The Storm (Matthew)

Ari was utterly humiliated. After what Arwen had told her, she wanted to curl in a ball and cry. So instead of going to do anything social, she decided to go to the lake and reflect on what she had actually done. She looked out at the lake and let a tear slip down her face. When she had walked out of the Great Hall, she had noticed some fellow Slytherin's snickering at her as she left. She wasn't sure if she was more humiliated at herself, or at Matthew. Probably both. Her head still pounded, and she still felt terrible on top of everything else. Ari couldn't believe she told him... According to Arwen, she had told him multiple times. She whipped the tears from her eyes, and laid her head down on her lap.

She looked at her hands and wondered when everything went wrong. Everything had been so right before the dance. She wished she was still confused about how she felt about everything. It was a much simpler time and everything was right in it's own way. Now it was falling apart, and it was all her fault. Ari cried a little harder. She wanted to tell Aunt Evelyn about this, but knew she wouldn't understand. Nobody would. So she had to deal with it on her own. Like usual. She couldn't go to Arwen, or Derek, especially not Derek. If he had seen her in her position yesterday, and right now, the kid would probably say some very large words, and then laugh in her face.

The tears kept rolling down. She leaned against the tree trunk and hoped nobody found her. She hoped everyone forgot about her, and where going about their daily lives. She hoped everything would be forgotten after this. But she knew sadly this wasn't going to happen. She would still receive giggles from the Slytherin house, she would still receive sympathy looks from Arwen, and she would still HAVE to face Matthew at some point. No matter how much she would rather go up to her dorm and hide under the covers until this whole mess was blown over. But she knew that was impossible. She looked around, and looked towards the castle and saw him. And he was walking right towards her. She dried her eyes hoping he wouldn't catch on that she had been crying, and prepared for the worst.

Apparently, the tides had turned. Matthew had spent the past week or so avoiding Ari, and now she was avoiding him. At least, that’s what he gathered after talking to Arwen, who Ari had sought out earlier. Unsurprisingly, Ari had no memory of the night before – not that Matthew had really expected her to. In fact, he’d hoped that she wouldn’t. Because his memory of last night was all too vivid, and he was still not entirely sure what to make of it now that it was over. Ari didn’t remember Matthew helping her last night, but he did. He remembered the embarrassment of her announcing her feelings at the match. And the frustration when she sat down on the floor like a little kid and refused to go up to her dorm. And he definitely remembered wrapping his arms around her when she crawled into his bed with him. And though Ari didn’t know, he’d stayed there – fallen asleep even – until morning, when he’d finally, reluctantly slipped out. She hadn’t woken up – hopefully she would at some point, considering how bad her hangover would probably be.

After hearing what Arwen had to say, Matthew supposed that he should probably go and look for Ari – she was probably feeling terrible, and Matthew knew what that was like, because hadn’t he felt that way after the ball? It was shit. And while he still wasn’t completely sure what to do about his newfound knowledge that Ari had feelings for him – or his acceptance that he just might actually return them, she’d had a rough night, and Matthew figured it was about time that he at least stop avoiding her. If nothing else, they were friends. And it didn’t settle well in his stomach that she was probably incredibly upset – and that it was because of him. So, after bounding up to the Hospital Wing to grab some pepper-up potion – Ari was sure to need it – Matthew started looking for her. She wasn’t in the great hall, or the kitchens, or the common room. Or anywhere else in the castle, it seemed, so Matthew let himself outside.

Too easily, as he made his way toward the lake – the most obvious place to check first – he spotted her. She was hard to miss, as her hair stood out against just about everything. And after a moment’s hesitation, Matthew approached her – and somehow, he was still nervous. Despite last night, he hadn’t faced Ari – sober Ari – since the dance. ”Hey,” Matthew said as he reached her, trying to keep his voice casual. She was just leaning against a big tree, by herself, and seemed to want to be alone. But he was sure she probably didn’t want to talk about it, so he pretended not to notice, instead lowering himself to the ground beside her. He leaned back against the tree as well, resting his elbows on his knees, and looked over at her.

