Alone, Like I Should Be.

"Dammnit."

Scorpius sighed as he watched the small Niffler scuttle back behind a large pumpkin. He had been trying to entice the creature to come out to him for the last half hour, using a small stick and dragging it back and forth along the soil. Part of him knew that the black creature wasn't exactly a cat and therefore wouldn't be prone to pouncing on it despite the occasional twitch of its little pink snout. No, he would need something shiny to attract its interest, and his watch was currently on her wrist. A larger part of him, however, knew that even if he did have something shiny, the Niffler still wouldn't want to be near him.

No one wanted to be near him.

Shaking his head, Scorpius snapped the stick in half. No, that wasn't particularly true; he still had his select few friends, and he was almost sure that none of them would abandon him like she had.

Scorpius continued to snap the stick, not caring that the little pieces of twig landed on his lap. It was almost therapeutic, really, letting him see that at least he had some control over something in the world.

A shadow fell over him, but he did not give the owner the satisfaction of looking up. Tossing the tiniest remnants of the stick away, he turned towards one of the pumpkin's vines. A few dark green leaves were beginning to wilt. Just like his heart. He plucked the biggest one off and, just like the stick, began to tear it apart.

"Scorp? Mind if I sit down?"

'I thought you didn't want to be near me,' he went to say but held his tongue. With barely a lift of his shoulders, he instead dug his nails into the green leaf.

He felt the person sit down and from the corner of his eyes, could see the way she winced as she knelt in the dirt, the soil immediately clinging to her skirt. She's probably not just wincing at the dirt. She was watching him carefully, her brown doe-eyes searching his face for a reaction.

Then, seeming to give up on him speaking first, she gave a nervous giggle. "You certainly surprised me," she said, still watching his face.

"Yeah, your horrified reaction showed us much." Scorpius closed his eyes and let the strips of leaf fall to the ground. When he reopened them, he added, "But it doesn't matter. You made yourself clear, and that's fine."

"Scorp—"

"Look, I have better things to do Saturday anyway. Professor Longbottom is going to be helping me and Al work on our Herbology, so I'm going to put in some more practice beforehand."

He turned his head towards her. Rose's mouth was open slightly, her eyes a mix of shock and confusion. There was something else there—pleading, perhaps—but the more he looked at her, the fresher the pain became. He couldn't help but see the way her face had twisted upwards into a smile, the way her eyes had transformed from a look of sheer terror to crinkling as she began to laugh. Closing his eyes again, he placed his head on his knees.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to be on my own."

At first, Rose didn't move. He could feel her moving beside him, and if he didn't know any better, he would say that she was opening her mouth and closing it again, much like she always did when she was dismissed by someone. After a half minute or so, he heard the sound of her pulling herself up, the jangling of her bracelets knocking together.

"Fine, but I know you're lying," she said.

Unable to help himself, Scorpius looked up. He had to shield his face from the sun with his hands, yet he could still make out her face. Rose's eyes were now narrowed, and her hands were placed on her wide hips.

She was mad at him?

Frowning himself, Scorpius dusted off his hands. "You made it perfectly clear that I will be on my own for the dance. Why should I not get used to it now?"

"I never said that! And I know you're lying about Herbology because Professor Longbottom loves dancing—he's not going to miss this one for all the homework help in the world." Her face softened slightly, and she looked away. "I don't think you should miss the dance either."

"Well, that's not your concern anymore, is it?"

Rose turned back to him, the fire reignited in her eyes. "Then why did you ask me to go with you? You never let me finish my answer; you just stormed off."

Scorpius raked a hand through his silvery-blond hair and clenched his teeth. He took a few deep breaths, trying to stop the flow of fire in his veins. Here she was, the girl who had rejected him, playing the victim. He could still hear the laughter of her friends joining in with her, all wondering if the low-life Slytherin Scorpius Malfoy had bumped his head. Afterall, why else would he dare to ask out Rose Granger-Weasley, the perfect Prefect?

No, Rose had given him her answer, loud and clear and there was nothing else to it.

The brunette sighed, nudging a small pebble with the toe of her polished shoes. Her eyes were softer again, peering into his grey eyes with hope. He looked away. Really, if he thought about it, he had dodged a jinx, given the mood swings Rose was displaying now.

