Wake Me up When My Story Ends

A soft groan, clearly evident over the wispy breeze, caught Draco’s ear. He looked around the base of the aged tree just in time to see a familiar windswept dirty blonde mane of hair disappearing over the small hill.

Draco sighed, tiredly running his fingers through his cold hair. Alexa still hated him. It was only a week ago that those hurtful words tumbled out of his mouth. He hadn’t meant to really hurt her, his has fury always notoriously controlled his words after all. She had just gotten him so mad…

Draco returned his blank stare to his book, his eyes floating over the same line repeatedly. He couldn’t focus now. Alexa Yaxley had completely distracted him… again. He hated the fact that whenever he passed her in the hall, his eyes would shamefully flit away. He longed for the days when seeing her didn’t spur his guilt. Back then, the only words they passed were mild insults because neither cared for the other. Now, Draco had this unprecedented need to explain himself to Alexa and clear the air, the air he never even previously cared to spit on.

Draco slammed his book shut, rising from the ground. Brushing some snow off his cloak, he parted his eyes from the thawing Black Lake as he followed Alexa’s visible footsteps. The way he saw it, apologizing to Alexa for his actions was the only way he could end the tension. Then after that, they would both go back to being strangers and be free to live their estranged lives.

Catching up to Alexa’s long strides took longer than Draco had anticipated. As he turned onto a familiar path to the front of the castle, he spotted Alexa not too far ahead of him. Extending his steps to nearly twice of Alexa’s length, he reached her side before she could escape.

Seeing Draco at her side, Alexa sped up. She had been avoiding him for a week now and just as she thought he was beginning to get the message, here he was, causing more trouble.

Draco easily matched her quickened pace. Knowing how far the courtyard and other students were from them, Alexa slackened and returned to her sluggish pace. There’s no way she could reach there in time to avoid speaking to him.

“Alexa…,” Draco started, holding his arm in front of Alexa to make her stop. She grew stiff from his touch even through her numerous layers.

Draco uselessly pulled on his cloaks collar. It wasn’t the collar that was chafing him. He tentatively opened his pale lips, unsure of how to word his apology now that he’d the gotten the chance.

Alexa’s steely, expectant eyes were firmly locked on Draco’s flickering ones. She refused to appear meek again, especially in front of Draco. He had more than enough destructive material on Alexa and she didn’t want to give him another reason for flaunting it.

Draco filled his lungs with the frigid air, hoping that it would clear his muddled mind. Draco Malfoy doesn’t do apologies, it’s not his thing. But with Alexa, he couldn’t stand to see her wounded
expression every time she saw him. Her wide eyes always betrayed her grim expression. Whenever he saw her expressive eyes, he’d remember tears spilling out of them, her muffled sobs haunted him.
Draco solely wanted his peace of mind back. The only reasoning he could settle on was that this was moreover for him than it was for her, “… I’m sorry.”

Now, Draco’s intense stare stopped wavering. His brow crunched when Alexa crudely rolled her eyes. She pushed past him, continuing towards the castle at a brisk pace. When Draco caught up to her from his straggled position, her acidic tone made him flinch, “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have ever trusted you with that.”

Draco’s mouth instinctively opened to reply but he closed it just as quickly. Alexa was right, she shouldn’t have told him everything she did. It wasn’t entirely Draco’s fault for asking once or twice, any sane Gryffindor would have blown him off and not broken down. He couldn’t dispute her words.
Instead, Draco took a different approach, telling her about his other beliefs in hope that she’d accept the apology and move on, “I was out of line.”

Alexa didn’t reply, her cold eyes set upon the nearing castle. Draco anxiously glanced away from her stoic face and to the castle as well, worrying about its approaching proximity. He had planned for her to accept his apology by now so that no one would see them together. She was being too stubborn, there was nothing else he could do, “I don’t apologize a lot you know.”

“Congrats, you’re not a completely pompous git,” Alexa darkly laughed, blowing off Draco’s reminder.

Draco uncharacteristically ignored her cold words, merely satisfied that she had responded, “That’s a start.”

Alexa huffed, irritably rolling her eyes. Seeing Alexa familiarly roll her eyes like that made the corner of Draco’s mouth twitch up. His eyes were alight watching Alexa submerged in her thoughts without the previous deep frown still present on her face.

Draco had to stretch his ears to hear Alexa’s soft words over the nearing sound of chatter, ”Just forget I ever told you that stuff okay?”

If only it were that easy…

Draco agreed anyway, eyeing the few stares that younger students on the outskirts of the courtyard were already giving the unconventional approaching Gryffindor and Slytherin combo.

“I’ve got to go now…” Alexa said, stealthily eyeing her eccentric Ravenclaw friend who was already openly waving at her.

Draco hastily nodded, desperate to escape their visibly disconcerting companionship. He fled from Alexa’s side, his quick pace only dying down once he had reached the Great Hall.

“Draco, where were you?” Pansy shrieked upon sight of Draco who was pink-faced from the cold, abruptly ending her conversation with Theodore Nott by shoving him off the bench next to her.

Draco reluctantly sat across Pansy, allowing Theodore his seat back. After setting his bag down by his side, Draco replied to Pansy while reaching for food, “I was out by the lake.”

“…With?” Pansy egged Draco on, making the hand motions to match.

Draco lifted his gaze from his plate to Pansy, his expression skeptical. There’s no way they could know about him talking to Alexa. That happened for all but five minutes. He was out there for another bloody hour studying but of course she wouldn’t hear about that.

“The giant squid,” Draco snapped, annoyed. He continued sawing through his meat, angrily chewing on it as well. Who was she to interrogate him?

“Oh,” Pansy sighed in relief, her accusing glower fading, “That’s what I thought, of course. Why would you be hanging out with a Gryffindork?” her high-pitched laughter made his head pound.
Though Pansy’s company was maddening, she did occasionally speak things of value.

Draco’s leer shifted over to Theodore whose amused countenance irked him. While his smirk was suspicious, he was always amused at Draco’s discomforts. Draco couldn’t know for sure if it was Theodore who saw him, and by some miracle, sprinted up here before he had arrived himself. As unlikely as it sounded, Slytherins were capable of amazing feats.

This is why Alexa and I can’t get along, esteemed blood or not, Draco thought, This strained alliance isn’t worth all of my years as an exemplary Slytherin.

“Yeah,” Draco delayed his agreement to Pansy, his eyes still lingering on Theodore’s glinting ones, “That’s completely absurd…”