Disclaimer: I own nothing. Though, Moony and Padfoot were helping me write this :D
A/N: WARNING! Sexual Situations! Don't like, don't read!
Bear with Scorpius in this one… though it lacks the usual fluff of my fics, I think this one is still good… not to be conceited :D This is chapter 1 of 2.
On with the story!
Rose Weasley was the type of girl who would be very popular if she ever came out of the library. She was very pretty, with short, springy, trademark Weasley red hair, sparkly amber brown eyes, and pale, clear skin. She was small and slender, but had a nice, healthy shape, to which many boys took notice. She was very friendly and personable when she wasn't studying. She took her school very seriously—too seriously, in many people's opinions—, but could be very laid back and funny when in the proper company. Rose was the type of girl who didn't expect, or even want flowers and chocolates from her boyfriend. She was very low-maintenance to any boys she dated, which made her all the more desirable.
Too bad she was taken.
Rose and Luna Lovegood's son, Lysander Scamander, had been dating steadily for nearly three years, since fourth year. Though they didn't have an extremely exciting relationship, they were comfortable and happy together. She watched him play Quidditch; they went to Hogsmeade together. They had an all-around healthy relationship.
Scorpius Malfoy saw right through that. Though the optimists insisted that they were going to get married straight out of Hogwarts, Scorpius knew that they weren't as perfect together as they made it seem. They didn't fight, and the couple didn't have huge issues with anything. And that was exactly the problem.
They were bored with each other.
There was nothing about their relationship that kept them together. They didn't really love each other, and there was nothing particularly interesting about Scamander for Rose to hold onto. He was okay-looking, polite, made decent marks, and was an average Quidditch Keeper. Overall, a common, dull person that was nothing compared to Scorpius Malfoy.
Scorpius was, and he knew quite well, extremely good-looking. There was absolutely nothing average-looking about him. He had aristocratic features: pale skin; high cheekbones; cold silver eyes lined with long, dark lashes; thick, but well-groomed brows; a straight, if a little pointy, nose; full, light pink lips that were usually pulled up in a sneer; a strong, sharp chin and jaw line. His hair was the type that is begged for at hairdressers: platinum silver-blond, straight, and almost shimmery in the light. It was rather unfair, the way he just ran his hand through it in the mornings, and it fell perfectly into place. The ends brushed his neck and the bottoms of his ears, and the front was pushed carelessly backwards, out of his face. His body was slender, with almost feminine lines, but he was strong, with no bulky muscles. He had long legs, long-fingered hands, and broad shoulders. All in all, any un-biased person would agree that he was the perfect specimen of male.
He resented this fact greatly.
He wasn't complaining about being good-looking at all, but he didn't like when people fawned over him, which was a lot. It annoyed him, the way they treated him differently just because he looked different. The world seemed like a very shallow, biased place when anyone looked hard enough.
There were stereotypes against him as soon as he was born. Another Malfoy boy. Sure to be a handsome boy, arrogant, and cold, but also a dark, evil wizard, right? By the time he was eleven, and headed off to Hogwarts, he knew society well enough to know how he was going to be seen when he got to the school.
So, he became exactly what they expected of him.
He wasn't dark, or evil, because he just didn't want to be. But he was very cold towards everyone, no matter who they were, when he first met them. He was sarcastic and biting and bluntly honest. Knowing of his good looks, he was also arrogant and cocky, and strutted rather than walked.
The only people who ever really took the time to look past his obvious front and get to know the real, warm, caring person underneath were fellow Seventh Year Slytherins, Albus Potter, Liam Zabini, and Rose Weasley.
The boys had a very good relationship. They were easily his best friends in the whole world: the two people he could trust with anything; the two people who knew him better than anyone.
Rose was a different story. She was the only girl who saw right through him. She still only saw the frosty, indifferent side of him, but she knew it was all fake, an act.
She was the only girl who'd ever gotten through to him. Though he dated several girls in his years, they'd only wanted him for his looks, or they wanted to change him. Rose didn't want to change him. She knew full well that he was too stubborn and self-centered to change anything about himself for someone else. But she still showed him warmth and compassion in a way no one else bothered.
