I do not own Harry Potter or any of these lovely characters...
Chapter 3
After only a couple pints with his friend, Draco called it a night and headed back to his flat. Time with Blaise was always good for a laugh, but he couldn't get his mind off Granger and what had happened earlier.
After a bit of pathetic pleading on his part, Blaise finally relented and allowed his friend to leave. He had tried to get Draco's mind off of his fluffy-haired coworker, but to no avail. He knew how very smitten his friend was and had attempted, on numerous occasions, to get Draco to fess up and just tell her how you feel, already! But each of those occasions ended the same - the old "self-loathing Malfoy" would rear its ugly head and Draco would convince himself that she could never love "a person like him". Blaise just shook his head and sighed as he watched him leave. "Someday, that bloke will decide he wants to be happy."
When Draco arrived at his flat - at a ridiculously early hour for a young man on a Friday evening - the first thing he did was head to the kitchen for a snack. A grumpy mood always made him feel peckish. Storming through the cupboards with a bit more force than was strictly necessary, he settled on a slice of cold pizza. He was certain he would regret this decision in the morning, but right now he was eating his feelings and his feelings told him cold pizza was perfect.
He sat at the counter in silence as he finished cleaning the remaining sauce and crumbs from his hands. Running his fingers through his hair, he closed his eyes and stretched the tightness out of his neck that had settled there this afternoon during his altercation with Granger.
Granger. That witch was going to be the end of him. He adored her - there were no two ways about it - he had figured that much out ages ago. Sure they were friends, which, quite honestly, was far more than he ever dreamed possible given their history. He had apologized to her years ago for his behavior as a child and had spent every moment since then trying to prove to her by his actions that he was a better man and that she was not making a huge mistake by being his friend. Even Potter, and to a lesser extent, Weasley had accepted him over time.
But Granger….she trusted him. He cherished that. It still astounded him that she, of all people, could trust him and accept him the way she had. She allowed him to be part of her inner circle. They had inside jokes. She let him call her all manner of ridiculous pet names without batting an eye. If only she knew….
But he was certain he could never tell her how much he truly cared for her. He was terrified that if she found out just how enamored he was by her, their friendship would change and he would lose her forever. No - they were great friends, and he had to force himself to be content with that. She deserved a much better man than him.
With his internal pity party in full swing, Draco walked toward his bathroom as he divested himself of his tie and dress shirt. He needed a shower before bed - pizza before sleep was one thing, but waking up smelling like last night's bar was something else entirely.
After taking a scalding hot shower and brushing his teeth, Draco felt much better. I'll talk to her tomorrow….he thought as he slipped into his grey sweat pants and pulled on a fresh t-shirt. He knew he had to figure out what had set her off today and never do it again so they could just get back to normal. It was not his ideal, but at least normal was better than nothing at all.
It must not have been long after pulling the covers up over his chest that he fell asleep, because the next thing he knew, he woke with a start. Blurry-eyed and confused in his dark room, Draco could have sworn he heard knocking on his front door.
This was probably my favorite chapter to write so far... Draco is such a great character! Chapter 4 will be posted next week - be sure to choose 'follow' below. Thanks for reading - reviews much appreciated!