The days following my quiet agreement with Theo felt surreal, like i was living in two different worlds. One part of me - the part that had always been so careful, so controlled - kept trying to pretend that nothing had changed. I still kept up my routine, still hung out with Pansy, Blaise, and the rest of our Slytherin crowd. On the surface, everything was normal.
But underneath? Everything had shifted.
I found myself noticing every small thing about Theo - the way his gaze lingered just a little too long when he thought no one was watching, the way his presence seemed to fill a room even when he wasn't speaking. And every time we crossed paths, that silent understanding between us grew stronger, more undeniable.
The thing was, no one else seemed to notice. Not Pansy, not Blaise - no one.
And that suited me just fine.
It wasn't that i was ashamed, or that i didn't want to acknowledge what was happening between us. It was more... complicated than that. There was a part of me, a deep and guarded part, that still couldn't quite trust the ground beneath my feet when it came to Theo. He had unraveled me, yes, but what came next? How could i be sure he wouldn't tear me apart completely?
So, we stayed in this strange limbo, our connection hidden in the quiet moments between the noise of our lives.
Until one afternoon, that limbo shattered.
It was a Hogsmeade weekend, and most of the Slytherins had eagerly bundled up to make their way to the village. Pansy had insisted i come along with her and Daphne to pick up something ridiculous from Gladrags. Normally, i would have said no, but the suffocating air in the common room was getting to me. Theo had been there, watching me in that way he did, and i needed to breathe - away from him, away from the tension between us.
The cold October air stung my cheeks as we walked, the village bustling with students eager for a break from the castle. The streets were crowded with laughter and chatter, but even in the noise, i couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. I told myself it was just paranoia, that i was imagining things. But then i caught sight of him.
Theo, standing near the entrance of The Three Broomsticks, his hands stuffed in his pockets, his eyes fixed on me.
I froze.
Pansy kept chattering away, completely oblivious as i stopped walking. My heart thudded in my chest, and for a moment, i debated turning around and walking in the opposite direction. But something in the way Theo was looking at me - intense, unwavering - made it impossible to move.
"Hey," i muttered to Pansy, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I'm going to meet you at Gladrags. I forgot something."
She barely glanced at me, too engrossed in her own conversation with Daphne. "Suit yourself," she said with a wave, already pulling Daphne along towards the shop.
I waited until they had disappeared into the crowd before turning and heading straight for Theo. My stomach churned as I closed the distance between us, but my legs carried forward, like they had a mind of their own.
Theo didn't move, didn't even blink, as i approached. His face was unreadable, that familiar mask of calm indifference firmly in place. But i knew better now. I knew how to look past it, to see the flicker of tension in his jaw, the slight shift in his stance that meant he was waiting for me.
I stopped a few feet away from him, folding my arms across my chest. "Following me now, are you?"
He gave a small smirk, though it didn't reach his eyes. "I was just waiting. Thought you might stop pretending sooner or later."
