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Cater jolted awake with a gasp, sitting straight up in bed and clutching his chest where the phantom pains still tingled.
Once the room stopped spinning and his breathing slowed to a less frantic pace, he glanced down only to be met with the cold stare of Riddle’s eyes glistening in the pale light that seeped in through the curtains. Of course he knew Riddle slept with his eyes open. Somehow, it was never any less unsettling.
“Yikessss.” He whispered, affectionately patting Riddle’s cheek. ”it’s sooo creepy that you do this honestly.”
He couldn’t even imagine attempting to go back to sleep at this point in time, so he leaned over to kiss the top of Riddle’s hair and then got out of bed.
He tried to be quiet as he put on his slippers and headed down to the kitchen. Riddle slept like a rock, and when Cater removed his arm from around his waist the other just rolled over and grabbed onto Trey. Trey was a light sleeper though and Cater didn’t really want to explain to him why he was awake at this hour.
He held the door handle and ever so quietly closed the bedroom door behind him. Cater was no stranger to sneaking out. He’d definitely done it a few times. Mostly it had gone well. A few times…not so much. He tiptoed down the corridor and down the stairs and through the lounge, breathing a sigh of relief once he shut the door to the kitchen and turned on the light.
“Hmm. Now where does Trey keep the tea…” he surveyed the room, seeing the neatly organized shelves and cabinets, wondering where to start.
“Second cabinet to the left, first shelf.”
“Thanks!….ACK!!!” Cater nearly jumped two feet into the air and whirled around, hand kn his heart.
“Trey!! You gave me a HEART ATTACK!?”
“Sorry…thought you heard me come in.” Trey rubbed the back of his neck and gave him a sheepish smile.
“Um. You couldn’t sleep either?”
“Heard you get up.”
“Damn. I tried to be sooo quiet this time. You want some tea?”
“Sure”
Cater filled up the kettle in the sink and set it on the stove, leaning against the counter while he waited for the water to boil.
“So…what’s the deal?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you up at…” Trey glanced at the clock in the room, “2:47AM?”
“Nightmare.”
“Oh.”
It was silent for a while, the only sound was the ticking clock and the metallic crinkle of water about to boil. Finally Cater broke the silence.
“It’s just kinda fucked up knowing what it’s like to die but not being dead.”
They two stared at each other for a moment before Cater turned around.
“I shouldn’t have said that, sorry.”
“You must have needed to though, clearly.”
“Well…I meant more I shouldn’t have said it to you. You already blame yourself enough.”
Trey sighed.
“Is this about Riddle’s Overblot? I’m sorry again I let it get that far—“
His apology was cut off as the tea kettle started to squeal.
“It’s fine, seriously.” Cater set a steaming mug of tea down in front of him and sat across the table, holding his own cup with both hands. “It’s not your fault and I wasn’t looking for another apology.”
“Just venting your own thoughts, then?”
“Uh huh, Something like that, yeah.”
“You should talk to Riddle about it.” Trey suggested, blowing in his tea and taking a sip.
“What?! NO!” Cater coughed and shook his head vehemently, “no! Dude are you outta your mind?! I don’t wanna make him feel more guilty than he already does! He doesn’t remember anything anyway and I don’t wanna be all like ‘oh yeah by the way you tried to straight up murder Deuce and hit me instead lolz!’ What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
He took a gulp of his drink before setting it down harder than he intended to.
“Would you want to be told?”
“Huh?”
“If it was you,” Trey repeated, “would you wanna be told or just left in the dark?”
“I…I dunno but PLEASE don’t tell him, Trey! I’m not kidding.”
“Fine.” Trey finished his tea before pushing it over to Cater and standing up. “It’s up to you. I’m going back to bed. Make sure you wash the dishes.”
The green haired Junior shuffled out of the kitchen, closing the door behind him and leaving Cater alone with his now lukewarm tea and his thoughts. He’d wanted to say so much: he was scared, he was confused, he felt both angry at Riddle and guilty for feeling angry. He just…didn’t know how to actually SAY any of that. Especially since it wasn’t like Riddle didn’t have his fair share of issues. He was still taking those magic replenishing pills and had nightmares of his own. But…Cater felt forgotten in all this. He should talk to Riddle…
All you do is talk and talk to everyone but when it’s your turn suddenly you’re like Idiya when he sees Kalim. It’s so not healthy Cay-cay.
