A/N: There's not much to say except thank you for the reviews. There are only five so far, but hey, at least I know there are people out there who like my writing. On another note, the lyrics are from Jewel, and the song's called Foolish Games. It might give a little foreshadowing. Hint, hint.
You were always the mysterious one/with dark eyes and careless hair/you were fashionably sensitive, but too cool to care/Then you stood in my doorway, with nothing to say/ besides some comment on the weather/ Well in case you fail to notice/ In case you fail to see/ This is my heart bleeding before you/ This is me down on my knees.
Chapter 12: Hearts Were Made To Be Broken
When he looked at her, he knew she felt him. He noticed the crucial changes in her behavior, such as the way her laugh shifted tones and her timed glances in his direction. She could sense him staring, and he could not find the will in himself to care that he'd become infatuated with someone so unlike himself. And it was in this insignificant moment that he realized what he had to do to get her.
"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked Draco as she entered her room. They hadn't talked since the fight between him and Harry, but she couldn't help but be happy that he was there.
"I came to apologize for everything. I know I can be a git sometimes, and that fight with Harry did nothing but complicate matters between us. I want us to be friends again." she could tell that doing this was killing him. He was dying to play the cool,
protected guy that he normally was around people.
"I forgive you. You were mad, I get it." Draco slowly rose from her bed, and absent mindedly brushed a stray hair from her face.
"I just hate losing the things that I want to people that I don't trust. I know I can't have you, but at least I can be second best." he smiled, grasped her wrist, brought it up to his lips, and then placed a kiss on the back of her hand. Buffy wanted to say something,
anything, but her mind remained empty of thought. What do you say to something as heartbreaking as that?
"Good night, Princess." he finally said, breaking the silence before quickly leaving the room. Buffy just stood there, a void of emotion, mainly because she was afraid of what emotion would come to mind. She knew she had to think of Harry, she had to think of what she'd said to him in Hogsmeade only hours earlier. She loved Harry and only Harry, but where did Draco fit in? Could he ever fit in?
The day of the dance was hectic at best. Classes were unbearable, and when finally the time came to get dressed Buffy, Tru, and Willow decided to get ready in Buffy's room. To Buffy's amazement, Willow was going to go with Neville Longbottom, and Tru was going to go with Draco. When these arrangements had been made, she didn't know. Of coarse, she'd never asked who their dates were, so she had no right to complain about not knowing.
"So, uh, how'd Draco ask you to go?" Buffy asked Tru while she attempted to do something that looked like an updo to Tru's hair. Tru grabbed the bobby pin out of her hand and suggestively nodded towards Buffy's wand.
"We've evolved. We use magic now." Tru spoke mockingly, "And he didn't ask me. We just agreed that if both of us couldn't get a date in time we'd go together. Let me grab my wand, you look like you're going to poke your eye out with yours."
"No need, Tru," Willow said, pointing her index finger at Tru's hair and watching it slowly curl itself and pin itself half up, half down.
"You're going to have to show me how to do that sometime." Tru said in astonishment. Willow already had her hair done straight with a small bit of hair gathered in a bun at the back. She even had her strapless dark green dress on, with a gold sash around her stomach, and a scarf the same color as the sash around her shoulders. It was simple but elegant.
"Remind me again how that's a costume." Buffy said, confused. Willow picked up an emerald sequined mask and put it on.
"Oh, I see. Why didn't I think of that?"
"Don't be sarcastic, I'm nervous enough already. Can you do my make-up?" Willow asked. Finally, after what seemed to be hours of prepping, they emerged from Buffy's room in their outfits. Tru was supposed to meet Draco in the Common Room,
but Buffy and Willow had to wait until they got to the Great Hall to meet their escorts. Coming down the banister into the Common Room, Buffy's eyes locked with Draco's for a moment. He was wearing a completely black tux with his hair spiked, and she knew he was checking out her outfit as well.
