As It Was *Complete*

45. Glad To See You Grew A Pair

She opened the door to see Draco standing there looking...well, very pissed off.

"Draco?" She asked curiously, wondering what had happened.

"Astra..." He noticed Harry standing there. "Potter... glad to see you grew a pair."

"I did. Thanks for the advice." He looked between Draco and Astra. "I am going to go find Ginny. I will see you two later." He stepped up to Astra and hugged her. "Tell him," he whispered before patting Draco on the back and leaving the room.

"Are you coming in, or do you want to stand here?" She asked.

He sighed deeply and stormed past her into the trunk and down the stairs. She followed behind him, noticing the smell of his aftershave that she had missed so much these last few weeks.

It seemed a little odd to her, but she never noticed how big an impact he had on her life until he wasn't in it. She loved the smell of his aftershave, the feel of his hair (as well as other glorious parts of his body). She loved how he always held her in some way, either by wrapping an arm around her or holding her hand. She missed the conversations they used to have where he would ask her questions about her life and then actually listen to what she had to say. She missed his sarcasm, his slagging even when he rolled his eyes at her and talked about her.

She missed him.

But how the heck was she going to explain that to him?

He stopped in the middle of the room and turned to her. Atlas, who had until then been asleep in his little bed, must have realised who it was as well as he came running out of his cage and up the back of the sofa before jumping onto Draco's shoulders.

Without taking his eyes off Astra, Draco reached up and scratched his ear. "Hey buddy, I missed you."

Astra could tell he was angry. "Draco," she said, stepping closer to him, her hands in her back pocket.

He had built up what he was going to say. How he was going to get her alone and how he was going to admit his feelings for her. But now that he was standing in front of her and she was looking very sexy in a white cropped jumper and a pair of those jean things she wore (he had to buy himself a few pairs of them, they looked good) now he was nervous. She was smiling up at him, and he was losing his train of thought.

He needed to focus.

"That guy that was here," he snapped.

"Harry?"

"No! The dude at the door."

"Oh, Wes," she nodded. "He is a trainee teacher who is -"

"I don't give a fuck about him....what did he want?" Draco could feel the anger bubbling inside him. But he needed to calm down. Keep his cool.

"Em....honestly? He asked me out." She said looking down at the floor in shame. She couldn't lie to Draco. She didn't want to. Although right now she wished she had. His face went pale, and his eyes grew dark.

"He...he asked you out?" He whispered.

"Yes. But I told him I couldn't go on a date with him." She said suddenly nervous.

Draco's head snapped up to look at her. "You turned him down? Why?"

"Well," she instinctively took a step closer. "I am sure he is a great guy, but these last few weeks I have been pretty hung up on this other guy." Draco half smiled. "This bloody moron who does nothing but spends his days making me feel like nothing and yet I still want to make him smile. This blonde twat who is too afraid to actually be with me in public, who insisted that our relationship be a secret." He frowned. "And I get it... I mean it's me and I know that people expect him to be with the prettiest girl in school. So of course he is embarrassed to be seen with me. But it's because I love him that I tolerated it."