It starts like this: Draco falls in love.
He invites Theo out to lunch, and sits him down. Theo hates the food at the Leaky Cauldron, and Draco knows this.
It's the only place in Diagon Alley that will serve them, though, and Draco wants to have this conversation in public.
When their drinks come, Draco takes a sip, and sets it down firmly. He clears his throat, and tells Theo that his secret girlfriend isn't going to be a secret anymore.
"I love her," he says, with all the pompous dramatism Theo has grown accustomed to over the years.
Theo silently listens as Draco waxes poetic about his girlfriend's charms - her intelligence, her stubbornness, her utter Gryffindor-ness…
Of course Draco would fall in love with a Gryffindor. In true Malfoy style, he wasn't even satisfied with a quiet, unobtrusive Gryffindor. He had to go with the queen of the Gryffindors, the loudest, most obnoxious…
Was it easy, Theo wonders, for Draco to convince himself he was in love with her?
This is the difference between them: Draco is a romantic at heart, but Theo knows the truth.
Theo knows that love is a trick, love is a farce, love is a lie. But Draco hasn't figured it out yet, and he doesn't appreciate Theo's truth.
"This is why I didn't want to tell you." He shakes his head, disappointed in Theo. "My mother is having a luncheon, for everyone to meet her. You're invited. Try not to let your cynicism poison it."
Draco stands, and Draco leaves - leaves Theo behind.
That's okay. Theo is used to being left behind. Draco probably imagines he's leaving Theo behind in other ways, too - leaving his childish hatred of emotion behind, as he advances into mature adulthood.
That's okay, too. Draco knows that after his little adventure in love, Theo will be right where he left him.
Theo will be there to pick up the pieces, once this pretension inevitably explodes.
a/n: review :)