“Ugh.” He dumped his unfinished tea down the sink. He wasn’t really in the mood anymore. 3:34. He should try and get back to sleep.
Kettle: emptied and dried. Mugs: washed and put away. Counter: wiped down. Kitchen: returned to its spotless state. Not that Riddle went into the kitchen much, but the Heartslabyul kitchen was Trey’s baby and this was more so Trey wouldn’t get after him.
He dragged his feet back up the stairs and through the hallway, opening the door to Riddle’s room. Trey was already asleep again. How both of them were able to fall asleep almost instantly, Cater didn’t know. It made him kinda jealous. Riddle just lay flat on his back, folded his hands, closed his eyes and was fast asleep in minutes. Trey would just flop onto the bed. Meanwhile even on normal nights it took Cater over an hour.
“Maybe if you were not scrolling on your phone looking at who knows what you would not be having this problem. It’s bad for your eyes.” Riddle told him.
Such a Riddle thing to say, but to his credit the next day Riddle had messaged him about 10 websites where he could buy things that supposedly would help him sleep with detailed pros and cons of each one, AND had left a stack of books on his desk about the topic as well.
He was about to crawl into bed again but stopped. Illogical resentment bubbled back up in his chest. How could he just keep pretending that everything was all better now and move on, like everyone else seemed to? He shouldn’t be here, with Riddle and Trey. It suddenly felt so fake. He pulled the covers back up around the other two, put his slippers back on and quietly backed out of the room.
His own room was cold and stale. Cater couldn’t really remember the last time he’d slept in his own bed. He still kept all his clothes, makeup and school stuff in here, and usually did homework at his desk in here too, but actually sleeping in his own room?
He pulled back the perfectly made sheets, still carrying faint traces of the smell of detergent. As the junior lay in bed and looked up at the ceiling, the intense quiet that was him alone with his thoughts washed over him like a cold wave.
Why was he with either of them to begin with? He’d been madly in love with Trey since freshman year, but Trey was completely taken with Riddle. Had been since they were children. And Riddle…it was odd. He was surprised when he fell in love with him. But Riddle just…cared. In a way no one else did. It was like he saw every single piece of Cater. Remembering everything, making him feel seen, important. But Riddle…Riddle had tried to kill him. Him, Ace, Deuce, the whole dorm. It wasn’t really him. But it was still his body. His face…Cater should just—break things off.
“What?! NO! Cay-Cay! You’re thinking crazy again. Just go to sleep.” He rubbed his face and pinched himself before turning over and mentally playing through the last movie he saw to take his mind off of thoughts he no longer wanted to confront.
Running away again. Like Idiya from Kalim. Ha…stupid.
2.
“…dle. Sorry Trey, I just wanted a night to myself.”
Riddle woke up to the voices of Trey and Cater. WAIT! How late had he SLEPT?? He practically fell out of bed, grabbed his magic pen and started frantically fixing his hair and making the bed.
“I'm awake now! Trey what time is it?! Cater don’t forget to eat before class…ugh…”
“Remember to brush your teeeeth.” Trey interjected in a singsong voice.
“Trey Clover if you take—one—more step closer to me I will turn your underwear into vinegar.” Riddle huffed as he magicked his pajamas into the drawer and his school uniform on.
“Yeah can’t blame him there man. I rebuke whatever weird thing you have for teeth.” Cater shrugged when Trey made a face.
“Whoa whoa what are you doing Riddle?!” Trey did put a hand on the other’s shoulder at this point.
“Classes??? Why did neither of you wake me up?!”
“Riddle, it’s the weekend…”
Everything flying around the room with magic paused.
“Oh.” Usually he was so good about keeping track of days…
“Yeah, also Trey and I have decided we are going to the lake today and you aren’t allowed to say anything about it.”
”But—but—“
“Ah ah. What did I say about that?“ Cater put a finger to his lips and shushed him.
“Remember you’re still supposed to be taking it easy and not letting too much magical residue build up, if I’m not mistaken.” Trey crossed his arms. “And someone was using magic willy nilly just now.”
“I—oh..r-right.”
“Let me see your pen.” Trey held out his hand and Riddle gave it to him. The Vice Warden turned it around and held the crystal up to the light before handing it back.
Slowly the objects around the room returned to their normal places and Riddle walked over to his closet.
“I suppose the lake would be nice. So is this trip the three of us or will we have some…enthusiastic escorts?”
“Nope nopeity nope! No one but us is going on this one! And don't worry, I told Deucey to keep an eye on stuff for us.” Cater pinched Riddle’s cheek as the other smacked his hand.
