Shakespeare

A Tom Riddle Love Story

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 2 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, I was awakened by scream of pure terror. Leaping out of bed, I plucked my glasses from the handle of my wardrobe and ran out into the hall, barefoot and in a nightgown. Being 7, I frankly didn't care that my mid-back length platinum blonde hair was a complete and utter mess. Reaching the place from whence the scream had come, I saw a little girl, who looked around 6 years old, pointing at the ceiling. I followed her gaze.

What I saw made me gag. There hung a dead rabbit. Literally hung from the rafters. With a noose. I closed my eyes and shook my head, sure that my face was a sickly shade of green.

By now, almost the entire orphanage had gathered, some even having to stand outside of doorways, so large was the crowd. "Scriggles!" I heard a cry, and was pushed to the side by Billy Stubbs so forcefully that I tumbled and fell, landing flat on my butt. My face flushing scarlet as I realized that none other than Tom Riddle had been standing right beside me and had seen everything.

I started to push myself up when a hand was extended to me. I looked up to find that it was Tom, his face still cold and expressionless. Warily, I took it. Part of me expected it to be cold and hard, like his demeanor, but when I wrapped mine around his, it was soft and warm to the touch. He pulled me to my feet, then immediately let go, still expressionless. I frowned a little, upset that he wouldn't even smile, and worried. Would I end up like Tom Riddle, cold, hard, emotionless? I'd only been here for about a week. Who knew how long Riddle had. Remembering the 'conversation' from yesterday, I deducted that he'd probably been here most of his life, if not all of it. I shivered a little, then glanced at Stubbs, who was staring disbelievingly up at his rabbit's mangled, lifeless body.

Looking back at Tom, I was shocked and horiffied to find him gazing at the strangled rabbit with a vague expression of pleasure on his face. "Tom...?" I started, but before I could finish my question, Stubbs had recovered from his shock and was in the anger stage. "RIDDLE!" he bellowed, whirling around in search of the Riddle boy. Obviously not wanting to get in Stubbs's way for fear of severe injury, everyone around Tom, excluding me, quickly moved away from him, giving Stubbs free range.

Stubbs stormed towards Riddle, his face crimson and his fists clenched. Some instinct told me to run. I ignored it. Stubbs glared at me, as if not sure what to make of the fact that I wasn't moving away like everyone else. I glared back. "This is between me and Riddle, Lindsey. Back off." Stubbs growled. "Um, I happen to consider Riddle as a friend. And I am extremely protective of my friends." I growled back. "Oh, but I guess you wouldn't know how that feels, would you Stubbs?" I added dismissively. "And what is that supposed to mean?" he snapped. "Oh, just ackknowledging the fact that you have no friends." I shrugged.

Stubbs's face grew even redder. Riddle had stayed silent through the entire thing. Suddenly, Stubbs's fist was flying towards my face. Instinctively, I grabbed it and moved with the presicion of a trained fighter, twisting his arm behind his back and pushing him to his knees. "Pfft. Wimp." Tom looked on, and I had to supress a smile as I saw that he had an impressed look on his face. I let Stubbs go and began to walk away when I felt a hand hit my ankle, tripping me. I fell forward, throwing out my hands and flipping. Not being quite as trained as I would have liked to be at 7 years old, I landed flat on my butt for the second time that day.

Standing up and brushing myself off, I turned to Stubbs, who had regained his feet. I smiled sweetly at him, folding my hands behind my back. "That the best you got, Stubbs?" I asked. "Far from it." Stubbs growled, then lunged towards me. I simply stepped to the side and, as he passed me, I pushed him forward a little, sending him sprawling. As he was getting up, I saw the face of Mrs. Cole appear in a doorway and stepped back, dissapearing into the crowd before she could spot me and connect me to the fight. I watched as Mrs. Cole entered the room and let out a squeak as she saw the rabbit, which everyone had abandoned in the wake of the fight between two 7 year olds.

"Wh-what is this?" Mrs. Cole cried, drawing the childrens attention back. "Why don't you ask Riddle?" Stubbs responded viciously. Again, everyone moved away from Tom but me. "Tom, what is this?" Mrs. Cole asked, struggling to remain calm. Tom looked at it, as if examining it. "It looks like a rabbit to me, ma'am." he responded simply. "I mean, what's it doing there?" Mrs. Cole asked, getting a little exasperated. "I don't know, ma'am." Tom responded, and it was a very convincing 'I don't know', might I say. "Yes you do!" Stubbs cried, outraged. "You're the one who did it!" Tom simply threw him a look that said 'Say what you will. I'll always win.', then looked back to the distressed old lady before him. "Is that true, Tom?" Mrs. Cole asked. "Did you... do.. this to the rabbit?" She gestured to the dangling rodent. Tom looked up at her imploring face. "No."

Stubbs looked as though he were about to explode, and I really didn't know what to do when Mrs. Cole looked to me. "Victoria, did Tom do this?" she asked me. I decided to tell the truth. "I honestly don't know, Mrs. Cole. I do happen to know that there are quite a few people besides Tom who would have reason to do this. So I do not know who did it. It could have been anyone." Mrs. Cole sighed. "Thank you, dearie." she said. "Everyone, away! There is no longer any reason to stay here."

There was a collective groan from the orphans as they all turned to leave, except for Riddle, Stubbs, and myself. "He did it! " Stubbs cried. "I'm sure he did! And she helped! That's why she said she didn't know who did it!" I rolled my eyes, turning to go back to my room. It was a Saturday. I was tired. "Billy, to your room. Now." Mrs. Cole ordered. Grumbling something indistinguishable, Stubbs stalked off in the direction of his room. As he passed me, he shoved me to the side rather forcefully, sending me tumbling into Tom, who caught me and helped me back to a steady standing position. "Thanks." I said, not really expecting a response. So I was surprised when I heard "You are quite welcome." come from his mouth. I smiled, happy that he was actually speaking to me instead of staring emotionlessly. I knew it was to much to hope for that he would smile back, so I wasn't dissapointed when his face remained blank.

"See you later?" I asked. Tom looked at me. "Maybe." he replied. I nodded, turned, and walked away to my room to get some more sleep before the day actually began.