MAUVE, draco malfoy ✓

011

MAUVE VIOTTO

My breath gets caught in my thought when my eyes flutter open to meet the enchanting gray ones that I adore so much. Draco's eyes widen as if he was just caught staring and he averts his gaze. It's then that I realize what position we're in— his arm loosely wrapped around my waist with my head on his chest.

I knew my face was red as soon as I looked into his eyes. "Hi,"

He turns back to face me, a small smile tugging on his lips. "Hi, did you sleep well?"

"Very," I respond, blushing when he smirks. Obviously I slept well— that was probably the best sleep I've ever had in my life. I wouldn't be surprised if it had to do with the arm around me, that tugs my body closer to his.

He hums, and I feel a faint vibration from his chest as he does so. "Um— so Theo said you had trouble sleeping last night," he starts off. "Want to talk about it?"

I ponder on the offer, wondering how I could explain I was thinking about him without revealing that I've had a massive crush on him for three years. "I just.. I felt like my head was about to explode, and I needed to vent I guess." It wasn't a total lie, anyway.

"At four in the morning?" He prods, not necessarily in a rude tone, but more so a curious one.

I nod, "yeah," my voice is less than a whisper— the close proximity mixed with the slight husk to his voice is giving me a whirl of emotions. To be completely honest, I'm still struggling to comprehend the fact that we slept cuddled up together, and that his arm is still around my waist as we speak.

Draco tilts my head up to face him, his touch as light as a feather, almost as if he's scared he'd break me with any extra pressure. My skin under the ghostly feel of his fingers burns, yet in the best way possible. "If that ever happens again, let me know, yeah?" It didn't sound like a question, but more of a plead.

I find myself nodding in agreement, "yeah."

He gives me a smile, stroking my cheek with the pad of his thumb. "Good girl," he praises. His tone drops to a more serious one, yet the underlying softness from earlier still soothes through the surface of his words. "I'm always here for you, Mauve. Remember that, okay?"

My mouth is parted open, yet no words come out. I feel like I'm melting, and I could hardly grasp the situation. I'm almost scared that this is all a dream, and soon, I'd wake up alone on the couch.

But it feels too real to be a dream.

I feel like I'm seeing a new side of him, an emotional side that he tends to shun away from not only the world, but himself. "Okay," I finally respond, and he nods in approval.

"Good."

I begin pulling his arm off me with the intent to go do anything productive, when he pulls me back into his hold with a whine. "Where are you going?" He whines, stuffing his face into the crook of my neck. I smile at his clinginess, ignoring the voice in my head that holds false hope.

"I want to check the time— I feel like I've been asleep the whole day." I laugh.

He scoffs, and I feel his breath eerily close to my neck. "That's because you have."

I roll my eyes, pushing him off despite his reluctancy to let go. "No more cuddles for you," I joke, booping his nose.

"What the fuck?" He goes cross-eyed for a second, staring at his nose. "What was that?"

"I booped you, duh." I roll my eyes. I pull out my phone, gasping at the time. "What— how is it 5:22? When did you get here?" I ask suddenly, remembering that he had to have come at least an hour or two ago.

Draco shrugs, "after first class."

My jaw drops open and I swat his chest. "You missed class!"

He rolls his eyes, swatting me back. His swat was significantly lighter than mine. "So did you," he mocks. I roll my eyes, getting up to stretch. "You must have been really tired if you slept for almost 12 hours."

I chuckle at his comment, "you have no idea."

I tie my hair into a bun, not bothering to make it look half as presentable it usually is during school. I pull a few baby hairs down to make it look more natural, using the large window as a mirror.

Considering we slept there for hours on end, people must have seen us, right? Unless nobody came back after classes— but that's almost impossible. I wonder whether Draco cares whether or not people saw us in that position. When I turn back around, he's typing rapidly on his phone, seeming to be very focused on whatever conversation he's having. I know he's not texting in the group chat because my phone is in the pocket of my sweatpants and I would definitely feel the buzz if he was.

"Who are you texting that's making you type paragraphs?" I laugh when I get the glimpse of large blocks of messages. I tried not to read any words out of curtesy. It would have been rude of me to.

He pockets his phone easily, giving me his full attention. "Just Theo," he shrugs. He glances at my hair, "I've never seen you with your hair like that... it's nice." He hums as he tilts his head slightly, continuing to observe it. He begins to approach me, toying with a bulk of the light strands I had pulled down in the front. "Your hair is so soft.."

"Thank you," I smile up at him, meeting his eyes. He looks away, coughing. "We should uh— I should get back to my dorm. Theo needs me for something."

"Right," I nod, ignoring the fact that it sounds like a made up excuse. I frown at his sudden reluctancy to meet my gaze. "I'll uh— see you at dinner then?"

He only gives me a small nod before he's basically running out the door.