The Junior pulled him away from the closet. “We’ll be here all day while you decide. Let the fashion expert here take charge.
“Trey can you go get Deuce and tell him to come up here so I can give him instructions on how to—“
“I already told him.”
“What?!”
“Already told him. He volunteered anyway.”
“Wh—“
“Here. Wear this!” Cater slapped a shirt to Riddle’s chest, followed by a pair of pants. “And these. And wait here I’m getting you some jewelry from my room.”
“And don’t forget to brush your teeth.”
“TREY!!” Cater and Riddle both yelled.
Cater sifted through his jewelry box back in his room. Yes this was a great idea. The three of them could relax and talk and he wouldn’t have to think about the fact that he thought about breaking up with them and that he secretly had unresolved trauma from one of his copies getting killed by Riddle’s creepy Overblot Persona—WAIT! Ugh!
He felt guilty for even thinking that last night. If he bought Riddle a nice treat at a cafe that was definitely going to ease his conscience right?
Shit. He’d forgotten the outfit he’d picked out for Riddle. He grabbed a pair of pearl teardrop earrings and a nice white gold necklace with a crown pendant he’d actually bought for Riddle and simply forgotten to give him.
When he came back into Riddle’s room Trey was holding a very annoyed Riddle’s face and looking at his mouth.
“Trey you are sooooo weird. Here Riddle, I forgot I got you this. You can wear it out today!”
Riddle looked a bit embarrassed as he took the necklace. Right, it was expensive. It wasn’t like Cater couldn’t afford it, it was just that…
“Thank you, it’s very beautiful.”
All of Riddle’s things were practical, chosen with care, each serving a purpose. Cater had bought that necklace at the spur of the moment on a shopping trip to Maquiville with Vil a few weeks ago. It had just reminded him of Riddle. Elegant, practical. But…if that was how Riddle chose his belongings, would that also mean…
“Earth to Cater! We’re leaving.” Trey waved a hand in front of his face.
“Ope! Sorry! I’m sooo ready!”
“Bye Housewarden!” Deuce waved from where he was sitting with Jack, Ace and Epel in the Lounge. How was Deuce still so okay with everything? Cater still remembered Deuce screaming as he held the body of his copy…
“Oh! Hiya Riddle,Cater and Trey! Have fun!” Epel chimed in, midway through shoving an entire muffin into his mouth.
“Surely Vil would object to these questionable eating ha—mph!” Cater covered his boyfriend’s mouth mid speech and waved back.
“Bye bye! Well have a suuuuperb time! I’ll text ya pics!”
3.
When they arrived at the port town, they were greeted by the cry of seagulls and the smell of the ocean lapping at the docks. The streets were lined with colorful flowers. Trey and Riddle were already arguing about something.
“I simply don’t see the problem. If everyone already knows it anyway why on earth are you always acting so shifty?”
“I just don’t like a lot of attention…plus you know my friends are weird. I don’t want them bothering you.”
“They already bother me anyway. Or at least Jade’s wretched brother does. Nary a peep out of you when it comes to that.”
Huh. Cater desperately wished he could just speak his mind so freely like Riddle did. Vaguely he was aware that he was holding Riddle’s hand, but somehow he felt like those boats moored to the pier, tethered to a place by one single rope. Was Riddle the rope? Or was Trey? Or was it him?
“Guys, guys, let’s not make a scene already! Let’s go! The cafe is just up ahead! They have this new spicy egg tart on their menu I’ve been dying to try!” He pulled himself back to the present with a huge effort.
“Oh! Huh you know I think I heard Professor Crewel talking about this place.” Trey commented as they climbed the steps up the short hill from the boardwalk to the Main Street full of cafes and restaurants looking out over the water.
“Hm. Well if he recommended the place then it must be quite good. Professor Crewel has impeccable standards.”
“Are you saying I don’t?!” Cater gasped in mock offense.
“Don’t be ridiculous. It is just…you and I have very different tastes.” Riddle rolled his eyes.
Different tastes. But in Cater’s mind he shared so much with Riddle! Like… and just like that every single similarity they had flew out of his mind. Ugh! If he could stop chronically overthinking for just TWO SECONDS! This was supposed to be an enjoyable trip!
“Two egg tarts and a strawberry soufflé please! And black coffee.” Riddle was already ordering for everyone before Trey or Cater could stop him.