Rose talked to him easily, as if he wasn't shooting her glares every few seconds. She slid in next to him and Al at the Slytherin table at dinner evenings when Scamander had Quidditch practice. When he was studying in the library—which was a lot, since he took his schoolwork very seriously, and received top marks in return for his hard work—, she took it upon herself to sit with him and compare notes. It was never anything exciting that they did, but still, in her presence, he found his façade dithering, and bits and pieces of his real self showing.
To her, he was a challenge.
To him, she was what lit up his day.
He was on his way to Charms when he recognized a certain sound from nearby.
He inwardly smiled at the sound of her laughter, and that's when he was sure that he was going crazy.
Regaining his composure, he half-sneaked, half-strutted his way to the sound. Though it was the middle of the day, between classes at that, the sound she was making was the most clear out of any of the buzz in the crowded hallway.
Then he spotted her. And he smiled outwardly this time.
From the angle he was standing, his head peeking around the wall he was leaning against behind the greenhouses, he could see her sitting on the lush, green grass outside, laughing. She was so beautiful, just sitting there, her thin legs outstretched in front of her. Her hair was shaking with her movements, and shining in the bright afternoon sun. Her half-closed eyes were still visibly luminous, even under the cover of her lids. Scorpius had a feeling that he knew who she was laughing with, but he didn't want to think about it.
He didn't have to think, though, because he saw him.
Lysander moved from wherever he was sitting before to kneeling in front of Rose. That was the first blow to Scorpius's chest. His small smile fell. She smiled at Scamander, with laughter still in her eyes, but Scorpius could see that there was obviously something missing. Scamander put his hand on her shoulder, leaned forward, and kissed her on the mouth.
Scorpius clenched his jaw together in raw agony and anger. Seeing Scamander put his hands on Rose made him want to hurt him… his hand instinctively reached for his wand.
But then, she pulled back. Lysander was ready to keep kissing, probably to kiss the daylights out of her, but she withdrew after only a small peck.
Scorpius's mood was lifted. There was nothing exciting about them. They were just two people who spent a lot of time together. With a new spring in his step, and a dread that he was going to have to witness them kissing again, he walked away from Rose, and continued on his path to Charms.
"Does anyone else feel like Lysander Scamander ought to be hexed, or is it just me?" Scorpius asked his two best friends, Liam Zabini and Albus Severus Potter, in the same chilling way as always.
His friends, used to it, took his words and not his tone to consideration as they laid across their respective beds in the dormitory that night before bed.
After a pause, "Just you, mate," Zabini responded with a knowing grin from across the room.
Scorpius glared at him, raising up on one elbow to look at his friends from his bed, the furthest on the right of the room.
"Scorpius, you only think that because you fancy Rose," Albus sighed, as if this was obvious. He was now attentively sitting up cross-legged on his bed.
Scorpius scoffed at his words, but couldn't help a warm feeling from erupting in the pit of his stomach as he thought of Rose.
"Weasley?" He asked, mock-incredulously. He raised a condescending eyebrow.
"You can try and fool us all you want, Scorpius, but I see the way you look at her… you look almost happy," Albus smirked.
Scorpius threw a pillow at him. "Bugger off,"
"You know, Scorpius, she is rather se—" Liam was cut off mid-word from a frozen glare from his best friends. "—ahem, nice-looking,"
"Watch it, Zabini," Scorpius warned, catching the pillow easily as Al threw it back. "I must agree though, she is… kind of pretty," A quick blush appeared on the oh-so-calm Scorpius Malfoy's cheeks.
Albus snorted. "'Kind of pretty'?" He raised a brow at his embarrassed friend.
"Yes, Potter, 'kind of pretty',"
"You've got it bad, Scorpius," Liam sighed, as if this was a great tragedy. The dark-skinned boy was still laying down on his bed, his hands behind his head in a casual way.
"Got what?" Scorpius snapped.
"Why, you're in love with Rose, of course,"
Scorpius's eyes widened considerably. "In-in love?" He choked.
"Yes. Head-over-heels. And with Al's cousin too!" Liam laughed. This was a side of Scorpius that they exclusively saw. A flustered, blushing version of the cynical, icy-cold boy.
"I am not in love with a Weasley!" Scorpius insisted, somewhat childishly crossing his arms over his chest.
