Unmatched Hatred

Chapter 23

Well, to start off, it was immensely awkward between us two. Nobody said anything, but I could sense he did not want to be with me as much as I did not want to be with him. The song of birds and the wisping sound of the gentle breeze sounded throughout the surroundings, but even those background noises could not replace the long and awkward silence that still stood between the presence of me and my enemy.

"The weather is nice, isn't it?" I suddenly asked.

Something about the silence was unsettling, though, as I reconsidered my actions, it probably should have stayed quiet.

"Perhaps," he answered, his thoughts too busy to even think about carrying on a conversation.

A pause so short yet so long lingered between us, until that pause turned into a lengthy and quiet moment with time. I could not think of much to say.

"How are you feeling?"

This time, Malfoy said nothing and gazed around as if he were convincing himself he was hearing things.

"So, are we just going to ignore each other for the entire time?" I asked rather irritated.

"Unless you know of something better we could do," he answered with an annoyed sigh.

"Maybe we could at least have a friendly conversation?"

"You want to talk to me?"

"Well, we are going to be out here for a while thanks to Narcissa. We might as well do each other a favor and occupy our minds that way."

"We're talking right now. How much of a favor is this really doing us?"

"It's just passing the time, that's all."

"You can't pass time. You can't add to it or steal it away. Time will always continue at its normal speed."

"You know what I mean."

"Well, as much as I am enjoying our time together," Malfoy announced in a not-so-excited tone of voice, "Why don't we just walk the rest of the way in silence and pretend we were having a good ole jolly time when we return to our rooms."

"Pretend," I whispered to myself with a thought.

"Excuse me?"

I halted in my path.

"Why do we have to pretend? Why does it have to be this way?" I realized how stupid I sounded.

"What are you talking about?"

It has been about six months since the incident in the Astronomy Tower with Malfoy happened. Six months since the rejection. I suppose I should have known he would be this way just by the way he reacted when Harry rejected his handshake on the first day of school. However, holding a grudge this long can't be healthy. Something needs to be done. We do finally need to settle this.

"Are we just going to keep hating each other, or are we going to settle this like the matured teenagers we are?"

I hated being like this, but everything in me was tired of this. My hands were visibly shaking, though I don't think he cared to notice. Six months. Six months I have been holding this in. I tried to forget Malfoy. I tried to forget I was ever associated with him. Yet, somehow, I have too many memories with him that just cannot be erased. It might be much easier to forget him if I did not live with him, but I know he can't hold a grudge against me forever.

Well, maybe he can, but I don't wish it.

"I'm not doing this," he demanded unkindly.

"I've done nothing to you."