her neck until he reached her collarbones.

The towel that hung around his hips was becoming heavy with the water it had soaked up, and it was truly a miracle it hadn't fallen yet.

She wanted to feel every inch of him, so she ran her hands down the soft skin of his chest and down his stomach. The cold water had made his skin cold to the touch, but his lips felt like they caused warmth to erupt in every part of her body.

He pulled his lips away from her suddenly, looking her in the eye.

"Glad you're awake now." He chuckled and stood back, allowing water to drip down on the floor of the bathroom.

His pink lips were slightly swollen and darker in colour, his eyes were bright yet much darker in colour and he was slightly out of breath.

"Tom..." She said warily, seeing him stepping further away from her.

"I told you that you'd regret it." He said innocently, "Plus, you're the one who started by teasing me." He shrugged, and walked out the door.

"I'll get you back, I swear!" She yelled after him, attempting to squeeze the cold water out of her shirt. This wasn't getting her anywhere, so she shut the bathroom door and turned the hot tap on as well to have a proper shower, huffing in annoyance.

After stepping out of the shower and wrapping herself in her towel, she sighed as she realised she'd have to go out to get her clothes.

The bathroom floor was covered in water, and she cursed Tom for his immature exit in his wet towel.

Lucia opened the door and walked out to her trunk, but an appealing smell met her senses.

She turned around and saw a fry-pan cooking pancakes by itself, a stack of already made ones sitting on a plate beside the small stove.

Tom was laying on the bed with a smirk playing on his lips. He was wearing a t-shirt and grey sweatpants, his legs crossed and eyes tracing the lines of a book that he had rested on his lap.

Lucia shook her head and leant down to pick up a pair of shorts made of sweatpant material and a hoodie, then retreated back to the bathroom to dress herself.

When she emerged, the pile of pancakes had taken themselves to rest on the small table, a bottle of syrup, some cut up strawberries and two plates with accompanying cutlery placed either side. Two glasses of orange juice were also placed beside the food.

"What's all this?" Lucia exclaimed, and Tom looked up from his book to meet her eyes.

He just shrugged, "You said you were hungry."

"You didn't have to do this." She said appreciatively, though still slightly angry at his stunt he'd just pulled. He placed the book to the side of the bed and got up to sit at the table with her.

She decided not to give him the satisfaction of mentioning it.

"So, has your opinion of muggles changed from last night?" Lucia asked as she served herself, putting a strawberry in her mouth prematurely.

"They weren't as insufferable as I had expected." He said carefully.

"They're really not that different to us." She commented.

"I wouldn't go that far..." He replied, putting a strawberry into his own mouth.

"These are really good by the way." Lucia complemented his cooking, brushing a wet strand of hair from her eyes.

"Yeah I used to make them all the time back at home." He said rather bluntly.

"You haven't told me much of your life, back at home I mean." Lucia stated.

"Not much to talk about." He replied.

"Well, what are your parents like?" She asked.

His jaw tensed, "Dead."

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." Lucia muttered in apology. Of course, that's why he hadn't been open about his past.

"No, don't be sympathetic. I'm glad they're dead. My stupid obsessive mother and muggle father, I'd live through the orphanage ten times over before having to live with them for even a day." He said in disgust.

"Tom..." Lucia began.

"Trust me, my mother was so pathetically infatuated with him that she shoved a love potion down his throat and had me, then died." He seemed to have only cold and pure hatred for his parents, Lucia hadn't seen anything like it.

Sure, she despised her mother and stepdad, wanting nothing to do with them. But she would never wish them death.

"I'm so sorry you had to grow up in an orphanage." Lucia said carefully, placing her hand over his.

"Don't be. It was just boring, the other kids there were all going nowhere, but I found my ways to entertain myself." He smirked, thinking back to cave with Amy and Dennis, "And when I got my Hogwarts letter it was much better."

"I can imagine, Hogwarts has always felt like a safe-haven, a second home for me when things at home were bad. I don't think I give it enough credit." Lucia observed.

Tom nodded his head, but Lucia's thoughts were reeling.

She knew Tom must have had a complex past. What else would drive an 18-year-old to seek immortality?

But to know he'd grown up all alone, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

authors note

I just wanted to say a quick thank you for over 400 reads. I literally thought 0 people would read this.

To all of you who frequently vote and/or comment (you know who you are), thank you for all your support.