"No, you're in love with Rose," The Slytherin Potter scolded his choice of words. "People are more than just their surnames, Malfoy,"
Scorpius felt guilt on his shoulders in the way that only Albus could make him feel. They, more than anyone, knew how it felt to be judged by a surname.
"Even still," He searched for a single thing that he didn't find appealing about the annoying, bossy redhead. He couldn't think of one. This realization brought more color to his face than had ever been there before.
"So?" Liam egged him on.
"So maybe I fancy her… just a tad." He mumbled.
Al snorted, but still accepted his friend's realization. This, to Scorpius, was the same as reciting a drawn out, romantic sonnet with the title of "Rose Weasley".
"What are you going to do about it?" He asked eagerly.
"Absolutely nothing,"
If looks could kill, Lysander Scamander would be half-digested by worms by the middle of Charms on Thursday.
Scorpius Malfoy, ever since he'd realized he was jealous of the dull Hufflepuff, had spent all the time trying to Killing Curse him nonverbally, to no avail.
And now he was talking about her! He spoke about her while two seats in front of Scorpius, the one who could probably curse him in more ways than he thought was humanly possible. Either he was really oblivious, or really stupid… they both boiled down to the same basic thing.
Idiocy radiated from the boy.
"Hey, do you want to go to Hogsmeade this weekend?" Lysander asked some other Hufflepuff.
"Aren't you supposed to be doing something with Rose this weekend?"
At the mention of her name, Scorpius only perked up even more, of course in the most dignified way a person could perk up while eavesdropping.
"She's been really boring lately, so I could use some time away," He tried to shrug nonchalantly. It seemed forced.
"Why, what's she doing?" Neither of the idiots could do their spell correctly. Scorpius whipped his wand expertly, doing the spell repeatedly while listening.
"Nothing, that's exactly it! We kiss, but that's it!" Scorpius could almost smell the sexual frustration coming off the boy. He smirked at his misery. "I mean, I've asked her to, er, you know, with me, and I've tried to, er, do the same with her, but she just won't let me! She always makes some kind of bloody excuse why we should wait… and I'm just sick of it! I think she expects me to love her or something, by now…I don't love her. I only want her, by now. If she doesn't let me do something by next week, I'm going to break it off."
By that point, Scorpius was gripping his wand so tightly that he thought the hawthorn was going to snap in two. Anyone who said that about Rose didn't deserve her in the slightest, whether emotionally or physically. The nerve of that boy… dating a girl for three years, but only wanting her physically… it was wrong.
"Mate, it just seems like you need a shag," His friend clapped him on the back good-naturedly.
"I need something… something that Rose obviously won't give me,"
Scorpius heard voices around the corner, and he smirked, and began walking towards the sound. Students out of bed at night… the highlight of his day.
He froze when he heard who it was.
"Rose, we need to talk," Scamander said. Scorpius didn't know whether to grin or frown. On one hand, Rose would be single. On the other, she would be extremely hurt. The thought of her hurting pained him.
"About what?" She asked, perfectly pleasant.
"Well, us,"
"What about us?" He could just picture her scooting closer to him, their hands clasped together. It made him sick, until he changed Scamander's image to himself. He smiled, but only slightly.
"We've been dating for a really long time," He began.
Scorpius held back a snort. This guy really didn't know how to break up with a girl properly.
"Three years in a month," There was a smile in her voice.
"Right, well, I think, and it may be just me, that we've… grown apart. We've lost our spark, Rose."
The sound of footsteps stopped.
"What are you saying?" There was sudden panic in her voice.
"What I'm saying is," He exhaled, "Is that maybe we need to see other people,"
"So we're breaking up," Rose said slowly.
Another exhale. "Yes,"
"All right, if that's what you think is best." She was unnaturally calm. From the sound of it, she began walking again.
"We can still be friends!"
She stopped again, and said sadly, "No we can't. Not really. Too much has happened between us for us really to be friends. Thank you, though, for making these years happy ones," She began walking again, and this time he didn't follow.
Scorpius felt horrible, stifling grief. The sound of her voice when she told him he made her happy just about ripped his heart out of his chest.
She rounded the corner, and looked completely natural. Only Scorpius, and a select few other people, would have noticed that the bounce in her step, along with the sparkle in her eye, was missing.