The three picked out a nice table in the corner by the open air, the fresh morning sea breeze keeping the temperature pleasant.
“Two egg tarts?”
“Well, since you like them so much I had better try it too. And Trey doesn’t eat in the mornings…” Riddle shot the other a pointed stare, “despite my insistence. So I ordered him some coffee.“
Riddle really was trying so hard. Maybe that was Cater’s problem. He wasn’t trying hard enough. After all, the street went both ways. After his overblot, Riddle was so much more mellow, maybe Cater needed to move on too. Try. It just didn’t help that every time he looked at Riddle’s face he saw those terrifying burning eyes dripping blot hurling that spear—
“So what is the plan for today?” Riddle asked, startling Cater out of his thoughts.
“Plan…? Riddle honey, it’s a vacation.” Cater patted his hand.
“But—but what do you mean there isn’t a plan?!”
“To be honest, we kind of just wanted to get yoou away from College and the Dorm for a while. It will help with—“
“I am perfectly fine now.” Riddle interrupted a bit sharply, then stopped himself and took a deep breath. “But I appreciate the thought. And it is nice here.”
Trey gave Cater a look.
The food arrived. Cater immediately stuck his hand out in front of Riddle before he could do anything.
“Oh. Of course. Pictures for your…Magicam.”
“Youuuuu know it! Smile!”
Riddle obliged and Cater took a picture of him and Trey with the food, then made them all lean in for a selfie together. He stared at it for a long time afterward until he hated himself. His stupid fake smile. Riddle’s eyes started to unsettle him. Trey’s eyes wide and terrified…
“Cuuuute! We look great!”
“So I was thinking, I know there’s a bookstore down the way a bit here, if we wanted to go take a look!” Trey sipped his coffee.
“Mmm!” Riddle set his fork down and perked up. “That is an excellent idea! I’ve been looking to expand my magic manuals, there is a specific title I’ve been searching for. It is in the school library, of course but I was hoping to buy it for myself.”
“Of course you have.” Cater laughed. “How’s that spice treating you?”
“….its fine.” A single tear rolled down Riddle’s cheek and Trey pushed his coffee towards him.
“You could do with a bit more reading yourself. You too Trey!”
“Ahahaha I do read Riddle! I got quite a few comics!” Riddle rolled his eyes at him. “You should read them!”
“And I suppose these “comics” just so happen to be on your phone?”
“Er…heh. You got me there! But seriously they’re good!! It’s just a book in picture form! Your crazy mom probably told you they’ll rot your brain or something.”
“Cater!”
“That—is almost exactly what she said.” Riddle gave a defeated sigh.
“Seeee?! Cmon. Have you ever even read a work of fiction?”
“O-of course! I-I’ve read all of the fairytales in the Queendom of Roses now. I checked out a collection from the school library my freshman year!”
“Eh nah I’m talking about like…modern stories. Like oh oh! There’s one about this guy who gets isekai’d into another world and he has to—“
“I—isekai…?”
“It means like…the main character doesn’t belong in the world he’s put into. Like..like if you were taken out of Twisted Wonderland and put into some fantasy world instead but you were still Riddle.”
“Um…o—okay?”
“I’ll show you some when we get to the bookstore.”
The three finished their meal. Cater made sure to snag the bill before Riddle could even move a finger. As they left the cafe and walked down the main road, Cater ended up walking a bit behind Trey and Riddle. He watched them, Trey holding Riddle’s hand, Riddle pressing their shoulders together. What if they were better off without him? Trey had forgiven Riddle, or maybe he was never angry with him in the first place. Maybe Cater was the problem. Trey leaned over to say something to Riddle, who laughed, and then looked around to his other side.
“Cater? Where did you go? Oh! We lost you for a moment there. Hurry!” Riddle held out his other hand as Cater approached.
He gave Riddle a pat on the shoulder and put his arm around him, but he didn’t take his hand. The other didn't seem to notice.
4.
The bell jingled at the bookstore signaling their arrival. It was picture perfect, a bit cluttered, a cat curled on the windowsill and a thick smell of old books lingering in the air. The older woman at the front desk looked up from her knitting to greet them.
Riddle’s eyes got almost as wide as when he looked in the Clover Bakery window and he immediately zipped off from shelf to shelf like some kind of book bee.
“He’s so cute OMS.” Cater rested his elbow on Trey’s shoulder. “Genius level move btw babe.”
“Yeah.” Trey nodded, then lowered his voice, “Say, what’s up with you?”
