Where I Found You | Dramione

24. One of Them

"I don't want this."

His words rang in her ears and she couldn't help but stare at him as if to ask 'what are you talking about?' She was hoping to see a glimpse of regret on his face, but he just kept staring back at her with that same attitude of stoicism. With a million thoughts racing through her head and her words becoming stuck in her throat, she was helpless to react. With each passing second, her heart began to beat more quickly as a result of all the thoughts. She took a step back before meeting his eyes. He gave her a blank look as he continued to stare. He had his jaw tightened and his lips pressed into a hard line, and she had no idea what it even meant.

She wanted to scream at him for saying it like that! She never would have found herself in this predicament if it weren't for him. Yes, she knew she let her guard down and ended up catching feelings for him, but she had no intention of acting on them. Until today, at least. He initiated it all, and certainly, she deserved an explanation as to why he changed his mind so abruptly. "Why?"

"Why?" he repeated. "Do I really have to explain why?" He shook his head and looked away from her. "You already know the answer to that."

No, she didn't, in fact. She had two theories, though. The first was that he didn't like her as much as she believed he did, and the second was her blood status. She had a gut feeling—or at least she hoped—that it was the latter. However, she refused to let him know that he was the cause of her hurt feelings.

"Because I'm a mudblood?" she finally managed to spit out. Never before had she addressed herself as that in his presence, not like this.

Draco, on the other hand, made a conscious effort not to recoil at the use of the term because he knew the significance of it after witnessing the dark lord murder one of his own followers for conversing with one of them—the filthy ones, as he liked to refer to them. Even though Draco had heard rumours and tales about him in the past, having him in their manor showed him just how terrible, vicious, and merciless he could be. Nobody mattered to him but himself. Still, Draco was prepared to go to any lengths to redeem the family's honour after his father had brought such shame to the Malfoy name. The Malfoys used to be revered and feared throughout Europe. But now? Now, the family looked ridiculous ever since his father was prisoned in Azkaban.

"Yes, we shouldn't even be having this conversation."

It wasn't a lie. His concern was not with her house, but with her blood status. That was something he was unable to explain to his mother or him. A few months ago, Draco wouldn't have even entertained the idea of dating her. But now...now, things were different.  He couldn't pinpoint exactly how it happened; the only thing that he knew was that somehow, she'd managed to worm herself into his heart. She suddenly became the only good thing in this damn school and he laughed at the irony numerous times. But, despite how strange and out of character the situation had become, he didn't quite regret the change, at least not until now. Because now it became all too real and he knew what was coming, especially for her. He knew what they would do to her.

"What about the kiss?" She asked. "Why did you kiss me?"

The kiss.

His body immediately reacted to her words, reenacting the feeling of her lips on his. His heart began to pound at the reminder and he took in a deep breath, hoping the coolness in his lungs would help gather himself. It failed, but then again, nothing could ever do.

They kissed.

It was brief but it was enough to set something ablaze within him that hadn't been sparked by anything in a long time. There was heat pooling in the pit of his stomach and spreading throughout his body, making his cheeks flush. He felt alive and free.  It had been a while since he'd had this feeling. He couldn't deny how right everything felt when she kissed him like that. How right she made him feel. He could never forget the softness of her lips against his own anymore. He hadn't wanted the kiss to end and let this feeling fade away. But it did, of course, and he faced the reality once again.