"Hello, Scorpius," She said, perfectly pleasantly. "What are you doing here?"
"Finishing my rounds," He said to his fellow Prefect, the usual cold tone in his voice suddenly half-hearted. He looked at her curiously, as if she was something on display. The fact that she wasn't crying, or even giving any indication that she was in pain, was amazing to him. The strength in her…
"I've just finished mine, if you want to walk with me," She smiled. It broke and warmed his heart all at once.
"All right," He didn't have the nerve to be sarcastic with her. He knew she had to be hurting.
On the way back to their respective common rooms, they stood a safe distance away from each other. Scorpius wanted to close that distance, and just hold her tight, and tell her that Scamander wasn't worth her. They talked about mundane things, like school, and Quidditch, but still, it was talking.
By the time he laid down in his plush, four-poster bed, Scorpius felt warmer than he had in a while.
Scorpius was reading over some of his notes, intently studying the Draught of Living Death, which he was sure Professor Slughorn said would be on the N.E.W.T.s, when there was a knock at the door.
"Yes?" he called, bored, in the direction of the door, not taking his eyes off the text in front of him.
"Hello Scorpius." Rose paused and bit her lip unsurely. "Have you seen Albus?"
"No." He said shortly, as coldly as always, his gaze never leaving the parchment. "Why?"
"Oh, nothing much, I just wanted to speak to him about something," She shuffled her weight on her feet, feeling awkward in her current position. This boy always elicited strange reactions from her. Some days, he could be cold as ice, with a razor-sharp tongue, and some days, despite his icy personality, he could seem like he actually cared about her.
"Got your little feelings hurt, Rosie?" His arrogant, biting tone caused her to wince. There was a condescending smirk on his face that expertly masked the fact that he was going crazy inside. His heart was beginning to stutter just by hearing her voice.
"Does it matter to you, Scorpius?" She sounded exhausted, not in the mood to fight. This was going to be one of their bad days, then.
"Well, I don't want you getting tears on my floor," He readjusted himself to where he was sitting straighter, more haughty, setting his notes down. He immediately regretted it. For, when he saw her face, his entire cover wavered. Seeing her made the ice in his chest melt instantly. The fiery color of her hair, so beautifully curly, her sparkling brown eyes…
Hang on… her usually-beautiful eyes were puffy and red… she'd been crying. Scorpius gritted his teeth.
"Whatever, Scorpius," She smiled halfheartedly, putting her hand back on the doorknob. She figured she would just find Albus herself.
"I'll listen, if that's what you need," He offered, his words sincere but his tone as tartly sardonic as always. Times like these were when he wished that he could take off his mask, and show her how he really felt… times like these were when he wished he knew how.
"Are you sure? It's pretty dumb…" She looked indecisive. Her stomach began squirming.
"It—" Scorpius couldn't say what he wanted to. It can't be dumb if it's hurting you. He didn't know how to get those words out of his mouth. "Just talk, Rose, I'll listen," He opted instead, the frost in his tone present, but less pronounced.
Tentatively, confused in the slightest bit, she walked over to his bed on the opposite side of the room. She suddenly got a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Scorpius tried to smile encouragingly. It came out as a smirk.
Rose still sat down at the edge of his four-poster bed, which was not meant to fit two people. They sat facing each other. Scorpius was still stiff against the headboard, with his long, slender legs were extended. Rose sat as casually as she could in the tense current situation, cross-legged, with her posture slightly slouched, and her hands folded neatly in her lap.
When she smiled unsurely at him, Scorpius's insides lit up with a fire.
"What ails you, love?" Love. A word that was so sincere in his thoughts, but one that she took as meaning "dumb-girl-who-is-interrupting-me". He called everyone 'love'. He only meant it with her.
"Well, Lysander broke up with me a week ago," She began, slightly shakily. This was the reason she had been crying, but it wasn't the reason for the twisting feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Why?" He was physically unable to keep his tone from being accusatory.
"He said we'd… 'lost our spark'." She repeated his words miserably. Hearing this from him made her feel useless and boring.
"I'm surprised you ever had a spark with someone like Scamander…" Another attempt at an honest, joking smile. Another sneer.
