A/N: A big thank-you to my beta, who is doing a brilliant job on editing these awfully long chapters!
Albus Severus Potter, the prat!
Of all the places in the world, he has to take us to a muggle amusement park!
It's not that I don't like crowded places. It's just I don't like roller coasters. And I'm pretty sure the boys in our gang will make us ride many roller coasters.
You may wonder about my flying skills or whether I play Quidditch when I'm at Hogwarts. To be honest with you, I avoid riding a broom at all cost. I would never understand the fascination that goes with flying and danger, be it Albus or my dad or my brother, or most of the Weasley family members. The only reason why I sit, and yell, and cheer as a spectator in Quidditch is because they love the game which is as pointless as the name would suggest.
My flying skill is so mediocre that dad had to pick the slowest broom for me, with two handles and seatbelt, when he figured I still had to pass the flying course at school.
Anyways, that's the short story about my fear of heights and anything that takes me off the ground or makes my stomach turn upside down, such as a roller coaster.
But I have no choice, unfortunately today. Today is Albus's birthday and he gets to do whatever he likes as according to the Weasely family tradition, which the git Malfoy was kind enough to remind me.
"Let's try the Dragon Fight. It's the most thrilling ride in Muggle London according to the Witch Weekly!" I cover my ears as Albus suddenly yells, already racing towards the ride. His girlfriend, Genevie Finnigan, joins the mad run with him.
"Oi! Al! Isn't playing Quidditch every week enough for your flying addiction? I'm pretty sure everyone here prefers attractions that are on land, like Bumper Carts or Bumper Boats." I slowly lower my hands, rolling my eyes at him, trying not to look at the giant monastery he was referring.
"Scared, Weasley?" A drawl came from my right, as Malfoy steps besides me with a smirk plastered on his face. He takes any chance possible to humiliate me. That's why even if I have developed a slightest interest in him, I always pretend he's the most disgusting human being in my eyes whenever I'm around him. He'll mock me day and night if he knows my knees quiver when I look at his grey pools.
"You wish." I scowl at him, barely manage to stop the groan, knowing I have already lost this battle, though I will not go down without defeat.
"Rose, if you don't want to, you don't have to do it." I grit my teeth as Hugo appeared on my left, looking at me seriously as if he is older than me, and the prat Malfoy nods along, clearly enjoying himself, the git.
"Yes, sit here Weasley and have some cotton candy. In the meantime will you keep my sunglasses for me?" Malfoy looks ahead as he unceremoniously pushes his glasses in my hands. I stare at Malfoy, feeling irritation burn inside me.
"How about you sit here, eat that cotton candy-" I snap, roughly shoving the glasses back at him. "-and take care of your things on your own, Malfoy. I'm riding the Dragon Fight."
"Very well then." Rather than scowling me for mishandling his precious sunglasses, he smiles brightly in return.
Jason Zabini, another member of our elicit group, approaches us with eight tickets in his hand. Besides the dramatic couple no.1, Albus and Genevie, that were certainly going to sit with each other, the rest of us Malfoy, Jason, Hugo, Lily, Jasmine and I were meant to pick a ride partner.
"I'm gonna sit with Hugo!" Yells Lily.
"I'm gonna sit with Lily!" Yells Hugo, simultaneously. I rolled my eyes, feeling a headache growing. These two are as thick as bandits, or more like uncles Fred and George, as Uncle Harry would say.
"We'll sit at the front!" Hugo snatches the two tickets of the first row.
"That way we can wave and scream all we want!" Lily beams at Albus, who is grimacing.
Jasmine, Lily's part-veela friend, glances at me knowingly. Just like Malfoy and Jason, she has spent the holidays at the Burrow several times. We the Weasley gang suspect she recently develops a crush on Malfoy, seeing as he grew much taller and his silver blonde hair was more on point than ever since last summer.
Or maybe, besides Jasmine I'm the only one who notices those differences. To Lily, Hugo or Albus, Scorpius Malfoy is just the same arrogant prat with a signature irritating smirk andabnormally pointed chin. Speaking of the pointed chin, it's the feature we like to make fun of Malfoy for. We thought he could use said chin to dig some gold in California. I normally laugh when the gang teases Malfoy and his face reddens like a tomato. It's lovely to see Malfoy get mad. Honestly, I find his aristocratic feature rather charming. However, I simply keep this opinion to myself.
