Chapter 4: Outrider's
"Excuse me?" Hermione asked in shock.
"Us. You and me. You and I. I and you. Me and you. Us." Draco explained.
"I do not think so." Hermione scoffed. Just what did he think he was playing at? There was no way that Hermione would ever allow that to happen.
"And why not?"
"Because there is no longer an us. No more me and you. No more you and me. No more you and I. No more I and you. Capeshe?"
"No, actually. Not capeshe. I want there to be an us again. A you and me again. Me and you, you and I, I and you. I need that again. You're killing me, you're breaking my heart, again."
That set Hermione off. "Again? AGAIN?" She screamed. When she realized how loud she was being, she lowered her voice. "Again? Who broke whose heart? I walk in on you and you little skank making out. TWICE! Who broke who's heart?" She was red with anger. She stormed out of the room and went to the staff room. Draco, not planning on letting her walk away this time, stalked after her.
"You're right. I broke your heart, and I'm sorry about that. But you never let me explain. She kissed me. I was just sitting there, and she came onto me. She kissed me. Okay? Understand?" Draco was beginning to get annoyed with her stubbornness. But on the other had, it made him desire her even more. She never took crap from anyone. He admired that about her.
"Don't talk to me like that, Malfoy."
"Like what?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "Okay, consider this? It's, what, 9:15? How about we meet for lunch at 12:30? My treat at Outriders?"
She glared at him with her honey eyes, "I don't think so."
"Why not?" Draco raised an eyebrow at her.
"Because I don't want to that's why not. You are trying to buy me, well, let me tell you, it doesn't work that way." She walked over and poured herself a cup of coffee and added some cream.
Draco walked over to her, but she pushed him away.
"Please? I really want to take you to lunch." He was starting to beg. Hermione was shocked. She had never heard him beg. Not once. It was something that she knew he prided himself on.
"If I say yes will you leave right now."
"No."
"And why not?"
"Because you are supposed to be selling me a house."
Hermione regretfully agreed to lunch with Draco. A part of her was screaming "YES!" while the other half was telling her she was setting herself up, again. Why did she agree to something so stupid? He was probably planning to stand her up. Then again, he did seem pretty eager to have lunch with her.
-.-
Hermione went through the rest of the morning dreading, yet anxiously awaiting 12:30. When 12:15 came around, she grabbed her blazer and told Margie to hold all of her calls until she got back from lunch. She walked out the door and gasped when she saw Draco waiting by her car.
"About time you got out here. I thought we would walk to Outriders, it's only a few blocks away and I think it would be a good time to talk."
She walked over to him and they began to walk towards the largest restaurant in town. "Talk about what?"
"Promise not to freak out on me?" Hermione took a deep break and nodded. "Us."
Draco saw her jaw tighten, but true to her word, she did not freak out. "What about us?"
"Hermione Granger, I want to date you. I want to be with you again. I know that you were hurt, I know I hurt you alot, and I'm really sorry. I can not emphasize how sorry I am. If I could apologize to you everday I would, however, I am quite postive you would get annoyed with me if that were to happen."
"You're probably right. So I accept your apology. However, I am never going to forget what happened. You might be sick of hearing this," She looked up to him with her hazel eyes, "But, you really did hurt me. It's not just the fact that I walked in and saw it, it's the fact that I walked in and saw it more than once."
FLASHBACK
Hermione said the password and she was about to go apologize to Draco about what had happened between them earlier. She had totally overreacted to what happened and she never gave him the chance to explain. When she walked in she heard him talking to someone in his room. At least she thought she heard him talking to someone. She walked over to his door and stood outside it, listening through it. When she didn't hear any voices coming through it, she lightly knocked on the door.
When no one answered she pushed the door open. There he was on the bed on top of her. She had a hold of his collar, it looked almost as if he had been pulled down onto her. Hermione didn't notice that however and then she stalked out of the room, slammed the door behind her and raced down the hall.
At the sound of the door slamming, Draco looked up and muttered "Shit!" He looked towards Pansy. "Stay away from me." He yelled. He opened the door and sprinted down the hall towards Hermione's room. He knocked on the door. When she didn't answer, he knocked again and yelled "'Mione!"