Cater’s heart almost stopped.
“H-huh? What do ya mean? What’s wrong with me?”
“Since last night. You’ve been acting weird. You’re lucky Riddle doesn’t have a shred of emotional intelligence. Plus, you keep spacing out.”
“Ah…th-that..I’m working on it, kay? I’m gonna talk to him just….not today. Not yet.”
“Alright…” Trey looked dubious, but gave Cater’s hand an encouraging squeeze.
“I-I’m gonna look at the comics now.”
Cater darted off into a random corner of the bookstore, anywhere to just not feel Trey’s eyes on him anymore. Luckily, Trey went over to Riddle who started happily showing his selection of books. He breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the two through a gap in the shelves.
The truth…he needed to tell Riddle the truth.The orange haired Junior leaned back against the shelf and sighed. Suddenly, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
It was the tip of a slip of paper peeking out of one of the old books on the bottom shelf. He crouched down and carefully pulled it out. The book was clearly well loved, an old book of fairytales. It crunched a bit when he opened it up to the page where the paper was sticking out. It looked like a recipe someone had torn out from a different book and used as a bookmark, then simply forgot to take out.
Cater took a closer look at the paper. It looked like it was from a magazine, advertising a…no wait. It wasn’t a recipe. Well it was, just not for food. It was a potion. In fact, it was a potion for—!
He shut the book quickly and tucked it under his arm. Riddle now had about 5 thick books, which were stacked so high his face was almost obscured, and Trey was trying to get him to let him carry a few.
“Well someone likes to read.” The old lady smiled as the redhead dumped the pile on the checkout counter.
“I do indeed. Books are the ultimate source of knowledge.”
“Oh boy here he goes…” Trey shook his head before pointing to the book clutched in Cater’s hand, “hey I’m surprised you picked a book that isn’t a comic.”
“Oh uh uh it’s for…it’s because I feel like I should try…yknow for Riddle.”
“I see. That’s really thoughtful of you, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. Riddle looks a lot more relaxed today than usual, thanks for coming.”
“That you very much ma’am.” Riddle finished up paying and walked over to them, carrying a bag filled with books. “Oh!? Cater, do I see you actually purchasing a real book? With words and not pictures?”
“Puh-lease. You tried spicy food for me, I can’t be outdone here for the best boyfriend award.”
“Am I not even in the competition or…”
“Of course!” Cater and Riddle both chorused.
“Now don’t you go fishing for compliments here, mister.” Riddle leaned up to give Trey a peck on the cheek.
“Gross. I’m gonna pay for my book.”
After they left the bookstore, the three shopped around a little more, walked along the boardwalk, played a few of the games in an arcade, and had lunch. For a while, while watching Riddle rage at a pinball game, Cater forgot about his recurring nightmare, and the potion recipe he’d left tucked away in the book he’d purchased. He relaxed around Riddle for the first time in a few weeks. For once he saw him as just cute Riddle instead of the outer shell of a horrible windup box which might open to reveal a monster again.
“Today was very nice. Thank you.” Riddle smiled brightly as Trey held out his hand for him to step down from the mirror as they appeared back in the college again.
“I had so much fun! Riddle, I think you might be kinda good at video games—“
“Absoloutely not!”
“Oh heya Housewarden!” Deuce greeted them at the entrance, “I got your stuff all ready to play croquet since it’s…2:40. I figured you’d wanna do it as soon as you came back.”
“Yup he’s been pestering us about that. It’s why we are back now. Seven forbid we have a relaxing day with the guy.”
“It’s just how he is. Come on Riddle, let’s play.” Trey took Riddle by the shoulders and steered him away from the conversation that he saw was about to escalate into a tirade about how important rules and routines were.
“Aww man! Riddle always wins this game!” Cater complained, helping Trey put away the equipment.
“It’s because he practices a lot. He wants to be able to play exactly like the Queen of Hearts did.” The other shrugged.
“Well. I dunno how good she was but Riddle is craaaazy good already.”
“Agreed. You seemed…happier than you have been recently today, by the way.”
“Yeah…I think…seeing Riddle relax made me relax. Not so afraid he’s gonna turn…intoooo…hmm.” Cater trailed off as he saw Trey look at him suspiciously.
“Anyway. I’m gonna go get ready for dinner.” Cater turned to leave but Trey grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him back around.
“Cater. Tell me honestly. Do you need a break?”