”How are you feeling?” he asked her, his voice laced slightly with concern. He slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out the vial of pepper-up potion that he’d gotten for her, passing it to her. ”Here, drink this,” Matthew said. ”You have to have a killer headache.” But then, after looking over at her and noting her red eyes, he let the slightly joking tone fall from his voice, and Matthew felt a wave of guilt wash through him. Because it was obvious that she’d been crying. ”Ari,” he said softly, trying to get her to look at him. ”Are you okay? And you don’t have to lie. You can tell me.”

Ari had a little glimmer of hope that he wasn't actually looking for her. Maybe he was looking for Arwen, and he just so happened to stumble a crossed her. But non the less, he was still here, and to her dismay, it looked like he was looking for her. She looked at him with zero emotions. Was he going to yell at her? Was he going to lecture her over her stupidity? If he was, she should just walk away at that moment, because her head was pounding, and she didn't need that shit right now. He could do it tomorrow when she was feeling more like herself. She thought going to Arwen would clear things up a little bit, and maybe things would go back to normal, but she had made too much of a mess of everything, she was positive things wouldn't go back to normal.

But instead of judging her and lecturing her, Matthew sat down and handed her a potion, which she took gratefully. Instantly she could feel her headache disappearing, and her face returning to it's natural paleness that she had just accepted she had. She muttered, "Thanks..." Then he asked the one thing that she dreaded. "Was she ok?" . The answer was no. She wasn't, but she couldn't find the words to say it out loud. After yesterday, she was surprised that Matthew was even speaking to her, let alone asking if she was ok. She looked out the lake and asked, "I made a mess of things didn't I?" It was more rhetorical than anything, because she knew it was true. She had. She wasn't going to cry about it anymore. She could move past it. But did she want too? She pushed forward, "No. I'm not alright."

She wanted to let it all out, "First, you leave me, avoid me for a week. Then I do this st-stupid getting drunk and I don't remember anything and I'm freaking out about what... About what I said to....certain people." She hoped that he caught on and that certain people meant him. She tried to keep the tears from falling because she was done crying. She stood up this time. She said, "Arwen told me what I said to you. And its true. And I know your probably going to leave me again, and I've accepted that. I'm ready for it." She really wasn't. She was done with people leaving, and she knew that Matthew leaving would destroy her, but she was willing to put on a brave face to give him some peace. He deserved that much after the way she treated him. She just looked at him waiting for him to run back into the castle away from everything. Which was what she wanted to do at that very moment. She had never admitted her feelings out loud, well, sober, and this made everything all to real.

At least she took the potion, but Matthew could see that even after drinking it Ari was anything but okay. She wouldn't look at him, first of all, which was frustrating enough in itself. But Matthew didn't look away from her, his eyes trailing along the contours of her face - and suddenly, he was hit was a sense of deja vous. Because hadn't they been here, in this exact same spot before? The day that Matthew had asked her to the dance in the first place? He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her then, either. But it wasn't the same. How could things change so fast? That day, Matthew's confusion had felt overwhelming, but it was nothing compared to where they were now. Then, Ari had been happy - now, she looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment, and it made Matthew feel slightly desperate to make it better. He'd never seen her so quiet, and he hated seeing her that way.

It took Ari a while to answer, and when she finally did he released a slightly amused breath. "Yeah, you did make a mess of things," he replied. "First and foremost, that poor bush that you threw up in last night. You really ought to go apologize." But it seemed that his humor wasn't exactly going to help the situation right now, as Ari answered more honestly. She wasn't alright. I know. He didn't say anything though, afraid that he might stop her from going on. And he knew that she needed to keep talking. He knew her. And it only took a few moments before it all came out. About how he'd avoided her. About what she'd said at the match. Matthew could see her panic rising, but he just watched as she stood up and told him that what she'd said the night before was true. And his heart felt like it had skipped a beat - it wasn't that he hadn't known before. But hearing Ari admit it, fully in the right state of mind. It just - it felt different. "Ari," he said, but wasn't able to go on because she cut him off and kept talking.

