CHAPTER ONE: THE CASUALTIES

Scorpius Malfoy knew he was in trouble. It didn't matter how many times he went over the situations in his head, nor did it matter how long he lay in bed at night cursing himself, and so what if he stared at blank papers in classes so often? No amount of thinking seemed to help him out of his problem—well, to be honest, it wasn't really a problem. In fact, this problem was so exquisitely great it couldn't possibly be called one. Maybe it was just easier for him to think it was, even if deep in his heart he knew he was the only thing standing in the way of solving it.

The trouble he was in was all because of one person. Only one. This person could change his mood for the day, get him to do things he'd never do, and put a genuine smile on his face with just a blink of the eyes. It wasn't hard for the name to cross his mind, to float along the brighter parts, to swirl through and repeat too many times for him to count.

Albus Severus Potter.

Either it had him release a soft sigh or to have his teeth grit in frustration. He could never be angry with Al, never in a millennium—it was himself he was furious with.

Scorpius suffered from the fact he could be jeopardizing their friendship every time he opened his mouth. If it wasn't obvious enough already, he fancied Al a bit too much. His feelings balanced in a precautious manner, teetering between best friends and some not-so-innocent thoughts. Okay, he'd admit it, his thoughts were as any innocent as any other boy his age! Except he wasn't interested in girls—just Al. If he were completely honest with himself, Scorpius perhaps could even laugh a little about the entire thing. To be gay for one's best friend… It was like a horribly crafted romance novel! But, to him, it was real life and no laughing matter.

Thus it was safe to say that Scorpius Malfoy wasn't exactly normal. The fact he liked his best friend wasn't the abnormality, it was the way he handled it. Instead of having addressed the problem long before, he let it fester away like an untreated wound—a wound that was slowly swallowing his will to fight it. It didn't help that whenever Al neared any type of closer-than-usual proximity, it was like sprinkling salt on everything and Scorpius had to always step away. Guilt gnawed at him if he let Al linger there. His friend didn't deserve to have the other thinking of him in any other way than a friend, especially if he were so close.

In the roundabout, everything always landed back to square one. One: mindfully reject any personal contact with Al whether his accidental doing or the other's, two: watch his words so nothing questionable comes out, and three: try desperately to keep his head around him. He couldn't have Al worry over him! If he ever asked why Scorpius seemed upset sometimes-!

But Al's really cute when he's worried.

The blonde boy groaned loudly and rolled over in his bed. It was too early to be thinking about how terrible a best friend he was and for the beginnings of some girl-ish thoughts about Al. The grey of his eyes were darkened from lack of sleep and they were half-lidded in exhaustion. After clearing the blur from them, noticeable warmth crawled up his neck when seeing he was now facing Al's bed. Surely Al wasn't lewd (like him) and thought he was- when he groaned-? No, no, he wouldn't (right?). Scorpius shook his head to rid of the doubts – they fluttered at the back of his mind now – and shifted in his sheets.

Based on the amount of light coming across Al's bed sheets from the window, the sun was still making its climb up and the night sky was a milky color. Slowly the ashen glow of his eyes traveled across the bed until they rested on a head full of fluffy black hair. The darkest shadow of Al's bedpost fell directly over the other's face. Scorpius held in the sigh he almost made. When Al slept, he made the cutest expressions—n-not that Scorpius watched him or anything.

The Slytherin wriggled in his sheets, his subconscious berating him for possibly making him look that he really had been doing things, before settling comfortably on his stomach. Pressing his face into his pillow, the boy shut his eyes tight and tried to will himself to go to sleep. Regardless of how Al looked when he worried, Scorpius did not want to explain why he had such a hard time trying to sleep that night.

It seemed that sleep wasn't as hard to come to him as he thought, and its gentle lulls wooed him into a dreamless slumber. One small lock of blond hair fell across his forehead and the faintest smile smoothly formed on his lips.

Lalala~

Scoripus Malfoy was in trouble. He liked his best friend, Albus Potter. Little did he know his daily routines with Al were about to change—but for better or worse?

Time would tell.

A/N: Hello everyone! First chapter of this ff is brought to you by ChocoFrosty—or Poptart. I hope everyone will enjoy this as Oreo and I will be, and hopefully will look forward to more updates! Thank you for reading and please stay tuned for Al's side of the story!