it started with a kiss, how did it end up like this?

Date Crasher

After his second day on the job, Theo was beginning to wonder what he was thinking, accepting in the first place. He had cited boredom to his mates, but he would put up with that over the old boys' club he now had to deal with daily. He hated how lackadaisical most of the other members seemed to be. Wanting to hold their power over others instead of using it to help improve the wizarding world. He already had little faith in the Wizengamot after seeing all the 'work' his father did and the last two days had certainly not helped curb that. When the session had been called for lunch, he had practically leapt from his seat.

He had teased Hermione telling her she wasn't the reason he had taken the seat, but that had been a lie, partially at least. Even though she wasn't directly employed by the ministry, department heads often contracted out for her help. He was all too excited to see her bring a case in front of the wizarding body. But not today. Today, they had a date. A date he had drunkenly asked her on, but she had still replied yes.

"Ready for your date?" The question caught him off guard. He let out a groan as he caught sight of Blaise. He wasn't sure how Blaise had found out in the first place. He hadn't told him he had a date, much less when it was.

"What are you doing here, mate?" He asked as Blaise followed him out of the building.

"We need to talk about Draco." He had not expected that, but he should have. "Why don't you want him to know about you and Hermione? I assumed that's why you got so freaked when he mentioned possibly taking his father's seat." People didn't give Blaise enough credit. He might be loud and obnoxious, but he noticed things nobody else did. He didn't answer because he didn't know what to say. Finally, Blaise sighed. "You know he had a thing for her, too." No, he did not know that.

"You're kidding me?" Why the fuck did both of his best mates have to also be into the only girl he ever had any actual feelings for? And why was he telling him this now? "Fuck, I can't talk about this right now. Like you said, I've got a date."

"Want to let me tag along?" He rolled his eyes at Blaise's pleading tone. "Ah, come on, mate. You agreed to help me." He sighed. He had agreed.

"Yeah, after six shots of firewhiskey." He grumbled under his breath.

He knew Hermione wouldn't appreciate this. It didn't help matters that she was late. Finding him and Blaise together waiting for her on their date wasn't the best approach, but Blaise was getting anxious. If he was in his place, he wasn't sure how much patience he would have, either. He knew how much he talked about her to the other man also wasn't doing him any favours.

He can tell the moment she walked in the place just from the look on Blaise's face. If he had any doubts about his reason for wanting this, they were diminished with that look. But then that smirk came next, and he knew he was about to cause some trouble.

"Oh, so this is your mystery girl." He didn't know what game Blaise was playing, but he had agreed to help. He turned to Hermione and was a little bit shocked at how unphased she seemed. He had expected her to be wary of Blaise even more so at the sight of them together. But if anything, she looked utterly unimpressed at the sight of Blaise. She had one brow quirked at him as she made her way to their table. When her gaze turned to Theo, she gave a timid smile, which he returned as he pulled out her chair. He leaned in and whispered in her ear before she was fully seated.

"He caught me in the Atrium, and I couldn't shake him. I'm truly sorry." And he was sorry. Sorry that they were not having one-on-one time. Sorry that she was being ambushed by one of his ridiculous best friends. But he was not sorry that Blaise was getting a chance to talk to her. Hopefully, both of them would keep from winding each other up too much.

"I figured I'd have to meet your friends eventually, right?" She whispered back. He couldn't stop the smile that overtook his face. She had said it so casually, like, of course, she had to meet his friends because they were all going to be in each other's lives. Like she was going to stick around. She cleared her throat, and he took a seat before he said something stupid. "Well, in this case, I guess it would be re meet. Zabini." She nodded in his direction. And Theo knew from the look on Blaise's face that he had less than ten seconds before he said something idiotic.

~~~~~~

He had crashed four of their last seven dates, and she was getting sick of it. In that time, she had learned he didn't annoy her as much as he had in school. He still teased her incessantly and was constantly making jokes, but she found she didn't mind as much now that she was included. Still, she didn't know why he felt the need to intrude on her time with Theo. She knew they still often met up with their third, Draco Malfoy. So, she knew she wasn't monopolising all of Theo's spare time. And while she was no expert on quidditch, from the looks Blaise got in public, he was quite popular. He had twice been accosted by children asking for his autograph. Surely, a famous quidditch player would have better things to do but play third wheel. Except now that she put some thought into it, sometimes it didn't even feel like that. Once she got over his unwelcome intrusion, Theo would often pull them all into conversation, leaving her to forget his friend had certainly not been invited.

But after three weeks, she was beginning to get restless. Not only had Blaise 'coincidentally' been going to the same restaurant as them for lunch, but Theo also had to leave early for an emergency Wizengamot session. He had offered to walk her back to the Ministry, but she needed to figure out why Blaise seemed to be incapable of giving them alone time. She told him she needed a few things before she went back to the office. After giving her a kiss on the cheek and a stern look in Blaise's direction, he was off. And she was left alone with the object of her frustration.

After Theo was well out of earshot, she stepped up to Blaise. They needed to have this conversation before she started to resent him. Because she really was starting to come around to him and she didn't want to ruin the fragile friendship they were starting to develop.

"Look, Theo's too polite to say it-"

"Theo's too polite?" He quirked a brow. She bristled. Theo was polite.

"Yes, but I've had enough. Why do you keep popping up on all our dates?" She knew she shouldn't be getting so upset. Blaise was one of Theo's best friends; she knew that going into it. Realistically, she knew it was better if they at least tolerated each other for Theo's sake, but really, this was getting ridiculous. "We hardly get any time alone together." He cut in again, causing her frustration to rise.

"You're right. We really don't spend a lot of time alone. We should go on a date."

"Not we," she gestured between the two of them, "me and Theo, we." She huffed out a breath. Forcing herself to calm down. It took her a second to comprehend his third statement. And then she was ready to go again. "What do you mean we should go on a date?! I'm dating your best friend, which I'm sure you haven't forgotten, considering you've been on half of those dates." He had clearly lost his mind.

"Of course, I know you're dating my best mate. I'm not daft, Granger. I'm just saying you could be dating me, too." He said it so casually, so nonchalantly. His hands were stuffed in his trouser pockets, and he was looking down at her with a smirk. A silence passed over them before Blaise chuckled. Or before he laughed at her.

She had a sudden sinking feeling in her gut, one that was all too familiar, especially concerning these boys. It must have shown on her face. Blaise was no longer smirking. She quickly schooled her expression and turned away before he could see anything else. He called her name as she made her way to the apparition point. They had made a joke of her once before; she was stupid to believe they wouldn't do so again.