Easier to Run chapter nine
"Zerek Cunningham."
Harry sighed. It didn't feel right. Nothing fit him. But after four long hours of thinking up names, Zerek was the closest he could get.
"At least it's better than Michael," he muttered as he turned away from the mirror. He rubbed his eyes. Staring into a mirror for four hours was incredibly tough on his vision.
He looked out his hotel window. The sky was darkening already. The lights of the city burned into the darkness. It looked beautiful from his viewpoint, which seemed so far away from the rushing cars below.
His cell phone began to ring. He scrambled off his bed and grabbed it from his desk.
"Hello?"
"Harry! Where the hell are you? What the hell is going on with you?"
"How the hell did you get this number?" Harry nearly shouted.
"I have caller ID, you know. If you didn't want me finding out your number, you wouldn't have left me a message."
"Cloe, I only called to let you know that I'm okay. I just didn't want you to think that I was murdered or something. But I don't want you calling me anymore! I left for a bloody reason!"
"And that reason wasn't me?" she asked.
"Of course not. You're my best friend, Cloe. I would never leave because of you."
"So why can't we talk?" Cloe inquired.
"Because you're also good friends with Malfoy, the one I don't want to find me," Harry replied.
There was a long silence. "Malfoy?!" Cloe exclaimed skeptically. "What happened to Draco?! Harry, what the hell is going on?!"
"Don't call me that!" Harry growled, frustrated.
"Oh, sorry, Michael," she spat wildly.
"Wrong again," Harry muttered, closing his eyes.
"Who are you now?!" Cloe shouted. "John? Stan? Albert?"
"Cloe... I have to go," Harry whispered.
"But—"
"Just do me a favor, okay?" Harry asked hopefully. "Tell Draco I said goodbye.
"My god." Draco closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
"I know, it's horrible," Cloe sighed.
"This is all my fault! I'm such an idiot."
"Yes, you are," Cloe mumbled, adjusting her sunglasses.
Draco rolled over in the sand, so he was laying on his back. "How did this all happen? Harry's not even supposed to be here! He should be back in England!"
"But isn't there nothing left?" Cloe asked curiously. "I mean, didn't they destroy it all?"
Draco shook his head. "Just because they destroyed Hogwarts, doesn't mean everything else is gone."
Cloe let her head fall back and hit the sand.
"I feel like such a jerk. I'm laying here, getting a nice tan, when I should be out there looking for Harry!"
"Believe me, Draco, he made it pretty damn clear that he doesn't want to see you again," Cloe told him.
"If you're trying to help, stop, because it isn't bloody working."
"Fine," Cloe sighed, standing slowly. "Come on. Let's go find your long lost love."
Draco glared at her, but made no comment as he stood up.
"Hey, Clover!" someone shouted from the water. "Haven't seen you around here for a while!"
Cloe turned around and rolled her eyes. "What the hell do you want, Bret?" she shouted back.
"The waves are pretty big out there! Wanna make me look good?" he asked, running up to where they stood on the beach.
"Shut up. I can still kick your ass on the waves, beachboy," she retorted.
"If you say so."
Bret had a tall, muscular figure, hazel eyes and dirty blond hair, which was cut two inches long and spiked. His skin was a perfect golden brown. His ears were pierced, he wore light blue, baggy shorts, and had a cast on his right wrist.
"Oh, what happened to you?" Cloe asked in mock-concern as she raised his wrist. "Get in a fight with your hair drier again?"
Bret glared at her. Then his eyes wandered over to Draco. "Who's this? Your new boy toy?"
Cloe chuckled. "If you must know, he's my best friend's boy toy."
"Cloe!" Draco shouted.
"Come on, we have to find Harry," Cloe smirked as she jogged to her car.
Draco followed her reluctantly. "That was cruel. I'm not Harry's boy toy, I told you I don't like him like that!"
"Chill, I was just joking," Cloe smiled as she climbed into her car. "Bret's so stoned he won't remember tomorrow anyway."
"Who is he, anyway?" Draco asked as he pulled his shirt on.
"My ex."
"Todd, I'm tellin' ya, there's no record of either a Michael Smith or a Zerek Cunningham that match your description. I even checked in the muggle archives, no one under either names in England."
Todd sighed. "Are you sure? There has to be, he can't have just appeared out of nowhere."
"I can run the searches again if you want, but I'm pretty sure you're on a ghost hunt."
