Author's Note: Guess who got a new charger? Yeah, it was me. So I decided to update for you guys :D Hope it was worth the wait, and I promise to try and update on a more regular-ish basis from now on.
I awoke with my face pressed against something warm. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter before reluctantly opening them and surveying my surroundings. The warm thing my face was pressed against was Draco's chest; he was still fast asleep. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion before memories of the previous night rushed through my mind. I sat bolt upright in bed, covering my eyes with my hands.
"Shit, fuck, shit, fuck, oh my god, no, what did I do?" I whispered, trying to make sure my meltdown didn't wake Draco. The last thing I needed was to deal with him right now. I looked around and found that the other bed in Draco's room was unoccupied. Oh, thank God, hopefully nobody saw me here.
I quietly crept out of bed, pulling on my dress and leaving the room. I tiptoed down to the common room, making my way to the girl's dorm. I was almost home free when I heard a voice behind me.
"You know, Draco usually gets girls to sleep with him on the first date, but I never expected you would be one to fall for it."
I spun around quickly, grabbing a chair to steady myself as I almost lost my balance. Blaise Zabini sat in an armchair in front of the fire, a smirk on his face as he laid playing cards out on the table in front of him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I retorted, knowing my comeback was weak but refusing to take it back.
"Oh, come on, Chloe. I saw you in his bed. Just own up to it," he remarked, stopping his movements with the playing cards. I stared at him in defiance for a few moments before sighing loudly in defeat.
"Fine," I admitted, stomping over to the couch and sitting down, flinging my head back and covering my eyes with my arm. "I don't know what the hell I was thinking. How could I be so stupid? I know better than this, and now it's going to be awkward between us and I never wanted that."
"Draco is usually one to keep sex in perspective. I don't think it will be awkward unless you make it awkward," Blaise assured, returning to his cards.
"You really think so?" I looked at him hopefully.
"Yeah, I think you'll be fine as long as you want it to be fine. Now go upstairs and shower or something. You look like shit," he commented with a slight chuckle. I scoffed before playfully shoving him.
"Oh, thanks. I feel so much better now," I shook my head before standing and making my way upstairs. I walked into the bathroom and cringed when I saw my reflection. Blaise was right. I really did look like shit.
After showering, I dressed and made my way downstairs in search of breakfast. I ran into Jacob in the Entrance Hall and we walked into the Great Hall together.
"Hey," he greeted when he saw me. "Nice heater."
My hand clamped to my neck instinctively. "What? Where?" I asked, covering various parts of my neck, hoping nobody else could see it.
"I was only joking, but damn that means you really did have someone sucking on your neck last night," Jacob chuckled. "You must have run into somebody else after the dance because I know you wouldn't do that with Malfoy."
I bit my lip and looked at the floor, hoping he would drop it, but my silence only implicated me further.
"Oh my god," he burst out, his jaw dropping. "It was Malfoy, wasn't it?"
"Shhh, I put my hand over his mouth and pulled him to the side of the room where nobody could hear us.
"Malfoy, Chloe? Did you sleep with him?" Jacob asked, his eyes wide.
"Well, I, yeah," I answered, looking up at him.
"Why the hell would you do that with Malfoy? And what about Fred? I thought it was glaringly obvious you had a thing for him."
"First of all, Draco isn't nearly as bad as you make him seem. He's an ass, but we had fun last night, before we left the dance," I clarified when I saw the horrified look on Jacob's face. "As for Fred, he seemed pretty damn happy with Angelina so I don't see why what I did with Draco should be any of his business."
Jacob faltered for a moment before nodding. "I suppose so. So, are you and Malfoy, like, together now?"
"God no," I laughed. "No, it was a one-time thing."
"Okay, well if you're okay, then let's go eat. I'm starving," he smiled, and I nodded, making my way to the Slytherin table while he sat at the Gryffindor table. I began to eat and eventually everyone else filed into the hall. George waved to me as he entered, and I waved back, but when Fred waved I simply glared and turned to look back at my plate. I knew it was childish, but I didn't particularly care. Eventually, Veronica and Bianca sat down beside me and we began talking about the night before. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who had gotten laid. Bianca proceeded to tell me and Veronica every detail about her night with the boy from Durmstrang. When Veronica told me her and Jacob wanted to take it slow, I was truly surprised, but couldn't help the little smile that found its way to my lips. Maybe Jacob was growing up a bit, after all.
I was just finishing up my food when Draco entered the Great Hall. His eyes latched onto me and he immediately made his way toward me. I had to remind myself to calm down when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"May I have a word with you, in private, please?" Draco asked politely and I simply stood. Bianca winked at me but I ignored it as I followed Draco out of the Great Hall and into an empty corridor. "Why did you leave this morning?" He asked once we were alone, abruptly turning to face me.
"What do you mean? I woke up, and I was hungry, so I left," I replied, furrowing my brows in confusion. It should be obvious.
"You couldn't have woken me or anything?" He asked further, glaring down at me.
