"Hey, freckles, spending another Friday night alone with a book?"

Scorpius Malfoy. He's a real arse, for sure, but he's a simple person nonetheless. Nobody with such a big head can be anything close to deep, can they? Especially a guy who drags around a different insecure girl on a regular basis. Today's flavor-of-the-week is Tori Hartfield, your standard bottle blond babe.

"Better than any night you're going to have with Tori, here," I say, nodding towards Hartfield, who's glaring at me like I'm bloody Voldemort. I flash her a sarcastic smile. Tori Hartfield has hated me since fifth year, when she tried to hex me after I accidentally tripped her, only to have her Slug-Vomiting charm hit the boy she liked, Michael Morris.

Scorpius gives a 'ha' of laughter. "I'm sure, Weasley," he agrees sarcastically. "At least I'll be having human contact with somebody." Tori blushes, but Scorpius either doesn't notice or doesn't care. "Don't you ever get lonely?"

I roll my eyes, smiling slightly. "You should know by now there's nobody around here with spending time with anyways."

Malfoy smirks. "And you're still under the impression you're alone all the time by choice?"

"It's not like I don't get invitations."

"From who? Family members don't count, Weasley."

Tori giggles maliciously at this. I swear, it's always the innocent-looking pigtail adorned girls who are the most evil.

"Actually, I was talking about guys. Including Michael Morris- you remember him, don't you, Tori?"

That shuts her up. Because, not only did she hex him, but as she tried to make him stop vomiting slugs, she accidentally hit him in the face with some hex that broke his nose. To make up for this, she confessed her secret love for him! Needless to say, he rejected her advances on him she made, even after the whole slug incident. It was maybe my favorite History of Magic class ever.

"I have to admit, I'm shocked," Malfoy replies in an overly dramatic way. "I would have thought the glasses would scare away anyone who could even look past your scary personality."

Okay, I admit, this stings a little. As much as I don't care what Malfoy says, it's always a little disheartening when an attractive boy (even if it is just Malfoy) not only makes fun of your appearance, but your personality. If I were anyone else, I'd have an eating disorder by now. And it's true, my glasses are incredibly dorky. They're just two thick black rectangles, but I don't mind. I actually kind of like them. Besides, as long as they help me see better, what does it matter what they look like?

Except, as usual, I forget that the world I live in is entirely too superficial to care how well its glasses work, so long as they look haute.

"What does it even matter, Malfoy, seeing as after this year I'm getting out of this place," I tell him dismissively, and turn back to my book. I can hear him suppressing his laughter.

"Well, Tori, how about you and I say goodnight to the world's largest nerd?" Scorpius asks Tori, though when I flick my eyes up, I see he's looking at me. Our eyes meet, his grey ones daring me to react, his stupid smirk still plastered on his face.

Tori giggles that same grating sound, and the two of them continue on their walk down the corridor. I readjust how I'm sitting on the bench by the window to get the light from the setting sun at a degree to read by.

But I can't read. I'm too distracted by the little scene or incident or whatever you want to call it that just happened. Because the truth is, I don't have any real friends. People don't like me because I'm a kind of rude, smart aleck know-it-all who doesn't like people. It's kind of a mutual thing, I guess. But I do wish I had friends sometimes. The closest thing I have to one is Albus, but he only invites me to hang out with him because he feels bad for me. He's one of the more popular guys of our class. You could call him, "The Athletic Sweetheart" or some other label like that, because he's the type who can be the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team as well as get all dopey around a girl he likes, and people like him for that.

Scorpius Malfoy is a different kind of person. People like him because he gets what he wants, often times without trying. People are drawn to that. Malfoy is a simple type of person: He's the slimy bastard everyone loves, the spoiled brat people want to be friends with, and the arrogant airhead who girls fawn over day and night. Which, of course, is extremely annoying. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person who sees what he really is: an insecure little boy.

Well, anyways, at least our latest encounter wasn't in front of a crowd, like last time. It had mostly been him calling me names in the library, while I was trying to leave, only to have the door blocked by some of his brainless friends. People were cheering and egging us both on. But it wasn't like it was even a fair fight; he'd trapped me.