“A break?!” the orange haired Junior squeaked, gawking at Trey, “N-no? No! No no I’m okay! I’m gonna talk to him for real! Af-after dinner if you want—“
Trey let him go.
“Fine. But if you don’t have a conversation with Riddle in the next week, I’m telling him you’re taking a break until you can get yourself sorted out.”
“Ok. Promise.”
“Good.”
5.
It was early in the morning, before the sun had even risen on the Island when Cater once again was sneaking out of the room. But this time he was headed towards the lab, the potion recipe he’d found in the book clutched tightly in his hand.
He made a quick stop by the greenhouse to gather the ingredients, narrowly managing to avoid Rook who was awake for some reason and watering his plants.
The lab was empty and he locked the door behind him, turned on the lights and lit a fire. He had about an hour give or take before he had the possibility of being interrupted or at the very least students might begin to trickle into the main college building.
“Okay Cay Cay, let’s get to work. Split card!”
Two duplicates of him appeared.
“Yo yo what’s up?”
“Ugh why’s it so early?”
“Ok Cater Number 2, you need to grind these into a powder. Cater Number 3, you bring uhh…16oz of water to a boil.”
“Right.”
“On it, me.”
“Alright.” Cater gripped the paper like his life depended on it. “Potion for Truth. Let’s see. Looks like after I do steps 1-3 I’m good to mix it all together. Sweet.”
After about half an hour, he found himself holding a small bottle of a deep red liquid, snapping his copies back out of existence. He tucked it away into his pocket, took off his labcoat, cleaned up the lab and left, making sure to crack open a window to air out the lingering smell of heated up test tube.
He came back to Heartslabyul to the smell of breakfast cooking. It had already drawn in several students as well as Ace and Deuce.
“Morning Cater!” Deuce waved at him. Cater noticed his spade was a little lopsided. Perfect! He’d wanted to get Deuce alone to ask him some questions. Maybe prove he wasn’t going crazy. That it wasn’t just him.
“Hiya Deucey. Did you rush this this morning?”
“Oh!” Deuce covered his eye and looked embarrassed, “Errr no it’s just I’m not very good at it.”
“If ya want I can teach you how to do it so it looks exactly the same every time! Take it from a pro!”
“Oh really?!? Thanks Cater!!”
“No problem! Just swing by my room after breakfast.”
“Hey, pancakes are ready!” Trey called from around the corner.
“HELL YEAH PANCAKES!!!!”
Well, hopefully Deuce remembered.
Sure enough, about an hour later there was a knock on his door. He opened it up to see Deuce holding a few makeup pens in his hand.
“Heyyyyy come in, come in!”
Too long of a “hey”…ugh. He might as well just come out with it already and tell Deuce.
He had him sit down at his makeup mirror.
“So, I like to do like…a connect the dots kinda thing. Like this.” He held Deuce’s face and placed three dots, then showed him in the mirror.
“Deuce, by the way…” he paused, makeup pen hovering above the freshman’s face, “Are you…doing okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well I mean, I feel like…none of us really ever checked up on you guys after the whole…you know…”
“Oh, you mean Housewarden Riddle. It’s okay! I dunno, it was kinda scary but Housewarden is pretty great now, right?”
“Deuce. You can be honest with me. You don’t have to pretend just because I’m his boyfriend.”
“Wh—no? I meant it? I love Housewarden Riddle! He’s really so different now! He’s helped me so many times with homework and he complimented me just the other day because I got perfect marks on my Magical History Quiz. Why? Are people complaining about him again?! I’ll go beat them up!! Oh uh…in secret of course, don’t tell him…”
“No, no, it’s uh, it’s nothing like that. I just wanted to make sure.”
“Oh ok. Well thanks for checking Cater. You’re a great upper classman!”
The short chat with Deuce had only made him feel worse. What had he been hoping for exactly? To feel validated in his own problems? Deuce had done the opposite. Now he felt like an asshole. If Deuce was over the whole thing, why was Cater so hung up on it? What kind of boyfriend was he anyway?
Come to think of it, had he ever even checked in with Riddle afterwards either? Trey had. In the weeks following the other had sat and talked with Riddle for hours, held him while he cried. Cater had been with him a bit, but he had definitely avoided Riddle. Damn he was really shitty wasn’t he?
He felt his pocket for the bottle. Tonight. Definitely tonight. He got up and knocked on the door to Riddle’s room.
“Come.”
Riddle was awake and at his desk, working or studying, Cater didn’t know.