"You look great Tru." he said to his date. Buffy told herself not to be jealous of the compliment, and was saved from having to do so by Draco who gave her an approving nod. He was just a friend, she told herself. She was allowed to care what her friends thought about her outfit. Besides, Buffy had to admit that Tru did look amazing. She had perfectly straight hair with blue streaks that matched her dress beautifully. The garment itself was only knee length, and it was a halter with a nice v-neck that showed off her shoulders. Sparkles brightened her eyes and made them look sweet, even seductive. Long black nails made the outfit a costume. Well, that and the blue lipstick. If you didn't know any better, she really could be a banshee in disguise.
"Ready?" Buffy asked Willow, who gave a slight nod. Draco and Tru went ahead,
and Willow and Buffy hung back a little.
"Did I make a mistake by going with this guy? I mean, he's a little different, isn't he?" Willow asked, needing an opinion. Neville had been stuttering the entire time he asked her to go, and even though at the time Willow had thought it to be sweet, she had to admit she was having second thoughts.
"Don't worry. If he's a complete waste of time, you can borrow Harry for a couple of spins around the dance floor. I hear he's pretty good."
"And who did you hear that from?"
"Well... no one, but that's not the point."
"It's okay. If anything I'll leave early. And besides, you might want to do your sexy dance for Harry." Willow giggled, and Draco turned around. Willow and Buffy were a couple of steps behind them, but not so much that he couldn't hear what was going on in their conversation.
"Did I hear something about a sexy dance?" Draco asked, wanting to know more about it. Buffy turned incredibly red, and Willow motioned for him to turn around.
"Do you remember how embarrassed you were when... when..." Willow stopped mid-sentence.
"Buffy, who did you dance with again?" she couldn't remember.
"I don't know. Some guy. I forget his name. Probably no one important." she shrugged it off, even though it upset her not knowing. The person was important, she knew that much, but what was his name?
As they turned the corner into the Great Hall, Buffy spotted Harry immediately. He wore a penguin tux with a black top hat that sort of made the outfit. He looked like a younger version of 007 without all the nasty explosions in the background. Walking over to him, she smiled. She really had made the right choice.
"Wow. You look... you look. Wow." she was pleased to hear him awe at her. Especially since it took her the most time to get ready. Her hair was all in large curls, and she wore a long, black, off the shoulder dress that had a slit in the back that went from her shoulders to her lower back. She opened her mouth wide to show that her incisors were dramatically longer than her other teeth. Harry laughed to himself.
"It's rather ironic, isn't it?" he said, "A vampire slayer dressing up like a vampire." Buffy stuck her tongue out at him and sat down at the table that he'd saved for them. Neville was talking to Willow, who looked like she was enjoying herself and was going to have no need of Harry's dating services for the evening.
"You know what? I almost had to lend you to another girl for tonight." she told him as the music started, as did the dancing. He took her hand to pull her out onto the floor.
"And what makes you think that I'd allow myself to be lent out."
"Because I would have asked you to, and you know how persuasive I can be."
"Do I? We might have to see about that one." he laughed, more at himself than at her. He spun Buffy in a full circle as they danced, and it seemed as if time had stopped. It appeared as if the world was made for them, made for lovers who could actually dance and laugh together without complications and fighting. It had been so long since either of them had had that perfect moment, a moment of peace where there was no fear of attack. Love, Buffy realized, was supposed to be that way, full of simplicity that some would never fully be able to grasp for it was so delicate that only those who had created it could properly wield it's strength. It's power. It's honesty and truth. It was a gift, she had known that much with Angel, but she had never truly experienced it until now. The only problem was that she couldn't help but brace herself for the bad ending that she knew would eventually come.
Only an hour had gone by when Harry and Buffy went to go sit at their table again. Harry left soon after, complaining about leaving something important in his room that he needed to get. Looking around, Buffy realized that a slow dance had started to play and that there were three couples that she recognized dancing. Tru and Draco were probably the first to grab her attention, and then Willow and Neville, with Neville blatantly counting the steps that he took, making sure that he didn't step on Willow's feet. The last was Hermione and a dark haired Gryffindor.