I don't want to get into too much detail, seeing as I'm still a little embarrassed thinking about it (not that I'd admit that to anyone- as far as everyone knows, Rose Weasley does not get embarrased), but basically, people kept laughing and telling Scorpius he shouldn't be such an arse to a dorky nobody like me.

Not that I care, or anything, but it'd be nice if just once my fellow peers were supportive of me.

I decide that I'm too flustered to read, so I take a long bubble bath in the Prefects' bathroom (I got the password from Al, who of course was made a Prefect, being your all around standard Good Child). The different scented bubbles help relax me, and the bath makes me feel so exhausted I decide to go to bed, even though it's hardly past 10.

"Rose. Rose? Rose! Wake up!"

I'm vaguely aware of being shaken awake by someone. I groan in my sleep.

"Whaisih?" I mumble sleepily into my pillow.

"What?" says the perpetrator of the ridiculous crime of waking me.

"What is it?" I ask again, a little more clearly. I raise my head from my pillow and look at the clock. It's about 12 am.

Looking up, I see it's Lily, dressed in her best imitation of Tori Hartfield, with a snug black miniskirt and a low-cut flouncy pink top. She's smiling at me, and I wonder if she's been drinking.

"There's a party going on in the Ravenclaw common room!" she informs me cheerfully, twisting a piece of her straight strawberry blond hair around one of her perfectly manicure fingers. It's not that I don't like Lily, it's just she's one of those attractive-but-just-not-pretty-enough wannabes who will follow around whoever the queen bee of the time is. At least she's sweet, unlike the rest of the girls like her. She tries to make other people happy, no matter who they are and no matter what it will take.

"And why do you think I care?" I ask her, which sounds more snotty than I'd intended.

"Um, I don't know. I just think it would be good for you."

And as soon as she says 'good', I understand. She means 'good' as in 'good for Rose's popularity' which would then, by association, be good for Lily's popularity. But she wouldn't do this unless she had a good reason, only, Lily's good reasons are never what I would call good reasons. My guess is there's some stupid boy Lily wants to impress, and apparently having a loser of a cousin like me is just one more reason for the bloke not to like her.

I sigh. "Fine, I'll go, so long as you don't make me wear heels again." You can't say 'no' to a girl with high hopes. It's just wrong, isn't it?

"Yay!" Lily claps her hands together.

I put on an old sundress and flip-flops and let Lily drag me out of my nice, cozy dorm. By the time we get to the party, there's a load of people already there, grinding away to some generic pop song blasting away on the radio. People are drinking firewhisky and dancing and laughing and looking like they're having the time of their lives. I find it hard to believe that sweating next to a bunch of other sweaty people is really that exhilarating.

"Come on, Rosie! Have some fun!" Lily suggests to me, leading me to the dance floor. She starts looking around for someone, and while she's looking away I try to move out of the crowd.

"Excuse me, sorry, don't mind me," I mutter to the people I bump into. Some drunken Hufflepuff boy starts grinding me before I politely take his hands off of my waist and continue walking away.

"Oh? What's this?"

I hate that voice and I hate that boy.

"Is Weasley really at a party?" He has to shout to be heard of the music, so everyone can hear.

Malfoy's friends laugh at this like everything he says is comedic genius.

I send Lily a "I'm so glad I came" look. She smiles apologetically before turning back to the guy she's chatting up.

"Come on, Weasley, let's dance!" he continues, grabbing my hand.

"Sorry, Malfoy, but rubbing bodies against each other isn't really dancing, is it?" I retort, turning away so I can leave. Some of his friends laugh again.

"So what? You're a fan of the waltz or something?"

I turn around to face him. "Actually, I'm a fan of hexing people who won't shut their bloody mouths," I reply calmly.

Some of his friends ooooh over this. I smile a little, and continue walking outside until I'm in the corridor. Unfortunately, Scorpius and a great number of onlookers follow me.

"You're all talk, Weasley. You couldn't hex a pretty boy like me," he says, placing a hand on his chest.

More laughter. I need to get out of here...

"Oh, you want to bet, Malfoy?" I reply, searching my pockets for my wand. Oh shit. I left it in my dorm!

Why do the fates hate me?

"She doesn't even got her wand!" says a tall guy in the crowd. Everybody starts laughing again, and I'm worried I'm either going to hit someone or cry.