I'm crazy, right? You may think I'm just the next shallow girl who falls for a guy because of his appearance. That's not exactly true. I think I might have started to tolerate Malfoy since he spent the summer with us in second year. Unlike Jasmine, who recently became a visitor, Malfoy was a part of my childhood. We go all the way back to our first day on the Hogwarts train. To be precise, we fight all the way back to our first day on the Hogwarts Express.
Malfoy would laugh at me if he knew that I have started to tolerate him, maybe even like something about his appearance. Plus it's safer to keep these feelings a secret, because I don't want to be in the Malfoy's girlfriend list. I will not be caught anywhere near him in that manner, especially since he recently dumped Lana after two months in a relationship.
"Do you want to sit next to me, Rose?" Jason Zabini snaps me back to reality.
"What? Sure, Jason." I beam at him. I'm on first name basis with everyone in the gang, except Malfoy. And so is he. I'm not sure since when I'm the only Weasley that is called Weasley by Malfoy.
I guess Jasmine has given Jason a knowing wink just like she did to me. As easy-going friends as we are, Zabini and I don't mind sitting with each other. We get along pretty well, and I pretty like Jason's personality. He's funny, cool, calm and collected.
Unlike a certain arrogant ferret junior Malfoy.
"That leaves us two together." Jasmine looks up at Malfoy, beaming at him and gently grabbing his arm. Malfoy smiles back and nods politely. Knowing Malfoy for too long, one of the side-effects is I can read his face pretty well and I know he would enjoy Jasmine's company. I mean, it's no surprise thay he would: she's sweet and pretty. She's French and part veela just like my aunt Fleur.
"Are you good, Rose? Don't worry, I'm right next to you!" Jason gives me a reassuring smile as I try to brace myself for this monastery. It's just a ride, after all. My parents and Uncle Harry has faced much worse at this age.
"Mate, make sure she doesn't faint during the ride!" Malfoy pats Jason on his shoulder. I feel my panic faint slightly as irritation takes its place. Trust Malfoy to make me feel at ease at the same time to control my urge to bang his head.
"Can I hold your hand then?" I ask Jason, my cheekstinge pink as I feel silly. He quirks an eyebrow as Albus laughs, and if I'm correct, a little crease is denting Malfoy's forehead.
"People usually throw their hands up in the air, Rose. But if it makes you feel better, then yes, we can hold hands." Zabini chuckles.
"Rose, don't let it beat you. If you don't want to ride, it's not too late to change your mind." Albus throws his arm around me.
"I'm. Riding. This. Dragon. Fight." I growl in my throat.
"Good." Lily nods her heads and giggles.
Our turn arrives as we all hop on the cart. Hugo and Lily rushes to the front, followed by Albus and Genevie. I lingered slightly longer than a minute causing Jason to snap his fingers in front of me. "Come on, Rose."
I grimace slightly as I sit in an enclosed space besides Jason, my stomach churning. I'm too busy trying not to throw up to pay attention to Jasmine and Malfoy sitting right behind us.
"Can I hold your hand?" I frown slightly at the bleak sound of my voice. Jason must have noticed it too as he quickly grabs my hand, giving me a charming smile. "Sure."
Suddenly, Malfoy takes off his seatbelt. He leans over Jason's and my seats and mumbles to my ear, making me to shiver slightly at the closeness between us. "Hold the thin bar in front of you, Rose. It'll make you feel better."
At the corner of my eyes, I see Jason turn around to look at Malfoy, who is looking nervous as hell. He gives Malfoy a wicked glint, to which Malfoy returns with a death glare. Then, he places my hand on the bar and mumbles. "Scorpius is right. Holding the bar will make you feel better."
It was the second time in my six years knowing Malfoy that he called me Rose, and apparently it immediately makes me calmer. I nod and close my eyes, ready for the dreadful ride. Jason also grabs the bar; his right hand lightly brushing my left as a way to assure me. I mentally thank him for being a good friend.
The cart starts to move and everyone begins to scream with joy. I shut my eyes tightly, feeling the heavy pressure on my lung, meaning I am on top of the fall. I can feel my heart beating faster and louder. Suddenly, the cart drops and a huge fluttering feeling overwhelms my sensation and I hold the bar in a death grip. As if a switch is flicked, my mouth opens and I can feel myself scream, getting louder as we began to approach the ground. I manage to laugh as well. It's as funny as it is scary.
