He was sure it wasn't just his imagination. There was something about those eyes – something abnormal. They were just so… grey. Or were they blue? And sort of… deep. But sometimes they looked flat, flatter than anything. Could eyes be flat? And they could be so still. They looked still now, but he'd seen them moving, too. Moving like… like…
Oh, I don't know.
Teddy screwed up his face. He'd never been good with words, but he knew what he meant and that was all that mattered. Satisfied, he smiled to himself, then returning from his reverie realised that while his mind had been elsewhere, his eyes had been… well, exactly where he left them.
"What?"
"O-oh… um, w-what?"
Flat, so flat.
"What do you mean, 'what'? You were-" Scorpius paused, mouth twisting like he couldn't find the right words, either.
Swirly, storming…
"Staring." He finished, anticlimactically. He didn't seem satisfied with the word.
"O-oh, was I?" Teddy squeaked, voice pitching at the end, false innocence even to his own ears. "I mean- yes, yes I was," he amended, trying for confidence. "Staring… at, well, have you ever thought- I mean, I was thinking- y- your eyes, they just… they're sort of- well, they look-"
Cold, so cold.
Cheeks flaring the colour of never-ending strawberry laces, Teddy realised words were tumbling unchecked out of his mouth, and, mortified at the truth of them, came to a stumbling halt. Mouth agape, he simply sat there, aghast.
For a moment, Scorpius just stared, face a barren, wintry desert of emotion.
But then, like sunlight on a snow-kissed meadow, the porcelain mask began to melt. First bemusement then amusement became a smile, which broadened to a grin, which gave way to full-bellied laughter.
"Honestly, Ted," he chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes. "As your best friend I feel I should tell you… sometimes I have no idea what you're talking about. Seriously, if I wasn't so far ahead in Legilimency I'd be at a total loss."
Teddy's brief moment of relief turned to sudden horror.
"You read my mind! You bastard!"
Scorpius, reflexes like a magically fortified snake, dodged the right-hook Teddy aimed at his shoulder with ease, all the while clutching at his stomach with renewed laughter. In spite of himself, Teddy couldn't help but notice…
Warm, so warm…
Scorpius' eyes went a little wider for a moment, lights dancing in their depths, like small suns trapped in a glacial winter sky… before Teddy toppled him off his chair entirely and they both went tumbling to the floor in a mess of limbs, laughter, friendship and-
"Get- out- of- my- head!" Teddy uttered, struggling to get Scorpius into a headlock who squirmed out of his grasp just to gasp for breath between bouts of helpless laughter.