"I'm not surprised. For a geek, she's not that smart," Scorpius explains, crossing his arms.

I spit on him. "Arse."

He just smirks, while the crowd ignites in more "oooooh"s and "Did she just"s and "What the hell"s.

"So why'd you even come to this party, Weasley?" His deep voice echoes in the corridor, and I can't believe none of the professors have woken up yet.

"Lily brought me," I say.

Scorpius smirks broader. "Really? Are you sure you didn't want to come just to see me?"

My cheeks flush with anger, but I'm worried he'll take it as embarrassment. "Oh yes, because the entire universe revolves around your giant ego."

Some of his mates laugh. I grin cheekily at him before continuing down the hallway.

"Clever, Weasley." He still remains unfazed. He's so frustrating! How can I wipe that stupid smirk right off his face, especially without my wand?

"But you're just trying to hide the fact you get a little nerdgasm every time you see me," he teases. I turn and flip him my middle finger with a fake smile.

"Clearly I've just left you at a loss for words, dear Weasley," he chimes.

I've had enough. I'm ending this right now.

I spin on the ball of my foot.

"Oh yes, Malfoy, you certainly know how to take a girl's breath away," I say in a pseudo-seductive tone. I start walking towards him. His smirk falters for a moment. I think I'm the only one who notices. "Night and day, all I think about is you!" I add dramatically, putting my hands over my heart. "I never thought I'd be confessing my love to you like this, darling, but it must be done!" I cry, throwing my arms out. I'm standing right in front of him now. Even though the smirk is still plastered on his face, his eyes look confused. "So now there's only one thing left to do, my love!" I exclaim before wrapping my arms around his neck. And then I do something stupid: I kiss him.

I can hear the crowd gasping and then a couple people going, "Ewwww" but I don't even care. I've finally managed to shut Malfoy up and that's all I care about right now. Suddenly, I feel him kissing me back, our tongues dancing, his arms tightly around my waist. For a moment, I don't feel like Rose Weasley, nerd-bitch extraordinaire. I feel like a normal girl, making out with a normal boy, normally. And oddly enough, I'm enjoying this much more than I should. I feel like I'm on fire and it feels amazing.

Somebody in the crowd wolf whistles, while another claims, "Eh, I saw it coming." I hear the crowd going back inside the Ravenclaw common room.

Then I remember I'm not a normal girl and he's not a normal boy. I'm Rose Weasley, and he's Scorpius Malfoy, the largest git on the face of the planet, and he shouldn't make me feel like this and I shouldn't have kissed him but I don't want to stop but-

I pull away, breathless.

He stares at my lips in ernest, as though the only thing that will make him happy once more is to kiss me. I have to admit, I'm actually a little flattered.

I push my glasses up the bridge of my nose while he watches.

"Well," I begin, a little more out of breath than I'd like, "I guess I'll catch you around, stud," I add, before I walk back to my dorm, leaving him speechless.

These parties are more fun than I give them credit for.

I lay in my bed, trying to fall asleep, but all I can think about is that kiss and Scorpius Malfoy and how strangely wonderful it was. I toss and turn, and realize that it's something that will probably never happen again. Eventually I fall into an uneasy sleep.

I wake up feeling as though I haven't slept at all, though when I check the clock, it reads 10:37 am. Which is weird, because I hardly ever sleep in on Saturdays. Not that I don't want to, it's just that I always wake up earlier.

I dress quickly and go down to breakfast, where the smell of bacon envelops me. I eat happily and quickly, making small talk with a girl from my dorm, Lucy McGovern. She's nice enough, and she's brilliant at transfiguration. She leaves me after a few minutes to join her Ravenclaw boyfriend for some morning lovin' or something. Which, of course, reminds me of that kiss last night.

I feel my face flush, and this time it's from embarrassment. I can't believe I did that! Why can't I just be a normal person sometimes?

I leave the Great Hall and hide out in a back corner of the library where there's a frumpy lounge chair that's incredibly squishy. I sink into it and read, losing myself in the pages to hide myself from reality.

"Rosie?"

I look up from the pages and see it's Lily, looking at me apprehensively.

"Hey, Lily," I greet.

She smiles a little at me. "I'm really sorry about last night," she apologizes sweetly. "I didn't think Scorpius would be such an arse."