She smiled sadly and lowered her eyes. "I don't know… I guess I'm just having a hard time accepting it. I mean, he was my boyfriend for nearly three years." Shrugging, she felt fresh tears rising to her eyes.
"Well, it's not like you can change it," Scorpius slashed across her heart with those words. His heart suddenly plummeted. He couldn't do anything right…
After a brief stint of shock, she sighed, and was resigned to say, "I suppose you're right,"
"If you don't feel for someone, you just don't." He looked intently at Rose, hoping desperately that she would understand what he was trying to convey.
"He did, though, for over two years!" She looked up at Scorpius's face again, tears now breaking over the barriers of her lids and falling.
Scorpius's heart broke as the saltwater slid down her porcelain cheek.
He wanted to reach out and wipe the sorrow away. He didn't get a chance to, though, as she began speaking again.
"I mean, what could've possibly changed? I always did everything for him! We were happy! Maybe we didn't have an insanely passionate, romantic relationship, but we started dating when we were only fourteen!"
Scorpius knew the reason they broke up. He'd heard that bastard Scamander telling his friend about it… he could remember the conversation they'd openly had in Charms like it had just happened.
"… but she just won't let me! She always makes some kind of bloody excuse why we should wait… I don't love her, I only want her… if she doesn't let me do something by next week, I'm going to break it off."
Anyone who said that about Rose didn't deserve her in the slightest. He couldn't tell her that now, though. It would shred her already-broken heart.
"Scorpius?" She asked him, hesitant. He had been looking, rather angrily, into space for about a minute.
When he looked at her, breaking out of his revere, she expected a bone-chilling glare, as always. Instead, she received a look quite unlike any she'd ever seen him give: it was sympathy blended with anger, all overshadowed by a strange emotion she didn't recognize at all. It was almost warm, his usually freezing gaze.
"Are… you okay?" She asked, in the same tone as before. The look in his eyes worried her. It was opposite of what she usually saw from him.
"His problem was," He began, the regularly freezing, cutting Malfoy, for once, being careful, hesitant with his response. The unknown emotion burned even more steadfast in his mercury eyes, "He didn't love you,"
Rose looked appalled at his bluntness. "I know that much, thanks," She was suddenly livid for a reason she couldn't put her finger on.
He ignored her as he continued on, "Because, honestly, how could he?"
At this, Rose sprang up, more offended than she'd ever been. Turning away from him, she prepared to leave. Just as she was about to march away, she felt a hand grasp her forearm, gentle but firm, and she spun back around to face the rude prat Scorpius Malfoy.
What she saw surprised her even more than anything she'd seen. His features etched out of ice were suddenly warm, inviting. The odd expression in his eyes had multiplied tenfold. It filled her with warmth, the first warmth she'd felt in the last few weeks with Scamander. He was standing up now, and the way she looked up into his eyes felt comfortable.
Inside Scorpius, there was a war raging. Ignoring the opposing side, he cautiously pulled her in to him, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist, giving her room to pull away if she wanted to.
Part of him really wanted her to.
But she didn't. Though shocked, she raised her arms to return the embrace. As she twined her arms around his neck, laying her head down on his hard chest, his heart gave a jolt, and he gripped her waist more tightly.
"He couldn't love you, because he doesn't appreciate you. He doesn't see you right," He felt like a barrier had suddenly broken down inside him. All of his pent-up emotions came out like a flood breaking a dam.
Rose's breath hitched at the feeling of his lips close by, breathing words into her ear.
"He doesn't deserve you, because no one does," He paused, and his stomach fluttered in a strange way as he said his next words, "You're too good for everybody."
Tears sprang to Rose's eyes again, but for a completely different reason than before. She backed up from his chest, just to make sure that this was the same Scorpius Malfoy that she knew and (sometimes) loved.
The look in his eyes was incredible… indescribable. It made Rose's heart stop.
She wanted to ask him why he was looking at her like that, but words failed her. Her entire throat felt tight with emotion, some she recognized but would not acknowledge, and some brand new ones that felt intense and solid and made her heart feel like it was burning in the best way.
He raised his arm, and in the gentlest way he knew how, all of his senses suddenly zoned in to Rose. There was no bed behind them. There were no stone walls, and there was no door on the other side of the room. There was Rose, and only Rose. The redhead. The Weasley. His best friend's cousin. His father's rival's daughter. She was the only thing that mattered.
