On a list of things Annabeth Chase wanted to do, sharing a hotel room with her ex-boyfriend of seven months was at the very bottom. Especially when the entire reason she'd ended things with him had been a complete and total lie, and she was still very much not over him. But for her best friend's destination wedding, she would be doing exactly that.
She just had to get through four nights of close quarters with her extremely hot ex that she was in love with, who couldn't keep his eyes to himself if his life depended on it, all while the voices in her head (and her best friends) whispered to her that they should've never broken up in the first place. How hard could it be?
non-writers will never understand the mental illness of writing an entire conversation in your head while doing dishes and then forgetting every word the second you open a blank doc
when Aaron Warner said “I worry, sometimes, that my love for her will expand beyond the limitations of my body, that it will one day kill me with its heft.” I felt that in my soul
Hermione knocked on her neighbour's door and quickly placed her hand back on the bodice of her dress, lest it slip too low. Of course, removing her hand for less than a second caused her breasts to move from the precarious position she’d forced them into. As she was readjusting, Pansy’s door swung open.
“Thank God you’re home,” she said without looking up as she carefully maneuvered her breast without flashing Pansy or dropping the entire dress. “My tits are about to escape this dress if you don’t help m—” she glanced up and did a double take when she realized the person standing in front of her was not, in fact, her neighbour of three years that she’d become close friends with. Instead, it was a man. Tall; pale, shimmery grey eyes; and even paler blond hair.
She glanced at the door that he’d just swung open to see 23, the usual number on Pansy’s front door. It wasn’t that she had the wrong flat. Her eyes swung back to the man, who looked just as confused as she felt.
“You… are not Pansy,” she said needlessly.
He nodded once. “She’s in Paris for the week. I’m house sitting because of her plants.” His voice was deep and smooth, and oddly posh for them being in the heart of London.
Hermione sighed, her eyes fluttering shut in defeat. “Fuck, I did know she was in Paris this week. I can’t believe I forgot, considering she forced me to give my opinion on every single outfit she packed.”
He snorted lightly, as if he knew that if it was Pansy they were speaking of, that meant there had been a surplus of outfits for an eight day trip. (Eighteen to be exact. Hermione had counted.)
Her eyes opened and the man blinked at her. “You were saying something about your…” he trailed off, his eyes flicking to where she was still holding her dress up. Hermione’s cheeks flushed bright red. Her tits, she filled in silently. She’d just said something about her tits, which were dangerously close to spilling out if she loosened the grip on her dress even the slightest bit, to this man she’d never met.
“I was going to ask Pansy to zip up my dress. Because we both live alone, we do this for each other fairly often. It was how we met, actually,” she rambled, unable to stop the word-vomit. “And my… well, my tits, as I’ve already said, are seconds away from being exposed because of this bloody zip. But, as we’ve established, you are not Pansy, so I’ll just… figure it out myself, I suppose.”
Her face was burning by the time she managed to stop fucking talking, and she turned back towards the direction of her flat.
“I’m not Pansy,” he agreed, “but I do know how zippers work.”
She looked at him over her shoulder. He was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, with a tiny smirk on his face. Hermione sighed. “Okay,” she caved. “Only because I’ve already been trying to zip this up myself for ten minutes now. If I can’t get it, I’d have to change dresses and I’d rather not.”
“It would be a shame to let this one go unworn,” he commented softly, stepping into the hall. Hermione subtly readjusted her chest once more and tried not to jolt when warm fingers brushed her lower back.
He pulled the zipper up slowly.
“Hermione, right?” he asked, his voice low for no reason. She turned her head, her eyebrows furrowed.
“Yes.”
“Pansy’s mentioned you before. Most notably right after you moved in and she was grateful that the previous tenants had moved out.”
She chuckled. “Yes, I’ve heard plenty of stories of the… physically active couple that lived here before me.”
The zip caught and he smoothly pulled it down an inch before gliding it back up.
“What’s your name?” she asked. “Seems unfair you already know mine.”
“Draco.”
Hermione stiffened. She’d heard that name several times from Pansy, especially in the last few months following her breakup with Ron. “Draco,” she repeated.
“She’s mentioned me?”
“Mhm,” Hermione hummed. The zipper reached the top of her dress and she took a step forward and turned back to face him. “Most notably every time she’s offered to set us up on a date.”
Draco stepped back and leaned against the door frame again. He glanced over her once, quickly, but she saw the obvious appreciation in his eyes now that the dark blue satin dress was on properly. “I wasn’t going to mention that part, but yes, I’ve heard all about her grand idea of setting us up.” Somehow that grand idea part didn't sound even a little bit sarcastic.
“She’s begged me, really, to hear her out.”
“Would I have to beg you?”
Hermione blinked, but he didn’t seem remotely ashamed of the blatant flirting. If anything, he looked absolutely smug about the line. Unfortunately for Hermione, smug looked quite good on him.
“For a date?” she clarified.
“Mhm.”
She tilted her head, letting her eyes graze up and down his body in a slow perusal. If Pansy had shown her a photo of Draco, she probably would’ve agreed a lot quicker to meet him. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and by the time she made it back up to his eyes, he was failing to hold back a grin at her very obvious studying.
“Well, I imagine begging would look quite good on you,” she said coyly. She walked backwards toward her flat. “I have to finish getting ready. It’s my best friends’ engagement party and I’d hate to be late. But it was wonderful to finally meet you, Draco.”
He watched her go and only when she reached her flat, halfway through the door, did he speak.
“Hermione.”
She peeked her head back out, one eyebrow lifted.
“What are you doing tomorrow night?”
She tapped her nails against the doorframe and tapped her chin, pretending to think.
“Please?” he asked, making her laugh softly.
“As of right now, nothing,” she lied. She did actually have plans, but her best friend Ginny had been begging her to get back out there after Ron. She wouldn’t mind if they rescheduled their weekly girls’ night. Hell, she’d probably encourage it.
“Can you be ready at six for dinner?”
Hermione grinned. “Well, since you asked so nicely,” she teased. “Yes. I’ll see you then.”
She disappeared back into her flat and made a note to thank Pansy the next time they spoke.
can’t believe not one person commented about or cared that leo valdez was not included in old habits die screaming. including me, because two months later, i just now realized i completely unintentionally forgot to write him into the story.
my bad brother. hope you’re doing well in some other fictional universe bc you aren’t in mine🫡
Malfoy mustering up the courage to ask Granger to dance at the charity gala and internally panicking that she says no and if that’s the case he won’t know how to recover
Just devoured old habits die screaming and I loved every part of it! Favorite things- Percy knowing exactly why Beth broke up with him, everything about Piper/reynas wedding, the water scene with hazel frank Beth and Percy, the dress, Percy still being totally gone for her, Annabeth being so totally gone for him, the slow dance, Anna Beth yelling at him to call her Beth, the speaker phone call with Sally, the ring!!!!!!, Percy drinking about having a ring made for Beth, annabeth drinking about the love of her life, I really could go on and on 🫶🫶
ahhh thank you!!! so many of those moments were some of my fave to write, i had so much fun with this fic and im so glad you enjoyed:’)
