Chapter 4

Time passed in slow motion as I heard the slight ka-chink of the buttons of my jacket when it hit the floor. It was just Maloy and I, his hand wrapped around my wrist. I knew what he was looking at, and tears of shame started falling down my face.

His arms enveloped me in a sudden coat of warmth. Draco's chin buried in my hair, his toned chest pressed against my back. "I'm sorry. For what I've said, Serina." He murmured. His warm breath brushed against my neck, and a shudder of discomfort ran through me, mixed with a hint of teenage andrenaline.

"Mr Malfoy!" A sharp rap at the door made Draco pull away from me. He handed me my jacket, and for the briefest moment, our fingers were entwined before he answered the door.

"Your father wants to see you, Sir." The assistant said, handing Malfoy a black folder emblazoned with the emerald company crest.

"I'll be up in five minutes." Draco snapped, slamming the door. That's when he dragged me with him to his desk, and gave me the folders.

"Look through it."

"Why?"

"Just do it." He said, exasperated. I rolled my eyes and went through the file. My face fell.

"Marriage documents." I breathed. The pen Malfoy was twirling in between his fingers clattered to the ground.

"What? No- that can't be right-" Draco went paler than he already was with shock. "He's serious about the marriage..."

"I'm so sorry." I said abruptly. "And I just realized, I have a class in ten minutes so...See ya!" I ran out of the studios, wanting to keep as much distance between Draco Malfoy and I.

I marched back to my home after class, where my dad had left a note on the door. "Serina, I'm at a falculty meeting, I'll be home late." I read. I sighed and fumbled for the keys.

I plopped down on my couch with a big tub of wonton soup. I opened my computer and watched a few episodes of Star VS the forces of evil. That's when I heard sirens outside my door.

"Hello?" I opened the door to see a couple of policemen.

"Are you Serina Snape?" One of the men inquired. I nodded.

"Am I in trouble? I swear, I haven't done anything-"

"Miss, we are sorry to say, but...your father has been found...dead."

And the the world went black.

I woke up staring at a white ceiling. I blinked and sat up.

I was in a hospital room.

And right next to me, hanging on to my bed railing like a lifeline, was Draco bloody Malfoy. And standing behind him was a girl our age. And she was beautiful. Perfectly curled hair, red lips, piercing eyes. Probably rich, by the looks of it.

"..." Draco and I stared at each other.

"Tosser." I grinned.

"...anddddd she's back." Draco rolled his eyes teasingly. The girl behind him smiled. A kind, genuine smile. That's when memories flashed before my eyes. "Your father has been found...dead."

I was crying without realizing. "Is it true?" My voice broke. Draco and the girl's faces filled with grief.

"I'm sorry, Serina-" Draco began. I was shaking violently. First my mother, barely six months ago...and now my father.

"N-n-n-no, it can't be true...it can't be." I sobbed. The two looked at me with sorrow. The girl shoved Draco out of the room, and took his chair.

"Hey." She began. "Calm down. It'll be alright." She eased me back down into my pillow. "I'm Astoria." She smiled. I noticed the huge diamond ring on her finger. This was Draco's bride to be.

"Serina." I croaked.

"Well, Serina, I'm very sorry for your loss." Astoria patted my hand gently. "I hope we can be friends. Draco's told me a lot about your antics. You're very energetic, apperently. But you're suffering, and you managed to keep it to yourself."

My eyelids felt heavy. I let out the tiniest smile through my tears.

"You were brought here because of shock. You collapsed, and nearly broke your ankle." Astoria continued. "I should leave you to rest. When you're out of here, we'll have a proper chat. Show me your fighters spirit then. Goodbye for now." Astoria got up and left, leaving me to fall asleep in my bed.

A few days later I was back at home, on strong antidepressants. Astoria kept on coming by and looked after me. She was a nice friend, I guess.

"Serina, I'm taking you out tonight." She suddenly declared. I shrugged. "You need to get out of this house. You haven't seen sunlight in days, and your parents wouldn't want you cooped up in here."

"I have reasons to stay in here." My eyes strayed to my laptop and launchpad, which were resting on the island in the kitchen.

"Honey, you need to have fun."

"How's the wedding planning going?" I changed the subject, and Astoria raised an eyebrow.

"I'll tell you if you come out with me to a club."

I rolled my eyes. "We can't even go to one. We have to be 21-"

"Not here, silly! It's 18 or older to start drinking alcohol legally." Astoria winked. She dragged me off of the sofa and downstairs into my room, which had a stack of boxes resting on the wall.

"Serina, are you packing up?!"

"Tori," I began, calling her by the nickname I gave her. "I don't have a job, which means I don't have money. I can't have a car because I don't have money or taken my drivers test here."

She looked at the flat pieces of unassembled boxes. Then she gathered them up, marched outside, and stuffed them down my trash can.

"Toriiiiiiiiii." I groaned, following her back inside.

"I'll leave you some extra money in your bank account. Your dad must've had some in there."

"You're too good to me." I grinned. "What if I stole your man?"

"I highly doubt that."

"True."

Astoria sat down on the edge of my bed. "Now." She sat back. "Show me outfits that scream London nightclub scene."

"Uh...this?" I pulled out a black crop top, red jeggings, pumps, and a grey bomber jacket.

"Keep the jacket, put away everything else." Astoria jumped up and went through my closet. "You don't have anyyything good. We're going shopping." She looked at the time. It was 12 in the afternoon. "OFF TO CONVENT GARDEN WE GO!"

