"I just don't know any more, Blaise." Draco said to me, his head against the sea wall. I turned to look at the grey sea, churning into foam onto the shore line. I heard a shift in the sand and turned to look at Draco, who had his knees up, head tilted back, eyes closed. I looked back at the sea.
"To be honest, neither do I." I replied quietly, and put my knees up like Draco's. Things were looking bleak for both of us, and it was getting closer and closer to the time where both of us would have to make major decisions. Which side to be on, whether we should drop out of school and join our families.
"It's not like we have fucking choices either, right?" Draco said suddenly, turning to me. I looked at him and down to my sleeve.
"No, I think we always have a choice. Although it's usually too risky to take." I reply, resting my head on my knees, looking at the way the white sea foam gathered at the peak of the wave, and suddenly dispersed and fanned out towards the land. I looked at the sea, and the sky and the way they barely contrasted, and how they almost blended in together to make a giant grey canvas. It mirrored our situations almost perfectly.
"Yeah. I guess you're right about that. If we took the risk, we'd both get killed." Draco said, his words tinged with bitterness. I picked up a piece of glass next to me. Oil had washed over it and when I tilted it, it shone different colours.
"It's still there though, isn't it? We have just as much of a chance as being killed if we stay where we are." I said, putting the glass down, a frayed part of it catching onto my thumb and drawing a bead of blood. It stayed, like a glistening red pearl, before rolling off, leaving a faint pink line. I wiped my hand on my trousers.
"Again, you're right." Draco replied. He picked a thread on his expensive sleeve. "But sometimes... Sometimes I just wish it was over." He turned to look at me. "Sometimes I wish everything could happen quickly, and be done." I smiled faintly.
"So does everyone else, Draco. So does everyone else." And they did. Even me. This long, painful process was horrible. The constant tension of something happen, the constant paranoia. Eventually, everything would collide, just like everyone suspects. It will all come to a head, and be over.
"It isn't as simple as that though, is it? It's never going to be over." Draco murmured, sitting up. "Even if one side wins, and one side loses, it's not as easy as that, is it? Even if it finally ends, in our spare moments, we're going to be reliving it over and over again." He turned to look at me. "It's never truly over. There's always remains that hang onto each of us, isn't there?" I sighed, and tilted my head up to the sky.
Draco was right. It was never truly over for anyone. Memories would still be there, each and every day, at the back of our minds. I looked across to where the tide dispersed, and as they waves withdrew, what was there. There were always remains left behind from the wave, pebbles and shells, and sharp shards of glass. The sea would feel each and every crevice, sweeping the sand away to reveal what was hiding underneath, and sometimes even bringing new things.
The beach mirrored our situation almost perfectly. A giant grey canvas.