those words instantaneously sent a deluge of chilling silence crashing over the room, so much so that i became afraid that everyone within a five mile radius would be able to hear the sound of my heart thumping against my ribs with clarity.

when i looked at mattia, i could hardly recognize him, his complexion had sunken into an unsettling sallow.

if i was drowning in anxiety and dread, my mind couldn't even begin to comprehend how mattia must have been feeling.

i needed to be brave for both our sakes, especially considering the sacrifice he was hypothetically making for me.

'prosecution will go first.' the judge announced from his stand, deadpan.

his balanced, placid tone had become an unbearable noise to my ears and made me unreasonably angry, almost as if deep down i believed that because i was under so much stress, everyone else should be too.

the judge seemed to be the only one immune to the contentious atmosphere that had grasped the minds of everyone else, including the prosecution lawyer, who had exchanged his normally arrogant strut for a rigid shuffle towards the front of the room.

his supposedly short journey to the spotlight seemed to last an eternity, the air becoming thicker and the tension more palpable with each passing moment.

eventually, the lawyer reached his position, and with a swift adjustment of his thick blonde hair and a clearing of the throat, mr pearson appeared as if he'd flipped an internal switch.

an air of confidence suddenly surrounded him and beams of self-belief and conviction pierced through his skin and outward into the rest of the room.

it was slightly unsettling, but impressive albeit.

'so, clearly, we are all familiar with the defense, mattia polibio and y/n l/n.' he began mystifying, purpose surging through his voice.

mattia was so still that he almost looked lifeless, his eyes refusing to focus on anything other than the fate that was constructing itself before his eyes.

'therefore, we are all familiar with the cctv footage that shows their vulgar display of love. in broad day. for everyone to see. evidence of their carelessness is on tape for the whole world to see, and for this to go unpunished would be severely wrong, especially with all the attention that has been stimulated. to let either of these lawbreakers walk free would do nothing other than showcase to everyone that breaking the law bears no consequence, and this would lead to anarchy on a national scale. however, because it is evident that mr polibio supplied miss l/n with the love drugs, his punishment should be heavier.'

the words sent a bundle of shudders tumbling down my spinal chord, leaving behind several spikes of electricity in their trail.

'mattia polibio confessed to the rape of y/n. we are all witnesses to this confession.' mr pearson paused for dramatic effect. 'this man deserves punishment of the highest tier for the destruction he has reigned on this young girl's life. however, she must still be charged and held accountable for her actions in which she withheld information from the police. that as an exception, i remain by my previous statement, mattia polibio is guilty and it is imperative that he is give the death penalty.'

i refused to allow his words to shake me, i convinced myself that the final decision belonged to the judge and jury, and mr miller would be able to convince him that mattia doesn't deserve anything of the sort.

nevertheless, an unstoppable jitter had broken out in my hands, so intense that i had to sit on them in order to relieve them.

i couldn't bare to look at mattia, instead i cast all my energy into the faith i was instilling into mr miller, in hopes that i would be able to fuel him with enough power to replicate mr pearson's recently overly confident demeanour.

'and now for the defence's final statement.' the judge stated, jerking me out of my thoughts.

mr miller let out a long exhale, cracked each of his fingers and stood up.

i couldn't really understand how he was feeling, i tried to read his expression but he proved unreadable.

his mysteriousness almost boosted my confidence, i trusted in his abilities.

once he had made it up to the front, he rubbed his hands together and turned to the jury, making direct eye contact.

'i have been in communication with my clients for a long time now, and in all honestly, the fact that they're even here, enduring a trial, baffles me. for the months that i've been working with mattia and y/n, i have never encountered a single bad experience with either of them. yes, what they did was wrong, of course breaking love laws is wrong, but throughout this entire process we have all ignored the plain and simple fact that we are dealing with kids here. children. now, how many of us can say that during our childhood we never made a single mistake? probably not a single one. and i think this is the main factor that we need to take into consideration. i genuinely wish that each and every one of you could have a conversation with my clients because that alone would convince you that neither of them deserve any punishment exceeding a few months of community service. my clients are innocent... imagine if it was your children.' his last sentence floated around like an aroma that the whole room was inhaling deeply.

'thank you.' he said after a long silence, a graceful finish.

a sense of pride surged through my body and i couldn't help but smile to myself.

mr miller had definitely outdone himself, especially in the circumstances, and the way that he made everyone relate to us was a perfect way to angle his argument.

'well done.' i whispered to him upon his return.

he smiled at me in response, a kind of relief pulsing from his body.

'tomorrow the verdict will be delivered. court is adjourned.' the judge concluded.

people began filing out and i couldn't help but feel triumphant.

i waited for the room to be empty before i turned to mattia, who looked significantly better than he did when this began.

'how are you feeling about that?' i asked.

'our guy did amazing, i'm proud of him, he really pulled through.' mattia replied.

'same, i've really started to love him.' i said, rubbing at my temples in attempt to soothe the headache i could feel starting up.

'watch it.' he said firmly.

'oh shut up, mattia.' i laughed, moving my seat closer to his.

'i've missed talking to you.' he stated, the mood of the conversation shifting.

'i've missed you, too.' i said, 'all of you.'

he smiled smugly.

'oh so you've been thinking about me, huh?' he said softly, placing his hand on my thigh and swirling his thumb around in tendrils.

'let's go to that hallway again.' i said, the thought of his lips against mine lingering at the front of my mind.

'the one with no cameras?' he smirked as i pulled him up.

the second we reached our spot mattia had me pinned up against the wall.

he dragged his lips against mine gently as i held onto the hand that he was using to choke me, turning me on so much that i couldn't hold back anymore.

i leaned forward and placed a hand on his jaw, pulling him in and finally connecting us together like two pieces of a puzzle.

sparks lit up between us whilst i thought about how much i had missed this feeling, and how much i wanted this moment to last forever.

i couldn't lose him.

when i met my mom back in the car, my failed attempt at concealing my uncontrollable smiling forced me to find an excuse to be so happy at a time like this.

'why are you so chirpy all of a sudden?' my mom laughed.

'i'm just hopeful, mom.' i replied.