She came to the door, opened it just enough for him to see her face. "Yes?"
"Look, I don't know how much you saw but I want you to know-"
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Come on. Yes, you do"
She glared at him, then raised an eyebrow. "You're right, I do, but I don't want you to say anything. It is offically over between us Draco Malfoy. I never want to talk to you again."
END FLASHBACK
"What were you doing anyways? When you saw us again?"
Hermione looked at the ground. "I came to give you a chance to explain yourself. I came to apologize for jumping to conclusions."
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
"Welcome to Outriders." The hostess greeted them as they walked through the door. Hermione never got tired of the decor in this place. She loved it. Black tableclothes, a single white rose on every table, black marble counters, silver and white hanging light fixtures and a large bar at the back of the restaurant.
Draco smiled and said "Hello, I have a reservation under Malfoy."
The hostess looked down at her book and checked something off. She looked up at them and said "Right this way, please." She grabbed two menu's and lead the way to the back corner of the restaurant. She seated them, handed them their menus and asked them what they would like to drink. They ordered their drinks and the hostess left them to look at their menu's.
"Hermione?" A strange voice asked.
Hermione looked up and saw a man she used to date. She smiled and stood up and gave him a hug. "Hi, Derek. How are you?"
She sat back down. "Oh, I'm good. How are you? You look great."
Hermione turned the slightest shade of red. "I'm alright, thanks."
"I'm glad to hear that. I haven't talked to you in a while. What's new?"
"Oh, not a whole lot." Draco quietly cleared his throat. "Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners." She smirked. "Derek, this is Draco Malfoy, him and I went to school together in England. Draco, this is Derek Camden."
Derek and Draco shook hands. "Well," Derek excused himself, "I should get back to work. Good talking to you again, Hermione. Nice to meet you, Draco."
As Derek walked away, Hermione began to read her menu again. "Asshole." she said, "You know, you and Derek have a lot in common." Draco raised an eyebrow at her. "You both cheated on me with your ex-girlfriends. Of course you were both forced too, though." She added sarcastically.
"I deserve that." He said modestly, reading his menu.
"No, you don't." Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry. It is a thing of the past, and I keep shoving it in your face. I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't be sorry. You didn't do anything. You walked in. Anyone could have." He smiled at her. His smile faded and he added. "But it wasn't just anyone, it was you. I want you to know, I would have told you if you hadn't walked in. But you just happened to walk in and jumped to conclusions."
"I did that alot back then."
"One of your best attributes." He joked, hoping to get her smiling at him.
He got a half smile. He'd take that. At least it was a start.
They enjoyed their lunch and talked about why Hermione had left England. "I needed to get out of there. Too crowded." Draco knew what she meant, he didn't need to ask her that. Hermione and Draco were on their way back to her office when the finished lunch when Draco asked, "So, how do you know Derek?"
Hermione took a deep breath and explained that when she first moved to Canada, he had befriended her and Harry. He showed them around Cold Lake, introduced them to some of his friends. He was very hospital. After about 2 months of living in Canada, he expressed his feeling for Hermione. He told her that he liked her more than a friend, and asked her out. She agreed and they dated for about a year when Hermione walked into his apartment one evening after a fight with Harry, only to see him on the couch with one of his ex's.
Hermione confided in Draco. "I couldn't handle it. Not again." She told him that she slammed the door, as she had done to him, and ran away. Derek followed her, begging for a chance to explain. "I didn't talk to him. I didn't return his calls, I avoided him at work, when I worked at Outrider's. I didn't talk to him for about 3 months. When finally he came to my door and apologized and I told him I accepted his apology, but I wouldn't be seeing him anymore."
Draco stopped walking and looked at her in surprise. "You mean I didn't need to wait 4 years? I only needed to wait 3 months."
Hermione shook her head and continued walking. "You were a tougher case. I had seen you twice. And you were..." she trailed off.
Draco waited a moment for her to continue and when she didn't say anything, he said "I was what?"
"Nothing, nevermind. Forget I said it."
