You are Selene

**SELENE'S POV**

Three weeks.

Three whole weeks of silence.

Three weeks of stolen glances that never met. Of words that hovered on the tip of my tongue but never left my lips. Of passing by him in the hallways, our shoulders almost brushing, but never close enough.

Three weeks of watching him—watching them.

It was subtle at first. A glance exchanged in the common room. A whispered joke that only the two of them seemed to understand. Sitting together at breakfast, their heads leaning in just enough to make my stomach twist.

At first, I thought I was imagining it. That my mind was playing cruel tricks on me because I had been thinking about him too much, because I had let myself feel too much.

But then Kenny noticed it too.

"He's doing it on purpose," she had muttered, arms crossed, watching them from across the Great Hall. "He's trying to make you jealous."

I wanted to believe that. I needed to believe that.

But it felt real. Too real.

The way he smiled at her—casual, easy, like nothing had ever been complicated between them. The way they would sometimes sit together in class, his body slightly turned toward hers in a way that used to be ours. The way he avoided my gaze, like looking at me was just another chore he didn't want to deal with.

The way he had stopped waiting for me after class. Stopped teasing me. Stopped speaking to me altogether.

And the worst part?

Sree was unbothered.

She wasn't smug about it. She didn't send me those taunting glances or gloat like I had expected. She didn't have to.

Because she had already won.

She had gotten exactly what she wanted.

And me?

I was left to pick up the broken pieces of something I had never even had to begin with

**DRACO'S POV**

Three weeks.

Three weeks of silence.

Three weeks of pretending like I didn't care. Like I didn't notice the way her shoulders slumped whenever I walked past. Like I didn't feel the weight of her gaze lingering on me when she thought I wasn't paying attention.

Like I didn't want to talk to her.

But I couldn't.

I wouldn't.

Because she had said it wasn't real. That her confession was just a confession. That it didn't mean anything.

So I gave her what she wanted.

Distance.

I made sure of it. I stopped waiting for her after class. Stopped teasing her, stopped everything. I let Sree sit beside me when she slid into the empty seat without hesitation. I let her laugh at my jokes, let her talk to me, let her exist in the space that had once been Selene's.

I made sure she saw it all.

And still—still—she didn't say a word.

Not once.

Not when I walked past her like she was just another face in the corridor. Not when I leaned in a little too close to Sree at breakfast. Not even when I stopped looking at her altogether, because I knew if I did—if I let myself see her—I'd give in.

I told myself it didn't matter.

That this was what she wanted.

But then why did it feel like I was the one who had lost?

...............................................................................

**SELENE'S POV**

I ran into the Potions classroom, my book clutched tightly in my hand, my breath coming in quick gasps. The first time in ages, I had overslept. Me. Of all people. I could still hear Kenny's voice in my head, teasing me about how hell must've frozen over for me to be late.

Oh, and did I mention? Draco and I no longer did our regular morning study sessions together.

I shook the thought away, willing myself to focus. The corridors had felt unusually long as I sprinted to class, but now, standing just outside the door, I took a deep breath to steady myself before stepping inside.

Professor Snape was his usual cold and calculating self, his piercing gaze cutting through the students who dared to make the slightest sound. But being a top student—and a Slytherin at that—had its privileges here.

Still, my luck had its limits.

Because as fate would have it, I was partnered with Malfoy. Draco Lucius Malfoy.

For a brief moment, I didn't know how I felt about it.

There was a time when this would have made me happy, when we would have smirked at each other and exchanged inside jokes while working on our potion. But now, there was nothing. Just a thick, suffocating silence between us.

I moved to the seat beside him, setting my book down with a quiet thud. I didn't look at him. Didn't acknowledge his presence.

"Let's just get this done," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Sure. Whatever you say."

His tone was clipped, detached. But I knew him too well. I caught the slight edge in his voice—the one that told me he wasn't as unaffected as he wanted to seem.

We worked in silence, a tense, invisible wall between us. I reached for the crushed asphodel, and at the same moment, Draco's fingers brushed against mine.