Hermione. Buffy hadn't forgotten about her, with her watchful eyes and rude judgments. Hermione who had accused her of sending Harry into a coma. But she also couldn't forget Hermione, who Buffy had helped deal with Snape. The girl who was almost too timid to go outside in an outfit that Buffy had hand chosen. The brainiac who had helped her out in the beginning, maybe not a lot, but enough to show that she would never be afraid when dealing with the abnormal. Not only Buffy's sister, but twin.
As if on cue, Hermione and her date sat down, the date leaving presumably to go to the men's lavatory. If Buffy was ever going to get the chance to talk to her, now was as good as ever. Possibly even better because she wouldn't cause a seen in front of so many people. Buffy slowly stood, and with cautious steps walked over to her twin's table.
"Is this seat taken?"
"What do you want?" Hermione asked, not trusting Buffy's intentions.
"Listen, Harry and I have been dating for a while now, so obviously I'm not trying to kill him. I don't see a reason why we shouldn't act like we're sisters." Buffy sat down next to Hermione, who was obviously willing to have a go at the conversation since she turned to face her sister directly.
"Because you're in Slytherin, and you also have a past that you never fully allowed me to be a part of. Secrets aren't supposed to be a part in any kind of relationship,
especially not between sisters. You have so many, I doubt you would be willing to tell me all of them." Buffy had to admit she had a point. But maybe there was a way around that.
"So what. We all have secrets. You've probably got your own mix of skeletons in your highly maintenanced closet. Just because I'm not an open book isn't a reason to hate me, or any one else for that matter. You were scared that night when we had that tiff about Harry. It happens to the best of us. But we both know that it wasn't my fault."
"I guess."
"Okay, here's what I'm going to do. Since neither of us want to keep up this conversation and since both of our dates are coming back, I'm going to go back to my table and have some fun tonight. I expect you to do the same, and tomorrow if you feel like talking you know where to find me. But before I go, I have to ask you to consider Harry in all of this. He wants his girlfriend and his best friend. It's not fair that we're making him pick sides. I'm just saying." Buffy left the table, and answered Harry's confused stare with a raised eyebrow as if saying something like 'what, like I can't have a decent conversation with people I don't like'. Harry then shrugged, not fully getting her meaning, but understanding that to push it any further would be insane.
"So, what did you leave in your room?" she asked, avoiding the sister topic.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he raised his eyebrows, but at her disapproving look lost his ground, "Fine, fine. It was a gift for you. A sort of one month anniversary present."
"But we haven't been together a month."
"Actually, it was a month and three days ago that we met in Hogsmeade." he smiled, and handed her a silver keepsake box with an outline of a cross and an angel standing beside it, as if keeping guard.
"What is it?" she asked, both dumbfounded and impressed by the fact that he had put so much time in remembering their one month of knowing each other anniversary.
"That's for you to find out, love. Open it." Buffy timidly lifted the lid, and found that the box didn't contain jewelry or some type of flower, but a single vile of some sort of watery substance. She jumped as it flashed, the blue fluid was lit by... was that lightening?
"What is it?" she asked, staring at the endless blue and the sparks that illuminated it. It was so fascinating, she couldn't stop looking.
"It's lightening in a bottle. It, it's a type of potion that allows you to see into the thoughts and feelings of any other individual. You just think of the person and drink it and suddenly you... you understand every emotion that they have for you. Sort of a truth spell without the horrible noise in your head." Buffy couldn't help but be confused at the purpose of the gift. Did he want her to use it to see his true feelings for her? Didn't she already know?
"Why this? What do you expect me to do with this? Not that I'm ungrateful, it's just, well, you must have some kind of reason for giving it to me."
"Trust me, it'll come in handy. I'm not saying that you have to use it right away,
but believe me, it's incredibly useful. Now, I'm sorry that I had to leave for so long to go get that, but I actually really have to use the restroom, so excuse me again." he gave her a peck on the cheek, "Try not to pick up on anyone until I'm back."
Buffy watched him leave again, only this time she was sure that he went the opposite way of the bathrooms. She shrugged it off. He wouldn't hide anything from her. Gazing around the room, she noticed that Draco was walking over to her.
"May I have this dance?" he asked slyly.
