It's not that easy...yes it is.

I woke up the next day feeling better than yesterday. The burden of holding everything inside had been suffocating, and even though my confession to Draco had been unclear, just saying something—just letting it slip out in some form—had made me feel lighter. But now, as the morning light filtered through the curtains and cast a golden glow over the dormitory, reality set in.

What if things weren't the same anymore?

What if I had ruined everything?

The thought made my stomach churn, but I pushed it away as I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Kenny was still fast asleep, sprawled out dramatically across her bed, her arm hanging over the edge. Sree, on the other hand, was already gone. Good. I wasn't ready to deal with her. Not yet.

I changed into my robes, taking a deep breath before heading to the common room. As I descended the stairs, I saw him. Draco.

He was sitting on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, fingers lazily twirling his wand. He looked...normal. Like nothing had changed. But the moment his eyes met mine, I knew better. There was something different in the way he looked at me—something I couldn't quite place. It wasn't the usual smirk, nor was it amusement. It was...curiosity? Concern? I wasn't sure.

"Good morning, Cottoncandy," he greeted, his voice smooth as ever.

I forced a smile, walking over to him. "Morning."

His eyes scanned my face carefully. "Slept well?"

I nodded. "Yeah, better than yesterday."

Draco didn't reply immediately. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, studying me like he was trying to read between the lines of my words. Then, as if deciding to let it go, he stretched his arms behind his head and grinned.

"Well, let's hope you don't fall asleep on me again during our study session. You were practically drooling on my notes."

I gasped, scandalized. "I did not!"

He laughed, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "You did."

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help the small smile tugging at my lips. This was good. This was normal. Maybe things weren't going to change. Maybe Draco wasn't going to bring up last night, and we could just move forward without any awkwardness.

But of course, I underestimated him.

As we made our way to the Great Hall for breakfast, he casually slipped his hands into his pockets and said, "So...about last night."

I stiffened. "What about it?"

Draco shot me a look. "Don't play dumb, Selene."

I avoided his gaze, keeping my eyes trained on the corridor ahead. "I wasn't playing anything. It was late. I was tired. I probably didn't even make sense."

Draco suddenly stopped walking, grabbing my wrist to stop me too. I turned to face him, startled.

"Don't do that," he said softly.

"Do what?"

"Brush it off like it didn't happen."

I swallowed. His grip on my wrist was gentle, but his eyes held an intensity that made it impossible to look away.

"I just..." I hesitated, looking down. "I don't want to ruin things."

"Ruin things?" He let out a breath, shaking his head in disbelief. "Selene, are you serious? You think last night ruined things?"

I didn't know how to answer that.

He ran a hand through his platinum blond hair, exhaling sharply. "If anything, it makes more sense now."

My heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"

Draco let out a humorless chuckle. "Come on, Selene. Did you really think I never noticed?"

I blinked, confused. "Noticed what?"

"The way you look at me."

My breath hitched.

He took a step closer. "The way you get annoyed when Sree or Pansy cling to me."

I looked away, but he gently placed his fingers under my chin, tilting my face back toward him.

"The way you laugh at my stupid jokes even when they're not funny." His voice was softer now. "The way you always make sure I'm okay, even when you pretend not to care."

I was frozen in place, my mind racing. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

Draco's lips curled into a small smirk. "And here I thought I was the only one."

I sucked in a breath. "You...what?"

His smirk faded, replaced by something more vulnerable. "I'm saying, you're not the only one who feels this way."

My heart was pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

"I—" I started, but I had no idea what to say.

"Don't overthink it," Draco said, shaking his head slightly. "Just...don't run away from me again, okay?"

I stared at him, searching his face for any sign of insincerity. But there was none. He meant it.

I nodded slowly. "Okay."

Draco smiled, releasing my chin and shoving his hands back into his pockets. "Good. Now let's go before Kenny starts spreading some ridiculous rumor about us eloping or something."

I let out a breathy laugh, my chest feeling lighter than it had in weeks. As we walked side by side toward the Great Hall, I realized something.