Scorpius's hand ran slowly through her hair.
Rose trembled under his touch.
Suddenly, he forgot everything. He forgot that she'd been crying. He forgot that Scamander had broken up with her. He forgot that he was Scorpius Malfoy, the cold-hearted Slytherin who cared about nothing and no one. The only thing he cared about was Rose Weasley. He wanted to be closer to Rose Weasley.
So he did what his heart screamed at him, a battle of thoughts behind his eyes. His hand still cradling her jaw line, he gently leaned her head up, so her face was closer, and more inviting than ever.
He happily ignored the roar of blood in his ears, and he leaned down slowly.
And he kissed her.
And, even though she was hurt over Scamander, even though this was Scorpius Malfoy, she kissed him back.
And it was exhilarating.
Every nerve in Rose's body was going crazy with emotion; she could do nothing but stand stock-still, her arms still in an embrace around his neck. She used this to her advantage once she regained feeling in her body.
His kisses were surprisingly gentle, and affectionate. He didn't want to hurt her, didn't want to demand anything from her. He only wanted to show her how much he loved her.
The need to breathe is what prompted him to pull away. As soon as he did, panic and shame fell like lead in him.
Rose's knees weakened, and she sank onto the bed. Her mind was blank with shock.
The only thing that seemed to make sense in Scorpius's mind was how amazing it felt to kiss her. Their lips fit together perfectly; his heart raced, and his hands shook; his mind was blank with happiness; everything felt right.
Still, he knew this was the only chance he had with her. The initial shock was over, and if she wanted to push him off and leave, she could.
So, thinking "now or never", he leaned down, almost doubled over because of her sitting on the bed, and put his hand on her cheek.
She looked at him, confusion evident in her chocolate brown eyes. Still, she didn't pull away from his touch. In fact, his hand felt warm on her skin.
His throat tight with nerves, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers again, gently.
After a few seconds of the unnervingly chaste kiss, Rose pulled back, causing Scorpius's heart to drop horribly.
He squeezed his eyes shut, and leaned his forehead against hers. Licking his lips nervously, he breathed, "I'll stop,"
His heart stopped when she fisted her hand in his shirt, and pulled him closer.
Taking this as an open invitation, infinitely more thrilled, he kneeled on the bed in front of her, and kissed her again, slowly, passionately, in the same mind-blowing, heart-stopping way he did.
He ran his hands through her hair, and relished the feeling of the silky, bouncy curls between his fingers.
One of her hands was still knotted in his shirt; the other was running down the front of his chest tantalizingly slowly. It sent tremors up and down his spine.
Another "now or never" flew through his shockingly vacant mind, and he shyly ran his tongue along her lower lip.
She gasped, but he waited until she gave him an actual invitation to act further.
Just as he was becoming disheartened, she tilted her head to the side, opening her mouth just slightly.
He groaned deep in his throat at the feel of his tongue gently caressing hers, and hers responding with his same tender enthusiasm.
They continued kissing in the same manner, slow and passionate and serious, for what seemed like forever. He was content with just this. He could go the rest of his life happily, just knowing that he kissed Rose Weasley.
Still, the noises and responses he was getting told him instinctively that she wanted more.
The way his hands touched her in the softest, most careful ways, the way she was getting drunk off his scent from laying down on his bed, the way he felt strong and dominant and gentle kneeling over top of her sent Rose's hormones and emotions into overdrive. Everything about this was wrong; everything about this felt right.
She was ready to go further than ever with this boy who she'd been sure, up until minutes ago, hated her. The fine line between hate and love had suddenly been erased, and all she felt from him was pure, unadulterated love.
He could sense that she wanted him. He still didn't want to hurt her; he wanted to make sure she was ready.
"Do you trust me?" Scorpius whispered huskily in her ear, causing her to shiver.
She only gasped and arched her back as his hands trailed lightly down her sides.
He pulled the curtain closed, and proceeded to show her exactly how someone should love her.
"Rose! Rose!" A quiet, but frantic, voice broke through Rose's exhausted sleep.
She groaned and rolled over, only to realize that her pillow was… a person?
