For EvylinDevilin's Choose Your Path Challenge

"Wait! Rose!"

"Leave me alone, Malfoy," Rose snapped coldly. "You are a senseless, infuriating, heartless thing! I couldn't despise you more!"

Each word stung me like a shard of ice had pierced my heart. But my heart wasn't there; all that was left was a scar. It ached and burned like fire against my chest. I wondered what had gone wrong, and the events recapped themselves before my eyes…

"You. Set. Me. Up. On. A. Date. With. Malfoy."

Rose stood before me, infuriated. She glared at Lily Potter with mad, angry eyes.

"Rose Weasley," Lily scolded, "you will sit through this date, or I will bat-bogey hex the living daylights out of both of you. It's time you two put aside your differences and confessed your true love to each other."

"True love!" Rose and I both exclaimed at the same time. We glared at each other.

"Yes, true love," Lily agreed. "Now, remember: You will either sit through this date, or you will both be bat-bogey hexed. Understood?"

Rose and I both nodded and grumbled our yeses like little children being scolded by their parents. Rose slouched into the booth and scooted as far away from me as possible. She glared at me with such a fire that it matched her flaming red hair. It was awkward.

"I hate you," she announced. "This date doesn't change that fact."

"I'm well aware of that," I replied. "But I, for one, do not want to be bat-bogey hexed into oblivion. Should I get us some butterbeers?"

"Every second of your absence shall be another moment to cherish forever," she replied icily.

I took that as a yes, and stood up to order orally. Sure, there were waitresses bustling about, but being away from Weasley was a cherished moment for me as well. But, it wasn't cherished all the same. I hated her, but… it wasn't love; love wasn't the right word. It was… lust, maybe… no, still not the right one. I saw her as my friend/enemy, but I wanted her to be more than that.

"Sir?"

The waitress drummed her fingers impatiently. I must have been staring off into space.

"Sorry, two butterbeers, please," I requested.

She scowled at me and turned to get my order. She handed me two mugs filled with a caramel-ish kind of liquid and frothy, white cream bubbling the top. I walked back over to where Rose was sitting.

"Took you long enough," she spat coldly. She yanked the mug away, but didn't drink. I took a tiny sip.

"It's good," I assured her. "Why don't you have some?"

"I don't want to drink anything touch by you," she retorted.

"Rose," I whined. I could hardly control the thumping in my chest. I wanted her so badly…

"You're doing it again!" she exclaimed.

"What?" I frowned.

"Staring off into space like some gay idiot," Rose snarled. "It's creeping me out!" Silence ensued. It was really awkward. I begged for something to talk about.

"Ian's going to flip when he hears you went on a date with me," I commented, stirring the airy silence.

"No," she retorted in a brittle voice. "No, Ian broke up with me. And that's none of your business, anyways!"

Then, she stood up and began to walk away.

"Wait! Rose!" I shouted after her. I had used her first name, but I was desperate. She couldn't leave.

"Leave me alone Malfoy," Rose snapped coldly. "You are a senseless, infuriating, heartless thing! I couldn't despise you more!"

I could've waited a million years, and nothing would've changed.

Yes, the damage of that day eventually wore away. Yes, I came out of that affair unscathed… well, physically.

But I could wait a million years, and nothing would change. I would still have a scar the size of my heart.

I swear: I did not write Rose or Scorpius that way! They wrote themselves! I'd go back and change it, but then it wouldn't flow together well. Don't ask me why Rose was so mad, maybe it's because she realized that she was in love with Malfoy back and thought that avoiding him and being mean to him would make her hate him again. I don't know! Ask Rose! The characters write themselves!

If I get enough reviews, I might turn this into a full fanfic, but for now, it's a oneshot for EvylinDevilin's contest: Choose Your Path.