"Hey! Rosie!"

I see her turning around to face me with a wide smile on her beautiful face and I get dazzled for the fourth time that week – quite impressive since it's only Tuesday. There's no way that kind of beauty is even legal, I mean, look at her! The way her hazel eyes sparkle, how her stunning red curls flow down her back and shoulders, how her tempting lips curve into a smile every time she sees me… Gosh, I just want to run towards her, cup her face with my hands and kiss her without giving a damn of what everyone else thinks or says. I want to run my fingers through her hair and hold her hand and count the freckles on her nose. I want her to see herself the way I see her, beautiful, perfect, smart and simply so gorgeous she could get any guy she wants.

But of course I can't do any of that, except maybe the last part. Maybe. Because Rose Weasley is my best friend, and you don't do that kind of things with your best friend, right? Not when her father already wants your head on a plate for being a Malfoy and friendly with her.

Yeah. That's what I thought.

"Hi Sco." …but I can still grin like an idiot and let my stupid heart fly when she calls me by my nickname, right? "How was Charms class? Did you get the essay ready in time?"

Always concerned about my schoolwork. "Yeah, me and Trace were working pretty late last night", I admit with a small laugh. "Who knew that making an essay on non-verbal spells would be so freaking hard?"

"Told you to do it sooner."

"I know." Didn't really pay attention. Too busy watching your lips move. "Anyway, I assume you saw that there's a Hogsmeade trip coming in a couple of weeks", I continue as we start walking towards the Great Hall. If I remember correct, it's a Gryffindor-table-day. Great! I get to see her angry brother and not-so-very-happy cousins. Every boy's dream-come-true.

"I did, actually", Rose smiles. Merlin, I love her smile – I mean, like her smile. "I was talking with Trace about it while having breakfast."

"Will you go there with me?"

The question slops through my lips before I can even notice and I mentally slap myself. What the hell am I thinking? Right, I'm not thinking at all! Yes, I would like to go to Hogsmeade with her. Yes, I want to ask her on a date. Yes, I want to snog her like no tomorrow and scream ROSE JEAN WEASLEY IS MINE, BACK OFF YOU LOSERS! But there's a good reason I'm NOT doing that, so why on Earth did I just ask her out?!

Fortunately, Rose has brains and she actually uses them unlike me. "Sure", she laughs and I'm pretty sure she hasn't noticed anything strange. Somehow that upsets me though. "I mean, I always go to Hogsmeade with you and Trace, you silly. Why would this time be any different?"

Yes, why indeed? "Actually", I say before I can stop myself, "I was thinking that maybe we could, you know… like, forget about Trace this time." Okay that didn't sound very nice. "I mean like, if we could go together… Just you and me?" That's it, I suck in this. Why did I ask her in the first place? Right, because I'm an idiot and she's way too perfect to really think clearly.

"You mean like a date?" Rose asks. We have reached the doors of the Great Hall and now we just stand there.

"Well… yeah. Like a date. Sort of."

"Oh."

Saying that the silence between us at the moment is awkward would be an understatement. And on top of that I think it's needless to mention that I feel like biggest loser on the whole freaking planet. Seriously, when do I finally learn to shut up? I really, really, really wish I was paying attention to things that matter, like manners and mom's how-to-be-a-gentleman –speech, instead of thinking how the sunlight reflects from Rose's eyes early in the morning when she walks through the grounds to attend her Herbology class.

And just as I think about it, I realize something. I was paying attention to things that matter. Not maybe the ones others think that matter, but the ones that matter to me. Because the truth is that honestly I don't give a shit about being a gentleman, but I do care about my best friend, my Rosie, and how beautiful she is, especially when she doesn't even try to.

"Well", Rose answers quietly and lets out a sigh. Okay, here it goes. Scorpius Malfoy, it's time to say goodbye to your best friend. She's so going to hate me. "That changes things." Geez, does she really have to make this even more difficult than it already is? "But I can't see why not."

Here I am again, like so many times before, thinking about how exactly does her brain work. Is there some program called Confuse Sco Malfoy? I mean, this certainly isn't the first and probably not the last time she makes me wonder what's going on. For Merlin's sake, she does that all the time! And now I'm pretty sure she accepted to go out on a date with me, and all I can think of is if it means that she likes me too. And since she's Rose Weasley, I really have no idea.

…although I've heard that when people blush and smile the way Rose does now, that usually means they like someone. So… I think I just lost all the rational thoughts I think I had left in my head.

"Cool", I whisper before I realize how stupid it sounds. "I mean, great!"

Rose giggles making the whole situation simply unreal because she never blushes and barely ever giggles and definitely not because of me. It's not like she isn't girly and all or that she doesn't do "girl-stuff" as Trace and I call it (Rosie is actually very girly – well, at least if you compare to us), but it just seemed unnatural for me that she actually blushed. I blame the hormones; she's been acting weird ever since she turned fifteen a bit more than a year ago.

Or maybe I shouldn't blame anything or anyone, she looks so freaking cute when she blushes.

"Oi! Sco, Rosie, over here!"

I snap out of my thoughts and see Rose blinking as well before turning to Trace, who is sitting at the Gryffindor table looking very weird with his green and silver tie shining in the middle of red and golden fabric. He looks quite uncomfortable, so we make our way to join him.

For the whole meal I try, I really try not to look at her more than I should or smile like a total asshole, but I don't know if I manage very well. Either way I can see Rose smiling too. I mean, of course she smiles, but today it's different, kind of brighter and more tense than usual, and Trace must be really thick because she doesn't seem to notice the tension between me and Rose. Is there any tension? There must be. That, or I'm just too thrilled because Rose Weasley definitely likes me, I absolutely adore her and – believe it or not – we are going on a real date. Without Trace.