for amber, via monthly-one shot exchange. sorry, aha. i just like this one way better and you deserve better, so here it is
prompts at the bottom
2174 words, by google docs
so roxyweasley and i broke up. dw, we're still on good terms, but now i don't have anybody to bring to the baftas… any takers?
scorpmal You're pretty cute, I'm pretty cute, how about you date me?
Albus hits send on his selfie and his tweet while laughing. He doubts that Scorpius was serious, but even if he was, he'd never choose Albus. Scorpius might be officially bisexual, but Albus has already looked at several other responses and there are some pretty cute boys and girls.
He turns off his phone and yawns, for probably the fortieth time that morning and goes to find a shirt.
Unlike Scorpius, he is not a famous celebrity and he has school, just like every other kid his age.
…
Rose finds Albus pretty quickly at school after second period and shoves him against a wall.
"What the hell, Potter? I mean, I'm not surprised, really, because you're you, but what the hell?" she says, punching him in the arm. Albus winces. Though she tries to deny it, she's really quite violent and can throw a pretty strong punch.
"What? I didn't even do anything!" Albus protests. He tries to wriggle away but fails; Rose has a really good vice grip.
"When's the last time you checked your twitter?" she demands, looking angry.
"This morning, before school, why?"
"Why?" she repeats. "Why haven't you checked it in the three hours we've been at school?"
"Because," Albus sighs, "I've been at school, doing school things. Like class. Can we please go to that, now? I'm late."
Rose loosens her grip on him, but is still giving him a glare. "Check your twitter, first."
Albus rolls his eyes and pulls out his phone.
"Why do I have so many notifications?" he asks Rose, his brow furrowing at the plethora of blue twitter notifications swarming his lockscreen.
"Look at them," Rose says simply.
Albus presses his finger to the home button, unlocking it, and taps on his twitter apps. He has to scroll past several comments and likes in his notifications, before seeing the one that started it:
asp yeah you're pretty cute. dm me and i'll fly you to london. you'll make great arm candy.
"Holy crap," Albus says, staring at the words on his screen.
"Yeah, sort of," Rose says. "Come, I'll help you DM him."
Albus nods, still staring at his phone, transfixed, but then shakes his head. "I need to get to class. I'm already late."
"Al," Rose says, looking at him like he's crazy. "You might be going to the BAFTAs. I think that's bigger than maths."
Albus rolls his eyes, but lets Rose lead him away to the courtyard.
…
For the next few days, Albus can't stop smiling at his phone. Scorpius, surprisingly, is much more human than Albus expected, and he actually seems to like Albus.
Of course, everything Albus tells him is one big lie—he wants to seem more interesting that he really is. Scorpius wouldn't like boring old Albus, so he instead tells him that his parents are war veterans and that his mom is an editor for the sports section of the Manchester Evening News and his dad is a police officer, when his parents never fought in any war and they're both teachers at St Cuthberts.
wait, Scorpius types, the bubble appearing on Albus' screen, that's actually really cool! what war did they fight in?
The Kosovo War, Albus responds, after a quick Google search on wars Britain fought in the 90's.
"Keep on walking while looking at your phone and you'll walk into something," a voice says, wrenching Albus out of his world of Scorpius. He looks up to see Rose, hands on her hips.
"Sorry, I was just texting—"
"Scorpius," Rose finishes. He nods. "Did you see his tweet about you? 'Officially dating at asp, sorry ladies and gents'," she quotes, as Albus smiles stupidly. "You're not even that good looking."
"Well, there's more to me than my looks. Though those are pretty great," Albus says, turning back to his phone.
ahhh i love that war! i mean it probably sucked that they had to fight in it, but i just love history. my parents are just gigantic pricks who only care about keeping the family's fame alive, Scorpius has responded, two messages, one after the other.
"There's really not much. Besides, you haven't even met him!" Rose argues.
But at least they produced you, so they must be doing something right, he responses, ignoring Rose's continued speech. What would you be if you weren't famous? Albus asks him. It's something he's wondered about a lot of celebrities, really, but he only would ask Scorpius. Three dots pop up for a while, and Albus has a moment of panic—has he overstepped it?