The day's events came flooding back to her, and she jolted awake. Looking towards the voice, she saw Albus's huge bottle-green eyes staring at her.
"Bloody hell!" She said, and pulled the dark sheet over her shoulders for modesty.
"Rose, you need to get back to your common room, do you know what time it is?"
She only nodded shakily. Waving him away, she carefully got up and redressed. It felt strange, to do this, like it was something unnatural. The fabric of the uniform suddenly felt raw against her tender skin.
A failed attempt at calming her hair left her bustling out of the common room with Albus on her tail.
"See you tomorrow, Rosie!"
She only responded with a distant wave before nearly sprinting to the common room.
Scorpius gave a genuine smile as he woke up. He rolled over, his eyes still closed, to look at Rose, but his heart plummeted as he realized she wasn't there.
Sitting up, heart still in the process of breaking, he ran a hand through his hair.
"Albus," He said, loudly enough for his dorm-mate to hear him if he was there.
"Yeah?" Al asked from his bed beside Scorpius. The curtains were drawn on both boys' beds.
"Did… did you see Rose?"
Al was hesitant. "… Yeah,"
"Did she say anything?" There was pain in his voice. He knew Rose didn't love him in the same way he did her, but he didn't expect to wake up without her being there.
"I told her that she needed to go back to her common room, and she left," Albus realized how low this sounded. "Only because it was late, though,"
Scorpius groaned, and pressed his eyes into his palms. The fact that he was in more pain than ever didn't change the fact that this was the best day of his life.
"So… you guys…?" Albus had no sense of tact. It was one of his endearing qualities.
"Yeah, we did," Scorpius's voice was hardly more than a whisper. He smiled briefly, letting happiness overcome the pain, if only for just a second.
"Wow,"
"I know,"
"I don't want to know about it," Albus smiled.
"I don't want you to know about it," Scorpius copied his best friend, only his smile was wider.
"You really do like her…"
"I love her, Al. I don't know why, but I do,"
With that, both got comfortable on their beds and slept more deeply than ever before.
The only thing that Scorpius wanted for the next few days was to speak to Rose. This turned out to be quite a task, however, when she conveniently decided to avoid him.
On the contrary from the rare, shocking grins he sent her in class, the ones that caused her heart to skip a beat, and other students to faint in shock, he was progressively becoming more miserable when she refused to smile back, when she didn't want to be his Potions partner like usual, when she took different routes during rounds just to avoid him.
She felt awkward, he knew she would. But this was becoming ridiculous. All he wanted to do was speak to her, and she wouldn't even let him do that.
His mind, oh-so-deviously, began to form a plan.
"Rose!" She heard a voice call from inside an empty classroom.
Her stomach dropped at the sound. She'd been doing her best to avoid Scorpius Malfoy for the past week, a fact that bothered him greatly. Because, in all honesty, he really did love her.
She didn't have much of a choice now, though, as she could hardly pretend that she didn't hear him. The hallway outside her was completely empty, and he knew that she had this period free.
Closing her eyes, attempting to stifle tears, she looked into the classroom. "Yes?"
"Let's have a chat, love," The arrogance that was radiating off him as he sat atop the desk in the center of the classroom was amazing. He lounged as if he didn't have a care in the world, his back casually slouched as he crossed his arms over the chest Rose knew was toned and startlingly smooth. Little did she know the internal war that was waging inside of him. His heart was pounding, as it always was when he saw her, and his mind was racing with thoughts of what to say. Deep down, he desperately wished that he could abandon the annoyingly cocky façade again, and just show her who he really was, and how he really felt about her.
"Leave me alone, Malfoy," She snapped, and planned to keep walking down the hall.
The words hurt him in a way she would never understand. "Rose," was all he had to say to get her into the classroom. Maybe it was his tone, or the way he looked when he said it, or the way she felt when he said her name, but for some ungodly reason, she was pulled into the classroom.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked, sounding extremely tired.
"First and foremost, I want you." He said honestly, but she couldn't believe a word he said when he said it in the same arrogant tone as always, with the same overconfident look on his face as always.
"You're wasting my time,"
"Rose, I just want to talk. You've been avoiding me,"
"Bloody right I have!"
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to be Scorpius Malfoy's shiny new toy," Rose was too tired to even be angry.
