Mature content ahead.
———
-Nellie's Pov
Several weeks had passed, and Thanksgiving was approaching slowly. The plans we made a few weeks ago might not come to reality since I had not been in touch with the boys much lately, expect for Theo.
Malfoy has been avoiding me, noticeably distancing himself, and so did I. He rarely joined us during meals, had skipped a few parties which is unusual for him, and was no longer as present in our daily activities or classes. Whenever I came across him, he looked sad, but mostly, angry, as usual.
While I'm not necessarily worried or sympathetic towards him, his changed behavior raised questions. I've considered asking him what's going on, but deep down, I know that wouldn't provide the answers. I discussed it with Theo, who claimed he didn't know, but I could sense that was not the truth.
With Malfoy's reduced attention to me because of our recent happening, have Theo and I become closer. We had spent a lot of time together. We've gone beyond the wizarding world, visiting Edinburgh and had a great time together. People question a lot about us, and our friends suspect something more, but both Theo and I deny any romantic involvement.
'Are you sure you and Theo are just friends?'
'You can't tell me you haven't done anything.'
Typical comments we had received. Yes, we've shared sleeping spaces sometime, but nothing romantic has occurred between us. If Theo wanted something more, he would have made a move by now. It's been almost three months since I arrived, and there was nothing between us.
_
"I need help, like right now!" I turned around to find Theo in my doorway, covering his eye with his hand. Blood ran down his arm, dripping onto the floor.
"Theo, what the hell have you done?" I exclaimed, rushing over to him. Removing his hand from his face, I inspected the injury—it looked like he had cracked his eyebrow and would definitely need stitches.
Theo shot me a look, expecting me to know what to do.
"Do you want blood all over your dorm?" he huffed, indicating that I should assist him. He brought his hand back to his eye to prevent more blood from dripping onto the floor.
"Come here," I said, leading him into my bathroom.
Uncertain of what to do, I began searching for something like a first aid kit. The idea of using a spell or potion to heal the wound didn't cross my mind, and I wasn't confident about using Episkey, unsure if it was suitable for cuts.
Theo sat on the toilet lid while I retrieved the bandages and other necessary items. Approaching him, I stood between his legs, and his face aligned with my chest.
Starting to clean and inspect the wound, it appeared deep, and the bleeding showed no signs of stopping.
"What happened?" I asked once again.
"I had a shelf fall on me" he replied. While a falling shelf could cause such a cut, I found his explanation somewhat not true.
"Why didn't you go to Madam Pomfrey? She can help you better than I can" I questioned, looking down at him. He met my gaze with his green eyes.
"Nellie, it's 3:40 in the morning. I won't even ask why you're awake" he commented, receiving an eye roll from me.
"You're going to need stitches" I stated, inspecting the cut and attempting to stop the bleeding.
"Do it" Theo insisted.
My eyes dropped back to him.
"No, Theo, I can't do that" I replied, trying to convince him that stitching him by myself would just make things much worse.
He gave me a sigh.
"Still bleeding that much?" he asked. I shook my head, signaling that the bleeding had slowed down a bit. While a bandage would temporarily stop the bleeding, his first priority the next morning should be seeking professional help at the hospital wing for someone to give him stitches.
I cut the bandage to fit the size of his cut. Standing close to him, I focused on the task at hand, not noticing how I stood until Theo started laughing. Glancing down, I saw him smiling.
"What" I said, giving a smile before continuing with the bandage. He observed me silently, and despite nothing ever happening between us, there was an undeniable tension.
The bandage was in place, and Theo's bleeding had calmed down. As I looked at him to say that the task was done, I didn't expect his gaze to still be fixed on me. His eyes staring into mine, and despite my efforts to ignore it, his stare stayed.
Before I could step away, his hands slid to the back of my legs, cupping them tightly under my ass. Slowly, he bent over and laid his forehead against my stomach, letting out a sigh that seemed laden with some underlying burden, something was bothering him.
I responded by wrapping my hands around his head, gently scratching his hair and resting my own head on top of his. His whisper of my name sounded pained, causing a pause. However, he didn't keep talking, and I eventually released him, but he didn't let go of me.
Concerned, I asked, "Are you okay, Theo?" No response came, and he continued to hold me. His hands traveled up the back of my leg, reaching my thigh and waist. Drawing me even closer, removing any remaining space between us.
His gaze lifted from my stomach to meet my eyes, a mix of sadness and intense desire. Slowly standing up while still holding me, he maintained eye contact. His hand gradually trailed up to my neck.
