the lawyers had been allocated two hours to prepare their statements, and this time was something resembling recess for the rest of us, but with a belligerent, uneasy twist.

the worst part was the fact that i couldn't speak to mattia, so i had nothing to serve as a distraction from the seed of trepidation blossoming in my chest and beginning to engulf all of my organs, forcing me to sense my inevitable imploding.

nevertheless, mattia and i would send each other abrupt glances every now and then.

a tiny flair of concern was ignited in mattia's eyes early on, and with every glance the flame seemed to grow larger and larger.

it wasn't long before i caved into the overwhelming sickness that had been simmering inside me, and i decided to go to the bathroom.

a small voice in the back of my mind urged mattia to find his way to me as i walked past him towards the door, and surely, he did, the telepathy proving useful.

we crossed paths in a hallway pretty far away from the court room and the bathrooms.

'how-' i whispered to him in disbelief, cautious of our surroundings.

'i read your mind, obviously.' he chuckled, answering the question before i had even said it.

'we really are soulmates, huh?' i sighed solemnly, the thought of us being torn away from one another prominent in my mind.

'yes, we are, which is why we're going to find our way back to each other. always have and always will.' he said reassuringly.

surprisingly, his words rang true.

'you're right. you're always right.' i said, edging towards him unwillingly, drawn to the comfort and safety he radiated.

ironic, considering what all those people thought he had done to me.

he whipped his head around, looking up and down the hallway and examining every inch of it.

'no cameras.' he said.

an immense sense of sadness suddenly washed over me and i cracked, unable to feign my chirpy, hopeful attitude any longer.

i buried my face in my hands, embarrassed by the streams of melancholy that had began rushing down my face.

mattia pulled me into him and allowed me to cry into his chest, squeezing me gently and stroking my hair as i buried myself deeper into him and sobbed out the heartache that gripped my entire being.

after a while i had stopped, but mattia didn't let go of me.

instead, i just soaked up as much of him as i could, listening to the sound of his heart pulsing and realising that both of our hearts were beating in sync.

in that moment a bubble formed around the three of us and i finally felt at peace.

i finally found my purpose.

no matter what was going to happen, i knew that i would always have mattia, no matter how hard the world would try to tell us that we were wrong.

i felt a droplet fall onto me, and i looked up to see mattia frantically trying to wipe his tears away.

i looked up at him with glossy eyes and placed my hands firmly on both sides of his face, softly clearing his face up with my thumbs.

we stared into each other's eyes, hardly even blinking.

i shone a warm smile up at him, possibly the most genuine smile i've ever smiled, and i pumped my new found sense of calm through my bloodstream, into my fingertips and into him.

he smiled back down at me, his cheeks feeling warmer, and when i looked at him, all i could see was someone who deserved nothing but happiness.

eventually, i let go.

'we'd better go back before they get suspicious.' i squeaked, my vocal chords adjusting themselves after all the crying and affection.

'you go first and ill head in a few minutes after you?'

'okay.' i said.

'okay.' he said.

the finality in our dialogue implied that the moment was over, but i couldn't resist staring at him for just another minute, and he seemed to feel the same way.

he was truly mesmerising.

after the long silence, i prepared myself to finally walk away.

i love you i mouthed to him silently before turning around.

i love you, y/n he mouthed back.

after that, it was over, and soon enough i had returned to my seat in the courtroom, but now, i was overwhelmed with passion, rather than anxiety, and our moment was replaying in my head on loop.

the remainder of the two hours passed by in what felt like seconds, and the judge was already banging gavel again.

'court is now in session.'