Distinctive
Albus Potter walked slowly across the library, with a look on his face appropriate for Dumbledore's funeral, to the isolated part near the restricted section where he knew he'd find his best friends.
As he did.
In that always empty corner, where the tree of them always used to sit, Rose Weasley was laid over her chair, lost in her heavy book, while her feet rested on Scorpius Malfoy's legs, who had the sit next to her, having a more normal position, serious and dynamic, but still casual, writing down in a piece of parchment.
He pulled back a chair at the opposite side, making noise and mumbled a "hi" over his teeth.
They both looked up, taken by surprise, Scorpius straining a bit, something Rose didn't mirror, not taking her eyes of her cousin, who sit down and didn't look at them, simply staring out of the window, no books off his bag, not even pretending to study.
"Again?" Rose asked him knowingly, arching him an eyebrow.
With the question, Al murmured something and Scorpius chuckled, never taking his eyes of his writing, but letting his left hand embrace one of her ankles.
"Give his some space, Rosie. Some space." And he shook his head in disapproval, making his blonde locks dance, dotting his "i"s , still grinning.
"Why that time?" she asked Al again, pretending not to have heard of Scorpius's comment.
"Doesn't matter. I'm sick of it. And I was about to take the next step." Al answered, somehow pissed off, irritation mixed sadness in his voice.
Scorpius almost fall from his chair at his best friend's statement, staring at him with wide eyes, and Rose couldn't help but laugh.
"You boys, you and your sick mind. Always thinking that thing. He didn't mean sex, you idiot." She explained at the blond boy.
"I would have told you if I was thinking something else, bloody hell!" Al complained.
"Ok, I was confused…It's the way you said it!" Scorp exclaimed.
"I meant I was about to tell her I love her." Al explained.
"Finally!" Rose rolled her eyes.
"But now she's mad on me, and I don't even know why!" he added, furiously. "Why do you girls have to be that complicated?"
"We're not complicated. You are the ones that can't see our simplicity."
"That was an oratorical question…"
"Ha! Are you telling us Weasley, that you're a simple girl?" Scorpius laughed, and if Al haven't been his friend for six years, he couldn't have noticed the nearly invisible hint of astonishment.
"Of course I am! Like every girl here!"
"You are nothing like every girl here!" Scorpius dropped out and looked away immediately, his pale cheeks almost blushing; some kind of regretting he'd said that.
Rose stared at him for some moments, amazed, and opened her mouth to speak, but Al saved his best mate by drawing her attention.
"Your amount of simplicity and singularity isn't the thing right now, don't you think?" he pretended to be annoyed and Scorpius gave him a thankful look before turning again his gaze away.
"You said you don't know what have you done. Let's see…When was the last time you met her?" Rose asked, getting her feet on the floor and turning to face Al, making Scorpius grimace, as he took his hand which had been resting on her ankle, down to his lap, something only Al noticed, once again.
But how can Rosie be so blind? She was smart enough to guess something was different. That something had changed.
"Al, I'm talking here!"
"Sorry…Em…The last time was half an hour before, when we argued. And… Ah! I was supposed to spend some time with her last evening, after the practice, but I was dead-tired we called it a night and I companied her till the stairs to Ravenclaw. Nothing more. I haven't seen her this morning." He signed and sat deeper in his chair.
"Do you mean you chose your bed over her?" Rose almost yelled, and then, thinking about it for a moment, she split out laughing.
"You are unbelievable Albus!" she managed between laughs.
"Is this the problem? That I preferred a warm bed over a walk in the snow?" he pointed outside the window, at the falling white flakes. "You know that I'd prefer staying with her! But I couldn't even feel my hands!"
"No hands on your girl? Not fair." Scorpius chuckled.
"I know that, but she doesn't." She said simply, ignoring Scorpius once again, and before she could continue, a deep voice called her name from inside her bag.
"Run! Dominique is waiting!"
"Crap! I totally forgot that!" Rose cursed under her breath and jumped to her feet, while Scorpius was already getting her spread through tha table books into her bag and handing it to her.
"Thanks. I promised to help Dom with something." She said, hurry to leave. "Talk to Eryn!" she added at Al over her shoulder.
For some mere moments, Scorpius was staring at his best friend leaving, her skirt dancing wildly as she was almost running, while Al stared at him, his expression unreadable. "You're far worse than I am." he decided, and Scorp turned questioningly, shaking his head to forget his last view.
"What?" he asked abstractedly.
"Ok, I wasn't talking, being distinctive, but this is over the edge of enough!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Rose! That's what I'm talking about Scorp! It's so obvious you must try a lot to ignore it anymore!"
