One look at her, and he forgot every word that ever entered into his mind. She was his best friend. She was his everything. She was the reason for every smile he wore. And just one little glance at her would make him forget everything around him. Just with the sight of endless red and seeing her smile and hearing her laugh, Scorpius could sometimes forget who he was. Sometimes, he could even pretend that this girl was his.
She was a constant distraction. Scorpius really tried to pay attention in classes, he really did. And that went well up until about fourth year, because that was the year that Scorpius really noticed Rose Weasley. She'd been his friend since first year, when she barged up to him and demanded that he be her friend. To this day, he's still certain she only did that just for shock value, but she stayed because she actually liked him as a friend. They were one and the same: driven, competitive, argumentative. But fourth year? That was when it all changed. She came back to school after summer, and she just was different. It didn't go unnoticed by every male in their year either. She made them laugh, she broke their hearts. She was fire. She burned her way through his mind, torching every thought that ever appeared. She had no idea of the effect she had on him; she just kept burning and burning and burning, until there was nothing left of Scorpius but endless red.
Sometimes, in class, he'd be watching the professor, and out of the corner of his eye, he'd see Rose, ink on her shirt, smudges on her notes, and immediately, nothing else existed. It was just so Rose. Every time he caught her doing something that was just so undeniably her, he couldn't help himself from chuckling the lightest bit, which would only cause her to give him questioning glances from her seat. He'd try to ignore her, try to focus back on what the professor was saying, but every time, he knew he was lost. He was always lost. God, why couldn't he just concentrate?
She wasn't the prettiest. She wasn't the easiest. She wasn't the fittest. But she was the only thing he ever saw. She had the bluest eyes he'd ever seen, light blue mixed with dark blue and gray, but they were always ablaze with fire like he'd never seen. And her hair, her hair. He'd never be able to date anyone who had red hair. It'd never be the proper shades of red. Her hair was never even right, it was always going every which way. He didn't even see why he found her hair so attractive; it was constant chaos. She didn't even care at all, she just let it be as it may. It was infuriating, but he could never stop himself from thinking of what it would feel like to feel her hair in his hands. She had hips and breasts and curves; every boy ogled as she passed. Every stare directed at her created new fire within Scorpius, deep to his core. She was fire, everything she was was fire.
And she really was a constant distraction. He'd been trying to pay attention in class, really, truly trying to pay attention, desperately trying to face the professor, straining to keep his concentration, when he heard a light chuckle. He tore his gaze from the front of the room, and found Rose's gaze. He raised an eyebrow, but she just shook her head, and turned back to the front of the room. So, he turned back to the front of the room as well, had to be diligent as well. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw her glances at him, saw her trying to be sneaky, saw her lack of concentration. That was when he had the first thought that maybe she wasn't the only fire in the room. Maybe somebody else had the power to burn as well.
Scorpius hated getting his hopes up. Over the years, he'd gotten used to disappointment. So, for the next few weeks, he sought out to test if perhaps his best friend might feel the same as him. And gradually, more and more, he saw the glances, saw the lack of concentration, saw that she was just the same as him. It was then that it hit him that he had been so incredibly stupid. Every thought was consumed by Rose, his vision was consumed by Rose, and yet he had failed to see that maybe he consumed Rose. He used to be distracted by her, and now he found himself distracted by the fact that he distracted her. What a mess. Why did she have to make everything so absolutely messy?
And yet all he wanted was her. Once it felt safe, once he felt sure, he told her, told her everything. He told her that he couldn't even focus because all he saw was her fumbling to write down every single word the professors say. He told her that she'd turned his world upside down the day she demanded his friendship, and he'd been hanging on to this little upside down heaven ever since. He told her that she'd turn his world right side up if she'd agree to be his girlfriend. He wasn't sure if it would even solve their concentration issues, it would probably only worsen the matter, but they'd fall into that problem together. He headed straight into the fire, not caring for the burns, because this fire felt so much better, so much brighter than the dull ache of living without Rose being his.
One look at her, and he forgot every word that ever entered his mind. She was his girlfriend. She was his everything.
