alluringly entwined | f.w, d.m

79

"Hi."

Oshun's gaze rose from the timber surface of the desk to see him. "Hey."

Draco nervously gestured at the empty seat next to her. "Can I sit?"

She looked down at the cover of her textbook, tracing the letters with the tip of her finger. "No one's stopping you." Her voice was bland.

His mouth parted at her tone, seemingly taken aback. "Right," he mumbled, and went to sit in the seat next to her.

More students poured into the classroom, voices and conversations trailing around as they settled into seats.

"Can I hold your hand?" Draco's cool eyes stayed upon her.

She had her arms folded over the edge of the table, her trembling hands hidden. "Not now," she said, because the shakiness would bring questions from him.

She was in no mood for questions. Especially from him. And the calming draught was beginning to stop working on her.

"Okay." He sounded quite small as he leaned forward in his seat, forearms splayed over the desk.

As class began, her knee bounced subconsciously. And like every time her knee bounced, he never hesitated to place a gentle hand on her leg to calm her.

Even though she was upset with Draco for lying, his touch always calmed her. It was cold, but it seeped warmth and comfort into her skin and bones.

It was only two days after Fred had told her the truth and Oshun never heard Draco say anything. She'd wanted to see if he would tell her himself, so she told Fred not to mention that he'd already told her.

Draco said nothing so far.

"Takahashi," he whispered, thumb brushing back and forth on the bare skin of her thigh.

"Mm?"

"Can we talk after?" He kept his voice a whisper.

Or perhaps she was wrong. Maybe he would tell her at last. "About?"

"Something important," he murmured, and she could feel his eyes burning into the side of her head. "I'll wait for you outside of your last class before lunch."

She merely nodded.

When the time came, as he said, he had waited outside her classroom. She didn't hold his hand as she walked next to him, waiting for him to speak.

"I'm going to assume Weasley told you," Draco said finally, burying his hands in the pocket of his trousers. "Since you've been a bit cold towards me and me alone."

She said nothing.

"I'll take your silence as a yes." He cleared his throat quietly and wet his lips. "Look, I-I didn't mean to keep it from you."

She remained silent, arms crossed over her chest to sort of hide the tremor in her hands.

"I just wanted to see what the feeling was before I said anything," he explained evenly. "So when Weasley and I kissed, I knew it was more than a giddy one-time feeling."

"Okay."

"'Okay'?" he uttered as his eyes stared at her. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean okay." Oshun shrugged and kept her gaze ahead. "I don't really know what you want me to say, Draco. Fred told me already the day it happened and now you've decided to tell me."

A long pause. "Well, I apologize for lying," Draco said earnestly. "I just didn't know where to begin with explaining, so perhaps Weasley telling you first made it a bit easier for me."