The Deeper you Dig, The Darker it Gets

23.

Song of the Chapter: Cancer by twenty one pilots

Draco's POV

      The only positive to the twins coming to the party is that they bring a lot of treats with them. Anything you could possibly need, they have. And no, I'm not talking about fireworks.

                    "Alright, how much?"

        Fred hands me a small bag wrapped in an orange and purple ribbon. "Four Galleons."

           I dig into my pocket with an agitated look. "You're lucky this shit is good."

          He laughs under his breath while I hand him four Galleons.

                        "Make sure to tell your friends, yeah?"

       I flick him my middle finger as I walk away. Just as I'm about to exit the common room, someone stops me.

                 "Where are you going?" Malory asks me.

         I turn around and hold up the bag. Her eyes light up.

                             "Can I come?"

       My eyebrow raises. "What's in it for me?"

      She crosses her arms angrily and huffs. "Like you can smoke all of that by yourself."

            I could, I choose not to. But I do enjoy the company either way.

                   "Come on," I sigh. "And don't tell anyone."

       Malory pretends to zip her lips then I signal for her to go ahead of me. The hallways of the school are completely empty so sneaking up to the astronomy tower isn't a challenge. We make our way up the stairs and immediately get to it.

           "Try to make it quick, it's fucking freezing." Malory groans.

       I run my tongue along the paper and scoff. "Maybe if you used that jumper you stole from me you'd be warmer."

             "I didn't steal it, you gave it to me." She snaps.

         And it definitely looks better on her so I'm not complaining. I finish rolling the joint and hand it to Malory for the first hit.

                 "What a gentleman."

        She uses her finger to light the joint then takes a decently large hit. As the smoke exits through her nose she passes it to me.

                "I hope Aary is having a good birthday." She says softly.

       Something I've never understood is how much Mal cares for the people around her. Whether it be her friend or a complete stranger, she's always checking in. But it's more intense with Aary, it's her best friend.

                "I bet she's having a great time." I respond.

         I don't actually know, I haven't seen her since the party started. When the twins showed up I had a feeling she'd get as far away as possible.

         The smoke travels into my lungs and with a gentle exhale falls right back out. Malory stays quiet as we pass the joint back and forth, something's on her mind.

               "Was it the limited edition that fell on your face?"

       She looks at me confused so I clarify. "The Great Gatsby book, is that what caused the bruise?"

                "Oh," She mutters. "It wasn't. It was the Edgar Allen Poe one."

       I let out a sigh, defeated. The last time we all went to the library she returned that one. That was weeks ago, the bruise just recently showed up.

               "I don't know why you feel the need to lie." I scoff.

         She scrunches her eyebrows. "I don't know what you mean?"

        I let go of the railing and turn towards her. There's makeup on her cheekbone but it's starting to fade. I gently raise my hand up to her face but she still flinches. My thumb runs across the makeup, wiping it away. I don't know how but it looks even worse now than it did before.

        Her hand grabs my wrist aggressively and pulls it away. "Touching it is only going to make it worse."

       Our eyes connect and for a second I swear I see a tear starting to form but it vanishes. She's trained herself to suck them back in so others don't have to see her pain.

        In year one when we were learning how to ride a broom she had a pretty brutal fall and broke her wrist. When I went to ask her if she was okay she turned away to wipe her eyes, then gave me a big smile. It was her way of reassuring me and the others. In reality every time she was left alone in the hospital wing she covered her face with a pillow and sobbed.

          "Stop lying," I inhale deeply. "You've got all of us worried. We're your best friends, Mal. If it's something bad we aren't going to be cruel about it."

         She considers letting it all out for a moment, I can tell by how much her shoulders relax. Her eyes wander all across my face as she goes into deep thought and I try to be patient but the gears in her head continue to spin.

                               "Please." I beg.

        Just as her eyes are meeting up with mine again I see them squeeze shut. She bites down on her tongue and grips her arm tightly. Right when I start to look down at it she let's go.

        Footsteps start making their way up the tower and my first instinct is to hide the small bag still in my possession. A good thing I did too, because it's Professor Snape.

       Malory's head spins in his direction and they both make eye contact. They don't say anything but they're still communicating in a way.

           She gives me one last glance and whispers, "It's just not that simple."

        Before I can try to argue or beg some more she makes her way over to Snape and waits for him at the stairs.

           Snape gives me an irritated look while smelling the air. "What's that smell?"

                             Malory sighs. "Drugs."

       My eyes grow big in shock when she's honest but for some reason Snape doesn't even seem surprised or mad. I guess that's one of the perks to being a favorite.

        The two of them rush down the stairs and I'm left in the astronomy tower completely alone. My high didn't even last due to my frustration which makes me ten times more pissed off.

       We've been friends since year one, why can't she tell me? I highly doubt it's actually that bad, it's probably not even bad at all. But if that's how she wants to be then so be it. I just won't care anymore.

        Once I contain myself I head back to the common room. Everyone is still partying the same way from when I left which is a good thing. Aary wanted her birthday to last as long as possible so she got her wish.

       Speaking of, I start scanning the room for her so I can finally give her the gift I got. It takes me quite some time to spot her on the dance floor and that's because who she's dancing with is completely unexpected.

            Well, sorta.

       I watch them dance for a little but not in a creepy way, only because I'm genuinely curious to see what happens. Blaise and Aary stop once the song ends and when his hand reaches up to grab her face, I realize what's about to happen.

             I guess Sickle Valentines don't lie.