Alora Lin
"No, Draco. Please don't make me go. I'm so bad at socializing."
"You're coming, Alora. End of discussion."
My feet were sliding against the floor as Draco dragged me down the corridor and towards the front door.
"Please," I whined, pouting my lips and thrashing my free arm around like a child.
"It'll only be for a few hours," he reasoned, eventually letting go of my hand. Draco glanced in the mirror to ruffle his hair with his fingers. He adjusted his rings and fixed his sleeve cuffs, smirking to himself all the while.
I folded my arms across my chest. "Is forcing me to spend an entire night with Theo and Anthony really that amusing to you?"
"You're so dramatic," he rolled his eyes jokingly. "The entire Magpies team will be there. It's not like we're going on a double date with just the two of them."
Draco stuck his hand out behind him, signaling for me to take it. I huffed, intertwining our fingers as he opened the door for us.
Once we were walking down the steps outside his manor, I spoke up, "Why can't you go alone? I don't understand why you need to bring me along."
"Because," he sighed. "I can't stand half of the team. I need to be around someone whose company I actually enjoy."
"Aww," I cooed at him, batting my eyelashes.
"Shut up," he laughed, untangling our fingers and planting his hand on my lower back. He effortlessly pulled me into his chest with one hand and used his other hand to cup the side of my face. Draco eagerly pressed his lips against mine, keeping me close to him as he apparated us to the pub.
-
"Malfoy!"
A group of extremely muscular and seemingly intimidating men cheered for him as we entered the bar.
I hunched my shoulders, suddenly feeling self-conscious with everyone's eyes on the two of us. I spotted Theo and Anthony sitting at the far end of the bar. Theo flashed me a comforting grin, raising his drink as a way of saying "cheers."
I smiled back and felt even more assured when Draco tightened his grip around my hand. He nudged my shoulder playfully, smiling down at me before placing a kiss on my forehead. "Come on, love," he spoke lowly so that only I could hear. "Let's go find a seat."
I followed behind him as he led us to the other end of the bar countertop from Theo and Anthony.
"You get settled," he whispered into my ear while resting his hand on my back. "I gotta run to the bathroom."
"Wait, Draco–" I pleaded, not wanting to be left alone with a group of burly men. I reached out to grab his arm, but I was too late. Draco was already fast walking down to the opposite end of the bar.
That prick. Why couldn't he have peed before we left?
I sat down on a bar stool, bouncing my knee and playing with the bottom hem of my skirt as I waited for Draco to return. I kept my gaze on the countertop, not wanting to engage in conversation with any of the men who sat at the bar alongside me.
"Hi, I'm Alasdair."
I looked up to meet a pair of hazel eyes. The man's dark brown hair was slightly tousled over his forehead. I darted my eyes between his contagious smile and the hand he had offered me.
"I'm one of the Chasers for the Magpies," he grinned.
I mustered a small smile and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Alora."
The edges of his lips remained curled up as his eyes ever so slightly lowered to my cleavage before returning to my face. "Can I get you anything to drink?"
I shook my head, crossing one leg over the other upon noticing that his gaze had trailed down to my short skirt, "No thanks. I'm gonna wait for Draco to get back before ordering anything."
"Oh, lighten up," he suggested, gesturing for the bartender to come over. "He'll be back any minute. Let me get you something to start off with."
Alasdair was so persistent that I found it hard to say no. I eventually complied, letting him order us two firewhisky shots before scooting my bar stool a few inches away from him. He was borderline drunk, so I doubt he noticed.
"Here you go, sweetheart," he stated, handing me the shot glass and clinking it with his. He brought it to his lips and gulped it down effortlessly.
Meanwhile, I had trouble getting mine down. The first shot of the night was always a bit difficult to swallow.
"So, are you and Malfoy like a thing?" Alasdair rested his elbows on the countertop and pointing his finger between me and the bathrooms where Draco was still taking his sweet time.
"Um..." I winced as I tried to gulp down the bitter aftertaste of the firewhisky. "Yeah, I guess."
"You guess?" he raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound so sure."
I nervously laughed, "We haven't exactly put a label on it yet, but–"
"Really?" Alasdair interrupted, leaning forward and placing his hand on my knee. "So he wouldn't mind if I did this?"