"If they don't have anything good at Anthropologie, we're going to Urban Outfitters." Astoria dragged me into Urban.

"This one?" She asked me, pulling out a black and gold miniskirt.

"I want to be able to walk. A short dress, maybe?" I replied, looking through racks. "I like this one." I pulled out a rose gold colored dress, Stich was pretty short, but it revealing.

"it would look good with this SnapBack." My friend went over to a rack and brought over a olive green SnapBack with a small gold square on the front.

"Yep!" I snatched the hat from her, and went into the dressing rooms. When I came out, Astoria gaped.

"HOLY SH-" She yelped, then calmed down. "You are so ready for this. Now get back into your clothes and pay for this-" suddenly her eyebrows shot up. "Ohmygod, how much is that outfit. She looked at the tags and did the math. "It's the equivalent of 260 American dollars. I'm paying for this." She declared.

"No, Astoria, you don't have to-" I scratched the back of my head. "Look, I'm not that poor. I'll pay."

"Fine. I'm paying when you find some shoes."

"Deal." I grinned, and we both burst out laughing.

A few minutes later, we paraded into a shoes store, laden with bags. "Now, Ser, you want to be able to dance. Since this is your first time to a club, you should not wear heels. You could break your ankle or something." Astoria advised, looking through shelves of shoes. "I saw this really cool pair of black and gold ones the other day-aha!" She showed me a cool pair of pure black Nike force high tops with a metallic gold logo on the side.

"Ooooooooooooo." I stared at them, practically drooling.

"Well then, that was quick. I'll go pay." She said, and skipped off to the counter.

"Come on, Ser, it doesn't take that long to get into a dress-" Astoria whined from outside my bathroom door.

"I'm done, I'm done...how does it look?" I stepped out of the bathroom, and Astoria squealed.

"PERFECT! NOW LETS GO!" Astoria herself looked amazing in a sky blue miniskirt, white crop top, and strappy heels. Not to mention the gold hoops that must've cost a fortune. She dragged me into a taxi and told the driver to go to the Center of London nightclub. When we got there, a huge line of people were waiting outside. Astoria breezed past the guard, and sat us down with-

"Ugh. You never told me he'd be here." I scowled at Malfoy, who kissed Astoria. I shuddered. "Careful, Tori, you don't know where he's been."

"You're just jealous because you've never had a boyfriend." Draco smirked, and I groaned.

I was about to give him a snappy retort when Astoria sighed. "You two are bickering children. I'm getting us drinks." She weaved through crowds of people until she was gone from sight. And then Draco groaned.

"I hate this."

"Hm?" I was scrolling absentmindedly through photos on my phone, and paled when I saw a goofy selfie of me and dad. I felt tears pile up, ready to burst through, but I wiped my eyes. I was here to have fun, not cry.

"I hate being...being a fake lover. I don't want to be with her."

"She actually loves you, ya know?" I looked up from my phone.

"I like somebody else."

"You? Draco Malfoy, actually having feelings for somebody? How thick do you think I am?" I scoffed. "So how's the search for Zodiacmxsk going?"

"Dad's getting madder everyday. They're elusive, I must give them that."

I smirked and decided mentally I would never sign a contract with a boss like Lucius Malfoy. "I guess they don't want to be found."

"Ser, you're starting with beer." Astoria came back, with a tray of shots and a beer. She set it down in front of me and I sniffed it. Then I took a gulp.

"Not bad." I shrugged, taking another sip.

"So, Serina," Astoria looked at me with a glint in her eye. "Ever had sex?"

I spat pat out the mouthful of beer I was about to swallow. "WHAT?!" I spluttered.

"Oh come on," she said, downing another shot. "I've had sex plenty of times."

"I'm sorta...well...a virgin." I mumbled.

Draco and Astoria started laughing their asses off. "A virgin? With looks like that?!" Astoria laughed.

"Do you think a guy would put up with a girl who has a attitude and mixes R four in the morning? Doubtful." I retorted.

"Anyways, I'm going dancing. See ya, suckers!" A tipsy Astoria got up and staggered away to the dance floor. Draco stood up abruptly and straightened his jacket.

"Can I talk to you for a second? In private?"

"Uh, sure, I guess." I got up and followed him to a back hallway. "So..." I looked around aimlessly.

"I know it's you."

"What?"

"I know your Zodiacmxsk."

"That's not true-" I backed up as Draco stepped closer.

"Liar." His voice took on a chiding lilt. "Honestly, if you weren't such a bad liar, I'd be out of here and fucking my fiancé. But that's not the case, is it?" He stepped closer and closer, until he had me pressed against the wall.

"Now if you want your secret to not be released...you'll be mine." His breath grazed my neck.

"Stop it." I tried to push him away, but Malfoy pinned my arms above my head. "This is assault-"

"It won't be if the other person is willing. I've seen the way you look at me. You've seen the way I look at you. We both know we want this."

All the feelings I'd been hiding burst through. "I DON'T know what I want Draco-everything that's happened to me...I can't take this-take you away from my best friend..." I realized I was crying by this point, and Draco wiped away my tears.

"It'll be alright. And I won't tell if you won't. I don't want to sell you out, it's just that-" he hissed under his breath. "I usually have to threaten to get what I want. And I want to be with you...and not just for one night."

We looked at each other at the eye, and we both saw the desire in us. And before I knew it, his lips crashed against mine, and I knew I wanted him-wanted Draco Malfoy to be mine. I felt his hands grip my waist tightly, while I wove my fingers through his white blonde hair, a beat pulsing through my body-

Draco, Draco, Draco.