Matthew sighed as her next words reached his ears - her voice was shaky, and he could see that she was on the verge of tears. She expected him to leave again. Not that he could really blame her. But it still made him feel like a git. "Ari!" he said a little more forcefully, pulling himself to his feet to try and get her attention. But when she finally stopped talking, Matthew realized that he had no idea what to say. But one look at the misery in her face was enough, and he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Ari and pulling her into his chest. "I'm sorry," he muttered against her hair, because it seemed like the only appropriate thing at the moment. And it felt good to say it. "I'm sorry about what happened at the ball, and I'm sorry for avoiding you - I just - I didn't know what to do after - I couldn't face you. But that's not an excuse and I was a git and I'm sorry." Matthew was rambling again, but he didn't care. He trailed to a halt, not sure what else to say. There was a part of him urging him to tell Ari that she wasn't the only one who felt that way, but even now he subdued it. Because he was still a coward. But he didn't loosen his arms from around her, because that was an unfathomable idea right now. "Ari, I don't wanna leave you." That much he was sure of. He didn't want to leave her - not now.

He didn't want to leave her. As he wrapped her in his arms, she sobbed. She had tried to keep it all in but at that point it was impossible. He held her tight, and everything seemed to make sense. Her problems from last night disappeared. She was in the right frame of mind now and knew what was going on, and what she was saying, and that made everything ten times more better than when she had no clue what was going on and things she said didn't make sense to other people and only too her. And too her, this moment was perfect. This moment made the most sense, than any moment she had ever had. After his speech she forgot everything that had happened. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay, which was new to her.

She kept her arms looped around him in their embrace and took a look at his face. She briefly remembered thinking that is face looked "Stupid", but now it looked like it had at the dance. Before everything turned shitty. She had never noticed how dark and beautifully enchanting his eyes looked, as this was the closest that she had ever been to them. Her heart started pounding. She knew what she wanted to do. But she didn't know if she should because he hadn't exactly told her how he felt about everything. And the guessing terrified her because Matthew wasn't exactly an open book like she was. She took in a shaky breath and decided to just go for it.

She leaned in, and kissed him. She didn't care if he did anything back, she just wanted to know what it felt like. She had never done it before, so she wasn't sure if she was even doing it right. But in all the movies she watched, it seemed like all she had to do was stand there and move her mouth. It was awkward because she didn't know how he would react to it. But she did know one thing. It felt right. All her feelings seemed to fall into place. She knew where she belonged, she just hoped Matthew felt the same way.

Matthew felt a sob shake through Ari's body and he sighed, tightening his arms around her. "Just breathe," he told her. "I'm not going anywhere." He really wished that she wasn't crying, but at the same time it was kind of nice to be able to help. She seemed to find some solace in his embrace, because after a few moments, Ari's crying quieted and he felt her pull away from him. He loosened his arms enough that she could look up at him, but didn't release her any further. "I really am sorry," he said again, his voice sincere. Matthew's eyes searched Ari's face, trying to decipher it. She looked like she was thinking really hard about something, but he had no idea what it was. At the moment, it could be just about anything - so much had happened over the past week. But before Matthew could spend even a moment trying to figure it out, Ari had pushed herself up and pressed her lips to his.

Caught more off guard than ever, Matthew froze, his mind firing off a thousand different sensations at once. The most prominent was the feeling of Ari's lips, and although he didn't really kiss her back, he was acutely aware of how nice her lips felt against his. Matthew felt his heart beat faster. He hadn't exactly been prepared for this. What was he supposed to do?! Did he even want this to happen? But he knew that was a stupid question - hadn't he sorted this out already? Of course he wanted it. He'd just been too afraid to do it himself. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should kiss her back. But what did that even mean? It wasn't like Matthew had ever done this before, and the shock made it hard to do anything besides stand there in bewilderment. And, somewhere in the middle of his hesitation, it was over. And he hadn't even attempted to kiss her back.

When she pulled away, Matthew felt his grip on her loosen completely. He'd hesitated too long, and missed his chance, and he felt himself take a step backward from Ari. "I - um - " Making sentences wasn't exactly easy when some girl had just kissed you and you were only just starting to accept how gorgeous she was and how much you'd wanted it to happen. For a moment, Matthew just stared at her like an idiot, as though he'd never seen her before. But, in a way, he hadn't. Not like this. Not without fighting it. Had he been trying to say something? He had to say something, she was waiting. In the end, he realized that he didn't want to say anything at all, but he did anyway because he was Matthew. "I - I think I made a mistake running away at the ball - I shouldn't have, but I got scared, and I didn't know what to do, and I didn't know what you thought, and I was freaking out because I've just never done this before and I didn't know what I wanted and - and I don't really know why I'm still talking..." God damn Matthew and his rambling, but as he trailed off he was already stepping back toward her. His hands found her face, though admittedly a bit nervously, one sliding around to the back of her neck to bring her to him. He'd hesitated long enough, and without another thought, Matthew pressed his lips against hers, making sure to fully participate this time. And all at once, he realized that he'd wanted this all along.