"I thought you were joking. I mean—I didn't—I didn't expect you to ask me out. You were going on about Jasmine and whether she had a date or not and then you just asked me. Out of the blue. But that doesn't mean that I don't wan—"

"I was asking about the Sinclair chick for Albus, not me. And even so, how could you not know I was planning on asking you? Don't pretend you're stupid, Rose, because we both know you're not," Scorpius said, glaring back at her again.

Rose blushed a little, but he shook his head. "That wasn't a compliment. I've been hinting for days—weeks, even—that I wanted to go with you. I even asked you about your dress robes, for Merlin's sake—that's something no bloke would do if he wasn't keen."

"Well, how was I supposed to know? I thought you were just being my friend, helping out your best mate's cousin, stuff like that," Rose said. "I was caught off guard."

Scorpius sucked in his breath. Had she really not understood his intentions? Or was she just toying with him again?

"Why do you think I leant you my watch? You already have one. When I gave it to you, I specifically said it's because I thought giving you a corsage would be too cheesy," he said.

Rose opened her mouth before snapping it shut again. She looked down at her wrist where, sure enough, his gold watch was strapped securely. It glinted in the sun, and from the corner of his eye, he could see the Niffler poking its furry head out. He refocused on Rose, watching her gently tap the watch's face. She had put it on earlier that morning, mere moments before he had worked up his remaining courage to ask her to the upcoming ball. He had thought that by accepting it, Rose was permitting him to be more forward and ask.

How wrong he was.

"Oh. I thought—I suppose… oh." Rose said softly, her cheeks still flushed.

Scorpius concentrated on the Niffler instead, watching the way its whiskers twitched. Slowly, its paws appeared from behind the pumpkin, and it began to creep forward. He watched it for a moment, wondering when the creature would try to snatch the watch, and if he should warn Rose. Not that she deserved it.

Rose didn't appear to notice it. She shuffled on the spot, her eyes watching Scorpius hopefully. "So… did you still want to go? With me, I mean?"

"Where?"

Huffing, she said, "To the dance."

Scorpius tilted his head. His heart was now thumping wildly in his chest, urging him to make the right decision. On the one hand, she had broken his heart and embarrassed him in front of half the fifth year Gryffindor population. She had mixed with his feelings, rejected him. On the other hand, this was his chance to finally get what he had wanted in the first place. Rose sounded as though she really wanted to go with him, a small smile ghosting her lips. Perhaps… perhaps she really had misinterpreted him?

Before he could open his mouth, however, Rose looked down. Her cheeks were now a bright red, and her hands were trembling ever-so-slightly. "We could just go as friends if you'd like."

Well. There was his answer: just as friends. So she was toying with him.

Fixing an icy glare on her, he said, "No, I don't think so. I would not like that at all."

Rose blinked. "Wh—what?"

"I don't feel like wasting my time." Scorpius turned around, facing his back to her and blocking out the tears beginning to well in her eyes.

He could hear the tremble in her voice when she finally managed to say, "Fine. Fine! I'll have a better time by myself, anyway."

He brought his knees back up to his face as her footsteps thudded away, his own eyes growing hot. Something landed to his left, and as he looked up, he caught a whoosh of blur darting towards his watch. He made no move to stop the Niffler from stealing his possession, however; it was already lost to him.

Just like his chances of being with Rose at the dance.

A/N: This story was written for Cheeky Slytherin Lass' 'The Great School Bake Off' for The Golden Snitch forum (come and join, where you can pick any of the eight canon schools and houses). My prompt for this competition is: Apple Pie Cupcakes: 1. Cinnamon sugar cake (Character: Scorpius Malfoy) 2. Apple pie compote filling (Word: entice) 3. Whipped cream topping (Setting: Hogwarts pumpkin patch). I apologise for the angsty, 'woe is me' side of Scorpius shown, since I'm pretty sure that's how a lot of people cast him. Whether you like it or not, it does kind of suit him, as unoriginal as it may seem.

This is the first fic I've written for months, so I do hope I'm not too rusty with SPaG or flow or anything, and better yet, that you liked it :)