Theo and Charlotte are one of my favourite dynamics to write; let's see what the next date brings. Will Hermione regret or it's going to be a nice date for a change? Who knows? (Me, but I won't spoil anything lol)
Hermione had to endure a whole day of Ginny, Draco and Blaise coming to her flat and not leaving her side, afraid that she was going to disappear on them again. After promising to answer their texts and calls in the future, Hermione decided to get ready for her next date.
"Are you sure you're ready? I wouldn't blame you if you want to get out of it," Blaise said to her while he was watching her getting ready for her date. "The last guy you went out with was a total jerk. And that is me saying!"
Hermione had to laugh at Blaise's expression. "I know you're worried, that you're all worried, but I need to try again. And I don't think I could have a horrible date at an amusement park."
"You never know what can happen." Blaise shrugged. "I won't tell you how this date could go wrong; I only hope that you have fun and he isn't another jerk."
"Aww, thank you, Blaisie! You know how to be cute when you want to." Hermione kissed Blaise's cheek and smiled up at him. "I'll send you a text when he arrives, all right? Will that make you feel better?"
"Yeah, it does." Blaise hugged Hermione and kissed her forehead. "Just take care of yourself, sorellina."
The nickname made Hermione smile. Finishing putting on her outfit that would be perfect for the amusement park, she left her flat, hoping this date would be good.
Hermione was starting to think that the problem was her. This was the second date where her date was late. Hermione didn't have a clue if he was coming or if she should head back home and drink a whole bottle of wine by herself.
"I think I'll wait for ten more minutes, and if he hasn't shown by then, I'll go home," Hermione murmured to herself. "I hate that Blaise may be right and this guy is a jerk."
She was standing right at the entrance where she wouldn't be missed. Hermione was considering if she should leave when her date finally arrived, but she wasn't sure if she should be happy or annoyed.
"Hermione, baby! It's so good to finally meet you!" Marcus yelled while coming over. "Why haven't we done this before?"
All Hermione could smell was the stink of alcohol. Marcus was drunk out of his mind, staggering on his feet. She blinked several times, trying to wrap her mind around what was happening. It was three in the afternoon, for God's sake!
"I don't know why we didn't go on a date sooner," Hermione said with a grimace. "Are you alright, Marcus? You seem a little… ragged."
"I'm more than alright, I'm on fire!" Marcus came closer, and Hermione could see a lot of his hickeys on his neck. "You're my second date of the day and I'm hoping to get lucky like I just did."
Hermione couldn't stop staring at him, not believing what she had heard. "I'm sorry, did you say that you just had a date? Like… right before you met me?"
"Yeah, I needed to multitask a little, but it was worth it." Marcus smirked at her while coming even closer. "See how she's marked me all over? That's how I know my girl's enjoying her time with me."
Marcus decided that he didn't need an answer; he grabbed her hand and started walking into the park. Hermione tried to breathe, but the stench overwhelmed her when Marcus put an arm around her.
"I don't know why you're so stiff; relax a little, baby," Marcus said with a feral smile at Hermione. "We're going to have so much fun that you won't know what to do with yourself."
Hermione hardly believed what he was saying, but since she was already there, why shouldn't she enjoy herself? What else could go wrong?
Hermione was regretting this date by the minute. So far, Marcus had tried to get her drunk by buying beer from each stand they passed, which, in retrospect, was a lot.
"Are you sure that you don't want one sip? This lager is so amazing, and it'll help you relax," Marcus slurred his words, almost spilling beer on her. "Just a sip—you'll enjoy this so much."
"No, thank you. I'm good, so there's no need to offer it to me… again." Hermione was breathing through her mouth, trying to maintain some distance from him. "Where do you want to go now, Marcus?"
"I know the perfect place to take you," Marcus said and grabbed Hermione's hand to drag her towards the Ferris wheel.
No matter how convincing Marcus was, Hermione would never enter that death trap. As she was terrified of heights, she hadn't been in a Ferris wheel since she was a little girl, and she wasn't going to change that now.
"No, no, no! I'm not going on the Ferris wheel. There's nothing that will convince me to enter that thing!" Hermione shrieked, not giving a damn who saw her like this. "Choose another thing, Marcus, because I'm not going on that."
"Relax, Hermione. It's going to be the ride of your life," Marcus said with a smirk. "And later, you can ride me all night long."
Hermione refrained from saying something since she was still glaring at the Ferris wheel. She was still considering if it would be rude to run away when the world shifted from under her.
