You hadn’t expected to find Mattheo waiting for you in the corridor.

He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes shadowed. There was a storm brewing between you.

“Mattheo,” you said. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t move. His jaw flexed once, the muscle twitching. “What’s going on with you?”

You froze. “What do you mean?”

He laughed and stepped forward. “You know what I mean.” His voice cracked, not with weakness, but something close to disbelief. “I know you. I know you better than anyone. This-” he gestured towards the direction of the common room, where the music pulsed faintly through the wall “-this isn’t you.”

You looked away, pretending to adjust the sleeve of your jacket. “I’m just… having fun, that’s all.”

“Having fun?” he repeated, incredulous. “You’re partying every night. You’re skipping class. You stopped being a prefect, for Merlin’s sake!” His tone rose with each word. “What are you doing?”

You opened your mouth, then closed it again. Because you didn’t know what to say. Because part of you didn’t even know the answer.

“I just needed a change,” you muttered finally, but it sounded weak even to your own ears.

Mattheo took another step closer. “A change? Or are you just running away from something?”

You met his gaze then and for a moment the air between you was heavy with everything unsaid. The nights he’d waited for you to show up to study sessions that never happened. The empty seat you’d left in meetings. The way you’d started laughing too loudly, drinking too much, pretending everything was fine.

“Maybe I just got tired,” you whispered. “Of doing everything right all the time. Of being perfect.”

His expression cracked. “You were never perfect,” he said softly. “You were real. You cared. You tried.” His voice trembled. “And that’s the person I...” He cut himself off, looking away. “That’s the person I miss.”

You took a shaky breath. “Mattheo…”

He shook his head, backing away slightly. “I don’t even recognize you anymore.”

For a long moment, neither of you moved. The music in the distance faded. The corridor felt colder.

Then Mattheo said quietly, “I just hope you find your way back. Before you lose yourself completely.”