"Oh, I- um..." I tried to play it off nicely and pry his hand away from my bare leg, but his grip was too strong.
Before he got the chance to inch his hand further up my thigh, his body was thrown backwards out of his seat.
I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the sight before me.
Draco was seething; his fists were clenched by his sides as he hovered over Alasdair who was sprawled out on the floor.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Draco shouted, drawing the attention of practically everyone in the bar.
I glanced around, noticing that Theo and Anthony had gotten out of their seats to see what was causing all this ruckus.
"Relax, mate," Alasdair slurred out as he tried to pick himself back onto his feet. "I was just trying to get to know your girl."
Draco didn't even give Alasdair a chance to stand up. He threw a forceful punch at his face, sending him tumbling onto his back once again.
"Malfoy, I think you should calm down," one of his Magpies teammates spoke up from beside the bar countertop.
"And I think you should shut the fuck up," Draco spat back at him.
His teammate stood up from his seat as if he was ready to fight Draco, but someone else held him back.
"So what? You're just gonna stay there?" Draco howled at Alasdair who was still cowered on the ground. "Too scared to fight me? You didn't seem that scared just seconds ago when you were hitting on my girl."
Draco picked Alasdair up by the collar of his shirt and threw countless more punches at his face. I cupped my hands over my mouth, having never witnessed Draco be so physically violent before.
"Alright, mate, I think he's had enough," Anthony walked up to Draco and tried to hold his arms down. Draco had done so much damage to Alasdair's face that it was now splattered with blood and bruises.
Draco forcefully elbowed Anthony back before returning his attention to Alasdair. He threw one punch after another until Alasdair was barely conscious.
"Draco, stop!" I yelled, worried that he was going to end up killing him.
But rage was evident in his eyes as he continued beating Alasdair even after he had fallen to the floor unconscious.
"I said stop!" I screamed at him.
Theo stepped up, pulling Draco back and holding his wrists together. "Malfoy, you've gotta stop. You're scaring her."
It was at the mention of me when Draco's look softened and his eyes darted up to me. I stood there motionless, struggling to accept what had just happened.
The other Magpies players quickly scrambled out of their seats, rushing towards Alasdair who had now stained the wooden floor with his blood.
Draco shrugged off Theo's strong hold and marched over to me, "We're leaving."
He didn't even bother glancing back when he grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the pub. I quickly glanced over my shoulder, nodding at Theo as a way of saying thank you for his help. He gave me a soft smile, watching Draco lead me out of the bar.
"Was that really necessary?" I looked up at the back of Draco's head as he continued walking an arms length ahead of me.
When he didn't respond, I yanked my wrist out of his grasp. Draco stopped in his tracks before spinning around to glare at me, "Well, what'd you want me to do?"
"I mean, he definitely deserved a punch or two, but you didn't have to nearly kill him–"
"Can you blame me for being just a bit protective? You're my girlfriend for fuck's sake!" he jeered, leaning in so that his face was only a few centimeters away from mine.
"G-Girlfriend?" my eyes widened as I looked up at him in bewilderment.
"Yeah? What'd you think you were... my side hoe?"
I sealed my lips to suppress a giggle, but that only made the edges of Draco's lips curl up. "You just never officially asked," I stated.
He exhaled deeply, resting his hands on my upper arms as he gazed down at me, "Alora Lin, would you like to be my girlfriend?"
I scrunched up my face in feigned disgust, "Ew, no."
He rapidly moved his fingers down to my waist, tickling it and causing me to throw my head back in laughter. I let out a fit of giggles as his fingers expertly moved to all of my most ticklish spots.
"Okay, okay!" I let out in between gasps. "I'll be your girlfriend!"
"What was that?" Draco pretended to not hear as he continued tickling my neck.
"I said yes!" I tittered, attempting to pull his hands away from my neck.
He bit his lip, finally ceasing his hand movements and bending down.
I furrowed my brows, "What are you–"
Draco snaked an arm below my knee and another around my back, picking me up bridal style. I couldn't help but smile, placing the palm of my hand on his chest as he strolled down the street with me in his arms.
"Boyfriend..." I muttered to myself, letting a geeky smile creep onto my face. "You're my boyfriend. I like the sound of that."
Draco beamed as he glanced down at me. He tilted his head at an angle to plant a gentle kiss on my cheek, "I do, too."