Disclaimer- Obviously I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters, though it would be nice to!
Song lyrics: "Be My Escape" by Relient K.
The lyrics were a bit lengthy, so I chopped a few pieces (chorus parts).
Deceiving Appearances: Chapter 5 Rubber Ducky
I've given up on giving up slowly
I'm blending in so you won't even know me
Apart from this whole world that shares my fate
This one last bullet you mention
It's my one last shot at redemption
'Cause I know to live you must give your life away
And I've been housing all this doubt
And insecurity
And I've been locked inside that house
All the while you hold the key
And I've been dying to get out
And that might be the death of me
And even though there's no way of knowing
Where to go
I promise I'm going because…
I gotta get out of here
I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake
I gotta get out of here
And I'm begging you, I'm begging you, I'm begging you to be my escape
Cho opened her mouth slightly, staring up into the sky with forlorn eyes. She dropped down onto the brown, soggy, earthy ground, her wand lying beside her, neglected. Memories of events that happened before in the rain came rushing back; memories of what happened the night before clouded her mind, creating a pounding rush in her mind.
Her head titled to the side, her eyes closed, her face painted into an expression of sorrow and discomfort. She clutched her arms slightly for warmth, sitting on the ground, trying to sort out her thoughts.
Shaking her head slowly, she let go of her arms to hold her head.
"I…don't know anymore…I…I just need to get out of here…" Cho managed to whisper, before attempting to stand up again. She misjudged her strength, forgetting how fatigued and tired she was she started to sway slightly. Cho closed her eyes again, trying to regain her balance as she let out a deep breath.
Cho treaded to a nearby tree, forgetting the cold rain that seeped through her clothes into her skin, forgetting that she left her wand sitting on the ground, forgetting that she was tired, forgetting everything she could, having no intention of returning to her room today.
The tree was tall, large, broad, and only one leaf was left around inspecting the tree. It was a darkened brown from being drenched in rain, the bark letting out loose dirt and sap. She ran her hand lightly around the bark in front of her, soiling her hands with dirt and mossy growth.
Cho walked around it completely, then, finding a good indention to place her foot, hauled herself up to the first branch. She held onto a branch above her, maneuvering herself so that her feet could find another foothold from another branch near the upper branch she was holding onto.
On and on it went, until Cho finally looked down, seeing a branch snap and fall freely down the tree, a steep fall from where she stood. The branches below her created a complex web of thick and thin threads into an intricate design of their own all around the base of the tree. She admired this with interest and fear, fingering her hair thoughtfully, and looking back up the tree, holding the branches from either side.
Her breath was raspy and shallow; she let out a couple of coughs, ignoring the fact that she was getting sicker than she thought. Cho placed the back of her left hand to her cheek, feeling the dead cold reciprocating back to it. She closed her eyes for a second, putting the same hand against the other cheek, feeling that it was as frigid and lifeless as the other.
She examined her hands for a couple seconds, noting that they were soaked and plump from climbing, reddened, dirty, and there were a few scrapes here and there. A cold burst of wind swept through her, and she felt a cold chill run up her spine. The small uniform she wore provided no protection against nature. Her skirt danced freely with the wind, her blouse stirring restlessly.
"Escape…" The word rolled off her tongue, picked up by the wind and carried off into the deep, silvery sky.
She plopped down on the branch she was on, feeling dizzy again. She leaned her head against the branches, and finding a comfortable position, she stared out tiredly, her breath still shallow, but slowing down. Then she closed her eyes with reluctance, seeing black, unaware that she had fallen asleep. The rain continued to pour down, her wand lying a few feet away, drowning in pools of mud, and a reflection of grays in the sky.
Draco paced around the floor of the manor, in the exact same room Cho left him in an hour before. His hand was running through his hair with aggravation, and his jaw was clenched in frustration. His eyebrows were knitted together in deep contemplation, a scowl outlining his features.
"Why does she always do that?" He yelled bitterly at nothing in particular.
His bangs were strewn across his face freely, his eyes a burning silver. He was glaring at the wall with such intensity, that if he could glare with anymore vehement, the wall would disintegrate under the gaze. He crossed his arms, looking downward, biting the inside of his cheek.
"And she calls me the prat…" Draco mumbled under his breath.
He threw his hands into the air, sitting down in a nearby chair, leaning his arms on his spread legs, watching the marble floors with disgust. He finally looked up at the wall, talking to no one in particular. "It's my fault, isn't it?" He spat, heaving a deep sigh, and clenching and unclenching his jaw.
He got up, heading over to his long trench coat, but then stopped. "Malfoys don't apologize," he mumbled. He eyed the wall, then looked back to the trench, then trice again. He licked his lips, exhaling softly. He gave the trench coat one last look before mumbling, "Fucking shite to bloody hell," and grabbing the coat, headed for Cho's apartment, thankful that he had her address with her other information when she applied.