“Hey honey!” He gave the other’s shoulders a squeeze. “Whatcha doing?”
“Paperwork. You didn’t come in last night…is something wrong?”
Uh oh.
“Uhh not really but can we talk? Not now! Tonight.”
“I will add it to my schedule then.”
His schedule. Cater had to smile at that.
“Are you coming down for breakfast? I think Trey made pancakes and most of the ravenous crazies should be gone by now.” Cater joked, leaning in and kissing Riddle’s cheek.
“Alright. But only if you are too.”
“Sure sure. C'mere."
Cater grabbed Riddle and pulled him up from his chair as the other grumbled. For a moment he thought about spinning Riddle around and kissing him again…it just…didn’t feel right since he was still lying to him.
“Let’s go down.”
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Riddle asked as he took Cater’s arm.
“I’m totes cool, just hungry!” The other reassured him with a smile that never reached his eyes.
Riddle had told him he was welcome to stop by his room anytime after 6PM, since he would be in there working on homework.
It was now 6:10 and Cater had been standing outside the door to the Housewarden’s room for 10 minutes now. He gripped the vial of the potion he’d made earlier tightly in his fist.
“Okay Cay Cay. You can do this. One. Two. Three!” He chugged the whole thing in one go. It tasted…kinda like…
Riddle had just closed his 3rd book when someone knocked on his door.
“Come in?”
There was the sound of someone rattling his door handle for a few seconds. He sighed and stood up, mildly annoyed.
“Stop this clownish behavior and come—in?” He yanked the door open, and with it came a familiar orange head of hair still holding onto the knob.
“Cater Diamond, just WHAT are you doing to my door?”
“Riddleeeeee.” He draped himself over the redhead who gave a grunt of surprise.
“What on EARTH?” Riddle nearly fell over from the weight of the much taller Junior before he grabbed him by the waist and pushed him over to the chair, making him sit down.
“Riddle…gotta tell you…mmm something.”
“Are…are you drunk???!”
Cater placed both hands on the others shoulders and looked at him as seriously as he could with his eyes half crossing.
“I’m…scared of ya…ya knowww? Cuz of…of theeee murdering”
“Murder?!?” Riddle’s eyes went wide. “I—what?”
There was the slightest tremor in his voice.
“Your OB was crazyyyy like…ya killed at least 3 of me.”
“I…I don’t—“
“Shhhhh don’t worry…I think…I think….youre cute and trying.”
Cater leaned in closer to Riddle, grabbing his face between his hands.
“But I’m still sorta mad at you? And I thiiiiiiink. I think…that I feel super better now that I told ya. And! And and…I’m proud of youuuuuu. For…for….”
At this point Cater just burst into tears and grabbed onto Riddle, burying his face into the Housewarden’s chest.
“Cater! Un—unhand me! Your makeup is…ruining my shirt…” he trailed off and awkwardly patted the top of Cater’s head.
Admittedly, he was rather bewildered. Cater hardly ever drank, and Riddle didn’t know where he would have found alcohol to begin with. Not to mention he had no idea what the other was talking about. Yet here he was, bawling into Riddle’s shirt.
As he stood there awkwardly, letting the older boy cry, the Housewarden spotted a piece of crumpled paper on the floor.
“Err…Cater, do you want a glass of water?”
That got the other to look up at him. His makeup was running and his red diamond was smeared.
“Y-yeah.”
“Can you let go of me please…?”
Slowly, Cater unwrapped his arms and dropped them onto his lap. Riddle reached down for the paper and the orange haired Junior panicked and launched himself out of his chair, tackling a very surprised Riddle to the ground.
“Noooooooo!”
“Oof! Get OFF!” Riddle didn’t have the physical strength to push Cater off of him, and he was very curious as to what was on the paper that had the other so adamant he not read it.
Currently all of his effort was going into keeping the paper in his hands and away from the junior who was very drunkenly trying to wrestle it away from him.
“Ouch! Mind your elbow! just…let me…”
The door opened at that moment and a very confused Trey paused in the doorway.
“Uh…”
“DONT JUST STAND THERE TREY! Take this! And GET HIM OFF OF ME!” Riddle yelled.
“Riddle! Inside voice! Geez. Hang on.” Trey shut the door and went over to pluck the paper from Riddle’s hand where he was clutching it despite his wrist being nearly squeezed off by both of Cater’s hands.