Albus breathes again as Scorpius' answer pops up: i don't know. maybe an author?
"Albus, you coming to class?" Rose asks, once again bringing him back to the present.
"Yeah, I guess," he says, typing out a response: Nerd. What's your favorite book?
maybe so, but i'm your nerd, so. my favorite book is probably made you up by francesca zappia. amazing book
Rose has to almost pull him to make sure he doesn't walk into people. "Pay attention to the world around you, Al," she rebukes.
"Yeah, yeah." Very true :3 And I love that book! That's actually a lie. Albus has never even hear of the book, but if it helps him get closer to Scorpius, he'll lie.
holy crap you like made you up? oh my god i love you even more
I know, I have great taste. I like you ;). Ask me a question?
favorite memory?
DMing you for the first time, he reponses like the flirt he is.
aw, you flatter me, Scorpius says. Then a second text: oh i gtg, Director Dan's calling me, love you!
Bye, Scorp, Albus types, before Rose pulls him into their classroom. Love you, too.
"You haven't even met him in real life," Rose repeats bitterly as Albus slips his phone back into his pocket.
"I will. The BAFTAs are soon," he notes, walking to his seat happily.
…
fuck i can't wait to meet you. i love you times infinity.
Albus smiles at the DM, reading it over and over again.
I'll try not be covered in dog hair, Albus says, referring to another lie he told Scorpius—that he has a golden retriever. He actually doesn't have any pets, but golden retrievers are Scorpius' favorite, and Albus doesn't want Scorpius to think he's boring.
doesn't matter if you are, really. we'll give you a suit here.
You really don't have to, Albus types, rolling his eyes.
i want to though
Wow, I'm a little bit jealous; being a celebrity must be really easy. Being able to buy fancy suits for your friends all willy-nilly.
okay, a, Scorpius texts, you're not just my 'friend', you're my boyfriend, and b. being a celebrity is hard, honestly. i mean, you moon the wrong person at an office party, and suddenly you're not 'professional' any more. it's awful
Albus smiles at that, but has to turn off his phone as he hears a beep outside. There's the car that Scorpius got for him.
He grabs his suitcase and yells a short "Bye Mum, bye Dad!" before heading outside.
There's a man in a sharp suit standing outside of a jet black car.
"Albus Potter?" he asks as Albus approaches. Albus nods, and the man takes his suitcase from him. "Let's go to London."
As soon as he gets in the car, Albus pulls out his phone again.
Sorry for leaving, car was here. London bound!
Scorpius types back right away. yesssss im seeing you in like 4 hours yes let's go
Long car ride, Albus notes. Keep me entertained.
…
Albus isn't sure how to greet Scorpius.
Do they hug? Or kiss? It feels sort of weird, really, to greet him intimately, but they are dating. That problem is solved in a moment when Scorpius engulfs him in a hug on sight. Albus notes that he smells like some type of fruit—strawberries, maybe?
"Albus," Scorpius says, utter admiration in his voice. It's sort of shocking to Albus how different his voice sounds off-screen.
"Scorpius Malfoy," Albus says, the shock of who he's hugging hitting him. "The most famous person my age. And you're hugging me."
Scorpius pulls away, looking Albus up and down, his grey eyes soft. "That's not true," he says.
"We all know that's true," he counters.
"Oh, good, you're just as witty in real life," Scorpius notes, cracking a smile, which makes Albus smile. "You ready for your first award show?"
"Not really," Albus admits.
"Perfect!" Scorpius exclaims, putting an arm around Albus' shoulder. "Let's go get you suited up."
…
"Come a little closer, darling," Scorpius says, pulling Albus closer to his side. Scorpius flashes a grin to the cameras in front of them and then pokes Albus in the side. "Smile. They want pictures."
Albus complies, feeling a little overwhelmed at the amount of photographers around them. Scorpius smiles for another few people and then lets the smile drop.
"It's overwhelming, yeah?" Albus nods, standing a bit closer to Scorpius. He smiles at Albus' touch. "You get used to it. Besides, we're done with that. Now's the fun part."
