Oshun's heart nearly leaped out of her chest at the call of her last name and Draco's, paired together for partners.
Her dark eyes lifted from the desk to see him not moving from his seat even though all the other students were getting together with their partners for this in-class assignment.
He wasn't even looking at her.
She nodded and then braced herself. She built up the courage as she packed her things before sliding off her seat.
She made her way towards his desk in the middle, which had a now empty seat. "Hi, Draco," she said happily, more of an attempt to get him to even speak to her. "We're partners for this."
Draco nodded, though he kept his gaze at the desk, blank. His arms were folded over his chest and his back rested upon the backrest of his chair, knees spread.
She made her seat in the empty one next to him. Her bag fell to the floor after she took her things out and sprawled them onto the desk.
"Do you want to do the organizer part and I'll do the reflection portion?" she asked, and flipped open her textbook to the needed page.
"Doesn't matter." His tone was clipped.
"Okay." She tried not to frown as she took out her quill. "I suppose I'll do the organizer part then."
He nodded curtly.
She worked in silence.
He did not move.
"Malfoy, this is due at the end of class," Oshun pointed out, looking over at him.
"I'm aware." He didn't meet her eyes.
"Sooo... are you going to do it?" she questioned, and slowly blinked at him.
"Soon." He nodded tersely.
"Did—" she faltered, and her eyes fell to the floor. "Did I do something to upset you? Is that why you told Fred to keep me away from you?" Her eyes raised back to him. "You know, other than bothering you the night you told me to get out?"
He shook his head shortly.
"Then why don't you want to talk to me or be around me?" Her tone was pleading, yet so perplexed.
Draco's hand shot up in the air.
"Mister Malfoy, yes?" The Professor veered her eyes to the boy.
"May I go to the Hospital Wing?" he asked in such a bland tone. "I'm not feeling too well."
"Go on." The Professor nodded.
Wordlessly, Draco grabbed his bag, along with his things, and then left.
Oshun's head hung low as her heart clenched.
_____
"You git! That was the last one!" Giovanni smacked the back of his brother's head. "I got those for me!"
"What's yours is mine. What's mine is yours." Tavius washed down the last biscuit with his bottled water, sitting at the desk in his shared dorm.
"I'm going to strangle you," Giovanni said through gritted teeth.
"You already tried that in the womb. It didn't work," Tavius retorted back as he scrawled on his parchment.
"Let's try again then, shall we?" Giovanni's voice lowered an octave, though he did not make an attempt at putting hands on his brother.
"Okay." Tavius and everyone knew Giovanni wouldn't lay hands on his friends—or his own brother.
"I will shove my foot up your fucking ass." Giovanni was shaking with annoyance and fury.
"Alright. Let me just..." Tavius rose from his seat and turned, bending down. "Let me just bend over for you."
Oshun watched as the twins bickered about the biscuits Giovanni stole from the kitchen.
She was in their dorm with Mavi, who was partners with Tavius in a project. It was past curfew, but these days, no one followed the curfew.
Mavi lay on Tavius' bed, on her stomach, as she scribbled over parchment. "Tavius, don't forget to give me your part to proofread when you're done," she said without sparing a glance.
"Yes, ma'am." Tavius nodded from where he sat at the desk in his shared dorm.
Giovanni tossed the empty biscuit box in the bin before taking his shirt off. "I'm going to shower," he grumbled, still bitter about his twin eating the last biscuit. He shut the bathroom door behind him.
Oshun chuckled under her breath in amusement as her eyes dropped back to the book on her lap. She was sitting on Giovanni's bed with a box of peppermint toads next to her.
"Oshun, you got this project in Charms too, right?" Mavi's dark eyes flicked over to her friend.
"Yeah. Why?" Oshun moved her gaze to her mate.
"Did he say we need to have a cover page or not?" Mavi questioned, and her eyes went back to scanning the assignment sheet. "Because it doesn't say it on here."
"I did one in case," Oshun replied evenly, shrugging her shoulders. "Flitwick kind of hates me, so hopefully he doesn't bring my mark down if it wasn't needed."
