Aurelian (Dramione)

Chapter 22: The One

"Hey," Draco dully greeted as the door to Blaise's flat opened on him. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, feeling rather silly for just showing up at Blaise's home unannounced again.

"Hey," Blaise returned. He was looking smug as he leaned against the door frame with a rocks tumbler in his hand. "'Bout time you got here." He tilted the glass around, watching the amber liquid slosh up the sides.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked indignantly.

"I've been expecting you," Blaise explained.

"I only just decided I was coming here five minutes ago," he scowled.

"Fine, but I was still expecting you. It's Tuesday. You kissed the girl on Saturday. If you didn't show up tonight, I'd have had to go out looking for you tomorrow." Blaise smirked. "Here you go. Come on in." Blaise stepped aside and handed Draco the tumbler.

"Cocky bastard," Draco sneered. "You even poured me a drink?"

"No, actually, that was going to be mine, but I'll pour another," Blaise chuckled. "Have a seat."

Draco accepted his offer and sat down in one of the armchairs in front of the empty fireplace.

"Well, start talking," Blaise smiled as he poured himself a glass of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey.

"I don't know where to begin," Draco admitted, taking a sip of his drink. He grimaced, but appreciated the familiar burn.

"Well, last I heard, you kissed Hermione Granger out of the blue and left without talking about it. That was three days ago. What happened when you saw her next?" Blaise asked.

"We – we talked… sort of," Draco said, remembering the awkwardness between them.

"Well, that clears it all up for me then," Blaise replied sarcastically.

"She invited me to dinner."

"Really?" Blaise asked excitedly. "I was right then. She was interested. So, when do you meet her?"

"We had dinner on Sunday."

"You already went out?" Blaise asked with surprise. "She asked you to dinner the same day you 'sort of' talked?"

"Yeah," Draco said, narrowing his eyes. He wasn't sure what to make of Blaise's astonishment and wondered if he should be offended.

"Well, how did it go? Where did you go?" Blaise asked with enthusiasm.

"I went to her place. She made dinner," Draco answered. "It was nice."

"She can cook?" Blaise asked, looking rather impressed.

"Quite well," Draco smiled.

"And dinner was just 'nice'?" Blaise pressed.

"It was… It was really nice. We talked a lot. I…" Draco looked like he was struggling a little with what to say. "Damn it, she's the one, Blaise."

"Sorry?" he asked, startled by Draco's outburst.

"She's the one. She's the girl, the one I want. She's… Gods, she's it, and I'm terrified. I don't know what to do. I don't want to screw this up," Draco rattled off anxiously.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on," Blaise ordered, trying to catch up. "The one? You mean…? You know, I think we skipped over quite a bit here."

"We've skipped over a lot. It's happening so fast," Draco replied.

"That's not what I meant. I meant – Wait… Merlin, did you shag her?" Blaise blurted out.

"No!" Draco hastily exclaimed, his eyes wide.