As the sun sets, casting shadows over the bustling courtyard, your heart pounds when you spot him - Draco.

He's surrounded by familiar faces but his attention seems distant, his responses to their chatter short and mechanical.

You haven't seen him since the breakup, since that long summer when you buried yourself in solitude. Now here he is, so close and yet... unattainable.

Your breath hitches as his gray eyes flick toward you. For a brief moment, they widen, a spark of something unguarded—recognition, maybe even longing—but it vanishes as quickly as it appeared. His expression hardens into an impassive mask.

You feel a pang in your chest, a sharp reminder of why you ended things. His pride. His inability to reconcile what you meant to each other with the expectations his family had for him.

But then, he moves.

Draco steps away from his group, his gaze flickering to you again. Before you can decide what to do, he’s in front of you, standing a little too close, his presence overwhelming. The familiar scent of him makes your knees feel unsteady.

“Hey” he says. His gray eyes bore into yours, but there’s a flicker of something deeper beneath the surface, something he’s fighting to suppress.

“You look...” he starts, his expression faltering for just a second. “...different.”

You open your mouth to reply, but the words catch in your throat. The silence stretches, heavy with all the unspoken things between you. Finally, he speaks, his voice almost vulnerable. “I didn’t think I’d see you here so soon. Not... like this.”

You glance up, startled by his raw tone, and for a moment, the mask slips, revealing the Draco you once knew—the one who laughed with you in secret, held your hand, and whispered words he couldn’t share with anyone else.

“I’ll see you around,” he says stiffly, his voice once again cool and detached. But as he turns to leave, you catch it—a flicker of hesitation, the slightest glance over his shoulder, and the faintest shadow of regret in his eyes.