"Thanks, Everett. You don't have to do that, you've done enough for me already."
"Yeah, well, you owe me. Bye."
"Bye." Todd clicked the off button on his cell phone and growled slightly. Michael – Zerek – whatever his name was, was obviously keeping something from them. Something big. Who would lie about who they were to their friends?
He climbed out of his car and stared up at the Hilton Hotel. He preyed Michael wasn't staying there – it could take him hours, even days to check all the rooms – assuming the management wouldn't help him out, that is. He opened the car trunk and took out a fairly large, empty box, which was tightly wrapped in tape. He pulled a nametag from his pocket and clipped it to his shirt. Then he ran across the road and pulled the hotel's front door open.
"Excuse me," he said politely to the thin blond woman at the front desk. "I have a delivery for a Zerek Cunningham. I was told he's staying here?"
"Let me check," the woman smiled, somewhat coldly. Shy typed something into the computer, then nodded. "Yes, he is. If you leave the package here we'll be sure to get it to him."
"Well, my boss told me to deliver the package personally," Todd said, giving her a charming smile. "She would be rather upset if I didn't follow her orders correctly."
The woman gave Todd a peculiar look, then sighed. "Alright. It would be nice if you didn't mention this to anyone – we aren't supposed to give any information away about our visitors – but he's in room 409.
"Thanks," Todd grinned, half-jogging towards a long hall. As soon as he was out of sight of the front desk, he tossed the box into the garbage can next to the closest hotel room and slipped the nametag back into his pocket, then sprinted towards the elevators.
A/N: Woot!!!! I am having SOOOOO much fun writing this!!!! Really! I haven't had this much fun since... I wrote the tenth chapter. Yesh, I wrote the tenth chapter before the ninth, something I've never done before, but it helped me get out of my writer's block. I should do that more often.... So I'll have the tenth chapter up pretty damn soon, so look out for it.
So how is the story without the lyrics? Do you think I should put them back in? I don't know, it's up to you guys. But if no one comments THEN I'M KEEPING THEM OUT!!!!
Alright, bye-bye, I have to go start writing some more for All I've Got, if I can manage it. sigh too tough......
TTFN, Deathdragon4
"Zerek Cunningham."
Harry sighed. It didn't feel right. Nothing fit him. But after four long hours of thinking up names, Zerek was the closest he could get.
"At least it's better than Michael," he muttered as he turned away from the mirror. He rubbed his eyes. Staring into a mirror for four hours was incredibly tough on his vision.
He looked out his hotel window. The sky was darkening already. The lights of the city burned into the darkness. It looked beautiful from his viewpoint, which seemed so far away from the rushing cars below.
His cell phone began to ring. He scrambled off his bed and grabbed it from his desk.
"Hello?"
"Harry! Where the hell are you? What the hell is going on with you?"
"How the hell did you get this number?" Harry nearly shouted.
"I have caller ID, you know. If you didn't want me finding out your number, you wouldn't have left me a message."
"Cloe, I only called to let you know that I'm okay. I just didn't want you to think that I was murdered or something. But I don't want you calling me anymore! I left for a bloody reason!"
"And that reason wasn't me?" she asked.
"Of course not. You're my best friend, Cloe. I would never leave because of you."
"So why can't we talk?" Cloe inquired.
"Because you're also good friends with Malfoy, the one I don't want to find me," Harry replied.
There was a long silence. "Malfoy?!" Cloe exclaimed skeptically. "What happened to Draco?! Harry, what the hell is going on?!"
"Don't call me that!" Harry growled, frustrated.
"Oh, sorry, Michael," she spat wildly.
"Wrong again," Harry muttered, closing his eyes.
"Who are you now?!" Cloe shouted. "John? Stan? Albert?"
"Cloe... I have to go," Harry whispered.
"But—"
"Just do me a favor, okay?" Harry asked hopefully. "Tell Draco I said goodbye.
"My god." Draco closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
"I know, it's horrible," Cloe sighed.
"This is all my fault! I'm such an idiot."
"Yes, you are," Cloe mumbled, adjusting her sunglasses.
Draco rolled over in the sand, so he was laying on his back. "How did this all happen? Harry's not even supposed to be here! He should be back in England!"
"But isn't there nothing left?" Cloe asked curiously. "I mean, didn't they destroy it all?"