He started at a brisk walk, replaying different situations and dialogs, trying to find a suitable apology that he could possibly say to her, anything to make her see his sincere regret. He gulped nervously, shoving his hands into the long beige pockets of his coat, his hair and coat equally wet from the rain. He gulped again, clenching his fists, realizing that he was already at his destination, unprepared.
He eyed the apartment, looking up the windows of each floor, and the small balconies for each one. Taking one step, he noticed something weird under his foot, and in looking down, he lifted his foot, bending down to inspect the object or thing.
He picked up a muddy wand.
His eyebrows flew up in surprise and bewilderment. He immediately recognized it as a certain Asian's wand. He looked around desperately, his eyes searching in haste until they rested upon a figure sleeping in a rather large tree.
"Bloody hell." He whispered hoarsely, examining the height of the tree compared to the branch Cho was sleeping on, which was nearly the top.
"How did she manage that?" He asked, giving the tree an odd look of bewilderment.
He ran to it, inspecting it as Cho did, looking for a place for his feet. He kept his eyes up, checking on Cho while he climbed as fast as he could, earning a couple of scratches and cuts on his hands, as well as sap. Once he got up to her, he shed his coat, wrapping her body in it snugly, then took out his wand, holding her to him and apparating them to the inside of Cho's apartment.
Once inside, he placed her gently on the couch, running around in circles to find blankets and towels, and using warming spells on her. Gulping, he looked at her drenched clothes, slightly flushing when he started to unbutton her shirt, trying to keep his thoughts straight. He gulped again when he finished undressing her completely, then immersed her with blankets.
Draco scratched his head, sighing and grabbing a chair to sit in. He sat backwards, leaning his arms on the back of the chair, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep on his arms, facing the couch, utterly exhausted from the whole drama.
"I just hope she won't kill me when she wakes up…" Draco mumbled to himself.
When Cho awoke, she felt stiff, sore, her throat felt blotchy, and she felt really sick. Cho rubbed her eyes carefully, sitting up slowly from her aching muscles. Something was odd about it all, but she just couldn't place her finger on it.
Cho rubbed her head gently, pulling the blankets slightly from her, and then she let out a loud gasp, a soft whimper, and a slight scream. She was absolutely naked from underneath the sheets, not exactly recalling how. She remembered being outside in the pouring rain, climbing the tree, and sleeping in the tree (something she slightly regretted). Horrified, she looked around quickly, her eyes resting on Draco's sleeping form, and immediately, she relaxed.
Taking up the covers, she got up, still slightly wobbly, and reached over to the innocently sleeping blonde, pushing his hair away from his face, planting a tender kiss on his head, and stroking his head lightly…until his hand grabbed her wrist. She looked down at him, waiting for him to let go.
"I was about to take a shower…" She started off, hoping he would get the hint and let go.
He stretched, rubbing his tired eyes with the back of his hand, still holding onto her wrist and smirking. "Perfect. Can I join you?" His smooth, seductive tone emitted laughing, from Cho, who, in turn, shook her head.
"Do you ever give up?" She asked with exasperation.
He grinned, "If I did, I'd never get a shag, now, would I?"
She slapped her forehead, "Is that all you ever think about? Honestly…with all your hormones it's amazing that you haven't gone after guys yet…" She mumbled the last bit, shaking her head with vigor, wondering why she was beginning to sound like Hermione trying to deal with Ron.
He didn't hear the last part, and looked up at the ceiling, eyeing down the wall until he finally looked back to her. "Well, you know, we could always talk about alcohol…or purebloods…or how Slytherin is better than all the other houses…"
She blinked at him. "Never mind." She enunciated, turning to leave again before he stopped her.
"Oh, come on, Cho! It's the least you could do to repay me for saving you." He arched his eyebrows and then winked at her, "After all, it's not like there isn't anything I haven't seen…" His smirk grew wider as he gave her a once-over, causing her to turn around forcefully, only to be pushed up against him anyway.
"Malfoy…" She put a slight edge into her warning tone, crossing he arms instinctively, and becoming rigid.
His fingers traced patterns across the front of her above the blanket as well as her neck.
She shook him off, and he backed slowly, forming a hidden smirk behind her back.
"Ouch…rejected…" He held a seductive and hurt tone, continuing to step a couple of feet away to make it sound like he left the room.
Once she thought he was gone, she lost her rigid posture, her shoulders sinking. She exhaled in relief, holding her head in one of her hands, and holding up the blanket with the other.
"Oh, what am I going to do with you?" She whispered softly to herself.
He crept silently back up to her, holding her arms with her hands, breathing into her ear, "Anything you want to."