I stopped in my tracks and so did draco.

I had this heavy feeling in my chest, something that didn't quite sit right with the fact that I was dating him—I didn't know which one of my emotions was taking over. Was it my faithfulness to Sree, even though she had never been truly loyal to me? Was it anxiety, the fear of stepping into something unknown and unsteady? Or was it something deeper—something I hadn't allowed myself to fully acknowledge?

Draco was looking at me, waiting. He must have noticed the hesitation in my eyes, the flicker of something uncertain in my expression, because his own face shifted. The confident smirk that usually graced his lips was missing, replaced by something unreadable.

I exhaled softly, forcing myself to meet his gaze.

"By the way, it was just a confession," I said quickly, almost too quickly, the words spilling out before I could stop them.

Draco's face didn't change immediately, but I saw it. The brief flicker of disappointment in his silver eyes before he masked it with indifference. He tilted his head slightly, nodding once as if he had already expected this.

"Oh."

One word. Short. Clipped. Almost indifferent. But I knew better.

I swallowed hard, my hands curling into fists at my sides. This wasn't how I had imagined it. Not that I had planned any of this—but still, this wasn't how it was supposed to feel.

There was silence between us, thick and suffocating.

I forced a small, nervous laugh. "I mean, it doesn't have to change anything, right? We can just...carry on as we were."

Draco raised an eyebrow, his lips pressing together into a thin line. "You think that's possible?"

I hesitated. "...Yes?"

He scoffed, running a hand through his platinum blond hair before looking back at me with an unreadable expression.

"Selene," he said, and the way he said my name made my chest tighten. "You don't just confess something like that and expect nothing to change."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Because he was right.

Everything had already changed.

Draco sighed, shaking his head slightly as he took a step closer. "Tell me something," he said, his voice lower now. "What exactly was that confession supposed to mean?"

I blinked. "I—I don't know."

"You don't know?" He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You like me, but not enough to be with me. You confess, but then you say it was just a confession. You act like I mean something to you, but now you want to pretend it never happened." He tilted his head. "So tell me, Selene, what the hell am I supposed to do with that?"

His words hit me like a blow to the chest.

I hated this.

I hated the way he was looking at me, the frustration behind his gaze. I hated the way my heart twisted painfully, the way I couldn't give him a clear answer. But more than that, I hated myself for hesitating.

I wanted to be with him.

So why was I so scared?

"I just..." I sucked in a breath, struggling to put it into words. "Sree. I—"

Draco's expression darkened instantly.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Selene." His voice was sharp now, cutting through my thoughts. "You're still thinking about her?"

I flinched. "She was my friend."

"She was never your friend."

The words came out harsher than I expected, but he didn't take them back.

"She used you," Draco continued, his voice lower now, but no less intense. "She manipulated you. She made you feel guilty for things that were never your fault. And now, even after everything, you're still letting her control you."

I shook my head. "It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is." He stepped even closer, so close I could feel his breath against my skin. "You either want this or you don't. But don't push me away because of some misplaced sense of loyalty to someone who never deserved it."

My throat tightened. "It's not that easy."

"Why not?" Draco asked, softer this time.

Because I'm scared.

Because if I allow myself to be happy, if I allow myself to have this—to have him—then that means letting go of everything I used to believe in. It means accepting that Sree was never truly my friend. It means admitting that I've wasted so much time caring about someone who never cared about me.

It means choosing him.

And what if I lose him too?

I opened my mouth, then closed it again.

Draco exhaled sharply, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "You know what?" he said finally, his voice tight. "I can't force you to want this. I won't."

Guilt curled in my stomach.

"But don't expect me to act like nothing happened," he added. "Because something did happen. And whether you admit it or not, it meant something."

I looked away, blinking rapidly.

This was Draco Malfoy. The same boy who mocked people for fun, who always had a sarcastic remark ready, who cared about so little—

But right now, he cared.

He cared about this. About me.

And it terrified me.

