If there was one thing that never fails to trigger Cho's anger, it was being taken for granted. Apparently, that was what Draco just did.

She had done everything for him wholeheartedly. It was not for the sake of being civil. She offered him not just an empty room, but her home. She had prepared almost every meal. She bought him clothes and as much as she hated to admit it to herself, it seems that she cared for him.

So much.

She wanted to protect him even more since the terrifying dream she just had. All she wanted to do was to reach out to him despite the reputation the silver-haired boy had. She had heard stories about him in the past and everytime Marietta Edgecomb would come running to the Ravenclaw table bearing rumors on the sinister brat, her interest in him only grew.

It wasn't as if she liked him in that way but there was just something about Draco that drew her to him. There was just too much mystery behind his pale face and deep grey eyes.

Who would have thought that years later, by some weird twist o fate, would she be capable of unlocking some of the many secrets Draco kept to himself?

That he was so weak? So vulnerable?

And more importantly, that she was capable of changing him, of (as he said days ago) saving him?

"But he said he didn't need me", she thought to herself.

Tears were streaming down Cho's porcelain face.

Why did he have to shut her out? Why now? After everything that they had shared and after everything that almost happened between them?

Cho looked at her hands. One of which just slapped the man she had just confessed her feelings to.

"He deserved to be slapped. It's his turn to get hurt this time around"

She was sick of it all.

She hated him.

She hated herself.

She hated feeling something for him despite the anger which continues to boil inside her.

"Fuck you Draco Malfoy!" she shouted, not caring if she heard him or not. "Fuck you! Go to fuckin' hell!"

She let out all her emotions and later on started to punch the wall which separated her from him, not paying heed to the blood trickling from her wounds.

Draco was lying.

Draco was guilty.

Draco was guilty for having lied to Cho. What he just told her was the complete opposite of how he really felt.

"Stop being so protective! Sto..stop acting like my mother!

"I am not trying to be your—"

"I DON'T NEED YOU!"

These words brought Cho to tears. But she still struggled to defend her side despite the pain and the tears

"Yes you do need me! You have no other place to go to! I'm here to protect you"

"Well, here's the scoop, Cho! You don't have to do that! Know why? Because I don't want you to, anymore! I don't want you killed! I don't want you to risk your life!"

"Stop being so protective! Sto..stop acting like my mother!

"I am not trying to be your—"

"I DON'T NEED YOU!"

These words brought Cho to tears. But she still struggled to defend her side despite the pain and the tears

"Yes you do need me! You have no other place to go to! I'm here to protect you"

"Well, here's the scoop, Cho! You don't have to do that! Know why? Because I don't want you to, anymore! I don't want you killed! I don't want you to risk your life!"

He looked back to the argument that just sparked between them.

"I fucked up big time", he thought to himself "and it seems like the end of the line".

Draco breathed out a heavy sigh and plopped himself on the couch. He wanted to cry, shed tears and bring out all the pain inside.

Of course he needed her. He wanted to be with her. No wait, he wanted her, but he just had to let his arrogance get in the way. Arrogance was a Malfoy thing and at that very moment, he hated the fact that he was one.

As he ran his fingers through his silvery blonde hair, he remembered the slap Cho had just given him. It was full of force and so full of anger and Draco knew he deserved it.

"In fact, I deserve more than just a slap"

And most definitely, she did not deserve Cho. He was not worth her time, her effort and her love. He was not worth her tears.

Maybe he should leave, but then again, where would he go? He wasn't so safe anymore after what happened on the subway.

"As much as she hates me, I think dying would hurt her even more" and Draco knew that he could not afford to see Cho suffer some more.

"What's left for me to do?", he asked himself. He knew the answer to his own question.

Draco buried his face in his hands and started to cry his eyes out. As he cried and softly cursed himself for being the insensitive prat that he is, there was suddenly a series of loud bangs from the wall which separated him from her.

The banging continued and he knew it came from Cho's room.

"What in the world could she be doing?"

Then she could hear faint screams and this did not seem to be good. He quickly stood up and ran to her room only to see the door closed. He turned the door knob.

Locked.

He started calling out for her.

"Cho! Cho!"

More screaming. More banging.

"Cho! Open up! Unlock the door!"

She was shouting something which he could not understand but the door remained locked

"Cho! Answer me! Please! I beg you!"

Then Draco started banging on the door.

Later that evening, () and () were conversing over hot lattes at a coffee shop two blocks away from the subway station.

If they weren't conversing in hushed tones, they would be less suspicious and look more like a couple simply enjoying each other's company in a humble coffee beanery.

A barista, a manager and a cashier were working there for the night and they had been talking about the two strange and gothic looking people seated at the table at the far-end corner of the place.

"Hey dude, check out those two freaks at the corner?", the barista mentioned to the cashier.

"Not too loud, they'll hear you! I've been observing them, too. What's up with those cloaks, man?" the cashier replied.

"Two geeks walking around pretending to be Sith Lords, perhaps?", the manager interfered their conversation. "You two should be doing more of what you should be doing instead of looking and picking on people"

"Sorry sir", the barista and cashier said in unison. The two once again threw glances at () and () only to see them glaring in the most evil way. The barista and the cashier quickly looked away, not minding the goosebumps the two supposed freaks had just given them.

Pansy noticed the two muggles looking at them with curiosity and suddenly, she had an idea.

"Hey (), I think I know how we can get Draco again", she said

"How? Got a plan?"

"Yeah. We're going to help him get a job", Pansy said with much confidence. "Come closer so I can tell you"

"This better be good Parkinson", () remarked

"Oh, it is just so damn good"