Mattheo slid down onto the sofa beside you, sitting close enough for your shoulders to almost touch. You glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. He usually wore a lazy grin, but now he looked serious. Troubled, even.

“I want us to be more than friends,” Mattheo says.

You blink, turning toward him fully now. “Best friends?” you ask.

“No… more than that,” he replies, his eyes meeting yours tenderly.

You're stunned for a moment, the weight of his words crashing down between you like a thunderclap. But before you can respond, Draco's voice cuts in.

“Shut up, Mattheo. She’s already taken,” Draco says.

Mattheo stands slowly, his lips curling into a defiant smirk as he faces him. “Tell me who?” Mattheo says. “I’ll k!ck him.”

Draco’s expression doesn’t waver as he steps forward, now face-to-face with Mattheo.

“You think you can k!ck me?” Draco says.

Mattheo’s eyes widen for a moment, then he realises what is happening. He looks between you and Draco, taking in the fact that Draco is now standing slightly in front of you.

“Oh… so you’re the boyfriend…” Mattheo says, his smirk faltering just a little.

“That I am,” Draco says, his arm slipping around your shoulders as if to prove the point.

Mattheo lets out a dry laugh. “Well… figures,” Mattheo says. “Should’ve known. You never let her out of your sight.”

“I don’t need to,” Draco says. “She chooses to be beside me.”

Mattheo shoves his hands into his pockets, offering a half-smile. “Take care of her, Draco,” he says.

Draco nods, a rare moment of sincerity in his eyes. “Always,” he says.

Mattheo turns, heading toward the boys’ dorms.

"Do you think he’ll be okay?” you ask softly.

Draco wraps his arm a little tighter around you. “He’ll be fine. He’s strong,” he says. Then, with a smirk: “Just not strong enough to steal my girl.”