𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 | draco malfoy ✔️

52. the aftermath

TRAINING WHEELS—
THE AFTERMATH

052

( tw/ very brief mention of slight starvation )

"No."

It was the first thing Draco had said, and not at all what Amora had been hoping for after declaring her love to her secret boyfriend of nearly nine months. His jaw was clenched and his silver eyes were glaring into her. Amora knew that he had said it not out of disbelief or shock, but out of denial.

Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. If Amora had a Time-Turner, she would have gone back in time a minute earlier and clamped her hand over her own mouth before she could confess. However, the words were out now. They'd met Draco's ears and there was no taking them back.

It felt like he had her heart in his hands, and it was terrifying. She knew what he was going to do with it. She knew by the end of tonight, she'd probably be the one picking it up off of the floor and desperately trying to piece it back together.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Amora repeated, her voice nearly trembling.

"You can't just say that, Amora," Draco spat through gritted teeth, swallowing harshly as he tried to look anywhere but into her eyes. "You can't just throw that word around like that."

"I didn't," Amora protested, "I- I mean it, Draco. I've meant it for a while now."

Draco's lip curled and his head turned to the side. Amora felt her face and ears growing scalding hot, her heart erratic behind her ribs and her stomach in knots. She felt like she was about to be sick; Draco was going to reject her. She always had a feeling this may happen, which was why she never said it, yet deep down she thought maybe Draco would confess that he was just as in love with her as she was him.

"Say something!" The brunette ordered, praying that she didn't sound as weak and defeated as she already felt.

Tell me you love me too. Tell me that you've never felt this way about somebody before. Brush the hair out of my eyes and kiss me on the lips and tell me I have nothing to worry about. That you've been dreaming of me telling you this for ages now. Tell me that I mean the world to you.

"I don't know what you want me to say." Draco's voice was void of any emotion. "I have nothing to say."

Amora swore that her heart had collapsed. Her inner romantic wept, her childhood dreams of being unconditionally loved by a soulmate being swept under a rug that was swiftly stomped on and killed. This kind of rejection felt different to anything that Amora had ever felt before. The worst part was that she couldn't force him to say the words back. And even if she could, she wouldn't want to. She'd want him to want to say it.

"Anything," Amora whispered, "Say anything."

Draco's silver eyes flickered to meet hers. They faltered for a moment and Amora wished she knew what he was thinking. Was he going to break up with her? Was he completely grossed out or terrified that she had fallen in love with him?

"You don't love me," Draco finally said-- sternly. "You don't know me."

"Yes, I do," Amora protested, her face scrunching up slightly. "I know lots about you. I know that you love to read, even Muggle classics sometimes, and that you take your tea in the mornings without any sugar. I know that you hum to yourself when you're upset, and that, even though you say you hate Hogwarts, you think of it as your home more so than your own one with your parents. I also know that you hold my face when we kiss because you don't want me to be the first to pull away, and that deep down, under that cold exterior that you wear, you're actually thoughtful and sweet and you care about your friends and mother more than anything."