COME AROUND
Disclaimer: Draco Malfoy WILL belong to me. He will. At present, however, he still doesn't, so I'll just wait. For now, he belongs to JK Rowling, bless her soul.
Author's Note: This is actually chapter seven. I am appalled. Seriously. Well, I hope you guys enjoy this! :D I'm glad you've been liking it so far. I didn't think a Draco/Cho fic would get so many responses!
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"What is the meaning of this, Cho Chang?" Draco hissed, his grey eyes gleaming with something that Cho could only recognise as loathing. She could find no words to give as an explanation for the past three years, what more an explanation for that letter? What could she say? Oh, Draco, I've been using you as a diary? Oh, I didn't write that? There was nothing in the world she could possibly have said that would replace the cruel look on his face with the expression she so badly wanted to see. He wouldn't forgive her. Cho met his stormy grey eyes for a split second, pleading with him, but his eyes were glass and they would not yield.
A cold gust of wind blew through her hair and tousled Draco's fine silver locks. A shiver raced down her back as the frigid air sensitized her skin. Draco seemed to take no notice of the drop in the temperature. His silver irises remained locked to her own black ones, demanding of her something she just could not provide.
"I asked for an explanation, Cho. I came all the way here from Switzerland to get one, and I am going to get one. What is this letter about?" he asked her slowly, and relatively calmly.
Cho was silent. She had no words. Something in her lack of speech woke his fury.
"Damn it, Cho, say something!" he yelled angrily, throwing the parchment down by her sandaled feet. "Anything! Tell me it was a lie, a joke, another jab at my already broken heart, I don't give a damn anymore! Say something, damn you! Say something!"
She could see his muscles tense as he spoke his harsh words, fists clenching and unclenching. The already disturbed band finished their Silverchair set, and, giving the two a queer look, began playing Coldplay. Draco seemed to have noticed the audience's attention. Grasping her arm, he pulled her to her feet and nearly dragged her to a more secluded place. Somewhere they could talk with out being disturbed. Or disturbing anyone else, for that matter. He placed both his hands on her shoulders, not feeling her shiver with the contact. He was calm again (or so Cho perceived), and he bent slightly to be at level with her eyes.
"Explain. Then I'll go away and you can enjoy your vacation in peace. Just say something. Anything. Lie to me, as long as it's good enough for me to believe. Anything, Cho," he pleaded, the look in his eyes widening the crack in her heart.
Time stood still for what seemed like eternity. The two remained there, feet planted solidly on the ground, staring each other, and there was no sound save the crashing of the waves, the rustling of the palm leaves, and the distant beat of Drag Queen's music. Cho broke their stare, and their silence. She looked away from him, out towards the sea. The Boracay water that had gone from clear blue to an opaque black, shining silver in the moonlight. She could feel the sand beneath her, that fine powder that was never too hot to walk on, even at noon. The grains of white that could have been snow, had they felt a bit colder and more wet. Cho broke their silence.
"I'm sorry, Draco," she whispered into the night breeze.
Draco met her eyes again. Cho noticed that his hair had grown longer, and he was not as pale as he once was. He seemed healthy, and after years of seeing him deathly thin and withdrawn, Cho was so glad for it.
"Cho, I'm not here for an apology. I'm here for an explanation."
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Seeing her again was difficult. He'd planned his entire speech, every single word. Actually being faced with her made him forget everything he'd wanted to say. Cho was taller, older, more mature than she had been, and even more beautiful than he remembered her to be. "I want an explanation," he repeated clearly.
Cho looked up at him, holding his grey eyes captive with her gaze. "I have no explanations, Draco," she replied almost inaudibly, pulling on the loose ends of the white sarong that was wrapped around her waist. "All I can tell you is that I meant every word." She glanced at him, hoping, but Draco turned away spitefully, eyes burning and clouding over.
"I knew you were a good liar, Cho, but even your brilliant acting isn't enough to make me believe that," he spat at her maliciously, taking a few steps out of the shadows, away from her. The moonlight glimmered on his skin, making it glow.
He crossed his arms defiantly over his chest as he stared out towards the ocean. It was such a cold night.
"What will it take to convince you that I'm telling you the truth, Draco?" Cho asked desperately, her stricken expression contorting her fair features.
"Nothing will. Nothing. Nothing will change what you did, and you know it," he snapped sharply, giving her one last glare before disappearing into the night.
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So this is what they mean by paradise, Draco thought sleepily as the golden rays of morning sunlight shone on his face. He'd woken with the gentle touch of the sun and the sound of birds singing. He'd never exactly seen the appeal of nature before he began his trek around the globe. He understood it now, however. The calm of the clouds in the refreshing blue sky, the soothing nature of wind, waves, and the swaying of trees. Life was beautiful, and nothing could be wrong in heaven.
There was no urgent need to wake and get to work in heaven. There was no work to speak of. No responsibilities to attend to. Nothing. Just himself, the sun, the sand, and the sea, and even though Cho proved to be quite a dilemma for him, this place, this small archipelago in the middle of nowhere was still paradise to him, and forever would be.
He reached for the comb by his bedside table, and grabbed a piece of paper instead.
Draco,Can we discuss this rationally? Like, over dinner, perhaps? At the Seaside Grill? How does 7:30 sound? Please?
--ChoHe didn't appreciate the flippant tone in the note, but he didn't want her to go angsting on him, either. Whatever. He'd go and hear her out. But he wouldn't make any promises.
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Author's Note: Yay. Now that I officially have writer's block, this may just be the last chapter for quite a while. Sorry. It is also the shortest. Hurrah. You can all hate me now. :D