Draco shook his head. "Just because they destroyed Hogwarts, doesn't mean everything else is gone."
Cloe let her head fall back and hit the sand.
"I feel like such a jerk. I'm laying here, getting a nice tan, when I should be out there looking for Harry!"
"Believe me, Draco, he made it pretty damn clear that he doesn't want to see you again," Cloe told him.
"If you're trying to help, stop, because it isn't bloody working."
"Fine," Cloe sighed, standing slowly. "Come on. Let's go find your long lost love."
Draco glared at her, but made no comment as he stood up.
"Hey, Clover!" someone shouted from the water. "Haven't seen you around here for a while!"
Cloe turned around and rolled her eyes. "What the hell do you want, Bret?" she shouted back.
"The waves are pretty big out there! Wanna make me look good?" he asked, running up to where they stood on the beach.
"Shut up. I can still kick your ass on the waves, beachboy," she retorted.
"If you say so."
Bret had a tall, muscular figure, hazel eyes and dirty blond hair, which was cut two inches long and spiked. His skin was a perfect golden brown. His ears were pierced, he wore light blue, baggy shorts, and had a cast on his right wrist.
"Oh, what happened to you?" Cloe asked in mock-concern as she raised his wrist. "Get in a fight with your hair drier again?"
Bret glared at her. Then his eyes wandered over to Draco. "Who's this? Your new boy toy?"
Cloe chuckled. "If you must know, he's my best friend's boy toy."
"Cloe!" Draco shouted.
"Come on, we have to find Harry," Cloe smirked as she jogged to her car.
Draco followed her reluctantly. "That was cruel. I'm not Harry's boy toy, I told you I don't like him like that!"
"Chill, I was just joking," Cloe smiled as she climbed into her car. "Bret's so stoned he won't remember tomorrow anyway."
"Who is he, anyway?" Draco asked as he pulled his shirt on.
"My ex."
"Todd, I'm tellin' ya, there's no record of either a Michael Smith or a Zerek Cunningham that match your description. I even checked in the muggle archives, no one under either names in England."
Todd sighed. "Are you sure? There has to be, he can't have just appeared out of nowhere."
"I can run the searches again if you want, but I'm pretty sure you're on a ghost hunt."
"Thanks, Everett. You don't have to do that, you've done enough for me already."
"Yeah, well, you owe me. Bye."
"Bye." Todd clicked the off button on his cell phone and growled slightly. Michael – Zerek – whatever his name was, was obviously keeping something from them. Something big. Who would lie about who they were to their friends?
He climbed out of his car and stared up at the Hilton Hotel. He preyed Michael wasn't staying there – it could take him hours, even days to check all the rooms – assuming the management wouldn't help him out, that is. He opened the car trunk and took out a fairly large, empty box, which was tightly wrapped in tape. He pulled a nametag from his pocket and clipped it to his shirt. Then he ran across the road and pulled the hotel's front door open.
"Excuse me," he said politely to the thin blond woman at the front desk. "I have a delivery for a Zerek Cunningham. I was told he's staying here?"
"Let me check," the woman smiled, somewhat coldly. Shy typed something into the computer, then nodded. "Yes, he is. If you leave the package here we'll be sure to get it to him."
"Well, my boss told me to deliver the package personally," Todd said, giving her a charming smile. "She would be rather upset if I didn't follow her orders correctly."
The woman gave Todd a peculiar look, then sighed. "Alright. It would be nice if you didn't mention this to anyone – we aren't supposed to give any information away about our visitors – but he's in room 409.
"Thanks," Todd grinned, half-jogging towards a long hall. As soon as he was out of sight of the front desk, he tossed the box into the garbage can next to the closest hotel room and slipped the nametag back into his pocket, then sprinted towards the elevators.
A/N: Woot!!!! I am having SOOOOO much fun writing this!!!! Really! I haven't had this much fun since... I wrote the tenth chapter. Yesh, I wrote the tenth chapter before the ninth, something I've never done before, but it helped me get out of my writer's block. I should do that more often.... So I'll have the tenth chapter up pretty damn soon, so look out for it.
So how is the story without the lyrics? Do you think I should put them back in? I don't know, it's up to you guys. But if no one comments THEN I'M KEEPING THEM OUT!!!!
Alright, bye-bye, I have to go start writing some more for All I've Got, if I can manage it. sigh too tough......
TTFN, Deathdragon4