Don't you hate those days when your reconstructed elbow locks up and it hurts to move it? No, that's just me? Alright then.

Chapter 19
Hermione sat nervously, fiddling with her fingers, as she awaited her lunch companion's arrival. It probably wasn't right that she invited Marcus to lunch, but after her conversation with Draco at the engagement party, he was the only person to whom she could talk. Her heart hammered harder and harder in her chest as he approached and sat down at her table.

"Finally come to your senses and dump him?" was the first thing Marcus asked as he fanned his white, cloth napkin across his lap.

"Actually, I think he's broken up with me," she replied, staring down at her silverware.

"Why?" he wondered.

She fingered the rounded edge of her fork and sighed. "Because I won't move in with him," she said.

Marcus chuckled and shook his head. "You didn't honestly believe Draco could be in a relationship," he muttered. "Don't you see that his asking you to move in was really his way of getting out?"

"That makes no sense," she said, furrowing her brows.

Leaning back in his chair, Marcus crossed his arms over his chest. "Come on, Hermione. You're smarter than this," he chided. Was he really suggesting that Draco intended to break up with her all along?

"And what would he have done if I'd said yes?" she demanded. "Surely if his plan was to break up with me, he wouldn't have asked me to move in."

"He knew you'd say no," Marcus replied, looking around to make sure their conversation didn't disturb the other patrons. "Why would you say yes? You've been together only a handful of months, and most of that time was spent screwing each other. He had to know that you'd figure out things were moving too fast in too short a time."

She had thought things had moved too quickly, but it hadn't bothered her. It wasn't until Draco had proposed living together that she realized the suddenness of it all. But she hadn't wanted their time together to end. She was sure he hadn't either.

"When was the last time you talked to him?" Marcus asked, sighing as he willingly got more involved than he wanted to be.

"Last week," she replied. "When he asked."

Marcus sighed and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "Why did you call me, Hermione?" he wondered. The question had been gnawing at him since the early morning when he had received her owl. "I mean, you have plenty of other friends you could talk to about this. Maybe the Weasley girl or someone would be more helpful."

Shaking her head, Hermione leaned forward and placed her hand on his arm. "None that know both Draco and me the way you do," she replied with a sad smile. "I don't know that you'll ever believe how sorry I am for the way things turned out. I've missed talking to you these last few weeks."

"I have too," he admitted, taking hold of her hand. "I knew you were with Draco when we started dating. I just hoped I was enough for you. Were you just waiting for him to realize that you deserved more than he was willing to give you?"

"I didn't know it was what I wanted," she confessed. "I knew I was mad at Ron for moving on, and maybe Draco was right. Maybe I wanted to make him jealous or angry by being with Draco. He never cared though when he found out.

"And then Draco told me he wanted to be with me," she continued. "I don't know. There's something kind of heady about your former enemy declaring his feelings for you. Suddenly, I felt so wrapped up in him and making us work that I forgot about other things. Like you."

Marcus nodded and gave her hand a gentle squeeze; one that said she was nearly forgiven. He was a fool for it, and he knew it. But there was something about this girl, something genuine and caring, and it seemed impossible that he be able to stay mad at her forever. Even if it was just as friends, he wanted to have a place in her life.

"Do you remember that day?" she asked. "You asked me where we stood, and I said I didn't know. I can't stop thinking about that. I want to be able to answer your question, and I haven't been able to."

"How come?" he asked, dark eyebrows knitting together to wrinkle his forehead.

She looked away, looking at the pedestrians who passed them. "Because you didn't come after me that night," she mumbled. Without looking at him, she knew he had pulled away. But still she didn't face him.

Marcus sighed in frustration. "What do you want me to say?" he asked. "Yeah, I should have. Draco was angry and I should have come after you. But I didn't. Because even though I've seen what happens when he doesn't get his way, I knew he wasn't going to hurt you. That no matter how mad he gets at you, you're still safe with him."

"And I'm not with you?" she asked.

The sound of the chair scraping across cobblestone caused her to finally return her full attention to him. "Sure, Hermione, you would have been safe with me," he replied, fighting back annoyance. "But you didn't want me. You chose Draco. You picked him and cast me aside because you didn't need me anymore. And when Draco runs out on you, you come running back to me. Is that really fair to me, Hermione?"

"No, it's not," she agreed. "I'm sorry, Marcus. I did choose Draco, but that didn't mean I wanted to lose you."

Marcus rose from his chair. "It's him or me," he replied. "As much as I'd like to be friends, I don't know that I can. Not right now."

He started to walk away, but Hermione followed. "I don't want to choose between the two of you," she said, trailing him.

He stopped walking and turned back to face her. "Go back to him," he instructed. "You and I...we'll be okay one day." Leaning down, he kissed her cheek before walking away.