His Heart {fanfic}

Chapter 15- Hidden

Astra's POV

Draco pulled back the luscious green vines covering the cracked stone wall, revealing a small tunnel that ventured into darkness. Draco turned and looked me in the eyes giving me a it's ok look. Draco went first as he led me into the shadows of the cramped tunnel. He pulled out his wand and said, "Lumos." And a bright orb on the end his wand lit up the tunnel in the side of the school. We walked silently through, the floor gradually sloping downwards. I got confident enough to slide my hand across the crumbly, but sturdy, stone wall creating the cave. 

The tunnel finally opened up into a small room. There was a book shelf filled with not only school books but other books. Romance, poetry and lots more. "I didn't know you loved books so much Draco." I stated, by the looks of the type of books he might be a hopeless romantic. " Yeah I guess." He shrugged back. There was a small desk and chair, an old couch and a dirty mat that covered most of the stone, dirt floor. 

"How did you get all this stuff in here, that tunnel is tiny." I questioned Draco. "That's for me to know and for you to never find out." He replied with what I assumed was a smirk based on what I could see in the small light of Draco's wand. I giggled at his statement and he smiled. 

He went over to the candles on stands all around the room that I had just then noticed. The light of his wand went out momentarily until a match was struck and Draco started lighting candles all over the room. Draco sat down on the couch after lighting the candles. The light flickered and the shadows licked the stone walls of the room. I looked around as the flames danced in the air. 

I went and sat down next to Draco on the couch. I was smiling then I remembered the question he had avoided earlier. I rested my head on the back of the couch and shifted my body into a more comfortable position. Draco copied my action and let his head down as he sighed.

"Are you ok?" I asked Draco. He hesitated to think then answered, "honestly I don't know, I'm very confused." I decided to change the subject, I didn't think we were going to get anywhere then.

"What's your biggest fear?" I asked him, I was trying to like start a concersation but all I could come up with was a out of the blue random question, go me. Draco hesitated for a second then answered. "Only if you tell me yours first." He replied "I'm afraid of losing my freedom... Your turn." Draco paused and thought. "I'm afraid of failure." He replied.

Draco gave me an unexpected peck on the cheek then he stood up from the couch, like he didn't do anything. He walked to his small book shelf in the corner of the room and ran his hands along the spines of the books on the 2nd level of books before picking the one he wanted.

I took this time to study Draco. In the candle light he looked almost like a child, he was a small innocent child who's life has just begun. Draco turned around and caught me starring at him. His face morphed into a cheeky grin. "Like what you see?" He asked me. I ignored the question and crossed my arms in response. 

Draco sat down at one end of the couch leaning against the arm of it. His legs stretched over towards me. He sat up for a second and put the book on the arm of the couch, behind him. Then Draco unexpectedly, momentarily, jumped up, snaked his arms around my torso and pulled me in between his legs. Only one of his arms let go of my waist to get the book he had chosen. 

"What are you doing?" I asked him, leaning up from his chest and out of his arms. "Being subtle." He replied vaguely. "Now, why don't you make yourself comfortable." He smirked opening his arms. "Being subtle about what?" I asked ignoring his later statement. He leaned in slowly and cupped him mouth around my ear, his breath warming my neck. "I like you Astra." He whispered before leaning back with a smirk on his face. My eyebrows furrow in confusion, while my stomach's butterflies become fireworks. 

"How do you like The Gift by Nerida Stewart?" Draco asked me, before I could respond, reading the front cover. I swallowed, "never read it." I answered. "Well now I'll read it to you." He replied. He got comfortable shifting slightly leaning onto the back of the couch and the arm. As he opened his arms once more I slid to the other end of the couch copying his stance and closing my legs between his open ones. His smile faulted and his eyes drooped. 

He pushed his lips together while he opened his book and flicked through to a page with a poem on it. "Let's start shall we." He sat there reading the small poetry book for maybe 20 minutes, his eyes barely leaving the pages, I watched his eyes scan over the words before he read aloud. His hair fell over his face and I had the urge to push it back each time but didn't. He was a quarter way through, there were only a few words on each page. Draco got to this one short quote and he didn't read it aloud this time. Getting used to his endless words flowing from his mouth as I listened to his voice, when he stopped for more than a few seconds I willed him to look at my questioning eyes. 

He eventually did. His beautiful eyes seemed to glow warmer in the candle light. Draco's eyes fluttered back to the page, but not before stopping to observe my features. 

Draco hesitated when he went to turn the page, like he was thinking about something, so I just sat there silently. "I'm- I'm sorry." Draco suddenly said. "Why are you sorry?" I asked him, my face frowning.

"I shouldn't have brought you here or tried to get you to maybe like me more, I should have just left you be, that's what you wanted." Draco replied, his eyes not leaving the book. I only looked at him in a questioning way and let him explain. "I'm not good for you anyway. Haven't you noticed the way people stare at me, your friends barely talk to me. Do you know who my family is? You shouldn't have to deal with any of that whether it's being just my friend or being more." Draco explained. To that, he stood up and put the book on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"I should have left you alone." Draco continued. "I don't want you to fall with me. I want you to fly. I'm bound by my parents, by who they work for. You can't be mixed up in that, you have your whole life ahead of you. Your free." 

I sat there a bit surprised by what Draco had said. "You're talking to me like I'm a naïve child. I've noticed the stares from randoms walking past or some of my friends. I listened to you talk about you parents, but what do you want?" I replied. I reached my hands out and let it fall on his forearm. "I want you, you've been barely my friend for like a month and yet you've made me happier than I have been for god knows how long. But I can't think of myself, if we keep being whatever we are then you will eventually get hurt." Draco explained, twisting out of my hand.

"Draco, it's a risk I'm willing to take, I can walk out of here at anytime, I could have walked out of her in the first place but I didn't. No one's perfect. You're someone in this big school out of the hundreds of students here that I actually talk to. You deserve someone who you can trust and talk to. And if I'm that person then so be it." I rambled standing up to walk in front of Draco. 

"And you deserve someone who isn't going to drag you through the dirt." Draco announced finally looking me in the eye. "Your not gonna drag me through the dirt, Draco, you make me happy, you make my day when I see you. We have a great friendship and maybe I want for it to be more than that but it can't be without adding a little risk. You play it safe your whole life and you'll die miserably." I said, not backing down. 

"If your so mean, why are you so nice to me? Why be nice to me but not to others?" I asked. "When everyone knows I'm a monster I don't really have to do every monstrous thing." Draco whispers. "And, I like you. I like you more than I thought I could anyone in such a short time."

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Word Count: 1515

BTW that is not a real book

I know the whole thing about 2 lonely people was not a good starting point but I don't think this is really any better. What do you think?

Edited