Scorpius disliked the library. It smelled weird- like old people, he always thought- and there was nothing to do there but actually do work. And while work was something he did willingly most of the time, the library always seemed to him a soul-crushing place to work in. How the young and lively librarian could stand the place was beyond him.
He pulled out a pack of gum, plucked out a thin stick with a shiny silver wrapping. His fingers nimbly unfolded the paper, and he slipped the gum into his mouth, the mint flavor overwhelming his mouth.
His Ancient Runes book smelled musty as he opened it, as it always did, and the light of the library cast an odd yellow glow on the pages. He sighed, looking at all the words he'd have to translate before the morning. The sound of his quill scratching was the only noise in the library, as it was far too late for most people to be awake, but librarian had been kind enough not to kick him out. In fact, he hadn't seen her at all tonight, and wondered not for the first time whether the rumor she and his Charms teacher were indeed shagging one another. He shuddered at the thought.
"Scorpius Malfoy, what would your mother say if she caught you out after curfew?"
Ah, Rose Weasley, red haired and wanton and everything that, in fact, his mother would surely disapprove of. Which of course made him like her immediately, ever since he'd saw her first year. Hadn't really talked much with her, though. They'd mainly avoided each other, and in the rare event that they did talk, it was mostly those trivial things like, "Your shoe's untied" in passing or "Sorry, my fault" after one had bumped into the other.
He loathed such small talk. But this, her, now! The mere idea of the two of them, alone in the library, was almost more than Scorpius could handle. And there she was, sitting on the table in front of him in her crinkled school uniform, legs crossed, and looking as careless and wonderful as she ever had.
"Most likely something along the lines of 'Don't get caught'," he replied, raising a clear eyebrow.
"What a good motto."
Oh, Merlin.
Was that- was that a come-on?
He studied her face, noticing at their close proximity the dusting of freckles on her nose, and that her eyes weren't brown as he'd always assumed, but a startling hazel flecked with green.
"I've noticed it applies to many situations," he heard himself saying, inwardly groaning at this awful attempt at flirting. He was known for being smooth, sure, but that didn't mean it wasn't hard. In fact, being smooth was probably much harder than it appeared, for how could anyone always know the right thing to say?
Well, excluding Rose Weasley.
"What kinds of situations are we talking about here?" she said quietly, a grin growing on her lips.
He was suddenly aware that he could feel her breath on his face as she leaned her head closer to his, and he was suddenly very glad he was chewing something minty.
He watched for a moment as one of her long fingers twirled a curl of her red hair.
"I think you can guess," he answered, trying hard to resist the urge to crush her mouth with his.
She cocked her head to one side, slipping off the table to straddle him on his chair.
"Maybe you could show me," she breathed in his ear. He involuntarily shuddered and watched as she leaned back a bit and smiled. She inhaled deeply as Scorpius sat, slightly slack-jawed. "Mmmm..." she added, her fingers creeping up his neck and brushing against his hair.
He couldn't take it anymore, grabbed the back of her neck and brought her lips down to his. Their mouths fit together, which he would later learn was less common than it appeared, and their tongues intermingled and swirled and he knew he would never take pleasure out of kissing another girl again.
And suddenly, she pulled away, a triumphant smile on her face.
"Thanks for the gum, dear Malfoy," she quipped, and he quickly realized he no longer had the chewing gum in his mouth. Rose walked out of the library, leaving Scorpius slightly dumb-founded.
Wait, he thought as he watched her leave, What just happened?
Scorpius awoke the next morning to find himself lying on his bed, fully clothed and slightly dazed. He sat up, and felt something in his back pocket. Reaching inside, he pulled out a pack of gum.
He groaned audibly, rubbing his palm on his forehead.
Rose Weasley.
He grunted, causing one of his dorm mates to wake up, mumbling into his pillow. Scorpius stood up and stormed out of his room, not paying any heed to the fact that he was still in the same wrinkled white Oxford and black slacks from the day before.
Nope, ignoring the fact that his clothes were tousled and his hair was probably messy (though still good looking, obviously) he marched his way to the Gryffindor tower, feeling confused, which lead him to feel angry. He got to the portrait of the Fat Lady before realizing he didn't know the password. The Fat Lady herself was still snoring anyways, and it was common knowledge that to wake her would be less than a quiet ordeal, and he really did not want anyone to see him here, seeking answers to his almost... what was the word? Desperate?... questions.
He sat down at the bottom of the portrait and ran his fingers through his hair. Closing his eyes, his head leaned back against the stone wall.
Footsteps. The click clack of shoes, strolling, not walking, not shuffling, or skipping, or running- strolling down the hallway.
"Ah, Malfoy, how nice to see you again."
That voice.
His eyes fluttered open, and there she was, towering over him, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Weasley," he said, more a accusingly than a standard greeting.
"Yes, that's my last name, as we're both aware."
He stood up and once more ran his fingers through his hair.
"What- what was that last night?" His voice sounded angry, which was less than he actually was- which was, in fact, slightly bewildered and wanting nothing more than answers and perhaps to snog her again.
Rose smirked, although he could've sworn she was blushing slightly.
"That was me, wanting some gum. Mint is my favorite, you know," she replied, her eyes on the ground.
"We both know that's bullshit." It was, wasn't it? It had to be, Scorpius reassured himself, because otherwise Rose wouldn't look quite as... guilty, would she?
"Fine. The gum was just an excuse," she confessed. She twirled a piece of hair around her finger.
"Excuse? Excuse for what?" he replied, slightly indignant.
Rose sighed. "Well, you see, Scorpius," she began. Her eyes met his and he once again felt the jolt of electricity between them once more. "I've really, really wanted to do that for a long, long time." She paused for a moment, thoughtful. "So I did."
Scorpius blinked.
Wait, what?
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why would you want to do that?"
She rolled her eyes at him, grinning. "I'll tell you later, but first, I'd like to have a little repeat of last night."
One of her slim hands slipped around his neck, the other twisting in his hair.
Scorpius felt his breath hitch at their sudden close proximity, a slight smile on his lips.
She grinned up at him, their lips almost meeting.
"So I will."
A/N I kind of liked this. It was fun to write. Lots of tension, yes? Anyways, the last line is said by Rose, in case that was confusing. I kinda feel like it might be. But yeah, so you should review, and if you liked this story, you could totally read my other stuff (and review it too!). ;) Oh, and there's a poll on my Author Profile about which story you (yes you!) would be interested in seeing next.
Thanks!
xx
Ali