Aware once again of his presence, she attempted to resist, trying to pull free, but he held a slightly firmer grip. He caressed her skin with his feather-light fingers, one hand across her stomach, while the other put her in a daze, stroking and tracing over magically around her neck. She let her arms go limp by her sides and surrendered while her eyes closed in response, the back of her head tilted against his chest.
Her breathing aroused in a quicker pace. He blew softly at her neck, whispering unintelligible things, the passion of it all causing Cho to exhale with delectation. His mouth began to massage her neck, while leaving heated kisses and sucking on her shoulders, all of it causing Cho to go into a dream-like state, breathing deeply, letting herself being swept into the intensity.
"We can't do this…we should stop…" Cho was losing control quickly, inhaling deeply, trying to regain her thoughts that were fluttering away like saw dust with each of his touches.
She felt the warmth from him dissipate as he pulled away. She turned to face him, and a sly grin graced his features. "You can't tell me you don't want a piece of this," He held an arrogant, but leering posture, provoking her to try and deny it.
She scoffed loudly, gulping to herself, and turning around with haste, unwilling to let him win. She dismissed him completely with her hand, and he caught it, grasping her hand with his, draping it around her waist area intimately while the other was higher up, leaving her hand there, outlining her features, his hair tickling the side of her face, his head buried in her neck.
Her eyes forced themselves open as a cough resonated through her body. She felt him stiffen, letting go of her immediately to rummage through her cupboards.
She instantaneously brought her hand up to her head, feeling the temperature as a bit warmer than usual. She shook her head at the clutter sounds of pots and pans that Draco was causing.
"It's quite alright, you know. You don't have to look for it…I could just find it myself," Cho said weakly, earning complete ignorance and a disbelieving look from Draco.
She watched him for a couple more seconds before cheerfully adding, "Well, good luck, then!" She started towards the bathroom when a tap from behind and a hurried, "Wait!" followed suit. She hindered her walking, waiting for him to proceed. He began to stride in front of her, a smirk forming.
"Where do you think you're going?" He questioned, blocking the bathroom door securely.
Cho raised her eyebrows, "To take a shower, maybe…?"
"And you weren't going to wait on me?" Draco dramatically faked an appalled expression, earning a grin from Cho.
"Of course not! Now move out of the way," Cho crossed her arms in agitation when he didn't.
"Have you forgotten my plan of ravishing you in the shower passionately while-"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Cho interrupted, lifting her hands up. "Why do I not remember this plan?"
His smirk grew wider, "Why, Cho! I can't believe you would forget! Remember? We had this conversation before about how you needed a good shag…" Draco finished off, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, drawing out a hot flush from Cho.
"That conversation was years ago!" Cho huffed indignantly, eyeing him with contempt, as he mischievously leaned closer to her ear.
"Come on, you know you want to…" He pleaded, earning a smack on the arm.
"Here, how about this, I'll get in the shower with you, if you…" She leaned in closer to him, whispering her idea.
He gulped a couple of times. "A song, eh? Well, I guess I could…" He eyed her again suspiciously, wondering what exactly he would be getting into.
"Do I have to do this?" He whined, pleading for escape. She shook her head, "Unless you don't want me to get in the shower with you…" He shook his head in response.
Gulping again, he grimaced, rubbing his temples in thought and inhaled slowly, clearing his throat. Holding up a rubber duck, he looked at it with utter disgust as rolled his eyes as he proceeded to squeeze it.
"Rubber Ducky, you're the one, you make bath-time lots of fun…" He jumped around idiotically, pretending to dance with the yellow duck, holding it tightly to his chest. He looked to her again for mercy, receiving absolutely none.
Cho was enjoying this to the maximum.
"Sing with more feeling to it!" Cho managed to say. He glared, crossing his arms and giving her an 'Are you bloody mad?' look.
She decided to drop the subject.
"Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you. Rubber Ducky, you're so fine, and I'm lucky that you're mine. Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you." He managed to choke the last part out through grinding teeth with Cho unable to hold it in, pretty much dying on the floor from laughing. It to was too hilariously funny to hold it in, causing Cho to choke after not being able to breathe for quite a while.
He threw the bright, yellow, rubber duck carelessly somewhere, rubbing his temples again in embarrassment, all the while shaking his head.
"That was a cruel, and unusual punishment, mind you. I bet you used to torture your plastic dolls and pop their heads off when you were a child…" He muttered. The only response he got was continuous laughter.
She let out a few more coughs by accident, Draco eyeing her suspiciously.
"Are you sure-" He began.
"I'll be fine," She waved him off unworried, Draco shrugged slightly and let her lead the way into the bathroom. She skipped into the tub, with a flying ease, then sat down, waiting.
"Oh, ho! So you're waiting for me to take your clothes off…is that right?" Draco winked smugly at her as she rolled her eyes.
"No, and I suggest that you'd not take your clothes off, either."
"Wha…?" He looked at her oddly for a second before it dawned on him.
