Tonight is the Slug Club Christmas party that Slughorn is throwing in his office. All the members and alumni are attending, meaning my father will be making a trip down to Hogwarts. I love him but he tends to make everything about himself and if it's not about himself, he's showboating me like a pony for sale.
Since the whole incident up in the Astronomy Tower, I've been avoiding Draco, again. I get scared that if I sit too close to him in Potions or accidentally touch him while practicing spells in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Draco might try to kiss me again. Everything with Theo is still fresh to me and crossing the line with his best friend for the fourth time isn't going to be the best for our friendship. The worst part about this whole situation is that I wanted to kiss Draco, I wanted to go further with him. It's hard not to look at him and want to jump his bones. The feeling of electricity when his pillowy soft lips touch mine and his hands all over my body, it's hard to forget, but I have to. I'm finally in a good place with Theo and I can't keep lusting after Draco. It's already bad enough watching him came back from quidditch practice with his shirt off and sweat dripping in between his abs.
"Hey", Theo said sitting down next to me at the study table, interrupting my longing for Draco's body pressed against mine. "Are you going to the party tonight?"
"I kind of have to"
"Me too"
"You got into Slug Club?"
"Yeah. I got in awhile ago but I couldn't tell you because..."
"Because we were fighting". I said finishing his sentence.
"Precisely... Well, are you bringing a date?"
"No. I was going to bring Stass but Alex already asked her to be his date. Are you bringing someone?"
"Pansy"
WHAT THE FUCK! "Pansy Parkinson? Why are you bring her out of all people?"
"She asked and Blaise is brining Daphne Greengrass, so..."
Damn, I should've gotten a date to the Christmas party. Now I look like a loser for not having one while my ex boyfriend is going to be having champagne toasts with pug-faced Pansy Parkinson.
"I hope I'm not keeping you from seeing other people", said Theo. "I'm moving and you should to"
"You're not keeping me from seeing other people, I've just decided not to"
"Is this because of Draco? Because if it is, I-"
"This has nothing to do with Draco", I said cutting him off. "I'm just not ready to get emotionally attached to someone yet"
"Okay well, if you were to see someone, I wouldn't be mad"
"Good to know", I said forcing a smile.
"See you later", he said patting my back before walking away.
A pat on the back? What the fuck. I can't stand Theo being all happy and saying "I'm moving and you should to", like he has some kind of hold over me. The only reason why I'm not fucking Draco right now is because Theo is my friend and I don't want to hurt him again. I'm being way too damn considerate after everything he's put me through.
On my way back to my dorm room, I saw Draco who was wearing nothing but his grey sweatpants walk upstairs from the boys' dormitories. His hair was wet from his shower and little droplets of water dripped from the ends of his hair down to his chest. Fuck! This a cruel joke from the universe.
"Hey, Blackwood", Draco said before I could make it downstairs to my dorm room.
"Hi..."
"Are you going to the party tonight?"
"You're in Slug Club too?"
"Yeah, I got my owl a few weeks ago"
"Okay...Well, I'm going to go get ready", I said turning around, walking towards the stairs. "Do you want to be my date tonight?", I blurted out. Fuck! Why did I just say that?
"Uh, sure. I'll come by your room and pick you up at eight"
I gave Draco a weak smile and then walked downstairs to my dorm room. I can't believe I just asked him to be my date for the party tonight. Everyone in the group has a date so I somewhat feel better about having one but I taking Draco might not be the greatest idea. With my father and Draco's coming tonight, I hope that doesn't complicate things. Knowing my father, he's going to start talking about whether or not Draco and I will reside at Malfoy Manor or Blackwood Estates.
When I got to my room, Stass was standing in front of her mirror holding up dresses to her body. Her bed had piles of clothes on it and her shoes were all over the floor. I walked straight over to my wardrobe and started to get ready. For my outfit tonight, I decided to wear a white silk slip dress with a creme Chanel corset and the matching blazer. I kept my makeup natural and my hair straight.
"Do I wear the black or the burgundy?", Stass asked holding up two dresses.
"Um... the burgundy one. It goes well with your skin tone", I said pointing at the dress.
"Who are you going to the party with tonight?"
"What makes you think I have a date?"
"Because you're Stella fucking Blackwood. Someone has to have asked you to be their date"
"I'm... I'm actually going with Draco"
"Malfoy?"
"Is there another Draco we know?"
"Does Theo know?"
"No... but when I talked to him earlier, he told me to move on because he is"
"With who?"
"Pansy Parkinson"
"Ew. That's totally a step down from you"
"Well, he's not my problem anymore", I said putting on my last ring. "How do I look?", I asked turning around to face Stass.
"Gorgeous, now let's go make Theo jealous", she said linking her arm around mine.
When Stass opened the door, Draco was standing behind it with his hand up, ready to knock on the door. Draco was wearing his all black suit with his silver Slytherin pin on his black tie. His hair was perfectly gelled to the side with not a single strand of hair out of place.
"I'm gonna go. Alex is waiting for me", Stass said stepping out of the room.
"You look... beautiful", Draco said looking up and down at my dress.
"Thank you", I said, feeling my cheeks get hot. "You look um... dapper", I said nervously. Dapper? Seriously? And why the fuck am I blushing?