"Huh." Mavi nodded slowly as she jotted something down in her small notebook that was opened next to her on the bed.
"I hate to bring up uncomfortable topics, but notice how the suicides suddenly stopped?" Tavius mentioned, and scanned through his textbook.
"It's good," Mavi insisted brightly. "Suicides are horrible. Bless the souls who left the world early."
It was true too. It had been over eight days since Colin.
The suicides suddenly stopped, which made Oshun wonder a bunch of things.
Were they actually just suicides? Was she just concocting shit in her head? Was she getting ahead of herself? Everyone seemed to believe they were just suicides.
Or did the culprit get smart? Did the culprit figure out their mistake from the last three?
Or was there actually no culprit?
It was a whole debate in Oshun's head. She genuinely did not know if she was overthinking things or she was right.
But whether or not she was right, she had less than two months left. Then, she'd be gone. So perhaps it was a better choice not to dwell on such things and just enjoy her time for now.
She thought focusing on the suicides would draw her mind from her time running lower and lower, but no matter what, she could never stop thinking about her upcoming death.
It was a constant thought in her head, whether it be in the back of her head. It was always there.
"I'm going to go see Fred." Oshun closed her book and grabbed the empty box of peppermint toads. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Tell Gio I say bye."
Her mates said their byes as she tossed the empty box into the bin before she left. Her hand pulled the door gently shut behind her and her head subconsciously turned to the end of the hall.
She stared at his door for a moment, debating. She didn't even know if he was in there.
But then she just left it alone and walked down the boys' dormitory stairs.
She made it back to her tower and went straight to Fred's dorm. She wanted to just hug him and never let go.
Her knuckles collided with the door a few gentle times. She heard shuffling on the other side before the door opened and a shirtless Fred stood.
He smirked instantly when he saw her. His hand slid up the edge of the door and put his other hand on his hip. "Did you miss me?" he said playfully, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
"I came to see George."
The redhead's face fell as a loud snort of laughter came from the bathroom in the dorm. "Too cocky, huh, Freddie?" George teased from the bathroom.
Fred rolled his eyes and stepped to the side to allow her to come in. "I know you're here for me," he said in a mimicking tone as she stepped in.
She chuckled and went to kiss his cheek. "Is it a bad time?" she asked when he led her to his bed after shutting the door.
"Not at all. George is taking a massive shit right now," Fred said, and dropped onto his messy bed. He lay on his back and stretched himself out, arms behind his head. "He had too much spicy food when we went to Hogsmeade earlier."
She sat on the edge of his bed, trying not to laugh at his oversharing of his brother's personal things.
Fred eyed her skeptically before he sat up and leaned against the propped pillows. "Why are you sitting there?" he questioned, and patted the spot in front of him after he opened his legs for her to sit between them. "Come."
She put her book on his nightstand and she couldn't help but smile when she saw their photo together, framed and sitting on his nightstand. She always smiled when she saw it.
She crawled to sit in front of him. "What else did you do at Hogsmeade? How was our day?" she asked all at once, interested to know about his day.
"George was a stick in the ass the whole time." His hands grasped her calves to pull her closer to him. "But I did get a chance to check out the socks. And let me tell you, I got the best pair."
"Oh yeah? Let me see them." She grinned and planted her palms behind her upon the mattress.
Keeping one hand on her thigh, he reached over to his nightstand and opened the top drawer. He hauled out a paper bag that was scrunched and wrinkled.
He shut the drawer before opening the bag. The paper bag fell to the floor as he held up a pair of socks that were designed to look like a man's hairy shins and below with toenails on the separate slots for each toe.
"Freddie, that's horrifying." Oshun grasped the socks from his hand and chucked them behind her.
Fred's jaw hung low, offended.
"Why would you buy socks with toe slots?" Her nose scrunched in distaste. "That's so weird."
"I was going to ask you if it would be a turn-off if I wore them during sex," he said promptly, but still slightly offended. His hands ran up her bare legs since she was wearing shorts. "But now I'm just offended."