"But…but…Cho! That's not fair…"
She smiled broadly. "Who said it wasn't fair? I said I'd go into the shower with you, I never said I'd take my clothes off."
He sighed in defeat, stepping into the shower with all his clothes on. "This wasn't exactly what I was thinking of when I was picturing you and I taking a shower…" He grumbled.
"What were you planning?" Cho asked cautiously.
"I was picturing us being more…"
She motioned with her hands, and gave him a look to tell him to continue.
He eyed her for a few seconds, before saying boldly and plainly, "Naked."
Cho blinked back at his candid statement, blushing slightly.
"I think this is perfectly fine!" She grinned mischievously, Draco eyeing her weirdly in return. She turned on the cold water and the hot water quickly, spurting bunches of water onto Draco's whole backside, causing him to yelp loudly in surprise.
"Ach! I'm all wet now!" He quickly got out of the shower, flinging his soggy shirt off and shaking off the water from himself.
"Well, you know, that is the point of a shower…" Cho laughed at the sight of Draco, who looked like a wet, grumpy, dog.
He glared, wringing out his shirt while the water continued to run down. Cho sat down after turning on the water, bringing her knees to her chest, and leaning her head thoughtfully as she coughed a couple of times more. Her throat felt like it was starting to close up. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea…
She felt slightly dizzy, not understanding why. She attempted to look straight ahead, her vision failing horribly as everything looked like it was moving. Her world spun hastily…and everything became a big, messy, blurry, blob. She blinked a couple of times, the background noises canceling out everything else except for the sound of Draco's concerned voice. She saw his blob in front of her, and she made out his face by the worried expression written on it.
She could hear the beating of the steady water, reminding her of the rain, her thoughts drifting off slowly as the feeling of nothingness began to seep through her body, darkness filling her, and her sight fogging into black.
I've given up on doing this alone now
Guess I failed and I'm ready to be shown out
You told me the way and now I'm trying to get there
And this life sentence that I'm serving
I admit that I'm every bit deserving
But the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair
I gotta get out of here
'Cause I'm afraid that this complacency is something I can't shake
I gotta get out of here
And I'm begging you, I'm begging you, I'm begging you to be my escape
I am a hostage to my own humanity
Self-detained and forced to live in this mess I've made
And all I'm asking is for you to do what you can with me
But I can't ask you to give what you already gave
I fought you for so long
I should have let you in
Oh how we regret those things we do
And all I was trying to do was save my own skin
But so were you
So were you
shygirl101- …you found my fanfic too! Jeez, I'm going to need to start keeping my mouth shut at school or you guys will go on fanfiction and search me! XD Lol! Anyhow, you know how you said I wouldn't find out your fanfiction pen name? Hmmm, well, that little "hint" you gave me when you said almost the exact same thing to me in your review helped out a lot! ;D I discovered you! XD Anyway, thank you for the two reviews! XD …And if you're not who I think you are…then forget I said anything, and I apologize for confusing you…but thank you bunches for your review:D
Laura- that asian gurl of urs- ZOMG! LOL! You read my horrible fanfic:feels embarrassed: I still can't believe you looked me up in fanfiction dot net just to read fanfiction! This is what you call extremely bored! Thank you for your review, though! Oh no! I'm gonna get punked:cry: Lol! You person, you!
AutumnKate- :D Thank you for your review! You're one of the few people I know that can wait for a chapter patiently! Kudos to you! I'm a very impatient person. XD Anyway, it was a treat to get your review! Thank you again!
StormwolfX3- YUSH! I UPDATED! XD W000t! Anyway, yes, I think we have a little bit of an ADD problem…can't you tell? XD Do you like Starbucks coffee, by any chance? Their coffee is SO good. :D I like Chex mix. XD I don't know where that came from. Anyway, thank you so much for your review:D Sugar rushes are fun…because you have the ability to bounce on walls, if you get hyper enough. :D Also, I apologize for making you wait so long for this update! XD I'm bad at procrastinating…heh heh?
Cho-Wood- Thank you so much for your review! I think some of it got cut off maybe? I can only see the word "I" so I don't know. Anyway, thank you for your review! XD
swellkisses- Lol! Thank you for your review! I tend to skip out on homework to read fanfiction, too! XD Anyway, watch out for the next chapter!
YUSH! The fifth chapter is done:dances around: Oh, and so far, there haven't been any projects put upon me recently, so hopefully I can update longer chapters in a shorter amount of time, or something.
Oh! And my birthday's on the 25th of this month! (Uhm…I mean, of February…as you can see, I've finished this chapter a while ago, but I didn't update it until today because I ish vwerry vwerry sick…and I feel all poofie…:C) YAY:D :hands out party favors and cake to all her readers/reviewers: Thank you so much for all your support! I lurve you guys:D
Onto the sixth chapter!