I flinched.

It was barely a touch, but it sent a jolt through my entire body. My hand recoiled instantly, heat rushing to my cheeks.

Draco, however, didn't react at all.

Not even a twitch.

He simply continued measuring out the ingredients as if nothing had happened.

The worst part? That hurt more than if he had snapped at me.

Kenny and Blaise, who were sitting at the table across from us, exchanged a knowing look. Blaise smirked, and Kenny's gaze flickered between me and Draco, her lips pressing into a thin line.

"Why do I feel like we should be worried?" Blaise muttered just loud enough for us to hear.

Kenny sighed. "Because we should be."

I pretended not to hear them.

Draco finally spoke again, breaking the silence. "Pass me the dragon's bile."

His voice was unreadable.

I wordlessly handed it to him, careful not to touch his hand this time.

We continued working, every action stiff and forced. I focused on the potion, trying to drown out the ache in my chest, but it was impossible.

Because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about the way things used to be.

"How long do I have to bear this?" I whispered.

Draco didn't look at me. His fingers tightened around the glass vial in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

"Bear what?" he asked, his voice empty, as if he were speaking to a stranger rather than someone he had once called his best friend.

I swallowed hard. This wasn't the Draco I knew. Or maybe it was, and I had just never seen this side of him before. The one that could shut people out so completely. The one who could pretend like I didn't exist.

"This... silent treatment," I whispered, my voice barely holding together. "Come on, Draco, you can't just throw a friendship like that out the window."

For a split second, I saw something flicker in his expression. Regret? Sadness? It was gone before I could place it. He let out a small scoff, shaking his head.

"I didn't throw anything out the window, Selene," he said coldly. "I just realized where things stand."

That stung.

"Where things stand?" I repeated, disbelief creeping into my voice. "So that's it? Just like that? You're done with me?"

He didn't answer.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, the weight of the past few weeks pressing down on me. I had been holding back so much—swallowing down every unsaid word, every unspoken feeling, just to keep things from falling apart.

But now, standing here beside him, watching him act like I meant nothing to him, something inside me snapped.

I shoved the stirring rod into his hand, a little harder than necessary. "You want to tell me what I did wrong, Draco?" I challenged, my voice rising slightly. "Because clearly, I missed the part where I betrayed you."

His jaw clenched.

"You didn't betray me," he muttered, focusing on the cauldron as if the swirling potion was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Then why are you treating me like I did?"

Silence.

Kenny and Blaise, who had been watching us from across the table, exchanged an uneasy glance. Blaise nudged Kenny's arm as if telling her to intervene, but she just shook her head.

I exhaled sharply, forcing myself to calm down.

"Draco," I tried again, softer this time. "I don't know what's going on in your head. But I do know that this—whatever this is—isn't us."

His hands tightened around the table's edge.

"We were supposed to be best friends," I continued, my voice wavering. "You don't just throw that away. I won't let you."

He finally looked at me. And for the first time in weeks, I saw it—the conflict, the frustration, the war waging inside him.

"You don't get it," he said, his voice raw. "You think this is easy for me?"

"Then why are you doing it?" I pressed. "Why are you pushing me away?"

Draco exhaled, running a hand through his platinum blonde hair. His fingers trembled slightly, just enough for me to notice.

"Because it hurts, Selene," he admitted, voice barely above a whisper. "Because I can't pretend like nothing happened. I can't sit here and act like I don't feel—"

He stopped himself, shaking his head.

My heart stilled.

Like you don't feel what?

I stared at him, feeling as if the floor had been ripped out from beneath me. He wouldn't meet my gaze anymore.

I suddenly realized what Kenny had been trying to tell me all along.

He wasn't ignoring me because he hated me. He was ignoring me because he was hurting. Because I had hurt him.

The realization made my chest tighten painfully.

"Draco..." I reached out, hesitating before my fingers barely brushed against his wrist.

His breath hitched.