He wasn't doing it back... And that freaked her out even more. A million and seven things where running threw her head, and she didn't know how to react. When he backed away and he gave her that deer in the headlights look, she gave the same look to him back. She didn't know what she was thinking. She shouldn't have kissed him. She mentally facepalmed herself, and thought she ruined everything between them with just one simple kiss. She knew he wasn't ready for that and that scared her. She probably scared him off for good, and everything that he had said previously was now out the window. But, he had promised, and Matthew Bennett never broke a promise, especially to her.

But then he started rambling. Like he always did when he was nervous. Like she always did when she needed to rant, or was panicking. He started talking about how running away after the dance was a mistake. How he didn't know what he wanted then, but kind of did now. Her heart started beating even harder. She didn't know what would happen in the future. She hoped they would remain best friends even after everything that had happened if it didn't end well. Ari finally came to terms with herself and decided that she was ok with whatever happened. She had pushed things too fast, and knew that Matthew was a little naïve about certain things, so if they ended up breaking things off right there and then, she knew it would've been her fault, and she would be ok with it.

He stopped talking, which completely caught her off guard. But she deserved it because she had caught him off guard the first time. And this time, he was actually taking part in the kiss. Ari's insides where going wild. Sparks where flying, and everything was right in the world. This was the moment she had been the most scared about and yet it happened to be so natural, and so amazingly right in every way she could ever imagine. She only broke it off because she needed to breathe. Other wise she would've been content with staying like that forever. She grabbed his hand and asked, "What now?" She giggled. Ariadne O'Rieley NEVER giggled. Life as she new it changed in just a few seconds. And she was happy about it.

So, apparently kissing a girl was much more enjoyable when you didn't just stand there like some clueless idiot. Though, Matthew still wasn't entirely sure what to do with his hands, so he just left them by her face because it was easiest and Ari didn't seem to mind. If he had any common sense, he could have thought back to all of the movies he'd watched to have at least some idea of what to do - but as it turned out, he was a bit distracted and was having some trouble focusing on anything besides Ari at that moment. And in the end, when she finally started to pull away, Matthew was surprised to find that he was disappointed to have it end. He let her go, but didn't step away at all - being close to her wasn't so bad. Still a bit breathless - whether from his mixed up emotions or the kiss itself he wasn't sure - Matthew looked down at her. "I have to tell you something," he said, his voice low. "I think I like you, too," he told her, albeit unnecessarily, his eyes meeting hers.

Matthew would be lying if he said he didn't still feel a little awkward after the kiss, because - well, where did it leave them? Was he supposed to do something else? Matthew had no idea what happened next - and, apparently neither did Ari. But her laughter made it seem not nearly as concerning as he was worried it was, and finally, he let a grin spread across his face as she reached for his hand. "We could climb this awesome tree that you've picked out," Matthew replied, a joking tone to his voice, glancing up at the awesome tree that Ari had chosen to sit down under. But then he looked down, watching his fingers clasp through hers, and his grin melted into a softer smile. "I - I don't know, actually," he admitted. "I haven't exactly done this before," Matthew reminded her sheepishly. And he'd never imagined that he'd be doing this - whatever this was. "I guess we just - see what happens. That's a start, right?"

Though, Matthew was already starting to see that it wouldn't be that hard to predict what would happen. Because already, he wanted to kiss her again. Probably because he'd never understood it before, but now that he knew what it was like, he felt like he'd need to do it all the time until the novelty of it wore off - kind of like when he started watching some stupid TV show that he hadn't expected to be good, and then ended up binge watching the first six seasons in two weeks. Not that he wanted this to get old - but he had a feeling that it would take a while before he'd stop feeling like he couldn't get enough. But, even though he wanted to kiss her again, he was still a little unsure about it. Just because he'd kissed her once didn't mean he had the right to just do it whenever he felt like it. And anyway, it was pretty cold out, and Matthew could really go for something warm to drink. "Come on, let's go back in," he urged her, pulling her along by the hand toward the castle. "I think I need some Hot Chocolate."