And without further hesitation, he tightened his grip on my neck and came closer to my face, like he was going to kiss me.
Looking at my lips, holding my chin, he asked "do you mind?" In a calm voice that made me relaxed.
I didn't know what was going on, I just gave him a nod, and then, he kissed me.
He began slowly to kiss me, he was careful.
This experience was unlike anything I had felt before. His lips against mine felt harmonious, as if we were destined to do this and I couldn't comprehend the intensity of the sensation.
Pressing me against the wall, carefully, he continued the kiss, his hands exploring some parts of my body. I felt exposed, vulnerable, and surprisingly, it felt good—so good that I couldn't help but groan. Theo's response mirrored mine.
He lifted my leg, wrapping it around him, bringing us even closer. I felt the undeniable closeness, something I had never experienced.
This kiss wasn't like the ones with Malfoy; it was passionate, devoid of possessiveness.
Abruptly, Theo stopped, releasing his grip on me. Concern flashed through me—did he somehow sense Malfoy's presence in my thoughts? He dropped my leg, and his forehead collided with the wall behind me, over my shoulder.
Why did he stop? What happened? Please, don't stop.
It took Theo a minute or two to step away from the wall. He backed away, avoiding eye contact, and sat on the toilet lid where he had been seated before. With his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, he appeared lost in thought.
I remained frozen against the wall, trying to catch my breath, unsure of what to say or do.
"I shouldn't have done that" he finally uttered, his eyes still glued to the ground.
Fuck, did he regret that.
"Why?" I asked Theo calmly, hoping he would understand that I was fine with it.
Theo raised his head, locking eyes with mine. Without uttering a word, he opened his mouth after a couple of breaths.
"Don't let me do it again" he declared, abruptly standing up and leaving the bathroom. His words hit me hard.
But he turned around quickly again. "I can clean this for you tomorrow" he said, looking down at the blood remaining on the floor and the bathroom.
He then grabbed the door handle, and opened the door. I walked out from the bathroom and glanced at the blood-stained floor.
"It's okay, I can do it" I replied.
I waited for him to leave, but he stood still, staring at me once again. His tired, hurt eyes spoke as if he hadn't slept for days.
"Make sure you go to Madam Pomfrey when you wake up" I mumbled.
And without answering, he left, slamming the door behind him.
I rushed to open the door again.
"Theo!" I yelled. He turned around to see me standing in the corridor, but words eluded me, I didn't know what to say.
"Please don't let this destroy things" I finally managed to say. He gave me a smile but turned away without responding, again.
Fuck.
_
I sat on a bench in the Great Hall, my legs feeling like jelly, and a wave of sickness overcoming me. I hadn't been able to sleep last night, not after what happened with Theo.
It was 8:30 AM, and I hadn't spoken to him yet today. He wasn't at the breakfast table with us either.
I found myself consumed by worry, both for Theo and for us. It took over my thoughts entirely, throwing me into a state of anxiety that I hadn't experienced for the past two months.
Somehow, during this last month, Theo had become a factor in keeping my anxiety away.
Reflecting on recent events, I couldn't help but wish Theo hadn't kissed me. The feeling after was not something I had thought about, and now I longed to turn back time and prevent that moment. Those mere 10 seconds of a kiss had changed everything.
It's intriguing, isn't it? The impact a handful of seconds can have on one's life. Ten seconds can spark laughter or tears, cause a fall, inflict harm, love oneself or even want to die. In this case, those moments had indeed changed much.
All the joy within me vanished, replaced by a returning heaviness and pressure on my heart.
The voices in my head were so loud and it felt like everything was going back to itself, back to how it had always felt.
Sadness, anxiety.
I might be overthinking or being too dramatic, but the prospect of not having Theo did terrify me. Last night, he didn't respond to me for assurance that our friendship wouldn't be destroyed. That made my heart and my brain jump out of my body and mix itself together and then slowly go into the right places again.
A single word could reshape everything. A simple "yes" or "okay" would work, yet he left me hanging without a response.
Even Ana and Blaise noticed something during breakfast. Anastasia questioned if something happened the previous night, blaming herself for not sleeping in our dorm and being with Blaise.
Malfoy was also seated with us today, but I paid him no respect. He didn't greet me, and I cared little about whether he acknowledged my presence. He occupied no space in my thoughts this morning.
With no appetite due to a sleepless night, I only pushed around the food on my plate with a fork. As I sat there, absorbed in their conversation, I doubted anyone would notice my distress—until Mattheo's comment.
"Come on, what happened?" he said, attempting to comfort me by wrapping an arm over my shoulder. But I offered no response.
