Teach Me How to Love You (A Hermione Granger Love Story)

TMHTLY (A Hermione Granger Love Story) ... 5

A/N: [Edited 1/29/2016]

Teach Me How to Love You (A Hermione Granger Love Story)

Chapter 5: A Deal's a Brewin'

---------| Hermione's POV |----------

"Whoa there," says a too familiar voice as I stumble back.

"Caden!" came my shocked voice. I could have died right then and there. My hair looked like a wasps' nest, my Spongebob pajamas looked uncivil, and I had just publicly humiliated myself in front of my peers.

In front of Caden without even realizing it.

I'm such a dolt!

After I was steady again, we stared at each other. It was awkward, strange, and gave me nervous jitters in my stomach. For a brief moment I wondered if he felt the same butterflies. They were additional to the ones already floating about from my argument with Zabini. A different breed, but still knocking about.

When Caden shifted his weight at ran a hand through his brown hair, I no longer wondered but rather knew he felt the flutter bugs.

"So, um," he started. My mind went into an incoherent rampage. What was he going to say? Did he wait for me out here? Was Caden going to ask me out? If so, where would we go? Would we go to Hogsmeade or perhaps just go somewhere private in the castle, like the Tower? My eyes traveled over him, my heart swelled at the thought that he might ask me out on a real da—

"Uh, you and Blaise Zabini, huh?"

My heart plunged into the deepest depths of 'my love life sucks butternuts' in the entire universe. Zabini and me? Together? I shuddered at the thought. He was vile and crude with his jokes. We had absolutely nothing in common. How could Caden possibly think that I would want to be Zabini of all people? Zabini was intelligent, yes, I would give him that. He took care of his physique and obviously had a skincare routine and wow, okay, irrelevant much? My thoughts were going as fast as my heartbeat.

While Zabini was harsh, Caden was kind. Where Zabini was rude, Caden was soft-spoken. Where Zabini lacked basic social etiquette, Caden didn't. Caden was all the things Blaise was not. It was common sense that I would pick Caden over someone like Zabini.

Yet Caden thought I had an interest in that cockroach. The burning in my cheeks signaled the darkest blush in history and the jerking movement my jaw made as I attempted to form words caused me to want to drop dead. Eventually a syllable finally formed, "Ew!"

Not exactly what I had been going for, but it'd have to do for now.

Caden gave a nervous chuckle, "I'll take that as a no then?"

"You better," I just about breathed out in relief.

The laugh he gave in response to that was much more real, honestly happy. Soon I was laughing along, shocked at my appearance, the situation, and the hidden awkwardness. I was doing anything in my power to rid of that underlying sense that something didn't feel quite right.

I wanted to get to know Caden. I wanted Caden to get to know me. The real me. Not the Golden Trio me, or the girl who fought with Blaise Zabini in the Great Hall about dick sizes.

That is why I said, "Hey Caden? You want to go out sometime?"

"Yes."

The word that made my world flip.

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Love and fireworks,

unique-goddess