"Good." She gave him a look. "Because those socks are terrifying and I'd never have sex with you while you wore those."
He scoffed and caressed her thighs, rubbing up and down. "Anyways," he said pointedly, still bitter, "Do you want to sleep here with me tonight?"
She hoisted herself closer to him until she was on his lap. Her legs closed tightly around his waist and her arms around his neck. "Just hug me," she said, and rested her head on his shoulder.
His lips pushed ardently into her curls as his muscular arms hugged her tightly. "I can do that," he crooned, softly breathing in the scent of her.
Oshun ended up in bed with Fred, cuddling. He was peacefully asleep with his arms still tightly around her. She lay on top of him, using him as her personal bed.
George was asleep in his bed as well and the room was now dark, the lights out.
But Oshun couldn't sleep. Her shirt was off since his dorm was a little warm, so she was in her bra and shorts.
Something nagged at her chest—well, two things. But the second thing she knew she couldn't figure out and the first, she possibly could.
"Fred?" she whispered as she rested her chin on his freckled chest. "Freddie."
A hum rumbled at his lips, drowsy.
"I need to go talk to Draco," she murmured quietly, combing his red hair away from his closed eyes.
He shook his head and tightened his grip around her.
"I want to check up on him, okay?" Her hushed voice carried softly through the air between them.
"Stay with me," he said in a gruff sleepy voice, swallowing as his eyes stayed shut. "Don't go."
"I'd do the same if it were you, big head," she whispered. "I'd leave Draco to check up on you."
He remained silent for a moment and she nearly thought he fell back into a slumber. At last, he said, "Fine. Go." His arms loosened around her.
She smiled softly and kissed his chest.
She slipped out from his arms and the blankets, letting them fall back onto the redhead. "Where's my shirt?" she whispered.
"Under there." He pointed somewhere, but due to the dark, she couldn't see.
"Under where?" She frowned.
He chuckled to himself. "Underwear."
She stared at him.
He cleared his throat and turned on his side to face her. "It's under the chair," he said quietly.
She put her shirt back on after grabbing it and she noticed he'd fallen back asleep. Her body hunched down and she kissed his forehead softly before she left the dorm.
When she got to his dorm, she just stood in front of the door for a moment. She was trying to ease the knots tightening in her stomach, but it really was no use.
Through her nose, she inhaled. Through her lips, she exhaled.
Oshun raised her fist and knocked gently on the door in hopes he was awake.
To her luck, the door opened after a moment and he stood handsomely shirtless with his blond hair untidy.
She didn't give him the chance to speak. "Can we talk?" she asked as her fingers fidgeted with the Buddha charm on her necklace.
Draco wearily stared at her, up and down.
Eventually, he opened the door wider and gestured for her to come in.
One side of his bed was unmade and there was a book on the made side, so she assumed he was reading in bed before she came and interfered.
"Draco, I just need to know what's wrong," Oshun said quietly, and turned to face him.
He leaned against his door and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes spoke of nothing more than exhaustion and distress.
"Are you sure I didn't do anything?" Her voice was pleading as she brushed her curls behind her ear. "Because if I did anything to you that hurt you or upset you, you need to tell me. Remember? Communication."
His jaw set. "This has nothing to do with you," he said wryly.
"Okay, so what's bothering you?" She tried again, sounding more desperate. "Why have you been ignoring me? Why have you been giving me the cold shoulder?"
"It's none of your fucking business," he spat harshly as his features darkened in impatience. "Not everything is about you, Takahashi."
"If something is bothering you, then it is my business," she shot back sharply, thrusting a finger at him. "You are my business, okay? Because I care about you and I want to be there for you."
Not a flicker of any affection or warmth passed across his eyes. Only coldness. It made her heart wither.
"If you care about me so much, then leave me alone!" he snarled in frustration, pushing himself off the door to cross to her. "Stop talking to me! Stop trying to make me better!"
"Is this what this is about?" Her brows shot up in question. "Me trying to fix you like you're some broken fucking toy? Because I haven't been doing that, Draco."
