just for you (years 3-5)

chapter 48

we spend awhile in the bath, chasing each other around, before we finally both run out of steam. cedric lifts himself over the edge of the tub, sitting down on the ledge with his legs dangling into the water. i try not to look him up and down as he shakes out his hair, then flipping it back in one smooth motion. he looks up at me and smiles.

"help me out?" i smirk, holding out my hand, "promise i won't pull you in" he chuckles a little, standing up slowly while grabbing my hands and helping me up. as my feet search for the ledge, i trip forward slightly, falling onto cedric, "sorry.." i say, feeling his arms grab my sides to steady me while my hands land on his bare chest. as i look up at him, his hands trail down my arms slowly, and i can feel the tension in the room rising. i look into his eyes, seeing his gaze moves down to my lips. without thinking, i blurt out, "draco and i kissed"

cedric blinks quickly, looking back to my eyes, "what?" he says, like he didn't hear me correctly

"last night" i begin to ramble, "when he took me away from the ball he kissed me and i don't think it's fair of me to not tell you that. honestly i'm not really sure how i feel about it all, we got in an awfully big fight today and i told him i didn't have feelings for him anymore but i'm not quite sure that's actually the case and then i came here and now-"

"woah woah, slow down" he lets go of my arms, backing away a little so my hands fall off his chest, "what?"

"it's just all happened so suddenly. he leaned in and i didn't know what to do i couldn't-" i cut myself off, starting another thought, "it's an awful lot of information to process all at once. and you, cedric. you're the nicest guy and i would hate to mess anything up between us because of draco. it's not right for me to lead you on or anything before i've figured out how i feel. if i've put you in the middle of anything-"

"y/n slow down" he repeats, placing one hand on my shoulder, "take a breath" he says calmly

i sigh, "i'm confused, ced" i say quietly, "and you don't deserve to deal with that"

"we don't need to do anything, y/n. not if you don't want to" he says, "figure out what's going on with draco" he pulls his shirt over his head and picks up his bag, "let me know when you do"

and then, he walks out the door.

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after i've dried off and put back on my clothes, i go back down to the dungeons, telling myself i'm going to find draco and have a calm conversation with him about all of this. i'm sure that won't happen, but it's a good plan in theory.

"have you seen draco?" i say as i enter the common room, seeing blaise, daphne and pansy sitting on the couches

"he just went off looking for you" blaise says

"did he say where he was going?" i sigh

"library i think" daphne says, i start to turn away, "he's been in quite the state since this morning. mumbling to himself, kept asking where you were and then finally stormed out to look for you" she looks concerned

"well then, i'm sure he'll be happy to find me" i say, continuing on and walking out the door.

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i walk into the library, my feet instantly taking me to the back corner by the astronomy books. i can see him sitting on the couch, his back is turned to me, and his head is in his hands.

"draco?" i say quietly. i hear him sniffle and clear his throat before looking back at me, his eyes glossy, slightly red and puffy.

"hey" he smiles weakly, "sorry i look a mess"