From the End to the Start

Chapter 18

It was so easy to fall back to the easy friendship they've always had. The only difference was that now Maleficent was hyper-aware of his every touch, every lilt of his voice, and every small action that implicitly stated his feelings weren't platonic anymore. Sometimes she wonders if it has ever been only platonic between them.

End of term was in everybody's sight, with only one obstacle in the way- the Ordinary Wizarding Levels. Despite this, though, she was in high spirits as summer vacation approached, but of course, she wasn't allowed to be blissfully ignorant for a long while without something- or someone, rather- bringing her down.

"If I were you, I'd quit now." Maleficent turned her attention to the speaker. Stefan towered over her seated form, a menacing smirk on his face.

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? And why are you even speaking to me?"

"Do you think your parents would take the news of you consorting with the Mudblood freak lightly?"

She rolled her eyes, turning back to the tome on her lap. In a bored voice, she said, "Seeing as they already disinherited and disowned me, what else can they do?"

"You're an idiot if you think this is going to end well for the two of you." Maleficent looked up once again, noticing the threat in his tone.

"Why do you even care?" She asked, aiming for nonchalance, despite the cold fear brewing in her stomach.

Stefan bent down and whispered in her ear, "Because you're mine, Maleficent. You always have been, and you always will be."

Maleficent pushed him away by the shoulders, shuddering at the sensation of having him so close. "You make me sick. I'd sooner die than belong to you. I'd never be with you, no matter what you do."

His smirk widened. "Be careful what you say, Lefi. Don't test me."

Maleficent recoiled at the sound of the nickname- Diaval's nickname for her- rolling off his detestable lips. It was just a name, but she felt as if he just sullied one of the things she tried to keep pure in her life. Drained and weary, she mumbled, "Just go away, Stefan."

Knowing he had achieved what he intended to do, he walked away with a maniacal grin on his face. "Don't say I didn't warn you, Maleficent."

Maleficent was still feeling a little emotionally ill the next day. Noticing she was more reticent than usual, Diaval suggested a stroll outside the castle. As they were walking, Diaval was talking about all sorts of things by her side, to which she cannot focus her attention on. Finally, he sighed and asked, "Are you okay?"

Disoriented, she looked at him. "Huh? Yeah, I'm just nervous about the O. ."

He snorted. "Yeah, and I'm You-Know-Who! You never get nervous about exams, Lefi."

She simply nodded but didn't say anything else. Diaval took her hand and gave it a prompting squeeze. "What's the matter?"

Eyes fixed at a point far away in the horizon, she explained. "It's… Stefan. He said something disturbing earlier. Told me I've always been and always will be his." She shut her eyes in an effort to force out her disgust. "Makes me want to puke, honestly. And he- he called me Lefi."

His grip on her hands tightened, and anger settled in his eyes. "The bastard. I'll kill him when I get the chance, I swear."

She adjusted their hands to twine her fingers with his, calming him down. "Don't waste your time. He's all talk anyway. It's just creepy, is all."

"Why is he so obsessed with you anyway?"

"Probably because in his eyes, I've got it all- the heritage, the family, the riches. He'd kill to be in my position, Diaval. I think for the longest time he has had his mind set on marrying me one day just to assimilate himself into the society he's always wanted to belong in."

Diaval shook his head in disbelief. "Bloke's insane."

"He is, isn't he?"

They resumed walking. Maleficent was aware his fingers were still treaded through hers. She was about to let go when he raised their joined hands and let their arms loop around her, finally dropping her hand when his own had settled on her shoulders. With a piercing stare and conviction in his words, he declared, "I won't let him take you, Lefi, if it comes down to that. I'll fight to the death to keep you."

She frowned. "Don't say things like that."

"It's true. Doesn't matter if you only want me as a friend. My life's still yours, either way."

Maleficent tugged his earlobe. "You're 15. Stop being melodramatic."

The hand on her shoulder reached up to tug her earlobe back. "You're barely 16. Stop being so worried."

"Touché", she said, smiling as their conversation went back to lighter matters, unaware of things to come.

A/N: Hi guys! I'm hoping you're still here. :)) I finally found the time to put this up. My shortest chapter to date, because I am writing whenever I can. I have an exam this week and three in the next. I'm finally feeling the med school stress. sigh.

Hopefully the next update comes faster (and hopefully it's longer!). Thank you for bearing with me.

Cheers!