one party completely unravels the delicate lie of "just friends" you and mattheo keep spinning. and by the end of the night, that term can no longer be applied
coming home was only supposed to be temporary. falling in love with your brother's best friend wasn't supposed to happen at all. but somewhere between old routines, quiet moments, and all the little ways you keep choosing each other, the place you call home starts looking a lot like the man you've known your entire life. and neither of you know what to do about it. [i accidentally deleted my first version of this story - so here's a new version!]
draco malfoy has spent his entire life being seen as a name before he's ever been seen as a person. the malfoy heir. lucius malfoy's son. the boy everyone expects him to be. then there's you. the one person who has always looked at him and only seen draco. so when he asks you to pretend to be his girlfriend, he thinks he's finally found a way to change how everyone else sees him. he just doesn't expect pretending with you to feel so much like the truth. neither do you.
theodore nott accepted a very stupid bet: make someone fall in love with him. when he chose you, he never expected that he'd actually fall for you first
draco malfoy has never regretted loving you. he's afraid of what loving you might cost. so he keeps you safe in the shadows, where nobody can judge you for choosing him. he holds your hand beneath tables. kisses you where no one can see. loves you in every language except the one the rest of the world can understand. you know he loves you. you just don't know how much longer you can keep pretending that being loved in secret doesn't hurt. because draco is so afraid of losing you to the world that he hasn't realized he's slowly losing you to the silence.
theodore nott has been in love with his best friend for years, saying "i love you" in every way except the words themselves. he just never realized it wasn't nearly as obvious as he thought; that you'd been waiting for the words. so when a rumour sweeps through hogwarts that the notoriously unattainable theodore nott is hopelessly in love, it seems everyone sets out to uncover the mysterious identity of the one who finally managed to capture his attention. everyone, that is, except for the person he's been trying to tell all along.
theodore nott has always been exceptionally good at noticing the things other people miss. unfortunately, after accidentally reading half a page of your diary, he misses the one detail that matters most. now he's convinced the one he loves has fallen for someone else. you're convinced he knows the truth and wishes he doesn't. neither of you realize you're grieving a misunderstanding.
tbeodore nott thinks he's losing you. so he starts letting you go. meanwhile, every whispered conversation, every suspicious disappearance, and every moment you spend with mattheo riddle is all in service of one thing: showing theo just how deeply loved he is. if only he knew.
your cat keeps choosing theodore nott. theo keeps pretending he isn't waiting for you to come looking. you keep telling yourself you're only there to collect your cat. everyone else knows better.