friends with benefits - draco malfoy

chapter twenty three

hermione was right, the dress shop was perfect. it was so hidden that it hadn't been ransacked like the rest of the shops, and i couldn't stop myself from grinning when i checked myself out in the mirror. it fitted me perfectly, clinging to just the right parts of me. it showed my hip dips, but managed to make them look actually good. i was convinced the dress had been charmed with something, because it managed to make every single one of my usual insecurities seem beautiful. luna had came up to my dorm earlier today, with her being my friend that was best at hair, and messily pinned it at the back of my head. a few tendrils escaped, framing my face so i wouldn't look like an egg. my foundation was light coverage and glowy, but i'd used concealer to hide any blemishes, giving the impression that my skin was perfect naturally. i'd gone heavier on the eye makeup than usual, but not so heavy that it looked like i'd been punched in both eyes. for once in my life my fake eyelashes had actually gone on perfectly too, making it look like my eyelashes were naturally long. i'd left my lips mostly bare, overlining them slightly with a lip liner that matched my lip colour and coating them in clear lipgloss. i smiled at myself in the mirror, sticking my tongue out. i had to admit, i looked pretty good. i put my shoes on, doing up the straps and standing up carefully. i had agreed to meet cedric outside the slytherin common room in five minutes, so i knew i should probably get a move on.

cedric put his hand on his head dramatically, swooning and pretending to pass out when he saw me. 'stop it' i laughed and he stuck his tongue out at me playfully, putting his arm out for me to grab. 'seriously though, you look stunning'. i smiled up at him 'you don't look so bad yourself'.

the great hall was hot, so cedric went off for drinks pretty much as soon as got there. i stood with my back against the wall, trying to look anywhere other than over at fleur and malfoy. fleur, unfortunately, looked as pretty as ever. as mean as it was i was kind of hoping that she'd have some kind of wardrobe disaster and come down looking like a drag race reject. malfoy had the black suit on, the only flash of colour being the silver ysl belt he was wearing around his waist. it was so fucking unfair that they looked perfect together. i made eye contact with hermione across the room, trying to look as cheerful as possible so i wouldn't concern her. it wouldn't be fair to let her worry about me when she'd came to the yule ball with the victor krum. i spotted ron and harry dancing on the other side of the hall with their dates too. ron had asked hermione yesterday, but he hadn't been the smoothest. hermione had huffed, informing him that she was already going with victor krum and he was too late. i doubted they'd spoke to each other since we'd arrived. ron had ended up coming with a girl called Lavender. she was silly and giggly, the kind of girl that radiated the same energy as a five year old.

cedric returned and i gratefully accepted my drink, sipping it slowly and feeling relieved at the cold. 'wanna dance?' he asked, smiling at me encouragingly. i was dreading a slow dance, but thankfully it was fast upbeat music that everyone was just jumping around to. he grabbed my hand and led me out to the floor, starting to throw his arms around and shake his body stupidly. 'cedric, stop, stop, stop' i laughed, grabbing his arms 'you look like you're having a fit'. he laughed at me, ignoring me and continuing to throw himself around stupidly. we danced for a couple of songs, and i slowly started to join in properly, no longer caring if i looked stupid because next to cedric it wasn't likely anyone would notice. the next song ended and i grinned at cedric, feeling that my cheeks were flushed from the heat. 'you're a terrible dancer' he laughed and i snorted. 'oi!' i smirked 'you can talk'.

i started to walk off the floor, heating the music change to a slow song. cedric grabbed my arm, pulling me back. 'no, no, no, no' i protested 'there's no way i'm dancing to a slow song'.
'come on' cedric reasoned 'don't be a spoilsport. it's easy. we don't have to tryhard it'. i gave a resigned sigh, knowing this was an argument i wasn't going to win, and let cedric drag me back over to the floor. i wrapped my arms around his neck and he placed his hands on my waist, starting to rock back and forward in time with the music. 'i'm really glad you agreed to come with me tonight' cedric murmured to me softly, putting his forehead against mine. 'i'm glad too' i said back, smiling up at him. he looked down at my lips and i panicked internally. i knew i couldn't kiss him but i didn't want to reject him in front of everyone and embarrass him. i felt a tap on my shoulder and thanked god, sure it was ron, harry or hermione noticing my discomfort and coming to save me. i spun around, doing a second take when i seen the familiar grey eyes i was greeted with.

'y/n? a word?' he asked and i glared back at him 'no. is that everything?'. he sighed, touching my arm again. 'please?' he pleaded, and cedric stepped in front of me. 'she said no mate' cedric snarled, standing up taller in an attempt to be threatening. 'cedric it's fine' i mumbled, putting my hand on his arm and pulling him back, 'i'll be back in two minutes'. i pulled an apologetic face at cedric, before turning on my heel and following draco out of the hall.