"Phew. Such an amazing ride." Lily laughs as she hurriedly gets off the cart. Genevie is gasping and Al kisses her cheek gently. Zabini offers his hand to help me out, seeing as I am too vigorously shaking to walk on my own. We slowly gather in a circle, all smiling and talking cheerfully. As I walk on shaking legs, glad to be back on land, my heart is still beating wildly in my chest.
"Are you alright?" Zabini asks me.
"Yup. It was so fun!" I nod and grin at him. My voice is still trembling, my body is still shaking, but I'm too exhilarated to notice Jasmine leaning on Malfoy's shoulder, and he's patting her back gently.
"It's a right decision to try this ride. Now I can brag to everyone." I tell Al. He pats my back and nods enthusiastically. The joy of overcoming my fear overwhelms my sensation, and I grin contentedly at my gang. When I unintentionally turn to Malfoy, he's already detached from Jasmine and is watching me with slight amusement.
"What's up, Malfoy? Now will you stop teasing me about my fear of flying?" I quirk my eyebrow.
"You look so pale." He mumbles then suddenly caress my cheeks with his long, thin fingers. Seems like he wasn't even paying attention to my question.
"Of course. Blood was draining from my face." I step away and turn my back towards him. I groan in my mind as I start to feel my cheeks and my ears getting warm. At times like this, I really hate the Weasely traits.
"You're blushing."Lily, who comes to stand in front of me, speaks in joyous voice, making me grit my teeth.
"I'm not, my blood is recirculating and that is all." I snap, faking an irritated voice to mask my shyness. Jason, Hugo and Albus are giggling like a bunch of harpies. I glare at them, making them laugh louder. Only then I notice that Malfoy is looking nonchalantly at the sky to hide his blush as well, seeing as he just made a scene in front of the gang.
"Are you feeling better, Jasmine?" Malfoy asks his riding partner and she smiles at him tentatively. Before I could feel thankful for his help in diverting the attention, I already feel deflated. I knew it. He was acting gentlemanly and all out of his Malfoy personalities. Had Albus not been an overprotective brother, Malfoy would have been concerned about Lily and probably would have touched her cheeks as well.
I sigh and silently follow the gang as we visit new attractions. My heart flutters thinking about how he assured me when I freaked out, and his spur-of-the-moment caressing my cheeks. Was he concerning about me? I think so, but again I'm not sure. It may be just an act of caring, because compared to my cheek-touching, his back-patting to Jasmine must mean so much more.
"Let's play the Laser Tag!" Jason yells, pointing at the sign at the corner of the park.
"Aw, we'll lose because we can't run as fast as you boys" Genevie pouts, stamping her foot to complete the effect.
"That's not necessarily true! I win while playing with Hugo all the time." Lily frowns.
"It's because she has thin legs, like a mosquito." Hugo moans. Everyone bursts into laughter at that as Lily begins to chase Hugo. He has a good point; he is caught without even able to complete one whole circle around us.
"Well, seeing as how Hugo is fast and Lily is faster, I choose Lily for my team." I wave at Lily, beckoning her towards me.
"Team?" Jasmine asks.
'Yup, me vs Genevie as she just called girls weak in front of these boys. Jason, Hugo, Lily and I will be in one team," I say as my teammates gather around me, clapping each other on the back.
"That leaves Genevie, Albus, Scorpius and I for another team." Jasmine looks content with having Malfoy with her.
"Well, we will be known as Team of lovebirds then." Albus kisses Genevie on lips causing me to roll my eyes on the cheesiness. I look around and see all my friends gag and roll their eyes as well at the sickening display of affection, even Malfoy is grimacing slightly. I already figured Jasmine would be glued to Malfoy for the rest of the day once she got to sit on the ride with him. It makes no difference to be honest, because I'm used to seeing him attached to a girl all my life. I already decided since my third year that my love for Malfoy would be an unrequited love.
Love? Did I just say love? Sorry to be dishonest with you from the beginning, I think I'm head over heels about him. How I manage to maintain an indifference facial expression and bitchy personality towards him for all these years is beyond my comprehension.
"And the losing team will have to do whatever the winning team requests!" Hugo grins, looking around, no doubt in search for objection, and with no surprise he found none.
"I can already think many things I can make them all do, especially Albus and Scorpius!" Jason claps Hugo on his back as they begin to whisper to each other. I raise my eyebrow at the overconfidence. My teammates, it seems, have forgotten that we are against a beater of Slytherin and brother of a seeker.