This irritated him greatly. He concentrated greatly on a spell, and wordlessly flicked his wand to close and lock the door.
"Malfoy, just leave me alone," She groaned.
"Rose, I know you don't believe me but I lo—"
"Don't even start with that nonsense, Scorpius. We both know that you're only using me," The first shade of anger was showing in her voice as she cut him off.
His throat closed, and re-opened immediately. "Why would I lie?" He asked her, his tone dangerously calm.
"Because all you do is lie, and use people, Scorpius." Her eyes narrowed.
"I don't use people I care about," He gritted his teeth.
"My point exactly. You used me,"
He closed his eyes in frustration and in hurt. "You know I care about you, Rose,"
"I know you don't." She paused, as her throat thickened. "You want people. That's all,"
"You didn't seem to mind the other day," He snapped, immediately regretting it.
"I can't believe you," Her teeth were grinding on each other. "Alohamora," she pointed her wand at the doorknob. It didn't do anything. "Let me out."
"Not until we talk," With a lazy flick of his wand, he disarmed her, setting both wands down on the desk beside him.
"I can't believe you!" She gripped the doorknob so tightly that her knuckles were white.
"Why are you so afraid of letting this happen?" He yelled desperately at her, leaning forward on his palms.
"'This'?" She swung around, her hair slapping her across the face. "There is no 'this'! You took advantage of me, Scorpius! You knew I was hurting, and you made me do something that I obviously regret!"
Her words stung him in a place so deep he didn't even know how to react. "I don't," he could only breathe out.
"Yeah, well, you aren't the one who just lost your virginity to someone who doesn't care about you," She looked close to tears by now.
The sharp pain the words before this caused was nothing to the pain he felt now at the accusation. He literally felt as if his chest was being ripped in two. "Rose, I meant every word I said the other day,"
She inhaled in surprise. Though honesty was dripping in his tone, Rose wasn't buying it. Lowering her fiery red head, she whispered, "Listen, Scorpius, I don't know what you want from me." She paused as a single tear found its way down her cheek. "But I don't want this. I don't want you,"
His throat closed, as no breath came in or out for hazardously long. His eyes and nose felt suddenly hot, and he concentrated hard on the spell to re-open the door for her, to keep her from seeing him in that state.
"I'm sorry," She said as she left, so quiet that he wasn't quite sure she actually said it.
And suddenly, he was alone again. There was the feeling deep in his heart, like a ragged wound that wouldn't close.
She hates you. She can't stand the sight of you. You've ruined everything. These type of negative thoughts cycled through his mind.
He rubbed his eyes into his palms, as they suddenly felt prickly and hot.
They were wet.
He laughed humorlessly. He was crying. Over a bloody Weasley.
The tears were extremely short-lived, as he regained his composure.
"… you made me do something that I obviously regret…"
He didn't regret it. Not one bit. Though she didn't feel the same, and probably never would, he had her in that moment. In that short timeframe, he was the only thing in her world. She said his name in a voice that only he had ever heard. He'd seen a face on her that belonged to only him; he felt her tremble under him way he'd only ever felt. Though he was sure she'd forever deny it — and that thought nipped at the edges of the hole in his chest — he was her first. He had one thing she could never get back.
But she didn't love him, didn't want him, and didn't even want to be in the same room as him.
He had to fall for the one girl who didn't want him…
Maybe Malfoys didn't get everything they wanted…
A/N: Press the Story Alert button if you want to know what happens next! And while you're at it, review it!
Righty-o, well, Scorpius was quite an ass in this one. But with reason. I think I justified him. And yes, I was drooling when I described him :D
Thanks so much for reading if you've gotten this far! Please favorite, review, or add me to your Alerts. It makes me warm and fuzzy inside when I see emails from FF in my inbox :D In the words of Luna Lovegood, "It's almost like having friends,"
PleasePLEASEPLEASE review! You could write me a novel (which makes me positively rapturous (haha at thesaurus)!), or you could write a single word (still awesome!), or you could even punch me in the face over the computer screen for leaving a sad ending… I would understand :D
Stay tuned for more! This is 1 of 2 chapters! (Not sure when I'll be updating… but it will be soon!)
I love you all with an undying passion XP
Kat
KitKat Pyrophobia