"She's been fucking killing me," Mattheo groaned as one of his hands raked through his scalp and the other pulled at his face.

"Who?" Theo asked with a cigarette poised between his lips. They were finally having some guy time after going far too long without it. Mattheo was beginning to wonder if Theo had some secret fling or something. Both boys were known whores around the Hogwarts grounds but that had never stopped them from having a good cigarette, maybe a couple of beers before. Mattheo practically had to corner Theo to finally hang out.

Now, they stood next to the Black Lake while a storm lingered not far away, smoking cigarettes Theo smuggled into the castle. The still water shuddered every once in a while from the booming of the far-off thunder. It reminded Mattheo of the time Evelyn went missing his third year and his brother had set a perpetual thunderstorm on the castle for weeks. It was bloody miserable, though he had to admit that the dark grey clouds added something to the atmosphere now.

He groaned. "Haven't you been listening? Nora. She's been driving me insane."

Theodore Nott rolled his eyes. "How?"

"It's like she's turned into this fucking vixen. One minute, she's biting my head off in class or at Quidditch practice like she always does, the next she's pulling me into a broom closet and grinding on me like she's in fucking heat." He pulled down the collar of his shirt. "Look what she did to me! I look like I have dragon pox with all the damn hickeys she's given me."

His friend snorted before taking a drag. "And that's a bad thing?"

"Maybe not for you because you want to win the damn bet but for me it sure as hell is. I think there's going to be a new shade of blue to describe my balls pretty soon."

"By all means, give in and save me twenty galleons," Theo said with a wry smirk. "I didn't think it was possible for you to go this long."

"To be honest, me neither."

And that was an understatement. The last time Mattheo went more than a couple of days without at least jacking off, his age was probably in the single digits. He always considered himself a sexual sort of bloke—and why shouldn't he be? It was sort of what he was known for. Between the secret parties, the many women, and the little black market liquor business he had going on under the table, Mattheo liked to have a good time, which was completely the opposite of Nora "Stick Up Her Ass" Rosier. It was one of the many reasons they never got along.

Yet there she was, showing this fiery side of her that he didn't know existed. She was grabbing his cock as she passed him in the hallway, biting on his neck while he thrust into her, making the most perfect moan he'd ever heard, all while being a bloody brilliant Quidditch player.

Had the world gone mad? Had Mattheo Riddle finally learned to respect Nora Rosier?

His month was almost up and he looked forward to it more and more every day. Of course the forty galleons were a big, big part of that (he was, after all, a greedy son of a bitch) but an even bigger part was the knowledge that he was soon going to be able to finally fuck her like he'd been wanting to. If their chemistry was this off the charts now, when he couldn't do any more than push her against a wall and press his dick into her—a loophole he was more than happy to utilize often—then what would it be like when he could finally have her?

Oh, it was going to be the most spectacular thing he'd ever experienced.

Mattheo had spent many, many, many (maybe just one more many to be safe) nights with girls. He didn't do attachments, he didn't fuck a girl more than a handful of times, and he flirted with just about any girl alive. Hell, he called all of them his future wife just on the off chance it would be correct.

But not her.

No, he couldn't describe it but somehow, Nora was different. Calling her his future wife as a joke just didn't feel right.

Mattheo Riddle had called Nora Rosier his future wife once many years ago and he'd learned his lesson. He wouldn't—no, he couldn't do it again.

"How'd you say this happened again?" Theo asked, tearing him from his thoughts of that terrible memory.

"Bloody hell, mate, do you listen to a word I say?" Mattheo asked with an eye roll.

"Nope."

He chuckled. "Figures." Theo handed him the cigarette, which he took a long and much-needed hit from before continuing. "I was at the Quidditch pitch blowing off some steam when she showed up looking all pissed off that I was there. I don't know why but there was something about seeing her with her hair flying loosely and her cheeks all pink from the wind. She didn't look like Nora, mate, she looked… different."

"So you were horny and you saw an attractive woman. Could have saved a few words," Theo said dryly, which earned him a glare and a punch in the arm from Mattheo.

"I challenged her to a Quidditch competition and it was so bloody fun. She seemed so much looser than normal—I thought it was about to fucking rain pigs or something!"

"Merlin, you do not know your idioms."

"Shut the fuck up, you Merriam-Webster ass."

"A dictionary has definitions, not grammar, you dumb fuck."

The calm of the lake was immediately interrupted by Mattheo shoving his best friend into the dark depths. Theodore emerged glaring with his now-extinguished cigarette in hand before socking Mattheo in the cheek. Mattheo just plastered on a dumb grin before muttering a spell to fix the black eye he would have had.

This was their friendship. Push and shove. Smoke and smile. Just two boys being dumbasses together year after year.

"Anyway, I accidentally insulted her—"

"By being a dumb fuck, as per usual."

Another splash, another punch, and another extinguished cigarette.

"And when I apologized, I don't know what happened. She just looked so fucking pretty that I couldn't help myself. I kissed her and then I panicked because I didn't want to go any further and lose the bet so I apparatus away, which really pissed her off."

"Oh, really? Because I thought girls really liked it when you disappeared into thin air after leading them on." There was no possible way for Theodore's voice to be more sarcastic.

"I tried to apologize by pulling her into a broom closet—"

"For fuck's sake, do you not know how to act like a normal damn person?" Theo pinched his forehead. "Do not answer that question because I unfortunately know the answer."

Mattheo grinned. "Hell yeah, you do. One thing led to another and we had the most incredible makeout session of my life. We've been doing that shit in secret ever since."

"Can't wait until the boys hear you've been dry-fucking Nora," Theo said with a smirk.

