endgame ✦ draco malfoy

old habits die hard

    "No, it's okay", I said shaking my head. "I'll be back soon"

    "Okay", he sighed. "I'll be waiting for you, Stella Blackwood"

    Weird...

    I left Draco's room and shuffled down the stairs to go look for Theo. He wasn't in the foyer with his parents so he has to be somewhere else in the manor. The drawing room could be a possibility, but it's probably filled with parents or people from our class that he doesn't talk to.

    I walked down the long and large halls of Malfoy Manor, I couldn't find Theo in any of the rooms. Not even in the wine cellar where he usually is trying to snatch the oldest bottle from the Malfoy's stash. There was only one other place that Theo could be and if he's not there, then he's probably at home.

    As I made my way out of the manor to the grounds, I saw Theo sitting by the pool with a cigarette in his hand. His white shirt was unbuttoned halfway and his black undone tie hang around his neck.

    "What are you doing out here?", I asked sitting down next to him. "We're all upstairs having one of our last 'sitting in a circle on the ground and passing around drugs'"

    "I'm not into it", he sighed.

    "Lighten up, Nott", I said nudging his arm with my elbow. "We all gotta spend as much time as we can together before we both get shipped off to Massachusetts"

    "I can't", he groaned, taking another hit from his cigarette.

    "What's going on? Talk to me"

    "Things are changing, Stell"

    "Not really. We're all still going to be together. Just think about it, in two months, the rest of our group will join us at uni"

    "Not that", he sighed. "Things aren't going according to plan anymore"

    Since when did Theo care about plans? I thought he brought up when we were going to get back together because he wanted to tell me what I wanted to hear, not because he actually cared.

    "I just thought- It's just hitting me now that everything has changed", he continued.

    "What do you mean? How have things changed? Well... dumb question because a lot have changed since last year"

    "Yeah... It has..."

    "What's going through your head, Theo? Tell me", I said placing my hand on top of his.

    "We're supposed to be together, Stella. We're supposed to be together forever"

    I didn't think that this is why Theo is upset. The whole "us being together for the rest of our lives" plan was something we came up with when we were just immature kids. After the disaster of us trying to get back together and Theo telling me to pick Draco, I thought that he would put this to rest, not bring it up again.

    "You'll always have me, Theo. Forever"

    I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly, but he pushed me away.

    "I can't do this, Stella. I can't accept to just be your friend for the rest of our lives"

    "You're more than just my friend, Theo. You're my best friend"

    "Even better", he groaned sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

    What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

    Theo put out his cigarette on the concrete ground and threw the bud into Narcissa's rose bushes. He got up from the ground and started to walk further into the Malfoy grounds. I got up and followed him.

    "Why are you so upset?", I asked chasing after Theo. "I thought that you were okay with us being friends"

    "Whatever", he scoffed, still walking towards the stable.

    Why is Theo being such an ass right now?

    I continued to chase after Theo into the dark grounds of Malfoy Manor. I reached for his hand and pulled him towards me, making him stop in his tracks. Theo turned around and looked down at his shoes.

    "You told me two nights ago to pick Draco and let go of us. You can't be mad at me for the path our lives are going on"

    Theo continued to stare at the round. I lightly grabbed his chin and tilted it up so that I could look into his pretty blue eyes.

    "Look, Theo", I sighed. "I don't want to make any decisions that have to do with relationships right now. I like that Draco and I are friends again and I don't want to ruin it by resisting a relationship that ended the way it did"

    He continued to look through me, not even taking a glimpse at me.

    What's the point of staying here and trying to talk to Theo? He was the one who told me to be with Draco because he's "better for me". The worst part of this little tiff is that I haven't even "picked" anyone. I'm not dating anyone. As of right now, I am single and belong to no one, so I don't know why is he so angry. No one said that we can't be together or that we can try to rekindle our relationship while we're off at uni. Theo is making it sound like I'm trying to push him out of my life.

    Right as I was about to walk away, Theo looked up and said, "I-I'm sorry, Stell. Everything is stressing me out right now. My parents keep on reminding me how I terribly messed things up between us. They're on my ass about how important it is our families merge and-"

    "Theo", I sighed, stopping him from finishing his sentence. "We have years before we could figure all of that out. We're only eighteen"

    "Yes, but our parents were engaged at our age"

    "Those were our parents, Theo. Everyone was shacking up in the 70s because they feared they wouldn't make it by twenty under the rule of the Dark Lord. Now, we have all the time in the world to figure things out. We don't have to follow in their footsteps"

    "I love you, Stell", he cooed, cupping my cheeks in both of his hands.

    "And I love you too, Theo, all of you. Stass, Alex, Blaise..."

    "Even Draco?"

    "Well... yes..."

    "That's not what I wanted to hear", he mumbled, letting go of my cheeks.

    "You know what I mean, Theo. We don't know what's going to happen next year. We could get back together and things will go back to how they were before I knew you cheated on me with Ginny Weasley?"

    "Are you ever going to let that go? I don't hold you hooking up with my best friend right after we broke up over your head"

    "Um... you kinda did. Remember our little argument after Potions in front of the Common Room?"

    "Oh... Right...", he said scratching the back of his head. Theo's cheeks began to turn red out of embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Stell. I didn't mean to attack you"

    I wrapped my arms around Theo's waist and rested my head against his chest. Theo slowly wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. He ran his fingers through my hair, brushing out all of the knots.

    "I know you didn't", I said softly into his chest.

    He tilted my chin up and pressed his soft lips against mine. I didn't want to kiss him back, but a part of me told me I should. Kissing Theo felt routine. It was almost as if we never stopped kissing. It felt natural and not forced.

    Why is it I always fall back into old habits?