"I didn't feel it necessary, no," I shook my head. "Aw, what's the matter? Is Draco used to his little girlfriends doting on him the morning after?" I teased, ruffling his hair. He pushed my hand away and glared at me.
"Shut up," he snapped. "No, well yes, but that's not it. I just thought, well-" he stopped, seemingly lost for words.
"Thought what?" I asked with a chuckle before I saw the look of lost hope and desperation in his eyes. "Oh, no. No, no, no. Draco, I'm sorry, but last night, it didn't mean anything," I quickly confirmed.
"Are you sure? Because you seemed to be very satisfied, if I do say so myself," he replied with a smirk, though his eyes still betrayed his distress.
"My satisfaction has nothing to do with it. I enjoyed myself, yes, you were good and last night was fun. But it didn't mean anything, emotionally."
"So you're saying we can't go past what happened last night?" He asked, staring at the ground. It was a rare moment of vulnerability for him and I felt bad that I was rejecting him like this, but it needed to be done.
"We? There is no 'we,' Draco. There is no us. Last night was purely physical. Nothing more. Okay?" I lowered my head a bit, trying to meet his gaze.
"No, not okay," he remarked after a few seconds, looking up at me with firm eyes. "You had fun last night, before your clothes were removed. I think you could have fun with me and that we could be something."
"Of course I had fun; we're friends," I replied, trying to keep the biting tone out of my voice but not entirely succeeding. He was too damn stubborn for his own good.
"I think we could be more than friends," he countered. He opened his mouth to continue but I interrupted him.
"Oh, God, no. I can't deal with this right now. I tried to be patient but I just can't do this," I snapped, holding my hands up and walking away from him.
The afternoon found me sitting by the lake, looking over the grounds. I didn't go to the balcony where I usually went for fear of Draco finding me. This was all too damn complicated, and I wanted it to end. I liked Fred, but Fred was with Angelina. Draco apparently liked me (thanks a lot for your shitty advice, Blaise), but I didn't like him as more than a friend. Why couldn't Fred just pull his head out of his ass and realize how awesome I was? Stupid Fred. Stupid Angelina. I deserved better than to be here, alone, pondering my love life. Hell, was a love life even worth it? I liked Fred, but if he was with another girl, maybe I should just move on. It wasn't the end of the world, really. I was still me. I could do this, even if it did hurt like hell.
"Hey," a voice spoke behind me and I stiffened. Speak of the stupid devil; I knew that voice anywhere.
"Hey, Fred," I replied evenly without turning around. He walked closer before sitting beside me.
"So, you and Malfoy looked pretty close last night," I could hear the malice dripping from his voice, and that only made me angry. He had no right to be upset about me going to the ball with Draco. He had had his chance, and he missed it. "I saw you two leaving the Great Hall together this morning. What was that about?"
"Quite frankly, Fred, I believe it is none of your business," I replied firmly, trying to keep my voice from shaking. How dare he do this to me? He had no right. He couldn't shove his tongue down Angelina's throat at every opportunity and then come here and act, well, jealous.
"You two left early last night, too," he continued as if I hadn't spoken. "What was that about?"
"That isn't any of your business, either, Fred," I ground out through clenched teeth. There was a pause before he spoke again.
"Did you shag him?" he asked, his voice quiet. That was the last straw for me, and I stood, stomping away from him. "You did, didn't you?" Fred called, standing up and chasing after me. "I can't believe you, Chloe, I would have thought you knew better than to shag someone like Malfoy."
"Why do you care, Fred?" I asked, my voice finally breaking as I spun on my heel to face him. "You stand there, acting all high and mighty, like you're better than me. Well, you know what? Fuck you, Fred," I yelled, shoving him away. He stumbled a bit before regaining his balance and looking at me through wide eyes. Tears had welled up in my eyes and were now rolling down my cheeks, but I was too angry to care about wiping them away. "It's not like you're any better. You've had your tongue shoved down Angelina's throat every opportunity you get. Why is that any better than what I did? Besides, why do you all of a sudden care about what I do, anyway? It's not like you've had enough time for me these past few weeks anyway. You've been too fucking busy, haven't you? I didn't do anything wrong, and you have no right to make me feel like I have; how dare you? Mind your own fucking business, why don't you? Who I sleep with is none of your concern. Stop acting like it is," I huffed, turning and leaving Fred alone in stunned silence.
I earned some stares on my way to the common room, but luckily nobody said anything. I suppose being in the dungeons was a good thing, after all. Less distance to travel in my emotionally unstable state.
Draco was sitting on the couch when I entered the common room and, upon seeing my face, he immediately stood up.
"Chloe, what's-" he began, but I held up my hand to silence him and walked straight to the bathroom. I sat in the shower for at least an hour, the water running over me. It had gone cold by the time I got out, and my fingers were pruned. I got dressed in my pajamas and crawled into bed, shaking my head when Veronica asked if I wanted to talk.
I closed my eyes, but knew sleep wouldn't come easy. Damn, why did today have to be so shitty? It had begun so well. I heaved a sigh before relaxing into my blankets, knowing tomorrow would be much worse.
