in shades of yellow

chapter 16

Potions flew by and I retained absolutely none of it. All I could think about was the whole school gossiping about my desperate affairs with Malfoy last night.

All my classes blurred together until it was time to go to lunch. Pierson and I walked towards the Great Hall to surprise Ollie and Penelope with our re-formed friendship.

As we approached the dining hall, judgmental stares piercing into me, my appetite was suddenly gone.

"I don't know, Piers," I stopped and turned to him, "Maybe it's better I don't run into Cedric right now."

"Nonsense," he replied, pulling me into the dining hall, "he deserves it."

No he doesn't, I wanted to say, but instead I nodded and walked through the crowd of students surrounding the entrance with my head held high.

As we walked towards the hufflepuff table, I glanced up to Cedric's usual seat to find it empty. Before giving it much thought, Penelope's wide grin and excited eyes distracted me. Ollie's jaw fell deeper than Azkaban.

"Are you guys good now?" Ollie asked as we took our seats, confused yet evidently hopeful.

Pierson and I nodded in synchronization. A squeak came out of Penelope and we rolled our eyes.

The four of us ate and laughed and all felt normal again. This was how we were meant to be, and I silently swore to all of them I wouldn't break us apart again.

The lunch banter continued and I couldn't help but glance down the table every few minutes. Cedric hadn't shown.

Fifteen minutes later, while Penelope and Pierson were in the middle of a round of 'who knows Ollie better', he walked in, seemingly unfazed. Relief quickly swept over me, yet it was tinged with disappointment.

Part of me wanted some tension, wanted to know he still cared, even if it was to a minuscule degree. However, it was clear he either didn't care at all or just didn't know.

I couldn't help but notice Malfoy didn't show up for lunch at all.

———

Days went by and my heart still ached whenever I saw Cedric.

I didn't see Draco again until the following Friday. He had a cut across his cheek under his right eye when he walked into the Great Hall and it didn't look too fresh.

Curious, I walked over to ask what happened. Thankfully I hadn't heard anything about what happened with Draco for a few days now, so the rumors had quieted. Hopefully walking over to him didn't stir anything back up.

Harper and Charlotte smiled and waved at me as I passed them on my way to Draco. He was deep into a conversation with Theo and Blaise, and I hoped I wasn't interrupting anything.

"Hey Malfoy," I said, tapping on his shoulder, "How've you been?" I tilted my head. Their conversation came to a close as the group turned to face me behind Draco.

"Brilliant," he said flatly, picking up a potato with his fork and plopping it into his mouth.

"May I ask what happened?" He turned to me, confused.

"What? You mean the other night?" His guard was down and his face grew tomato red; he was suddenly whispering.

"Um... to your face, I meant," I said shyly.