…
Scorpius wins an award for best actor. He's one of the youngest to ever win, he tells Albus, absolutely glowing. His show also wins for best drama series.
His face is still shining by the time they go back to the hotel room he got for Albus. Albus is also grinning—he went to an awards show. There were so many famous people there, besides for Scorpius—people like the Teddy Lupin, and his girlfriend, the Victoire Weasley. He also spotted Roxanne, Scorpius' ex, looking elegant as always, and even some older stars that he loves—Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini.
It was crazy.
"It was brilliant, wasn't it?" Scorpius asks, flopping down on Albus' bed.
"Definitely," Albus agrees, sitting down on the armchair.
"I got you a present, by the way," Scorpius says offhandedly.
"Besides for the amazing night?"
"Yup! It's a book."
Scorpius gets up and walks to the hotel's closet, where he pulls out a small package and throws it at Albus. Albus tears it open and sees a green title with blue words reading Real Life.
"It's the sequel to Made You Up," Scorpius explains, grinning at Albus. "It's pretty new, but I knew you liked the first so—what's wrong?" Scorpius asks, his grin fading and his brows furrowing as he sees Albus' face.
Albus is looking at the book bitterly.
"I've never read Made You Up," he admits, quietly.
"What?" Scorpius says, blinking blankly.
"I lied to you." A deep pit is settling in Albus' stomach. It was such a stupid thing, really—he shouldn't have lied about it in the first place. "I just wanted you like me more, so I pretended to like you."
Scorpius blinks again, sighing.
"What else did you lie about, then?" he asks, sounding hurt.
"Well, my parents aren't war veterans. They're teachers," he says, looking down at his feet and putting the book on the arm of his chair. "And I don't have a dog. My sister's allergic, actually."
Albus looks up, and sees Scorpius looking anywhere but at him.
"Why?" he asks.
"I was scared that if I was plain and normal you wouldn't like me. That I wouldn't be interesting enough for you."
Scorpius is quiet for another moment, then he starts to laugh. He laughs, his whole body shaking.
"You thought I wouldn't like you? That you wouldn't be interesting enough?" Scorpius asks, looking at Albus again. "Al, I grew up like this, with the fame and the stars and everything in between. What you think is a normal boring life—going to school, eating dinner with your family—that's fascinating to me. I wouldn't think you're boring."
"Oh," Albus says, a little bit dumbfounded.
"Don't lie to me, please," Scorpius says. His voice sounds slightly pleading and Albus can see hurt on his face. God, he feels like an idiot.
"Okay. I promise," Albus says, giving him a small smile.
"You promise?" Scorpius insists. "I want to know you for you. Not for who you want to be. Okay?"
"Okay," Albus says softly. Scorpius smiles and then walks over to Albus' armchair and wedges himself into the seat.
"Hey," he says softly, his face very close to Albus'. Albus can count all of Scorpius' eyelashes. They're very long.
"Hi," Albus says, not sure what to say.
"Can I kiss you?" Scorpius asks, his breath hitting Albus' nose. Somehow, it's still minty, even after the entire night.
"Yes," Albus says, sure that Scorpius can hear his heart beating a hundred miles per hour.
Then Scorpius leans in, their lips touch, and fireworks go off.
Maybe they're from the people on the streets of London, maybe they're in Albus' head, but he's sure. There's fireworks.
for:
meet-cutes [day 7 - you're a celeb who just broke up and i tweeted you to date me]
the houses comp [gryffindor, year 7, themed, going on a date, hugging]
insane house comp [plethora]
serpent day [eyelash viper - "come a little closer, darling"]
library lovers [tfios - first love, meeting someone famous, infinity]
gobstones [gold - present tense, memory, "i'm not surprised"]
writing club [disney - prince ali - being something they're not; showtime - one short day - muggle london; buttons - "we all know it's true", fruit; lyric alley - 'i'm a little bit jealous'; restriction of the month; liza's loves - hollywood - write about a star; jenny's jovial quotations - "you moon the wrong person at an office party, and suddenly you're not 'professional' any more."]
scavenger hunt [fluffy fic]
monthly one shot exchange [amber - alscor, fluff/au, elegant]