"They're bound to find out Saturday night." The first of Mattheo's many secret common room parties, events that were kept strictly invitation only for a select few people because that was when he busted out his best party games and finest liquor. They were a damn good time for those lucky enough to snag an invite. Normally, this was kept to the Slytherin boys and a few girls—Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, and maybe a couple of others. Since Slytherin played Gryffindor Friday and this Saturday was the match between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, they could get roaring drunk without worrying about being hungover. It was guaranteed to be a good fucking night.

Plus, it was the night his bet was over. The night he was forty galleons richer and would spend it celebrating deep inside of Nora. Many, many times.

Praise. Fucking. Merlin.

Mattheo turned toward Theo—about to ask him for a hit of their third (not soaking wet) cigarette— when he stopped. Theo's brows were scrunched in confusion. He was wearing that look on his face that indicated the bloke was being "pensive", as Enzo put it. Mattheo once offered "thinkful" as another word but Enzo slapped him pretty fucking hard for how lean he was and said that wasn't a word.

"What is it?" Mattheo asked, not liking when Theo got all thinkful. Mainly because it made him feel, frankly, a little left out. Merlin knew there were only about two brain cells left in his mind that weren't fried by alcohol and drugs and those two were probably wrestling for third place.

"I'm just surprised that was how she reacted," Theo mused, stroking his chin. "I mean, this is Nora Rosier we're talking about. She isn't known to be particularly easygoing. I'm surprised she didn't slap you the moment you pulled her into that broom closet."

"Oh, she did. Twice."

Theo frowned. "That's it?"

"What do you mean 'that's it?' It fucking hurt. She's got some strength—"

"No, don't get your knickers in a twist. I didn't mean it didn't hurt. I just meant that I'm surprised it was all she did."

Now Mattheo was frowning too. In the distance, a bolt of lightning lit up the dark clouds. "What do you mean?"

Theo shrugged, his tall, lanky shoulders looking even bonier with the movement. "I dunno. Think about it from her point of view. For seven years, she hasn't even remotely tried to hide her disdain—"

"Don't use big words, you twat." He didn't feel like thinking when he was brain was already high enough. Maybe some days, Mattheo Riddle could actually be intelligent but those days weren't near to him now. His balls were so bloody blue he could hardly think about anything other than Nora and the substances he so often abused. What he wouldn't do for a firewhisky right about now.

"Fine, dislike," Theo muttered with another roll of his grey eyes. "She hates you and all of a sudden, you act nice and she starts to trust you only for you to kiss her and leave her stranded, essentially humiliating her."

"Way to make me feel even more like a jerk." He had enough of that in the days following their kiss when his mind couldn't decide whether he was sorry for doing it or sorry he wasn't on his way to do it again.

"I'm just saying, if I were Nora—the somewhat chaotic bitch that she is—I would do a lot more than slap you twice."

The corners of Mattheo's lips turned downward. "Like what? Hex me?"

"No, she's too smart for that." Theo hummed under his breath before releasing a large bout of smoke that flooded the air around them. "I think I'd get you back somehow."

And just like that, the puzzle fell into place. Mattheo and Theodore looked at each other with widened eyes as it all came together. The bitchy words, the steamy makeout sessions, the whiplash his head was getting from it all. She'd been torturing him. At first, he thought it was just because she was as eager to have him as he was to have her. But now, he knew that it was all part of her little fucking plan.

"Bloody hell," he whispered, finally realizing why Nora always wore that coy look around him. It wasn't because she was being flirty. It was because she was fucking getting revenge.

To his surprise, Theo began to laugh loudly. "Bloody hell is an understatement, mate. You've been royally fucked. Oh, this is fucking brilliant! I've never liked Nora more."

As if on cue, Mattheo watched as Nora excited Hogwarts followed by her little band of Slytherins and Ravenclaws. She was at the pack, her hair half up in that little braid she wore as it always was, a few wavy blonde strands hanging in her face. Her jaw was clenched as if she were annoyed by the sight of the storm. Mattheo wondered if she would somehow find a way to send it packing. He certainly would hightail it out of there if he was on the receiving end of that glare.

Her friends talked behind her while she held her chin high and her shoulders back like the queen she was. Like the goddess she was.

She turned and looked down the hill, spotting the two boys where they stood. Mattheo watched as a sly grin overtook her face, like a fox who had just spotted a helpless chicken. She raised one hand and did a little wave that would have seemed flirty if he didn't now know it was taunting.

And through it all—even after figuring out her little plan—he couldn't help but look at her and think about how beautiful she looked.

Yup, he was so very fucked.

Mattheo winked at her and watched as her cheeks flushed the barest shade of rosy pink. It wasn't the wind. It wasn't the nippy air of the storm. No, that was a blush.

A piece of the puzzle he hadn't even realized was missing slotted into place. Nora might have started out with her little game as a means of revenge but that wasn't all it was. She was enjoying him as much as he enjoyed her, even if she wouldn't admit it to herself. And that was all he needed to smile at her and turn back to Theo with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" Theo asked with amusement in his eyes.

"I'm thinking how getting her back is going to be very, very sweet."

His friend may have thought Mattheo was only focused on revenge but that was far from the case. Sure, it might have been a tiny plus but mostly, Mattheo couldn't wait for the day until he could make Nora Rosier lose her fucking mind while he lost his with her.

It didn't matter why they started their little competition. It only mattered that he would be crossing the finish line with her very soon.

Ooooooooh, what do you think? The back and forth of this couple is so fun to write but also it makes it hard for me to plan where I'm going with this sometimes haha.

As always, thank you for any comments as I truly do appreciate them. Let me know if you have any predictions or things you want to see!