Her stopped her and turned her towards him. "I was what?" he repeated.
Hermione took a deep breath. "You were my first love. I was hurt. I loved you. I thought you loved me too. I got upset, and I was irrational. Most of all, I was young."
Draco pulled her into an embrace. To his surprise, she hugged him back. They stood there for a moment in each others arms as Draco whispered, "I never meant to hurt you. I will never hurt you again. Hermione, will you give me a second chance?"
Hermione pulled back and said, "I need to get back to work."
"Okay, lets go." Draco laced his fingers through hers. To his surprise she didn't pull her hand away, but it was effortless. There was no emotion in her hand hold, as there was in his.
Draco walked her back to her office and she simply said good-bye and walked inside.
-.-
Hermione got home that night and slipped into some jeans and a t-shirt. she listened to the messages on the telephone. There was one from Harry.
"Hey, Mione. What are you up too tonight? How about a movie? I heard that Jarhead is in tonight. How about that, or not? Who knows. Well give me a call, okay? Later."
There was also a message from Ingrid. "Hermione Granger. You are busted. I saw you with that blonde guy from the bar the other night today. You were hugging him. Are you okay? You looked sad too. Call me tonight, we can easily get a girls night together if we need too. Love yas."
Hermione called Harry right away. He didn't answer so she left him a message telling him it was time for a girls night and that she would have to pass on the movie. She also suggested that he go with Seb, Tony, and Alex instead.
After Harry, she called Ashley, Ana, Steph and Ingrid, telling them it was girls night at her place. Bring the booze and she'll provide the munchies. She finished calling her four girlfriends and walked to the 7-11 to pick up some munchies.
At 6:30 Ashley, Ana, Ingrid and Steph arrived with the alcohol and they sat waiting for Hermione to spill what was going on.
"Ok, Hermione." Ingrid said. "Lets start with the basics. Who is he? Where's he from? How do you know him."
Hermione drew a breath and began.
An hour later, Hermione finished almost everything. Leaving the fact that she was a witch and she went to a School of Magic out.
"So then, today he was my first appointment. He walked into my office saying that he wanted to buy a house. Well thats normally what people want when they walk into my office. Then he adds that he wants to buy a house for both of us. I told him there was no longer a us. He argued saying that he wanted to be an us and all that jazz. Long story short, He wanted to get back together with me. He invited me for lunch, I agreed, we ran into Derek, talked for a minute. When Derek left I told Draco that he and Derek have alot in common." Hermione didn't have to explain, the four other girls knew exactly what she was talking about. Hermione continued, "After lunch, Draco walked me back to the office, we talked, I told him how I felt for about the fifth time today and then he hugged me, I hugged him back, he asked for a second shance, I didn't give him an answer and just said I needed to get back to work. He walked me back, holding my hand, and I just said goodbye."
Ana smiled and said "I can see the Headlines now, 'Old School Love' and 'Reality Hits The Realtor!'" Hermione, Ingrid and Steph laughed.
The phone rang and Hermione grabbed it and looked at the Call ID. "Oh my god, its him!" She looked at the other girls.
"Answer it," Steph demanded.
Hermione was hesitant. Ingrid reached over, pressed talk, shoved the phone to Hermione's ear. "Hello?"
"Hermione? Its Draco."
"Hi." She sent a glare at her friend who were trying to hear. She put him on speakerphone.
"I was wondering, would you like to go out tomorrow night."
"Oh, um," Hermione looked at her girlfriends, who were all nodding frantically. "I was actually planning to go out with some friends." Her friends looked at her with looks that said "what the..." Ana grabbed a peice of paper and scribbled 'invite him to come!' Hermione raised an eyebrow and said. "Would you like to come with us?"
"Yeah, sure. What's the plan?"
"Uhm," Hermione looked at her friends. This time Steph scribbled. 'Dinner, and drinks!' "Dinner and drinks."
"Okay, where's dinner?"
Hermione didn't need help with this one, "Clarks, in the north, by the lake."
"Okay. I'll be there."
"Okay, See you tomorrow." Hermione hung up.
All of the girls smiled.