"Thanks", he chuckled nervously. "Um... Are you ready to go?", he asked holding his hand out to me. I took Draco's hand and we left for the Christmas party together.
When we got to Slughorn's office, I immediately spotted our fathers. Lucius's long pale hair was hard to miss. They both wore their designer suits and their dress robes with gaudy detailing. Their heads immediately turned to Draco and I, making me let go of his hand. I don't want my father to read too hard into Draco and I attending the Slug Club Christmas Party together.
"Stella, darling", my father said opening his arms and wrapping them around me. "I've missed you"
God, the alcohol on his breath is strong. "Hi, daddy. I've missed you too"
"You look beautiful, as always"
"Thank you", I said pulling away from him. "Good evening, Mr. Malfoy"
"Good evening, Stella. I see you attended the party with my son", Lucius said with a soft smile.
"Yes, sir"
"Are you two-"
"Father", Draco said cutting Lucius off. Lucius gave Draco a glare and he said, "Sorry, father. Stella and I are going to go greet Professor Slughorn", he said grabbing my hand.
"Bye, daddy. Bye, Mr. Malfoy", I said waving to them before Draco dragged me off.
Draco dragged me through the crowd of party goers and grabbed two glasses of champagne from the silver platter Neville Longbottom was holding. Poor kid got demoted from being a member of the Slug Club to being the help. Draco handed me my glass and we clinked our glasses together before taking our first drink. Immediately, Draco flagged down Neville to get us another glass.
"Mr. Malfoy and Miss Blackwood", Slughorn said approaching us cheerfully. He had a drink in his hand and his face was red. Is he drunk already? "I'm glad you two are able to make it. Have you seen your fathers?"
"Yes, sir. They're over there", Draco said pointing over to the tall men drinking scotch.
"Thank you. You too enjoy yourselves", he said patting Draco's shoulder before walking to our fathers.
Standing in the corner was our friend group with Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass. Sadly, Blaise and Theo lack taste and decided to take these two daft bimbos to the Christmas party. I'm honesty offended that Theo thinks Pansy is a step up from me. If he was going to take someone to a party, he should've taken someone hotter than me, which is pretty much impossible.
When Draco and I approached they group, they all turned their heads to look at the two of us. Even Pansy and Daphne were giving Draco and I looks, Pansy especially. She's probably mad that Draco came to the party with me and not her. She can hold onto the being Draco's date to the Yule Ball as long as she wants but Pansy will never be anything more than a just a date to a stupid school dance.
"So you two came together...", Theo said avoiding eye contact with me.
"Ye-"
"No", I said cutting Draco off. "We just arrived together but we didn't come together"
"This is awkward...", Pansy taking a sip of her drink.
"I need to get drunk", I muttered to myself and walking away from the group.
"I'll come with you", Draco said following me. "Is Theo having a date bothering you?"
"No, I'm not bothered"
"Stell, your eye was twitching when you saw him with Pansy"
"It was not twitching and I'm just disappointed that he decided to take Pansy instead of..."
"You?"
"No. I just wished that it was someone else". When we got to the bar, I saw that all they had was mead, champagne, wine, firewhisky, and scotch, nothing that will make me feel better about being Theo with someone else. "Ugh, they have drinks for old people", I groaned.
"I have something", Draco said reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket and flashed me his silver flask. "It's vodka"
"Good. I can't drink tequila with you", I said grabbing two glasses of lemonade. Draco started to laugh and shake his head as he poured some vodka into the lemonade. "What's funny?"
"You", he chuckled.
"What about me?"
"I just think it's funny that you acted like we aren't here together when you asked me to be your date. You've also have been dodging me all week since the Astronomy Tower"
Now, what the fuck do I say to that?
"There you are", my father said stumbling over with Lucius. I quickly drank my vodka lemonade before my father could smell it. He doesn't mind if I drink but only if it's wine and champagne, but he thinks it's "unladylike" to drink hard liquor.
"Here we are", I nervously chuckled.
"Now, I know you and Theodore are done for, but I think you and Draco have a bright future together"
"Brighter than my hair", Lucius added, making my father laugh. "Don't tell your mother about Charles and I", he said to Draco. "She told me to behave myself but I have forgotten how much of a party animal Blackwood is"
Seeing Lucius and my father hammered is too funny, but I can't laugh.
"We have to tell Narcissa and Juliet about the kids. They would want to plan the wedding"
"No", Lucius whispered. "We have to plan the wedding"
"You're right! We do!", my father laughed.
"Okay... we're going to go now", Draco said taking my hand.
"Have fun! We'll see you on the wedding day!", Lucius shouted as we walked away.
"I can't believe those two are drunk at a school event", Draco laughed. "It's like I just looked into one of Trelawney's crystal balls and saw the future"
"Yes, because were going to be hammered at our children's school events", I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
"Our children?", he asked raising a brow.
"No... Well... You know what I mean"
For the rest of the night, Draco and I spent drinking vodka lemonades in the corner, dodging our drunk fathers' questions about out nonexistent relationship. I would tell my father that Draco and I aren't dating but from the looks of it, he wouldn't remember in the morning. I'll talk to him about it when I get off the Hogwarts Express tomorrow. I can't have him walking around planning my wedding with Draco when there's nothing going on between us, other than the fact that we occasionally kiss and hook up in dark unoccupied spaces.