Work Text:
The common room was quiet, except for the crackling fire and the scrapes of Daphne's pen against the journal pages. The only light in the room came from the fire and the small candle Daphne had lit on the coffee table. She found the quiet soothing, especially given how her evening had already played out and how it would continue.
She was folding up a piece of paper when she heard the door to the common room creak open behind her. Daphne closed her eyes and took a deep breath, tilting her head back to rest against the back of the couch. The familiar sound of Quidditch cleats clicking across the floor sent a shiver down her spine. This conversation was the last thing she wanted to have this evening, but she was sicking of the games that were being played with her heart.
"Hey gorgeous," Theo's husky voice echoed through the room. His pace quickened as he made his way to the couch, just as he leaned down to press a kiss to Daphne's head when he was stopped by her hand in his face.
"Don't," Daphne said, shoving him away as she rolled her eyes. She stuffed the folded piece of paper into her notebook and shut the cover. She leaned forward to drop the book on the coffee table, picked up a pillow from the couch, and tucked it into her lap. She motioned to the chair across from her. "Sit down. We should talk."
Daphne watched as he moved around the couch, a puzzled look painted on his face. He slowly sat down in the chair, dropping his Quidditch bag on the ground. He rested his arms on his knees, leaning forward to be close to her. Daphne fought the urge to roll her eyes as she moved to tuck her legs beneath her and wrap her arms tighter around the pillow.
"What's going on?" Theo asked, furrowing his brow. He looked her up and down. She looked pissed, but he wasn't sure why. Everything was fine when he saw her before practice, but now she just seemed cold. "Are you okay?"
"No," Daphne replied, shaking her head once.
"What's wrong?" Theo said, cocking his head to the side. He reached out to rest a hand on her knee, only to watch her jerk away from him.
"Don't touch me," Daphne whispered, moving over another cushion on the couch. "Where were you tonight?"
"At practice," Theo replied, motioning his head toward the bag on the floor. "Daphne, what's going on?"
"Stop lying to me, Theo," Daphne hissed, gritting her teeth. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and closed her eyes. "Practice was over two hours ago."
"No," Theo said, shaking his head with his brow furrowed. "It took me about ten minutes to get up from the field. What the hell is going on?"
"Quit lying to me, Theo!" Daphne shouted, throwing the pillow at his head. "I talked to Blaise and Draco. Your coach canceled because of the potions exam tomorrow and wanted you all to spend the night in the library and study. So tell me where the hell you were tonight."
Theo tossed the pillow to the floor before scrubbing his hands over his face and letting out a huff. "I was down on the pitch and needed the quiet to study."
Daphne rolled her eyes, gritting her teeth as she glanced down at the notebook on the table. "I really wish you would quit fucking lying to me."
"I'm not lying to you!" Theo shouted, moving from the chair to the couch beside her. He reached out to touch him only to have his hand smacked away.
"Theo, I gave you so many fucking chances, yet you keep fucking them up. And I'm done," Daphne said, pushing herself up from the couch and moving toward the fire in the common room. She wrapped her arms around her stomach as she watched the flames dance behind the screen. The warmth of the flames sent a shiver down her spine, forcing her to close her eyes and take a deep breath.
Theo observed her from the couch. He knew it was too soon to go over and try to comfort her, no matter how badly every nerve in his body wanted to comfort her. She had shied away from him, just like she was doing now, so all he could do was wait for her to calm down, whenever that may be.
"I can't," Daphne sighed, moving from the fire to the far side of the common room and beginning to pace back and forth. "I don't want to do this anymore."
"Don't want to do what?" Theo asked, rotating on the couch. He rested his arms on the back of the couch and rested his chin against the back of his hands.
"This," Daphne exclaimed, motioning at the space between them. "I'm sick of the fighting, the lying, all of it. I deserve better than whatever bullshit you're giving me."
"Where is all of this coming from?" Theo asked, pushing himself up from the couch. He made his way around the couch, the closest to her he had been able to get this evening. "What's gotten into you?"
Daphne's eyes went wide, and her nostrils flared at his question. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it quickly, shaking her head as she brushed past him. She went to the coffee table and picked up the notebook she had been writing in when he entered the common room. Flipping through the pages, she stopped, pulled a slip of paper out, and tossed it onto the table.
Theo furrowed his brow and walked over to the coffee table, picking up the paper. He unfolded it slowly. He recognized the handwriting almost immediately and rolled his eyes. "Of course," he mumbled, shaking his head as he read over the note. He crumbled it up into a ball and tossed it into the fire. "Do you really fucking believe I've been in a relationship behind your back for the last six months?"
"I don't know what to fucking believe anymore, Theo," Daphne sighed, shaking her head as she rested her hands on her hips. "But I'm fucking done. We're over."
The click of Daphne's heels on the tile floor of the common room was only muffled by the sound of the crackling fire as Theo stood speechless at the situation that had just transpired.