Author's Note: Please excuse the discrepancy in formatting. I'm just getting used to the site so bare with me! Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 3- Truce?"Is there something wrong sir?" Lex asked in her most innocent voice.
"Wrong? Good heavens! No! You've been doing excellent work."
"See!" Draco mumbled to her. "It wasn't something I did wrong!"
"Sorry!" She huffed. "Well if nothing is wrong why did you call us in here?"
"Well you see this Saturday is the Annual Daily Prophet Summer Banquet. It's the major charity event the paper does each year. This year the money is going to St. Mungo's children's ward. Do you have plans this Saturday?" He paused too briefly for them to answer. "I don't care! Cancel them! You two will be going together."
"I don't think we really want to go together." Lex quickly interjected.
"Yeah!" Draco agreed for once.
"Oh I'm sorry I just assumed… that you would realize I wasn't asking you. I was telling you. You can't go alone, however we are not paying for two extra people. Besides it will look great for the higher powers at the paper that out two interns are getting along so well. I don't care about your personal differences. I don't care if you hate one another. Saturday night you will get along. Or else!"
This was a side of Cliff Stanton hardly no one ever saw. Normally he was happy go lucky, but when the senior partners and investors of The Daily Prophet were involved he put on his game face.
"Alright." The two monotonously replied.
"I want to see you two smile when you say that!"
They tried one more time. Through gritted teeth they managed a smile and a second. "Alright."
"That's what I like to see. Now go take lunch… together. It will be good practice!"
"Fine." Lex whined.
Draco sneered at her as they left. "Well there goes my Saturday night!"
"Oh like you had some great plans. You won't be able to go to your Death Eater convention! Poor baby!"
He grabbed her by the wrist and forcefully swung her around to face him.
"Don't you ever call me a Death Eater!"
"I know the truth hurts…" With that he raised his hand to slap her but his arm was caught by someone behind him.
"Malfoy! It's not nice to hit girls! Even for you!" Julie reprimanded.
"Yeah you slimy git!" Lex growled.
"And you should not provoke him." Julie added. "If you keep this up I might not blame him for taking a swing at you!"
"Is there a problem?" Mr. Stanton inquired popping his head out of the glass door.
"No sir." The three lied.
"Off to lunch then you two!"
Draco eyed Lex evilly. "Yeah off to lunch."
"I think I'll be coming along to chaperone!" Julie insisted not wanting either intern to return injured, or just not return.
The two interns rolled their eyes as Julie muttered, "teenagers" under her breath.
They went the little Italian café Julie had taken Lex to the previous day. Draco and Lex followed Julie silently but she stopped them.
"This internship is meant to teach you about life, so here's a lesson. You're not always going to like you're co-workers, but you have to get along. You two sit over there," she gestured, "and you better be getting along by the time we get back to work."
Julie headed to a table a few feet away from Draco and Lex.
"I don't have anything to say to you." Lex said childishly.
"Let me help then. You can say sorry, grovel for my forgiveness, and I'll think about accepting."
"Excuse me? I should apologize? For what pray tell?"
"For being a bitch."
Her eyes felt as if they would pop out. "Well if I was a bitch it was only in response to you being an asshole!"
"Oh I love you too Lex." He sarcastically sneered.
"If I apologized, would you give up on being… your obnoxious self for the summer."
"Probably not."
"Good, then I don't have to say sorry!"
Julie shot them threatening looks as if to say "you're not trying hard enough!"
Lex caught her glance and looked at Draco. Their eyes briefly met but she avoided looking directly at him. She couldn't stare directly into his gray eyes, they seemed to cut right through her.
"I hate to say this, but we need to get along. At least until this weekend."
"Only if you apologize!"
"What? If we don't get along it could cost both us this intern."
"But you're the one who really cares. I don't care nearly as much about this internship as you do. Right? You said that yourself."
"Fine! I'm sorry!" She huffed.
"You don't mean it."
I hate him! "I am sorry Draco. I shouldn't have been so unpleasant. Truce?" I wouldn't have been if you weren't such a…
"Alright. I forgive you. So is this the part where we kiss and make up?"
Her face contorted in disdain.
"Just a joke. Like I'd really want to kiss you." He sniggered.
"It's been a minute and you're already taunting me again!"
"Right, sorry about that!" He said insincerely. "The truce starts now."
They always say if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. The rest of the day completely exemplified that cliché. On the bright side they hadn't said anything malicious to each other for four hours. That had to be some kind of record for them they both thought. However they also hadn't spoken at all. This was all well and good for Lex and Draco, but Mr. Stanton was not completely satisfied.
At five o'clock as they were about to leave Mr. Stanton called them into his office again.
"I'm not going to say this isn't an improvement. But its not what I meant."
"We haven't been in a row since before lunch!" Lex insisted.
"I do appreciate your effort. But why can't you just get along while still speaking?"
He is an inconsiderate evil asshole! Lex thought.
She is just a spoiled brat who thinks she's God's gift to Earth. Draco reflected.
"We're just completely different. He has no idea where I'm coming from! And he can't stand the fact that he can't figure me out while I've nailed down his life."
"You think you know everything about me ey?"
"Not everything but enough to understand you!"
"That's rich!"
"Hmm." Mr. Stanton mused. "This gives me an idea. You both have your first assignments. I need some more writing samples. I want you to interview one another. I want the write ups first thing tomorrow morning!"
"You can't be serious!" Lex whined.
"I am absolutely serious! I think it will help you understand one another a little better."
"That is completely fair!" Draco bull-shitted
"Thank Malfoy, oh and so wipe that brown off you nose! Get out of here! You two have a lot of work for this evening!"