Can He Save Her? (Draco Malfoy)

46.) Forgiven: Dracos POV

Everyone passed out in the ballroom. I got up from the floor and looked around the room to see if anyone was awake. It looked like everyone was still sleeping, so I decided to get some air. I walked over all the kids, making my way to the big doors that led outside. I opened the door and I saw Layla. I wasn't expecting to see her.

I walked up to her. "Hey..."

She looked up at me, and then she turned away.

"Look, I wanted to apologize to you."

She stayed quiet.

"You know, for what I said to Regulus and for calling you a slut."

She sighed. "I can't just forgive you. You keep making things worse for yourself."

"But you have to understand, I was upset, and I didn't mean what I said."

"That's not an excuse, Draco." She shouted and looked at me.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I don't want to lose you, or our friendship."

"Right now, I don't know if we can be friends." She looked down at the ground.

"I told you I didn't mean it."

"It's not just about what you said. It's also about how you've been acting lately."

I sighed. "I know. I've been feeling really lost and I don't know what to do."

"You don't have to figure it out alone, Draco. You have people who care about you."

I scoffed. "Like who?"

"Like me. Even though I'm so furious with you right now, I still care about you." She paused. "But it's clear that you don't care about me."

She started to walk away, but I pulled her back.

"Of course I care about you. Why would you say that?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you threatened to kill me before, you let Mattheo spike my drink, you made a comment about me and Arceus battling, you didn't visit me in the hospital wing, and lets not forget about what happened last night." Her eyes were filling up with tears. "You keep hurting me, Draco."

I took a step back. "I didn't realize that my actions were hurting you so much. I'm sorry. I know I've made some mistakes, but I didn't mean to cause you any harm."

"But you did, Draco. You did. And you keep doing it over and over again."

"Layla, I swear I'll do everything I can to make it up to you. I'll be there for you, I'll support you, and I'll never let anything happen to you again. You have my word." I grabbed her waist and pulled her close to me.

She wouldn't look at me. "I want to believe you. I really do. But it's hard when you've already broken me so many times."

I lifted her chin with my fingers so she would look at me. "I know. And I understand if it takes time for you to forgive me. But please, give me a chance to make things right. I care about you more than you could ever know."

She was silent for a few seconds. "Fine. But only if you promise to never hurt me again."

"You have my word." I stared into her eyes, and then at her lips. She did the same. I leaned down closer to her, our lips almost touching, and then she pulled back.

"You should know that I like Regulus. And if you meant everything you just said, you would accept that." She said, taking a few steps back.

"You're right, I'm sorry." I was so close.

"It's fine. Just... please don't do that again." I nodded in response, and she walked back inside. I decided to stay outside for a little while longer.

A few minutes later, I hear the doors open. I didn't bother looking to see who it was.

"What were you doing talking to Layla?!" I knew exactly who that was. Regulus. Here we go.

"Just apologizing." I turned around to face him.

"Oh, just apologizing?" He said sarcastically. "After I explicitly told you to stay away from her?" 

"I was just trying to make things right between us."

He laughed. "I don't believe you. And by the way, I saw you try to kiss her during that 'apology'."

"What? No, I wasn't trying to kiss her." I lied.

"I saw it with my own eyes. You can't deny it!" He shouted, stepping closer to me.

"Look, Black, I don't know what you think you saw, but I can assure you that I wasn't trying to kiss her." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Yeah, right, Malfoy."

"Why do you always have to assume the worst about me. You don't trust me at all." I stepped closer to him.

"Oh, and why should I trust you? You've lied to me before, you've threatened me, and you've hurt Layla. Why should I believe a word that comes out of your fucking mouth?"

"Because I'm trying to change. I've made mistakes, but I'm trying to make things right. Can't you see that?" 

"I don't know what to believe anymore." He shook his head and walked away.

Before he could make it inside, I spoke up. "She likes you."

"What?" He looked back at me, raising his eyebrows.

"Layla told me that she likes you."

He gave a slight smile, nodded at me, and walked back inside.

Why did I tell him? Did I do it to push Layla away from me? Or did I do it because I truly care about her happiness? But I can't deny that a part of me is relieved that I don't have to deal with these feelings anymore. Maybe it's for the best that I focus on my task and forget about Layla. But then again, I don't want to lose her. I have to tread carefully and make sure I don't mess things up even more.

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