The Afflicted Pretty Boy ~ Book 3 of the Pretty Boy trilogy

Chapter 19

As I knock on the front door, I can hear them talking inside. It's just regular stuff like: how are your classes going and how the nextdoor neighbor got violently ill.

The moon stretches over the hill and I can't help but be captivated by it. The beast is captivated by it.

I stare at it, blankly. Torn between worshipping it and loathing it. Consciously, I hate it.

A hand presses against my stomach and I snap out of it. Colin smiles weakly at me, softly and I bat my eyes at him. He gives a concerned "Are you alright?"

I take a moment to glance back at the moon, before nodding and looking back to find his parents in the doorway "My apologizes." When I back up onto the pathway, I explain "With the moon cycle starting tomorrow, my brain is a bit foggy."

They give a polite look, before Andrew invites me into the house. When I find Dennis drinking a glass of grape squash in front of the telly, I smirk at him, before handing him a bag of chocolate frogs.

He looks up to me, before smiling down at the chocolates "Mum! Do you want a chocolate frog!"

Debbie gives me a confused look and I explain "Chocolate frogs jump and move like real frogs, but they're enchanted to do so."

She furrows her brow and declares "After supper!"

Dennis nods, before giving me a fist bump. As Colin leads me into the kitchen, Andrew pours himself a drink, before asking "Would you like one, Draco?"

I motion towards the bottle and ask "Bushmills?" He nods and I shake my head "I can't drink."

Debbie asks "Is it because of the-" she motions towards the ceiling and I smile at her.

"No, it's not because of that." I state, before taking a deep breath "I'm a recovering alcoholic."

Andrew sips his whiskey, before asking "It was a test, anyway... don't know if you pasted or failed."

I shrug, before telling him "Maybe it's an oxymoron." He smiles at that and I sigh "Actually, it's a fail... basically, almost, fucked up my life. Spent last summer partying, and wasn't sober a day. Fought with my father and the man who helped me through IT."

Debbie looks to Colin "Did you see any of this?" He scoffs, before looking to me as if to ask for permission.

I sigh and I explain "The night before I decided to quit, I slept with Blaise, my dorm mate and my friend. Woke up, kept drinking, ended up in the library, where Hermione, my best friend, lead me to her dorm to get some sleep."

Colin tells his side of the story "I'm sitting in my common room, and a whole bunch of people walk by, including two professors, his father, Blaise, and Oliver Wood, Blaise's boyfriend. Oliver stops at the bottom of the stairs, ready for anything, and the others run up, being joined by Harry, Draco's ex, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron."

I point out "Oliver is a burly professional athlete." Colin hums and I continue on "I wake up to find all of them staring at me in concern, and they want to move me to the headmaster's office, so I get up, ready to run, only Oliver is at the bottom of the stairs, so I can't get past him."

Colin continues on "He tried reasoning and flirting with Oliver, so he wouldn't get socked, but it didn't help."

As I lean back against the the kitchen table, Colin continues "All of the sudden, I hear Ron scream that he's running, and Draco jumps off the second floor, rolls into a landing and keeps running."

"I get to the door, swing it open, only to find Ron and Ginny's twin brothers standing there." I tell them.

Colin chuckles "Oliver tackled him down a flight of stairs."

They give amazed looks and I continue "But the time I was at the headmaster's office, I was sober, and an arsehole. Threatened to go beastly. Then, when I saw my ex, I threatened to kill him, if he didn't stop stalking me."

Colin rubs my back, softly "Draco is actually very kind."

"But I'm an arsehole when I drink." I state, before motioning towards the bottle of Bushmills "Whiskey is my poison. Any and all, really, but Jameson was the main. And any alcohol was welcome. From beer to absinthe, as long as it took my feet off the ground."

He looks down at his empty glass, before sitting it down and asking "When did you have your first drink?"

I think for a second, before telling him "After my mum passed. My father was stricken with grief, and drank himself to sleep for several years. I did the same, only my father isn't an alcoholic." I furrow my brow and sigh "My dad was a mean drunk, like me."

When silent for a moment, before the kitchen timer goes off and Debbie gives a weak smile "Supper is ready!"

As she opens the oven door, Colin rests his head on my shoulder "You're playing at their heartstrings."

He kisses my shoulder, before asking his mum "What for supper?"

"Roast, broccoli, and mashed potatoes." I state and his parents look to me and I apologize.

As we take our seats, I sit on the opposite side of the rectangle table, from Andrew. Debbie sits next to him and Colin and Dennis sit on the opposite side of the table from Debbie.

I take in a deep breath as Andrew asks "So, what do you have planned for this week?"

I look to Colin, innocently "I thought...?" He scratches the back of his neck and I look to his parents "I have a wedding to go to, on New Year's Eve... I was wondering if you'd allow Colin to accompany me?"

Debbie and Andrew look to one another, before shrugging "Why not?" Debbie asks, before looking to me "Who's wedding is it?"

"My cousin and a werewolf." I state, before explaining "I'm actually the best man, so, if I didn't have a date..."

"You dance with Hermione." Colin cocks an eyebrow to me, before looking towards his parents "He wants me to dance."

I take his hand, gingerly "I asked for three songs, is all!" I speak softly, before declaring "If you don't want to dance, we don't have to. I just thought it would be nice."

He sets his jaw at me, before declaring "This is how he gets you! Guilts you into doing what he wants."

I smirk, before continuing on with my food.