"...I don't want to lose you," I whispered.

Draco's expression softened, just slightly. "Then don't."

"It's not that simple."

"It is," he countered. "It always has been."

I swallowed, my heart pounding. "Draco..."

He took a breath, then shook his head. "I won't wait forever, Selene."

I nodded. "I know."

We stood there for a moment, neither of us moving, neither of us speaking.

Then, with one last glance, Draco turned and walked away.

And I was left standing there, feeling more lost than ever.

**DRACO'S POV**

I went to bed feeling...off. It was a strange kind of heaviness that settled in my chest, the kind that no amount of stretching or deep sighing could shake off.

For the first time in a while, I wasn't sure where I stood with Selene. And that—well, that wasn't something I was used to.

I replayed last night over and over again in my head. The way she had confessed, the way her voice had wavered slightly, like she was terrified of what she was admitting. The way she had looked at me, as if she was letting herself have something she wanted—just for a moment—before immediately regretting it.

And then today.

"By the way, it was just a confession."

Just a confession.

I had felt something twist uncomfortably in my chest at that, but I had covered it up quickly, giving the most nonchalant response I could muster.

"Oh."

Pathetic. That was the best I could come up with? I wanted to laugh at myself. Or maybe punch something.

Because what was I supposed to say?

That I had barely slept because all I could think about was the way her voice sounded when she said my name? That the idea of her brushing this off like it was nothing made me want to shake some sense into her? That I wanted her—really wanted her—and I was getting tired of pretending that I didn't?

Merlin. I was losing my mind.

I could see her fidgeting now, looking unsure, which only made me angrier. I hated when she did that. When she overthought things, when she convinced herself that she didn't deserve something good, when she let her misplaced guilt dictate her choices.

She was scared. That much was obvious.

And it pissed me off.

Not because she was afraid—no, that wasn't it. I could understand fear. I could understand doubt.

But I couldn't understand why, after everything, she still felt obligated to stay loyal to someone who had never been loyal to her.

"Sree," she had said. That was all she had to say for me to understand exactly what was going through her head.

And it had taken every ounce of self-control I had not to roll my eyes and groan in frustration.

Of course. Of course, she was still thinking about Sree.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Selene," I snapped, unable to hold it in. "You're still thinking about her?"

The look she gave me was almost defensive, and I felt something sharp twist in my chest.

"She was my friend."

"No, she wasn't," I shot back immediately. And it wasn't just anger talking—it was the truth.

She had never been her friend.

Not in the way Selene thought.

"She used you," I continued, my voice softer now, but no less firm. "She manipulated you. She made you feel guilty for things that were never your fault. And now, even after everything, you're still letting her control you."

Selene's lips parted slightly, like she wanted to argue—but she didn't.

And that was how I knew I was right.

I could see the conflict in her eyes, the way she was battling with herself, torn between what she knew and what she felt.

"You either want this or you don't," I said, my voice lower now. "But don't push me away because of some misplaced sense of loyalty to someone who never deserved it."

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard, looking down.

"I just... it's not that easy," she said finally, her voice small.

But it was. It was that easy.

She just didn't want to admit it.

I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. This wasn't how I wanted this to go. I wasn't supposed to be arguing with her. I wasn't supposed to be—

I wasn't supposed to care this much.

But I did.

God, I did.

And the worst part? She knew.

She knew how much I wanted her. She knew how much this meant to me. And she was still hesitating.

That should've been my sign to walk away. To let it go. To act like I didn't care just as much as she did.

But I wasn't that strong. Not when it came to her.

"I won't wait forever, Selene," I said, forcing the words out. They tasted bitter on my tongue.

She nodded, but I wasn't sure if she even knew what she was agreeing to.

So I left.

Because if I stayed, I would have done something reckless.

Like pull her into my arms and tell her to stop overthinking everything. Like kiss her until she finally admitted what we both already knew.

That she wanted this just as much as I did.

That she wanted me.

But instead, I walked away.

And it was the hardest damn thing I'd ever done.