Challenge Five.

Lyrics: Hard To Find Her by Zed

Characters: Blaise, Astoria, Draco and Pansy - Slytherin House.

House: Ravenclaw

notes: A huge thanks to my beta, Persephone's flower, who did a stunning job with helping me! Also, a note for the judges, just saying that you've all done an amazing job judging, and I'm really enjoying having feedback and constructive criticisms. & I would reply to all your lovely reviews, but considering for 5/7 days of the week I can't access FF, it would be hassle. But still, it is very much appreciated. Thank you :)

One Of Those Girls

Blaise Zabini/Astoria Greengrass || Romance

One-Sided.

Should I hold my breath now she's looking at me

And I hope she knows I want her

What if she was looking at you not me

Being friends with Draco Malfoy was both a privilege and a punishment. Blaise treasured the alliance, of course. It meant that his broken family had at least a small chance of climbing up the social ladder. His mother had approved whole-heartedly of his new friendship with the pureblood legend. It also meant that no one – with the exception of a few idiot Gryffindors – dared to mess with him.

Like every good thing in life, being friends with Draco definitely had its down sides. Most of which Blaise couldn't care less about. He wasn't comfortable with blending into the background and often made a spectacle of himself. He was open, and had no problem with disagreeing with Draco and enjoyed attempting to upstage him. However, their acquaintanceship was not something Blaise was willing to let go of.

There was only one thing that Blaise truly hated Draco for. It turned out that he was quite the ladies' man. And with him as a friend, who on earth would even glance twice at Blaise? For a while, Blaise found this to be useful. No girl was good enough for him anyway, and fending off high-pitched squeals and sharp manicured nails wasn't very high on his to-do list.

Then he met Astoria Greengrass. He should've known something was wrong with that girl as soon as he'd heard her perfect sister, Daphne, badmouth her. According to Daphne, Astoria was a waste of space and not worth anyone's time. This was coming from the girl that everyone classified as the 'nice' Slytherin, so one would think that it meant something. Apparently not.

Astoria, like her sister, was placed in Slytherin. It was to easy to see why. Despite being one of the younger students in the school, she strutted around the place like she owned it, her nose held high and hips swinging. She never talked to anyone. When she did, it was only to scoff at the idiocy of somebody. She would then mock him or her cruelly.

She wasn't even pretty. With dirty blonde hair that was thrown into a messy, two-second ponytail and rather dull eyes, Astoria didn't naturally stand out amongst the crowd. For this reason, she didn't immediately capture Blaise's attention. He was picky and only wanted the best. Astoria just didn't make the cut.

It was when she begun to make a name for herself that he finally did look out for her. With her snobby demeanor and snappy comments, Astoria Greengrass slowly became a frequent conversation subject in the Slytherin common room and dorms. Gossip constantly focused on her, and soon Blaise found himself a little bit intrigued by the witch.

"Imagine that," Pansy Parkinson was saying, her beady eyes fixed on the blonde on the other side of the room. "I think she's staring at you, Blaise."

She was expecting him to snap his around to see whether she was telling the truth, but he shrugged in reply, masking his curiosity well. Beside her, Draco smirked, cocking his head to the side and following Pansy's line of vision. He stared for a while, before nodding his head in acknowledgement and turning back to Blaise.

"No. She was looking at me," Draco said with certainty.

"Does it matter?" Pansy sighed, tapping her fingers against the couch armrest. "It's not as if she'd be able to please him anyway. Damn fussy, aren't you, Blaise?"

Blaise didn't reply and merely looked away, his face void of emotion. There was something about Astoria that fascinated him. He wanted to get to know her. Had she really been looking at him? He highly doubted it. She probably had been looking at Draco. Every girl wanted a piece of Draco, and rumour had it that even some of the blokes did too.

But surely she wasn't one of those other girls?

Draco patted Blaise on the shoulder mockingly before winking and sauntering towards the girl. She flipped her hair, twirling a lock around her finger as she nodded and occasionally giggled as Draco talked in hushed whispers to her.

"What's he playing at?" Pansy hissed. "He can't fancy her."

"He probably doesn't," Blaise replied dryly, well aware of Pansy's infatuation. "But since when has that ever stopped him?"

Pansy glowered, grabbing Blaise's arm and tugging him towards the exit. "How about we leave before I vomit?"

He turned away with her, leaving the common room quickly. He cast a final glance over his shoulder, catching sight of Astoria shaking her head and smiling up at Draco. He knew it had been just too good to be true.

Maybe she was just one of those other girls after all.