“What’s going on anyway?” He shoved the paper in his pocket and hauled Cater off of Riddle, dumping him back onto the chair before extending a hand to Riddle and helping him off the floor.
“He is…drunk. I think.” Riddle dusted himself off and held out his hand expectantly as Trey fished the paper back out and gave it to him.
They glanced over to where Cater sat, defeated. Riddle slowly unfolded the paper and glanced over it.
“Truth potio—Cater Diamond.” Riddle crunched the paper in one hand, then marched over and grabbed his chin. “I’m not sure whether I am more offended that you felt you needed a “truth potion” to come speak to me about how you feel, or the fact that you fell for some ridiculous tabloid propaganda! This is not a spell for truth potion!! If you’d paid attention in potions class you would know that a truth potion calls for laudanadum root and beet. This is a cheap made-up gimmick that more closely resembles alcohol than anything else.”
“Uhhh??” Cater gawked at him.
Riddle heaved a deep, disappointed sigh before he paused and frowned.
“But….what you said…about me…” Riddle let go of his chin and took a step back.
“Ahhhhh no no no no it was just the…alcohol... Talking.” Cater flapped his hands around.
Now that Riddle mentioned it, he DID notice that this so-called potion had only lasted a few minutes, a sure sign of a poorly constructed concoction. It was already wearing off, and now he just felt stupid.
“An alcohol potion you thought was a truth serum.” The other corrected him.”Please just stop lying and beating around the bush like you usually do.”
“Riddle…” Trey tried to interject but Riddle gave him a look and he closed his mouth again.
“So look me in the eyes and tell me your grievances right this minute.”
“Its…I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But ever since your Overblot….i can’t stop thinking about it. About dying. When you killed me. I—I mean not you you but you still. It just reminded me that you could…kill me if you wanted. Even not in overblot. And just…I dunno I found out a long time ago you're just way out of my league. It scared me.”
Cater let out a deep breath he was holding and was currently doing everything in his power to not look riddle in the eyes. There was an awkward silence and he fought every fiber in his being to not start babbling and apologizing over and over again.
“Oh.” Was all Riddle said after a long time.
Cater could see Trey really wanted to mediate this, but was refraining, if the way he’d turned around and leaned against the bedpost was anything to go by.
“Well I…do not know how to fix that, I’m afraid. I suppose me telling you that it isn’t true will not fix the problem. So I…” riddle just looked at him helplessly.
Seeing the tears welling up in his gray eyes, Cater cracked and jumped up, pulling Riddle into his arm in a crushing hug.
“I see your potion-making skills are not very good. The mark of a poorly made potion is its lack of longevity…” His housewarden boyfriend whispered as he rested against Cater’s shoulder.
“Kinda glad they’re not. I wanna tell you this from my heart. I don’t know what to do about this whole thing either, but I wanna work on it with you. I wanna stay with you.”
“You…want to work on it…with me?” Riddle’s voice trembled a bit. “So you are not upset with me?”
“No! No honey!! I was never mad at you! Not really anyway. I just think I didn’t really know how to….tell you. I felt super bad because like…I wasn’t there for you either.”
Cater unwrapped himself from Riddle and then grabbed his face, kissing him.
“I’m really. Really. Really. Really. Not mad at you.” He kissed Riddle’s face with each word. On each eye, his cheek, the tip of his nose.
“Okay okay, were you planning on inviting me or just letting me stand around?” Trey came up and wrapped his arms around Cater’s waist and pressed his lips against the orange haired Junior’s neck.
“Ahaha sorry Trey bae.” Cater chucked a bit. “I’ll share.”
“We should brush our teeth first.”
“OMS Treeyyyyy!”
“Ugh.”
“What, you want me to brush them for you?”
Cater and Riddle both looked at him with a grimace.
“Nope.”
“No thank you.”
“Why am I always stuck in the middle?” Riddle complained as Trey and Cater got into bed next to him.
“Because you’re the smallest! And also Trey is way too warm at night.”
“What?!!” Trey protested.
“You are! Living heater.” Cater insisted as he shut off the beside light and pulled the covers up over all of them.
“Riddle, don’t put your freezing feet on my leg.”
Eventually they all managed to get comfortable.
Riddle and Trey fell asleep almost immediately. Cater scrolled on his phone for another hour before shutting it off and putting it on the nightstand. He placed his hand over Riddle's heart and leaned his head against his shoulder, closing his eyes.
That night, he dreamed only of the three of them laughing at the do-over unbirthday party.