Scorpius's face hardened rapidly, as if he had just listened what exactly he didn't want to.
"It's my fault. Sorry. I didn't want to. But calm down, I'm trying to get over it. I promise, I will." Scorpius replied formally, the last sentence almost a whisper, as if talking to himself. His grey blue eyes were clouded but his face was straight.
"What are YOU talking about now?" Al asked, pretty confused.
"As you said, I got it over the edge. I was being selfish. And I apologize. I know I have to take a lot of steps back, but it's so hard Al, it's so hard." He moved his eyes away from his best friend's, following the snow now, outside the big window.
"Are you mad?" the boy's eyes popped out as he nearly got off his chair, but as he realized they were in the library sat down again, leaning forward across the table, whispering the same question at Scorpius. "Are you mad?"
"I know you have any reason to be mad on me, but I said I'll-"
"Shut up and listen to me, prat! Don't you even think of getting over it!"
And as Scorpius turned and looked him, eyes wide open of surprise, he continued. "I'm repeating. Are you mad? Have you gone mental? Why the hell did you think I could be negative about you two? Do you think I prefer watching her going out with very bastard she had dated, watching them treating her awfully, rather than dating you? You, my best friend? You, her best friend?"
Scorpius Malfoy was speechless, something you can't see everyday, stunned in his chair, his mouth open to speak but frozen, not finding words to send out, his eyes locked with the green ones.
"And I have to tell you I'm pretty disappointed of you, Scorp." Al continued. "I thought you would have told me. Best friends, aren't we? Do you know how sad it's for me to realize you're keeping such a secret from me? That you don't trust me?"
"I thought you'd be furious like a giant about it." Scorpius mumbled, still shocked.
"Of course I'm not! Sometimes I wonder how can a prat like you be a prefect." Al joked.
"And now, how long have this been going on?" he asked, now half-serious.
"Years." the other boy simply said and Al froze mid-move.
"Wow." He replied as simple.
"I mean, in the beginning was just a beautiful girl to me. And not only beautiful. She's smart, playful, determined, delicate and . Then it turned into a fancy, and I really thought I was going through phases, and I'd get over it. But then it grew into something more stronger. Strong enough to let me think of her in other ways a lot-"
"I think I don't wanna hear that part." Al cut him off, raising his palm.
"I didn't mean it that way. You know me better."
"I know you're a boy. And I don't have a big problem about staring Rose's miniskirt. My problem is that I don't want the details." Al chuckled.
"Ok. But you know I never thought of… of something a lot… mature with Rosie. I'm realistic." He picked each word carefully, avoiding to hit dangerous taboo words.
"Don't be." Al leaned at the back of his chair casually, more relaxed than before, comforting Scorpius, who was still waiting for the attack of the protective, bad tempered cousin.
However, he deeply must have always known that he'd have Al's support in this. He was neither bad-tempered nor he believed that Rose would need extra protection near Scorpius.
Or that was what the blond one hoped he believed.
"You should risk it." Al continued.
"It's been 5 and half years of friendship. Can I ruin them for some crazy ideas? I'm not that stupid or irresponsible, Albus!"
"But you're in love with her!" he replied, clearly believing that there was no other thing that mattered.
"You can't know how she'll react! And this is all that matters to me."
"Stupid, noble you! You'll lose so much time till you get what's right! You're already loosing years of her!"
"Look who's talking. Tell me a month that you and Eryn haven't argued and I'll go right now and ask Rosie out." Scorpius raised an eyebrow sarcastically.
"This isn't the matter now! The point isn't me!" he complained.
"No, it is. My problem" Scorpius smiled at his choice of the word "my problem can wait. It waited and it can still hold on to tomorrow. But you have to go apologize to Eryn. You don't want to be too late, don't you think?"
"I was about to tell you the same." Al fought back and he added "And don't you dare skirting the matter and distract me with my own crappies of a lifetime."
"I'm not doing this to save my head. I'm doing this because I just want to see you happy! Now, get your ash and run to her. It's almost 6. You could even catch up dinner if you hurry with your 'sorrys'" Scorp sang out the last word. "Although I bet you won't be hungry after that." he laughed.
Al seemed to thinking about it for a moment but then he glanced at his watch and got up.
"Be determined, mate. May my wishes help you save your scalp." Scorpius teased his friend who rolled his eyes and turned to leave, sending a chuckle over his shoulder "Have you noticed that everyone is leaving you, Malfoy?" and his grin disappeared behind the corner.
Scorpius chuckled too, mirroring him and strained the parchment in front of him, which he'd finally be able to finish off.