Disclaimer: The first word says enough, I think.

(A/N: Written for the "Don't get to friendly" Rose/Scorpious competition by xxx-angelin-xxx. My prompt was:

"In the morning when you wake up
daytime fades up
and your make-up runs
just hold on.
It sounds tacky but I'm hopeful
there's a reason
that the world turns round.
Through silence sound"

Dark on Fire- Turin Brakes =0)

Many thanks to my wonderful beta: Schermionie! For enduring my stubborness, LOL. Thanks.

Worth It

He'd always wondered what it would feel like to love someone. To care about her so much that he wouldn't be able to control himself when she came close. As if, suddenly, something inside him would break and, before he knew it, he would be throwing himself at her with enough force to overwhelm them both.

For years he'd felt as if he was being left behind. As if, somehow, he'd missed his cue when it came to falling in love. And then, she'd come along, and changed everything. Well, she didn't really come along; she'd always been there.

It didn't start out like this. Hell, it shouldn't be like this now. She's his best friend, always has been. Since they met, seven years ago. So much has happened since then, that now, when they're about to leave Hogwarts, it's hard to imagine a life without her. Rose and Scorpius: two names that have gone together ever since he can remember.

He's always wondered. And now, as he watches her talk, he can't help but smile, sure that he finally knows.

"Can you believe that?" she half-shouts, crossing her arms and slouching on the chair, pulling him out of his thoughts. "The jerk."

"Yeah," he answers, glancing around what they dubbed 'Their Place' a few years ago, to see if anyone is disturbed by Rose's shouting. It's the only café in Hogsmeade that seems to always be free of other Hogwarts students, something that's possibly due to how disgusting the coffee is, but, well, it's the privacy that matters. And, sure enough, no one's looking at them.

"It always has to be about him," she continues, pouting. "Everything is."

She looks lovely when she is furious, he thinks: her blue eyes blaze and bright spots of color form on her cheeks and lips; even her red hair looks brighter. Maybe he should make her angry more often. He attempts to hide his smile at the idea, but fails miserably, and she notices.

"What are you smiling about?" she asks sounding – if possible – angrier than before. "You think this is funny? God! You guys are all the same!" And with that final sentence she is heading out of the café, hands balled into fists and arms swinging furiously as she walks.

He blinks, staring after her for a few seconds before getting up to follow her. "Would you -?" he shouts, walking out into the rain. "Rose!"

Rose doesn't even turn to spare a glance in his direction as she keeps hurrying away.

"WEASLEY!" he growls, only causing her to increase her pace. He sighs, running up to her and grasping her elbow. That finally gets her attention and she turns to glare at him, blue eyes flashing dangerously.

"You were laughing!" she accuses.

Scorpius sighs again and runs a hand through his hair. "I wasn't smiling because of that. I was thinking of something else."

Her eyes flash, and he regrets having spoken just as the words leave his mouth. "YOU. ARE. IMPOSSIBLE!" she hollers, poking his chest with each word. "You're even worse than he is," she grumbles, and then she is walking away again.

"Hey!" he complains, running to place himself in front of her. "I was paying attention. He said you could never become a journalist; he thinks you don't have the talent."

She narrows her eyes, opening her mouth to say something and closing it when no words come. He shakes his head, taking her by the shoulders and pulling her to him. He can't help but smile as she melts into him, wrapping her arms around him and hiding her head in his neck.

Finally pulling away, Scorpius tucks his hands in his pockets and clears his throat to stop himself from doing something they'll both regret later, something that is getting increasingly difficult not to do.

Why does the jerk have to exist?

"What do you think?" she asks suddenly, and her voice sounds shaky, almost afraid.

"About what?"

She looks up at him. "What he said."

"It's bullshit." He smiles and reaches out to tuck a strand of her soaked hair behind her ear. "You can be anything you want to be."

"An astronaut," she says, smiling childishly and making him remember all the days they'd spent under the willow tree in Hogwarts, when they'd talk about what they would be when they grew up. 'Astronaut' had been one of her recurring favorites.

"You should break up with him," he states.

His eyes widen when he realizes he's said it out loud, and he looks away, not wanting to see her expression. Still, he's unable to resist a cautious glance back, and is surprised that she, too, is looking away.

"Why?" she asks, her voice so quiet he has to lean down to hear her over the rain.

"Because what you need, what you deserve," he answers after a pause, "is a guy who adores you for what you are." He tilts her head up gently; meeting her eyes with his, willing her to realize what he is talking about – who he is talking about. "Someone that will always be there for you."

There's silence. Long and awkward, and broken only by the soft splashes the rain makes as it falls to the ground.

Scorpius looks at the floor, wincing, wondering if he's gone too far this time. He is tempted to shout triumphantly when he feels her take his hand and tug him toward the school.

"We'll get sick if we're out here any longer."

He nods, mentally cursing the rain for ruining his moment as he follows her. "Right."

The walk back to the school is silent; the only sounds are the ones their feet make as they step over the wet grass. Scorpius doesn't dare open his mouth, though, afraid to break the spell Rose seems to be under – the one that is making her hold his hand in hers as they walk, almost leaning into him.

"Hey, Scorp?" she asks, stopping just a few feet from the door. "Thanks." She smiles when he looks up at her, curiousness etched on his face.

And then she leans in to kiss him.
On the lips.

The kiss is soft, and so quick that when she pulls away he wonders if it happened at all. "See you later?" she asks. He nods as she walks up the stairs, feeling a little dazed.

"Wait!" he shouts, finally breaking out of his trance when she's about to disappear through the door. "Where are you going?"

She turns to smile at him. "I have something to do," she explains with a hint of mischievousness in her voice that makes his stomach flip before she disappears through the door, and it takes Scorpius every bit of self-control not to start cheering right where he is.

It's been one of the weirdest nights he's ever had, and also, one of the best.