𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑫 𝑻𝑹𝑼𝑻𝑯 || 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑭𝑶𝒀

ix

Kiernan kept her head down and hoped that he would just ignore her, but of course, he didn't; he couldn't.

"Hey! Hey, what's wrong?" The boy looked at her with true concern.

    "Nothing. I just wanted to get to my dorms to get started on my homework." She tried to hide her pain, but Draco knew better than that.

    "It's the middle of the morning, you haven't attended a single class yet. You don't have homework. Now, tell me, what's actually going on?" Draco said as he gently caressed her arm, attempting to comfort her.

    The girl broke under his touch. She tried to rush into her room so he didn't have to watch her cry, yet again; that seemed to be a recurring scenario for the two.

    Draco followed Kiernan up the steps and into her empty dorm where her roommates had already left for classes.

    The two plopped down next to one another on Kiernan's bed and stared at each other for minutes. During this time, Draco was trying to analyze her facial expressions in attempts to figure what was going on. Then, giving up, he reached his arm in front of him to move a strand of Kiernan's hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, smiling.

    "You know that we're going to get into trouble, right?" Kiernan said, blushing as the blonde haired boy gently played with her ear lobe and traced his fingers down the side of her neck.

    "I'm always in trouble." He smirked. "You, on the other hand, have detention, if I remember correctly."

    "We both do." The girl rolled over onto her back and sighed. "But, I don't really care. As long as I don't have to see him again."

    Draco leaped up from his lying position, using his elbows to hold himself up as he furrowed his brows in confusion; there was a hint of jealousy in his expression as he turned his head to look directly at her. "See WHO again?" He sounded more possessive than concerned.

    The girl's smile broke. "My dad. He's here." She sighed again and continued, "I don't know how he found me or whether or not he came to take me back, but I am not speaking to him. I can't."

    "Hey, I will protect you, okay? We don't have to talk about this anymore."

    The girl nodded her head and, for once, she felt an actual sense of comfort and relief from the horrors of her everyday life. Although the two did not know each other very well, Kiernan found herself putting a lot of trust into him; this was something she thought she would never do. It's something that she has never done; she barely trusted herself, but something about Draco made her feel safe and she knew that she could trust him no matter what.

Draco took Kiernan into his arms and placed her head on his chest where they laid. Slowly, both of them drifted into a careless rest, one after the other.

Draco watched her fall asleep first, as if it was his way of making sure she was safe before falling into a deep sleep.

After a few short hours of resting, the two were startled by a harsh movement they felt on the bed. They both jumped up quickly to notice two cats rubbing their bodies against each other while purring loudly. Of course, Sonder would be in Kiernan's dorm with Ember. The two looked at each other, then at the cats, and then back at each other as they laughed hysterically.

Kiernan reached her hand out to pet Sonder, who was surprisingly friendly, considering all of the bad stigma that came along with black cats.

The girl's smile had returned as she watched the cats chase each other around the bed. While she was staring at the cats, Draco was staring enviously at her.

The boy was jealous at how she could be so upset one moment and the most minute circumstance could bring her joy so easily. That was something that he always had trouble with; his own constant battle.

After a few minutes, Kiernan finally noticed Draco staring at her. He had a half smile on his face, which gave the girl mixed feelings. She reached over, placing her hand on his while they were still sitting on her bed. "What are you thinking about?" She questioned, smiling.

"How happy you are watching two animals run around your bed. Ya know, the place where you sleep?" He giggled. "Seems a little gross to me."

"Hey! I love Ember and she sleeps in my bed every night anyways." The girl got defensive, but Draco found that cute too. "I'm gonna have to take Sonder to the hufflepuff common room pretty soon, do you want to come?" She was hoping that he would say yes.

"Do you mind if I wait here? I promise I won't leave this spot and I will keep Em- whatever company." He stuttered as he tried to remember the cat's name.

"Her name is EMBER..." the girl said emphasizing the name "...and why don't you want to come with me?" Suspicion filled the girl's mind and that trust slowly faded.

"It's not a big deal. It's just that the hufflepuffs don't particularly like me and I don't want what they think of me to affect how they see you." He seemed nervous, but his intentions were sincere.

"Alright, could we meet in the common room though?" She looked at him, slightly nervous, "The girls already don't like me and I don't want Pansy to attack me for hanging out with you."

The boy simply shut his eyes and nodded his head. He got off of the bed and put his hand to Kiernan's cheek, then gently kissed her forehead before the two left the dorms together.

That boy really did drive her crazy in the best way possible.

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