And for the first time, I saw it so clearly.

He wasn't just my best friend.

He was someone who had cared about me in a way I hadn't fully understood until now.

Until it was too late.

"Draco, please...I am so sorry if i had given you the wrong idea....you're my best friend..." It sounded almost as if i was pleading with him, which i was.

Draco's grip on the edge of the table tightened, his knuckles stark white against his pale skin. His shoulders were tense, his entire body rigid as if bracing for impact. And I knew, I just knew, that whatever I had just said—it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, but he didn't look at me. His gaze was fixed on the bubbling cauldron before us, but I could see the storm raging in his eyes.

"Best friend," he echoed, his voice hollow. He let out a humorless chuckle, shaking his head slightly. "Of course. That's all it ever was to you, wasn't it?"

His words stung more than I expected them to.

I felt a lump form in my throat. "Draco, I—"

But he turned to me then, his grey eyes flashing with something I couldn't quite place—anger, hurt, something deeper, something raw.

"Don't," he said, his voice dangerously soft. "Just don't, Selene."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Because for the first time, I realized that no matter how much I tried to fix this—no matter how many times I called him my best friend—those words would only drive the knife in deeper.

And I hated it.

I hated seeing the way his face twisted, the way he was fighting to keep himself composed, the way I had caused that look in his eyes.

"Draco," I tried again, reaching for his wrist. But he pulled away, standing up so fast that his chair scraped against the stone floor.

"Just drop it, Selene," he muttered, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I get it now. You don't have to explain anything else."

"Draco, please, don't do this," I whispered, feeling my chest tighten.

He exhaled sharply, like he was physically trying to shake off whatever emotions were threatening to break through.

And then, when he finally looked at me, I saw it.

Resignation.

"This was a mistake," he murmured, more to himself than to me.

I shook my head frantically. "No, it wasn't. Draco, listen—"

But he was already walking away.

And I didn't know what hurt more—the fact that he didn't turn back or the fact that, for the first time since I had met him, I wasn't sure if he ever would.

.................................................................................

I was sitting on the couch in the common room. Four long weeks had passed by....still, no Draco.

Kenny plopped down beside me, her arms crossed, her eyes scanning my face with an intensity that made me squirm.

"You look miserable," she finally said, matter-of-factly.

"Thanks," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"I mean it, Selene. You look like someone sucked the soul out of you."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Kenny, if you're here to remind me for the hundredth time that I should talk to Draco, save it. It's pointless. It's over."

Kenny let out a long, exaggerated groan and threw her hands up. "Merlin's beard, Selene! You two are literally the dumbest pair of idiots I've ever met in my life!"

I shot her a glare. "Oh, lovely. Please, do go on."

She ignored my sarcasm. "You both are so damn stubborn! Look, I get it. You're scared. You think you've messed up beyond repair. But you haven't. You just have to stop thinking so much and do something about it!"

I looked away, my fingers clenching around the sleeve of my robe. "And what exactly am I supposed to do, Kenny? He won't even look at me anymore."

Kenny leaned forward, her eyes sharp. "Then make him."

I blinked at her.

She huffed. "You're Selene. You don't give up on people you care about. And I know for a fact you care about Draco. So, stop sitting here acting like a tragic heroine and go fight for him."

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding. "What if he really doesn't want me in his life anymore?"

Kenny rolled her eyes so dramatically I thought they might fall out of her head. "Oh, please. If he didn't, he wouldn't be acting like this. He wouldn't be so angry. He wouldn't be avoiding you like the plague while also sneaking glances when he thinks you're not looking."

I stiffened. "He does not."

She smirked. "Oh, he absolutely does."

That shouldn't have made my heart flip, but it did.

Kenny grabbed my hands, her expression softening slightly. "Look, I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. But if you want him back, really want him back, then stop being afraid of getting hurt and take the risk. He's worth it, isn't he?"

I swallowed, nodding.

"Then go. Fix this. Before you both destroy yourselves over something that could've been fixed weeks ago."