"It's okay, Lily, it really is. He's just a naturally nasty person," I tell her. I don't want her to think I'm mad at her or anything.

Her smile grows, and her eyes light up. "So then why did you kiss him?" she asks me excitedly. I blush.

"Oh, well, I don't know. Just a way to shut him up?" I offer.

She giggles. "Well, it worked!"

We stare at each other for a moment in silence before she asks, "So did you like it?"

My eyes widen. "Um, well, yeah?"

"Oh gosh, Rosie! That's adorable! I knew you like each other!" Lily is just beaming.

"What? Lily, we don't like each other. In fact, I think he hates me," I correct her. She shakes her head and smiles at me.

"Oh, Rose, for a girl so smart you're sure naive." And with that, she leaves me alone with my thoughts and walks away.

Wait a second. Did she really think I like him?

...Did she really think he likes me?

I'm too flabbergasted to even comprehend what she's insinuating. I quickly leave the library. Part of me is dying to find Malfoy to talk to him, and part of me wants to curl up in a ball and hide. What do I even think?

Well, mainly, I'm just hoping I get to kiss him again.

I walk past a group of sixth years who were at the party last night and hear their whispering pick up as I pass. I glare at them and keep walking, trying to hide the fact that I'm so flustered.

"Well, if it isn't Weasley."

I look up from my feet and find myself staring at him. Him. This time, there's no Tori hanging on him. It's just Scorpius Malfoy and me, staring each other down in a corridor.

We all know how this worked out last time.

I will myself not to blush, to no avail.

"Hello, Malfoy," I greet. I try to walk past him, but he catches my shoulder.

"Come with me, Weasley," he says before leading me into a broom closet that reeks of floor polish.

"Any particular reason we're in a broom closet, Malfoy?" I ask, turning on the light.

"I- I wanted to talk to you," he says a little uneasily.

"And you couldn't just do this out in the corridor like a normal person?"

"Weasley, can you stop acting like nothing happened last night?" he says, exasperated.

I look up and meet his gaze. My cheeks are burning. "I was kind of hoping we could just forget that ever happened, yeah?" I suggest.

Something changes in his eyes. "Why?"

I'm so confused and the fact I'm inches away from him only causes my brain to become even more befuddled. "What do you mean, why?"

He looks at me, annoyed.

And then he kisses me, not for as long as the kiss last night but I still get the same fiery feeling. It's perfect.

"Why does that feel so amazing?" he demands, as though it's all my fault or something.

I just shake my head a little and try to leave the closet. I need to get out of here fast, before the polish fumes and his cologne can get to me.

"Wait," he whispers. "Don't go."

"Why not? I'm just a no-life nerd in need of some 'human contact' or whatever it is you were telling me last-"

He cuts me off, kissing me.

And then something in my mind turns, as if to say, "Aw, screw it," and let me forget for a while that this is the boy who has tormented me for the past seven years. Because right now, my fingers twisted in his hair, I don't even care, and clearly, neither does he.

Maybe kissing him wasn't the stupidest thing I've ever done after all.

In between kisses, he mumbles to me, "I'm sorry for being such an arse."

I accept his apology with a kiss.

"I'm just an idiot sometimes," he adds before I plant another kiss on his lips.

"And I like the way you never react-"

"Please stop talking," I tell him before busying myself with his lips.

Because right now, I'll ignoring the fact that he and his friends think I'm a joke, and that I hate him, and that we probably would never even go out because he'd be too embarrassed of me (wouldn't he?) and that this gives Tori Hartfield another reason to hate me. Because even in this superficial, commercial, and prejudiced world, it's still nice to have a cute boy to snog.

Besides, imagine the look on Dad's face if he ever knew.

Priceless.

A/N So... yeah, don't you just love fluffy cliche one shots? Who doesn't! Yayyyy

I was doodling yesterday and I drew a picture of a girl in sunglasses... only they looked more like real glasses and then this image of Rose came into my head where Rose is a nerd who doesn't care what people think of her, and Scorpius loves to tease her.

And yeah, I could have been writing a chapter of Going After Scorpius Malfoy, buuuuuut I didn't, so, uh, sorry!

Please review! I love you!

xx

Ali