just for you (years 3-5)

chapter 62

"is he...?" daphne looks up, her eyes following draco as he walks past us down the table, sitting down at the end by some of the quidditch guys

"we got in a fight last night" i sigh, rubbing my temples and poking my fork at my pile of eggs

"about cedric?" she asks, still looking at draco. we watch as he grabs at the bowls, piling food onto his plate while frowning

"how'd you guess?" i laugh sarcastically. daphne chuckles, a look of pity on her face. draco looks over for a second, meeting my eyes before immediately looking away.

the next two days, draco and i hardly speak. i think we both need a cooling off period, and i don't need this on my mind while preparing for the task. i don't meet up with harry or cedric again, settling for studying by myself. i'm packing up from a late night at the library, the day before the task. the entire room's empty by the time i leave, and i'm left to walk down to the common room alone.

i yawn as i approach the door, saying the password and stepping through the wall. i'm surprised by how not-nervous i feel. i guess the tasks don't feel as intimidating by the third time around. i turn the corner, the room opening up into the main sitting area. and of course, i see him on the couch, reading a book. he looks up at me, while i stand still against the wall, not knowing what to do.

"hey" draco says quietly, slowly shutting his book

"hey" i reply, still keeping my distance

"studying?" he raises his eyebrow, nodding to the books in my hand

"yeah" i nod

"feel good about tomorrow?"

"as good as i can" i chuckle a little and he smiles, putting his book down on the table

"cedric help you?" his smile disappears, turning into a frown. i hold myself back from rolling my eyes, trying not to start a fight.

"no, actually" i say matter-of-factly, "i studied by myself"

draco pauses, "oh" he finally says, looking away from me

"yeah" i say quietly, rocking back and forth on my heels awkwardly. the silence hangs heavily in the room, both of us not quite knowing what to say.

"look-" we both say in unison, meeting each others eyes again. i laugh a little and he blushes, looking away as a small smile comes across his face

"you can go first" i say

he takes a deep breath, looking back up with me. his elbows rest on his knees, his hands clasped between them, leaning forward towards me. he breaths out on more time, before opening his lips, "cedric fancies you, that's fairly obvious" he scoffs, looking back down at the ground, "and you spending all this time with him is bound to give him the wrong idea"

"he knows i'm with you" i shrug. draco looks back up at me, slight shock in his eyes

"you told him?" he narrows his eyes slightly and i gulp, regretting not thinking through my response

"well... yeah. i mean i had to since he... y'know, fancies me" i say slowly, trying my best to amend the situation

"so you admit it?" draco nods, leaning back against the couch, "you know he likes you"

"i-"

"told anyone else?" his mouth sits in a straight line, his eyes glaring at me

"well..." i look around nervously. the room's completely empty, "yeah, i told daphne"

"i thought we were keeping it a secret"

"no, you were keeping it a secret. i never wanted-"