Who Can It Be Now?

It was only a kiss.

One minor, unimportant contact between similar parts of their bodies. It would have been the same had their hands touched, or their shoulders brushed as they passed one another in the hallway.

One, simple kiss.

How could something so tiny, so eerily natural, change everything?

*

It started with a kiss. Actually, if you want me to be truthful, it started long before that stolen caress in a darkened hallway, but for me, it started with that kiss.

It never should have happened, you see. We were both there serving detention for fighting in class - all his fault, you know - and he got very close to me. He smelled good, and it was the only thing I could think about. How dare he smell so good? It wasn't right. It went against the natural world order. He should have stunk, or not smelled like anything. The fact that he smelled like a strawberry vanilla combination just drove me wild. I love strawberries. I love vanilla. Why did it have to be him?

So there we were, staring at eachother, as always, and then I just... leaned forward. And he was there, and our lips were touching, and it only lasted for about five seconds, tops, but we kissed.

There was nothing electric about it. There was no jolt of awareness, no feelings of disgust, just nothing. Just the weird feeling of his lips pressed against mine. Then he was pulling away, his eyes wide, and he disappeared, and I haven't seen him since.

*

After the incident - I refuse to allow it to be named - I fled from him, and haven't been able to show my face around school since. I'm sure he's very smug that he's finally won, and I'm considering skipping the match so I don't have to see him. My friends are telling me I'm crazy, that it was a spur of the moment accident and that nothing changed, but everything has.

I can't look at him, because I know how soft his lips are. How nicely he smells, how perfectly he fits against me. I know these things now, and I can't look at him, because I'm afraid he'll see that I liked it.

Oh, I liked it. I'd do anything to do it again, but that's the problem. Not that he's a guy, not even that he's in a rival House, but because he's him, and I'm not supposed to like him. So many people will kill us if they found out. I'm tempted to kill myself and save them the trouble, but I can't bring myself to do it. Not when there's a chance I might get to kiss him again.

*

I'm actually getting a little bit worried about him. I haven't seen him in almost a week, and he actually had the nerve to skip out on the Quidditch match. I'm almost flattered that he'd go to such lengths to avoid me, but I'm itching to talk to him about it, and find out what happened. Maybe he slipped me a potion, and that's why I can't stop thinking about him. Maybe he cast a spell on me. Anything to explain how we kissed, and why I haven't been able to think of anything since.

It's not helping that I don't know where he is. I don't know the password to his common room, and none of his house-mates would let me in, even if I did the unthinkable, and knocked. Suddenly, it dawns on me. The perfect way. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier -- except that I believe it's because my entire thought process was wrapped up in that kiss -- I'll send him an owl! If I send him an owl, it'll get the message to him, and we can talk, and I can finally rid myself of this... this... plague. I find a piece of parchment and a quill.

Look. I know you're avoiding me. It's really very sweet for you to go through all that just so you don't have to see me, but I need to see you. Meet me out on the Quidditch pitch at midnight.

I don't sign it, but I know he'll know it's from me. I tuck it into my robes, and hurry out through the common room, avoiding my house-mates, and make my way towards the Owlery.

I've just posted the letter, when I turned the corner and see him. He's looking down at the ground, his hands jammed into the pockets of his robes. He looks so dejected that I almost go to him, but instead I stay there, and wait for him to notice me.

It doesn't take long. He's nearly on top of me, when he looks up, and gasps.

"You."

"Me," I reply, and advance on him. He looks mildly panicked, but doesn't make any move to run away, and when he finally decides to move, it's closer to me. Secretly, I'm delighted, and I'm sure some of it shows on my face, because suddenly we're kissing again.

My arms go around his body, and I feel his hands on my back, and our lips are mashed together and ohmygod that was his tongue, brushing against my mouth, and I don't know where my head's gone, but my lips are parting, and he's kissing me deeply, and I'm kissing back, and I realize what I've been missing all my life.

This. Him.

*

I can't believe I was so stupid as to let him get the better of me, and ambush me at the Owlery. As soon as I lay eyes on him, I'm lost again, and I remember exactly why we kissed in that hallway, during detention.

I can't move away, however, and all that comes out of my mouth is a weak, "you." He answers with, "Me," and moves closer. Oh god, how the hell am I going to get out of this one? Okay, be brave. Brave I can do. I hope.

It's the hallway detention all over again. I don't know who moves first, but suddenly I'm pressed up against him, and he's holding me close, and we're kissing, and I feel like I could just float up into the sky I'm so happy. I'm not sure what I'm doing, either, and I'm just as surprised as he is when my tongue comes out of my mouth and towards his, but when he opens his mouth, and I can feel his tongue against mine, it's so personal, so invasive, so ... arousing.

I can feel myself getting hard in my pants, and I'm terribly embarrassed. I pull away before he can catch on, and turn around, and walk away. This is the second time I've run from our encounters, but I can't let him know what he does to me. I can't.

"Wait!" I feel myself start to run as he starts to follow, and I go to the only place I can think of to be away. The Room of Requirement. He's very close to me, and I'm not thinking of anything particular when I make it into the room, just that I can see him behind me, and I hope he doesn't catch me.

*

He disappears into the come-and-go room literally seconds before I catch up to him. I swear, and kick the wall, but the door doesn't appear. He's lost to me again, and now I've got an erection to take back to my dorm and get rid of. I thought maybe I felt him get hard, too, but he moved too quickly for me to really find out. I thought maybe he felt mine through our trousers, and got embarrassed or angry, and that's why he ran away.

I'll still be out on the pitch tonight, hoping that he'll show up. I'm not counting on it, though.

*

A window appears just before an owl swoops in, and delivers an unsealed parchment. The letter in my hands, the owl retreats back out the window, and the wall returns to normal.

I didn't know owls could get into the room of requirement, but then, I suppose there's a lot I don't know about this castle yet. I'll probably never know it all, as fascinating as it is.

Opening the letter, I recognize his handwriting at once. I scowl at it for a moment before I realize that he must have been coming from sending this when I ran into him outside the Owlery.

I reread it again. He needs to see me, he says. Well, I'm tempted to just leave him out there, but deep down inside, I know I'll go anyway.

I hide out in the Room until just after eleven, and I go down to the pitch. It's dark, and damp, and I think I smell rain in the air, but he asked me to come down here, and here I am. For a moment, I feel reckless and crazy, and exhilerated, and thrilled, and so indescribable that it's dizzying. Lightning flashes across the sky, and thunder rumbles ominously, and I hear someone behind me.

"You came," he says, and then the sky opens up with rain, and we're both soaked in seconds.

"I came," I say cautiously. "I'm sorry for running away," I mumbled, pushing the toe of my shoe into the muddy grass.

"I'm sorry you had to run," he says, and I look at him. "Look," he says again. "I think we need to start this over. We can't keep going on like this. Your team needs you at Quidditch, as much as it galls me to say."

"I agree," I say, still wondering what the hell he's playing at now.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," he says confidently, and offers his hand to me. Seven years after the first offer, and I'm finally ready to accept.

"Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you, Draco."

-fin-

GAH. I sat down intending to write something COMPLETELY different and this pops out. I don't know where it came from, or why. It's a one shot (for those of you like thrnbrooke who will read it and immediately say, "MORE!") and I'm going to try to write more for dispaced. (which I love. Which if you love me, you should read. *winks* Or even if you don't love me, go read it anyway, because I think it's a good story.)

NOTE: I'm sorry about the weird titles. This was named after the song that came on as I was trying to name it, who can it be now by Men at Work. Most of my fics end up like that, I noticed. Oh, this song is on, I'll call it that! XD