Wonders of Ohio (draco x reader)

Part 12 - simon says

"What's there to talk about?"

Her mouth went dry. "I...just don't want things to be weird between us. I want to be friends. You know that. I think the fact that you kissed me mixes that up some."

"You kissed me back," he pointed out helpfully.

"Yes." She swallowed. "So, where does that leave us?"

"Oh," he said, his tone suddenly curdling. "I...well, what do you think?"

"I'm the one asking."

"Fucking hell," he said, but there was truly no conviction behind it. "You're really not going to let this go, are you?"

She blushed a fiery red.

"Look," he said, finally looking up at her and sighing. Y/N instinctually flinched. The tired way he was regarding her made her worry. "I think you're..."

"You think I'm..."

"I think you're nice."

"You think I'm nice?"

"For someone who wants to talk, you're being rather stifling to the flow of the conversation," said Draco. Her mouth clamped shut, but she still glared daggers at him. "I don't have anything against you, I mean."

"Are you rejecting me?"

"I was drunk," he began carefully. Y/N was fighting back the embarrassment-induced nausea. "And I do things that I don't really mean when I'm drunk. It was wrong of me to come into your room with you, to lie on your bed. It's just that I spend all of my time with you, you know, and I don't really have anyone else here who understands...everything about my situation."

"So what you're saying is that I could've been anyone?" Her voice grew shrill.

"It was a temporary lapse in judgment," he finished, seemingly set on avoiding every single one of her answers. "I'm sorry. I didn't consider the impacts of my actions at the time."

"The impacts of your actions?"

"Yes, that is what I said," clipped Draco. "Are you intent on making this discussion as hostile as possible or something? You asked for it."

Y/N didn't know what she'd been hoping to hear. After his little speech on how "pure" his blood was, she supposed she couldn't be hurt. But he had seemed so genuine the night before.

She must've been silent for too long, as Draco spoke up again. "Surely you understand that we come from different worlds. I'm not right for you. You're not right for me either. We're never going to be able to understand each other. It's just not...this isn't correct."

"I was never proposing that we get married or something," she retorted.

"What were you proposing, then?"

"I just didn't realize how deeply your disdain ran for me. I wasn't proposing anything, really. I just wanted to know where your head was." She swallowed. "And now I know. I appreciate you sharing that with me."

Draco opened his mouth, then closed it. He was examining her face with an intensity that unnerved her. "It's not disdain."

"Trepidation, incompatibility, concern, misunderstanding, confusion, lack of attraction, however you want to put it, it's fine. I get it. I apologize for grilling you so hard on this."

He didn't appear to have a response to that. Y/N tried her best to not show the hurt on her face. "Well, then. I think we've quite finished with that. Shall we talk about something else?"

"Please." Draco visibly relaxed. "Do you happen to have time later this week to take me down into the city to look at the shop? We should try and get a start on finding the box."