"Marcus! What are you doing? Put me down!" Hermione screamed. Marcus had grabbed her in his arms and was walking with her towards the Ferris wheel. "Are you crazy? I said put me down!"
"You were walking too slow, and I wanted to go on the Ferris wheel, so I took matters into my own hands literally." Marcus smiled at her wickedly.
Hermione grunted, but no matter how much she complained, Marcus didn't put her down. In the end, she went on the Ferris wheel and almost threw up while up there because of how high they were and Marcus's stink.
"That was fun, wasn't it? Such a nice ride, right? Wait until you're riding my—" Marcus started talking, but Hermione stopped him.
"Please, just shut up. Don't say a thing, please." Hermione was trying not to lose her temper, but it was getting harder and harder. "Why don't we go eat something?"
"I'd prefer to eat you out, but since you want some food, sure." Marcus was leering at her even more and Hermione wanted to throw up. "But there's something I need to do first."
"What?" Hermione asked, not knowing what else to expect from Marcus.
"This," Marcus said, leaning towards her, closing his eyes and expecting to receive a kiss.
Hermione stood still, not knowing how to react until Marcus's lips were very close to hers. She made a split-second decision: she bolted. She ran like her arse was on her fire, and she didn't look back.
She ended up hiding behind a popcorn stand, thinking how she kept ending up in all these strange situations. She was trying to regain her breath when someone groped her arse, and she yelped.
"What is your problem?" Hermione yelled, turning around and finding Marcus's smug face leering at her. "You don't know how to take a hint, do you? I literally ran from you, and you thought it would be alright to stalk me and grab my arse?"
"I like the thrill of stalking my prey," Marcus said with a smirk, and Hermione wanted to throw up again. Who the fuck calls their date 'prey'? "Come on, Hermione, let's get out of here and have some fun somewhere else."
"I won't leave here with you, and if you try to follow me, I'll scream," Hermione said in a threatening voice. "I'm serious, Marcus! Don't try to follow me."
"All right, I know when I'm not invited to the party. But you don't know what you're missing, baby." Marcus bit his lip and tried to come closer one more time, but she sidestepped him. He walked away after saying, "It's your loss, baby. I know you're going to come crawling into my bed pretty soon."
Hermione scrunched her nose, unable to believe she had decided to go on a date with someone so vulgar. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she tried to decide if she should call Blaise to come and get her or if she should leave by herself. As Marcus was still hanging around the park, she decided the best course of action was calling Blaise. But at the last minute, her eyes locked onto Theo's name and she decided to send a message to him instead.
Hermione had never told Theo she was going on these dates; she didn't want to say that she was becoming desperate. She and Theo had been texting each other ever since they had exchanged numbers, and they were now close enough that Hermione could ask him for a lift without it feeling strange.
When he immediately replied that he would be right there, Hermione was immensely glad that she had asked him. He was just so sweet and kind and caring and compassionate and—Hermione shoved her thoughts away, knowing if she started mentally listing his traits, it would be nightfall.
"Thanks for coming," Hermione said, quickly climbing into Theo's car. "I know that this wasn't how you planned your afternoon to be, having to give me a ride, but I'm thankful nonetheless."
"Don't worry, Hermione. That's what I'm here for," Theo replied, smiling softly at her. "Are you alright? You seem a little shaky."
Hermione didn't want to tell him that she had just escaped one of the worst dates she'd ever had, so she just smiled at him. "I'm fine now. I just had a little trouble today."
"Anything that I can help with?" Theo asked, looking at her with a frown on his face, and Hermione's heart constricted at the look. Why was he so damn nice? Couldn't he be a jerk like the rest of her dates so she didn't have to feel something for him?
Unaware where her thoughts were heading, Theo asked, "Are you hungry? I know a nice restaurant around here."
"I'm not going to say no to food," Hermione said with a smile, and Theo's smile widened in return. The smile made his eyes shine brighter in the dim light of the overhead lights, and Hermione's heart ached and longed for something she couldn't name. "You don't need to do this, Theo. You can just drop me off home and be on your way."
"I know I don't, but I want to." Theo's hand left the steering wheel and covered hers, squeezing it and sending jolts of pleasure coursing up her arm. "I hope you like Italian."
"It's my favourite," Hermione replied, squeezing his hand back and feeling lighter for the first time in the day.
Without knowing, Theo had become her knight in shining armour, and Hermione secretly hoped that he'd be there for her many times in the future—even if she had to go on more terrible dates to get that to happen.