"I'm not sure if I should." she looked around as if she felt everyone's eyes on her,
shouting something awful about being devotion and cheating.
"It's just a dance. One that if Harry comes back and throws a fit over I will happily accept as my fault. I held a wand to your head as far as anyone in this room is concerned. Now come on, this songs bloody good and I wouldn't want you to miss it." She took his hand, unwilling to refuse such an offer. No one could be upset at her if she danced with a friend for five minutes after twenty minutes of sitting out with her date.
"So, where's Tru?"
"Who knows? She took off on me to go dance with some Gryffindor about a half a bloody hour ago. Been alone ever since."
"I feel so bad for you." she said with mock sadness before saying, "As if you didn't have girls slobbering over you the entire time. It's extremely pathetic when girls act that easy when the boy they're after already has a date." They were dancing by this time, but neither of them wanted to end the conversation.
"Even so, there's only one girl I'd ever consider." Buffy was about to show her awkward feelings when she decided to be sarcastic to lighten the mood.
"And, this girl, would I know her by any chance?" she asked while he spun her.
"You may have seen her around."
"And she's already taken?"
"That's somewhat under debate."
"What?"
"What was so unclear? I said, that the fact that she's taken is somewhat under debate. She is not engaged as far as I know, and they have only been together for a week or so. She isn't taken, just currently, what's the word, indisposed."
"I see. And this pretty lady, what does she think of all this?"
"She thinks that we should just be friends."
"That sounds like a wise decision."
"How so?"
"Well," Buffy looked up as if deliberating what to say, "She probably thinks that when you were together you ended up being something of a jerk. No one likes a guy who's too straight foreword."
"Do you really think that I'm too straight foreword?"
"Hey, I said your mystery woman thought you were. My opinion hasn't been given yet."
"Okay. That opinion would be?"
"To stop trying so hard and just be friends. Whatever will be will be. But she's happy right now. I'm happy right now. But if I ever get moody you'll be the first one I'll call."
"You promise?" she smiled at his question.
"You can damned well count on it." she let go of his arm, "But until then, if ever,
I'm 'indisposed' as you would call it. Now, I need to go find my boyfriend."
"My loss." was all Draco said.
Buffy walked out of the Great Hall and looked around. She knew she saw Harry walk this way, but why? It was no where near the bathrooms, or anything resembling a good excuse for leaving. She followed the corridor quietly, and soon heard whispering. Or was it crooning? Or smacking? All of the above? Turning the corner, she saw Willow intensely making out with someone, quite possibly Neville, but just when she went to turn around and leave the two alone she remembered that the last thing she saw when she left the Great Hall was Neville sitting down at a table all alone. Who was Willow with?
"Harry?" she whispered, a small tear sliding helplessly down her cheek. To her horror the couple unraveled to reveal her boyfriend resting there in her best friend's arms. Harry turned to face her, slightly confused looking, but by the time he got her into full view she was gone.
Buffy took off full speed to the common room, but ended up knocking herself down on someone who was in her path. Draco helped her up, and noticing the tears asked what was wrong. All she could do was stutter something about a box she'd left on the table in the Great Hall, and she asked him to get it for her. After he left, she fled to her room and sobbed her heart out. Why had Harry done this to her? As far as she knew,
Willow wasn't even interested. Or was she? She had always pressed their relationship, saying that he was too cute to let go, but that was just her being a good friend. Wasn't it?
"Hey." Draco said as he entered the room. He handed Harry's present to her, and she quickly took out the vile.
"What's wrong?" he asked, not understanding.
"Harry... Harry was... he was with Willow. They were kissing... and... and I just don't think... don't think that I can deal with this right now. And... and... and why would they do this? He must... he must hate me so much to.. to do this to me." she said between sobs. Draco, not knowing what to say, took her in his arms and soothingly rubbed her back. Buffy only pushed him away, and opened the glass container of the potion.
"Harry Potter." she said after she'd drunk it, and the last thing she saw before she blacked out was Draco's face draining of color and shouting something that sounded a lot like her name.
AN: Tune in soon for another chapter. There's a slight twist to what happened here, so don't start building the guillotine just yet. Review please!