And it seems Malfoy has understood the situation and went to burst their bubble in the only way he knew; by insulting me as usual.
"Don't be so overconfident, guys. This prissy prude here may make you lose in the first five minutes." Malfoy points at me with a smirk on his pointed face.
"You are right," I fake a smile and give a hard slap on his back, making him slightly toppled forward, "or wrong, who knows. Lets find out, shall we?"
Unbeknownst to him, I used to run three miles every day with my dad during summers. It's my mom's suggestion to keep me in good health, seeing I was born rather weak and I easily get a fever.
Malfoy grimaces and moves away from me to the other side trying to rub his back without looking like it.
We put on the armors and a staff member helps us load our guns. The tension is already rising as I find a place to hide. Unlike Albus and Lily, Hugo and I have played this game more than ten times with our muggle second-cousins from my mother side. I aim to target Malfoy and make him 'die' first, giving him a lesson on underestimating Rose Weasley.
"Ha ha! Rosie!" Someone tries shoots me in the back as I get away at last second and turn around, shooting back, at who appears to be Al. I rush to the bridge and hide at a corner, shooting Jasmine from a far while waiting for Malfoy to come into sight. There he is, I can recognize easily the tall, thin figure quietly crossing the bridge. I bet he's chasing another member of my team on the other side of the bridge, so I stand up, shoot him and duck down.
He turns around and sees nobody. I stand up and shoot him the second time.
Looks like my teammate also recognizes Malfoy. While he turns around to walk towards my hiding place, he was shot another time by the said teammate.
"Bang!" I was shot by a girl from the other team. As I run to another hiding place, Malfoy laughs excitedly. "Weasley! Let's see how fast you run!"
He starts to chase after me as I disappear out of his sight, I believe, as I get to hide in another corner and he passes me by. Smiling mischievously, I quietly follow him and shoot him yet another shot in the back.
"Weasley! You devil witch!" he turns around to shoot at me yet I crouch down immediately, missing his bullet. He aims and fires at me correctly the second time, so I lay supine and shoot his knee in turn. Ha ha, oh boy I am a good gunner. Have you seen me practicing firing jinxes and spells, Malfoy? I'm on top of my class, in case you forget.
"Aren't dead yet, Malfoy?" I fire another shot at his chest, and he rushes over me. Unable to stand up and run in time, I roll aside, avoiding his massive firing at me. Out of nowhere, Malfoy decides to jump on me.
He. Is. On. Top. Of. Me.
We stare at each other in the dark. Our bodies freeze for a moment. Unlike the heat radiating from my body, Malfoy's skin is rather cool. If I don't restrain myself, I could caress him here and there. Yes, he has such smooth, soothing skin.
Our noses are so close, our lips only a breath away. I can feel both our hearts thudding together, can smell the hot breaths from his lips.
A sweat from his temple drops on my face.
"Bang!"
Someone is shooting at Malfoy's back. His armor starts making a loud sound.
"Now you're dead!"
I can hear Jason approaching.
"Is that…Rose under you?"
"I. Can't. Breathe." I murmur at the same time.
"Right. Yes. Sorry." Malfoy shakes his head resolutely and stands up as I suck air greedily. Jason chuckles and mumbles something to Malfoy's ear.
"Merlin I swear if Al and Hugo see you…"
and then a loud BANG clangs loudly behind them.
While I'm trying to standing up, someone is shooting Jason from behind.
"Jasmine! Wait for it!" is all I hear as Zabini runs out of my sight.
Malfoy turns around and beams at me. "Sorry if hurt you."
"You didn't. It's no big deal." I smile weakly. Before I know it, he already runs after Jason and Jasmine. Malfoy passes Jason in a blink of an eye and catches up with her.
"I'm dead but I can cover you." He uses his back to shield the fires aiming at Jasmine.
"That's unfair, Malfoy." I run the other way and mix Jason and mine forces together to isolate Malfoy and Jasmine at the middle of the bridge.
"It's called strategy, Weasley." He shouts while still shielding Jasmine, waiting for his teammate to rescue them.
I guess that's the first time of the day that I'm jealous with Jasmine. Anger is boiling in my blood. How could Malfoy be such a jerk? One moment he was almost kissing me and the next he is holding Jasmine for dear life.
I decide to turn around and go shoot other enemies.
I hate Malfoy.
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