"Let me guess, trouble in paradise."
I lifted my head to face Malfoy, surprised to hear his first words in several weeks—rather brave, I must say.
"Oh did you and Theo have a fight?" Mattheo inquired, his eyes focused on me. I furrowed my eyebrows and sighed in response.
"No and no" I replied to both Mattheo's and Malfoy's questions.
"Good, because he is coming now" Mattheo teased.
I closed my eyes and covered them with my hands, bracing myself for Theo's arrival. Mattheo greeted Theo with cheers and shouts of his last name, a playful tradition among friends. However, Theo simply sat down across from me.
"Not in the mood today, I see" Mattheo remarked, trying to get a reaction from Theo.
I looked up at Theo, noticing the stitches on his cut—a sign that he had indeed visited Madam Pomfrey, just as I had suggested.
"You went to Madam Pomfrey?" I murmured.
Our eyes met, and he nodded. His eyes appeared more tired and sunken today, and he looked paler. My gaze then fell to his hands, specifically his wounded knuckles. It was sure that he had been hitting something, and those injuries were recent—not from last night.
"Did you two go that rough last night?" Malfoy jeered, a smirk leaving with his inappropriate comment.
Both Theo and I glanced up at him, sharing a look of disappointment. I knew that Malfoy felt that the tension was shaky and thick and he thought that comment would do good.
Frustration and irritation tinged Theo's voice as he answered.
"Malfoy, good to finally hear from you, man. So you're back now, figured you needed your friends again?"
Deciding it was time to address the tension between me and Theo, and not wanting any fight between Malfoy and Theo, I stood up from the bench and signaled for Theo to follow me since he wasn't eating anything as well. He understood the statement and did as I had signaled.
We walked out of the Great Hall, traversing hallways and corridors in silence.
I found some courage to speak. "You know it's not a big thing Theo, did you really regret kissing me that hard?" I questioned, still walking with my back turned to him. I heard him sigh before responding, "I didn't... regret."
"You sure? What about 'I shouldn't have done that' or 'don't let me do it again'?" I snapped as the Slytherin entrance opened to the common room, and we walked in. Once inside, I turned around rapidly, facing him.
Claiming that he didn't regret it was a lie, and I could sense the frustration building up inside me at that moment.
"Don't start Nellie, I don't wanna do this" he sighed out. I could see that he found this situation difficult.
Theo opened his arms, inviting me to come closer. "Come here" he said with a very low, shiver-inducing voice. I approached him as he tightened his arms around my body, enveloping me in a hug.
"It is better if we keep it how it was, we are just friends, right?" his voice softened as he spoke.
He loosened his grip on me, but I didn't want him to stop holding me. Instead, I hugged him tighter, and he did too.
"Of course, but I don't understand why you did so though" I said, closing my eyes, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
We were just friends, nothing more, but I wanted to know.
Being this close to him felt comforting; I somehow felt safe and warm with him.
"I don't know, just wanted to know the feeling, but we keep it like this Angel, it's better that way" he cautioned.
Angel
I hadn't heard anyone call me "Angel" except my mom. I always thought that no one else was allowed to say it, only my mom. But I liked it when Theo said it. It was like my heart skipped an extra beat.
This time, I loosened my grip around him and looked up at him. He was smiling now; I had made him smile. But I wasn't satisfied with his words.
I shook my head. Maybe it was better this way, but somehow I couldn't understand what he meant by that, but I said nothing.
The anxious feeling had only been in me for a few hours, but now it was gone again. He made it disappear.
"You're making it a bit obvious" a voice behind us said. Theo freed his arms from me, and both of us watched as Malfoy walked past us.
"What are you doing here?" Theo asked him.
"Forgot my book" Malfoy said and kept on walking.
"So you're actually coming to class today—" I interrupted my own question with another comment, "Can you stop walking away when we are talking with you?"
And there he stopped.
"Thinking of me? Angelous" he chuckled as he turned around to look at us.
I gave off a little laugh. "Absolutely not, and what the hell did you mean 'you're making it a bit obvious'?"
Malfoy's eyes switched to Theo, and mine did as well as I saw how Malfoy looked at Theo. We both looked over at Theo now, but I had no clue why.
Theo's look in his eyes was secretive, there was something Malfoy knew that I didn't, and something that he was about to say. It was sure that Theo clearly didn't want it to come out.
"Just be careful, Nott. You know what he can do to her if he finds out."
And then Malfoy was gone again.
***
Sorry for just kissing scenes all the time, but I promise you that smut will come soon yey