"That's all you fucking do!" His voice rose angrily as his jaws clenched. The veins in his neck popped as he shouted. "You tell me how to do this and that and this and that! It's fucking annoying! Why can't I just be me?!"
"Don't you fucking dare try flipping this around!" She matched his raised tone of voice, tipping her head back to hold his gaze since he was merely a foot from her. "I'm not trying to fix you! That's your own choice! You fucking asked me to help you improve on yourself!"
He laughed harshly in her face, rubbing a hand down his face. His other hand was on his hip as he stared at her with such disdain. "If you weren't trying to fix me, then you would've never agreed," he sneered.
She shook her head at him. "This isn't about me trying to fix you, as you so put it." Her voice was firm. "You're trying to avoid the reason you've been so cold towards me—and it's not because of the reason you're saying it is."
"I said it before and I'll say it again." He hunched down to level their eyes. There was barely a breath between their lips. "Go. Be. A. Sleazy. Fucking. Whore. For. Weasley." His voice was laced with venom.
Her eyes welled with tears at his words. They still hurt. "You don't mean that," she said, a tremor in her voice. "You just want to push me away and you know where to hurt me most, so you're using it against me."
He straightened out and the corner of his lip curled.
"But I have to admit." Her breaths exhaled shudderingly as she offered him a strained smile. "It hurts. It really does. But you don't mean it."
"I mean every fucking word," he growled in a dangerously low voice. "You're such an easy fuck, Takahashi. Maybe I never cared about you. Maybe I was just in it for the sex. Because that's just who I am and you always let me hit so easily."
She shook her head and her hands reached out to grasp his hips. "You don't mean it!" Her voice rose as a quick tear rolled down her cheek. "Don't push me away, Draco, please. Let me be there for you..." Because in less than two months, I'll be dead.
Her own intrusive thoughts were causing more tears to gloss over her eyes. She didn't want her last days without Draco in them.
She wanted him as much as she wanted Fred.
"Please, please, please," she begged as more fat tears chased each other down her cheeks. "Don't do this. Just talk to me, please."
"Get out!" Draco shouted thunderously, the look on his face completely unreadable. "Just get the fuck out! I don't want you!"
"No." She shook her head and caused more tears to escape over her waterline. "I'm not leaving."
He ran an enraged hand through his hair. "Why can't you just fucking stay away?!" he scowled, and his jaws contracted visibly. "Why must you always make everything so difficult, Takahashi?!"
"Because I love you!"
He flinched at her words and his mouth gaped.
He even took a step back from her and by the look on his face, she caught him completely off guard.
"I love you! Gosh, I love you so fucking much!" She was nearly sobbing and her heart burned as she held her chest. "I don't even care about keeping it a secret anymore. I love you, Draco. I love you."
He froze.
Unblinking.
But he took her breath away when he rushed into her and slammed his mouth into hers.
It was effortless to melt into his lips as his hands grasped the centre of her T-shirt and he tore it open with ease. He took steps forward and she took some back until her back hit the bed.
He towered over her as their lips moved together hard and fast, but so gentle and so warming. She lifted herself onto his bed and as she scooted back, he crawled over her.
He tore all her clothes off until she was bare beneath him. She pulled down his sweatpants and his boxers as she kissed him. The tears on her cheeks dried, staining her caramel skin.
He entered her with such delicacy. He moved in and out of her slowly with unmistakable passion.
There was such tenderness in his movements as his lips brushed over all her sweet spots. He didn't utter a single word as he cherished and praised and valued her with his sweet touch.
She melted underneath him, breathing heavily and whimpering in his ear. She held him as he moved inside of her, her hands grasping his muscled shoulder blades.
Her heart felt complete. No one else existed at this moment.
It was just the two of them, watched over by the millions of stars twinkling outside his window and the moon.
"I love you," Oshun whispered when they were under his silky sheets, facing each other.
He stroked a silky curl from her eye and studied her with an adoring gaze. "Again," he whispered back softly as his hand smoothly palmed her cheek.
"I love you so much."
"Again."
"I love you, Draco."
"Please never stop saying those words to me."
"I'll keep saying them until the day I die."